warnings: Un-Beta Read

One

Into the Woods and Will We Come Back

"It's an Adventure Outside The Wall!"

"-some things better stayed untold"

Jean still couldn't believe how his friends managed to drag his scrawny ass along with them to Jinae where the so-called-infamous Titan forest was. He wished that it was just a dream - even as the bus passed the Welcome to Jinae road sign. A buzz-head popped from atop of the front of Jean's seat and Connie, the owner of that funny hair-cut, grinned widely with sparkling eyes at the sour look Jean wore on his expression since this whole trip started. Jean had to dig his hands to his black combat pants just to hold himself from smacking that fucking grin away and replaced it with a nice print of his palm on that stupid face. Armin, the blonde who sat beside him, nudged Jean gently on the side and offered him a brief reassuring smile. Jean's scowl deepened and he avoided the blonde's gaze, out to the endless pine trees that blurred as the old volkswagon that Connie's father drove pass them in 100km/h speed, trying to calmed himself down. Jean bit his thumbnail, reminding himself again how this ridiculous trip could happen through the tight schedule as they tried to finish the mountain of homework before summer break ends, which was in two fucking weeks by the way, and he has no reason to be mad at the blond.

Or, maybe he has but just couldn't bring himself to do so because of those fucking natural puppy eyes the blonde have.

Jean was classified as a boring 18 years old boy. His daily basis were consisted of waking up, cooking breakfast for him and his mother, went to school studying whatever shit-subjects Art major has presented to him, lunch with his friend(s) if he has the same break time with them, went back home, cooking dinner for himself because his mother has night shift at the hospital, then study more before went to sleep-repeatedly. He has no side job (or not allowed to because his mother wanted him to focus with his art), he has no girlfriend because the only person he has interest in was completely in platonic friendship with him, and he just went out from the fortress of his house if his friends invited him to hanging out or if he has business with art related things. He has no other friends except them who went in this vacation with him, and their friendship were completely an extraordinary one in others opinion. They could constantly bickering over small matters, mocking each other's to heart content, and other time they were gone ignoring each other's presence.

This whole trip was started by Connie Springer. He was the one who declared that they must going somewhere as summer break nearing its end and not just cooped up in Armin's grandpa house or Krista's dorm buried under their homework, although that was what exactly they must've done like a good students they were. But no- apparently Connie's brain have had reached its capacity and went crazy, dropping the bomb that somehow was taken well enough by the others and Jean had to be the most reasonable person who said "no" despite his brain also almost reached its limit from writing 100,000 words for his English essay.

"It'll be fun," Connie had said.

"It's an 'Adventure Outsides the Wall'!" Eren, Jean's frenemy, exclaimed excitedly.

What is he, some kind of a prisoner or something? Jean grumbled under his breath, rolling his eyes dramatically at his frenemy who dragged Armin - that still keened to solve his Math problem - to join in with his excitement. Jean could never really understand Eren. As far as Jean knew, his frenemy has bad health. Eren should consume at least 5 different colored pills three times a day or else he would start spasm madly, but the boy loved going in an adventure so much.

"But we don't know anything about camp out. How can we survive 3 days in the woods?" Jean remembered another one of his friend, Krista - a small blonde girl with a pair of enchanting blue eyes - had reminded them with a very nice logical reason and he had a two fucking minutes to grin triumphantly before Mikasa, the beautiful Asian girl who always wore red scarf, talked with her gracious smooth voice.

"I have a friend who is a ranger at Titan forest in Jinae."

Fuck, Mikasa! Jean had thought (like- literally, because there was no way he could do that), blanched immediately as Eren and Connie shared a bump triumphant fist.

"But I still have like- five more homework waiting to be done. Heck, Connie still hasn't started his Socio essay yet!"

"I know you just have your art commission left, Jean. And no- Socio was never become my main priority in life. I can finish it in five hours before deadline, and I know you can finish your art commission in the same amount of time as I finish my socio. I have that much faith on your skill, brother," Connie nodded, acting wise.

"Five art commissions!" Jean corrected him, but all his protests just went dead as the others started to pry over Mikasa about this friend of her, about Titan forest and all. Mikasa even has the tendency to go along with Eren's request and called this friend - later Jean learned that Sasha was her name, apparently two years older than them - to ask about what they needed to prepare, and the rest of last week they had spent to went shopping for the things they needed as Sasha has instructed them to buy. Fuck that Sasha-girl too!

Jean pursed his lips as the ancient wagon staggered down as they spot on someone standing- or maybe a freaking monstrously size backpack standing with a human size accessory that attached with its belt, before stopped completely. But even then, Jean still wished this was just some kind of lucid dream - albeit said he never experienced what it felt like having a lucid dream. Connie, who was supposed to keep some good distances with him, even dared to link his elbow with Jean's and half-pulled him as they climbed off of the wagon cheerfully.

"Mikasa!" the brown-haired girl in ponytail that dangled on the monster backpack exclaimed and suddenly rushed to throw his entire body weight crushing the ever-so-stoic Mikasa in bear hug. She had to be the friend Mikasa mentioned, Sasha, the ranger of Titan forest. "It's been awhile! I miss you~"

Mikasa wriggled uncomfortably from Sasha's hug until finally the ranger released her, still with a manic giggle - noticing the others that just finished unloading their stuffs from the trunk and said good bye to Connie's father - she offered them a big goofy smile. "Hi! I'm Sasha, although you guys might know it already. It's nice to finally meet you all, well- psychally!"

Jean just grunted in response while the others (except Mikasa of course) had more grace to reply Sasha with a unison of "Nice to meet you too!" as if they had rehearsed it before. Sasha laughed brightly in response, rocking on her heels as if she couldn't wait for another minute to step in to the wilderness of Titan forest.

"Titan forest isn't a wild forest. It's a private property of some kind of rich family that left it abandoned so the government turned it into natural preserve area or something. There's no dangerous animals around here- well, maybe some bamby here and there," Sasha explained, apparently reading on Jean's uncomfortable expression as his gaze roamed around the monstrously huge of pine trees that surrounded them.

"But, we don't have to sleep in tent if you don't want to. There's log cabin available and currently empty so you all can take it for yourselves," the ranger continued without missing a beat, like a salesman promoting their product.

"You know the reason they were empty is because of the incident of missing people that recently happened?" Jean deadpanned, rising one of his eyebrow.

"Oh, c'monnn~ Do not get your panty in twist just because of some people went missing, Jean~ Wait, it's Jean, isn't it?" Sasha croons.

"Nah, it's horse-face, Sash. And its gender is apparently female," Eren chirped in and it was all because of Mikasa that suddenly appeared with her glorious presence between the two frenemies that stopped Jean from shoving his foot up to Eren's butt. Sasha giggled lightly.

"There's always missing people incident happened in every forest, Jean. They'll be found or comes out by themselves eventually," the ranger said reassuringly. "C'mon~ are we gonna stand here 'til next summer or start moving already? The walk to log cabin took 4 hours if we take it slowly but who knows what kind of obstacles we'll face on the way?"

"O- obstacles?" Jean swallowed hardly and tried to reassuring himself that Sasha just messing with him as he saw Eren and Connie grinned wickedly. Lord, what did I have done wrong to get this kind of torture, he thought miserably. Look how quick the new guy pick on about how to mess with you, Jean? Fuck!

The obstacles Sasha had mentioned apparently was herself, who practically strayed everytime she spotted on wild birds or little animals nearby with drool pooling out from her mouth, until Mikasa felt enough and literally threatening Sasha that she would partook in cooking if the ranger didn't stop from straying the group more further than the right path. They all knew better than to let Mikasa ever stepped in the kitchen and begged Sasha to be a little more serious. Luckily Sasha had enough pity to the poor kids and finally focused on her job as the guide to take them to the log cabin - after some dramatic episodes of good-byes to the food sources nearby of course.

The sun has almost set when they finally arrived at the said cabin and they spent no more time to scramble inside, fighting a bit for nice room even though all the facilities available here certainly were no doubt.. the same with one another. Sasha has disappeared to the kitchen after dropping her monster backpack somewhere on the hall carelessly, hands full with 3 rabbits she managed to caught on their way with the mildly interested Connie tailing after her, dumping his own stuffs to Jean after knowing they're going to shared the same room. Eren and Armin were gone to the room beside them and Mikasa and Krista on the next other room.

Jean considered to just abandoned it or worst; threw it down the hill that was just on the other side of this cabin, but unfortunately he was feeling matured enough to didn't just do that. Jean dumped his backpack first inside the room before he literally dragged Connie's, because damn! The bald monkey might as scrawny as he was and even shorter than him, but-

What the fuck is inside this shit? Stone? He didn't put in weird stuffs for muscle training inside, did he?

Jean scratched his hair briskly, messing up the sandy-blonde part of his hair as he tried to muster up the strength to drag the damned backpack. The thing gave a loud dragging sound as its butt made rough friction with the polished wooden floor when he pulled it to inside the room. Jean wouldn't be surprised if there'd be hole on the bottom because of what he did to the thing, and definitely didn't care. Connie just had to deal with it- maybe as some kind of payback for dragging him along with this cursed trip. Mikasa who coincidentally passed, scrunched her nose up in displease to what Jean did, but Jean had no time to spare what Mikasa felt anymore. The girl would never fall for him anyway, and it surely wasn't just dumb pessimist talk.

After finished dealing with Connie's questionably heavy backpack, Jean finally could spoil himself and lie down to the served bed. It was a simple single bed made by pine wood, polished, the mattress might not felt as soft as what Jean's bae felt like back at his home, but it's enough for his exhausted body. He managed to let himself got hypnotized by the lazy swirl of ceiling fan, the singing of cicadas and crickets, to the reddish sunlight that sipping through the window - slowly fading and became dimmer, and it all surprisingly not bad.

He has to enjoy the moment in like fucking 5 glorious minutes before Connie suddenly barged in.

"Hey, Jean! Let's go take a bath. They have a fucking great outdoor bathroom here, with huge bath tub and hot water!" the buzz-cut boy said innocently, jumping wildly with expression like a 5 years old kid getting their first present from Santa. Jean swore that was what Eren reaction when he got his first present from Santa in their 3rd grade. And that Santa was actually the usual drunken from neighborhood that practically made himself home every now and then in Polo's house, Jean's father ancient Labrador.

But once again Jean found himself being mature and forgive Connie for disturbing his religious moment with the mother of nature - just because the outdoor bath Connie had mentioned indeed has a nice view that made Jean's hand itchy to ran back to the room and grab his stocked emergency art book that he had stuffed in his backpack. He managed to push down the urge though because of the fact that he already stripped down, naked with just towel hanging on his boney hips and his brain still had some sanity left to think that paper and water never been in best terms.

There was also the fact that the hot water felt heavenly nice. It scorching in right temperature and they were groaning in unison as the pressure unknotted every sore muscles they had use in full day journey. Taking bath surrounded with sunset view on the background felt like some high-class dream, it felt romantic and sap and they laughed brashly to the thought of it.

After almost an hour, they finally came out; reddened skins from too long in the hot water, even Armin almost fainted and couldn't stand properly without the help from Eren. They met Sasha midway to their room and ranger told them to bring out the foods she had cooked to the campfire that magically appeared on the front yard of the log cabin while they took their time with the hot bath.

The sun has disappeared completely from the horizon when they finally finished preparing dinner at the campfire, leaving the area with strange eerie feeling that made the city kids body-squished closely as they gobbled up their dinner; ginger soup, mashed potatoes with green bean and carrot, and rabbit meat - felt kind of primitive with all those foods and all the circling camp fire thing. The orange mystic fire danced wickedly - lighten up in a second and then dimmed for another good second, creating some figures of scary shadow moving clumsily along with them. Like giants, Jean thought as he hugged himself from the chilly feeling that suddenly crawled in his skin. He wanted to go back to the room quickly because as much as he didn't want to show how much the scenery scare him, but yes- he was scared.

Jean startled from his train of thoughts when Sasha put down her licked-clean dish on the ground carelessly with a loud clunk sound. The ranger swept her gaze around the kids with wicked gleam in her eyes and grinning slyly.

"Hey~ guys! Do you know what time is it?" she asked acting mysterious, wriggled her eyebrows in knowing look when she stopped at Mikasa's direction. Mikasa just replied her friend with burying half of her face on the red scarf that never left her neck, humming lowly in, maybe, an agreement.

"Err- just passed eight-" Armin began but was cut by Sasha's abashed laugh. The blonde tilted his head in confusion

"That's not what she meant, Arm," Mikasa said softly.

"Oh ohhh- I know what time is it!" Eren exclaimed suddenly, rising his hand up like student in class, the same wicked gleam shone in his as he mimicked Sasha's wriggling eyebrows movement at his friends. "It's horror story time~" he breathed the words dramatically.

"Nuh- oh. We're not going to hear another one of your weird dream when you turned into some self-called bad-ass giant and kicked your own species again, are we? That's not even horror!" Jean said, deliberately flat toned and super uninterested.

"Hey, this one was new- " Eren had started to protest but Connie cut him midsentence.

"As much as I enjoyed listening about them, Eren, Jean's right. They're not horror to the point of scary for this perfect moment."

"Oh, wow- I totally want to hear about that tho," Sasha giggled with an honest interest that lighten up Eren's hope, but this time Mikasa - who supposed to be always agreed with him - scattered it harshly down to the ground.

"Eren, please don't." There was literally a sound of Eren's hope crushed as it reached the lowest bottom of Abyss.

"O- okay," Sasha continued cackle. "What about the story that really happened in this forest then?" And that caught everyone's interest. They unconsciously snuggled even closer to each other - if that even possible - as Sasha prepared. Her expression changed to more serious and she began in a low voice.

"This story happened when I was still a trainee last year. I heard it from my mentor who experienced it by herself. One night, she was patrolling by herself because her partner suddenly couldn't make it. She usually was okay with patrolling by herself because what's there to be afraid off anyway, right? She was a brave woman. But that night of full moon, something felt different. As cliché as it sounded, strange things actually happened in night of full moon. Hanji, my mentor, she was just enjoying her coffee when she suddenly heard someone called for help. The voice sounds desperate and painful so she went to check out the voice. It sounded near but she couldn't pinpoint where exactly the voice came from. Until suddenly she heard rustling from behind her- "

Sasha stopped for dramatic moment as the kids sucked in hitched breath, waiting for her to continue. The fire has gone more dimmed as Sasha decided not to add another dried woods in it. The remnant of the dry woods crackled loudly in the silent and still air, not even single insects or even wind made any sounds like they were also waiting for Sasha to continue. She deliberately took her sweet time though, drinking the water from her bottle slowly as her throat felt dry from all the talk. Eventually she locked the bottle's cap back, taking a good look to the kids for a long round before finally continued.

"Hanji was a strong woman, I know. I witnessed it by myself when she was face to face with a grizzly and won it. But this thing she saw was no grizzly or any bear, she hoped it just grizzly. This thing she met was unfortunately physically more human, but also inhuman- "

"How could a human also physically inhuman?" Krista, the ever so pure and innocent angel, cut in - expression contorted in confusion which definitely adding more of purity into the element of her innocent face.

It almost felt like the scene when arrow flew straight to the heart and all for the others who was attention drawn to her fallen for her innocence. Even Mikasa looked at the blonde with such endearing eyes, soft and loving. Maybe she wanted to reach and pet that soft golden hair like she usually did to Armin when the boy unconsciously made an endearing act. Pretty sure Sasha also torn between wanted to continue this gruesome but good story or stop because of the presence of such innocent kid. Her evil side won the fight of course as she continued and explained.

"We- well, this thing physically pretty much human," the ranger mimed with her hands gesture. "One head, humanly body and size- though a little bit too skinny to the point boney, two boney hands, feet, and it was stark naked. It grinned at Hanji, showing off its yellow teeth. It smelled disgusting like rotten meat and Hanji just about to pull out her gun when it reached and grabbed her by the arm. It has the strength of a grizzly and its boney fingers clawed in Hanji's arm that it almost tore it right away. Close enough to almost, but it didn't.. Because of the crazy thing that appeared after that- "

A wolf howled from afar cut in Sasha and the ranger's head jerked up in quick motion. Her facial expression changed from the too-serious-in-mysterious act into a seriously serious - her eyes glinted with dangerous shine, lips taut in thin line - and the kids watched the sudden change in the air with wary. The howling sound finally stopped and her attention was back to the kids, earnest and gentle to the point it strange after what happened not two seconds ago.

"There are so many things in the woods that better stay in secret," she said lowly, barely a whisper. "It's already late. Let's call it a night. Tomorrow we'll face harder path to venture."

"No- wait.. you haven't finished the story yet!" Eren whined - unsatisfied clearly shown in the spark of his green eyes - as Sasha gathered her dishes and stood, ready to left. She shrugged nonchalantly.

"It has finished."

"But, what happened to your mentor- Hanji? What was it that even crazier than the inhumanly human she met?" the boy urged her to continue.

Connie nodded furiously from beside him, looking like he almost died from the anti-climaxed ending. "She's not dead, is she? Because you did heard the story right from her?"

Sasha bit his lower lip. Her expression looked like she was caught on telling something she wasn't supposed to tell and now regretted it. "Oh no, of course not. She- was saved by her partner?" That was barely an answer and sounded more like a question instead, but then she nodded with determined look on her face. "Yeah, her partner has saved her," she continued lowly and turned to the cabin before Eren could say something more.

"Well that was weird," Connie muttered, and Eren grumbled in agreement.

"'Some things better stayed in untold'," Jean repeated Sasha's words wisely before excusing himself quietly like it was the best thing to do right at that moment when he actually already reached his brave limit. The others followed after him briefly after they put off the fire.

There was something strange in odd numbers, like one that showed special thing, or three that was for omen, or seven that some people said it represented God's favorite number; seven level of hells, seven level of heavens, seven sins, and it was three o'clock when Jean woken up abruptly with a feeling that something was going to happened. It wasn't an abruptly-wake-up like he suddenly sat up straight, wide eyed, flooded with sweat, no.. It was strange moment when you suddenly woke up laying flat on your back staring at the ceiling and the feeling of sleep abandoned you entirely with anxiety pooling in your gut. It was the feeling when your chest tightened with the drumming sound of your heart thumping loudly, all your entire body jittered, breath hitched almost hyperventilating, and Jean definitely hated the feeling.

Jean moved to lie on his left side and was welcomed by Connie's loud snoring. He studied his friend's figure - buzz-cut head, small nose, round face, lean body - and he should stop. Was he that bored that it made him studied Connie? There was nothing in Connie for him to study - even though they just met around junior high school - because Connie was always some kind of an open book; honest and straightforward, and he liked the guy as much as he liked girls in majority, which was not that much.

He tossed to the opposite way, facing the small window that has nothing to cover anything Jean was going to witnessed on the outside. He regretted choosing this side of bed, but something on the horizon has hypnotized him - the endless midnight blue of sky covered with twinkling stars, the darkness that made pines looked just like shadow figures - it locked his gaze that he couldn't tore his eyes away and avoided the rustling of the branches in front of him. He sat up straight abruptly - eyes narrowed in concentration on that one spot - and deep down he knew he shouldn't do it. Maybe it was just wind that made the branches moved, he tried to ensured himself, but who was he kidding? All the story and scenery has completely gotten into him, he didn't fancy darkness or horror movies after all.

Jean bit his lower lip as he moved closer to the window shill. Curiosity killed the cat, they said, and Jean didn't know yet how much his curiosity was going to kill him from that moment on. He just let himself be entranced by alien feeling towards the darkness, made him uneasy yet couldn't run away from it. There was no wind nor did the branches moved anymore, and Jean got to feel relieved for a moment before his gaze landed on a shadow far ahead in the sky - small at first but eventually got bigger. By the time Jean finally had a better view to study its figure, the shadow just a few feet from him and he couldn't fathom whether he was actually dreaming or was it really real since the thing was beyond unreal to be existed. There was literally sound of Jean's brain whirled slowly inside his head until it clicked in recognition-

It was huge, clicked.

It has big wing, clicked.

Monstrous flying lizard-

Oh

Ohhh...

Holy shit what the fuck asdfgh-

The next thing he knew, he was scrambled from his bed - managed to fall and kiss the wooden floor with a loud sound first because his foot tangled on the damned blanket - then he shook Connie like a mad man, eyes unfixed from the damned monstrous thing right outside his window. Connie be cursed, the boy sleep like a log. Jean didn't know what quake the most, Connie's body that he was shaking madly or the hand that shook it.

"He- hey man, w- wake up!" Jean stammered quietly, losing his voice and somehow forgotten how to talk normally. "Connie!"

Apparently he said the last word too loud for his liking and the thing heard it. It landed on the ground with a quite thump and made the ground quaked a bit, its head turned to Jean and their eyes met. Jean felt stupefied - couldn't move or didn't dare to - and he swore that its eyes widened as it saw Jean. Jean blinked owlishly, once and then twice, before he frantically turned to Connie again and shook him harder, if that even possible, glancing to it from the corner of his eyes. But as quickly as it appeared it gone as if vanished into the thin air, and Jean was left stunned with the sound of Connie's sleepy voice grunted to him.

"The fuck are you waking me up, Jean?"

But Jean has successfully fainted.

TBC

A/N

so I started new story,,, yay for my ability to not finishing the other one! /kicked/

rate T atm, but will go up anytime when I feel like it could use some smexy time :9

comments and feedback will bring the life of me! see you next chapter ^^