AN-
So I'm obviously not an expert at all with the way that Attack on Titan works and what happens and whatnot, but I did my best to figure things out for this. If I got some fact horribly wrong and it's bothering you feel free to pm me and let me know.
And I'm frankly not 100% sure what the 41st expedition beyond the walls was like because it doesn't really exist. I mostly chose that number because it fit in with the timeline of the story of Attack on Titan...
Also as I was writing this I envisioned the winter gear of the Scouting Legion to be like the winter gear that Ymir and Krista are wearing in chapter 40 of the manga. It's also the same as what the wings of counterattack winter gear looks like: /post/levi-shingeki-no-kyojin-attack-on-titan-rivaille/74835436841
They would have the long coats and light gloves (so they could still use the 3DMG) but still have the 3DMG on their sides.
It's winter of the year 849. Tensions, as always, are high between the Scouting Legion and the Military Police. They are especially high right now because the Scouting Legion decided to forgo their normal winter expedition beyond the walls because of the high dangers and casualty risks. The Military Police are angered by this because they don't want to have to pay taxes for he Scouting Legion if they aren't doing anything to try and better the current situation of humanity.
And so in this predicament the Military Police go behind the backs of the Scouting Legion and request that the king and central government either cut some funding out of taxes that go towards the Scouts, or order them to proceed with the winter expedition. They receive orders back saying that to avoid a larger conflict the Scouts are to proceed with the winter expedition immediately. This news, once it reached Commander Erwin, had him and the entire regiment in distress.
Forced to make hurried plans, Erwin decides to take a small formation of elite soldiers out beyond the walls to "attempt to observe the titans in hopes of learning more about them." What he planned to do was depart from Wall Rose, ride until they reached an abandoned village and camp out there for one or two days and if possible avoid even seeing a titan. Things however, go horribly wrong...
If Levi didn't die of cold from the frigid air surrounding him, then he would die from having his ears implode (which would be quite messy) due to having listened to Hanji's mindless prattle for far too long. He didn't know which would be worse. They had just barely left Wall Rose behind them. This was going to be a long cold day.
The Scouting Legion had departed from Wall Rose and had begun riding east across frozen territory that morning. If this was a typical expedition then the majority of the Scouts would've looked a little more cheery. Even Levi was usually slightly excited whenever he was freed from the confines of a wall. Simply the look of a horizon with no boundaries made him feel alive. But not today.
Currently Levi was a little pissed. To begin with he couldn't actually believe that Erwin had made them go on the winter expedition after having assured everyone that they wouldn't. Winter was an especially dangerous time to be outside the walls and they never came back from winter expeditions with even half of the soldiers that they set out with. There were many reasons to attribute this to but it was mostly due to the cold causing the 3DMG to malfunction and jam and the fact that large groups of humans out in the cold drew titans in like moths to the flame. On top of that, Levi knew for a fact that not much planning had gone into this expedition because there simply hadn't been time.
So to say that they were practically marching to their deaths wasn't too far off from the truth. But that was thinking negatively, now wasn't it. Dealing with the Military Police will do that to you.
"...And that was when-"
"Is it even possible for you to shut up?" Levi said butting into the middle of Hanji's story. His voice was slightly muffled by the thick scarf he had wrapped around his nose and mouth.
"Talking keeps my face warm!" she cheerily clambered."You could try being talkative for once."
"I'm plenty talkative." he retorted.
"You say that a lot, but it has yet to be seen."
"I'm talking right now aren't I?"
"Yes, but the only reason you spoke up is so that you could tell me to shut it. Anyways, where was I? Oh yes! So when I compared the two branches of the tomato bush I discovered that they were indeed being affected differently..."
As they continued riding Levi tuned out Hanji (was she seriously talking about tomatoes?) and thought back over what Erwin had managed to explain that morning before they were practically shoved out of the gate by the 'oh so friendly' MP. Erwin had said that they would be riding east until they reached an abandoned town near Wall Maria and then they'd camp out there for a day or two and head back. He had also said that they would be using a variation on the usual formation strategy that they used when scouting. Instead of having a single soldier stationed every few meters apart they would have groups of two or three soldiers stationed in the place of one in a formation that totaled to fifty soldiers. Levi's own squad was spread out along the right side of the formation whereas Levi himself had the "privilege" (more like torture) of being stationed at the front of the formation with Hanji and Mike. He figured that if any titans were to show their ugly faces and they weren't able to change course Erwin wanted them three to take the beasts out quickly and efficiently, even though he didn't actually want any of the scouts engaging any titans in a fight. "The less we see the better." he'd said.
The possibility of the formation not attracting any titans was slim, but Levi was fine with them leaving the titans alone. He only wished that the same would happen the other way around.
...
They rode for hours, and then a few more hours. It was long enough that a mountain range that had been in the distance was now only a few miles away and they could make out a large snow-covered evergreen forest at its base. It was also long enough of a ride that Hanji had finally shut her trap, for which Levi was grateful. There wasn't a lot to look at in the frozen landscape, just hills, some lifeless trees and the occasional broken down house, but with Hanji unnecessarily narrating every detail of what they were passing it was almost hell. Almost.
There wasn't much to do either. The only thing that broke up the endless riding was the occasional time that they had changed their course when they saw green and red flares. For the most part it was a very quiet ride. Unusually quiet. He couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing.
The sun, which had been busily shinning all day, was gradually lowering now that noon had come and gone. Although it had been a remarkably bright day, the sun had seemed to give off no heat. The temperatures were extremely low and Levi wondered if his hands (which BARELY had any feeling left in them at this point) would get frostbite.
As they were drawing closer to the evergreens at the base of the mountain they saw a flare go off behind them, but strangely it was signaling for them to hold their position.
"We're stopping?" Mike asked in surprise.
"Maybe the commander realized that this was stupid a** idea and we're heading back." Levi said sarcastically as he stopped his horse.
Mike shot Levi a look, "Even if that's the case he needs to tell us soon. If we're standing here for too long we'll attract titans."
"That might not necessarily be a bad thing." Hanji chimed in, "I'm kind of in the mood to kill a couple of the monsters."
"Because you're crazy." Levi said, although he slightly agreed with her."I have an idea. Let's leave four eyes here to play with titans and we'll go see why the Commander stopped us."
"No need," Mike replied rolling his eyes. "Here comes a rider now."
Sure enough there was indeed someone riding up to them. When they caught up they said simply: "The Commander wants all troops to the supply wagons in the center of the formation now!" and then turned to go tell the next group in the formation.
They watched the horse ride into the distance for a moment.
"Let's go." Levi announced.
Levi could see as he rode up to the supply wagons that Erwin was consulting with other higher ranking officers. He had a very serious complexion on his face. It was the kind of face that he made when something bad was about to happen or when something bad was already happening.
Levi, Hanji and Mike didn't stop their horses until they were next to them.
"What's going on Commander?" Mike asked addressing Erwin.
The commander hesitated for a moment and looked around before answering. "We're still missing about a dozen people. We were going to wait for everyone to get back but we might not have the time." He folded his arms and sighed deeply. "We have a problem. There have been almost no titans spotted during this entire journey which is highly unusual. We've predicted that this is either because they have just happened to be somewhere else, which is unlikely, or because they have been waiting for something."
An uneasy silence spread among the group.
"Waiting for what?" someone hesitantly asked.
"For us I would think." the Commander responded grimly. "This is why, once everyone gets here, I want us all to head for the tree line immediat-"
"TITANS!"
The scream tore through the ranks quicker than wildfire and with it came an overpowering fear.
Immediately Levi's instincts kicked in and he scanned the surrounding landscape for the cause of the alarm. A feeling of panic set on him when he spotted them.
Normally when the Scouts were outside the walls, a group of seven to nine titans showing up would be plenty for them to deal with. If there were any more than that then they usually turned tails and ran away as fast as possible. That was the reason why the entire Scouting Legion was screaming in chaos right now.
There was a hoard of titans running directly at them. No less than thirty. Out running them wouldn't be an option. They were already too close. Already there were some faster ones alarmingly close to their position. They needed protection and they needed it fast.
end ch 1
AN-
Yeah, so...there's a bit of a cliffy there...
I have the next little bit already written and I plan to upload it next week (but I might be persuaded to upload it sooner if i get enough people wanting it :)
Cheers!
-ChucK
