Growing Up
Rain scanned her eyes over the people that had gathered at the Survey Corps Headquarters' lawn. There were so many peppered all over the grounds. All of them were sitting on blankets with dishes and baskets full of food. The soldiers had decided to have a little picnic to forget their worries about the titans. It excited her. She had never been to a picnic before that she could remember. There were so many kids and people, laughing and playing. She only recognized some of the soldiers. The rest she didn't know. It was also kind of intimidating for her. Without thinking, she reached up and took Erwin's hand. The man had been talking to another soldier while she was standing beside him.
Erwin glanced down when her small hand grabbed onto his. A small smiled appeared on his face as he watched her scan her eyes over all of the people. His eyes then wondered to her hat. He hoped she remembered to keep it on and not let it fall off. After bidding his goodbye to the man he was talking to he addressed Rain. "Are you ready to find Hange?"
"Yeah!" Rain nodded. She walked forward. Her eyes darted all over the people, looking for the woman.
"Hey! Over here!" Hange waved from underneath a tree. "I'm here!"
"Hange!" Rain waved back.
"Just call me Zoe if you want," Hange said when they got close enough.
"Okay," Rain said, tilting her head.
"So this is the girl you have adopted," a man said.
Rain looked at him and the woman that was sitting with Hange. The man was a soldier, dressed in his uniform, while the woman was dressed in a light yellow dress.
"Yes." Erwin nodded.
"My goodness," the woman said. "She has such lovely hair."
Rain felt heat rise to her cheeks as she tucked herself behind Erwin's leg.
"Oh, she's so shy," the woman said.
"She can be," Hange said. "But she's really sweet. Isn't that right, My Sweet?"
Rain peaked out from behind Erwin's leg and smiled mischievously at the woman.
"Rain, this is Jon and Haley Strom," Erwin said.
"Hello." Rain waved.
"It's very nice to meet you, Rain," Haley said. "Please, sit down and enjoy the lunch we've made. We have plenty to share."
"Thank you," Erwin said, sitting down.
"Our son's running around here some where," Haley said, looking around.
"Leave the boy alone," Jon said. "He'll come back when he gets hungry enough."
"That's true," Haley said. "He is a growing boy. He does nothing but eat all the time."
Rain ran her eyes over the small feast in front of her. She didn't know what a lot of the items were but when Erwin put some of each on her plate she ate it all.
"Well, it looks like someone else is growing," Haley said.
"That's my little sweetie!" Hange said, a tint of pride in her shining eyes.
"Mom!" a boy cried out. "I'm hungry!"
"And there he is," Haley said. They all looked to see a slightly dirty boy running over to them. "Oh, dear. Can't you stay clean for more than five minutes?"
"Aw, mom," Tommy said. "We're just playing."
"Okay," Haley said, brushing dirt off her boy's face. "Now, settled down and eat. Then you can go play."
"Okay!" Tommy chirped.
"You should take Rain with you," Jon said.
"Ew! She's a girl!" Tommy said.
"Tommy, mind your manners," Haley said. "Rain is still new to this area. She could use some friends."
"Fine," Tommy said.
"If that's all right with you, Mister Smith," Haley said.
"I suppose that would be fine," Erwin said.
Rain looked up at Erwin. She remained silent while eating her lunch as the adults talked. About an hour later, they had finally finished eating.
"Behave yourself, Rain," Erwin said, tightening her hat string.
"I will," Rain said before running off with Tommy. She followed the boy to a group of kids. Standing back, she watched them. Part of her wanted to go speak with them, but another part of her couldn't get herself to go over. Instead, she sat down beside a near by tree and started plucking grass from the ground.
"Hey, don't you want to play?" Tommy asked.
Rain looked up at the boy. She didn't know how to answer his question.
"What's with the hat?" Tommy then asked, uncaring that she didn't answer his first question.
"My…Erwin gave it to me," Rain said.
"Erwin?" Tommy blinked. "You call you dad by his name?"
"He's not…" Rain looked down. She didn't know what Erwin was to her. Was he her dad? He was taking care of her. Did that make him her dad? She didn't know.
"I want to see your hat," Tommy said.
Before Rain could react, she felt her hat flying off her head. "No!"
"What the heck?!" Tommy stared at the top of her head. "Are those…horns?"
"No!" Rain covered her horns with her hands.
"What's wrong with you?" Tommy asked, dropping her hat.
Tears blurred Rain's vision as she grabbed her hat off the ground. She placed it on her head and ran away. She ran faster when she heard Tommy calling out for his mom and dad.
…
Erwin looked up when he heard Tommy's voice calling for his parents. He caught a glimpse of Rain holding her hat down to her head before she disappeared around the headquarters. His chest tightened a little bit and he exchanged looks with Hange. The woman appeared to have the same idea that he did.
"Mom! Dad! Rain had horns! She's a monster!" Tommy said, confirming Erwin and Hange's suspicions.
"What are you talking about?" his dad asked.
"Rain is a monster!" Tommy said. "I saw her horns!"
"Tommy, that's enough now," his mother said.
"But mom! It's true!" Tommy said. He pointed at Erwin. "Ask him. She lives with him."
"Yes, she does live with me," Erwin said. "But have you ever heard of a human having horns?" He chuckled. "You have a wild imagination there." He stood up. "If you'll excuse me."
"Yes, excuse me too," Hange said. She jumped up and followed Erwin. Once out of earshot of the others she said, "I hope she's all right."
"I shouldn't have let her run off to play with that boy," Erwin said.
"You had to," Hange said. "She's just a child. And children need to play."
"But you know how dangerous it is for her to…" Erwin's voice trailed off as his footsteps came to a stop. He ran his hand over his face with a sigh. "This isn't going to be as easy as I thought it was going to be."
"I know," Hange said. "But, like you've said, it's best that she's with us. We'll figure it out."
Erwin nodded before he continued on his way. He rounded the headquarters and headed straight to the barn. He knew she'd be there. It was becoming one of her most favorite places to be. And sure enough, when he opened Jet's stall, Rain was curled up in the corner, tears rolling down her red cheeks. The horse was sniffing the girl before looking up at him and Hange. He exchanged looks with Hange before walking over and sitting down beside Rain. "Rain, are you okay?"
"He took my hat," Rain whispered.
"I know," Erwin said.
"He called me a monster," Rain said.
"Well, you're not one," Erwin said. "You're a sweet little girl. You're just different. And some people aren't going to understand that."
"Will I ever have friends?" Rain asked. She looked up at Erwin.
"I'm sure you'll find friends one day," Hange said. She bent down. Hugging her knees she smiled at Rain. "It's just going to take time. Do you understand?"
"No," Rain said.
"You're still young," Hange said. "You'll understand when you get older."
"I want to be older now," Rain said. "I want to be normal."
Erwin and Hange exchanged looks again, both holding expressions of heartbreak.
"I want you to be my daddy," Rain said. She looked at Erwin then at Hange. "And you to be my mommy."
"Oh, that's so sweet," Hange said. "I'd love to be a mom to you. I can also be a big sister. Would you like that?"
"Yeah." Rain nodded, her eyes drying up. She then turned her eyes back up to Erwin. "Can you be my daddy?"
"I would be honored to be your dad," Erwin said. He slipped his arm around her and pulled her to his side.
…
Erwin watched Rain with concern etched over his face as Rain repeatedly punched and kicked the training post that he had set up for her in the training area for the rest of the soldiers. It was currently unused so he brought her out here to train for a while. He was mulling over the change in her since the boy ripped her hat off at the picnic. That happened a month ago. Rain didn't seem to be her normal cheerful self. She had closed off a bit from people, wasn't smiling as much, and seemed to bury herself in books more. He was torn on how he felt about that. Part of him was glad that she didn't want to be around people. While the rest of him wished she wasn't feeling so isolated from everyone else.
As he watched her, he started noticing a strange redness gathering in her eyes. Suddenly, Rain whipped towards him and charged. He barely had time to block her punch, which was a lot stronger than she had ever hit him before. Shifting his right foot back, he managed to catch himself before he could fall.
Rain stepped on his bent knee, kicking off him, she back flipped then charged forward again.
His eyes widened upon seeing that Rain's eyes had turned red. He blocked her punch with a flick of his wrist. He then grabbed her wrist and twisted her arm behind her back. Rain screamed out and tried to free herself. "Easy, Rain. Calm down."
Rain started to pull away from him.
Erwin wrapped his other arm around her body, holding her firm against his body until she sunk her teeth into his arm. His sleeve shielded him from most of her bite, but he still felt her teeth puncturing his skin. "Rain, calm down."
Rain thrashed against him.
He didn't think she could hear him. His hold loosened when Rain bit him again. She wiggled out of his hold, stumbled away a few feet, and then spun back around to face him. He said, "Easy, Rain. Just calm down."
Rain shook her head as if she was having trouble understanding him. She opened her mouth to say something, but instead of words coming out, a bright flash of light shot out.
Erwin tried to dodge it. But the beam hit him in his left shoulder, piercing through his clothes and burning his skin. His body spun at the hit before his dropped to his knees. He shot his eyes up to Rain. Her body wobbled until her knees buckled and she collapsed to the ground. He stayed on the ground, confused at what just happened, for several minutes. Voices coming closer jolted him out of his shock. Scrambling back to his feet, he forced the pain away as he gathered Rain up in his arms. Keeping her secure in his right arm, leaving as much pressure off his left as he could, he headed back to the headquarters.
He carefully maneuvered back to the headquarters, using bushes and trees to shield them from passing soldiers. Once inside the building, he rushed down the halls, pausing only to check and see if someone else was in the next hall he was going to turn down. When he finally reached Hange's research room, he pushed into it without knocking, scaring the woman inside.
"Erwin!" Hange jumped, knocking some papers off her desk. Placing her hand over her heart, she noticed the state her two friends were in. "What…what happened?!"
"There was an incident," Erwin said.
"Lay her down here," Hange said, rushing over to one of the exam tables in the room. She pushed the papers she had currently laying on it to the floor while Erwin told her what happened. "She did what?"
"Yeah." Erwin nodded. He stood by the table while Hange checked on Rain.
"She's more unique than we thought," Hange said. "Why couldn't I have been there to see it?! What do you think caused it?"
"I'm not sure," Erwin said. "And I doubt Rain will want to try that again."
"You're not going to force her?" Hange asked. "We need to know what triggered it so we can avoid accidental attacks in the future. Well, going by what you told me, it's possible that her confusion and anger towards being different had something to do with this. If that's so, then we need to know for sure so she can keep a tight hold on her anger."
"You're right," Erwin said with a sigh. "We'll test that tomorrow."
"Fine." Hange moved over to him. "Now, let me take care of that wound."
...
The next day Hange and Erwin took Rain away from the headquarters and out into the country where they typically trained her with her wings. The whole ride out there Rain sat in front of Erwin and didn't say a word. She barely even noticed when they pulled up to the group of trees they always trained her near or when Erwin had pulled her off Jet. Her eyes wondered up to the man's left shoulder. He was wearing a new shirt, but she could see the small bulge from the bandage around his shoulder. Tears stung her eyes.
"Forget about it, Rain," Erwin said. "It was an accident."
"But you want me to do that again," Rain said. "I don't even know what it was. Or how I did it."
"And that's what we're here for," Hange said. "I have a theory that it was become of how you were feeling. We just want you to feel that way again and see what happens. You're going to be facing the trees so no one will get hurt."
"Give it a try, Rain," Erwin said.
Reluctantly, Rain nodded. She turned and faced the trees. Closing her eyes she focused on how she felt yesterday, letting it boil back to the surface.
"Erwin, I hate to bring this up, but she's seem rather submissive," Hange pointed out in a whisper. "If a child doesn't want to do something they usually whine and cry about it."
"I noticed that too," Erwin said. "Whoever had her before must have had a tight hold on her and didn't allow her to refuse them."
"That couldn't have been a good thing," Hange said. "Maybe she was abused."
"That's a possibility," Erwin said. Before another thing could be said, light shot out of Rain's mouth. The girl's body went flying back onto the ground.
"Rain!" Hange cried out as she and Erwin ran over to their girl.
Rain cried. Her body shivered as Erwin picked her up and held her tightly to his body. She clung to his shirt. "I don't wanna do that anymore!"
"Okay, Rain," Erwin said, rubbing her back. "You're done for today."
"Amazing!" Hange said. She eyed Rain's mouth, desperation seeping into her eyes at wanting to examine the girl but knew she was far too upset. So she stood up and went to examine the damage Rain had some to the trees. They held missing bark and burn marks. "Amazing! Truly amazing!"
…Six years later…
Rain exhaled slowly while Jet continued to trot along. Carefully she started to pull her feet upon the saddle. Once stable she pushed up on to her feet, holding her arms around to her sides for balance. Bending her knees, she pushed off the horse and flew into the air. Snapping out her wings, she glided towards Erwin and swung a punch at him. This time she knew the man who had become her dad wasn't going to hold back on her. While she was still technically a kid, his training for her got more and more intense by the day. She punched, kicked, and then jabbed at him. And he easily blocked each of her attempts at landing a hit on him. Then she felt her body flying through the air when a solid punch landed on her check. She grunted when she hit the ground then rolled to a stop.
"No! My baby! How could you do that to her?!" Hange screamed.
Erwin sighed heavily. "Why must you do that? She in training."
"That doesn't mean you have to knock her to the ground!" Hange said.
"Yes, it does," Erwin replied. "I have to be tough on her for her to survive in this world."
Rain sat up and rubbed her throbbing cheek. She had wondered that question many times herself and has even asked Erwin several times. Each time she voiced the question she got the same answer. "I'm training you to become the strongest soldier in the war against titans." She's heard it time and time again. And when she would ask why, he gave her the same answer. "You have a gift for fighting. No one else would understand you. Hange and I are the only ones you can show or talk about with your wings and horns." She didn't really understand it. But in the passed few years she did what he told her to do. She hasn't told or shown anyone else her wings and horns.
Rain reached up and scratched her head where her left horn reached her skull and scratched it. Her horns had grown to two inches long, tapering up to look like cones. And despite how much Hange loved them and tested them, they didn't have a clue of why she had them or what exactly they were even for. The same result came for her wings as well. So far all she could do was glide with them. She couldn't actually fly.
"Rain!" Hange called. "Are you all right, My Sweet?! Are you hurt?!"
"Yes, Zoe. I'm fine," Rain replied. Pushing of the ground, she stood up and brushed the dirt off her clothes. Her eyes wondered around her surroundings and she had found that Jet had already come back to them. The horse was standing near a bright green patch of green, happily munching on her treat while she could. She wanted to jump on the horse and take off. Riding as fast as she could gave her the illusion of freedom. And she longed for that. She longed to be free from having to hide her differences.
"Come on, Rain," Erwin said. "Back to training."
"Can't we do something else?" Rain asked as she walked back over to him. "Like work with the ODM gear?"
"You just can't wait until you can fly through the trees on that thing, can't you?" Hange cocked her head with a knowing smile.
"I can't help it." Rain flapped her wings while walking back over to them. "I was born to fly apparently. Do you think I was born with this wings?"
"I have no idea," Hange said. When Rain's wings drooped, she added, "I'm sorry. It's not like I can just test you and see if you were or not."
"I understand," Rain said, despite the fact she didn't understand. No one else that they knew of had wings and horns. They had no idea where she came from other than from the outside world. And most of the people at the Survey Corps Headquarters didn't want her around because they didn't know anything about her. "But I really, really want to use the ODM gear."
"We'll have to see about that later," Erwin said, eyeing Rain's waist. "You're still just a kid. We don't have ODM gear that'll suit you."
"You're going to make me wait several more years, aren't you?" Rain pooched out her bottom lip, forcing back a smile when she saw Erwin waver. It was only a tiny bit and she knew he would school himself in a second, which he did. She sighed. "Don't make me wait too long, okay?"
"Don't worry, Rain," Erwin said. "You'll be old enough to use the ODM gear before you know it."
"Yeah, sure," Rain said, deflated.
"That's enough pouting." Erwin placed his hand on her head. "It's time to get back to training."
"Yes, sir," Rain said. Rolling her shoulders, she stood ready to spar once again with her dad.
"I'm not going to hold back so much now," Erwin said, readying himself.
Rain nodded. She easily noticed he was become more and more rough on her. And he always kept to his word. His fist came flying towards her. She barely dodged it, her braid whapped against her back. It wasn't her idea to put her hair up. It was Hange's. The woman seemed to love to brush out her hair and braid it. Her hair still fell just past her shoulders still. She found she preferred it at that length. It remained long enough for Hange to braid while being short enough to easily keep clean and under control.
"Focus, Rain," Erwin said.
Rain huffed. It didn't matter how much she focused, she figured she never would be good enough to ever beat her dad in a fight. Still she retook her stance and threw a punch at him. She tossed a rapid wave of punches at him then dropped to the ground and tried to kick his feet out from underneath him. Which was really stupid on her part. Her ankle collided with his. She winced at the pain shooting through her leg from the kick.
"Rain, you know better than doing that. You're not strong enough to knock a man of my size down yet," Erwin said. He swung his fist down towards her.
Her eyes widened. She pushed herself away from him just before his fist could collide with her nose. Grabbing his arm, she flipped herself up into the air. Using him as a stepping stone, she shot herself into the air. Catching the wind that blew through the area, she opened her wings and took higher into the sky. She angled downward and shot towards her dad. She punched at him. Her fist collided with his wrist as he crossed them in front of his face.
Erwin grabbed her wrist and flung her down on her back.
All of the air in Rain's lungs left her when her back collided with the hard ground. The smell of grass and dirt filled her nose while Hange's scream filled her ears.
"Erwin! I'm going to kill you if you hurt her!" Hange screamed.
Rain ignored the woman as did Erwin. She jumped back up to her feet. Several more attacks passed between the two for three more hours. Once her body had enough she stumbled backward from her dad. Her chest heaved up and down. Beads of sweet rolled down her body, covering her with salty trails of water. She dropped to the ground. A frown tugged down on her lips when she noticed her dad wasn't even winded. He never was. It made her often wonder if she really was just that weak or if he was just that strong. She didn't know if she'd ever know which it was.
"Are you ready to quite for the day?" Erwin asked.
"No," Rain said, her voice harsher than it's ever been before.
Erwin and Hange exchanged looks upon hearing the girl speak and the steam that lifted off her body.
"I'm not done with you yet." Rain lifted her eyes to the adults before her unaware of the change in her eyes and the steam coming from her body. She shifted. Then with inhuman speed, she shot forward, slamming her fist against Erwin's jaw.
"Erwin!" Hange cried when the man's body went flying backwards into a tree.
"I'm fine." Erwin coughed then picked himself up off the ground. Working his jaw he found that it was still intact. His eyes roamed over Rain's body as she staggered around.
"What's happening to her?!" Hange asked. "It's that thing again, isn't it?! She's going to use that light attack thing!"
"Just calm down," Erwin said, standing up. They both waited to see if the girl would attack again.
Rain stumbled forward three steps then back two steps. Her arms hung at her sides while her wings lifted up and down, creating a rather strong gust of wind. She dropped to her bottom. Her eyes turning back to normal while the steam around her began to vanish. "Dang it! I did it again!"
"I think that's enough for today," Erwin said, glad that she was back to normal.
"I'm sorry," Rain said. "I keep doing that when I really get focused on fighting. Why?"
"I don't know, Rain," Erwin said.
"I know, I know," Rain said with a sigh. "I'm just glad I've gotten better at controlling it."
"That is a good thing," Erwin said.
"Try not to worry about it. I'm sure we'll figure it out one day," Hange said as she walked over to the girl now on the ground with her medical kit in her hand. She dropped to her knees and examined the cuts and bruises that Rain had sustained during this fight. "It is amazing that people don't accuse you of abusing her. She's always covered with bruises and cuts." She dipped a cotton swab into the disinfectant then dabbed it on a cut above Rain's eyebrow. Tears came to her eyes when the girl winced. "I'm sorry, My Sweet. I know it hurts, but bare with it."
"It's fine, Zoe," Rain said. "It doesn't hurt that bad."
Once Rain had been cleaned and bandaged the small group of three mounted their horses. She climbed upon Jet before Erwin swung himself up. Tightening the string of her hat, she leaned back against his sturdy chest and sighed tiredly.
"We're going to have to get you a horse of your own soon," Erwin said, looking down at the lack of space between him and Rain.
"Really?!" Rain, forgetting her tiredness, shrieked. Her eyes shot up to his. "When?! When?! When?!"
Erwin chuckled. "Soon, Rain, soon."
"I've been waiting far too long for my own horse as it is!" Rain said. "I don't think I'll be able to wait much longer!"
"Well, I'm sure Erwin has just been waiting for the perfect horse to come along," Hange said.
"You're just going to have to be patient," Erwin said. "I want to know you have a good horse before letting you have it."
"I understand," Rain said. "We need good horses when we go on the outside of the walls."
Erwin nodded. With a tap of his heels, Jet took off.
Rain relaxed against Erwin. Her eyes scanned over the terrain around them. They had a lot of rain recently to all of the plants were bright and flourishing. She just wished they had more rain when they really needed it. Sometimes it was just so hard for people to grow food. She wanted to help them. She wanted to try to grow a garden, but with her training she just didn't have time. Tiredness swept over her. A yawn made its way out of her mouth. Her eyelids became heavier and heavier until she fell asleep to the rhythmic steps of her dad's horse.
It was a few hours later when the sounds of the townspeople woke her up. Cracking her eyes open she spotted a group of kids. They were jumping around in a game that's she's seen them play before on one of her outings with her dad and a couple times when she had snuck out on her own. There were squares drawn into the dirt. A girl jumped through them using both legs and then one leg at a time. A strong desire to join them settled into her chest. But she knew it wouldn't happen. For the moment, her body was too tired to move. However, the main reason was her dad. She was always training. The only times she had to herself was when he was busy with a meeting, going beyond the walls, or other work related stuff. Sometimes she felt guilty for sneaking out. Plus since Tommy discovered her horns she had become leery of going around people despite the fact his parents never believed him. She only ran into him occasionally. And he would always glare at her. She knew he blamed her forgetting him into trouble with his parents back then.
Pushing the thought aside, she watched the kids until they were no longer in her sight. More kids came into view. More games and happy times were had by them all. Things that she would never know. Not even when she snuck out when her dad was gone on a mission. During her times she snuck out, she never could stay very long. With the Military Police and other members of the Survey Corp. running around, she had to be careful to not get caught since she wasn't suppose to wonder away from the headquarters. She knew her dad wouldn't be happy if he found out how often she snuck out. But she did always take care not to summon her wings and kept her horns hidden.
…
"Did you have a good ride?" Ross asked upon their return.
"Don't we always?" Rain said. Holding onto the saddle horn, she slid off Jet. Upon her feet touching the floor of the barn, she wobbled. She stabilized herself and gave Ross a smile.
"Man, I'm glad your dad doesn't train me personally," Ross said, eyeing how tired and worn out Rain was. "I don't think I could handle it." He looked at Erwin who had dismounted. "Are you sure you're not pushing her too hard?"
"I know what I'm doing," Erwin said. "Her training must be rough if she's going to succeed in fighting the titans."
"Maybe," Ross said. "But I still think this is a bit much. She's only a child after all."
"Your concern has been notes as it has many times before," Erwin said, a displeased look in his eyes.
"Okay, okay," Ross said, hands up in surrender. "I know she's your kid and you can train her how you wish. Just be careful. There are some who won't agree to this treatment towards her even if you have adopted her."
Erwin nodded. He knew some didn't approve of how he was raising Rain. That was a huge reason as to why he always trained her away from everyone else. He didn't want them to interfere with how harsh he was starting to get with her and how he would continue to be with her as she grew.
Rain hummed and leaned against her dad's arm, ready to fall asleep on her feet.
"Ross, will you take care of Jet?" Erwin asked. "I need to escort Rain back to our quarters before she falls asleep on her feet."
"Sure thing." Ross took the reins from the blonde man.
"Come on," Erwin said. Slipping his arm around Rain he guided her out of the barn and back to their quarters. "I know you're tired but you need to shower first."
"Okay." Rain wondered over to the bathroom. Her body was screaming for her to just lie down already, but her nose was begging her for a bath. Shutting the door behind her, she quickly striped of her dirt and sweat covered clothes. Turning the water on to her desired hot temperature, she jumped in. For a brief moment she let the hot water relax her tired muscles then pushed through her shower. With a fuzzy towel around her body she left the bathroom, leaving her clothes in the hamper and her hat lying on the sink, she stepped into her bedroom. Changing as quickly as she could before flopping face first down on her mattress. Instantly she fell asleep.
Erwin wondered into the room a few minutes later. He couldn't help but smile at her. Leaving her, he closed the door quietly to let her sleep until it was time to eat again.
…One Year Later…
"Do you really have to go?" Rain asked. She hugged her teddy bear to her chest, remembering the day her adopted dad had given it to her. It was the same day he gave her the straw hat. Both items that she cherished so much. Currently she was sitting on his bed as he readied himself to leave on another trip outside of the walls. She hated when he and Hange left her. But it did give her time to go out and explore on her own. Inside of the walls anyway. Never had she journeyed beyond the walls when the Survey Corps. were out there. It was too much of a risk of getting caught, even if she did remember the route that her dad said they were taking. Anything could go wrong with their plans or hers and they could run into her.
"Yes, Rain," Erwin said. "It's time for our scouting mission beyond the wall."
"I know," Rain said with a sigh. "I just wish I was old enough to come with you. I don't like knowing what's going on out there. I could help you."
"You will one day," Erwin said buttoning up the last button on his shirt. He walked over to her and sat down on the bed. "These past seven years have flown by. Soon you'll be joining us out on the trial."
"But I haven't even started on the ODM gear yet," Rain said.
"I know you want to do that," Erwin said. "I promise you're almost there."
"I know," Rain said. "How long are you going to be gone?"
"For a couple of days at least," Erwin said. "We're planning on seven days, but that might not happen." He stood up and finished getting ready before calling for her to follow him. "Come on. See me out."
"Yes, sir." Rain stood up. With her teddy bear still clutched in her arms, she followed Erwin out to the barn where the rest of the corps was ready and waiting to head out. Several wagons were with them, all packed with supplies and ready to go. With in just a few short minutes, the corps was sitting on their horses.
"You behave yourself," Hange said, hugging Rain.
"I will," Rain replied.
"And if you need anything Ross will be here," Erwin reminded her.
"I know, Daddy," Rain said. She glanced over at the man who had become like an uncle to her. While Ross was still unaware of her horns and wings, she still spent a lot of time around the man because he was always taking care of the horses. It was inevitable that she would form a relationship of some sort with him. And he had been the one she always went to if she needed something while her dad and Hange were outside of the walls. Stepped out of the way of the convoy, she watched as Hange and her dad mounted their horses and left once again.
"Well, there they go again," Ross said, joining her side.
Rain nodded.
"I have to get back to work now," Ross said. "You know where I'll be if you need me."
Rain nodded again, her eyes not leaving the convoy until they were out of her sight. With a sigh she headed back into the headquarters. Slowly wondering up to their quarters to sit for a while before the silence became too much to bear. Heading into her room, she placed her teddy bear down on her bed, adjusted her hat and the bandana that Hange had given to her the first time she saw the horses, and then left the room once more. She wanted to leave through her window, but there were still enough people around that she didn't dare. It wasn't as easy jumping unnoticed out a window during the day like it was a night. So she had no choice but to go through the headquarters, most people ignored her anyway, until she was outside. Then she played around a bit until a group of people walked by. And one did only three minutes after making her way outside. She walked along side of the group of four people, going unnoticed until she could slip away from them between two buildings.
She weaved through the familiar buildings that she had often wondering around when she snuck out like this. This time she was planning to move out farther. So pulling her hair up underneath her hat, she tied the bandana around her neck and used it to shield some of her face before proceeding through the alleyways between the homes and shops. Laughter of both kids and adults filled that air as well as shouts about this or that. It was too crowded where she currently was for her taste. She moved along until she found herself near the river that flowed along the Shiganshina District. Noticing that she hadn't been to this part yet and that there wasn't anyone around, she started walking along side the water. Its steady flow was her only companion until she started to hear voices of some young kids near by. Making her way towards the voices, she skirted around a crate before peaking around the corner of a building. There were three of them sitting on the stairs that lead down to the water. Two of them had black hair, a boy and a girl, while the other had blonde hair, another boy. They were huddled together, looking at something.
The blonde said, "Look. This was what I was talking about before. It's the ocean."
Rain's eyebrow lifted upon her forehead. They were talking about the outside word, a place that was supposed to be forbidden to even talk about. A thrill ran up and down her spine. It was rare, outside of the Survey Corps. Headquarters to hear her talking about the outside world.
"That's so amazing," the black haired boy said. "I want to see it someday."
Rain couldn't sit still any longer. While part of her brain still remembered what happened with Tommy and warned her to stay away from the kids, her curiosity of the outside world pushed her forward. In her rush, she kicked a rock. It flew through the air, pinging off the stone path and shooting the kids eyes towards her.
"Hey! What are you doing there?!" the black haired boy demanded.
"Sorry! We were just talking!" The blonde boy scrambled around to close the book and fold it against his chest.
"Does it really have pictures of the outside world?" Rain asked, uncaring about the alarm she set off in all three of them.
"Uh, y-yes," the blonde boy said.
"You're not going to tell on us, are you?" the girl asked.
"Why would I?" Rain questioned. "I just want to see the book."
The three exchanged looks. The black haired boy then nodded and the blonde lowered the book then opened it.
Rain shifted closer to them. Her eyes widened upon seeing the illustrations of the outside world. She licked her lips. The desire to go over the wall surged inside of her. She wanted to see this big body of water. She wanted to…a painful throb shot through her head. Her body swayed causing her to drop to her knees.
"Hey, are you okay?" someone asked.
She couldn't answer as images paraded across her mind and muffled whispered clogged her ears. Dark images of people. Tall people. They were doing something to her but she couldn't tell what it was. All she knew she was scared and hurting and not a single one of them offered her comfort.
"Is something wrong?" a softer voice asked.
Rain gasped for air as a hand found its way to her shoulder. She blinked. The images and whispers vanished. Looking up, she found the girl was kneeling beside her, soft concerned shown in her black eyes. Nodding she said, "Yes. I'm fine."
"What happened?" the blonde boy asked.
"I don't know," Rain replied. "I'm sorry."
"Who are you anyway?" the black haired boy asked.
Rain froze. She didn't think it through whether or not she should tell them her name. Never had she actually talked long with anyone and never stayed around long enough to even tell someone her name. Or tell anyone that didn't know her. A few people did since they knew her dad so well. But she figured not many knew about her yet despite being here for seven years. Tell them who she was would only strengthen the chance of her getting caught by her dad.
"Hey! I asked you a question!" the boy said.
"Eren, don't be rude," the blonde boy said.
"She's the one being rude, Armin," Eren said. "I only asked her a question."
"I'm sorry," Rain said. "Just call me…Jet." She cringed. It was the first name that came to her mind.
"Jet? What kind of name is that?" Eren asked. He whined when the girl whacked him on the head. "What was that for?"
"You're being rude again," she said before turning to Rain. "I'm Mikasa. This loud mouth is Eren and that's Armin."
"Nice to meet you," Rain said.
"You don't live around here, do you?" Mikasa asked.
"Not really," Rain replied. "I live…" She questioned whether or not she should keep lying. She didn't really want to. Besides she didn't have to tell them exactly everything. "I actually live in the Survey Corps. Headquarters."
"What?!" Eren shouted.
"How's that even possible?" Armin asked. "I thought only soldiers could live there."
"My dad is a soldier," Rain said. "That's why I live there too. It's just the two of us though. I don't have a mom."
"I guess that makes sense," Eren said.
"So you're dad left on the mission today," Armin said.
"Yeah." Rain nodded. She looked down an alley when she heard laughter. Her heart thumped at the sight of two Military Police. She needed to get moving. "And I can't stay any longer. I'm…expected back at the headquarters. I help with the horses."
"That's so cool," Armin said.
"Will we see you again?" Eren asked.
"Maybe," Rain said with a shrug. "If I have time I can come back at some point." She turned and ran off. "Bye!"
"She's in a hurry," Armin said.
"I wonder why," Eren said.
Mikasa just stared at Rain until she could no longer be seen.
…
Rain hummed softly to herself as she mucked out one of the horses' stall. It had been five days since her dad left on his mission. And she was really starting to miss him even to the point sneaking out to explore with in the walls was becoming a dull throb of boredom in her chest. The horse seemed to sense her distress and rubbed his giant nose on the girl's shoulder. She smiled. "Easy, boy. I'm fine. Just feeling a bit lonely and worried. I want my daddy back. At least we haven't had any storms since he's been gone. I just hope it stays that way."
The sudden sound of distress coming from one of the horses caused her to jump. Another sound forced her to push open the door. She drug the waste bucket out of the stall then closed the door behind her. Leaving the shovel against the stall she wondered down the barn until she found the horse that was in distress. Pushing open the door, she saw some slimy stuff hanging down from the back end of the horse. Her pulse thundered under her skin. She whipped around and ran outside to the paddocks where Ross was. "Ross! Ross!"
"Whoa," Ross said to the horse he was on. His eyes turned to Rain. "What's wrong?"
"Something's wrong with one of the horses!" Rain informed him. "I think she's having her baby now! But something's wrong!"
Ross rushed the horse over to the railing. Jumping off, he wrapped the rein around the pole then followed Rain back inside of the barn.
Rain waited anxiously by the stall while Ross worked on the horse. Her mind was muddled. She had no idea what was going on, even though Ross was talking her through it. She didn't hear him. She was far too nervous of losing the horse and her baby. Several minutes passed, probably hours, she wasn't sure, when finally the new baby foal had arrived. "W-well?"
"Well, it was a hard delivery since it was a breech," Ross said. "But I think they'll both be just fine. And it's a girl."
"Yeah!" Rain cheered. She stepped closer and inspected the baby. The foal was black with a white streak running between its eyes that looked like a flame to her. "She's so cute. And that white spot looks like a flame. Can we call her that? Flame?"
"I think that would be a good name for her," Ross said.
...
Erwin sighed to himself upon dismounting his horse. They had arrived back in the walls from their current mission seven days after they had left. And just like them all, they had lost a lot of soldiers. He was extremely tired and just wanted to check on Rain, then shower and take a nap.
"Hey, you look awful," Ross said, walking out of the barn.
"I am," Erwin said. "Would you take care of Jet? I really want to go check on Rain."
"Okay," Ross said, taking the reins from the man. "But she's out in the paddocks."
"Why is she out there?" Erwin asked.
"She's with a friend," Ross said. He winked at the confused man before walking Jet into the barn.
Erwin watched Ross walk away before heading towards the paddock. He smiled and leaned against the railing when he saw her. Rain was running around the paddock with a brand new baby horse following her around. The mother's baby was calming standing near, looking as if both the youngsters were her offspring.
"Well, it looks like Rain found herself a horse," Hange said, joining Erwin by the paddock.
"It would seem so," Erwin said.
"So you're going to let her have this one?" Hange asked.
"Maybe," Erwin said. "She does seem rather attracted to the little thing."
"And so it's decided," Hange said.
"It is?" Erwin lifted an eyebrow at her.
"It is." Hange nodded. "Rain's waited long enough for a horse."
"Daddy! Zoe!" Rain squealed when she saw them. She ran over to them, all but jumped over the railing and tackled her dad in a hug. "You're back! I'm so glad you're back! I've missed you so much!"
"And we've missed you!" Hange said, throwing her arms around them both.
"I assume you've been a good girl?" Erwin asked, sitting Rain down on her feet.
"I have," Rain said with a nod. "I even got to witness Flame's birth. Though I was so scared. She was born backwards. Her mom was so distressed. But Ross was every calm in the delivery."
"So her name's Flame, huh?" Hange asked, looking back at the horse.
"She has a flame like mark on her face," Rain said. "I asked Ross if we could call her that. And he said yes."
"You're rather fond of the foal, aren't you?" Erwin asked.
"I am." Rain nodded." She's been a welcome distraction since you've been gone."
"Would you like to keep her?" Erwin asked.
"Huh?!" Rain whipped her eyes up to her dad. "Really? Flame can be my horse?"
"I'll have to clear it with our superiors, but I don't see why not," Erwin said.
"Yes! Thank you, Daddy! Thank you!" Rain threw her arms around her dad and hugged him tightly before making her way back into the paddock to tell Flame the good news.
…
Author's Notes: Hope it wasn't too choppy with the time skips. I couldn't bring myself to have Erwin put her through rough training while being so young. There will be a few more time skips in the next chapter at least.
SilverHerron: Thanks. I'm trying to make their relationship as realistic as possible. So conflicts will appear at some point. I'm ready for Levi to come in too. With the time skips he'll be here soon.
