Chapter 4: Missing Things
Marie shouldn't have been surprised to see Erwin back in the bar again, along with Nile and their friends, but she hadn't wanted to expect him or the others, in the event she would end up disappointed. Her mother's words came to mind, about favoring him a little, but even though she still had the flowers, now drooping a little, she couldn't quite bring herself to think about starting a relationship. She didn't know him very well.
Still, she found herself looking at Erwin more than she wanted to admit.
She liked the easy way he spoke to his friends, the fervor with which he believed in something even as his companions laughed. And he had never been anything less than polite to her. She remembered how the night they first met he was the one who brought the table to attention.
"I wasn't sure I'd see you all again after the training year started." She set down their first round of drinks.
"We decided we like this place," said Erwin, and he spoke as if it was really as simple as that. Though a snigger in the back from Werner said otherwise.
"But haven't you been training all day?"
"We are beat," said Darrin, slouching for emphasis. He shrugged. "But a good round of beer fixes that."
"We'll still come here," said Nile. "It just won't be as often. We had a good exercise this afternoon though, and that's worth celebrating."
"Our squad came in first in the class." Brett puffed out his chest.
Marie smiled. "Congratulations, gentlemen. I wish I could have seen it."
"Well, if you'd like, we have a city exercise coming up next month," said Erwin. "Our class will be practicing around here. It's the one combat environment we can't easily train in while we're out at camp. We don't have enough buildings, especially tall ones. We'll all be in it, but probably not on the same squad. Not after what we pulled off today."
"I've seen those sometimes," said Marie. The military usually held them at week's end, when most of the businesses were closed so people could have a day's rest. Having trainees mock-fighting in the streets was best done when fewer people were about. "Is there a good place for civilians to watch?"
"The best spots are taken by the instructors, but you should be able to get a view if you can get on the roof of any building three stories or higher that runs along the training area. You won't be able to get too close for safety reasons, but people do watch."
"You can also be inside the buildings within the exercise area," said Nile. "Obviously the instructors don't want to kick people out of their homes and businesses for this. Everyone has to stay inside, but that doesn't stop people from watching through the windows."
"Is that safe?" she asked.
"Not really," said Andy, his voice deadpan. "People do it anyway."
"We're trained not to aim our maneuvering gear at windows because they're not secure enough as anchoring points," said Nile. "That's true whether or not there's someone on the other side. But sometimes people panic, and the anchors go wild. Realistically, yeah, accidents can happen, but I think your chances of getting impaled by an anchor are pretty low. If they weren't, there's no way we'd be allowed to do this."
Marie was not certain that was a good enough reassurance, but then Erwin added, "You should be safe if you're on the ground floor. Remember, we'll be high up, because we have to go for the neck of a titan and anchoring close to the ground doesn't give us any height or maneuverability. It won't stop a fall either."
That made sense. "Is there a place you recommend?" she asked.
"Well, if you want to watch us specifically," said Nile, "we don't have our assignments yet, but we can let you know when we do."
And then she would have to choose if the group of them were not on the same squad. It would probably be too obvious if Erwin ended up by himself and he was the only one she watched, but maybe that would be all right.
"Thanks," she said. "Let me know."
She tried not to hover too much while the trainees drank. There were other customers to tend to anyway, but she made sure keep an eye on them, waiting for a chance when she might be able to catch Erwin alone, and when they made to leave, she asked him to wait.
Werner overheard, chortled, and pushed the other guys out ahead of him. Nile glanced back, with a hint of disappointment, but went with the rest.
"What is it?" asked Erwin. He sounded concerned, when there was no reason for him to be at all.
"I..." Her voice failed her, and she swallowed. "I just want to thank you for the trip to the Titan Forest, and especially for the flowers."
"Oh." He smiled. "You're welcome, of course. But it wasn't just me. Nile helped too, and it was fun for the both of us."
"Well, yes, all three of us went, but it's really the flowers..." that she appreciated, though she felt silly about it. They were wilting already, but still, they existed, they were in her room, and someone had given them to her. "No one's ever given me any before and..."
A loud crack burst from outside and something clattered to the ground accompanied by a shout of "Oh shit!"
Confusion crossed Erwin's face and he turned around in time to see Brett duck back inside. "Erwin, can you come out here and help? And actually, Marie, if your father has a lantern we could borrow..."
"What happened?" she asked.
"One of the wagon wheels is broken. We've got a spare, but we need a light to change it. And we still have to head to another bar tonight to pick up the guys we came into town with."
Marie sighed. "All right." She suppose if a wheel was going to be break, it would be right as a crowd of young men were climbing into the wagon bed. But a part of her relaxed. She had thanked Erwin, and she wasn't sure she was ready for anything more.
-AoT-
The trainees continued to visit about twice a week, which Erwin felt was more than enough. There wasn't much to do in the barracks in the evenings, but taking the wagon all the way out to town every night didn't let them get much rest either. He didn't let any of his friends get drunk enough for a hangover, much to Brett's dismay, but even then, the trip often cut into the time they needed to sleep, especially if anything happened like the time the wagon wheel broke.
That didn't mean that they couldn't see Marie any other time though. It was Nile who suggested they go hunting with her at week's end, after finding out that her father would loan her his shotgun. That had been fun. The three of them and Werner went out to one of the forests and bagged a boar. While Erwin considered himself a good shot and Nile gave a run for her money, it was Marie who ultimately brought it down. The trainees got free food and beer for a week after turning all the meat over to the bar.
The following week Marie visited them at the training camp on her day off and they gave her a tour of the paddocks and the barracks. Erwin would have liked to show Marie more of their training grounds, but those were off limited to visitors. Some of the trainees practiced even during their off hours, and he knew he ought to be as well, but having Marie around was different, pleasant, and Nile tended to rib him a little less if he was too busy showing off tricks with Blue.
Shortly after that, they had their squad assignments for the city exercise and Nile relayed them to Marie. As Erwin suspected the six of them who had scored so highly on the first major exercise of the year were broken up. Andy and Darrin ended up being assigned together, which was a stroke of luck for the two, since they'd been inseparable ever since they arrived from the same village, but Werner and Brett were split from each other and the rest of their friends entirely. That wasn't a problem for Brett, who was talkative and easily made friends, but caused a panic in Werner.
Nile, however, was assigned to the same squad as Erwin, so he knew he had at least one excellent team member, though he was surprised that Marie seemed so relieved that the two of them were on the same squad. She'd made such a point to be friendly to everyone. Erwin had noticed, even though she hadn't said anything of the sort.
"I'll be there to watch both of you," she said, her voice easily audible to the rest of their table. "I'll cheer you on."
"You don't have to watch just us," he said. After all, if she wanted to be fair, she would have to cheer all of them.
She might have said something more but then Darrin blurted, "Are you dense, Erwin?" and Marie made a horrified expression before scurrying away, tray in hand. There was still one last glass on it.
"And there went my drink," said Andy, shooting Darrin a glare.
"She knows all of you," said Erwin, annoyed.
"Yeah, but she's closest to you and Nile," said Brett. "You're the ones she spends time with. It's obvious that she would want to watch the two of you over any of us."
"Sorry!" Marie reappeared suddenly. She quickly set down Andy's drink, bowed her head in apology, and ducked back out of the conversation.
Erwin turned, watching her quite pointedly check on other customers to see if there was anything they needed. She didn't look back.
"Is she really going to cheer both of us?" Nile asked.
"She said she would," said Erwin.
"I know what she said, but... You know..."
Erwin wasn't sure he did, but he thought back to the day she visited their camp and Nile had brought out Blue. He had demonstrated handsprings, riding while hanging off one side of the horse, even upside-down. Marie had been entranced and Nile had been quite pleased at dinner that night.
"I'm sure she'll cheer for you," said Erwin. "You're her friend just as much as I am."
Nile inhaled a deep breath and exhaled just as loudly. "You're right." A comfortable smile returned to his face. "Let's give her a show then."
"Oh, I want to hear this!" said Brett. "What are you guys going to do?"
-AoT-
The tactics were always Erwin's fault. That's what Nile told him, even if he went along with them, even if, inexplicably, Nile was impressed with what Erwin came up with.
Grabbing on to another person in mid-flight was hard, but possible. Swinging them around was also hard, but possible. Doing that while they were hurtling straight at him in the middle of combat was... possible. Or so Erwin told himself.
This time they were divided in teams of three. Smaller squads, but lots of titan dummies. The instructors had wedged some of them into narrow streets, which made sense, but were hard to maneuver through. A trainee's sense of direction had to be good to avoid hitting walls, and they couldn't maintain much speed from swinging on their grappling lines when the lines could only stretch the short distance between buildings.
Then there were the dummies at the intersections, the ones meant to represent the largest of titans. The trainees were not allowed to go immediately for the nape, under the assumption that in a real world scenario they wouldn't be allowed a straight shot. They had to circle it, strike the limbs first to weaken the titan and reduce the chance of someone being grabbed, and then...
Nile made the shot for the nape, but so did their third team member, Pieter. They both noticed, a little late. Pieter boosted up, swinging up and over the titan dummy's head. Nile pivoted as well, reeling in both cables and firing a burst of gas that sent him away from the titan, and straight at Erwin.
That didn't have to be a problem. They knew enough not to get their lines tangled when Nile fired again. Erwin was lower so he could drop down, and then Nile would fly over him. But instead Erwin shot his cables into the walls on either side and boosted himself up as he sheathed his swords.
"Nile!" he shouted, stretching out his arms. "Grab on!"
There was still time. He was anchored, Nile was not, and the extended length of Erwin's grappling lines were locked, forming a pendulum swing. If Nile could get a hold of his wrists, Erwin could pull him in an arc over their anchor point, swing him underneath, and then let him go, redirecting his friend straight back at the titan. Given that he and Nile were facing head-on, it would take three revolutions to do this right.
Nile understood immediately and jammed his blades back in their sheaths, hilt still attached. He reached out. It was stupid dangerous, since without them he couldn't use his maneuvering gear and he was freefalling. He was counting on Erwin to get in range.
Erwin did.
He reached up, and Nile reached down, grabbing his wrists. Only one of them could get a grip while their bodies were facing the same direction, but they would fix that. Nile's momentum carried him over Erwin's head, pulling Erwin back as well. But Erwin's grappling lines anchored them, and Erwin leaned back, flipping Nile overhead, and redirecting his friend as his cables pulled taut and carried them back in a downward arc.
Nile didn't let go yet. He was still facing the way he had arrived, his back was towards the titan when they hit the point where he would eventually release, but now they had centrifugal force working for them, pulling them both out in a straight line.
Their second time over, at their apex while Nile was completely upside down, Nile pivoted and shifted his grip, changing wrists one hand at a time so that he turned a 180 and Erwin was able to grab his wrists in return.
Now they would go around one more time to rebuild momentum, and then Nile would launch, facing the correct direction and free to use his maneuvering gear again.
But as they came down the second time, Erwin's orientation was a little different, a little better for not having to adjust for Nile's incoming speed, or the fact that he was not already moving in a circular arc. They were perfectly in line this time, which allowed him to catch a glimpse of the streets below, including an open window through which he could see a pretty barmaid looking up at them.
Marie really was watching them.
They swung up again for the third revolution, but the momentum wasn't there. Erwin realized it a moment too late. They reached their apex with no speed remaining.
"Erwin, what the hell...?" said Nile.
And that was all he managed before gravity brought him down on top of Erwin, Nile's head colliding with Erwin's shoulder. Arms flailed. Metal clanged against metal. Sword sheaths or maneuvering gear, Erwin wasn't sure what. Somehow Nile ended up upside down, tangled in somebody's hilt cable, and then one of Erwin's grappling lines broke free of the eastern building, sending them both crashing into the wall on the west.
A/N: During my manga reread I noticed that Erwin is frequently referred to as "gambling" in regards to his plans when he's talking with his peers (Pixis and Nile), which I find interesting since the Survey Corps itself doesn't find Erwin irresponsible, so I wanted to showcase a little of his gambling as a trainee.
The move he and Nile attempt here is partially inspired by one a couple regular Survey Corps members do (sideways!) when fighting the Female Titan in episode 25, but I had to change it due to Erwin and Nile's orientation. Rewatching that clip made me realize why they're positioned sideways. It's to avoid the reorientation that Nile does in my story, because if the catcher and the flyer are both oriented belly down during the catch, the flyer would be facing the wrong way when thrown back out. In the anime, the vertically oriented flyer twists 90 degrees before he and the horizontally oriented catcher grab hands, accomplishing the reorientation before they connect. This is why they're sideways. It makes it possible to throw the flyer back out with only a single revolution.
To RR: No, Erwin did not name Pfeffer (German for "pepper"). I figure the horses are generally named by whoever trained them if they were bred or purchased as foals for the military. If a horse was bought as an adult from an outsider they probably would keep their name unless it was something long or inappropriate.
