The Art of Love & War

Metal Roses

The three stood in their assigned spots as the assembly went on. But no matter how boring it was, or how annoyed they were to be there, all three couldn't help but stare at the supposed squad leader standing in front of them, and wonder why there weren't any soldiers standing in her line.

The woman looked to be shorter than all three of them. But it was still a debate on whether Isabel was taller or the soldier standing in front of them. It was a very tight competition, especially with the rather wild hairstyle of the redhead.

But after a while, both Farlan and Levi paid no mind to the woman. Farlan tried to pay as much attention to what was being said at the assembly while Levi just stood there, bored out of his mind.

Only Isabel observed the dark-haired woman standing right in front of her.

Her lively green eyes took in whatever she could from behind the soldier. From the different tones of brown in her cropped, wavy hair, to the emblem on the back of her jacket, to the multiple piercings she had in her ears, all the way to the bottom of her military-issued boots.

The girl couldn't quite put it, but there was something familiar about the person standing in front of her. And she wondered if her both her brothers noticed as well.
The familiarity was there. But she didn't know where there was.

Then, before she knew it, everyone was dismissed. Assembly was over.

"Cadets, carry on with your usual schedules. Squad Leaders, stay back," Keith said. "Except for Squad Leader Tatum. You are to show our new recruits around base until their Squad Leader in dismissed. Everyone understood?"

Without waiting for an answer, Keith finalized assembly with a curt "Good."

Keith descended the stage to where all the Squad Leaders had gathered, leaving the other cadets to scatter.

All except for the three newbies.

Sighing, Tatum turned around to face the three rookies she'd been told to shown around. Crossing her arms across her chest, she allowed her gaze to flit over the three of them before she turned and started walking away in another direction.

"Follow me and don't get lost," she said. "I don't want to fucking waste my time looking around for you twerps."

The three were rather taken aback by how blunt the woman was being right off the bat, but shrugged it off, thinking that it might be because of their thug status.

Hearing their footsteps running up to her from behind, she focused on the little tour she was giving them.

"Training grounds are just over there," she droned, waving her arm towards the barren land covered in nothing but sand.

"That forest over there," she pointed opposite the training grounds. "Is where we initiate 3DMG skills that includes dummy Titans for practice."

"And back there is obviously the assembly point," she huffed as she droned on, not really caring on whether the three listened to her or not. They would eventually get accustomed to the place. So why bother?

As the woman showed them around, Isabel walked beside her and listened attentively while she tried her best to observe the dark-haired brunette.

Farlan and Levi were both a few paces behind the two females. While Farlan listened and looked around at his surroundings, Levi was observing the female soldier as well, slightly weirded out by his sudden interest in the dark brunette. But there was something to her that drew him in. Not romantic-wise, mind you. But...something else.

There was something oddly familiar about the woman, he thought to himself. It was in her walk. It was in her stride. The subtle way her shoulders moved and the way her footing was placed. But most importantly, it was just an odd feeling of familiarity in the aura she was giving off.

The woman didn't exactly come off as friendly, though that was most likely to be expected seeing that the three were just a group of thugs to the soldiers here. But it wasn't. It was something else. It was in his gut.

Though he tried his best to convince his brain otherwise.

Isabel was so absorbed in her observation that even Tatum started to notice. Though it irked her out, she ignored it.

Tatum had immediately recognized the girl as the street singer she'd paid to just shut up years ago. Not that it had worked. But it was to be expected for someone willing to throw whatever dignity she had away for money. But the redhead didn't seem to mind the weird looks she'd get for her horrible singing. But Tatum still regularly gave her money and other things she might find enjoyable before her capture.

But by now, Isabel had taken notice of the two empty spots in the woman's left and right ears, where two piercings were supposed to be. While every hole that had been pierced into her ear had at least something occupying it, those specific holes didn't have any type of occupants in them.

Bringing a hand up to her own ear, she touched an earring in her right ear, then another hand to her left ear to touch its partner.

The pieces of metal in her ears were twisted into roses. And though simple and small, she still loved them. They were the first things that weren't necessities to be given to her. But rather, accessories that made her feel more feminine. Something she never got to feel in her entire life.

Levi noticed Isabel's actions, which made him narrow his eyes slightly. Maybe he wasn't the only one, he thought.

"Hey, Squad Leader Tatum, right?" asked Isabel, finally speaking up as Tatum led them into the main building. "How long have you been in the Scouts?"

Glancing over at the redhead from the corner of her eye, she sighed.

"None of your business, twerp," she answered. "What does it matter to you?"

"Just curious," Isabel shrugged. "Also, why don't you have any squad members? Have you just been made a Squad Leader or something?" the girl carried on asking.

"Hn," was all the redhead got from Tatum.

There was silence as the woman showed them the currently empty mess hall, then the kitchen, before moving on.

"Well?" asked Isabel. "Still waiting for an answer, man."

"It's none of your fucking business so shut up," Tatum snapped, rolling her eyes. "I'm not your Squad Leader. There's no need to get close to me."

"That, and it doesn't seem like you to start chatting up anyone here. So mind telling me why you chose me, of all fucking people, to try talking to?" asked Tatum.

"Didn't really get a chance to talk with anyone really," Isabel shrugged, trying her best to lie through her teeth. What the girl really wanted was to find out why this particular person felt so familiar to her.

"Oh, really?" Tatum asked, cocking an eyebrow as she frowned. "There was Erwin when he took you guys in. Mike as well. Raina. Wallis. There was Shadis."

"Hey! Those guys were different!" protested Isabel.

"Then Nanaba, the girl who gave you guys your uniforms. Then Amira who brought your meals on your first night before moving to headquarters," she continued as if she had a list memorized in her head. "Are you sure you didn't get any chances? Those two are much friendlier than anyone else in the fucking Recon Corps."

Isabel gaped as she tried to come up with a good excuse. But Tatum got her.

Upon hearing nothing but silence from the girl, she scoffed, but decided to drop the subject.

"Hn. Thought so."

Isabel cocked her head at the female, before she too, decided to drop the subject.

The two women might have decided to drop conversation and carry on with the tour.

But not Levi.