Figured it was about time to get another chapter out on this story :) Been working on prompts so much lately!
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They reached Karanese not long after Connie's discussion with Phillip and Jean was relieved to see the town, a good excuse to get his mind off his suicidal squad mate and focus on the political ass kissing he was about to engage in. Wait...was he really more at ease with sucking up to the Karanese leaders than conversing with his squad? What kind of a leader was he? Damn!
"Jean, are you ok?" Armin's voice was concerned, "You look like you're going to strangle someone."
"I'm just...not looking forward to any of this, Armin," Jean grumbled, "I mean, you know how much I hate begging to the higher-ups for anything."
"It shouldn't take too much begging," Armin replied easily, "Besides, you know I'm willing to speak for you. I am your tactician, right?"
"Right," Jean nodded in agreement, "God, Armin, I'm so glad you chose my squad. I honestly don't know what I would do without you."
"Enough of the mushy crap," Phillip's voice made Jean look behind him at the young soldier. Phillip nodded to their right, his shaggy hair flopping from the movement. "We've got company."
Sure enough, a group of Garrison soldiers had approached and a carriage was coming down the street towards them.
"I see you've arrived safely," one of the soldiers greeted them, "My name is Killian, I'm the Captain of the Karanese Garrison, I have orders to show you and your comrades to City Hall. Your horses will be taken to the stables."
Jean nodded and dismounted Buschwald, handing the reins to one of the soldiers. Armin, Connie and Phillip followed his example and then they all followed Killian to the carriage that was now waiting for them in the street.
The coach driver opened the door for them and Jean stepped up into the carriage with an odd feeling in his gut. He had been a cadet only a few years prior, a simple soldier after that...and now here he was being escorted to his very first official meeting as a Squad Leader of the Survey Corps.
"You look like you're gonna be sick, Jean," Connie whispered as the four of them took their seats.
"Shut up, Connie," Jean muttered weakly, "This is all just...it's new to me, ok? I'm just mentally preparing myself."
"Well you better prepare yourself quickly because City Hall isn't too far away from here," Phillip said with a bored tone as he looked out the window.
Phillip happened to be right and it wasn't five minutes later that the carriage stopped outside a large stone building, a large amount of steps led up to a massive door between two pillars, the symbol of Wall Rose was carved into the wood.
"Welcome to Karanese City Hall," their coach driver announced as he opened the carriage door and stood off to the side, his fist pressed over his heart in the traditional salute. Jean stepped out first and returned the salute graciously, the others followed his example...except for Phillip who just lazily slapped his fist to his chest and then headed for the steps.
"Phillip," Armin called out with a tone of disapproval, but Jean just shook his head at Armin and then nodded for he and Connie to follow.
The three soon overtook Phillip's lazy lope of a walk and Jean passed him while shooting a dirty glasre over his shoulder. Damn it, kid, have a little bit of respect for your fellow soldiers. And, for god's sake, have at least a bit of common decency toward your superiors.
He still had a hard time considering himself to be anyone's superior, to be honest...but that didn['t change the fact that he was and Phillip didn't seem to care one way or the other.
"Armin, was I this bad back in our Cadet days?" he ventured to ask his friend, a little nervous about the answer, "I mean...was I this disrespectful to the officers?"
"Not to the officer's faces," Armin stated matter-of-factly, "But I happen to remember a certain brand new soldier threatening to start a mutiny on our first expedition."
Phillip turned his head slightly, trying to listen to the conversation. Armin noticed and grinned as a wicked idea came to his mind.
"And I also remember a certain cadet who had a plan to steal the beef from the officer's quarters," Armin continued, "And I broke my kneecap trying to run away because you just kept hounding me about it."
"You ran away because you were a pathetic crybaby!" Jean snapped, unhappy about Armin bringing up that particular blight on his unofficial record.
"I may have been a crybaby but at least I wasn't starting fights in the mess hall every night!" Armin shot back.
"Jaeger was such an ass!" Jean groaned, remembering the feeling of being thrown to the floor by his comrade, "I just wanted to shut him up about 'Titans this' and 'Titans that' and all his idealistic bullshit."
"I also seem to recall a certain Cadet who swore up and down again that they were going to join the MPs and that the Survey Corps were a bunch of glory hounds and suicidal maniacs."
This comment got the result Armin was looking for: Phillip stopped walking and looked back at them with a questioning expression. As they passed him, Armin motioned for him to come closer and he slowed down to fall behind Jean for a moment and whispered to the dark haired soldier.
"It's all true, Phillip. You and Jean have more in common than you seem to realize...I'll tell you all about it sometimes if you want."
To Armin's surprise, Phillip nodded before leaning away again.
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"I have to admit, when I was contacted by your Commander, Erwin Smith, about the Survey Corps' plan to expand the Wall, I was quite surprised. But I was even more surprised when I was told who would be carrying the plan out. You're quite young, aren't you? Already a Squad Leader at your age... they must be getting desperate in your regiment if they're promoting children to officers."
Jean was standing before the Mayor of Karanese, in an opulently decorated office, surrounded by finely polished furniture and shelves filled with books that he didn't for one second believe this overweight piece of shit had ever read the titles of, let alone the contents. He chewed silently on the side of his tongue in an effort to keep his big, over-honest mouth from spouting something he would regret later and he stood straight and tall with his arms crossed behind his back, eyes forward even thought they glinted with anger.
"An endeavor of such importance put in the hands of child," the mayor shook his head and Jean almost wanted to laugh at the way the fat rolls of his neck jiggled as he did, but he kept his mouth shut tight in a straight line; he felt Phillip shift nervously at his side. "The Survey Corps must be hard up indeed."
"That may very well be the case, sir," Jean's voice was steady, "It's not my place to question why I was given this job, my place is only to see that it's done to the best of my ability, whatever that may be worth."
This clever choice of words left the mayor unsure of how to reply so he simply cleared his throat loudly and held out his hand.
"Your plans then?" he asked expectantly.
Armin and Jean exchanged glances for a moment and Armin stepped forward, handing over a rolled up map containing the exact measurements and location of the new section of the Wall. The mayor opened the paper and scanned it with eyes that clearly said "I don't know what the hell I am looking at" and then rolled it back up and handed it to the Garrison soldier beside his desk.
"Ah, yes, well..." he tried to formulate an intelligent response and Jean tried hard not to grin as the Garrison soldier rolled her eyes, "This...everything seems to be in order indeed. I have been assured that the presence of the Survey Corps soldiers, extra Garrison soldiers and the engineers being sent from the Capitol will result in an increase in profits all over the city and the compensation for hosting you here will be a great thing for our city. I see no reason why Karanese shouldn't be the host city for this endeavor."
Jean wondered just how much a stipend the fat bastard was getting for himself for him to be so open to this idea...
"The Captain of the Garrison, Killian can handle all the smaller details," the mayor sounded dismissive and, indeed, held his hand out and waved it lightly in a gesture that suggested they leave the room as soon as possible.
"Smaller details meaning...everything?" Phillip's muttering made Jean step sideways right on to his subordinate's foot and, despite Phillip's angry growl, his face remained impassive as he nodded to the mayor.
""Of course, sir, you must be a very busy man," he stated as he nodded for Armin, Phillip and Connie to leave the room, "I'm sure the Garrison soldiers will be very accommodating; probably more-so than yourself."
And he turned on his heels, that simple snub hanging heavy in the air behind him...but it went over the mayor's head and Jean heard him laughing about "such pleasant youngsters" as they walked into the hall.
"Indeed," the female Garrison soldier had followed them out and she was smiling slightly, "You are welcome here in our city and we're more than happy to be a part of this expansion! Come with me, Captain Killian is waiting for us on the Wall near the outer gate."
The five of them made their way out of the courthouse and down to the carriage where the soldier handed the plans back to them.
"You hold on to these and I'll be waiting for you there," she announced, "I'm riding ahead to let them know you're on your way."
She mounted up on a grey horse and took off towards the outer gate at a canter, carefully winding her way around the citizens as they went about their business.
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By the time they reached the outer gate, the sun was sinking towards the west and the shadows of the buildings were getting longer, sunset would arrive soon and any good view of the land outside the Wall would be gone.
"Come on then, we don't have a lot of time," a Garrison soldier was leading them inside the elevator and he seemed like quite a tight ass about the rules. "Captain is waiting for you all up top. Please keep your arms inside the lift at all times. Do not attempt to vacate the lift until I give you permission."
"Must be fresh out of the Cadets," Connie whispered and Jean nodded in agreement, the poor guy was taking his job very seriously, full of love for his career path...like Eren Jaeger had been once.
The lift took them fairly quickly up to the top and they waited obediently until the Garrison soldier gave them permission to step off. Jean approached the wooden door that led out to the top of the wall and hesitated for a moment...this was Phillip's first glimpse at the world from the top of it and he smiled as he remembered how thrilling it had been to see for miles and miles, the world just seemed so much bigger from up here. He opened the door and stepped out, holding it open with the duel purpose of being polite and catching the look on Phillip's face when he exited.
Jean was not disappointed.
Phillip's blue eyes widened larger than Jean even thought was possible for the consistently dull looking soldier, his jaw dropped slightly in awe as he scanned the horizon. He looked completely struck with wonder and the childish look of excitement in his eyes made Jean feel a spark of hope...someone who has given up on life, on the world, on himself does not look like this.
"Pretty incredible, isn't it?" he asked out loud, making Phillip halt in his tracks and look back over his shoulder. Jean expected a shrug and a offhand comment but the excitement was still there on his face.
"It is, sir," Phillip replied quietly, "I've never been on the Wall before. I tried to sneak up here when I was eleven with my sister but we got caught and sent away."
Jean smiled genuinely but the moment was cut short by the approach of the Garrison Captain.
"Squad Leader Kirschstein?" he saluted and Jean returned it quickly, "I'm told you wanted a look at the land around the gate to compare it to your current plans?"
"That's correct. Armin?"
Armin stepped forward and offered the drawn plans to Killian who took them and examined them with a professional eye, like he knew what it meant instead of how the mayor had looked at them simply for the impression of interest.
"Five square miles?" he mused aloud and half way to Armin, "That seems like a large amount of space to cover. You're sure your Titan friend can handle this?"
"We will have ample time between sections for Eren to rest and recuperate," Armin assured the Captain, "We're splitting each side into smaller sections to avoid getting too far apart and too far away from safety. The Garrison soldiers on the Wall will need to be exceptionally careful with the cannons during any defensive strikes or you'll likely damage the new sections in the process."
"Yes, I see," the Captain nodded, "And this is why they are assigning several Survey Corps squads to the expansion, to act as defense for the engineers?"
"Correct," Armin seemed pleased to be having an intelligent conversation without the questions being irrelevant and ignorant, "Cannons and Garrison assistance will be a last resort until this new section is completed. After that, you'll have to assign Garrison soldiers to patrol the new section, of course."
The two of them continued to discuss the logistics and specifics of the Wall building process so Jean, Phillip and Connie took this time to walk along the section of Wall and admire the scenery. Jean explained to his two comrades where the new section would encompass and he could practically feel their excitement growing.
"So our job is...?" Connie clearly hadn't paid attention in the squad meetings.
"We're supposed to protect the engineers and workers from any Titans that might come around during the building process," Phillip said calmly before Jean could even speak up, "Squads will be stationed on the main wall to begin with and will be spread out along the newly completed sections as they expand. Jean is in charge of assigning squads along the growing walls until it's closed in on all sides."
Jean was pleasantly surprised at this...Phillip knew the mission well despite how he seemed to have been sleeping through most of the meetings back at the barracks.
"That's the gyst of it," Jean agreed, "Why don't you go ask Armin and the Captain to give you a rundown of the details?"
Connie nodded, looking excited at the prospect of their role to play, and went to bug Armin about specifics. Jean watched him go for a moment and then turned to face the open space beyond Wall Rose.
"I...didn't like the way the mayor spoke to you," Phillip's voice was so quiet next to him that Jean almost thought it had been his imagination.
"We don't always get to choose who we deal with on a daily basis," Jean replied easily.
"Like me?"
Jean hadn't been expecting that and his eyes narrowed in suspicion as he looked over at his squad mate.
"You really aren't that easy to get along with, no," he admitted, "But I suspect there are reasons that you haven't let anyone else know."
Phillip snorted in disbelief.
"So you're telling me Whinny didn't tell you about our talk in the stables?" he muttered.
"She told me one thing and one thing only," Jean replied honestly, "She didn't even want to tell me this but she felt that it might put the entire squad in danger. Apparently you joined the Scouts because you assumed you would die sooner here than in the Garrison."
Phillip gritted his teeth visibly but he didn't deny it.
"I was supposed to join the MPs," he said unhappily, "Like my father...but I didn't make the Top Ten."
Jean opened his mouth to say something but Phillip gave him such a sad and tired look that he hesitated and Phillip beat him to the punch.
"Look, I'd rather not talk about this," he sighed, "I promise, I'm not going to jump into a Titan's mouth or anything stupid, I'm not going to TRY and die...I just won't let myself get delusional about living a long life. Garrison or Scout, we all die, I'd just rather go sooner than later."
The two of them stood in silence for a long while, watching the sun as it started to sink over the horizon and spread bright colors all over the sky.
"Armin said earlier...you wanted to join the MP too?" Phillip finally spoke up and Jean just nodded. "Why didn't you? Did you not make the Top Ten?"
Jean winced and his eyes dropped down to the toes of his boots, memories of that day and the night of the ceremony rushing through his mind.
"I was set on the MPs," he said softly, thoughtfully, "I wanted it more than anything. I was going to get out of this second rate life and live in the interior, safe and well fed and respected...I was going to make my mother proud. My best friend, Marco, was going to join too and we both made it in the Top Ten. I got sixth and he got seventh."
"So why didn't you go?"
"Because the day we graduated, Trost was breached."
Phillip nodded, acknowledging that he knew the story of Trost.
"You know what happened, of course. Well...when the reclamation was over, I...I found Marco during the cleanup. He was dead...bitten in half...and I never even realized he was gone until I found him like that."
Phillip looked incredibly understanding and his eyes held a look of sympathy behind his thick brown bangs.
"Trost was my hometown. I realized that day that there is no safety inside the Walls...Wall Rose, my town, we were now the outer Wall when only days ago we had been part of the interior. My best friend had died when we were only one day away from being "safe" inside Wall Sina...and I couldn't keep running away anymore after that. It was either take the fight to them or wait to be eaten when they eventually reached the inside."
"So...you joined the Scouts to get revenge for Marco?"
"No," Jean shook his head seriously, "I joined because I didn't want to sit back on my ass inside the Walls while the rest of my friends ran to their deaths. I wanted to use my skills to do all I could to protect them and everyone else inside the remainder of the Walls. Marco told me before he died that I would make a great leader...so yeah, I guess part of it was for him, but mostly I didn't want to die a meaningless death and end up being just another dead soldier. I would rather die at the sides of my friends than at the side of a King who would never even know my name."
Jean finished his statement and sighed, letting his eyes drop closed.
"There is no shame in feeling the way you do, Phillip," he said as he turned to join Armin, Connie and Killian, "We all know we're going to die sooner than later...but we just have to do the best we can until then."
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This was supposed to be longer but my husband demands I go to bed since I work at 5 AM tomorrow and it's midnight...he's probably right. But I found a good stopping point so here you go :)
