Chapter 7:
Returning Home
Dawn comes too soon, stirring me out of bed with its unnatural coolness. Though apprehension stirs the air, much of the morning passes in a blur as each individual takes to their own, packing what little belongings they have.
Conversation stays at a minimum as we each take our own share of breakfast, a meager meal of heated tea and cooked potatoes dug from Avian's garden.
It's the same before every expedition, and even for seasoned veterans like us, there is always a sort of weight that hangs above us, a knowledge that, for all we knew, this could be our last day alive. No one admits it, but as I stand and assess my squad as they eat, I see anxiety on their faces like a shadow, eyes distant while they ponder the events that they might encounter.
It would not be an easy task, even with Avian's help. Too much can change in a short amount of time and the future is impossible to predict. That is probably the hardest realization to deal with for those in the Recon Corps. No matter how prepared you may feel, or how well a plan may seem, no one can know for sure how things will turn out, and that feeling of knowing you have no control is maddening.
The only one who seems to not carry such a burden is Avian for, once again, she is absent.
"How is she not nervous?" Gunther mutters to himself in between bites. "It's like this doesn't even faze her…."
"Maybe she's just good at hiding it." Eren chimes in hopefully.
Gunther just shrugs, finishing the last of his tea and leans back, resting his head on the back of the couch.
"Who knows… She hasn't eaten, so maybe tending the horses is her way of calming down."
"What does she have to be scared of anyway…" Oluo pipes, brushing his mouth on his sleeve. "...seeing how she is a shifter and all."
"That doesn't make her any less human Oluo." Petra answers him with a slight scowl, to which the man just shrugs and stands, working out a crick in his neck.
"Whatever. I'm getting dressed."
Petra suddenly stands as he passes, exclaiming "Wait! Let me get my uniform out first!"
Stuffing the last of her breakfast in her mouth, she dashes in front of him and into the room, returning a few seconds later with her uniform as well as Eren's throwing the teen's clothes at him.
"We all might as well get changed." Eld says, standing from where he sat on the couch. "We'll be leaving soon."
Without another word, he leaves, shutting himself in the back room. Once he disappears, I turn to Gunther, asking "Need help?"
"Nah…" he replies, shaking out his pants. "I can put a little weight my leg now, so I should be okay, though would it be fine for me to leave the straps off? It's not like I have any gear to attach them to anyway."
"That's fine. Just put them in your pack. I'm not coming back if you forget them."
"Will do Corporal."
Now that everyone has dispersed and there is nothing else to do, I make my way outside.
Having already changed into my own uniform, there is not much left to do except retrieve my gear and saddle the horses, so with a grunt and shove to open the front door, I step into the chill morning.
Clouds cover the entire sky and cold dew still clings to everything around me, coating my boots and making them glisten.
'Seems the unusual weather is still holding out.'
Even though it is deep into the summer, a brisk breeze slightly chills me and dampens my clothes with vapor.
Making my way around the house, I find Avian in her usual routine; feeding and tending the horses while she runs a belt under the belly of one of our own stallions, attaching a saddle to its back. Surprisingly, it seems the woman already saddled all our horses, each tied to a tree by their reins.
"I hope you don't mind me preparing your horses." The woman says, adjusting the reins on my own horse.
I keep silent as she raises her other hand to stroke the black mare's muzzle.
"They know something is happening today." She continues, turning to me. "They keep staring down the trail that leads to the lake. Though it is not in the direction which we need to travel, they know that paths like that lead outside. It seems to me your animals can feel your anticipation from inside, and they are eager to set off."
I consider her for a moment, casting her a questioning glance.
"How do you know all this?" I ask, though in all honestly I'm not that interested in her answer as much as I am trying to figure out her state of mind.
Avian lets out a small sarcastic grin.
"With a horse as your only companion for a good number of years, you pick up on some things." She chides, then frowns slightly, turning her gaze to the mare gnawing at her dark green blouse. "It's actually unbearably pathetic to be honest…"
The hand petting my horse stops, and I watch her gaze out into the trees.
"You and your company are the first people I have interacted with in more than ten years…" She says wistfully, lost in thought for a second before coming back to herself.
She lets her hand fall and walks the mare to the others, tying her to a branch.
"When will the others be ready? We need to depart as soon as possible." She says over her shoulder.
"They are changing now. Gunther should be the last to get ready, but since you saddled our horses, we'll be ready to leave once he finishes."
Avian nods.
"Good." She says, holding her bangs back with a small hand as a breeze blows her ginger hair into her face. "The weather is cold and clouded, but I don't believe it will rain, which is just as well. Travel will be much easier on dry ground."
I grunt to let her know I heard her and look around.
"Where is your own horse?"
"Stonewall is near. I will call for him once we are ready to leave."
I nod, and from there, the next ten minutes or so pass by in silence.
Half way through, Avian heads back inside the house to change herself and bandage Gunther's leg, and soon enough, everyone is outside, Oluo helping Gunther outside, the injured man tenderly making his way to the group.
"So how… *hop* …are we gonna… *hop* …do this Corporal?" he asks, coming to a stop on the side of the house, leaning against it to prop himself.
I consider him as Petra, Eld, and Eren settle in, folding my arms.
"Pretty much how Avian has already planned it." I start, casting a side glance at the woman beside me before continuing. "All of us will ride double; Oluo with Petra, Eren with Eld, and Gunther with me. Avian will travel on her own horse. Due to Eld and I being the only ones with usable gear, we will travel in a diamond formation with me at the head and Eld at the rear. Once we reach the Wall Maria gate, Avian will take the lead in titan form and clear the way for us. Once inside, it is crucial that no one break formation or engage in combat unless it is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. Our focus is to reach the opposite gate as quickly as possible without titan contact."
I pause for a moment to look at Eren, silently imposing my last statement on him to which he understands immediately.
'No shifting.'
"Once we make it back outside, we will make a beeline for the Wall Rose gate. Until we reach Rose, there is no stopping for ANYTHING. Understood?"
My squad all reply in unison, each giving a salute.
"Yes sir!"
"Dismissed."
Everyone disperses, and Eld and Petra retrieve the horses, Eld bringing mine to me. Beside me, Avian mutters something, to herself more than likely, and turns to the woods, letting out her usual three note call; the first long and low, the next two quick and high pitched. In seconds, her behemoth of a stallion strides into the clearing, turning his great head to gaze at the activity before him.
'She must have saddled him this morning as well.' I think, eyeing the beast.
While my squad all begin to mount their steeds, and I on mine, Avian fusses over a quilt draped over the gray horse's back, tugging it from where is is secured by a light assembly of brown leather straps attached to a saddle, if you could call it that. In all honestly it looks like nothing more than a broad sheet of worn leather with a large, thick strap wrapping around the bottom of the horse and two thin hoops of leather on each side acting as stirrups.
'Looks like she put a damn rubber band on him, he's so massive.' I think before turning and hoping onto my own horse.
"Alright Corporal, you ready for me?" Gunther asks, hobbling to the side of me.
I nod, grasping his hand in mine and, with Oluo's help and great effort, we manage to drag him on, Gunther letting out soft curses the entire time.
"I'll be so glad once we get home. I could use a vacation." He grunts, adjusting his legs so he doesn't fall off.
"At least the wrapping is holding well." Avian calls, gazing over Gunther's wound from where she stands and the edge of the woods next to Stonewall. "How does it feel?"
"Like freaking hell…" he grits, "… but it's fine I guess. Stitches sting like a mother…!"
"As long as they do not come lose, you'll be fine." She replies. "Let us just hope it holds out."
"We'll see."
Avian nods, looking over our party, each person mounted and saddled.
"Everyone ready?"
"Ready as we'll ever be." Eld answers.
Avian nods, giving her dark blue blouse and tan trousers a tug before turning to pat Stonewall's neck.
'Now this I have to see…' I think, suddenly interested in seeing just how this minuscule woman will be able to mount that mountain of a beast. 'She's two heads short of his withers. How the hell…'
Before I can even finish my thought, the great beast lowers his head. Avian confidently lays her hands on the back of his neck near the head, and with no effort it seems on his part, Stonewall lifts his head and the girl with it. She only dangles for a fraction of a second before she swings her right leg up and over his back, sliding herself into the saddle.
"Didn't think you'd make it." Oluo says, only half kidding around.
"You have to get creative sometimes." is her only reply, and she fits her feet into the leather hoops.
"W… wait." Gunther stutters, watching her. "What about reins?"
Now that I look, there are none. In fact, the only gear she has on that horse is that pitiful excuse for a saddle and the quilt.
At his question, Avian laughs, sort of catching him off guard with her playful tone.
"I don't require them." She smiles, and without waiting for a reply, she nudges the stallion under her with her thighs and he trots off, Avian's arms resting limply in between her legs.
"Well then…"
I feel Gunther shrug his shoulders as we set off to follow her. Soon enough, we are all in single file, snaking our way through the dense forest at Avian's lead, though from what I can tell, she isn't directing her horse at all, instead letting him trot unbidden.
Around a mile or so in, Avian turns around, shifting herself so she sits side saddle so she can look at me.
"So tell me…" She begins, "… this second gate that leads out of the district, where is it located?"
"Directly ahead on the other side of the wall. A large main road connects the two. It's a straight shot." I tell her, to which she nods.
"And from there…?"
"It's open country. We will need to keep a straight path to make it to the Wall Rose gate."
"I see. Here's to hoping there are no giants to bar our path outside. I'm limited on what I can do on open ground."
"Same here." Gunther says, leaning slightly to look at her. "Without buildings or trees, our 3D movement gear is pretty useless. It's even worse now that our horses are bogged down like this. We won't be able to out run them."
"As long as we don't stop, I'll come up with something to keep the giants off us." Avian states, staring into the trees. "Perhaps I can take our their ankle tendon. That may procure enough time without expending too much energy…"
Avian falls silent, lost in her own thoughts and not even paying attention to the trail before us.
Gunther shifts, watching the woman as she sways in time with her horses steps. Finally, he makes a noise to get her attention.
"Hey Avian…"
The ginger blinks and turns to him.
"Yes?"
"Where are we going exactly?" he asks cautiously. "It just looks like we're walking randomly. Aren't you supposed to be watching where you're going?"
"I could.." she says with a slight smile, "...but there really is no need for me to."
She motions to the forest around us with her hands.
"This wood is as much a part of my home as the house where I stay, and over the years I have memorized every part of it. I find it safe to say that I know these woods better than you know your own housing quarters."
"That's… difficult to believe." Gunther states plainly. "I know you've been here all your life, but still. All of it?"
Avian nods.
"I spend more time in the outdoors that I do inside." She replies, turning fully around on her horse so she sits backward, a leg on each side. "I have run this land top to bottom, both out of necessity and enjoyment. The close packed trees here are perfect for me to climb and test my abilities, and I've spent countless hours traversing acre upon acre just for the joy of it."
Looking down at the ground for a moment to look at a passing stump, she suddenly smiles and lifts her gaze back to both of us.
"Would you like me to prove it to you?"
Before Gunther can answer, Avian lets out a confident half laugh.
"Hold on and duck."
Quickly hunching over the rump of her steed and ducking her head, Stonewall suddenly picks up speed, our horses on his tail, and after a few strong gallops the stallion makes a massive leap, clearing the robust trunk of a giant fallen tree while hanging his head to avoid an overhang of thick branches from another tree above.
Even with her warning, the sudden obstacle catches both Gunther and I off guard, making us nearly hit both of our heads on the limbs above us as our horse speeds up and jumps, jolting us in the saddle. Once through, I turn around to check to make sure everyone else makes it through, which they do with varying degrees of success.
Petra makes it over okay, though Oluo cracks his head on the branch, snapping his teeth on his tongue. Eld and Eren have to stop and brace themselves before making it through the gap, but they do so unscathed.
Once everyone is through, I turn my attention ahead again and see none other than Avian still seated comfortably backwards, a small, cheeky grin on her face.
"Will that proof suffice?" she asks, having cleared the block with practiced ease.
Gunther returns her stare, then shrugs, a small smile playing on his lips.
"I guess so."
Avian nods, moving to turn frontwards again.
"We will be out soon." She says, then swings herself forward again.
I hear Gunther sigh and shake his head.
"That woman sure is something…" he whispers, half to himself.
'She certainly is.' I respond mentally, watching the woman ahead of me, a bit intrigued by her unexpected confidence. 'It seems she is more at home in these dirty ass woods than anywhere else.'
Just like she said we would, Avian clears the edge of the trees only a few minutes after saying so, letting me take the lead. Once outside, the next half hour or so go by in silence, each man and woman occupied by their own thoughts.
The sky remains dark and clouded, but there is no sign of rain, and the earth beneath our horse's hooves is thankfully solid and dry.
Most surprising, though, is the lack of titans. Even after having traveled a long ways from the safety of the forest, there are no titans in sight.
"It seems that storm from before has cleared out most all of the giants in this area." Avian comments beside me, looking around.
"Damn riddance. Less I see of those overgrown cannibals, the happier I'll be…"
Avian casts a half questioning, half mocking glance to me.
"You're capable of happiness? I wouldn't have surmised seeing as how you've never even come close to revealing a smirk the entirety of this past week..."
"So you're an expert on me now?" I scorn, "You're as stupid as you look if you believe that."
"It was just an observation. In all honesty, you could deal to lighten up. I can't envision how your squad is able to keep up moral with such a surly leader."
"If you're trying to get me to change then you might as well shut the hell up now." I glare, drawing my horse closer to hers so I can stare right into her eyes. "The only problematic person I see here is some bitch too damn happy about leading us through a death infested city. You excited to see your titan friends? Is that it?"
At my comments, Avian's eyes narrow and her lips draw into a line.
"It seems I have also overestimated your capacity to take a friendly jeer." She replies. "You do realize that I can revoke my earlier offer to accompany you and your team and return home at any point, right?"
She lets that hang in the air a moment before continuing.
"Though I do not understand or appreciate your sudden sour attitude, I cannot bring myself to abandon you and your squad. But I must say you are right in one aspect... I may be a monster…" she says, boring her bright blue eyes into mine. "… but I am not one to endorse slaughter."
Before I can reply, she taps her hands to Stonewall's neck, urging him faster until she is a few horse lengths ahead of me, ginger hair flying.
"Hey Corporal..." Gunther mutters behind me. "Was that really necessary? She is helping us after all…"
"It won't matter once we are on the other side of the wall." I reply, keeping my eyes straight ahead. "My only concern is getting us through the district alive, and why the hell should I care about her? After she gets us through the gate, she'll disappear into that damn forest of hers again."
I feel the brown haired man shift as if he wants to say something, but keeps quiet.
We ride on, the wall coming closer and closer until it is upon us. It stands like a giant cliff face, dividing our world from the dangerous and unknown world outside. Despite its great size, ahead of us yawns a massive hole where the gate used to be, a large breach in our esteemed defenses.
It is impossible to see what lays beyond it, but already adrenaline begins to pump though my veins, becoming stronger and stronger the closer we ride.
"This is it!" I yell to my squad behind me, drawing out my swords. "Stay close and avoid combat at all costs!"
The sound of steel being unsheathed answers me, and I know that they are ready.
At one hundred meters, I train my eyes on Avian, watching as she rides ahead. One seventy five meters, Avian uses her stirrups to nimbly hop onto Stonewall's back, balancing on the saddle on the balls of her feet. Fifty meters, Avian lets out a long, even whistle and pats once on her steeds neck, a signal. Twenty five meters… twenty meters… fifteen meters…
Only when the light passing through the hole touches her does she move.
With practiced skill, I watch as, on her command, Stonewall suddenly moves to make a hard left, almost throwing his entire side profile to the gap. With the sudden momentum, Avian leaps, thrown by her horse's strength into the air. And there she hangs, flying for just the quickest of seconds, and when she just begins to start dropping back to earth, she shifts.
A great cloud of steam temporarily blocks my view, but the next second a pair of feet hit the ground, and Avian dashes into the open, moving so fast her body is blurred. The Child Titan rushes into the district on all fours, it's extended claws digging into the ground with each step.
Almost at once, we break through the breach, and with a quick look around three titans are already upon us. I clench the reins.
"Don't stop!" I yell, snapping the horse under me into a full sprint, three other pairs of hooves following me.
Full speed ahead, I watch as the Child Titan shoots itself up onto the building to my right, scurrying up its face with amazing speed. Without hesitation, the titan leaps when it reaches the top, propelling itself at the nearest titan, a ten meter, slicing the back of its neck with ease.
The child titan lands, then immediately leaps again, tearing down the other two titans in one blow before the first body can even hit the ground.
'Such speed…'
Before we know it, our path is clear, and I charge on ahead, Avian keeping pace with us upon the rooftops.
"That's unbelievable!" Gunther shouts. "I've never seen a titan move so quick!"
"It's not over yet! Pay attention!" I chide him as another titan peers its head out behind a building to our left.
The child titan sees and flies into action, leaping across the road to the other side, landing on the side of the roof, using it's angle to propel itself forward. Since the titan is facing us, Avian purposely overshoots it, landing sideways on the chimney of the next building and reverses course, taking out the titan from behind.
As it falls, I steer to the right to avoid being crushed. Once passed, a scream erupts behind me, and Petra calls out my name. Looking back, a smaller titan hidden by the structure on the opposite side of its larger brother reaches out a grubby hand. Wind buffs my hair abruptly, and from the corner of my eye, Avian slices the fingers of the offending monster, digging her claws into the ground to slow herself and turns around with gusto, taking out the nape of its neck. Soon, the smaller body is out of sight as we turn a soft corner around one of the districts few bell towers, the Child Titan not far behind.
A few moments of peace pass, no titans in sight, though I know that the sound of hooves will likely attract every damn one of them before long.
Back on the main road, the Child Titan kills five more; two ten meters, two fifteen meters, and a five meter, throwing up pillars of steam to mark our path.
We are making good progress, but just around halfway through, Avian leaps from the body of another kill, and I can see her beginning to falter. With each titan, she reacts slower and slower, and after each leap, lands heavier and heavier.
'For all her swiftness, there's a cost.' I suddenly realize, watching her try and hide where her foot slips out from under her. 'She sacrifices endurance and power for agility and speed.'
And it's beginning to run out. Scowling, I spy two titans ahead, both fifteen meters, and lift my swords.
"Get ready!"
Gunther tenses behind me and as we draw closer, the titan nearest spots us and lets out a monstrous grin, then begins to run at surprising speed, its arms stretched out for us.
'Damn it! An aberrant!'
"Watch out!"
Raising my swords, the titan is already upon us. It reaches, and as I make to slice the damn thing's fingers off, Avian is suddenly in front of me, hitting the fifteen meter with such force her claws dig into the flesh of its chest and arm up to her knuckles and knocks it back, out of our way.
Steering clear, the other titan is easier to deal with, and I cut at it as it passes, it's fingers landing beside me. It's so distracted by my action that it lets out an inhuman scream, allowing the rest of my team to slip by.
Thankfully, no more are ahead of us at the moment, and I turn, taking stock of my squad. All seem uninjured, though their expressions are all of terror.
"Corporal!" Eld yells from the back, Eren hanging onto him from behind. "Avian is still behind us!"
And he is right. I look back the way we came, but I see no sign of her or the two fifteen meters anywhere.
'Did they kill her?'
And if they did, what could any of us do? We have no choice but to go forward.
"Keep going!" I order, staring at each soldier in turn. "We don't stop until we reach the gate!"
Without waiting for a reply, I face forward again and snap the reins, surging on. We encounter a handful of titans along the way, though thankfully they are small and easy to avoid but even as we near the gate, there is no sign of Avian anywhere, and I have no problem believing that she is dead.
She was already weakening, and her size is so small, a fifteen meter would have no problem squashing her underfoot or ripping her apart.
I can't help but glance at the gray stallion following beside me, his pitiful saddle empty.
"Is there no way to wait for her?" Gunther asks behind me, following my gaze.
"No. Never lose sight of the objective."
I hear the man sigh, but say nothing more.
Making our way around another bell tower, the inner gate comes into view and for a moment, it looks like we are home free. But just as we begin our final sprint, handfuls of titans, both large and small, appear on both sides, having followed the sound of our horses up to this point. It'll be a miracle if we make it out alive.
One hundred meters… I brace myself, blades ready. Fifty meters… My squad draws in behind me. Twenty meters and closing… The monsters turn their eyes on me, and everything seems to slow down. Closer and closer, until contact is made.
Blades meet flesh, and we dash under their hands, slicing our way to safety. Surrounded on all sides, we push, the sound of bodies falling to the ground around us.
'Wait… we aren't killing anything…'
Something screeches above us, and in a sudden hailstorm of clawing and cutting, the monsters ahead of me fall, clearing the path ahead. In the next moment, I hear everyone let out a mix of triumphant yells and gasps as one by one, titans fall, their flesh torn everywhere from their necks and ankles to their arms and thighs.
Somehow, the child titan caught up with us, and with vengeful speed, it cuts down the monsters around us, slashing any piece of flesh it can dig its claws into.
With the sound of steam and titan yells behind us, we break through the gate, bursting forth in a run out into the open, grass and space on all sides.
"We made it!" Gunther yells, throwing up his arms, and everyone joins in with yelps of their own.
"To hell with those bastards!" Oluo shouts.
'We did make it…'
With no titan in sight, I cautiously slow our pace to a trot and look behind me at the wall, waiting. My squad follows suit, each pair of eyes glued to the entrance and watching with baited breath.
Seconds pass, and nothing happens. But just as it seems all is lost, a figure appears in the archway, slowly making its way to us.
Eld turns to me, a hard expression on his face.
"Let's turn back and get her."
With a nod, we change course and head back, watching as the child titan slowly walks forward.
It's long claws have all but broken off, leaving only jagged, dirt covered stubs behind, and its hair is a wild swatch of ginger, windswept and tangled. As we near, it lifts its head, watching us for a moment, then sulks, falling to the ground in a heap.
Steam erupts from the form as we come to a stop a few feet away, and from the corpse Avian slowly rises. Even from where I stand, I can hear her heavy breathing as she pushes herself shakily up, her bottom half still attached to her titan.
Watching her struggle, Eren slides off Eld's horse and without a word walks over to the woman, one foot on the arm of the titan and both his hands pulling at the flesh still encasing the lower half of her body.
"You okay?" he asks, working the tissue gently away inch by inch, seemingly unaffected by the body's heat.
"Y… yes." She answers with shortness of breath, hair clinging to her drawn face. "I just… need a moment."
Eren nods then frowns, tugging at the flesh that has suddenly stopped giving. He lets out a disgruntled sigh and turns around.
"Hey Eld, can I use a blade to cut her out?"
In answer, my second in command simply hops off his horse and draws a blade, walking to stand beside Eren.
"Move over a bit." He says, then carefully pushes the blade into the flesh near Avian's leg, slowly slicing the muscle and tissue away.
"Be careful not to cut her Eld." Petra cautions, sliding off her horse and walks to Avian. "Here…"
Petra offers her hands to Avian, to which she gladly accepts, and Petra tugs, trying to dislodge the woman.
"Almost…"
After a few more moments of Eld slicing and Eren and Petra pulling, the ginger woman finally pulls free, landing in the grass on her stomach.
"Thank you." She breathes and gingerly pushes herself up.
"No problem." Eren answers, stepping up to offer her a hand. "You sure you're alright?"
Avian nods and stands. Though she tries to hide it, I see her slightly favor her right leg, the one that slipped on the rooftop during the run.
"I'll be fine, like I iterated before. But how goes you all?" she asks, casting a quick eye over all of us. "I hope you fared alright. I lost sight of you taking down that deviant giant…"
"We're fine…" Eren and Petra begin in unison, then both are rudely interrupted by the massive body of Stonewall unceremoniously shoving himself between them, trotting over to Avian with high hooves and rocking head.
Avian laughs as the stallion shoves his broad head into her, nearly knocking her over in his eagerness.
"I'm elated to see you as well!" she chuckles, scratching behind his ears causing him to whinny in delight and pound one huge, fur covered hoof.
Though the scene is joyful and all that good stuff, I'm very aware of our situation, and I seem to be the only one to remember just where we are.
With I tug on the reins, I guide my horse around to face in the direction we need to go, keeping my eyes on the group behind me.
"This reunion thing is nice and all, but we need to get moving. Or have you all forgotten that we are still deep in titan territory?"
Eld simply looks at me in understanding while Eren and Petra wear similar expressions of embarrassment.
"Sorry Corporal.", they apologize, returning to their horses.
I nod and wait as Avian struggles to mount Stonewall again, having to slide on from the opposite side to avoid her injured leg. Once on, she motions him forward until she stands by me.
"Glad to see you're okay." Gunther chimes in quickly, giving the woman a nod. "Thought we lost you back there."
"Well I thought I had lost all of you." She replies. "My claws became lodged in the giant and I had no choice but to take time and break them off."
Oluo gets out a grunt from where he stayed seated behind Petra, arms crossed.
"Well you sure took your damn time." He scoffs, "Surprised you even made out. Guess you're tougher than I thought."
"Thank you… I think…"
"That's enough." I interrupt, "Save all your gooey chitchat till we get behind the wall."
With a flip of the reins, we're off again, the worst of our journey behind us.
The next hour passes without incident. A few titans spot us and give chase, but we out maneuver and out run them easily enough, not once having to rely on Avian's help again. Before we know it, Wall Rose looms ahead of us. Unfortunately, the outer Rose gate is closed, forcing us to follow the wall until we come upon the breach, entering the inner wall from there.
The flock of titans that funneled the entrance on our first day of expedition seven days ago have all but disappeared, more than likely having spread out, walking randomly in the open space inside the wall.
It is another good hour before the wall protecting Stohess district comes into view. At the sight of the giant barrier, I can almost feel my squads sigh of relief. We're almost home. Once we are around a two or three kilometers away from our destination, Avian pulls back, slowing to a stop.
"Hey!" Petra exclaims, stopping her horse a few feet ahead, looking back at the woman. "Why did you stop?"
With a sigh, I stop my own horse, turning so I can watch as Avian blinks, wearing an unreadable expression, but doesn't answer. I already know what her answer will be.
"Avian, you alright?" Eren asks next, eyes full of concern to which the woman merely shrugs.
"This is as far as I go with you."
Eren blinks, and I'm suddenly aware that the idiot probably never even gave thought to what would happen to the woman at the end of our journey.
"What do you mean?"
"I've done my part and have escorted you back to your wall." She answers, nodding the barrier behind us. "Now we all need to return home."
"You can't be serious about going back." Eren frowns.
"I am. Where else shall I go?"
The teen stares at her, and a wave of determination crosses his features. Realization hits me, and I try to stop him.
"Eren…"
"Come with us!"
Eren's earnest voice hangs in the gentle wind and Avian freezes, hair softly caressing her stunned face.
"Come again?" she whispers aghast.
"Come with us." Eren repeats, pleading. "You can find a place with us inside the walls. You could even join the Recon Corps if you wanted. It will take some hard work, and people might not trust you at first, but we can make it work. You can prove to them that you're no threat. Commander Erwin is a great man. He'll find a way to help you I'm sure!"
"Eren!" I bark at him, eyes narrowed. "Stop that now!"
"We can't just leave her Corporal!" he pleads again. "You and Erwin where able to win over the judge concerning me. You can do it for…"
"I said enough!" I interrupt him, staring him down. "We are in no position to invite anyone inside the walls, or has your miniscule pea of a brain already forgotten about Leonhart?"
"But Corporal…" he begins, but the sound of Avian's voice disrupts him.
"He is right."
All eyes train on the woman as she addresses all of us.
"Your sentiment is kind, Eren, and I am exceedingly grateful that you would think to include me in your group…" she begins solemnly, "… but I have no place with your people. As optimistic as I would love to be, the fact still stands that those people beyond the walls still distrust you, one of their own. How do you think they will respond to a complete stranger with a power outside our understanding coming in to join their community?"
Avian sighs, hanging her head.
"Your Corporal and this Commander Erwin have done well to win over their peers about your condition Eren, but I will tell you now that they will have no such luck with me. From what I have experienced and heard, humankind wants nothing to do with whatever we are, and I have no wish to interact with them, either. Our gifts frighten them, and from what little I have been told about this Annie Leonhart, she has done our kind no favors."
She tries to hide it, but I can hear the sadness in her voice.
"I'm sorry Eren. I've been blessed to have met you all, but this is where our paths separate."
With a quick nudge with her knees, Stonewall turns, and Avian throws one last look back.
"Godspeed and farewell."
Eren calls out to her, arm outstretched, but she is already gone, speeding back the way we had come.
We all watch her go, her from slowly growing smaller and smaller, and though I know there is nothing that can be done, a strange feeling comes over me. Something similar to regret, a feeling that somehow, there was something more I could have done.
'It is as it should be. She has no place among us.'
But even as I think that, I know it is a lie. Shifters are a new breed to us, something strange and to be feared. But they are also something to be studied, understood. And though Annie has proved that they are not to be trusted, Eren has proved just as plainly that they can be useful. It was only by his power that mankind has ever won against the titans in the whole one hundred years they have terrorized us. Who can say what more shifters can do?
For all we know, there can me more tricks up Avian's sleeve that she hasn't shown us. Even as she is now, she is a formidable power, having made it perfectly clear she can down a dozen titans in the time it would take my squad to kill one.
As skilled as they are, the woman's skill far surpasses theirs, and her speed is simply astounding. Somehow, there must be a way to utilize that asset.
'It doesn't matter now.'
Avian is all but a black dot in the distance, and the decision has already been made. With the strange feeling still sitting in my stomach, I steer my horse around, gaining everyone's attention.
"We've wasted enough time. Let's move!"
As one, we set off again, gaining ground quickly and within minutes, we are close enough to see the soldiers upon the wall, yelling and waving as the gate begins to slowly ascend.
We slow to a stop a few yards away to wait for the path to clear, and Eld pulls up beside me.
"We made it…"
"We sure did."
Though we should be happy, an invisible blanket seems to hang over all of our heads, and as the gate reaches its peak and we make our way inside to the greeting of surprised and delighted Garrison soldiers, Eren comes into my peripheral, wearing a look I can't describe.
"She didn't look back." is all he says, and when I think about it, watching that woman grow small without showing a single sign of regret or second guessing in my mind's eye, I'm not sure how I feel.
*Author's note*
UPDATED 10-14: Fixed minor grammar errors and minor continuity errors.
Not the return I was hoping for, but at least everyone made it back okay, right? And how can you just go on after leaving behind someone who pretty much looked after you the past week? If only mankind were more accepting of shifters, then she could have went with them ;n; Though, I'm not sure she would have anyway, considering her obvious uneasiness about people… Anywho, what did you think? I feel like this chapter turned out a little crappy, but I don't know how else to write it. And I wasn't expecting Eren to grow so attached to Avian so quick. I promise that this is still a Levi and Avian story, but keep in mind that Eren and Avian have something in common that Levi doesn't, and it's going to take a while (or a certain fateful event hurhur) before Levi will begin to warm up to her. He is Mr. Sourpuss after all. And Eren is just so lovable gah *7* But before I go, I feel like ending this with a little question, just… because.
Who, aside from Levi of course, is your favorite SnK/AoT character(s) and why?
Anywho, let me know about your thoughts or comments and give me your answer to above question in a review and stay tuned for next week's chapter (I'll give you my answer then o3o)! Til next time!
-Ambi
