( i'm sorry this took me so long!! but i am here and definitely tell me if there's anything i should change! i was just kinda grabbing for any random place they could bump into each other and be inclined to talk. in this case, because they're alone. also i couldn't be assed to figure out the exact year if you were wondering about my awesome date-numbering. )
[ 8XX. The graduating Training Corps class saw a good turn out this year. Of note, the amount that favor the unpopular Survey Corps has increased significantly since the year prior. In the Capitol, the noble class of civilians speak of it as though they're stunned. Elsewhere, a variety of suppositions are made—people pointing to unrest for the changing policy of the crown, children speaking in high regard for certain military figures. However, for veteran soldiers who may be, in part, responsible for lifting the organization's public image, it is difficult to take the success as a matter of pride.
Levi, in particular, finds himself displeased with the nature of the recruitment. With his recently appointed position of "Captain," he's gained a lot of publicity lately—and he knows, balancing the responsibility to the livelihood of the Corps with his personal desires isn't in the cards. Even if signing more brats up to throw their lives away in some fleeting bout of heroism isn't exactly a burden he wants, in this pithy division, there's always going to be a need for more people. And who is he to stop them?
...
It's different once the recruits become full-fledged soldiers. There's no point in sugarcoating the reality they've locked themselves into now. Frankly, if anyone can still manage to take bets over who's going to shit their pants first come the next expedition, he'll remember their name rather than their bet. Same goes for anybody who needs to ask why.
But as for now, they're persisting through what seem like some final moments of preparation. It's not like it's atypical for expeditions to keep getting set back. As usual, the more hoops they're forced to jump through by those pigs in the assembly, the more they're forced to wait. This coming expedition is no different. It's only that it'll be just in time for their new recruits to join in. That's what's eating at everyone on top of it all.
With the following days bearing no more news from Mitras, Levi spends each morning in the stables. The cleaning ritual would begin before long, but when one regularly rises before the dawn, it follows that they must find ways to keep themselves busy. Today, he must really think he's alone, with the way he doles attention out to the horses.
...but it's nothing too bad, just clicking his tongue at someone's aggressive temperament, poking a head into the stalls of other soldiers' animals to ensure they've eaten. Soon he hears a distinctly human scuffle on the ground and turns to get a look at who's there. ]
[ That source of the sound on the soft stables dirt reveals itself without any further prompting. Mikazuki moves into full view of the entrance, the warm morning sunlight at his back casting half of him into deep blue shadow. He hefts a bucket against his middle, his diminutive height causing it to span from stomach to chest. Young, new. Yet he offers nothing formal for the intrusion save a flash of recognition that squares his shoulders. ]
You're early.
[ With that observation out of the way, plain and succinct, he remains still, not venturing any farther in, not making to leave. Nothing paints him as anything out of the ordinary, this hour of morning not mandating he be in uniform or gear just yet. A hefty Corps-issued cloak is the only thing that marks him, and even then, it's bunched into the crooks of his elbows, more as a way to fend off the chill of dawn than it is to display his status. Mikazuki is simply different, for all of his few days into this transfer to Levi's squad. Not scared, not arrogant, not... much of anything discernible, save for the way blades tilt in his hands, the pin of his eyes when he fights. He's similarly up with the sun, doing laps around the barracks and the training grounds. Rumors hound his back, but he doesn't indulge in the gossip of his peers. Or his superiors.
Pulled off the streets, they said. Him and his companion. Homeless, dirty, no where to go. Blood on his hands and beneath his fingernails, eyes like an animal. But he knew how to use a knife a little too well — it'd be a shame to waste the talent when they could just point him at the right enemy.
A direction that's lead here. Arguably, to this person. Mikazuki shifts, wordlessly lowering the bucket as if he means to set it in the doorway and go. ]
While still fresh to any type of leadership, Levi had been given some advisement about which scouts might be best suited to his squad. Mikazuki, however, was not among them. As Erwin had given him the final word on selection, it had been a gamble of his own—or so their peers had been quick to judge. Levi, on the other hand, was not known to make baseless decisions despite his usual brevity.
Hence given his own judgment of the recruit, he didn't expect to see Mikazuki here... but by the same measure, he's not surprised to. He's been able to observe him on the field, in the short time that he's been with the Corps. So you could say that, along with his gut, is his reason. The other veterans don't question him, and the talk that circulates is never bold enough for the talkers to be faced with Levi himself.
Mikazuki faces him though, alert at this hour and finding something to get his hands dirty with. Though he's not the sort to keep up any kind of pretense regardless, this especially puts Levi at ease. He scoffs as Mikazuki motions to leave, but it isn't condescending. ]
What's the hurry? [ If he's here, then it would be a waste to slack off just to avoid him, right... ] Back to bed?
[ He seems to recognize himself that what he's said is a 'joke,' pausing to explain further. ]
...The sooner they eat, the sooner they can be trained.
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[ 8XX. The graduating Training Corps class saw a good turn out this year. Of note, the amount that favor the unpopular Survey Corps has increased significantly since the year prior. In the Capitol, the noble class of civilians speak of it as though they're stunned. Elsewhere, a variety of suppositions are made—people pointing to unrest for the changing policy of the crown, children speaking in high regard for certain military figures. However, for veteran soldiers who may be, in part, responsible for lifting the organization's public image, it is difficult to take the success as a matter of pride.
Levi, in particular, finds himself displeased with the nature of the recruitment. With his recently appointed position of "Captain," he's gained a lot of publicity lately—and he knows, balancing the responsibility to the livelihood of the Corps with his personal desires isn't in the cards. Even if signing more brats up to throw their lives away in some fleeting bout of heroism isn't exactly a burden he wants, in this pithy division, there's always going to be a need for more people. And who is he to stop them?
...
It's different once the recruits become full-fledged soldiers. There's no point in sugarcoating the reality they've locked themselves into now. Frankly, if anyone can still manage to take bets over who's going to shit their pants first come the next expedition, he'll remember their name rather than their bet. Same goes for anybody who needs to ask why.
But as for now, they're persisting through what seem like some final moments of preparation. It's not like it's atypical for expeditions to keep getting set back. As usual, the more hoops they're forced to jump through by those pigs in the assembly, the more they're forced to wait. This coming expedition is no different. It's only that it'll be just in time for their new recruits to join in. That's what's eating at everyone on top of it all.
With the following days bearing no more news from Mitras, Levi spends each morning in the stables. The cleaning ritual would begin before long, but when one regularly rises before the dawn, it follows that they must find ways to keep themselves busy. Today, he must really think he's alone, with the way he doles attention out to the horses.
...but it's nothing too bad, just clicking his tongue at someone's aggressive temperament, poking a head into the stalls of other soldiers' animals to ensure they've eaten. Soon he hears a distinctly human scuffle on the ground and turns to get a look at who's there. ]
no subject
You're early.
[ With that observation out of the way, plain and succinct, he remains still, not venturing any farther in, not making to leave. Nothing paints him as anything out of the ordinary, this hour of morning not mandating he be in uniform or gear just yet. A hefty Corps-issued cloak is the only thing that marks him, and even then, it's bunched into the crooks of his elbows, more as a way to fend off the chill of dawn than it is to display his status. Mikazuki is simply different, for all of his few days into this transfer to Levi's squad. Not scared, not arrogant, not... much of anything discernible, save for the way blades tilt in his hands, the pin of his eyes when he fights. He's similarly up with the sun, doing laps around the barracks and the training grounds. Rumors hound his back, but he doesn't indulge in the gossip of his peers. Or his superiors.
Pulled off the streets, they said. Him and his companion. Homeless, dirty, no where to go. Blood on his hands and beneath his fingernails, eyes like an animal. But he knew how to use a knife a little too well — it'd be a shame to waste the talent when they could just point him at the right enemy.
A direction that's lead here. Arguably, to this person. Mikazuki shifts, wordlessly lowering the bucket as if he means to set it in the doorway and go. ]
no subject
While still fresh to any type of leadership, Levi had been given some advisement about which scouts might be best suited to his squad. Mikazuki, however, was not among them. As Erwin had given him the final word on selection, it had been a gamble of his own—or so their peers had been quick to judge. Levi, on the other hand, was not known to make baseless decisions despite his usual brevity.
Hence given his own judgment of the recruit, he didn't expect to see Mikazuki here... but by the same measure, he's not surprised to. He's been able to observe him on the field, in the short time that he's been with the Corps. So you could say that, along with his gut, is his reason. The other veterans don't question him, and the talk that circulates is never bold enough for the talkers to be faced with Levi himself.
Mikazuki faces him though, alert at this hour and finding something to get his hands dirty with. Though he's not the sort to keep up any kind of pretense regardless, this especially puts Levi at ease. He scoffs as Mikazuki motions to leave, but it isn't condescending. ]
What's the hurry? [ If he's here, then it would be a waste to slack off just to avoid him, right... ] Back to bed?
[ He seems to recognize himself that what he's said is a 'joke,' pausing to explain further. ]
...The sooner they eat, the sooner they can be trained.