The officer then continued to divide the class into different squads, assigning them a location in Trost. Once everyone's name and squad had been called out, the dismissed soldiers-to-be broke apart.
One of the trainee graduates, Toris Laurinaitis, and his talkative friend Feliks Łukasiewicz, made their way through the crowd.
"Well, this is like, our first proper mission!" exclaimed Feliks, trying to make the situation brighter. Looking around, Toris could hardly share his optimism- the courtyard was dotted with the grim faces of trainee graduates, some pacing up and down in a panic or crouching down in terror, repeatedly whispering to themselves in disbelief.
"Yes..." murmured Toris. "Though I'd much rather our first task as soldiers was something different."
"Don't worry, Toris!" smiled Feliks. "You'll be fine with me around. No titan can get past me!"
A flash of hope glowed in Toris at those words of comfort. He was lucky to be in the same squad as his life- long friend.
"Look, there's Raivis and Eduard." pointed Feliks, before turning and walking in their direction. Toris was about to follow, but a familiar voice calling out his name made him turn his attention to the person standing behind him. With a slight jolt, he recognised the pale- haired sister of Ivan: Natalya.
"Hm? Oh, what is it N-Natalya?" he stuttered, slightly puzzled at what she could possibly request of him at this time.
"Have you seen Ivan?" she asked worriedly.
"No, I haven't seen him in this crowd..."
"Natalya, hurry up!" came a shout from a Stationary Corps member nearby. "We need to get to the back gate as soon as possible!" With a rush of admiration Toris remembered how Natalya was ranked at the top of their class, so it was no wonder her skills were needed at the evacuation zone.
"If you see him, please tell big brother to come find me if he needs help." she urged. "I'll make sure we're still together after all this."
"Um... okay, I'll tell him if I see him..." stammered Toris, not too keen on the idea of having to interact with the intimidating Russian.
"Thank you, Toris."
"Natalya!" came the shout again, more urgent and demanding this time.
"Coming!" she called, before giving one last nod to Toris and hurrying away.
After a moment or two, the chestnut- haired trainee graduate also began to walk away, but was then startled as he noticed Ivan sitting not far off, his strangely soft gaze fixed on a small piece of paper he was holding. Still feeling nervous about confronting his classmate, Toris hung back in hesitation, until he finally gave in and shuffled towards Ivan with the intention of passing on Natalya's message. He stood fidgeting next to the brooding trainee graduate before finally scraping up the courage to speak to him.
"I-Ivan?" he mumbled, making Ivan turn to blink at him distractedly. "Natalya asked me to tell you to... go to her if you run into any trouble."
"... Of course..." smiled Ivan after a few moments, before turning his gaze back to the sheet of paper. "She thinks about me so much, it sometimes worries me. But at least I know she takes care of herself too."
It was strange, seeing the towering and sometimes childishly cruel Ivan acting and talking so softly, especially since the subject was his sister, who he often avoided. After a few moments of silence, Toris awkwardly wondered whether that his queue to go.
"Do you like sunflowers, Toris?" asked Ivan suddenly, not taking his eyes off the picture.
"E-eh? I've never seen one for real before..." mumbled Toris, then anxiously wondered if that was the right thing to say. "But- but I think they're quite pretty!"
"We used to own a field of sunflowers when I was little..." continued Ivan. "But after Wall Maria was attacked we had to change to farming wheat."
Nodding, Toris remembered how food was scarce due to the huge influx of refugees from Wall Maria. More people could be fed by bread than they could from sunflower seeds and oil, so farmers who grew those kind of crops were slowly forced to give it up if the conditions were good enough for growing wheat.
With a wistful sigh, he remembered how he had spent days playing in the forest with Feliks, until a large portion of it was chopped down for raw materials and more room for farming.
"Do you... miss the sunflowers?" asked Toris softly, the innocent memory still fresh in his mind.
"Oh, I was very sad when they were all gone!" replied Ivan, looking up at Toris. "But... at least I have something to remind me of those days." He turned his gaze back down to the piece of paper. Glancing at it, Toris found the warmth of his own childhood memories reflected on the paper; a colourful drawing of a sunflower shone in the middle, seemingly radiating warmth onto them.
"The picture..." breathed Toris. "Who drew it?"
"My older sister Irina... she can be a bit of a crybaby but she's really nice." a little smile glimmered on Ivan's face at the mention of his sister. "She's still working at home while I came here to get into the Military Police. What about you? Why did you join the military?"
"M-me?" spluttered Toris, taken back by the sudden interest in him Ivan was expressing. "I um... Feliks and I lived in the same village, but there wasn't much work once we grew up. We thought we'd take a shot for the Interior..." he sighed, his expression turning bleak as he recalled what that dream had now gotten them into. "...but I never wanted to actually fight titans..."
"That's a shame." replied Ivan brightly, an unnerving smile spreading across his face. "I really liked those sunflowers, you know. Even though I want to go to the Interior, I also can't wait to slice some titan flesh; it's the least I can do to repay them!"
***
Grumbling to himself, Arthur barged past the crowd of distressed classmates. Why did it have to happen now? Why were they asking inexperienced soldiers fresh from training to face such brutal creatures that even the Stationary Corps couldn't seem to handle? Frustration bubbled inside him as these questions whirled in his mind.
"Hey, Art!" came a voice, averting Arthur's attention to Matthew, who was making his way across the courtyard.
"Huh?"
"Have you seen Francis?" he asked. "We're in the same squad but I can't find him."
"Uh... no, not since we were dismissed." replied Arthur, thoughtfully running a hand through his hair. "You know, you go to where you were assigned to. If I see him, I'll tell him you went."
"Okay, thanks." smiled Matthew, then turned to leave. "I'll see you later, Arthur."
"Wait." Matthew halted as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned back round to face Arthur, whose grass- green eyes were shaded with worry. "Be careful. Hopefully the Stationary Corps will handle most of it, but please, stay out of danger."
"You know I'm the least of your worries." replied Matthew with a reassuring smile. "But I will, I promise. Take care of Alfred."
Frowning, Arthur watched his step-brother walk away. With a sigh, he realised he was right- Alfred was much more susceptible to getting himself in trouble. Still, with the titan's unpredictability, no one could be safe for sure. He carried on walking in a thoughtful silence, until he looked up to notice a sullen figure sitting against the wall in front of him.
"There you are!" called Arthur as he recognised Francis. "Matthew was looking for you. He's headed for his post now, so you'd better hurry up."
Usually Francis would respond to Arthur's demanding tone with some snarky remark or insult, but there was none. He sat with his head collapsed into his hands, his eyes clouded with grief. He sat like this for so long Arthur began to wonder if he had heard him at all, until he let out a heavy sigh and finally looked up to acknowledge his fellow trainee graduate.
"Yeah, I'll be over there in a minute." he murmured, nodding slightly.
"Francis..." began Arthur. "I'm... I'm sorry about Joan. She... she was a great person."
"She was... and I'm lucky to have known her." replied Francis, smiling slightly at the memory of Joan. "She was so hard- working and determined... not to mention brave and beautiful. But don't worry about me. I intend to stay alive for her."
"I'm glad to hear it, believe it or not."
"You know, I never thanked you." recalled Francis, after a moment of silence.
"For what?" responded Arthur, glancing back at his classmate with a puzzled expression on his face.
"For coming after me when the wall was breached." explained Francis, a distant look in his eyes as he remembered the events of the start of that day. "I might not have been there for her in her... her final moments... I might not even be here at all."
"Well... I guess I couldn't just leave you to go alone." muttered Arthur, before giving himself a shake. "But- but don't expect me to do it again!"
"I hope so." beamed Francis, making Arthur realise how relieved he was that his old rival was once again showing a glint of mischief. "I can't stand being thankful to you, eyebrows!"
With another brief smile, Francis gave Arthur a firm pat on the shoulder before heading towards the exit of the courtyard.
***
Tension hung in the air as Ludwig's squad sat rigidly perched on the buildings of the town, facing the breached wall ahead of them in silent apprehension. Their assigned location was further back from the front lines, their task being to stop any titans making it through to the heart of the town, or even further to where evacuations were still taking place.
"Stay on your guard!" bellowed Ludwig to the rest of his squad members. "We can't let anything come through!"
"Do you really think the titans can come this far into the city already?" wondered Gilbert, frowning as he scanned the landscape for any titans emerging from behind the buildings.
"I don't want to underestimate them in any way..." muttered Ludwig, doing the same.
As he made his way to the other side of the roof, he noticed Feliciano sitting a few paces away in a gloomy silence. With a lurch, Ludwig remembered how the usually cheerful and lighthearted trainee graduate must be feeling the pain and terror of the last time the titans attacked all over again. Before Ludwig could offer any attempts of consolation, he was cut off by an urgent call from his brother. He was pointing frantically to a massive head rising from behind a building not far off.
"Titan! Over there!" Everyone's heads turned to stare at the creature before them, which was idly ambling through the streets with a menacing grin stretched across its face.
"It's heading for the evacuation zone!" exclaimed Ludwig, after breaking out of his brief petrification. The titans looked much more deadly up close.
"I can hear another one coming our way." declared Kiku, nodding his head in the direction from which a crescendo of heavy thuds could be heard.
"Kiku and I will take that one," announced Gilbert, motioning to the titan he had spotted earlier. "You guys stay here and meet the other!"
"Right. Be careful!" called Ludwig, as his brother and friend set off. He lingered in hesitation as he watched the backs of his teammates distancing themselves, desperately hoping those weren't the last words he would ever say to them. The slow, now louder thumping of the other titan's footsteps dragged his attention back to the task he had to fulfil. He turned to Feliciano, who watched him with eyes wide open with terror.
"Alright, it's going to turn that corner soon. I want you to lead it away from here and I'll ambush it from over there." instructed Ludwig, gesturing to the different locations mentioned before facing his trembling squad member again. "Understood?"
"W-what?" squeaked Feliciano, a rising panic glazing his eyes. "No, please don't leave me alone! I'm scared..."
"Don't worry, I'll be right behind you."
"But... but I can't... I c-can't do it, I can't even look at a titan again! P-please let's just get out of here... I... I can't do it!"
"Feliciano, listen to me!" urged Ludwig, grabbing his terrified teammate's shoulders. "You know you don't mean that, you know what's at stake and we can't let this titan pass. You're the fastest and most agile here, you can do this. I told you, I'll be right behind you. I won't let it get anywhere near you."
"P- promise?" whimpered Feliciano, wiping away a tear to reveal a spark of hope in his eyes.
"Promise." replied Ludwig, giving Feliciano's shoulders an encouraging squeeze before turning to leap off the roof and proceed to streak away between the buildings.
