"XENA!"
"HELP ME! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"
Xena looked over as her comrade was ripped apart, broken in half like nothing more than a stalk of celery. She watched as the titan shoved the corpse into it's mouth, then turned her head to face forward, not looking back at the titan and whatever he may have forgotten to eat.
Well there goes Stella. She thought to herself.
In her world, it was nothing unusual for people to die without a moment's notice. There was nothing different about her
She kicked her horse in the rear, ordering it to go faster, to take her away from the inferno that would eventually lead her to her death. Not that she cared.
Xena Foster was known for being passive about death… and only death. In all other areas, she was extremely violent, antisocial, coldhearted, and mysterious. Nobody knew anything of her family, where she was from, or how she ended up in training. All they knew was that she showed up at training the first day. She excelled in everything, especially fighting. She was at the top of the 102nd training squad, yet surprised nobody with her choice to join the Scouting Legion. She didn't seem to have any intention of staying in the inner walls, so for her, it was just a case of why not.
There was no one scarier than Xena. If you so much as whispered in her direction, you had better be prepared for a trip to the hospital. Yet somehow, she managed to get away with little more than a lecture every time. Of course, her fellow soldiers had many theories as to why, none of them involving honesty. Everything about her was rebellious, from the way she tied her shoes, to her disdainful salute. She liked it that way.
Despite being vicious, Xena was actually quite pretty. She had long wavy hair the color of congealing blood (that's maroon BTW) that was almost always up in a high ponytail. Her eyes were a shade of royal blue that complimented her dark pink lips. She had a defined, slightly pointy nose that matched her slightly pointy jaw. She was quite tall: about 5'10, with extremely long arms and legs that used to get in the way.
Now, she pulled her blades out of their sheaths and launched herself forwards, relishing the exhilaration of bloodlust as she sized up the 5 titans surrounding her. She didn't have problems with her arms and legs anymore. From somewhere behind her, yells of protest from her captain and teammates could be heard. Those idiots probably didn't even know how to kill a titan! Ignoring their screams, she flew and spun, killing all 5 of them in less than 40 seconds. She couldn't wait to see her "team's" faces when she touched down. They weren't really her team, of course. They were just dead weight. However, if she was stuck with them, than that was okay with her, she guessed.
She landed back on her horse and the team dismounted for a rest.
"Foster! what did I tell you about going off on your own?! You could have killed yourself, or worse, us!" Squad Leader Forbes screamed.
"You don't look dead to me." Xena challenged, her face expressionless.
"That's not the point!" Forbes argued back.
A small sob interrupted the quarrel. "I could have saved Stella if I had been faster," Katlyn, a petite blonde with a shy personality cried.
"It's not your fault Katlyn. There was nothing any of us could do," Diego, a tall, muscular brunette with a sharp jawline and a caring heart reassured her.
"You could have died instead of her," Xena bluntly stated. "But then we would have Stella on our team, who wasn't even competent enough to save herself, let alone humanity."
This sent Katlyn into spasms, her face buried in Diego's shoulder, shaking uncontrollably. Diego looked over at Xena with pleading eyes. *Please* They said *Let her hold on to what little hope she has left*
She understood. Even if she didn't show emotions like other people, she still had them. She nodded, acknowledging the desperate request for her to leave Katlyn be. Diego thanked her with a small smile. Xena looked away.
"Alright Squad Forbes!" The leader received the attention of his squad… which consisted only of the three. "We have to get to Zhiganshina in one piece. From now on our goal is to stick together," The last comment was directed at Xena. She glared at him, then kicked her horse forward. The others followed, struggling to keep up with her breakneck speed. They ran into 4 more titans after that, swiftly eliminated by Xena's quick blades.
After trekking through titan-infested lands for hours, they made it back to the walls safely, only to be greeted by violent cries of outrage and pain.
"Where's my son?!"
"Are we really any closer to freedom?!"
" It's all your fault we're starving!"
Squad Forbes kept their eyes forward and their heads down, as it seemed the other squads were doing the same. It was their first expedition, but their faces could have been those of experienced soldiers. When they arrived at HQ, the majority of the soldiers burst into tears, crying for their friends, their comrades, and their loved ones. The 3DMG repair shop was short staffed due to the number of grieving soldiers, so Xena lent a hand. She felt very little sorrow, determination, angst, or pain. She had learned to numb those feelings long ago. She thought of it as a way of keeping her sanity. Yet somehow, containing it was driving her insane.