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 Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2014 10:18 pm
Total: 902
Zinnia and Walter shifted their feet on the hard dirt of the training compound, measuring each other up. Other trainees were pairing off as well all around them. Colin had managed to avoid a partner, instead eagerly observing his friends' sparring match. He was their self-designated judge while the rest of the trainees were practicing their hand-to-hand sparring under the watchful eyes of their commanders. Although the training session had just started, Zin and Walter were already at a standstill; each movement that one made was matched by the other. They couldn't see a way through the other's guard, and so they held back.
"C'mon, Zinnia!" Walter shouted at last, exasperated.
Something snapped inside of Zin. She charged forward, swinging a fist at her best friend's face. "MY--" she howled, just barely missing, "NAME--" her follow-up punch also missed, "IS--" her elbow jab collided with Walter's stomach, effectively knocking the wind out of him, "ZIN!" the girl finished as Walter fell back onto his bottom with a huff.
Colin snickered. "Looks like your plan backfired," he said to Walter. Walter rubbed his bruised stomach as his breath returned. "Yeah, I'd like to see you try," he grumbled. "Nice one," he added grudgingly to Zin.
"Thanks!" she said brightly. "You're stronger than I am, Walter, but I'm a little faster. Want to go again?"
"Yeah," he said, getting back to his feet. He smirked, and the two began the next round of their match.
In the following half-hour, the two friends merrily beat each other black and blue. They didn't hold back at all, and by the time their instructors called a halt to the battle, there was still no clear winner between the two. In fact, according to Colin, they had both lost and he was the winner, for he'd managed to avoid fighting the entire time.
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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2014 10:29 pm
Walter wiped his sweating brow on one sleeve and asked, "So, have you decided which branch you wanna go into when you graduate, yet?"
Zinnia wrinkled her nose. "Graduation is so far off still-- why does everyone keep talking about it already?"
Colin piped up, "It's important to think about the future! Don't you want to be prepared?"
"Yeah, I guess..." Zin mumbled. She took a drink from her water flask and gave a long sigh before admitting, "I don't know where I'll go yet. I want to stay with my friends-- you guys, and Lenore..."
Walter and Colin glanced at one another. "Don't you know," Walter asked, "Colin and I are splitting up."
"What!" Zin exclaimed.
"Yeah," Walter continued. "I'm going to the Survey Corp, and Colin is aiming for the MP, though he's gonna end up in garrison if he doesn't start practicing his sparring."
"Please," Colin retorted, "Sparring is such a useless skill, no one fights hand-to-hand in the Military Police."
"How could you!" Zin shouted in outrage. "I thought we were-- were all going to stay together..."
"Um... Sorry, Zin..." Colin said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "I mean, we'll still be able to see each other sometimes..."
"Not if you're all the way in the inner ring!" Zin shouted. "Not if Walter is out in the wilderness all the time!"
Walter perked up, interjecting, "So you've decided on the garrison, then?"
"Well, I-- no--" Zin responded, tripping over her words. "I mean... I'm mostly debating between that and the Survey Corp... I can't really decide."
"Why not join the Survey Corp with me?"
Zin looked down at the ground. She folded her arms across her chest defensively. "I just... Well, I don't want Lenore to join the Survey Corp. I'm-- I'm afraid she'll get hurt. I want to convince her to join the garrison with me."
Colin remained thoughtfully silent, but Walter blurted, "You sure do talk about Lenore a whole lot-- you should introduce us sometime! Is she hot?"
Zinnia punched Walter in the gut, sending him flat on his bottom once more. "Hey! Cheap shot!" he gasped.
"One, you totally deserved it for being gross; Lenore is like twelve, plus she's my best friend. Two, it was your own fault for letting your guard down." She stuck her tongue at Walter as he glared at her and got back to his feet.
"Well, I'll have a lot more fun then you will, at least. I'll tell you about all of my adventures and make you sorry you didn't decide to come with me! If Lenore wants to join the Survey Corp, let her; it's the best branch."
"It's dangerous. I mean, yeah, we're trained to handle Titans, and it would be nice to, you know," she lowered her voice cautiously, "see outside the outer wall... But..."
"You want to protect her," Colin said with a smile. "Lenore must be very special."
Zinnia blushed lightly. "Come on, it's nothing like that, you're all a buncha pervs!"
"I didn't say anything," Colin said with a sly grin, raising his hands palm-forward in surrender.
"Y-you!" Zinnia dove for Colin, moving in for the attack.
"Hey! No more sparring!" an instructor roared.
Zinnia laughed and chatted with her friends as they sloped back toward the dorms, but their brief argument lingered in the back of her mind. It was still far off, but one day Walter and Colin would leave her. The thought frightened her, and she became more determined than ever to keep Lenore close.
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