Chapter 9
Aristea was already starting to have her doubts leaving behind her training. Well, it wasn't the training. But the very few she considered her friends.
Sure, she hadn't thought twice about agreeing to the Commander's offer, but seeing how they were, she realized she didn't want to leave them behind.
Even so, she had a mission to do. She couldn't afford to be tied down to such affiliations and let those relationships hinder her from accomplishing what she originally intended to do.
She just hoped they would understand.
She gathered the friends she made during her short duration of stay in the camp and told them straight out.
"I'm leaving."
She was answered by silence.
"We kind of already expected that." Armin sheepishly told her as he looked at the crackling fire.
"You did?"
"Yes. When we saw that Commander and Captain Levi personally came . . . we thought . . ."
Connie then started laughing.
Everyone looked at him as though he grew two heads. "Why are you laughing?"
"She was scouted by the Scouting Legion! Haha! I bet they surveyed her before scouting! Get it? By the Survey Corps?"
A few of them cracked smiles.
Eren looked at Aristea. "It's too soon."
"Ah, but for me, I've been waiting for this for a very very long time." She said. "Ever since I was a child, I was already looking forward to help save humanity. If the Scouting Legion themselves came to my door knocking, why wouldn't I accept?"
"I guess. But I'm just really disappointed. We just . . . started being friends . . . I don't think anyone in here would want it to end. Not so soon."
"Agh! Come here, you! Don't make me hesitate about the decision!" She grabbed Eren's head, pinning it under her arm and rubbing his scalp with her knuckles. "It doesn't have to end, Eren!"
She then released him and addressed everyone. "It may have been short, but we can keep on being friends. Just because I'm leaving, doesn't mean it has to end. I'll visit once in a while and send letters and all that stuff."
"B-but . . . Ari . . ." Sasha sniffled. "What if you get eaten by titans?!"
She smirked. "Oh, please. You think a titan can eat me?"
"Yeah, right." Jean rolled his eyes. "The Goddess Messiah? Get eaten by titans?"
"I bet she'll eat them." Reiner huffed. "Demon bitch."
"Demon bitch. Goddess Messiah." She shook her head, a smile on her lips. "I'll be the same Aristea you know. So, you have to make sure you guys work hard so that, if you're the same suicidal bastards like Eren and me, you can come with me to the Recon Corps and we'll crush titans together."
"Yeah, right."
"You can count on me, Aristea." Eren smiled at her. "So don't die before we get there."
"I'm a long way from dying, Eren." She said. "I can take care of myself. Anyhow! I called you here so I can make the most of my last week together! So let's become happy! Do you wanna train? Or play?"
"Let's just hang out for tonight."
"Okay. What should we do?"
"Tell us more stories. They're really interesting."
"Okay. How about I tell you how Daphne and Apollo met?" She grinned, leaning back. "Daphne and Apollo are Aristea's parents. Daphne is a Naiad, a water nymph."
"Doesn't that make her a demigod?"
"Well, she is still technically a full-blooded goddess, I guess." She said. "Because nymphs are descended from gods, though they don't have the abilities of one. Some of the Olympians are actually born of a god and a titan, didn't you know?"
"Really?"
"So gods are technically titans. Should we kill 'em?"
"No, of course not." She shook her head. "These titans are technically monsters. The titans gods were born of were very wise, old, powerful, and high-ranking titans with extraordinary abilities. Those are merely low-ranking ones." She huffed. "And gods are the only answer to defeating these creatures."
"When is that Goddess Messiah coming down already?" Jean groaned.
"Didn't she already?"
"Oh, please. You?"
"Hey." Aristea frowned.
"But really, I want the real one with cool powers and stuff."
"Ahahaha." The goddess began laughing maniacally. She then stood up and turned to the sky. "I call upon the twelve Olympians from above!"
'Are you sure about this, Aristea?'
'No, I'm joking. Send some lightning, but don't think I'm serious.'
Thunder and lightning raced through the skies.
Jean flinched while everyone stared at her in shock.
"I curse you, Jean Kirchstein, to be a toad for the rest of your life!" She then pointed at him, causing the boy to jump from his seat and hide behind Marco.
"If you're gonna curse him as an animal, make him a horse. He's a horseface after all."
Eren and the others sweatdropped.
"What's with the lightning?" They all asked.
"Nah. I'm just kidding." Aristea joked.
"But really, what a coincidence. Is it going to rain?"
"Probably Zeus farting." She dismissed.
A loud clap of thunder echoed.
'ARISTEA!' Her grandfather roared.
"Oops." She whispered.
They all sweatdropped.
"Are you really secretly the goddess, Aristea?"
"Why, do you want me to be?" She smirked.
'Make it rain.'
"No. No. No." Jean shook his head fervently.
A rush of downpour suddenly washed over them that they all jumped, startled. Aristea and the others rushed to take cover.
"I guess we're over for the day!" Someone exclaimed.
The rest of the week was filled with nothing but bonding and having fun together. Shadis said that if Aristea was to stay for a week, then that means she would have to join the exercises and program along with the other trainees.
The goddess made no comment in Shadis's demands and quietly obliged to his wishes. Aristea did not how long she spent living the dream.
'Two months.' Came Hera's answer.
To think they all bonded within such a short amount of time, it was amazing how affectionate humans could be. The gods weren't normally very touchy beings because they had a lot of responsibilities, but Apollo was generally a touchy-feely father.
She didn't even know she was going to make friends at such a short amount of time!
'You are the goddess of emotions, Aristea.' Said the queen of the gods. 'You are the only child I have seen to be very affectionate. You're the one closest to humanity from all of us Immortals.'
"I see." She then took out her satchel she carefully hid under her bed. She was sure someone tried going through her things, which was amusing. However, her satchel was a special one. It cannot be opened by someone other than its owner.
There were her twin swords, Azenith and Magnus. She would be using them in place of the swords used by the humans. The gifts given to her by the gods were there as well. They were typically her most prized possessions. Other than that, she had nothing.
She took the twin swords and decided that their appearance were too flashy for the moment. She took out Hermes's ring and decided to try it out.
"Hermes, I call upon your favor to disguise these swords as the ordinary swords which humans use."
'As you wish, goddess.'
The gems decorating the hilt of the weapons disappeared and turned plain. Aristea watched in mild fascination as the two swords transformed into normal-looking ones like the commonly used.
She then put everything back in order before deciding she was good to go.
Good for her that everyone was in the baths relaxing. No one was watching.
Aristea turned to head towards the usual meeting place as she informed the others that this would be her last day. When she arrived however, she was surprised when they actually prepared a 'farewell party' in her honor. Idea by Connie and Sasha.
"This is somewhat shocking."
They hid it quite well from her, considering what she was a goddess of. But then again, the others were well aware of her acute perception and stayed away from her as much as they could. She was already wondering if they were distancing themselves because she was leaving. She was a little suspicious of their actions before.
So this was what they were up to.
"Okay. We'll do nothing but have fun!"
Jean and the others surprisingly prepared their own 'show' to present, which amused Aristea to no end. They all had their distinct presentations, some funny and others . . . very dramatic.
They all laughed when Marco appeared wearing a red lipstick in a pink skirt topping the pants of his uniform.
"Oh, husband~" He puckered his lips towards Jean, who looked more than surprised seeing him in his attire.
"F-fuck you, Marco! What the hell are you wearing?!"
"It's not Marco." He said in a fake voice. "It's Marcy!"
'AHAHAHAHAHA!'
Eren and the others were dying of laughter as Marco chased Jean around.
"Stay the hell away from me! You fucking transvestite! You ain't Marco!"
"I told you I'm Marcy!"
The trio of Eren, Armin, and Mikasa was a little bit funnier. Eren was trying to get the show moving but both Armin and Mikasa were very shy. Jean was blushing while Aristea was clapping and the others were laughing their asses off.
When it was finished, they pushed Aristea into the front for the 'closing remarks'.
"I want to thank you all for the effort you put into this whole idea of surprise. I am more than elated seeing all of us together this way." Aristea smiled as Sasha's eyes welled up with tears. "I do not want to say goodbye. For goodbyes are meant for not forever seeing each other again. I will bid you by a simple 'see you later'."
Those were the words that turned the faucet open. Sasha started bawling while Eren looked on the verge of losing it himself.
"To thank all of you for your efforts today and to give you something to remember me by, I present you with the symbol of the Goddess Messiah." She grinned at the confused look on their faces. "As a goddess would say, you have all earned my favor and hereby shall present you a boon."
She asked Hermes to fetch her things that she would present her human friends to symbolize her favor prior to this day. It was to thank them and show them that gods in particular were very generous beings if pleased.
She first went over to Armin. "You are smart, Armin. Your greatest weapon will be your mind." She then leaned down and kissed him on the forehead before presenting him with a brooch that came with the symbol of a raven. "I hope you always wear it. It shall give you protection and help you should you ever have problems."
She then turned to Mikasa. "I know your greatest desire is to protect and not be protected, so I give you this." She pulled out a dagger that had the same raven symbol carved on its blade. "I have carved this when I was young out of something I found. It's nothing close to what one of my relatives used to do, but it holds a sentimental value and a deep, intimate connection to me."
Mikasa, shockingly, leaned forward and locked her into an embrace. When they pulled away, Aristea leaned in and kissed her on the forehead as well.
She turned to Jean. "I would've cursed you to be a toad, but I shall bless you instead." She joked, making him gulp. "So for the loudmouth Jean I give you this." She reached out and clasped a necklace around his neck. "For one with a strong and brave heart. You who understand the weak enough to make you strong. You are fit to become a leader, Jean. You will lead glory in many battles." She said.
"What's this?"
"This necklace ran in my family for generations. It was believed to have been blessed by the Goddess of Victory herself." She told him.
"What?" He looked taken aback.
"And I will accept no returns." She joked. "But you have to remember that winning battles is losing them as much."
He then began grumbling as Aristea kissed his forehead as well, causing him to blush. She then turned to Marco. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"The levelheaded one with the resilience." Aristea stared at him in the eye. "You will be the one who will keep them in line. The marksman with sharp shooting skills. Have this bullet on you at all times." She handed it to him. "I will assure you that it will be worth it. But, it isn't meant to be shot."
"Huh?"
"Thank you, Aristea." Marco said.
She then kissed him on the forehead like the others.
For Reiner, another necklace with a distinct quality. For Berthold, a brooch like Armin's but with a different purpose. She didn't know to give Berthold since he never talked much, but she chose what best suited his personality. Calm and quiet with the desire of peace.
Aristea gave a pin to Sasha decorated with flowers. The girl could not help but glomp on her and start bawling until she was pried off. And, for Connie, a joker card for his personality. It was more special than it first seemed to be.
And finally, Eren.
"Eren," she smiled. "You're the first friend I actually made here, so I'm giving you something a little bit more special."
Eren smiled excitedly.
Slowly, she took out the ring from her finger.
The others gasped.
She gingerly took his hand slipped it into his ring finger.
"They look like they're getting married."
"Should I get some flowers?"
Aristea felt some warmth flowing into her.
'So you finally decided? Very well.' Aphrodite giggled.
Eren reddened.
The ring seemed to glint as Aristea let it slide into place.
"A ring of a promise." Her words rolled out of her tongue as though she wasn't the one speaking.
"Thank you, Aristea." Eren said, stammering slightly.
"You and I will be forever connected." She beamed before leaning in and brushing her lips against his forehead, planting a warm kiss that sent his face red. "Until the day that that promise is fulfilled."
To see the ocean.
And so, the next chapter will be LEVI TIME! =)))) Or maybe. REVIEW! =)