The ships were a wreck as they chugged slowly into the docks, the black steam rising ominously from the funnels, some even struggling to stay afloat. There were massive dents all along the railings and all visible metal was laced with claw marks. Unfortunately, the damage to the boats didn't quite match the damage to the soldiers; over half of them carried injuries to varying degrees while a significant proportion seemed to be missing altogether. Levi, Hanji and Shardis all waited patiently for the boats to stop, standing to attention as they did so. Commander Erwin was the first to disembark, and motioned for his officers to follow. The three leaders watched in concern for their esteemed Commander as they followed him through the docks. Although his face was stoic, it was all a mask to hide the horrors he had witnessed for the past few weeks. He had clearly seen far too many men of his own die, and no matter how many times he would do this to himself, it would still hit him like a Falka's talons to the heart every time. Captain Levi opened his mouth to ask how the mission went, but Erwin answered him before he even spoke.
"Not even close." Erwin spoke, his voice dark and tired, "And an estimated fifty-seven percent of our men injured and a possible twenty-eight K.I.A."
Levi, Hanji and Shardis lowered their heads at the devastating news. Despite the loss, however, when Erwin and his men finally reached the top of the cliff on the edge of town, the entire populations of townspeople were there to welcome them home. They knew that many lives will have been lost and tears of grief will shed for days to come, but the citizens swallowed their pain and applauded their chief protector as he marched through the street.
"Commander!" Someone called form the horde.
Erwin stopped in his tracks as a single woman emerged and ran towards him.
"We have such high hopes for our young soldiers this year!" She said, excitement and optimism shining through the sadness in her almond eyes.
A bearded man joined her, "Aye! That Jaeger boy is restoring faith throughout the whole town!"
"Please congratulate your officers for their amazing effort in training these wonderful cadets so well!" Another woman shouted.
"Tch. I wouldn't say 'wonderful'," Levi muttered.
Erwin turned to the three behind him as the villagers and soldiers dispersed, "Jaeger?" He asked, raising an impressive eyebrow.
Levi continued to walk, forcing his cohorts to follow. Clearly, the townsfolk had told Erwin his news before he could, "Yeah. The boy has been showing exceptional skill in the ring since we started training them. Isn't that right?" He turned to Hanji and Shardis.
Hanji nodded excitedly, brown eyes sparkling, "Yes! Yes! Both he and Armin Arlert have been studying together and it has definitely shown in the ring!"
Erwin's aged eyes widened in curiosity.
Levi shrugged like it was nothing to be excited about, "Who would have thought it? Eren seems to have this way with the beasts."
Erwin looked pensive for a minute as he followed the others to the Grand Hall, his brows furrowed as he took this strange information in. He then laughed suddenly, taking all three leaders by surprise.
"I supposed this means that your bet against Jaeger is in jeopardy, aye Levi?"
Levi only scowled. He had forgotten about the bet he made against Hanji. At this rate, Eren really was going to make it into the Wings of Freedom early, not Mikasa. He was neck and neck with her in the scores after all.
"Where are they now?" Erwin asked.
"Well, since the cadets have a day off, they are all scattered around the island doing various jobs and activities." Hanji answered for him, "As for Jaeger and Arlert… They could be anywhere."
*****
No one could have ever guessed where Eren and Armin were at that moment, even after a million attempts. The young soldiers were currently on the back of Siegfried flying across the ocean to the mainland of all places. It was Armin's plan to go for a test drive that day and he thought that the best place to do that would be on the mainland where the titans roamed. He said that the adults would never catch them there. Eren argued saying that the titans would. Eventually, Armin won the argument and the two of them sneaked off early in the morning and rode their secret dragon out of the cove and off the island. For the steamboats owned by the town force, it would take about two days to travel from the Isle of Maria to the mainland. Armin calculated that on the back of a Lethal Falka carrying two young humans clad in 3D Manoeuvre Gear would take about three hours. Much to Eren's irritation, Armin was absolutely correct.
After they crossed the coastline, they flew a few miles inland to find some forest where they discovered the familiar woods of gigantic trees. Eren remembered this place the last time his legion was taken here as part of their breaking in. On the back of a dragon he found himself more comfortable and secure than he expected. There was also a large lake nearby, surrounded by pointed peaks. It was a wonderful place with no titans to be seen for miles. Eren guided Siegfried to land on a large tree near the edge of the forest where the lake stretched out before them. Armin dismounted from behind Eren and groaned, rubbing his backside. Eren absentmindedly stroked the velvety fur on the back of Siegfried's neck, memorising its soft, silky texture. Both Eren and Armin's hair had become windswept from the flight, causing them to spike up in all directions.
"Right," Armin started, retrieving his notebook from the bag he carried on his shoulder, "to start off, Eren, I want you to perform some basic manoeuvres over the lake where I can see you clearly, okay?"
Eren cracked his fingers and stretched his back, "Okay."
Siegfried then took off, flying powerfully yet gracefully over towards the lake. Eren's gear clunked quietly with every other flap the dragon made. Eren inhaled deeply, feeling the cold fresh air, two hundred feet or so, up in the sky as he soared through it. It was so different than using the gear; freer, lighter and best of all, faster. As Armin watched and took notes, Eren leaned forward, slightly to the left and flexed his foot, directing Siegfried to also turn left to face the far side of the elongated lake. Eren leaned right and Siegfried followed, turning into a full loop. Siegfried barely had to flap as she cut through the air smoothly; both tail wings open wide and her ears and crest feathers detecting all of Eren's commands. Eren couldn't believe how much he loved riding Siegfried, the massive, golden wings beside him felt like his own as dragon and human moved in perfect sync. There was a slight breeze where Eren and Siegfried flew and they practiced manoeuvres where Siegfried would bank left or right while staying on a straight course.
"Okay, Sig. We've covered horizontal patterns. Let's practice the y axis," Eren said, fixing his position in his seat.
Siegfried cooed and rolled her shoulders, feeling Eren prepare to dip. The boy leaned forward and Siegfried tilted her wings while dipping her head. Immediately the two of them began to descend rapidly, the lake surface rushing to meet them at an angle.
"Come on, Siegfried! Come on!" Eren encouraged, feeling their speed increase.
Siegfried dropped low until she was just a few metres above the glassy surface. The lake was so still, Eren could see their reflection on the surface when he looked over. When Eren looked behind him, he could see the air currents disturb the surface.
"This is awesome," he muttered mostly to himself, "Let's see what you've got!" He challenged the Falka.
Siegfried shrieked happily in reply and began to climb, flapping furiously to gain altitude as fast as she could. Eren could feel the powerful muscles beneath him work like a machine; the flexing of the wings under his thighs, the slithering motion of her neck as she powered on, and even her feathered paws clawing at the air like she was running up a wall.
"Yeah! Woooo!" Eren cried, feeling his stomach drop and his heart soar in a wonderful way that could only be felt when on the back of a dragon.
Armin watched in awe as they scaled higher and higher, beyond the peaks to where the clouds lay. A massive grin cracked his face as his eyes followed them up. He knew Eren would end up liking this, riding dragons every day. When Eren finally decided that they had practiced the basic manoeuvres enough (and finished flying around like a hooligan) he returned to Armin, panting with exhilaration.
"How was that?" He asked, his eyes wide and his cheeks flushed.
Siegfried was huffing but her head was raised tall and proud and her ears alert. As she stood on the branch, she held her wings half open to allow them to cool.
Armin nearly rolled his eyes, "Pretty good. Nice and controlled. Can you take your foot out of the stirrup for me?"
Eren ruffled his hair, "Sure,"
As he did so, the tail wings made a satisfying click and the leather popped open. Siegfried looked startled at the noise and movement and her head whipped around, blue eyes fixing on the device. The boys watched as she testily flexed her right tail wing and was shocked to see the left follow suit.
"What did you do?" Eren asked.
"Remember how we could lock the tail wing to stay open without your help?" Armin said, walking over to it, "I made a couple of changes where it would automatically lock every time your foot left the stirrup."
"So she can fly without me now?"
Armin nodded, "I don't think she would be tempted to leave us anytime soon. She likes you too much. Plus, we're easy access for food."
"Cool," Eren said.
Deep down, the older boy preferred the idea of Siegfried being tied to him in as many ways possible, even if it was very selfish and meant taking her flight away. But he remained quiet about it.
"Next, I was thinking about practicing flight in the woods." Armin said, "This will challenge you a lot more than in the open, constant changes in direction and lots of trust involved. You up for it?"
"Uh… yeah. Yeah, I am," Eren replied a little distracted.
With Eren on the back of Siegfried and Armin using his gear, the three of them made their way further into the woods where 3D Manoeuvre Gear was the main form of transportation. Before Armin could even ask if Eren was ready, the hothead set off, guiding Siegfried through twists and turns in the forest. The two of them moved freely, dodging and twirling through the branches and past colossal trunks. They moved like one, Eren feeling the slightest twitch in Siegfried's back muscles and responding appropriately. It was nothing like using the gear; he left so much more in control, despite another creature doing the actual flying. He relied on nothing but his partner and didn't want it any other way.
Suddenly, without warning, Siegfried halted mid-flight and hovered in the air. Her tail swished below and her ear flickered in different directions. The dragon snorted and grunted, something clearly distressing her.
"Sig?! What is it, what's wrong?!" Eren asked, worry etched on his face as he struggled to maintain his balance.
It was at this point where Eren realised how far away from Armin they had come. Something was clearly upsetting Siegfried and Eren only became more concerned and even scared when she roared and twisted her neck around. In one swift swipe, Siegfried had severed the straps which held Eren to the saddle and the boy scrambled to get a hold on her, crying out in fear.
"Siegfried! What's going on?!"
Siegfried mewed like a raptor on the hunt and turned in the opposite direction to where they left Armin behind. She lurched forward, almost dislodging Eren from the saddle and she streaked through the forest. Eren could only watch as the trees passed him in a blur. He wasn't sure if he was imagining it but, where those… Giant footsteps? Suddenly, he found himself where they had left his friend when the worst thing happened.
"EREN!" Armin screamed, "IT'S AN ABNORMAL!"
Out of nowhere appeared a titan, suddenly in front of Eren and Siegfried, completely blocking their path. It all seemed to go in slow motion the moment Eren saw its beady eyes focus on him. The titan's hand reached out directly for him and there was no way Eren could avoid this; he was going to die. Suddenly, at the last second, Eren found himself thrown back and slipping from Siegfried, who had reared up and thrown herself between him and the titan. With no straps to hold him on anymore, Eren fell; rolling through the air away from the titan's groping hand. Eren instinctively reacted and fired his grappling hooks from his gear, the wires securing themselves and halting Eren before he could crash into the ground. The boy grunted and gasped as he righted himself, his body savagely jerked from all sides. But he was alive. Eren was scared to look up, fearing the worst fate for his dragon. To his absolute astonishment, instead of seeing blood and feathers falling from the titan's grasp, he saw a fully intact Falka roar in defiance and attack the monster ferociously with her talons, completely obliterating the fingers.
"Eren! Let's go!" Armin called, snapping Eren out of his stupor.
Eren gritted his teeth and fired his gas, shooting up and away from the titan's reach. He looked back, hoping that Siegfried was okay. The dragon howled in triumph, flying after her rider with ease. Now that Eren wasn't in the saddle, the tail wing was in automatic and Siegfried could now fly by herself.
So that was why Siegfried severed the safety strap; Eren realised, so I could get away when things turned for the worst...
Eren grinned in determination and readied himself for battle. With a violent burst of gas, Eren fired forward, soaring through the air towards the titan and Siegfried reflecting his movements. The abnormal titan was too fast to be directly killed.
Eren drew his blades and pointed one to the beast while calling to his dragon, "Siegfried! Blind it!"
Siegfried registered his command perfectly and flew upwards, rounding on the titan to level with its head. Since she wasn't a human, the titan had no interest in attacking her and she had a clear shot to its face. In one fell swoop, Siegfried rushed across its face, her talons raised, and lacerated the titan's eyes, blinding it immediately.
Now's my chance!
Eren flew up and levelled himself to face the titan's neck.
"GYYAAAHHHHH!" Eren roared as he smashed his blades into the nape and sliced the flesh off perfectly.
The titan fell, the earth shaking as it crashed onto the ground, dead. Eren whistled for Siegfried who darted over and stole him out of the air, the soldier landing perfectly in her saddle, and secured his feet in the stirrup taking control once more.
"Eren!" Armin called from the treetops, safe from any titan's reach.
Eren flew Siegfried up to meet him and landed lightly on his branch. They could feel their blood rushing under their skin and their hearts thrummed audibly. Armin stared in disbelief and rushed over to Eren once he dismounted.
"Eren, are you okay?!"
"I'm fine, Armin. Did you see that?" Eren grasped Armin's shoulders tightly.
"You mean a dragon protected a human from a titan and assisted in killing it?"
"I know right! This is amazing!" Eren cheered, releasing Armin and rushing over to Siegfried, tackling her in a hug, "Dragons and humans, fighting titans together!" He released Siegfried who was grinning madly and scrambled to mount her. Eren saluted and Siegfried straightened, playing along, "Nothing can stand in our way! For we are the Wings of Freedom!"
The two dived off the tree and flew circles, cheering and whooping in delight like a pair of crazy children. Armin stared then smiled. It did make sense that Eren could literally be the Wings of Freedom riding Siegfried. Maybe humans and dragon really could live in harmony together, even fight alongside each other against the titans. It was truly unbelievable what Siegfried did, according to Eren's account. It seemed that she knew of the titan's presence and rushed back to protect Armin. So in a way, she she put herself in danger to protect both humans.
After that terrifying experience with the abnormal titan, the boys felt compelled to go home and get something to eat. They had been away from the Island for almost six hours now and didn't want to raise anymore suspicion. Eren and Siegfried didn't mind but they insisted on flying at speed and various heights with a few flips, screws and rolls in mid-flight. Armin spent most of this time with his arms wrapped tight around Eren's waist and his eyes shut. He never was one for going at speed, even in the 3D Manoeuver Gear. Eventually, they made it back home in even less time than before and rested on the cliffs by the coast. After dismounting, Eren and Armin removed their gear and retrieved lunch and tools from Armin's bag. As the boys sat down and ate, Siegfried took off to hunt for fish in the ocean below. When she returned, her huge mouth was full of fish of varying sizes and she made herself comfortable lying behind the boys, allowing them to lean against her. At some point, Siegfried offered some fish to Eren who politely declined, happy with his loaf of bread.
"Hey, what are those?" Armin said.
Eren looked to see a flock of seven small dragons flying towards them, their flight clunky and a little uncoordinated. Upon closer inspection, Eren realised that they were baby Lurals and Velxes, just a couple of years old at the most. They were so thin Eren thought that they would snap as soon as they landed. When they did, they immediately approached Siegfried and her cluster of fish, the smell clearly attracting them. The Lethal Falka growled and placed her paws over her catch defensively. When the fledglings attempted to steal some of her food, Siegfried snapped and snarled at them, her ears folded back and her teeth bared. One managed to snatch some fish away, much to the Falka's contempt, and it had to fight against the other babies to keep it. They growled and snarled which to Eren sounded more like Siegfried's purrs and ended up play fighting with each other. Eren and Armin laughed at their playfulness.
"Here you go," Eren said, tossing the fish he was given to a Velx that was being bullied by Siegfried.
The Velx saw the fish land in front of it and happily snapped it up, swallowing the meat whole. Eren expected the yearling to leave it at that, but the young dragon was clearly affected by Eren's act of compassion and felt compelled to approach this nice human further. The Velx crawled closer to Eren with caution, coos and purrs escaping its throat. Eventually, it sidled up to Eren and squeezed in between him and Armin. It then lay down, sneaking its head under Eren's arm and rested in his lap. Eren slowly began to caress the dragon's head and back, running his fingers through its soft fur and feathers.
"It's like everything we know about them is wrong," said Armin, softly, "they never were a threat to mankind like the titans. They may even be the answers to our prayers…"
Eren only smiled and scratched the dragon under the ears.
*****
When Eren and Armin finally returned to the town, they were exhausted from the long day and retired to the Grand Hall for dinner. Mikasa didn't attack them with any probing questions and they were able to enjoy a special dinner celebrating the return of the Wings of Freedom. Commander Erwin, flanked by his officers, stood to make a toast in memory of the lives lost and the future success of destroying the nest. Though it was long, Erwin's speech was inspiring and everyone held on to each word. He then congratulated the progress of the cadets in dragon training. Announcing that the two students with the highest scores will go head to head the next day to prove who was worthy of the Wings of Freedom. Erwin then took his seat allowing Levi to stand and take over.
"Thank you for your speech, Commander. May your words drive us in the fight for freedom." He adjusted his collar, "As our Commander has just explained, the two cadets with the highest scores will be put to the test tomorrow in the arena to decide who will go into the kill ring the day after." Levi drew out a sheet of paper and grimaced, "Our two leading soldiers are… Mikasa Ackerman… And Eren Jaeger!"
The Grand Hall erupted in applause at the two young soldier's success during the course.
"May you do your best to make the Wings of Freedom proud." Levi finished dryly, taking his seat.
"Dig in everyone!" Hanji announced, giving everyone permission to begin eating the wonderful meal prepared for them.
After dinner, Eren retreated to Armin's study while Armin returned to the dorms. Eren felt the need to be alone as he was being troubled by thoughts that wouldn't go away. As he sat at Armin's desk, his face and arms sprawled across the surface, he wondered how long he could keep Siegfried a secret for and what would happen if she was discovered. He couldn't bear the thought of her being taken away or killed; it would break his heart to lose her. The two had become incredibly close since they had started flying together and Eren didn't want to lose what he had found. Even Armin would be devastated. Eren's thoughts, however, were interrupted when the door was suddenly opened and the Commander of the Wings of Freedom walked in, followed by Corporal Levi. Gasping and stammering, Eren stumbled to his feet and saluted, though he was shabby and breathing rapidly.
"Commander Erwin! Levi Heichou- I mean, Captain- uh, sir!" He blabbered, floundering at being disturbed by such high ranking officers.
Erwin raised his hand to quieten Eren and spoke soothingly, "As you were, Jaeger." He then pulled out a second chair and sat down, Levi leaning on the wall behind him.
Eren blinked, "Uh, yes Sir." He then took his own seat, "Uh, Armin isn't here…"
"I know," Erwin said, "I came to look for you."
Eren swallowed, "M-me?"
"Yes."
"We know what you've been up to, Eren. We've come to talk about that dragon," Levi said, his tone dark.
A strangled sound emerged from Eren but he cleared his voice, "I-I don't know… What you…"
"Just how long did you think you could keep this from us?" Levi said.
Eren felt as if his world began to crash all around him. So this was the end of the line?
"Ahh… Oh, geeze… Look, we were gonna tell you guys…"
"I have to say," said Erwin, "I'm seriously impressed with you, Jaeger."
Eren was taken aback, "Y-you are? I mean, you're not mad?"
"What?" The Commander laughed, something Eren though was impossible, "Well, to be honest we were hoping for this!"
"Uhh… You were?" Eren looked to Levi for clarification.
"We saw talent in you, but we didn't expect you would make it this far." The Captain said. He sounded bored as usual, "Your skills in the arena have been outstanding, even the town recognises it. Commander Erwin cannot wait to see you do your work in the ring tomorrow."
"Ah…" Eren said, still unsure with what to say, "Well… I hope I do not disappoint?"
"You better not, Jaeger." Levi replied, "By the end of this we even expect you to beat Ackerman and join the Wings of Freedom. Think you can make the guardians of Maria proud?"
Eren nodded stiffly.
"Good," said Erwin, rising from his chair, "glad we got that sorted. Now would be a good time to go to bed. Don't want you tired for the semi-final exam tomorrow."
"No Sir…"
"Good."
With that, the Commander and Captain left Eren alone in the study, the boy unsure of what to do next. Eventually he found himself outside his bedroom door. He could hear Connie and Jean making noise from the other side. When he entered, he saw Armin on his bunk reading a book. The boy turned to greet his friend as he entered the room. Before Eren could reach his bunk, however, Jean approached him.
"Uh, congrats on making it to the semi-finals," he said, "make sure to kick Mikasa's butt for us guys." He smiled warmly, knowing that he was standing before a respectable comrade and not just a rival. He raised his hand in a friendly gesture.
"Yeah, thanks." Eren replied, returning Jean's gesture and slapping his hand against his.
When Jean released him, Eren stood by his bunk and began to undress, sighing audibly as he unbuckled his belts, releasing his limbs from their bonds. Armin continued to read but he could feel the tension Eren carried on his shoulders. Eventually, as Eren refused to say anything, Armin turned on him.
"Okay, what's up?"
Eren sighed, taking his time before answering, "… What if I have to kill a dragon?"
Armin was shocked and struggled to find words, "Eren, I…"
But the brunette shook his head, "Forget it," he said before vanishing up on his bunk.