Remember how I said I needed to read ACWNR to finish this chapter? Apparently, I can read a ton of fanfics, but the moment I have to read something with pictures, my brain sizzles. But it's here now. I went over the events of the manga for the expedition superficially or else I'd never get it done.
Enjoy!
ix: expedition
Unlike the previous mornings, Isabel is as energetic as she is once the first waves of sleep pass. One has to wonder if she managed to get some sleep the night before, because for the first thirty minutes after she rises, her eyes as barely open and it takes all of her strength not to drag her feet across the floorboards. Today she is bouncing off the walls and anxiously bobbing her legs in place when they seat to have breakfast. It is an odd combination of reheated, leftover soup from dinner last night, bread and coffee for those that need an extra boost waking up. It is far better than the rations they have to stuff their pouches with and attach to the saddles.
None of the team or squad leaders is present in the mess hall this morning. The cadets that are present each have a different aura surrounding them; ranging from excitement to dread, from indifference to nervousness, each of these emotions are worn openly on their features that contort or relax to fit their mood.
The sky has lightened up just enough though the color is still a faint blue with velvety clouds that are frozen in place due to the lack of wind. Birds are still asleep at this time and the grass is slippery, covered from dew that accumulated the night before. The loud buzz of voices inside the room morphs into quiet murmurs once they step out the castle; the soldiers disperse onto the open field, each going for their horses and captains. There is a sense of somber duty that lingers in the air as they make their way to the stables, following the rest of the squad from good some paces behind. They pass by young, restless soldiers from the newest batch, shuffling about unsurely before they are comforted by their veteran teammates.
He guides his horse out of its stall by the reins, petting it on the side of its face and walking away before mounting it. The motion has become natural to him now, pushing against the ground and slinging his leg to the other side, sitting comfortably on the saddle and kicking his heels on strong flanks, getting the beast to move. Ciela lingers behind, more so than Sairam, waiting for the three of them to catch up before they move to find their captain. Flagon emerges from their left, his own brown horse trailing behind him, and reminds them that their place in the position is at the rear. With a pointed look in their direction, a silent order that they do not break the formation, he mounts his steed and guides them to the gates of the headquarters.
Erwin is already up ahead, feet on the ground as he talks to Commander Shadis. Levi only saw the man a few rare times in the past three weeks, and he is having the opportunity of accompanying him of his last expedition, though these are only rumors. Zoe is by the left flank helping their subordinates check if they did not forget the supplies needed to the expedition. Other captains are following the same procedure or are trying to calm down the newbies that are already hyperventilating.
"I see your team's fine, Ackerman."
His gaze flickers back to Flagon before focusing on the newcomer that stops her horse by their right. She is all squared shoulders and calculating eyes as she turns to look at his captain, the tips of her hair brushing her jawline this morning. "They're ready for whatever comes."
Flagon looks at the members of her group, Mateo lingering closer than the rest, and Rael has that same resolution in his eyes that still has not faded. The other three that are ready to venture out of the walls for the first time do a good job in hiding their thoughts, almost managing not to show them in their eyes. "Let's hope they'll remember that."
"They will." She says resolutely. Her eyes meet with each of his squad members and she nods to them in greeting. Levi does not want to think much of it, but a traitorous voice in the back of his head tells him that her gaze lingered on him the longest before turning away.
Everything grows quiet as the commander lifts his hand, voices instantly fading into the air as they wait for the gates to open. They file out of the castle limits in order, horses calmly following along the path that leads to the district situated east on Wall Maria, murmurs slowly arising again. All around them people are conversing among themselves, some keeping it low, some talking loudly, others laughing at an improbable time like this. Isabel, of course, does not miss this opportunity to make comments about the things she sees, like the quaint little houses of a village nearby, the smoke that spirals up a chimney and the crops of produce that lie on the visible parts of their courtyard.
The sun starts to rise about twenty minutes after their departure, accompanied by the cries of every rooster in the vicinity. The sky is painted pastel colors and the first traces of wind start to make themselves known, blowing locks of hair and forest green capes, softly kissing their skin as they pass by a group of farmers milking their black and white cows. The horses move to fit into the still quiet streets of Karanes District, quickly traversing the town and reaching the open field between the middle and outer walls.
More villages wait for them on the outskirts of Wall Rose, houses scattering along the road. More people are awake this time, parents leaving for work and kissing their children on the head before they leave for school. The very same kids approach the road, tiny feet stepping on gravels, grass and dirt alike, eager eyes roaming the formation, hands waving at the soldiers. Their parents and caretakers come, but the hooves of the horses and the wheels of the carts do not stop.
The little ones accompany the pace of the steeds, giggling in delight whenever any of the soldiers return their greetings. Some of the adults are quiet, some are speaking in hushed tones and others are throwing questions at Commander Shadis, who chooses to remain quiet. The steps of the kids grow louder as they choose to go against the flow and rush towards the last rows of steeds. "I found her!" One of them shouts and the rest runs in the little boy's direction, all of them gathering to the right where she is.
Ackerman keeps a straight face and eyes ahead, ignoring the kids as they call out her name. Isabel murmurs something about she should wave back, poor kids, but Humanity's Strongest pretends that they are not present. Still, the kids all gasp and squeal at her, too shocked to move because she merely lifted her fingers from the reins in greeting, and later as the children and the village are left behind, Mateo trades places with her and lets her walk a little closer to the center of the road.
By the time they are lined in the streets facing the final barrier between safety and the unknown, Levi discreetly looks at his friends, spots her green eyes wide and shining with anticipation, sees his calmer pale grey irises harden as reality finally sets in. He himself appears to be okay, but knowing that things out there can get out of control and end in a catastrophe has his ears buzzing oddly and his legs spasm once. The rest of his team in front of him move to better accommodate Ackerman's, moving her further away from the people that linger in the sidelines watching, waiting.
Commander Shadis's voice seems to echo among the walls and streets as he shouts at the Garrison members. "Open the gates!"
The chains rattle and cringe loudly, dust rising from the floor as the dents at the bottom of the gates are pulled out from the dry soil. It is a slow trajectory up, but once there is enough space for one to pass, the horses begin to move, slowly at first and then gaining speed as they pass through the second gate. Ackerman looks over her shoulders at her subordinates, only at them, and kicks her heels on her mare's sides, moving along with the others.
Furlan's breath hitches, Isabel stops breathing altogether and he inhales deeply. No turning back now.
Sounds of hooves on cobblestone gradually shift to muted slaps on soft earth. The line of steeds flare out, spreading in all directions to fill out their positions in the formation. He sees Ackerman lift a fist as a silent call for her team and opens her hand, slicing it through the air until her arm is suspended by her side. They all follow her lead and head to the right, the distance between both teams increasing with every step the horses take.
Then he does not know where to look.
There are far too many details out here in the wilderness. Sunlight streams through the gaps among the clouds, casting pillars of light on the vibrant low vegetation and tall trees creating an ethereal picture. Groups of carefree birds fly above their heads and the field stretches on and on endlessly, far bigger than the one that impressed them in the headquarters. The air, strangely enough, is fresher, crisper; the smell of the evergreen pine trees that surround them reaches their noses and fills their lungs with its sharp scent of woods untouched by humankind. There are patches of flowers scattered across the field, petals of various colors; white, yellow, blue, lilac, together they create a scene that could be described in a book.
It all feels surreal. The muscles in his body start to relax the more he looks around and he cannot help it but wonder what it would feel like to run and run on these plains until his legs gave out, until his lungs begged for more of this clean air, until his eyes desired to see what lays beyond the horizon.
It does not take long until his attention is attracted elsewhere. As beautiful as it all is, he cannot ignore Isabel and Furlan's banter, or the way Sairam reacts to it, exploding yet again in a shout to announce how lowly he thinks of them. While he does not care much what they have to say about him, Levi is getting tired of their repetitive speech and the way they seem to pick on her of all people, so he maneuvers his horse until he is between them, bearing the brunt of Sairam's words with a sort of detachment that only makes him more agitated.
The first titan appears from within a patch of woods when they approach it, a normal one from what they are told, followed by an abnormal that has the team scattering and running for their lives. For such loud people that like to point out the differences between them and constantly remind Levi and his friends of their origins, they do a very poor job in proving they are better. Therefore, Levi chooses to ignore the rest of Flagon's group and takes the lead, telling Isabel and Furlan to take down the titan. A simple distraction and well-placed slices on its knees has it toppling down on all fours, and Levi finishes it off with a clean-cut on the nape of its neck. He lands nimbly by his friends and compliments them, only mildly aware of the dirty, shocked looks they are getting.
A few titans show up afterwards, and by the end of the day, they are settling in a ruined construction with few losses. Isabel and Furlan sneak into the superior's rooms in hopes to find some clue of the whereabouts of the key, counting on Levi to keep watch of the hallway, and there he has one of the tensest encounters with Erwin to date. Not that he sees the man much, but the way he speaks and watches him intently, complimenting him for taking down an abnormal titan on his first expedition does not really make Levi feel good, but rather irritated. It does not get much better later when Hanji joins them as they plot Erwin's death in secret, a shine in their eyes and light flush on their cheeks, and Levi is ready to take their lives until they mention the kill. Hanji's loud words and casualness attract stares in the group's direction, and Levi is thankful that his bluntness manages to push them away at some point. They have little time to come up with a plan to take Erwin down during the expedition, they cannot waste it talking about the Survey Corps' ideals.
Ackerman is no where to be seen that night, he notes dully.
They sleep late at night and rise at the crack of dawn. Levi spots her at some point, herding her group into position and saying a few words; by the hard look on her face, she is telling them of what can happen if they decide to disobey her, and they nod as one as Erwin shouts the first orders of the day. There are a lot more clouds in the sky today, and the scenery is painted red as the first flares shoot upwards. They steer the expedition team in the other direction to avoid titans and they travel without casualties for a while, until the sky begins to darken suddenly, rain clouds rolling into view.
A heavy downpour falls over them, and there is little their green cloaks can do to keep them dry. With the added fog that settles, it is hard to listen and see, and stopping is not an option. They keep running, leading their horses blindly around the field, and Levi is glad that they are all calm despite the dire situation. With scarce courses of actions to take, Levi takes charge again and, as much as he does not like to order them around, that is exactly what he does. Even if his voice leaves no room for arguments, they try to reason with him, but in the end he gets his way and they separate with requests to stay alive and come back in one piece.
So begins his journey to the center of the formation, relying on instincts alone. His horse kicks up dirt and he keeps his eyes open for other teams, and what he finds instead are broken, bloody bodies littering the grass. Levi does not need to guess what happened here, for the large footprints on the ground are a dead giveaway of what caused the death of these people. Something jerks inside his chest and his brain scrambles for a minute before it finds something to focus on: going back and saving them. A harsh tug at the reins and his horse has turned around to retrace its steps.
His heel kicks harder on his horse's flank, body naturally leaning forward to increase speed, heart beating wildly in the front of his throat. Levi feels restless, the muscles in his body screaming at him, at his steed, to go faster, faster. They are in danger, they can die, and he was stupid to leave them behind during a storm. They can hold their ground fighting other thugs and soldiers from the Corps, but titans are unknown territory. It was easy to take one down when grouped with the sun shining hotly on their backs; it is entirely another story when the downpour is so heavy you can barely see.
"All I can really tell you is not to leave the formation."
Her words repeat in his mind, reverberating inside his skull, loud and clear against the sound of his own jumbled thoughts. He grits his teeth, bares them, ears ringing in desperation, knuckles turning white as his fingers grip the reins with all of his strength. His hair is plastered back on his head, the rain beating down mercilessly on his tightly coiled shoulders, his stiff back, the worried creases and lines that appear on his face.
"Awful things happen when you get separated."
Gruesome, stomach twisting, bloodcurdling images fill his head, images of missing limbs and body parts lying about carelessly, scattered around the floor like an open graveyard. Images of Furlan bitten in half, blood flowing freely from him, body limp in hands that are inhumanly big. Images of Isabel with wide, green eyes, tears cascading down her cheeks, mingling with the rain, with her head caught between teeth that are roughly the same size. The sickening sounds of crunching bones, helpless screams that are carried with the wind, bodies falling like a sack of potatoes to the ground after they take a bite. All of this fills him with such dread that he feels like he can vomit.
He should have listened to her words. He should have fought them tooth and nail until they accepted defeat and decided to stay behind. He should have never left the formation, should have never ventured out under the rain in hopes to get a now soggy document and achieve some sort of personal revenge for having his face shoved in a puddle of mud weeks ago. Hell, he should have never left the underground in the first place, should have declined that anonymous man's offer of living above ground.
Should have, should have, but it is far too late now.
Levi dismounts his horse in haste, movements so jerky that he nearly topples down on the wet ground face-first. He trudges through the ankle-deep mud, water falling over his eyes and making it hard to see anything that is two palms away from his nose. The sound of the rain is muted against the white noise in his head, loud and distracting, and his mind screams at him, move, move, move. He feels lost, feels a scream bubbling up his throat, but it never makes it past his gritted teeth.
Move, damn it!
It is as if there is some greater force watching over him now and listening to his desperate thoughts, and maybe he has cried out in relief, but he cannot tell. The rain subsides; the torrent morphs into a gentle patter that is far more gentle on his skin and now he can see the broken trees, the steam that wafts up from gigantic carcasses that lie immobile on the ground. He moves his feet, cautiously stepping over appendages, severed arms and legs covered in blood-stained cloths; Levi swallows past the lump in his throat, trying not to think about which one of those belong to his friends. No, a stubborn, more hopeful side of his hisses, they are alive. He breathes in the smell of damp earth and iron, feels it on the back of his tongue and cringes before moving forward once again.
The cry that carries over to him is a welcomed tune that overrules the dull buzz in his ears. The familiar voice in an uncharacteristic tone means life and he staggers forward, breaths coming out of his parted lips in puffs. He walks to the source of the sound, walking around the dead body of a titan, eyes wide and frantic. His heart stops.
And then it starts beating again.
Relief washes over him and his knees almost buckle under his weight. Furlan is picking himself off the ground on his hands and knees, limbs shaking under the weight of his own body, beads of water dropping from the tip of his nose and the tips of his mushy dark blonde hair that now borders a darker color. Rael and Mateo are near him in the next second, helping him up, and the rest of Ackerman's squad is off to the side, observing the bloody, horrific scene that lies before their very eyes. His own keep searching, though, now accompanied by Furlan's gaze as he drags his feet over to him.
She is there, on her knees, back arched, head buried in the crook of someone's neck, and fingers tightly wrapped around the person's jacket. Her cries are loud and helpless, her nose runs and hiccups rake her body. Isabel strips herself bare in that moment, letting them see a side of her that she keeps carefully hidden under layers and layers of bubbliness and toughness. His eyes roam over her form, looking for injuries; the blood does not seem to be her own and most of her cape is gone, what is left has a huge, uneven tear line that leaves only the top of the Survey Corps emblem intact.
Another cloak is draped over her shoulders; this one is whole and clean. "You're okay," Ackerman's voice, though loud, is comforting, and her hands gently rub up and down the girl's arms trying to warm her up. "You're okay."
You're alive, is the underlying message she gives. Furlan takes a tentative step forward, then another and another, until he is in a mad dash towards the duo, dropping to his knees and pulling the crying girl into his arms. "Thank you," he whispers into her maroon locks. "Thank you for saving her."
Her lips tilt softly, forlornly, and she shakes her head. "You killed it. You saved her." She looks up at Levi, who approached them in a much slower pace, meets his eyes and gently reaches for his hand, giving his fingers a brief, warm squeeze before rising to her feet. With a mouthed go, Ackerman leaves them alone and joins the rest of her team, looking over the body parts and trying to identify each of them.
She pulls her scarf up to her nose, hiding half of her face in the soft material and frowns at the ground, murmuring an order that only her team hears, and they scatter away from the area. Cupping her elbows, she walks over to the still, incomplete form of Ciela, crouches low and slides the woman's eyelids shut gently. Just as she stands up, horses approach from the east, soft hooves stopping as their riders dismount and join them on the mushy ground.
"Ackerman." Her eyes meet with Erwin's, emotionless black boring into composed cerulean. "Report."
"A small groups of titans, sir." Her fingers flex by her sides, unsure if they should curl inwards to her palm or not. "My team is alive and looking for survivors in the vicinity."
A stiff nod. "Flagon's team?"
Ackerman looks to the side, focusing her gaze on a headless body that lies with limbs bent in awkward and impossible angles. "The three are the only survivors." Closing her eyes, her head turns down and right a fraction, covering most of her profile with her dripping wet hair. "We didn't make it in time. I'm sorry."
Erwin looks at the survivors, eyes betraying nothing. Isabel is still shaking, caged in her friend's arms, letting out shuddering breaths against his chest. Furlan has his eyes tightly shut, his hold on her is impossibly tight, nose buried in her hair. Levi is kneeling beside them, her hands in his, downcast eyes tracing invisible patterns on the dirt.
"Gather the bodies," the blonde finally says. "We need to return to the walls."
