Mikasa,

It's barely been over half a year since I last saw you, but it feels like ages. Weird right? I guess it's just because I became so used to having you around all the time over the few years we've known each other. Between the fall of Wall Maria and our escape from The Nightingale, a terrible sense of anxiety took hold of me—something I haven't felt since I was a small child myself. Your presence was a comfort to me during those hard times. I didn't tell you back then because as the eldest I felt like I needed to be strong, for you and for Revekka. Though I think you saw through me even then. You've always been a perceptive person.

Oh rats, I'm babbling again—you probably want to know how I've been doing for the past seven months. Well, with a light heart I can tell you my days as an escort are over! I've moved from Stohess District to the Hermiha District where I've been taken under the wing of a rather notorious 3DMG mechanic, so guess what I've been learning how to do? Surprising right? Who would've thought that a dress up doll like me would be learning how to craft and repair 3D maneuver gear? You can thank Frederick for this opportunity. He really is a good man, which is pretty unusual for a member of the MP. For the longest time I didn't think he was actually serious about helping me quit my previous line of work and getting me an honest job elsewhere. It wouldn't be the first time that a man has made half-assed promises like Fred's, when he's convinced himself he's in love with me. So you can imagine my surprise when Fred comes to my room and says "A friend of mine is looking for an assistant to help smooth things over in her shop, and I mentioned you were desperate for a job. She said as long as you're not intimidated by a little hard labor or getting dirty then she'd be happy to have you."

"Hard labor" and "getting dirty" he says—ha! Who does he think he's talking to? I've been working my ass off in filth all my life!

Anyway, I'm pretty sure you're wondering why on earth I would take up such an odd job. After you and Revekka were gone it got me thinking-"What am I doing with my life?" It just sort of hit me, you know. What I was doing back in The Nightingale and in the Stohess District with you two, was something I was convinced I would be doing my whole life, whether I liked it or not. And I know it isn't right for me to say this but, when I no longer had to provide for you and Revekka, I felt lighter. For the first time in a long, long time I felt free. I could walk away from the makeup, the costumes, the stinky old men and their rotting sons—all of it. Which is what I did, and now I'm doing something productive. What I do, what Amelia does, it's going to help save lives—we're not just building and re-building weapons for war, we're giving people the means to fight, to protect. This job makes me think of you. Through all the blood, sweat, and grease it gives me comfort to know that I can do something for you even though we're miles apart.

My life aside, I'm certain you want to know how Revekka's been holding up in the mines. I only wish I could give you an answer but the child refuses to keep in contact with me. I guess I shouldn't be all that surprised. Revekka's always been closer to you than to me, but at the very least I can assure you she's alive and kicking. And you know more than anyone how pointless it is to worry over her. She is like wood; hard, unyielding, unbendable and firmly rooted to this earth like a great oak tree. She's a resilient girl, even more so than I was at her age. I think that's probably why you took to her the way you did. Compared to her, you're like water—you can take the shape and adapt to whatever situation you're in, and you flow aimlessly through this world, whether you like it that way or not. I think you needed someone like her to anchor you. Then again, at some point we all needed each other like that. We depended on one another to re-solidify the ground beneath our feet so we didn't feel as lost and as confused in this chaotic world.

Which is why I can only imagine how lost you must feel right now. I'm not too certain myself on where my life is going, but you know what? As Revekka would say -fuck the reasoning and just go with it! There's plenty of time for you to find something new to strive for, Mikasa. You're so young and there's so much in this world to see—this cruel, this ridiculous, this beautiful world.

And there I go again! Fred's right, I am starting to sound like an old lady with the way I keep waxing on philosophy. I wish I could talk to you more—there's so much I want to tell you but at this rate I'll end up writing a book and I'm running out of parchment as is, so I'll wait to tell you in person. Fred told me that I'll be able to see you again in a few months anyway, when all trainees are given leave to see their loved ones and friends. I'm so excited!

Hang in there girl. And remember, even though I'm not with you in person—I still think of you and Revekka every day and I love you both—bumps bruises and all.

Sincerely,

Winnie.

Year 848, Wall Rose, Survival Training Grounds 3:

It was common knowledge among the more decent (and decidedly more naïve in Mikasa's opinion) people living within the territories of the walls, that the most dangerous areas to live in (other than the lands outside the walls of course) were the vast forests scattered throughout the eastern territories of Wall Rose. The climate in these areas was volatile and harsh. One always had to worry of wolves, poisonous plants, and diseases carried by certain bugs.

Mikasa couldn't disagree with them. She used to live in one of these areas herself so she knew and understood full well the dangers of the wild. Sasha, with all her talk of her home village in Dauper, probably understood that even better than she did. Despite her polite speech and seemingly eccentric ways, Sasha Blaus had the intuition and the instincts of a wild animal. To grow up in a village situated deep within the forests, it was probably something she had to develop as a means of survival.

Yes, the wild lands were a danger to many due to their unpredictable environment, and the feral nature of the beasts dwelling within them. But there were other places too. They were places within the walls only people like her, steeped in filth could know of.

The territories within Wall Sina were dangerous in a different way.

To outsiders the place looked like a paradise. There was no litter to be found cluttered about the impressive stonework of the sidewalks; no lack-luster materials abound within the fancy shops that Mikasa could and would never be able to afford to so much as take a piss in, no matter how much she could steal. The alleyways between buildings didn't stink of human excrement and other bodily fluids like in the outside territories. The homes of the Nobility and the Cathedrals hosting the wall cultists were exquisite in their architecture. It was a bright and brilliant place, where both riches and resources from all over the remaining human territories were abundant.

But the brightest of places tended to cast the darkest of shadows. They were the shadows that were cast by the nature of the people that lived there and they tended to coalesce in one place: The Underground Black Market.

Mikasa had been there only twice. Twice in her short lifetime she had been to a place where no child belonged. And compared to that hell, Mikasa would gratefully take on the dangers of the woodlands. At least there, the air didn't stink of drugs, alcohol, sex and human blood. The waters weren't poisoned with filth she hated to think of and she'd always take wild animals over people. At least animals didn't reason.

At least that's what she thought until she found herself smack in the middle of the Thüringen Forest (better known to the rest of the civilized world as Frostbite Forest) along with the rest of the members of the 104th trainee corps.

So now she had to contend with wild beasts, extremely cold and life-threatening climates, and worse yet, other people. Fucking super.

Winnie's letter lay tightly clasped within her gloved left hand as she scanned the wintery landscape around her. Mercury eyes darted back and forth, looking for the slightest signs of threat plausibly hidden within the endless maze of towering pine trees. When she had seen nothing of substance, a small wave of relief washed over her weary form. She turned her attention, once again to the worn piece of parchment resting in her hand.

Winnie's letter came to her only two days prior. The first time she read it, she found herself fighting off tears. That night she had trouble sleeping. Thoughts of leaving the trainee corps for good plagued her mind. She missed her golden haired comrade terribly. The heartsick feelings were almost strong enough to push her into sneaking away from the trainee corps for good and going to live with Winnie in the Hermiha District. But her good judgment knew better. Winnie would never accept that.

So for now she had to settle for the letter in her hand. That didn't bother her too much. She could thank the boy, softly snoring next to her thigh for that. As she anticipated after their encounter only months prior, it became next to impossible not to be around him. For the past six months it had been her, him and Armin, who was curled up rather close between her and Eren at the moment. He was a good foil to his headstrong childhood friend with his wisdom and insight that extended far beyond his years. She found an interesting sort of solace in his stories of the outside world, as well as their intelligent conversations.

As for Eren, the sheer amount of parallels that ran between him and Revekka had a nasty habit of tugging at her heartstrings. Like her companion, his blood ran way too hot through his veins; his jokes were terrible, sense of humor entirely inappropriate, and his spirit seemed every bit as breakable as ultra-hard steel. Even so, Mikasa couldn't pinpoint it, but in an odd sort of way Eren didn't seem as…colored by the cruelties of this world like Revekka was. He was frighteningly naïve when it came to people. While his heart was in the right place, his brain was almost always, nowhere to be found. His self-preservation instincts were non-existent. That scared her a little. Unlike Revekka he wasn't stupidly strong to make up for the lapses in judgment and lack of practicality.

He wasn't someone she could turn her back to and trust him to come back alive. She could only hope that would change over the course of their training, otherwise he was going to earn himself a one way ticket into some titan's stomach.

Yawning profusely, she checked the angle of the moon and sighed. Her "shift" was over. Stowing Winnie's letter within her back pocket she reached over with that same hand to flick a snoring Eren on the nose, all the while doing her best to suppress a snicker at the ridiculous face he made in response.

"You're on duty solider so stop drooling on my leg and get up already. Wow, what a face. Do you always look this unfriendly whenever you wake up?"

Eren scowled at her chipper (why wouldn't she be at least a little happy to finally get some well needed sleep she hadn't had in close to 48 hours). Well, tried to scowl. Half his face looked to be numb from both lethargy and the cold, and he still had a line of drool running down the corner of his mouth. It would've been almost cute if he hadn't tried to look so annoyed. He snorted, rolling up his sleeping wrap while she busied herself with fishing around in her bag of supplies for her own.

As nimbly as she could she crawled into her thick sleeping wrap and wormed herself in between the two boys beside her. In matters of extreme cold, personal space was a luxury none of them could afford. Not even within the small, insulated fabric walls of their tent. Sleep in a place like the Thüringen Forest during the middle of winter was dangerous, even more so within the wrong places. It took the three of them a total of near two days with no sleep to find this area, shielded from the howling winds and freezing rains. Even then, they had to take precautions.

Pushing those thoughts out of her mind while she nestled herself against Eren's side she let her eyelids drop for the first time in two days. Before she fell under she had to wonder: how is it that one teenage boy could exhume so much body heat? Even through the wrap she could feel his warmth. It was a far from unwelcome feeling. For there was nothing more terrifying in this world to her than the cold.

Eren sighed, carding a hand through his messy brunette hair while he kept a somewhat vigilant watch of the lands just outside the flimsy flaps of their tent. This place was just too peaceful and quiet to keep up a watchful demeanor. Several times over he had to smack himself so that he didn't doze off and risk freezing to death. This was exactly why he could never be a part of the Garrison. As much as he criticized Hannes for his drunken habits of slacking off while guarding the walls he was actually starting to see where he came from, if only a little bit. Just loitering about and waiting for something to happen could get kinda boring once the apprehension wore off.

He shook his head at that train of thought.

"What the hell am I thinking? Letting down your guard is the worst thing you can do in this situation. Get your shit together Eren Jaeger," he thought to himself.

He was right on that. He knew it. Humanity had let down its guard for over 100 years and look what that happened because of that. He ground his teeth as images from an unwelcome memory flashed through his head. It had been nearly three years since that time and he still couldn't look back on that day without fighting off a near overwhelming sense of nausea mixed in with a feeling of helplessness.

"You couldn't save her because you lacked strength. I couldn't save her because I was scared!"

Fuck that.

He wasn't going to be weak anymore. He wasn't going to break over the weight of fear. He had come too far to start pulling that sort of shit now. He let out a harsh breath he hadn't realized he was holding in, now sort of grateful for the angry determination burning hot trails in his veins. It was just what he needed to pull himself out of the half-sleepy stupor he had been in moments ago. He wasn't like Mikasa. He couldn't stay one hundred percent sharp around everything and anything 24/7. Then again, he was pretty sure out of all of the trainees here, no one else could either. (Probably not even Annie and that was saying something considering how guarded she could be.) Initially he passed off her hyper-vigilance as another one of her talents as the resident genius of their lot. However, the more he got to know her, the more he had to wonder if that truly was the case.

Especially considering the chaotic events from a few days prior…

Flashback 2 Days Ago, Wall Rose, High Northern District of Thuringia:

"Holly Titan's balls its fucking cold!"

If Eren wasn't too busy trying to curl in on himself in an attempt to stave off the all-encompassing, downright miserable chill, he would have playfully reminded Connie that Titans didn't have balls.

"Yes, yes thank you so much for pointing out the fucking obvious Springer. Only an idiot like you could pick the worst possible time to develop such a useless ability," he heard Ymir respond.

Connie bristled and Eren could feel his face twisting into a visage of disbelief because, holly shit Ymir what crawled up your ass and died? (Not that she wasn't always like this but still…)

"Screw you, Ymir!"

"Ugh, god no, idiot isn't my type."

"At least I don't have a chronic bitch-face."

Ymir shrugged at that. Eren noticed she didn't bother denying the remark any more than he had denied her for calling him an idiot.

"I'd rather look like a bitch than a retard."

"Uegh, you flat-faced bitch, you wanna go?!"

"Guys knock it off. I know you guys are edgy and irritated because of the cold but this isn't helping!"

Krista's bell voice, scratched and strained by the weather and her own irritation, stopped both parties mid-rant. Eren remembered the first time he got a good look at the girl while shooting the shit with Reiner. Large crystalline eyes, golden hair, a small build and round heart-shaped face. With such features he could easily see why she caught the eyes of most men in their unit. There's no doubt in his mind that she'd become a beautiful woman, but would she become an excellent solider in the process? He couldn't say either way.

"Enough."

An all too familiar voice from beside him broke Eren out of his thoughts. Mikasa. He turned to regard her and promptly felt his stomach drop. There was something dangerous in her current expression; eyes dull, dark, lightless and underlined with bruises were narrowed at the noisy trio in a very threatening manner. The outline of her mouth was lost to him underneath the folds of her arms and her inky hair obscured most of her face in messy waves, but it did little to detract from her daunting countenance.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Connie gulp and Krista suppress a small shudder. Ymir fell back to her perfect picture of edged nonchalance as she shrugged her shoulders and sat back down, but even he could see she was somewhat surprised, if not un-nerved by Mikasa's sudden interference. He couldn't blame any of them. It was very unlike Mikasa to voice out her agitation, let alone allow it to show on her face.

"Hey are you okay," he asked.

Her eyes fell shut and she let out a sigh.

"Yeah."

Her voice was gentle, meant to sound reassuring no doubt, but the crease of her brows and the haggard look in her eyes told a different story. He didn't like seeing her like this. Mikasa, the strong, composed child prodigy of their unit looking so… tense—almost jumpy.

Yes, jumpy; that was it.

"Don't feed me that bullshit Mikasa."

At his harsh words she lifted her head a little and raised her eyebrows. From the subtle changes in her expression he could almost picture her pale pink lips quirking to the side in that lopsided smile she had in reserve for him. He felt his own face twist into a look of puzzlement at her actions. After all, mild amusement, affection, whatever the hell it was, wasn't exactly the reaction he had in mind.

She could be so strange sometimes.

"God, Eren you need to learn how to talk to girls. Of course she isn't alright. Who's supposed to be in this hellish weather this early in the morning? Even a lunk-headed idiot like you should be able to pick up on that much."

He didn't even have to look to know who that bitchy tone of voice belonged to.

Jean, that asshole.

"Fuck off Jean. I don't think Mikasa needs you to speak for her," he snarled the words and watched as Jean's face contorted into an ugly antagonism-complete with downturned brows and widening beady eyes. Eren felt the tension rising from him twofold and was ready to return the ire before an elbow made harsh greetings with the side of his ribs.

He jumped and choked back a yelp at the sharp pain running laps up and down his side.

"What the fuck Mikasa?!"

She shot him an exasperated look in response, before turning to give Jean the same glance.

"Don't you go starting shit as well," she told him and he flushed a little at her words. Eren watched as the antagonism drained out of him with no small amount of bafflement. Seriously, the affect she could have on someone as caustic and unaffected as Jean was nothing short of amazing. Among all the people in the 104th trainee unit he only knew of one who could have such an effect on Jean, and that was Marco (again to his complete confusion).

Speaking of Marco…

"Hey guys do you know of the stories that float around these parts?"

Marco's voice wavered as he spoke the words and Eren got the feeling that it wasn't just on part of the cold. His ears picked up on Ymir's derisive snort from her corner position on the cart.

"Telling ghost stories now are we?"

"Ymir," came Krista's stern warning to which the woman responded with an affectionate, albeit harsh, laugh. At their antics, Connie shook his head, and Jean rolled his eyes.

"I've heard a little yeah, but not much. My home's in the mountains as well just like in this place, and who in the mountain villages hasn't heard of the reputation of this place? You lived in Sinae right Marco? That's not that far from where we are now."

Across from Marco on Mikasa's right side Sasha spoke up, though her usual animation rang a little false. It was easy to see that she attempted to engage in the conversation to help lighten the collective mood that hung over the heads of every cadet in the cart.

"Yeah you're right about that. Actually Sinae is only a days' worth of travel from here. It's during this time of the year that we tend to get a lot of visitors from this area in my hometown so I always end up hearing their tales about this place through the grapevine."

His voice sounded strained, unnerved even, despite his attempts to return Sasha's welcoming enthusiasm. Eren was starting to wonder why he even bothered to bring up the subject when he looked so anxious to talk about it.

"What sort of stories," Armin asked. Eren withheld an affectionate smile at the curiosity and unbridled interest reflected in his voice and his face. Be it folktales or facts, knowledge was knowledge and Armin could never resist the appeal of learning something new.

"Nachtzherer," Ymir cut in, just barely holding back a snort of derision.

"Na—what," Sasha asked.

"Shit, I can't even spell that," Connie chimed in.

"Wow, Ymir way to steal someone else's thunder," Jean commented in lieu of Marco, who was looking at Ymir with a surprised, albeit curious gaze.

"Just get on with the damn story will you," Mikasa spoke up in a voice laden with impatient exasperation. Eren would have laughed at how everyone collectively jumped at the sound of her edgy tone, if he hadn't jumped along with them.

"W-well the details are pretty vague at best but basically people say the forest we're heading to is cursed. Every year around this time of the season, where the winter is at its worse someone always just sort of disappears."

At that, Eren's face screwed up into a visage of disbelief. "Yeah right, Marco. I mean c'mon who just disappears? People die, yes, but no one just up and vanishes."

"You'd be surprised," Mikasa said. Something about the way she said that didn't sit right with him.

"It could be an effect of terminal burrowing," Armin interjected. "In this sort of cold it's something most any creatures, including human beings do when they're on the verge of freezing to death. They just run off somewhere away from everything else and hide until the cold kills them."

"I second Armin on that," Sasha said.

"Anyway," Marco said, clearly tired of being interrupted. "The locals say that in the beginning it was the forest. The forest would take them away and burrow their bodies' deep underground. Over and over and over again. For years people would say it was a demon of sorts-one that traveled on the wind. But that changed one day when a few hunters from the area went up into the woods to scavenge for prey. The villagers warned them against it, but you know—starving men do some desperate things."

Oh yes, Eren knew. Fights over food were commonplace in the frontiers Armin, himself and Armin's grandfather were sent to. Sometimes they even ended in death.

"Anyhow, a group of seven men or so went up there, but only two men came back. One was completely catatonic. He didn't talk, his face was blank, and he had a dead look in his eyes. He was like a child's doll in a sense."

Out of the corner of his eye, Eren caught Mikasa clawing into the thick fabric on her arm.

"That's pretty tragic," Kirsta said. Like Mikasa, her eyelids hung low over her azure orbs and her gaze strayed off to the side. Clearly the two of them picked up on something everyone else missed, or just couldn't see.

"If you say so. I've got another word for it—creepy," Connie responded.

"Oh it gets worse," Marco said. "While it was pretty clear no one was getting anything out of what happened with the first guy, that wasn't the case with the second. Apparently they were ambushed and he was knocked unconscious in the process but when he woke up he noticed most of his comrades were gone. He ended up finding guy 2 hiding in the bushes. When he asked about the others, the guy just lifted a finger and pointed towards a set of drag marks in the snow, stained with dirt and blood."

Marco paused to catch his breath and a silence ensued. Eren took the opportunity to study the profiles of everyone in the cart. Krista looked mildly disturbed. Connie looked like he was ready to piss himself. Armin's face crinkled in thought. Ymir showed no change in her usual nonchalance save for the steady gaze she pinned on Krista. Beside him Mikasa's edgy gaze stayed locked onto the floor. Her eyes, normally light like polished silver were now a dark, dark, grey. They reminded him of a dull, rusted blade, caked in filth from god knows what.

"Marco whenever you and I make it into the MP remind me never to trade ghost stories with you because you're just way too good at this. Seriously, there's nothing more ridiculous than getting scared over the rays of sunshine someone's blowing up your ass," Jean said. Marco let out a small laugh in response followed by snorts and snickers from the rest of the group. Even Eren couldn't hold back a huff and a smirk. For a jackass, Jean did have a good sense of humor.

"So wait…how does this tie into those na-na-natze-"

"Oh you mean the Nachtzeher," Marco interrupted Connie before he gave himself an aneurism over trying to pronounce the word. "Well, that's what people started to call whatever dragged those five hunters away. The term belongs to some really old language and it roughly translates to something like, Night Stalker. According to old legends they were undead beasts that would rise up from the earth to steal away the living in the dead of night. It's said that they're what's left of the people the forest had stolen away decades ago."

Beside Marco, huddled up in a mass of wool and blankets someone let out a whimper. Eren had seen the guy before, he was sure of it, but he couldn't remember his name.

"I was wondering why you'd been so quiet for so long. Jeez, Dazz, I told you not to fall asleep in this weather for a reason you know," Marco scolded. Eren took a look at Dazz's sheepish countenance and held back a scoff. Wow really. Didn't the instructor go over the day before that sleeping out in the open cold could get you killed? Then again, he also said that a good chunk of trainees have actually died during this "exercise". Given the carelessness this guy just displayed, Eren wouldn't be surprised if Dazz ended up being one of those casualties.

He could only imagine how much of a caustic asshole he'd look like if he decided to voice that thought aloud. Well, how much more of a caustic asshole he'd look like considering some of his peers already thought of him as a caustic asshole with suicidal tendencies. That suited him just fine. He had no interest in be-friending self-serving morons, only interested in furthering their positions as livestock by using the military to retreat even deeper within the walls. If they had a problem with his "attitude" then they could take it up with this shitty excuse of a world they lived in behind the over-sized pens that were the remaining walls.

"Well at least your story ended up doing some good Marco. But seriously Connie, did you have to ask," Jean joked again. This time though, Eren wasn't laughing.

"Is it really so odd to think that they're actually is something up there? After all we do live in a world where there are giant monsters right outside our doorstep just waiting to take a bite out of us," he said, looking directly at Jean. His blood threatened to boil over when Jean gave him a once over before rolling his eyes and letting out a dramatic sigh.

"You of all people would be the one to say something like that. What's wrong Jaeger? You're telling me the man who's someday going to 'kill all the titans' pisses his pants at night over a few baseless ghost stories?"

Eren's nostrils flared. Son of a bitch…

As if sensing his rising ire, a firm hand shot out and took hold of his upper arm, squeezing mercilessly. Eren suppressed a wince, turning to shoot a hot glare of indignation at the owner of the offending appendage. Mikasa.

She sent a cutting look to Jean, before turning her eyes back on him.

"If the two of you so much as look at the other in a funny way, so help the walls, I will toss both of you off this cart and into the road where you'll actually have adequate room to continue your terrible attempts at serenading each other."

Sasha cackled. Connie had burst into small giggles. Ymir and Marco snorted. Eren felt his face burn and it had nothing to do with the unforgiving chill. His eyes darted to Armin in a silent plea of "Do something!"

A maneuver that ultimately proved fruitless, if the quirk of his brows and the humored grin were any indication. Traitor. Damn him. Damn Jean and his antics. Damn Mikasa and her horrible sense of humor that often came at someone's expense (namely him).This time though, Eren could see it in her eyes that she wasn't trying to be funny. Seriously, what was her problem? He and Jean got into fights all of the time (more often that naught when she was around). She never cared to intervene before. If anything their larks always seemed to bore her (even amuse her on good days).

He knew that given her shitty mood testing her would be a bad idea but that didn't stop him from shooting her a scathing look that all but snapped "Okay what the hell crawled up your ass and died?"

Yes it was ass-cold. Yes, they were heading into a frozen hell and expected to survive there with the bare essentials for at least a week. Yes, none of them had been given a fair amount of sleep before the instructors barged in and told them to get dressed and packed if they didn't want to traverse the cold butt-naked. Yes, all of these events combined were reason enough to leave anybody pissy but this wasn't just anyone. This was Mikasa. This was the woman who went through 3DMG Drills and barely broke a sweat—let alone her composure.

Dull silver clashed with turquoise in a moment of silent acknowledgement before the woman blinked and turned her head away from the intensity in his gaze.

"To some extent Jean has a point. There's no point in entertaining superstition. Ghosts and ghouls don't exist and they don't need to. People fill out their roles well enough—especially in desperate environments such as this with only the smallest idea on how to survive in them."

Eren's eyes narrowed in indignation at the context of her words, and the sudden surge of agitation pulsing thick in his veins had him opening his mouth without a second thought on the matter.

"Call me crazy but it sounds like you're implying that our peers are worse than these monsters."

Mikasa sighed.

"Potentially yes. Is it really so difficult a concept to grasp-That desperate people will do desperate things? You spent two years on the frontier Eren, you should already know this."

Of course he knew. He knew what she was getting at. He saw it. He saw people kill each other for a mere loaf of bread. Starvation. Conflict. All of it. He remembered it as clearly as he remembered the looks of disdain and revulsion members of the MP would shoot at the lot of them. There's no way he could forget that.

But things were different now…

"This isn't the frontier Mikasa. This is the military and we're soldiers in training. As such we have to learn to rely on each other, as a unit. Because that's what soldiers do; they rely on each other as much as they do their commanding officer. If we turn on each other then what is it that we're left with? Nothing. Nothing but chaos and a one way ticket to hell."

As he spoke he watched as her face contorted into a blend of skepticism and…sorrow? He didn't have time to contemplate her expression before she began speaking again.

"Just now you sounded like Reiner, and like him, you'd be a fool to put your faith in another person based on principle alone. Trust isn't something that's handed out with a title. It's something earned. Soldier or not, people are still people. Just different breeds of the same beast."

Different breeds of the same beast…

Flashback End

"Beasts eh," he said into the darkness, voice barely rising above a whisper and trailing off into the howling winds.

Were human beings no different than beasts? He didn't believe that. Humans were humans and beasts were beasts. Sometimes they liked to switch skins, but a beast would always remain a beast no matter how expertly hidden he was within a human hide. Besides he'd seen the face of the true beasts and nothing—nothing in this world could match them in monstrosity. Not even a human being.

People could scorn. People could beat, could bully—could kill each other even over the most simplest of things. They could take advantage of, but he'd never seen them prey on one another the way the Titans did. Moreover, not even a starving man would think to eat another human being.

Or tear them limb from limb—snapping them in half like twigs in giant, giant hands before opening that gaping maw and…

"Goddamnit," he growled, smacking a hand to his face. Don't go there. Don't fucking go there again. Damn Mikasa for getting him started on that train of thought with those words. He needed to think of something else. Teal eyes flitted to the girl curled between himself and Armin. He'd never really seen her sleep before so it was a curious thing to watch the furrow of her brows beneath long ebony bangs. The twitch of her face. The unsteady patters of her breath as it sped up and slowed down in un-predictable intervals—like the rise and fall of an offbeat melody with no rhyme or reason to its verse. Definitely not an easy sleeper, he surmised. Maybe that was to be expected from someone who likened human beings to beasts while walking amongst them.

What had happened to her to make her think that way, he wondered? He wanted to ask her that back on the cart, but he knew the most he would get was a stony silence (and perhaps a glare for asking such a question in the presence of others). He didn't need Armin to tell him that the life she had before enlisting was far from easy. He knew. He knew she was different from the others, and not just in the physical sense (though he swore up and down the Walls that no one else in the entirety of the human territories had hair that black, or skin that pale).

She wasn't like the others that Bertolt described. She didn't come from a warm family home in search of recognition or a cushy life within the inner district. She was like him—the displaced, the disdained from the fallen Wall Maria and Zhiganshina District. She was there when the Armored Titan broke through the gate. His mind jumped to that time in the hospital room, months prior:

"Why did you join the military?"

"...Because I had no choice."

"What the hell does that even mean," he half said, half groaned into thin air.

"What does what mean," a very throaty, very feminine voice questioned. The unexpected response jarred him out of his thoughts, pulling a jolt of surprise out of his sitting form. Thereby jostling the girl resting on his leg (to which she responded with a half-growl, half-squeak of indignation). After calming down he turned to look at her. Pale peach lips pursed together in irritation, contradicted the questioning quirk in her thin onyx brows.

"What the hell is up with you," she asked.

"I was thinking and you startled me okay? Besides, no one said you had to sleep on my leg so that was all on you," he said, grumbling out that last part as she rolled her eyes.

"So you were spacing out."

"Yeah kind of—hey, don't look at me like that. Do you have any idea how close I was to falling asleep and freezing my ass off?"

Defensiveness bled into agitation at the long suffering sigh she gave in response. By the walls, did he hate it when Mikasa acted like this. Like she was lugging around a moron and that moron was him. Just as he was about to give voice to his irritation, she spoke up once more.

"Never mind. Its dawn so I guess we should get moving. The sooner we can reach the first check point the better," she said as she began to stuff her wrap back in its bag.

He didn't respond, still a little hung up on her attitude from before. As if sensing his discontent, Mikasa stopped what she was doing to look at him.

"Eren-," she began to say before she was cut off by a soft yawn from the blond-haired boy on her side. Both of them turned to see Armin, lower half of his body still snug in his wrap as he stretched his upper half in an attempt to chase away any leftover drowsiness.

"Good morning guys," he said, voice still soft and hoarse with residual sleepiness.

"Have a nice sleep," Eren asked, the agitation he still held in reserve for Mikasa accidentally bleeding into his voice, causing the blonde to jump a little before averting his eyes—almost in a shameful way. Oh shit, that's right. He had completely forgotten Armin's discontent at being denied watch duty by the both of them in favor of needed sleep.

Flashback:

"I understand where the both of you are coming from but I don't need to be coddled. I can handle myself, and if I can't then I'd rather die from exhaustion than slow the two of you down," the blonde spoke through gritted teeth.

"Don't be ridiculous Armin, you know as well as I that there's no way in hell I'm going to let you die. Besides, you can operate better than the two of us can on more sleep."

"And I can operate just as fine with less sleep, so quit patronizing me," Armin snapped in response. Shit. Nothing like dealing with a pissy, sleep-deprived Armin to top off an already shitty day.

"God Armin you know that's not what I wa-"

"—Armin," Mikasa cut him off. The boy in question turned to regard her, stiff necked with a sharp look on his face.

"You should know better than us that mental stamina takes longer to rebuild than physical. Your body will have recovered in a matter of three to four hours. Your mind however takes at least six to eight hours. If we're going to get through this training we're going to need your brains at their sharpest. And let's face it, when it comes to brain power all that extra sleep is wasted on Eren anyway."

"Fuck you too Mikasa," he interjected none too pleasantly.

"And you," Armin asked, sounding oddly subdued.

"I'll be fine. Sleep and I have never had the best of relationships anyway…"

An elbow to the side brought him out of the memory. A grunt of pain forced its way out of his lips as he brought a hand over the afflicted area.

"Shit, woman do you not know your own strength," he said. More like wheezed if he felt like being honest with himself.

"Says the crazy bastard who trains with Annie during close-quarter combat sessions," She shot back, not even bothering to look his way—the heartless wench.

"Pay him no mind Armin, he's only pissy because he spent too much time stewing in his own angry thoughts," she said, trying to comfort his best friend (at his expense).

"If I'm angry then it must be something you did," he retorted as he picked up his bag and strapped it to his shoulders on top of his heavy wool military traveler's cloak. Mikasa snorted in response.

"Uh guys?"

The two of them turned their gaze to their companion.

"…You know what, forget it. We should probably get moving soon anyway."

"My thoughts exactly," Mikasa concurred, mirroring Eren's movements as she brought her own supplies back around her back. Mikasa was a very physical person. Most of her communication could be better found in her body language and non-verbal cues than in her words. Eren could tell from the jerkiness of the gesture that it was her way of telling him that now wasn't the time or place so drop it.

So drop it he did…for now.

To be continued…

A/N: No I'm not dead. I've just been busy. That and I like to take my time editing and re-writing chapters before posting them. After all there's nothing more jarring to a reader than grammatical discrepancies in a story. So yeah, I'm my own beta.

Anyhow, the time away has given me the chance to think about what direction I want to take this story in. I'm not giving out spoilers but I will say I do have a plot in mind and these next few chapters are relevant to it on a subtle level. As for relationships, on the whole I'm looking at a more platonic! Eremika, as opposed to something romantic. Eren, Armin and Mikasa are kind of a brotp for me. That said, I am going to try to incorporate some LeviMika a little down the road because I'm a huge sucker for a romantic mentor/mentee dynamic.

As always, commentary questions or constructive criticisms are adored.

Invernam