"You were found in a tree? Without three dimensional maneuver gear how did you get up there?"

Katherina looked at the man confused. She wished someone would take the chains off her wrists but it appeared that no one gave a damn whether they were biting into her flesh or not. "I climbed, sir."

"Climbed? Whatever for?"

"If you have height on them it's much easier to take them down."

A few of the military court members sucked in breaths of shock; a woman without 3D maneuver gear taking down titans?

"How exactly did you plan on taking them down?" one of the leaders asked.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe with the twin swords that you took from me when you decided I was a threat," Katherina spit back.

A murmur came over the room with the shock of her tone. She knew these men were high in rank and doubted that they were talked to this way often but they were not her superiors and she had little respect for men who put women in chains simply for defending their own lives. A man on the left side of the room stood up.

"Where did you come from?" he asked her. "I mean to say where is your place or origin?"

"I'm not from within these walls if that's what you're asking. My village was small, had walls of its own, not nearly as high as yours though. They were broken by a scourge of titans about two years ago. There were a few survivors but most died of infections from their injuries."

"You were the lone survivor?" another man asked.

Katherina shrugged. "As far as I know. I've been alone for the past two years. My capture by your military was my first contact with another human since then."

The entire room became a buzz with questions flying from all directions. A few of the men stayed silent, waiting to hear from the man that appeared to be the leader of the entire court. After a few moments of Katherina straining to hear specific questions a woman stepped out onto the floor and walked towards her. A hush fell over the room as a few men leaned in to whisper to their neighbour about the situation.

"Do you have a name?" the woman asked her pleasantly.

"I was called Katherina in my village."

"Ah, Katherina! I am Hanji and I'm the squad leader of survey corps," she explained adjusting her glasses while motioning towards a group of people on the right side of the room. "We have been granted tentative permission to induct you into our squad to learn as much from you as possible about the farthest world outside our walls!"

Was it just Katherina, or did this woman seem ridiculously happy about the whole situation? Everyone else had grim looks on their faces, some expressed curiosity at best but Hanji seemed overjoyed.

"But before we take you to our headquarters the entire military would like to find out some of our answers as well!"

Katherina nodded, not sure if she even had a choice. She resisted the temptation to roll her eyes.

"How was it that your village was able to keep the titans out?"

Katherina sighed. She hadn't known much about the walls or the life of the village in general. She had never gone to school or been educated by anyone aside from her parents.

"I suppose the walls were slightly taller than the largest titans we had encountered. Not nearly as high as yours, but high enough that we never had a problem."

"How high would you say?"

Katherina tilted her head back, "Mmm, maybe half as high. Maybe a little less."

"Incredible," Hanji said shaking her head in amazement. "And they were breached two years ago? How did that happen?"

"Two years ago. Yes… I believe I was 22 years old and… Riders who scavenged outside the walls claimed that a large group of titans was heading for the walls. The skilled prepared for a fight but it was useless. The wall was destroyed within minutes and most of the village was devoured… I saved my friend and my auntie, both had limbs missing from being bitten off. They died within days of the breach."

"So you have been alone since then? How did you survive? How are you sure it's been two years?"

"I guess, I survived like anyone did before the titans appeared," she shrugged. "I became a skilled hunter, I fished in the rivers. I learned how to avoid the titans and eventually discovered that by using higher vantage points I could take them down by the weak point on their necks. Moon phases passed, just like in the village and I kept moving constantly; I never stay in the same place. I wouldn't even know how to find my village again."

Hanji looked disappointed. "You never discovered another weak point?" Katherina shook her head.

"The people in my village knew about the neck; that was all I knew as well. Though we didn't generally fight them, sometimes men who wanted to prove something would leave the walls. People rarely returned though."

Before Hanji could ask any more questions, the man who appeared to be in charge ordered silence in the room.

"That will be all for now. Squad leader you may take this, Katherina, back to headquarters with you. I'm sure between Eren and her you'll have a heyday."

Hanji let out a squeal as she took Katherina by the elbow and led her out the door. She was already mumbling about all the things that she might be able to learn from someone who had spent two years in titan territory.

By the time the two reached the stables where the horses were located Katherina had all but completely tuned the woman out. A man appeared from inside the stall leading two horses by the reins. When he held one out to her he realized her hands were still chained behind her back and motioned to Hanji to free them.

"Oh! How rude of me," she giggled. "All this chit chat and I've left you all locked up!"

"Does the brat know how to ride a horse," a man with her identical height asked as he mounted his own animal.

Katherina stared him down as she locked in on his gaze, and flung herself into the saddle. Truthfully it had been over two years since she had ridden a horse but she wasn't about to let that show. The man smirked at her and kicked his horse forward, gaining speed quickly. Before she even had a chance to worry about her ability, she too was riding fast; the two were matching pace, the rest of the squad far behind them. The man was urging his horse forward, trying to pull ahead. Instead Katherina ducked low, squeezed with her thighs and watched as her horse's stride increased in speed before slightly over taking him.

She heard him grunt and was turning to smirk in his direction when suddenly she went flying forward into the air. Her horse stumbled, tripping and rolling across the ground while Katherina flew forward. In midair she attempted to turn herself around so that she could land on her feet when a shoulder caught her in the ribs and knocked the wind out of her.

"I was fine," she griped as the short man set her down. She turned away from him immediately and walked over to inspect her horse, still lying on the ground from the fall.

"He's lame," the man told her in a blasé tone. "You pushed him too hard I guess."

Katherina rounded on him, shouting right in his face, "If you hadn't been trying to outride me it wouldn't have happened."

The man shook his head. "Don't try to pin this on me. Get on the back of my horse brat."

Katherina was pissed. What an asshole! If he was going to play these games she was going to be the victor.

As she went to mount his horse he caught her leather boot in his hand and lifted her onto the rear of the saddle.

"You know, I don't need your help. I survived two years on my own. I think I'll be fine mounting a horse."

The man shrugged and snapped the reins and the horse began building up in speed, although not nearly as fast as before her fall. By now the rest of the squad was catching up and Hanji road up beside the two.

"Oh look Levi, you made a friend who's just as grumpy as you!"

"Piss off Hanji," the man, apparently called Levi, answered and kicked his horse to move out of earshot of the brunette.