Honey and Sky | Jean Kirstein x OC

2 | Distractions

Instructor Shadis wasn't kidding when he told the cadets that hell awaited them. Lena went to bed so exhausted every night that she didn't even have time to think. The first few days the only thing that kept her from sleeping for a few hours were her sore muscles from the beating they had taken while training.

Early in the morning, before the sky turned orange, the bells would ring and they would jump out of bed. Quickly, they'd change into their uniforms and clean and tidy the bedroom. Then they'd do a light workout, on an empty stomach.

After breakfast, they had theory lessons. History, titan anatomy, strategy, etc. After lunch, physical lessons, such as horseback riding, wrestling, target shooting, and then the hardest physical training, in which they had to run and lift weights. In the midst of all of that they also had to tend to the horses and keep the sables clean.

Before dinner, they had a bath, and then they had some free time.

And so on until the end of times. On Sundays they had no training, to rest their muscles, so they started the day a little later and had more free time.

Lena quickly realized how ill-prepared she was. The theoretical lessons she enjoyed, she felt eager to learn about all the mysteries that surrounded the titans. The physical ones, however...

Running, lifting weights, fighting others... Her body was just not ready. After the first week, she decided those classes were torture and hated them with a passion.

On the other hand, she discovered her strengths. She'd never say it out loud, but her uncle wasn't so wrong in telling her that they'd raised her well. No, gutting animals was not a requirement to get into the Garrison. But riding horses and having good aim was.

Lena thought horseback riding was something people were practically born with. From a young age she was surrounded by horses, when she lived with her parents they used them for trips, and living with her uncle they used them for hunting. To her surprise, though, many of her peers had never ridden in their lives. Especially those who lived in some big city, since they didn't have as much need to travel to get goods.

As for her aim, her uncle had forced her to learn how to hunt. With bow, with rifle, and with knife. So when it came to weapons, Lena was quite comfortable.

On the morning of the second week, after some theory lessons, they headed to the mess hall at lunchtime. Throughout the first week the cadets had had enough time to get to know each other to decide who they got along with best, so a few small groups had already formed, and so they sat together during meals.

Lena and Sasha always sat together, and were normally joined by Mina and Connie, the boy with a buzzcut that Lena'd liked from the first day. Marco, the freckled boy, got along with everyone, and so Jean, the tall dark blond-haired boy, usually sat at the same table. There was also an older-looking boy named Reiner who had taken on the role of big brother, and with him there was always his friend Bertholdt, whom Lena hadn't yet heard a word from. With some variations, these were the people Lena had had the most communication with during the first week, and they usually ate together.

"Let's see what delicacy we're having today...," said Jean while stirring the vegetables in his bowl with raised eyebrows. "Yuck, carrots. Here, Freckles, for you."

Lena looked up from her bowl just to see her comrade holding his out to her with his lips pressed together, holding back laughter.

She kept her cool. "I don't want your carrots," she replied quietly.

"No? Well, you seem to love them," he said, unable to hide the laughter at his own joke. "Look, just like you."

I'm redheaded because I eat a lot of carrots, ha-ha.