IN WHICH ARAMINTA JOINS THE CADET CORPS!
*ೃ༄
ARMS TONITE  ∕  CHAPTER ONE

       "THE 104TH CADET CORPS CLASS entrance ceremony will now begin!" Araminta stood with her hands behind her back, chin raised high as her eyes bore into the bald man that stood before them. His head shimmered with sweat droplets, reminding her of a freshly laid egg glimmering under the sun. The first thing she noticed about her commander was that he was, without a doubt, a very ugly man.

It had already been two years since Shiganshina fell, and along with it Wall Maria. She had been lucky enough to have not seen her mother shipped off in the lame attempt to retake the wall, though she knew others weren't as fortunate. She also knew that's the reason most of the other cadets were there, to avenge the deaths of their loved ones and whatnot. After all, wasn't that partially why she was here?

Honestly, she wasn't sure what had brought her there. Part of it was simply because she was young and healthy, and could prove to be a good asset for the military. Another part of it was she was sick of being stuck in the small apartment taking care of her mother and watching her rot away. She also vowed that she would figure out the secrets of the Titans, so that was a part of it as well. The final, most probable reason, possibly had something to do with Marina's old goal to join the Scout Regiment.

The reason why she was there didn't matter though. What did matter was that she was here, at the break of dawn listening to this ugly middle aged man ramble on about the 104th Cadet Corps Class!

"You have the misfortune of having me, Keith Shadis as your commander! I do not welcome you warmly!" He announced, and Araminta internally rolled her eyes. So dramatic. It was an induction ceremony, it wasn't like they were going to rush into battle right at this second.

A flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, causing her to briefly shift her gaze to see what the source was. The girl next to her looked normal enough, a determined look in her eyes as she stared forward. Though the longer Araminta looked, the more she began to notice she was holding something in her hands. She furrowed her eyebrows together, but thought nothing of it and returned her attention to Sadie or whatever his name was.

There was a lot more cadets than she had been expecting, but she wasn't surprised. The closer the Titans got to the inner walls, the closer humanity was to being wiped out. It seemed that was enough to motivate a large amount of teens to become cadets and fight for the human race. She wondered how many of them had seen Titans up close the same way she had.

"Hey you!" The commander had turned his focus to a boy with a blond bowl cut, who quickly tensed up at the attention. He looked oddly familiar.

"Sir!" He responded, raising his fist over his heart in a salute.

"What's your name?" The commander shouted back, Araminta swore she could see spit flying out of his mouth. Gross. She wrinkled her nose.

"Armin Arlert from Shiganshina District, sir!" Shiganshina? Oh, so that's why she recognized him. She wondered if he'd been apart of the trio she'd always seen running around the town, and more specifically if he was the one her father warned her about. She assumed not, since he looked like he was going to piss his pants just from being under the intense gaze of the commander.

With Armin, he finished yelling at row three and moved onto row four, which he seemed to finish quickly. He skipped a few people, who had the same haunted look she herself carried. He came face to face with a taller boy, with a face that frankly reminded her of that of a horse. "I'm Jean Kirstein from Trost District!" He announced to the commander.

"What're you doing here?" He shouted back, to which Jean seamed taken aback for a moment before breaking into a smirk. It was an expression that made Araminta want to punch him, though she didn't want to cause a scene and instead tightened her fists behind her back.

"I want to join the Military Police and live in the interior!" Another internal eye roll. The second she had the chance, she decided she would indeed punch him in the face. Of course he was here for a cushy life in the interior, not because he'd had any idea what happened in Shiganshina and how many people had died.

"That so? You want to go to the interior?" The commander head butted the punchable boy, causing him to fall to his knees. Okay, maybe Sadie wasn't so bad. She fought the smile trying to make its way onto her lips.

The process continued on and on. The commander would yell at some cadets, and ignore some, and once he was finished up with a row they would turn to face the next row so they could see them be humiliated. Thank god that Araminta had managed to develop at least a little bit of patience over the last few years, her ten year old self would have gotten bored and started fighting someone already.

Two rows ahead of her, the commander was ripping some bald boy a new one, raising him off the ground and scolding him for doing the salute wrong. The girl next to her began moving again, and slowly she averted her gaze to look at her. The thing she had held behind her back, it seemed, was a potato. She was eating a potato in the middle of the entrance ceremony. Araminta rose her eyebrows, but stayed quiet, not wanting to raise any attention.

It was too late to worry about raising attention, apparently, as the commander's eyes fell on the potato girl. She seemed unbothered by this, avoiding his gaze and continuing to eat the potato. Oh, she was dead. Well, potato girl, it was nice knowing you! With a thud, the bald boy from earlier fell to the ground, and the commander began to approach miss potato girl.

"Hey, you. What're you doing?" Araminta tried her best to keep her gaze forward like she was told to do, and wait for her turn to get yelled at by commander, but she couldn't help but glance over. Potato girl, on the other hand, looked away from him. And then she had the audacity to take another bite. Honestly, Araminta admired her commitment to the potato. The commander exploded. "You! I'm talking to you! Who the hell are you?" He was practically screaming in her face.

The girl swallowed hard. "I am Sasha Braus from Dover Village on the south side of Wall Rose!" She put her hand over heart in a salute, though she continued to hold the potato. It was like she was mocking the entire situation.

"Well, Sasha Braus... Watcha got in your right hand?" He asked, eyes falling on the potato she was holding.

"A steamed potato. They had some in the kitchen and I couldn't resist!" The girl reminded Araminta of her younger self, who absolutely would have done the same thing. She did have a soft spot for potatoes.

"Y'know, I just don't get it. Why'd you eat a potato?" The commander asked, his dark eyes boring into the girl intimidatingly. Was he stupid? Sasha had explained why she snatched the potato. Maybe he just didn't understand because he'd never had a steamed potato before? They were very tasty.

She cleared her throat, shifting her gaze forward again. The sound apparently caught his attention, as he looked away from potato girl and chose her to be his new target. "You. Have something you want to share?" He demanded, stepping towards her.

"With all due respect, Commander Shadis, she just explained to you why she chose to eat the potato now. It seems there's no sense in repeating the same question..." She paused, eyes flickering towards him. "Unless you just didn't get it the first time, which is understandable." There were a few quiet gasps around her, as well as some whispers. His eyes grew dark, and he narrowed them at her.

"Cadet... What is your name?" He asked in a low tone. It seemed her words had hit a sensitive spot. Oh, she absolutely shouldn't have said that. He was going to kick her out, and probably murder her.

"Araminta Holm, from Shiganshina District, sir." She replied, raising her fist to salute the same way she had just watched many people do before her. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a pair of teal eyes staring at her intensely. Okay, it wasn't just the teal eyes, it was just about every single pair of eyes in her vicinity.

He opened his mouth to say something, probably to yell at her, but a piece of potato being held in front of his face stopped him. "Please, have half of my potato." It was Sasha, eyes wide as she waited for the commander's reaction. His gaze flickered between the two of them, lips curled as he tried to come up with a response.

He took the potato piece from between her fingers, examining it closely. "Half?" He asked, sounding offended. Once again he looked between them, before crushing the piece in his fist. A bead of sweat dripped from Sasha's forehead. "Both of you. Laps. Now."

And that was how Araminta spent the rest of the day running with Potato Girl. If she knew it meant running under the hot sun with her thick jacket on, she would not have bothered speaking up. Here she thought the commander was stupid, but maybe she was the stupid one. Because no one who was smart would have done what she had done. At least she wasn't the only stupid one there, as she ran alongside Sasha Braus.

They didn't do much talking, since most their time was spent running and then trying to catch their breaths, but through the few words they did exchange Sasha seemed like a very nice girl. Maybe a little bit stupid, but a very nice girl. The sun was beginning to set by the time they finished up, and Araminta felt ready to go crawl under a rock and die.

She fell onto the dirt once she had finished, dramatically laying on her back and breathing heavily. Her hair was soaked with sweat, as well as just about the rest of her. Her eyes stung from the salty perspiration as she stared up at the sky, awaiting her own death.

Goodbye world, it was nice knowing you! Well, not really. The world kind of sucks!

Unfortunately she would be unable to answer her very important questions. Maybe in the next life.

There was a thud as Sasha collapsed next to her, her breaths just as labored as Araminta's. They laid beside each other in silence. Well, if this was how she died, at least she wouldn't die alone. She would at least go to the afterlife with Potato Girl to keep her company.

"I'm sorry the commander made you run with me. It was my mistake, not yours." Araminta's head fell to the side to look at Sasha, who's eyelids had fluttered closed. She looked dead, Araminta wasn't positive she hadn't imagined her speak. She furrowed her eyebrows together.

"Nah, I deserved it, I should have just kept my mouth shut." She responded to the brunette, pursing her lips. Sasha laughed.

"I guess we were both pretty dumb for that." She decided, which shockingly evoked a laugh from Araminta as well. As both they laughs faded, they returned to the labored breathing. Sasha cleared her throat. "Um, so you're from Shiganshina, right?" She asked.

Araminta hummed. "Yeah... Mhm." She already knew where the conversation was heading, and felt her throat become somehow drier than it already was. It was the same conversation she'd had dozens of times when she'd told people she was from Shiganshina.

"I'm sorry... I've heard of what happened there, it sounds awful." The words left a sour taste in Araminta's mouth, and she swallowed hard. The memories of that day flashed through her mind--Marina's screams, her bones being crushed, her father's blood splattering across her face--she shook her head, pushing the memories out of sight.

"Yeah, it was. But that was two years ago... I'd rather not dwell on it." She sighed, fiddling with her fingers. Sasha finally opened her eyes back up, looking back over at the dark haired girl.

"Well... If you ever feel like talking about it, I've been told I'm a very good listener. Not really. I made that up." She smiled, a gesture that Araminta hadn't seen in a long time. A warm feeling spread through her chest, and she found herself mirroring the expression.

"Thank you, Sasha. I appreciate it." She sat up, a few wet strands of her hair falling in her eyes. "Do me a favor and don't bring steamed potatoes to drills again, okay?" Sasha nodded.

"LIKE I SAID, I'VE SEEN IT." The cadets were all gathered in the dining hall, finally given time to eat some dinner. Araminta's limbs felt like jello as she slowly spooned some soup into her mouth, in contrast to Sasha slurping up the soup as fast as she could. A large number of the other cadets were gathered around some kid at another table, who as it turned out was also from Shiganshina.

The all gasped in surprise, one of them exclaiming, "are you serious?!" Araminta narrowed her eyes at the spectacle, lowering her spoon back into the bowl to let it sit for a minute.

"How tall are they?"

"Tall enough to look over the wall."

"Huh? I heard they climbed over the wall."

"Me too!"

"They said so in my village, too!"

Araminta coughed loudly, dropping her spoon and reaching up to cover the cough just like Marina had taught her to do. The whole conversation made her irritated for a reason she couldn't figure out, she scrunched her nose up as she listened. Her amber eyes found themselves landing on the boy who everyone had become so fascinated with, who seemed to be handling all the questions in stride.

He was weird. How did he answer such pressing questions about that horrible day without getting horrible flashbacks? Maybe it hadn't been as bad for him? She doubted that, though, since just about everyone had lost someone that day. He just must have been able to handle the memories better than her.

Or so she thought. "Then can you describe ordinary Titans?" One of the groupies asked, and he froze. She watched quizzically as his spoon fell into his bowl, and his hand leapt to cover his mouth. Oh. So it was the second option. The question seemed to strike a cord within him, a look of fear settling in his teal eyes. The other cadets gaped at him.

Araminta felt bad. They were all gathered around him like vultures deciding who would get a pick at him first. She sighed, letting go of her spoon and folding her arms on the table. Ugh, she was gonna regret this. But, she had been there, surrounded by people who only viewed her as some kind of show pony made only for their entertainment.

"They're ugly. Really ugly. Like, think of the ugliest person you've ever met and multiply it by like, six." Araminta spoke up, causing dozens of heads to whip around and face her in surprise. Sasha even stopped eating for a second, eyes wide as she looked at her.

"That's right, you're from Shiganshina as well!" The bald one who had been scolded for doing the salute wrong gasped, pointing a finger at her. She nodded slowly, scanning the different faces that looked pointedly at her. Lastly, her eyes fell on the boy who had been speaking, who was starting at her with an expression she couldn't quite read.

"Were they scary?" A girl with two pigtails asked, looking close to tears. Why was she crying? It was probably due to the reality of their current situation hitting her all at once. Araminta parted her lips to answer the question, but stopped herself. Were they scary? Well, compared to the Armored and Colossal Titians, no they weren't that scary. But when they're up close, staring down at you with that hunger in their eyes as they tower over you, yes they are scary. The memory of the Titan that almost got her just moments after getting to Marina made her stomach churn.

It was the teal eyed boys then to save her. "Titans aren't a big deal." He took a piece of his bread, as the attention was once again on him. "Once we get used to the 3D Maneuvering Device, they'll mean nothing!" Truthfully she wasn't sure how she felt about his words. She had yet to see the gear in action, and had yet to trust if it was really all that was needed to take down a Titan.

"I'm training to be a soldier at last, I just got choked up earlier," he paused, his eyebrows narrowing out of determination. "I'm gonna join the Scout Regiment and get rid of Titans from this world! I'll slaughter 'em!" He announced it as though it was a thought he'd been sitting on forever. It reminded Araminta of her vow to learn more about the Titans.

"Hey, are you crazy?" Jean Kirstein, aka Horse Face, who had been sitting across from Sasha and Araminta spoke up. So, so punchable. "Did you just say 'Scout Regiment'?" A smirk played on his lips as he taunted the boy.

"Yeah? So? You're gonna join the Military Police and take it easy, right?"

"Hey, I'm an honest guy." Yeah, that's one word for it. "I figure that's more refreshing than faking bravery when you're scared shitless." Araminta tightened her grip on her spoon.

"You're talking about me?" The dark haired boy asked, standing to his feet and glaring down at Jean.

"Hey, I didn't mean..." He stood up as well, taking a step towards the other boy. No way he gets to punch Horse Face before her, right? She slipped her leg off the bench, ready to jump up and fight him. There was a hand on her shoulder that stopped her.

"Araminta, don't, you'll get in trouble!" Sasha whispered, knitting her eyebrows together in concern. It likely would be very stupid of her to punch someone on her first day, and as Marina would say, very unladylike. But Marina, he's an asshole! Before either of them could get a hit in, though, a bell began to rang, signaling the end of dinner. Araminta huffed, annoyed that she still had yet to find the perfect opportunity to punch Horse Face.

The dark haired boy swatted away Jean's handshake, before exiting the small dining hall. Intrigued, Araminta stood, ready to follow him before another girl cut her off, hurriedly trailing after him. She looked familiar as well, where did Araminta know her from? Luckily, Jean awkwardly approached her, giving Araminta an opportunity to go follow the boy. "I'll meet you in our sleeping quarters." She said to Sasha, before turning and leaving the hall.

"Hey!" She called out after the boy, who came to a stop before turning to face her. He seemed irritated, and she began to wonder if this was a bad idea. Who was she kidding, of course it was. Just about every idea she'd ever had was a bad one. "The commander never called on you. I don't know your name."

"I know you." He said, completely disregarding her question. She rose her eyebrows.

"Uhh, yeah, I'm the one who basically called the commander dumb, I'm not surprised you know-"

"No. I know you from Shiganshina." He cut her off, looking down at his feet. "You were the girl on the--one the boats, the one with the..."

"Blood." She finished, a bit taken aback that he recognized her. "The one drenched in blood, yeah." Her stomach turned as she thought back to the red stains covering her body. It had taken over an hour in the shower to wash it out.

He nodded. "I'm Eren. Eren Jaeger." He finally answered her question. That name... It was familiar... Oh! He had been the one her father warned her about, the one who was supposedly crazy. Well, just after eating dinner with him and seeing him nearly get in a fight, she could understand why some people would say that.

Before she had the chance to respond, the dark haired girl from moments before stepped out of the dining hall, bee lining straight for Eren. He rolled his eyes at the sight of her. "Just leave me alone." He mumbled, turning and walking away from her. She instead continued to follow him, beginning to lecture him for being a hothead.

Eren Jaeger. What a crazy person.

CHRISTA LENZ WAS A NICE GIRL. She had saved her own bread to give to Sasha and Araminta, knowing their hunger hadn't quite been quenched after their small dinner. Their stomachs-especially Sasha's still longed for more food. The two of them had split the bread, Sasha taking the larger half and ate quietly outside of the cabins. Sasha had called Christa a god, which hungry Araminta thought was a good way to describe her.

"You should have some water with the bread," Historia said, holding out a small pouch of water. Araminta swore she could kiss her. She muttered a quick thank you, taking the water and sipping off of it. A tall shadow approached, belonging to a girl much taller than the three of them.

"What are you doing, Christa?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at Araminta and Sasha as they nursed the water and chewed their bread.

"Oh! They were running all day, and..." Her voice trailed off as she nervously reached up to tuck a strand of her silky hair behind her ear.

The freckled girl rose an eyebrow. "So you're trying to be nice?"

"Huh?" Christa seemed a bit confused by the question, and a very exhausted Sasha collapsed into her lap.

"Did you get what you wanted in return?" The girl pressed, though it still didn't make her question anymore clear. Her eyes flickered to Araminta, who felt just as confused as Christa looked. "Ugh, forget it. Let's get her to her bunk." She gestured to Sasha, who has somehow managed to fall asleep within seconds. Truthfully, Araminta couldn't blame her, the second she got to her bunk she expected she would pass out.

The dark haired girl stood, moving to help Christa's friend lift Sasha off the blonde's lap. The freckle clad girl glanced over at Araminta, pursing her lips. "I'm Ymir, by the way. And you're Araminta, the idiot who talked back to the commander." She mused at her own words, a smile playing on the corners of her lips.

"Hey, don't be rude, Ymir! She's not an idiot!" Christa protested, standing as she trailed behind them.

A small laugh escaped from Araminta. "No, it's true, it was an idiot move on my part." She shrugged. Luckily, Sasha was pretty light, and Ymir was doing most of the lifting so she wasn't feeling too worn out from the added physical activity.

"You were just answering his question," Christa defended, though Araminta wasn't sure who she was trying to convince anymore. The blonde was a very sweet girl, she wondered what exactly she was doing here in the cadet corps.

"It doesn't matter. It's Spuds' fault any of that happened anyway. Stupid." Ymir rolled her eyes, and though Araminta had found a friend in Sasha she couldn't help but agree.

"It's rude to call people stupid." The shorter girl huffed, and although she was still defending Sasha and Araminta she also seemed like she'd given up on trying to change Ymir's mind.

They reached their cabin, leading Sasha to the bed that she had been assigned. How lucky, they were all cabin mates, along with the pigtail girl who had been crying earlier and the dark haired girl who was friends with Eren Jaeger. Mina, she was the crying one. And Mikasa was the name of the other girl. While Mina was very enthusiastic and talkative, Mikasa seemed to keep to herself, moving to her bunk and sitting quietly.

Based on the information she had collected, Araminta deduced that she recognized Mikasa as the one that trailed Eren and his friend Armin around Shiganshina, and the red scarf she wore around her neck confirmed the theory. It was so strange to Araminta that she had grown up in the same district as the three of them but she barely remembered their names. They all seemed like nice enough kids, why had her father strayed her away from them?

"Can you tell me more about the Titans?" Mina had asked both her and Mikasa, a question that made them both tense up. Christa had told her such a question was inappropriate, so neither of them had been forced to answer it. It wasn't that the question had offended Araminta, but rather that she simply wasn't ready to answer it. The wounds from that day still stung, and they weren't ready to be reopened.

Eventually, after about an hour of small talk that Araminta really hadn't participated in, everyone decided they were ready for sleep and the lights were turned off. And although she was exhausted and wanted to sleep, her brain began to wander. With her eyes trained on the ceiling above her, her thoughts drifted off to her mother.

Honestly she wasn't sure if her mother even knew where she was. When she had first told her that she had enrolled, her mother held the same blank expression she always did, her once lively green eyes boring out of the window. The sight made Araminta angry, but she contained her anger and simply left the room. But it happened again.

"Mom, I'm leaving for the Cadet Corps tomorrow. The 104th class!" She told her mother enthusiastically. She was knelt down besides her chair, holding her hand as she looked up at her. All she wanted was a nod, just a sign that she was hearing her would have been enough. But she felt her heart shatter like glass when she just stared onwards, once again giving her no reaction.

She'd been like this since they first arrived to the Trost District-distant and empty. Araminta knew she lost a lot that day, and it was having a negative impact on her mother that she simply did not understand. For two years the frustration built up-from being ignored, to having to spoon feed her mother, to having to help her stay sanitary, and to having to help her walk to bed, the frustration built up. And as she said those words, that she was leaving, and her mother gave her no reaction, she couldn't border up her feelings any longer.

She exploded.

"Can you even hear me?! I'm LEAVING! I'm going away! I won't be here to take care of you anymore, don't you fucking get it?!" She hadn't even noticed the tears sliding down her cheeks as she stood. Out of her frustration, she kicked the small side table, the picture that sat on it shattering on the ground. It was their last family picture from before 845, one that her mother had taken before leaving their old home.

"You're not the only one who lost them!" She was screaming, begging for any sort of reaction. "I lost them too! And I blame myself every single day! But I thought!--I thought..." And then she was sobbing, unable to breathe as she choked on her own sobs.

  "I thought I still had you." The words came out barely above a whisper.

Realizing the destruction she had created in her fit of rage, she gasped, sliding down against the wall. She pulled her knees close to her chest, burying her legs in them before letting herself cry. For two years, she had forced herself not to cry, to be the strong one since her mother clearly couldn't fill that role anymore. But that was stupid. She was still a little girl, no matter how hard the universe tried to force her to grow up.

So she cried. She sobbed, she gasped for air, she let her tears soak her skirt. She let herself feel. And even though she was being vulnerable in front of her mother, breaking down in a way she never had before, she was still unable to illicit any reaction. Never in her life had she yearned so bad to feel her mothers arms around her, telling her she loved her and was proud of her. But she didn't get that.

"Why mom?" She whispered, reddened eyes finally looking up to face her mother. Her focus still remained on the window. "Why didn't you fight for me? I know we lost dad, and-and Marina, but... I'm still here. I have always been here." A part of her wanted to withdraw from the cadet corps right then and there, and stay with her mother forever, but she knew she couldn't. It would be torture to keep herself there any longer.

And that was when she saw it. A single tear glimmering across her mothers cheek.

Why was Araminta remembering this now, as she stared up at the ceiling? Was she feeling guilty for leaving? Maybe a little bit, but why? Was it selfish of her to leave her mother all alone, to hopefully wake from whatever slumber she was in and fight for her? She knew it was unlikely that would happen. Her mother would eventually starve, and by the time she was able to visit home again, she would be dead.

In her eyes, though, her mother was already dead, and had died that day along with the rest of their family. The truth was that she was now a lonely orphan, unloved by anyone. Her head fell to the side to look at Sasha, and wondered if she had someone who loved her. What about Christa? And Ymir? And Mina? And... And Mikasa? Were they like her? Unloved? She hoped not. It was lonely not to be loved by others.

But what exactly was love? What did it mean to love? She was sure she loved her sister and parents, but she was never old enough to understand what that entirely entailed. And now, in the absence of love, she began to wish she remembered what it felt like to have someone love you. She knew Marina and her father loved her, they told her moments before their deaths. Was that why they had sacrificed themselves? Because they loved her? Or was it all a selfless act?

She wanted to love again. She wanted to learn what love was, and what it meant to love someone. She wanted to remember that feeling of someone loving you, and wanted to know what it felt meant to love them back. That was when she decided on her third question she wanted to answer before she died.

Araminta Holm was going to find the best smelling flower, just like Marina had hoped. And she was going to learn all about Titans, and how to take them down before anyone else had to feel the same pain she did. And finally, she was going to come to understand love--what it means to love, and to be loved. And she was going to do it all before she died.

LISTEN i know sasha wasn't at the dinner
n didn't get done running until after dinner
but i didn't realize that until i wrote the
entire dinner sequence and was too lazy to
rewrite it 😭 so our first canon divergence
has come 😁 but anyways new friendships
and also we met eren king 😍🙏 and we
also had some cute angsty moments and
the third question has been asked so true!!
( count how many times i said love btw )