AOT/SNK RP Open Starter #1: Calculations
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She’d finally made it: The Scouting Regiment.
She could have gone to the Military Police--the way she’d presented herself in her training had placed her in the lower half of the top ten when she’d finished her training. Top five would have been a little too noticeable for her tastes, so she’d aimed to lower her performance just enough to fall in sixth or seventh place. That way, she’d stood out as skilled without looking, well...too skilled.
Despite her top ten status allowing her to go wherever she chose, Vivianne had known early on that the Scouts were likely where she wanted to go. She’d made the risky move of joining the military because she wanted to make this...thing--curse, gift, what she called it depended on the day--that she had worth something. What was the use of being able to do what she could if she never did anything meaningful with it? If she wanted to do something meaningful, if she wanted to do something worthwhile, the Scouts were the way to go.
The MPs had been out of the question, because they never did anything, nothing that she approved of, anyway. The Garrison only seemed to do something when the titans breached the walls. It was the Scouts that went beyond the walls to learn about and fight the titans, the Scouts that were carving pathways for humanity, the Scouts where the best could be found, and where a slight excess of proficiency might be able to be overlooked as average. To her, the Scouts had been the best option if she wanted to do something worthwhile and blend in a little easier with human peers.
However, it was a new setting, different from her training, and the scouts seemed to be a tight knit group. Simply downplaying her abilities and keeping relatively distant from everyone wasn’t going to cut it here. She was going to have to adjust once more and figure out how she was going to keep her dirty little secret hidden in her new environment.
Vivianne’s focus shifted slightly from her thoughts as her sparring partner for today’s training attempted the most recent self-defense maneuver they’d been taught. She was kind to her partner this time around, going through the motions to at least let them get halfway through the maneuver before she noticed their grip had slid to the wrong place and she effortlessly broke free, sending them sprawling with a simple but precise offensive maneuver in return.
This charade she knew well, by now.
So far, everyone she had faced since she’d started her training--and even since she’d entered the scouts so far--were people she could effortlessly overpower if she absolutely needed to. The most delicate part of her charade--besides hiding her occasional night trysts to feed when her hunger reared it’s head--was trying not to show the full, inhuman strength of her abilities that could tip people off to the fact she wasn’t human, without appearing too weak to be of any use. It was a difficult balancing act, but necessary if she wanted her secret kept. Plus, if her inhuman capabilities were discovered, she didn’t want to be mistaken for one of those people that could change into titans. That would not be ideal.
It was only because she had grown somewhat used to this balancing act over the past few years of training, and because she never put all her effort into these training sessions, that she could let her mind wander despite the importance of what she as a new recruit was supposed to be learning. What focus she did turn to her training went towards learning how to execute the moves being taught, and then restraining herself so she didn’t act within inhuman parameters. Besides, her reflexes were excellent, sharpened by her enhanced speed, dexterity, strength, sight, and hearing, so if someone did manage to catch her off guard while she was dwelling in her thoughts, she could still react to stop them if she wanted to. And normally, she wanted to--she didn’t want to be mistaken for a slacker, and she couldn’t afford anyone seeing how quickly she healed if someone landed a blow that bruised or drew blood. Every now and then, though, she’d let the blow land, just so she didn’t look too perfect. That was a common strategy of hers--she’d even thrown a few spars to a select few opponents to continue to avoid looking too good, too perfect at any of this.
She could still learn, though--it was her technique she nurtured in these sparring sessions, since the rest of her raw abilities tended to be above the humans she sparred, and therefore didn’t really need work. Even the other recruit she was sparring right now, though Vivianne looked fragile like they could easily break her arm if they wanted to, was someone she could overpower before anyone could react if she so desired.
Now if only they would stop mistaking the far-away look in her eyes that gave away the fact she was dwelling in her thoughts as a lack of attention, as a sign she was unprepared. She was never unprepared, and it was not an opening. Yet they kept trying to catch her off guard when her gaze flickered away or her eyes unfocused.
Case in point, her sparring partner tried to lunge at her again, thinking that she wasn’t paying enough attention, perhaps. She side-stepped them, hands landing in the now well-practiced positions she needed them in order to send her partner into the dirt, using their momentum to do so instead of her strength. After giving them a moment to realize what just happened, she helped them back to their feet and got ready for another round, ignoring the action around her of several other pairs of scouts having their own sparring sessions while some of the senior scouts supervised.
