Inspired by @snk-x-you 's prompt: "What is it like to be a new cadet leaving the walls for the first time?"
(I know it was for a contest or w/e but I just really wanted to write it out for my oc!)
The five senses can easily be overwhelmed in new situations. The human brain cannot even fully process what each sense it is taking in all of the time. It is such a fickle thing, and yet; it has named itself as such. Many do not think so deeply on these rather simple yet abstract facts; there's just not enough time in the day to contemplate through it all.
Vision is a rather easy sense to trick. Put a person alone in any setting, even one familiar to them, in the darkness of nighttime and they will second guess themselves at every turn. In the opposite direction; the human brain only has so much attention to detail. The first time one looks at a rock vaguely shaped like a human face; they'll stare at it in awe or amazement, perhaps show it to others. If that rock were one they pass in their daily travels, however, the tenth time passing it is no different than the thirtieth. It blends into the background to leave room for new disturbances and possible changes.
Touch isn't as easy to fool, but leaves a large margin for error. The sensation of feeling can be replicated by many different things. A finger barely brushing over an arm or an insect crawling over the skin? Is it a substance of food in a rather... Raw, or"mushy", form or is it... Something unpleasant? It's easy to see how this sense can be tricked.
Hearing is another fickle one, but it's sharper than the first two. This sense depends on the person's mental state. Are they calm and able to think logically? Or are they in a panic, grasping at straws? Was that snap of a twig a harmless animal passing by or a vicious monster ready to harm you? It's a very reliable sense for those who can use it in a calm and logical manner.
Smell is one of the more interesting senses as it can be tricked, but not as easily as the three before it. A perfume might smell like lilacs and daisies... But there's something off about it. It's not the same as picking up the flower itself. It's easy to get overwhelmed and tricked in certain situations. The odor of freshly placed dung or the spray of a skunk can be harshly sent into one's nose if nearby--or if a strong wind has carried it along.
While taste can be tricked in its own ways, it's not usually a sense that is talked about in these types of situations. It's accuracy is fairly on point if and when it is used during them.
What situations?
The girl swallowed hard, eyes staring straight ahead past the others in front of her. Her hands squeezed the reins of her horse, body shaking with anticipation, fear, and the constant 'what if' questions plowing through her mind. Aside from her own thoughts, her senses were being hit in every imaginable way. Everyone was on their horses, or with the wagons, and others were lining the streets. They overall wore the same thing, but even the slightest variation was like a large drop of paint on the mix-matched color scheme of a canvas.
The horses were a smell she could ignore, even if they weren't always the most pleasant smells. It was the people to either side of her group, standing there and watching, that added a new sensation. The extreme differences in all the smells, mixed with the anxious feelings and overwhelming color pallete, made her stomach churn.
If that wasn't bad enough, the various screaming pounded into her head like a drum next to her ear. Some were joyous, others were sorrow, and the loudest of all were angry. Her knuckles were white with how tight she gripped onto the reins.
Everything came to a grinding halt when she heard the commander speaking. Her thoughts and senses, as best as she could, focused on him and him alone.
That's right... She would think to herself. She chose to Scout Regiment. No one made her. She had wanted this she was little, wanting to follow in her father's footsteps. He had been one of the lucky ones to be discharged instead of killed, but that never stopped her want to join them. The thought of leaving their walled cities and heading out into the open air had delighted her childhood dreams, but now the scouts were only working to make supply chains in hopes to reclaim their lost land.
The next instance she was ushering her horse forward, riding beyond the city of Trost into titan territory. The sound of the horses galloping along the beaten pathway echoed loudly, but was a nice familiar sound. It reminded her of training with her horse for the first time. The pleasantries were ripped from her mind at the sound of the more experienced members using their maneuver gear to take out some of the titans who came too close.
It was her first time seeing any in real life, but for some reason it didn't scare her. Although vastly different from her thoughts, they were just as her father described them to her. It was like seeing a picture book come to life before her eyes. Despite her lack of fear, she spared no time in hurrying past the broken and abandoned buildings to stay with the group. If she wanted to make it out here, she had to make sure her mind was sharp and her actions faster.
The expedition went by faster than she expected, or perhaps realized. Time was irrelevant beyond the walls. Every single second was a fight for one's life; there was not much room to capture every moment. From the moment they left the walls, everyone was working as hard as they could to carry out the mission while keeping themselves safe. Many also kept an eye on the newer recruits, but she worked hard to make sure they didn't have to worry over her.
She was top of her class, and unlike many others, she chose to throw her life down on the line to push humanity forward. She wasn't even sure how many people joined from her class, but it didn't much matter to her.
A small smile graced her lips as she shoved her boots off and put them at the edge of her bed. She did it. She made it back alive, and even managed to get an assist on her first expedition! She would mourn for those who had been lost, but after the overwhelming sensations and emotions of the day... She needed rest.
Greenery as far as the eyes can see.
Fresh air and untouched grass.
The wind as it tugged and flapped everyone's capes about.
The cool metal of the maneuver gear's handles.
The metallic taste of blood after a titan related injury.
These were all things she came to associate with the idea of going out on an expedition.
