Chapter 7

Petra wanted to watch the men train. She no longer remembered what the 3DMG was but when she saw Oluo putting it on, she became curious. Oluo explained how it worked and Petra decided she wanted to see it and would play with Eren later. Even telling the young girl that Captain Levi would be there did not dissuade her from wanting to go with them, though she did hesitate before begging, with puppy dog eyes, to stay once more.

Not believing he would say yes, Oluo asked Captain Levi if Petra could watch them. Surprisingly, Levi said he would allow it as long as the girl did not distract anyone. Petra was ecstatic when she was told this by Oluo. The white-haired man then let Eren know that he didn't need to babysit and the men took the young girl with them to a nearby forest. The forest was only a short walk from the Survey Corps building.

Petra sat in clearing as she watched in visible awe as Oluo, Eld and Gunther used their 3DMG in the trees. The men tried keeping to her line of sight when they could, just to show off for her a little.

Petra stood mesmerized at the way the men used their gear. Both her eyes were wide and she had a big grin on her face. Eld, Gunther and Oluo flew through the air like birds. They flipped and jumped and slashed with their swords. She laughed in delight when the men waved to her a few times. Petra wanted to cheer them on but she didn't think Captain Levi would like that.

As Petra watched her "older brothers", she began to sneak glances at the Captain. At first he just watched the men as they practiced, ordering them to do one maneuver or another. He then joined them to demonstrate new maneuvers or how a certain ones could be done better. Even Petra could tell that Captain Levi was better than the others with the 3DMG.

The young girl began to wonder what the Captain was really like. Eld, Gunther and Oluo liked him and they were really nice. Did that mean he was nice too? Mother always told her that some people looked frightening but that didn't mean they were bad. Mr. Lukas, Petra's neighbor, was like that. He looked really scary with the big scar on his face but he had been really nice when he found her lost in town one day. He had quickly brought her back to her worried parents. Petra visited him often after that and felt bad she had thought he was mean because of his face.

After training, everyone was both exhausted and hungry as they walked back. Levi left for his room while the rest of Squad Levi went to the kitchen. Petra spent the entire lunch meal pestering the men with questions about everything from how it felt to be in the air to whether they ever had bugs fly into their mouths. The answer was sadly yes to the latter.

"I'm going to grow up to be a soldier just like you!" Petra vowed after their meal. Gunther smiled, knowing she was once an amazing soldier and would hopefully be again soon.

Afterwards, Petra joined the men as they cleaned their headquarters once again. Captain Levi wanted everything cleaned from top to bottom once a week and it was that time again. Petra helped by bringing the men water when they asked for it and hopping onto their shoulders to reach higher spots. The men noticed she seemed distracted as she helped them, like she was thinking of something but would quickly snap out of it. It took them almost until dinner to finish cleaning.

Petra was quiet once again as Squad Levi ate dinner together. She kept glancing at the door, as if she was waiting for someone. The men noticed her happiness from earlier seemed to have dissipated.

Gunther put Petra's plate of food on the table and sat down beside her. It vegetable soup, mostly potato, and a hunk of bread. The girl looked at it before sighing and turning away.

"I don't want it." Petra mumbled. There was nothing wrong with the meal but she didn't feel hungry.

"What's wrong? It may look a little bland but it's tasty!" Oluo took a big bite of his soup and smiled when she turned to look at him. Petra shook her head in response and crossed her arms.

"Petra, you have to eat it. We don't have much else to offer and you want to grow up big and strong don't you?" Eld insisted.

"I don't want to." Came the girl's stubborn reply.

"Its not good to be picky. Please?"

"No."

"Petra-"

"I don't want to eat!" Petra shouted, causing a few soldiers from the other tables to turn and look at them.

"Petra!" Eld didn't mean to sound so harsh and regretted it instantly. He saw tears forming in the young girl's eyes and she sniffled once before jumping off the chair and dashing for the door.

"Eld!" Oluo sounded exasperated.

"What? I didn't do anything!" He had just wanted her to eat. Why was she being so stubborn?

"I think she's just missing her parents again. When I used to babysit my siblings, some of them would just cry over any little thing because they wanted Mother and Father, not me. Some kids just act a little picky or stubborn when they're missing people." Oluo explained.

"Damn it." Eld sighed as he got up from the table, leaving his meal on the table. "Let's go find her."

They found her sitting against the wall outside the dining room. She had her hands wrapped around her legs, with her face pressed against her knees. Oluo nudged Eld forward as they stood before her. She didn't move or look at Eld when he moved to sit down beside her.

"Petra, I'm sorry." Eld apologized. Petra sniffled but didn't say anything. "You don't have to do anything, alright? If you don't want to eat, you don't want to. Does that sound okay?"

"I want Mother." Her voice cracked as she spoke.

"Petra, it's okay. Just wait a few more days. She'll come soon so don't cry." Petra raised her head from her knees as she looked at Eld.

"Promise?"

"... Promise." Eld vowed that he would make sure Petra saw her parents when she returned to normal. If only to make him feel less guilty for lying to her. They would not bring the Rals unless there was no other option. Both of her parent's would look very different to Petra than what she remembered. What if she did not believe they were her parents? Eld prayed Hanje would figure out something to fix this situation before something like that could happen.

Eventually Eld, Oluo and Gunther coaxed Petra back into the dining room. She sat quietly while the men finished their meal but eventually ate a small portion of her dinner. She seemed to feel better after that. Nifa came by to take her for the night when they finished.

The next morning Petra was back to being her cheerful self. Nifa had bathed and dressed her, again in clothes to big for her, and dropped her off with Eren in the morning. Later that afternoon, Oluo had come by to pick her up. Commander Erwin had arrived and wanted to see her.

The Commander had already been informed of the situation and now wanted to see Petra in person. The girl was nervous as she followed Oluo into a large room. She saw Captain Levi and the scary ponytailed woman standing beside a large desk. She was happy to see that Eld and Gunther were already here as well.

"This is Commander Erwin, Petra." Oluo introduced as she looked up at the man for the first time. He was really tall and his hair was blonde. His eyebrows were big and funny-looking though. She thought they looked like furry caterpillars.

"Ah!" Petra did a clumsy salute when she saw Oluo doing it, with one hand behind his back. Commander Erwin smiled at her attempt and Petra found that she couldn't help but grin back. His smile was really nice.

"Now isn't this an interesting situation." The tall man mused as he looked at Petra. He found it quite disconcerting to see one of the more promising soldiers of the Survey Corps in such a state. He stepped forward and knelt front of the girl, offering her his hand. She looked at his hand and then at him before ignoring his hand and giving the tall man a hug instead. Petra liked him already.

Erwin face changed to one of shock for just a moment before he wrapped his own arms around her and picked her up. Petra held on tight as he lifted her.

"Huh, I thought your eyebrows would have scared her off." Petra giggled softly at Levi's words but hoped he didn't hear. Erwin ignored the shorter man's words and spoke to the girl he now held.

"Now Petra, has everyone been treating you well?"

"Mmhmm! I got to play with the horses!"

"You like horses?"

"Yeah! Can I ride one please? No one will let me but if you say yes…" Petra attempted to be cute and smiled brightly at the man holding her. Since this man was the Commander that would mean everyone would have to do what he said. If she could just get him to agree to letting her ride the horses then everyone else would have to let her!

"Then I'll say yes. As long as you are not riding alone and you behave, alright?"

"Thank you!" Petra squealed in delight and gave him another hug.

"She takes well to you, sir. I don't think she liked any of us that quick." Eld sounded amused.

"I must have a way with children." The commander smirked. He stepped over to his desk and sat the young girl on a bare patch.

"Sit here Petra. The rest of us are going to discuss a few things." Petra understood that there was something important they wanted to talk about and nodded.

"So how has the progress been going on returning our soldier to her rightful condition?" Erwin began.

"Uh, not as well as expected but I believe I should be able to figure out something soon." Hanje explained with a sheepish smile.

"We cannot afford to lose such a skilled soldier, Hanje. Please do all you can."

"Of course but if Levi would just let me-"

"No. Test those disgusting rats you keep but keep away from my soldier. I don't trust you not make it worse. I also don't want to hear her crying all day from fear of you." Levi snapped before Hanje could finish her statement.

"Can I at least get another blood sample?" Hanje pleaded as Levi glared at her.

"You already got one the first night this happened."

"Hanje, we are going to have a talk after this meeting about these experiments. For now though, what happened to the rats you tested your experiments on? In short please." Erwin interrupted before his subordinates could continue their conversation.

"... Well, after giving them the mixture, most of the rats became aggressive. They would also eat everything they could get their paws on but I am happy to say that they did not turn to cannibalism. Many showed signs of increased strength, which was what I was aiming for. The effects lasted a minimum of three days and wore off after a week. None of the rats were hurt from my repeated experiments so I felt it was safe to begin human testing. What happened after the first human test was completely unexpected." Hanje explained.

"So could we expect that this will wear off?"

"It seems likely but I can't be certain. If-"

"No." Levi interjected quickly, already knowing what the woman would ask.

"How about we hold off on the experiments for just a few more days and see it it wears off first?" Erwin suggested.

"... If that is what you want." Hanje looked crestfallen.

Petra listened to all of this but did not understand what was going on. It didn't really interest her anyway. She would get to ride horses soon! She lost interest in the conversation around her and began to daydream about what she would tell her parents when they finally came to get her. She would tell them all about her new friends and the things she was able to do.

Soon the conversation ended and everyone began to leave the room. Petra kept far away from the ponytailed woman, who she now knew as Hanje, as she followed Oluo. The girl made sure to wave goodbye to the Commander before she headed for the door. The tall man smiled at her in return as she left, leaving just him and Hanje behind.

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