A/N: Trying something a bit different this time! I've... actually really never made an Attack on Titan fanfiction before. This is the first one I've ever written, and certainly the first I've ever published. Hooray for firsts!

I hope you guys enjoy!

The breeze was lithe with warmth from Summer's end, blowing in from the streets and carrying the dull beige curtains of the tiny home along with it. The little house seemed to be constructed of whatever could be found around the general surroundings, and clearly not of the greatest quality. Despite this, however, the underwhelming pieces of furniture that dotted the room in the form of little tables and chairs that seemed to match that pitiful size were carefully attended to to ensure their longevity. Barely any specs of dust could be seen atop the table, even with the help the rays of sunlight added through the cracked window.

Inhibited voices began to carry through the opening into the home, followed by the sound of clawwing against the door, before said door was kicked carelessly to the side.

"I'm just saying. All the slack the scouts get is just a show of poor support from the interior," One girl's voice continued, reaching new clarity upon entering her home. She edged to the corner of the cramped main room, searching momentarily before locating a relatively empty corner to dump the armful of firewood. She returned to her full height, dusting her hands together to shake the excess lumber dust.

The dark haired girl that came in behind the first -arms filled with folded linens- used her foot to shut the door behind her, passing a glance to her housemate. "Well, from what I know, everyone's just worried, you know? They wonder what good it is to go fighting a threat outside instead of worrying about life here."

"But, let's be honest," The lighter haired girl spoke up, finally getting the opportunity to straighten herself, as she demonstrated with a seemingly satisfying stretch, "The walls aren't going to be able to satisfy our needs as people forever." She sat down at the compact table, stretching her legs out beneath it, only to recoil them when her companion took a seat. Her slightly tanned fingers interlocked into her medium-brown hair, pushing it back in against the crown, "We're growing and prospering here, but sooner or later the cities are going to get more crowded than they are. And what about resources? And-" She hammered her elbows down onto the table, flopping her chin down to wedge between her waiting palms, "and what happens when these walls can't keep back our threat anymore? We've already seen it once with Shinga-"

"Okay!" The dark haired companion spoke up quickly. She sat up straight and alert, then began to avert her dark brown eyes elsewhere, "Can we not talk about this..?" She hesitently spoke beneath the cover of her breath, lips twitching into a wavering frown, "Just... not now-"

"Ada," The brunette piped up. While she normally had a policy about not interrupting, this particular topic's severity seemed to light a pretty serious fire in her, "When do you want to talk about this?"

The slight appearance of such seriousness coming from the usual light-hearted girl caused Ada to jolt slightly. While she had glanced up to take a glance at the girl, the sharpness of the sentiment immediately caused her gaze to seek comfort elsewhere whilst avoiding eye-contact once more. "I know it has to be brought up, but.."

"It's a difficult reality, but..." The brunette murmured quietly, adjusting her seating to retract her legs into a criss-cross position, "...it's just that. A reality. The titans broke one wall, and I don't think it'd be logical to assume they'd stop there."

Ada knew there was truth in what her friend was saying, but the idea of having to face such a scary thought - the possibility of total extinction itself -, left her constantly evasive of the topic. Ever since Shinganshina had been compromised some time ago, it had been the only thing on her housemate's mind. Thinking deeper into the possibilities of what caused it, the appearance of titans so close to the wall, let alone having the ability to breach it, the science behind titans that made them so formidable aside from their sign, and of course the political faults of the world's current mindset towards them. It was beginning to build up to something - but what that something was left Ada a bit on edge.

"That's why I aim to join the cause."

There it was.

Ada's breath caught in her throat, her dark brown eyes fixated on her friend in utter disbelief, "Lynette!"

The determined brunette, Lynette, stared across the small table, arms folded as she did so, "What? Was I supposed to live out in a comfy home in a corner of Wall Rose until Titans decided to burst through?" The brown eyed girl frowned to Ada, not taking any personal joy in the discomfort she was causing her, but it had to be said. "Titans are coming, whether we like it or not - at first it was just a pessimistic thought, but now it's a fact. When it boils down to a fight for our lives - I'd like to have the resources to be in control of what happens to it."

"You're right..." She knew she was right. She usually was, especially given all the thought she would put into things on nearly a daily basis. Still, that made Ada just as aware that she and Lynette were of different sorts. While Lynette, she knew would dive first into danger, she liked to play her roles from a more... lowkey place of security..? Her lips parted, uttering a tiny breath resembling a sigh just slightly. But did she have a choice?

"If you go," Ada spoke up, finger coursing up her dark skin hesitantly, "I'll go."

The tense seating of Lynette began to loosen, her shoulders drooping slightly as her expression grew a tad obscure. Her lips curled inwards to be gently sandwiched by her teeth inside of her mouth - this went on momentarily as if she were searching for her words, only for her to finally speak up, "Now, Ada, you know that wasn't what I was getting at here." The brown haired girl stood, her somewhat short fingers pushing through the portions of straight hair over her shoulders to cast it to her back, where it came just above the middle of her back. "I wanted to explain my reasons and give you a chance to think about a really necessary future - not pressure you."

"You didn't pressure me," Ada spoke up, also standing, meeting the slightly shorter girl with an assurant expression, "I thought about it, and I decided." The quieter, taller girl, raised her hand out, uttering as sincere a smile as she could despite her visible nerves seeping in. "I can't have an idiot like you out there risking her neck while I wait back home, can I?"

Lynette's expression seemed to be still just as studious, careful - watching Ada's dark eyes closely and calculatively as if searching for something in her response. After this momentarily silence between them - therein none of them daring to move as if their stillness was a proclamation of their resolve-, she spoke up, "Are you sure?"

"I may be scared," Ada began, sternly watching straight ahead with her fist clenching and layering across her chest, "But I would never quit without even trying."

"I changed my mind, I want to go home!"

"What? After all that big talk?!" Lynette stared back to Ada, whom, unfortunately, couldn't seem to keep up the same bravery when faced with the real thing. As the two entered the training camp, Ada clutched onto her shorter companion whilst they walked amidst a crowd of other incoming trainees. It seemed like she couldn't keep her resolve after all.

With good reason, Lynette would add, though of course not aloud. While she had personally never been one to feel the weight of pressure in a situation most found 'intimidating', she had to admit she could understand how it would seem scary to most.

On either side of them were people in their same situations, all of which seemed to be ranging from horribly anxious to haughty and excited. A few of what could be thought of as authority figures were standing amongst the crowds people that they were wedged between, and in this particular location it gave a very convenient view of the mountain pass leading up to the fields. To top it all off, the way the land was leveled and divided into such particular quarters made it feel like a full-on labor camp.

"I think this may have been a mistake..." Ada murmured, brow furrowing as twinges of dread streaked down her face, "What do I even have to offer in something like this..?"

"Well - that's what we're here to figure out, isn't it..?" Lynette tipped her head back, eyes traveling slowly up the sun pinned between the clouds and the tops of the trees. So this would be the setting of their beginning. Their rise to aid humanity.

A/N: I do indeed to have this include canon characters, but it will probably remain relatively OC-centric until I really start pushing further into the story. I have a few ideas. I just don't know how to approach them yet.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Thank you thank you, my Melodies!