The Bonds of Training

Crystal rubbed her shoulder as it ached, she moved her night shirt over in the mirror and grimaces at the bruise that had formed, "I'll have to ask Armin how I can prevent bruising. Maybe I'll get used to it though." 

Proceeding to get ready, she found it hard to move that arm without wincing in pain, frowning at her own weakness she slipped her boots on and started to walk down the hallway. Entering the dining hall, she watched as Hange waves at her, inviting her to sit with her again.

Crystal knew that technically as a recruit she had no place at the higher ranks table, Hange had excused that Crystal would probably be recruited into Levi's Squad, which Crystal had promptly denied being possible. 

Walking up, she grabs a cup and this time she checks her surroundings before pouring the tea. Putting the pot back where it belongs and grabbing a steamed potato, she walks out to Hange, sitting down she starts to eat.

"I heard that Levi praised you yesterday." Hange teases.

"He said I did a good job." Crystal nods, "But only after I messed up and struggled to do better."

"I heard about that too, you must be really tough to be able to withstand Levi's harsh comments without leaving."

"Leaving would be treason." Crystal says quietly, "I don't plan on leaving."

"I expect to hear great things from you then!"

"Today we'll be going over 4 types of training, I've been put in charge of you guys today." Jean says as he walks past his fellow scouts, "First training, Jumping jacks. Last person still doing Jumping Jacks wins."

Soon all the scouts were jumping, and Crystal was lost in her head. Thinking about how Armin caught her the night before firing the gun, and remembering how he promised not to get her in trouble. But she didn't sense Armin was watching her, she sensed someone else's eyes on her.

"That's it! Keep it going!" Jean says, a couple scouts losing their momentum, before Connie and Sasha collapse to the ground, "Connie and Sasha are first to fall!" Then it was Armin, Eren, and several others started to fall to the ground like flies. Crystal felt her shoulder starting to hurt a lot, the bruise being irritated by the movement, and this seemed to give her an extra boost of energy. Making her do jumping jacks faster, "That's it, keep it going Crystal!" Jean grins widely, "I've never seen anyone last this long!"

Crystal then noticed that all the scouts around her had collapsed, she was the last one still standing, still jumping, "O-Oh when should I stop?"

"Probably shouldn't talk while jumping," Jean smirks, "But you can stop now, you won."

"Okay." Crystal stops, lightly landing on her feet.

"Next training will be skills. You will be learning how to do a bowline knot, all you will have to help you is this image of what it looks like." Jean gestures to the tables lined up each with a rope on them, the scouts each line up to one, Crystal ended up beside Armin who smiles at her reassuringly. 

Crystal stood before the practice rope, her brow furrowed in concentration. She had made a bowline knot before now, but it seemed to elude her grasp. She watched the other recruits trying to tie it, most of them failed but Armin got it and it looked so simple.

"Okay, let's try this again," she muttered to herself.

She crossed the tail of the rope over the standing end, but then she passed it through the wrong loop. She pulled the tail tight, but the knot was all wrong.

"Ugh," she sighed. "Third time's the charm."

She started again, carefully following the steps she had watched Armin take. This time, she made sure to pass the tail through the correct loop. She pulled the tail tight, and the knot formed perfectly.

"Finally!" she whispered with a triumphant grin. "I did it!"

"Good job, Crystal." Armin praises, "You finished yours second." 

"That was a little difficult." Crystal admits.

"That's the point of training." Armin nods.

"Alright, everyone who failed to create the knot, practice in your free time." Jean says loudly, "Now onto Pair challenges. Find a partner and try to start a fire without a match." 

"Want to be partners?" Armin asks.

"Sure." Crystal walks off towards the bit of trees there was, searching all over the ground.

"What are you looking for?"

"This." Crystal lifts up a small rock, "Jean, can we use a knife?"

"Yes." Jean approves, and Crystal nods before she grabs a knife.

"Grab some sticks." Crystal says to Armin who nods and grabs some bringing them to the dirt area of the training grounds that Jean had marked for the training exercise. Setting the sticks down Armin eyes the rock in her hand.

"What are you going to use that for?"

"It's flint." Crystal takes the knife and scrapes it against the rock, sparks fly off of it, but they fail to catch the sticks on fire. She starts to strike it faster, when it finally combusts, "Done!" Crystal shouts.

"You're doing extremely well today, Crystal." Jean marks something down on his clipboard, "Good job both of you."

"That was all her, I had no idea we could just find a flint rock."

"Luck." Crystal shrugs, "That's all that was." Watching as everyone slowly started to start fires, she felt herself getting bored.

"Luck?" Armin chuckled from beside her. "You were very determined. You clearly put in the effort, and it paid off."

Crystal glanced at him, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. "Maybe a little bit," she admitted. "But I still think I got lucky this time."

Armin shook his head playfully. "You're selling yourself short, Crystal. You have a natural talent for this kind of thing."

Crystal shrugged again, her eyes darting around the practice area. "I don't know," she mumbled. "I still feel like I'm not as good as the others."

Armin placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't compare yourself to others, Crystal. Everyone learns at their own pace. You're doing just fine."

Crystal looked up at him, her expression softening. "Thanks, Armin," she said sincerely. 

Armin smiled warmly. "You're welcome Crystal. You're probably one of the most determined people I know."

Crystal felt a warmth spread through her chest. Armin's words had the power to lift her spirits and give her the confidence she needed to keep going.

"Now onto the last one which we can all stand by the fires and do. Decision-making on the battlefield is important." Jean says, "So give me your best answer for the following situation: Captain Levi and his squad are on a mission to capture a high-ranking enemy officer. They have infiltrated the enemy's headquarters and have cornered the officer in his office. However, the office is heavily guarded, and Levi's squad is outnumbered. Levi must decide whether to order his men to attack immediately, or whether to try to find another way to capture the officer," Crystal raises her hand, "Yes?"

"It would be best to execute a different way to capture the officer. A surprise attack would be best, near a window. To determine where he is, some squad members will cause a disturbance, leading all the armed men protecting him away from his door, maybe even bringing him out himself." Crystal says swiftly, "Have a pair of scouts waiting outside the closest window, just in case he tries to escape."

"Excellent. Sit out for the rest." Jean snaps at her, "Next, Commander Hange Zoe and her squad are on a mission to gather intelligence on a new enemy weapon. They have infiltrated a secret enemy research facility and have located the weapon's blueprints. However, the facility is heavily guarded, and the blueprints are located in a high-security vault. Hange must decide whether to try to steal the blueprints, or whether to try to destroy the weapon itself." Crystal had zoned out as the other scouts discussed their ideas, soon training was over and the sun was setting.

"Hey." Hange says with a smile, "Want a tea?" 

"Oh, yes please. Thank you." Crystal smiles as Hange from the dining table.

"How's training going?" Hange asks as she sets the tea down in front of her, earning a slight glare from Levi.

"I feel like I'm inadequate. I feel as though I keep failing even though people are telling me I'm doing a good job. I wish I was the best."

"Oh, nonsense, Crystal. You're a naturally talented soldier."

"I still have a lot to learn, but I'm determined to keep improving. I want to be as strong and capable as Captain Levi."

"I have no doubt that you will be, Crystal. You have the potential to be an exceptional Scout."

"Thank you, Hange."

"Besides, I heard you got all perfect marks today! That's on par with Mikasa!"

"I still can't believe I managed to achieve perfect marks during training. It all happened so fast."

"Oh, don't be so modest, Crystal! It was an incredible feat, and you deserve all the praise you're getting."

"I couldn't have done it without Captain Levi's guidance. He's an amazing captain and tactician." Her sentence earned herself a smirk from Hange.

"He certainly is. He's a bit of a mystery sometimes, but there's no denying his brilliance."

"I just wish I could be more like him. He's so calm and collected, even in the most dangerous situations." Crystal didn't miss the fact that Levi's eyes had snapped up to look at her, indicating he had heard what she said, and for a moment, she thought she saw a slight pink on his cheeks.

"Well, you have your own strengths, Crystal. You're incredibly determined and resilient, those are great strengths."

"But I still have a lot to learn. I want to be as strong and capable as Captain Levi, so I can help protect my comrades and defeat the Marleyan."

"I have no doubt that you will, Crystal. You've already proven yourself to be an exceptional soldier, and I know you'll only continue to grow stronger." Crystal smiles, feeling a surge of confidence. Hange's words of encouragement mean a lot to her.

"Thank you, Hange."

"Of course! I'm always here for you, Crystal."