Disclaimer: I only own Aria and Klaud!

"Remember this?" Aria laughed unfurling a roll of parchment revealing crude diagrams and drawings of plants, "This has to be yours. I can draw better than that."

"Eli always mine were more detailed anyways. With the way you proportion things, you're gonna end up killing someone one day," Klaud said in frank denial.

"Gonna slip you something tonight. We'll see about killing someone," grumbled the younger sibling. Eli used to spend more time with Klaud since he was older at the time and picked things up easier. She loved learning about herbs and doing the actual foraging, but when it came to getting down and mechanically sprinkling the tips of this in and grinding a bit of that in, she was stumped.

They were rummaging through their old belongings stored in one of the free rooms down in the cellar. The HQ was big but slowly and surely, more cadets were joining the legion again. It was more than they've had in a long time. Squad leader Mike let them have the rest of the day off after having stalked up and down half of Wall Maria helping the Garrison earlier on that morning.

Aria slid off the binds that kept a couple dirtied envelopes off. Having no recollection of what these were, she opened one curiously and began to read, "Dear older sister, I know-" She closed it without another thought and put it in the garbage pile. Aria felt no remorse, only an already dwindling spark of curiosity. They didn't have anything to do with her or Klaud anymore and she was fine with it that way. She didn't say anything when Klaud suspiciously reached over and took them. After a couple short moments, he wordlessly dumped it back in with the other rubbish.

"Ignorance isn't always bliss, you know," Nanaba commented.

Aria ignored him. "I'm definitely going to keep this though. It'll come in handy." She wiggled her hand-written encyclopedia up at Klaud and tucked it away safely. She was thinking about sitting down with Hanji or Mobilt and sorting out what could possibly be helpful for the Medic's Division. Aria thought that in another world, she'd be a part of that branch of the legion, but it didn't sit well with her if she didn't fight. In her head, being on the front lines makes her feel as if she making more of a difference whereas medics participate on the fields as well, but you didn't exactly have the same control.

"Real mature." The blonde elbowed her head but left it alone.

She peered up at him from her spot on the floor. "Are those from your girls?" She asked. He was sifting through a small bundle of letters which were, from what she could see through from below, were long and detailed. She knew he thought about his younger sisters fairly often. The family he left behind wasn't the greatest either, his father in particular. That was something they both had in common. With both his sisters being younger, it left them vulnerable when the only capable shoulder they could lean on left the house. Nonetheless, she knew his mother encouraged Nanaba to be selfish for once and get away from everything. Aria thought that it was a risky trade-off so unlike Nanaba to take, joining the military to be in the dark about his family, but she figured she wouldn't pry or ask.

She only accompanied him back twice in the time that they knew each other and Aria still didn't know the details but she knew he was secretly a mama's boy and the girls absolutely adored their older brother. The girls were carbon copies, with pale blonde hair cut short and crystal blue eyes lit with wisdom achieved too early for someone their age. The feeling of guilt he must have for feeling like he abandoned his family wasn't something she understood personally but was able to empathize with.

"Maybe squad leader will let us go out to town later. We can go see Rico, or maybe even the others," Aria smiled knowingly at her quiet friend. It would be nice to see Eli again as well. Flipping through her old belongings made her realize how much she missed the old man. Just then, Tomas opened the door looking haggard.

"Hey!" Lynne greeted in surprise, being closest to the door. "Back so soon?" She asked the man.

Tomas was away on an excused leave of absence. It usually had something to do with his only daughter, Laylie. She was a fragile little girl who was born with an unfortunate set of complications. Every so often something urgent would arise and he would be granted a trip back, but only because his house was so conveniently close to the headquarters in behind Maria. Being a scout, Tomas had to keep it short and tend to the sole problem he was allowed to leave for. At first, Aria expected the worst after observing his exhausted, quiet demeanor, but then he gave them a tired smile.

"She's alright now. Just had a little trouble overcoming a bad cold with her lungs is all. My wife hadn't slept in days. I had to go back and take over before she got sick as well." He nodded to the rest of them, "It was hard. It felt like I was taking a chance every time baby girl laid down to sleep."

"Sound like you did well." Klaud clasped Tomas' shoulders reassuringly, "Maybe you need some real time off. We're going to town, you should take the rest of the afternoon off, catch up on some well-deserved sleep, and then join us later."

"I'd rather not…" He started to protest. "I was already gone for so long and doesn't feel right not training." Tomas waved their worried faces away.

"You look like shit, man. We can grab a drink later if you want, but I'm sure your family would want for you to get better too." Gelgar pointed out. He turned the man around and started to march him up the stairs and to the sleeping quarters.

"It's good to have you back, Tomas. We'll see you in a little bit." Aria waved and gave him a thumbs up.

They finished up training without their goateed friend and headed into town after that. They approached the wall as many Garrison were finishing up and leaving for the day. The sun painted the walls blood red, letting them know that nightfall was approaching and fast. They waved at a couple of familiar faces. The Garrison, unsurprisingly, was a lot easier to get along with. Coming to the wall with the intention of finding just one person made Aria unsure they were going to catch their friend before she retired for the day. They milled about asking a few others about her but no one had seen the silver-haired captain.

"This Rico Brzenska is a friend from your trainee days?" Lynne asked nonchalantly. Alex and Nanaba exchanged knowing glances. The team knew that she and Klaud's relationship was volatile, but a strong one nonetheless. Klaud seemed to be able to push the buttons that no one else does. Her reactions most likely weren't as innocent as she made them out to be and they met Lynne after joining the Legion, so the Klaud's past with Rico probably sparked something a little more than a curiosity with Lynne.

"Yeah. She could be a bit brutish, but once you get to know her, she's a real sweetheart." Klaud laughed, waiting for Aria and Nanaba to chime in, but the blonde only scoffed in amusement. Rico was definitely not a "sweetheart". That word didn't even come close to describing who she was and if she heard that, Klaud would be out for the rest of the night. "She's awesome. You should see her fight too. If she were in the Corps, she'd definitely be one of us. I think you'll like her," Klaud continued as if nothing was off.

Lynne's faced the other side of the wall so Aria couldn't tell what face was like, but she would bet her dinner that it didn't show interest or excitement.

"Sounds like a cool chick," Gelgar nodded, "Maybe I'll get to know her better at your funeral. Just keep digging, bud."

Klaud looked confused but dismissed the man.

That fool, Aria thought, The one-time Gelgar is not drunk and has something meaningful to say, you wave him off. "I can't watch this anymore." Aria laughed when Nanaba gave her a flat stare, "Let me know what happens after though!" She headed back down the wall thinking that it was going to faster if she searched for their friend alone. She walked over to where soldiers were bustling around waiting to report and leave, thinking maybe the commanding officer would know Rico. Aria stopped mid-jog after spotting a familiar person hunched over cleaning an old, almost broken down catapult machine. Less than half of the wall had tracks installed to transport supplies quicker and even less had the newer, remodeled cannons. That explained why he was covered in soot. The wall really needed new machinery.

"Ackerman!" She called out, "You're still here?"

He patted his hands and took out a handkerchief to wipe the grease off, "So are you."

"Nah, we finished this morning. You've been here since?" She looked over the edge, "It's getting late."

"Started in the afternoon," The Ackerman simply stated.

Usually, when she was looking out at there, it was to locate incoming titans. She took this time to really gaze at the raw, unaltered land. It truly was beautiful; wide and peaceful. There was so much to see and explore, but they couldn't do so without the fear of being terrorized and eaten by titans. That's why most of them spent their lives cooped up behind these grimy walls. She swore the towering height of the wall combined with the only rapidly increasing population, heat, and smog was being trapped and built up. It was getting stuffier and grosser every year, but out there…

"Think about it. Our world stops at these walls and we're standing right at the end of it," Aria breathed as they stood at the edge. The rest of the world was right in front of them. Just one more step but as if an invisible wall extended above the walls and into the sky, they could only look through the glass at what could and should be theirs.

"Same stars here are there too." The Ackerman started to clean up. "We're not too lost. Erwin sees something we all don't."

Aria smiled and said nothing else. Any other time she would have taken the chance to tease him about the irony of what he just said, but the history behind Erwin and Levi's relationship wasn't the lightest of topics to poke at. She readjusted a loose bandage around her clavicle. The bruises from the mystery man were still healing and looked worse than they actually were. The bandages were more for the sake of hiding them rather than helping them heal.

"What actually happened down there?" He asked eyeing the green and purple stains. "And don't say some stupid shit like you fell," he added after a second.

She looked at the dagger he kept on him. The handle was barely sticking out of his belt, but she could still see something etched on top. "I've been meaning to ask you about it. I ran into someone...or more like he ran into me and he was asking about you… and them. Isabel and Church. And I know your blade looks just like every other knife, but I swear it had something on top too. Kind of like yours but I can't be too sure though."

"He asked about me…? What did he look like?" The Ackerman took out the knife and handed it to her after thinking carefully, "And this symbol. It had this?"

"It was too dark to tell so all I could say is that he was really tall." It was the only thing she could offer. Aside from his deep, coarse voice and the silhouette of an oddly sophisticated fedora on top of his head, which added to his height, she couldn't remember much about the man. "I also can't be too sure of the engraving but it wasn't anything I've seen before." She idly thumbed the symbol engraved on the hilt, "I told him you were in the Scouts. He seemed like he knew you from before and was checking up on you or something. You know, your life before joining the Scouts."

"He just let you go after that?" The Ackerman took the blade back.

Aria remembered how the man had oozed of murder and malice and nodded dumbly. "Yeah. That was it. I was surprised too."

"Count yourself lucky then," was all the Ackerman offered. He obviously recognized who she had described, but didn't divulge anything further. To be honest, she'd rather stay out. Aria had a feeling she wasn't supposed to be involved in the first place. Behind her, she heard an officer ask for the Ackerman's report for the day but before he could answer, Aria popped her head out from behind the man in surprise and glee upon hearing the familiar deep voice. She stashed the conversation away for another time and completely cleared her mind after seeing who spoke.

"Rico!" She rushed forward and threw her arms around her friend. She knew Rico hated to be touched in that manner but after not seeing her for so long, Aria couldn't help it. She missed her tart, poison-tongued roommate. She was starting to think they wouldn't come across her that day. "We were looking for you even though your hair…" Aria smirked, "So typical. You're too easy to miss."

Rico's face softened at her friend's lame attempt at making a joke. It wasn't even like it was the first time someone commented on how her odd hair color. Rico wasn't going to lie, it was a pleasant surprise and she found that she didn't hate the hug as much as she used to. Her fellow captains looked at them, mouths slightly agape. She fixed her glasses and threw them a pointed glare, patting her friend to let her know to let go.

She started to walk back with Aria trailing beside her. "Klaud misses you, you know. We all do. And I know you respond to his letters more than you do to mine and Nanaba's combined." She tried to wink but her friend brushed past her, purposely knocking into her shoulders.

"Holy shi- I coulda fell off the edge!"

"Good."

One of Rico's men guided her back sheepishly, whereas the Ackerman smirked and walked past, "I think I like this one."

Aria jogged to catch up to her friend who didn't slow her pace down at all. "I forgot! Rico, Levi Ackerman. Levi, this is my friend, Rico Brzenska." The two nodded at each other. Aria wanted to thank the man who helped her and get to know some of Rico's friends who now are more involved in her life. It turns out, she's closest with the higher-ranked captains, all of which are impressively skilled.

"We should have a good-natured match one day. Scouts against Garrisons," Elite force member Mitabi Jarnach said with a small smile.

"I'm sure that can be arranged one day. It could be something we can do to recruit some trainees into our factions," Aria agreed.

"You've represented the Survey Corps at the camp before, right?" Ian Dietrich, another elite team leader, asked. "I can't seem to exactly place your face."

"My brother and I do participate in those events every year or so. We've been going more often these days. The Corps needs more scouts." Aria smiled at her senior officer, "Maybe I'll see you later on this year, sir."

"Mitabi and I are there every year. It was nice to formally meet you this time." He nodded and left. They had reached the others above the main gates and split leaving Rico.

"Rico!" Klaud bounded happily over but was stopped short by her hand.

"That's enough. Your sister already did that and once today is one too many." She simply greeted Nanaba by nodding. "I don't exactly have time to socialize like you scouts. If you just came to say hi, then hello. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way now."She turned to walk down the stairs.

"Come on Rico, don't be like that. Let's catch up somewhere inside," Klaud followed only a few steps behind, "We can all grab dinner at the canteen or something. Show us around. You haven't even told us how you've been. It's been so long." Klaud doesn't plead but this was the closest he's got to it.

Aria had a feeling Rico was going to be like this, especially considering the time they've spent apart. She took a while warming up to, but this was a bit harsh. Even Aria was surprised. She figured Rico had made it the ultimate goal to clear her mind of past baggage, especially one that once held significance in her life but now no longer. A hard pill to swallow, but it was just like the Rico she knew. Rico wouldn't let their splitting of paths in life, and from possibly her only friends, burden her mind any more than it did in her heart. Well, clearly not her only friends now, but after meeting a few of them, Aria knew it wasn't the same. She surrounded herself with like-minded people; stoic, straight-forward, and serious. Aria, Klaud, and Nanaba deviated from that norm Rico considered reality.

"You sure that's the friend you've been looking for? The cool one? Cause if you meant 'cool' as in literally, yeah, she seems like a cold bitch to her friends," Gelgar threw out there after them. "Maybe only Ackerman can get along with her," he added, hoping to get a rise out of their other short friend.

At this, Rico spun around and answered, "I don't have any friends." She gave him a quick but obvious assessment and turned back around after seemingly deeming him not worth her time. Gelgar looked offended and patted his hair self-consciously. Klaud grabbed her elbow but let go after she gave him a warning glare.

If it was one thing Aria learned about being friends with Rico was, was to not touch her so familiarly. Forms of affection make her uncomfortable so it was best to let her defrost before approaching in such a manner. Aria knew that back then, and possibly even now, Rico also had a push-pull, or if she daresay, love-hate relationship with Klaud. She had no idea why her brother seemed to invoke attention in that form, but he was probably the last person Rico was willing to open up and let into her life again. They probably wouldn't see each other again until they were sent to recruit trainees again and that probably made it ten times harder for her friend to forget.

Aria was about to step in but Nanaba stopped her with a slight ruffle to the head. I got this, He seemed to say. Aria knew she was a bit too eager to see their friend again, which wouldn't go well with Rico. He lightly tapped Rico on the shoulder and waited patiently for her to glance at him at least once before nodding over to the canteen and taking the lead, not looking over to see if she was following. Sure enough, she sighed and wordlessly fell into step with the tall blonde.

"I guess we're going to eat together now? Can I excuse myself?" Gelgar hopefully asked, following the Ackerman who was turning to walk away.

"No way. This is my friend, guys. You're coming to meet her." Aria grabbed the two and started to pull them towards the canteen. Chatter has already filled the air. She hoped they could find a bench before dinner service was over.

"This woman doesn't seem too pleased to see you though. Maybe it's better to pay a visit to your old man?" Lynne commented. Gelgar always poked fun at how he thought Lynne had a plain face, which infuriated her to no ends because appearances were just not a topic talked about in the corps, where getting dirty after a day's work was a compliment and displayed good work ethic. But Aria thought when she showed her caring, less tense side, she looked rather beautiful. Not like the silent, cold-cut beauty, their silver-haired friend was, but a softer, more lax visage. Boy did Klaud have a choice to make. Lynne probably thought she was hurt by Rico's behavior and was trying to make her feel better, which she thought was sweet. Aria idly hoped that Klaud could solve whatever he had with these girls, some of her best friends, in the neatest way possible.

Dinner resumed with awkwardness and silence.

"She makes me want to get shit-faced drunk," Gelgar whispered to his team. Aria kicked him from beneath the table causing an obvious thud, not that it was interrupting any conversations anyways. Everyone ignored it, causing Gelgar to sigh in defeat and continue picking at his potatoes.

"So? How did you come to be promoted to a captain rank so fast? What did you do?" Aria prodded, breaking the silence.

"I kicked everyone's asses and the high-ups liked it," she blatantly replied.

"See?" Gelgar spoke up, "Ackerman over here would definitely get along with her, though I can't imagine there would be much talking…"

Rico looked at the man briefly with mild interest. Gelgar didn't exactly like the woman but at this, he felt a bit proud to have gotten a reaction out of her and felt the urge to continue, "Remember how the other day Aria did Sina knows what to the man before the whole M.P. fiasco, but he personally went after her in training the day after leaving her all banged up."

At this, Rico sharpened her gaze on the said man and then to Aria's bandages peeking out from her blouse. Another thud audibly sounded, this time from his left where Klaud sat. "Ah, I give up," Gelgar grumbled rubbing his bruised shins and went to go grab a drink. Aria exchanged uneasy glances with the Ackerman, remembering their conversation about the man in the Underground before she realized what that probably looked like to Rico and started protesting.

"It's from when we worked with the M.P. the other day," She said, switching in the topic. Rico raised her eyebrows but accepted the change in direction of conversation.

"Arrogant bunch aren't they." She sounded like she spoke with experience.

"Finally, something we can agree on. Let me tell you." Klaud perked up, "Lynne over here doesn't tolerate shit behavior, just like you, but on that day…" He laughed, "We had to let them know not to run their mouths. She threw the first punch and naturally, we all joined in after that. They had it coming for them, those idiots." He spoke while reminiscing about that day's glorious throw-down, oblivious to Rico's prolonged stare directed towards the mentioned woman.

"You fought...with the Military Police?" She deadpanned. "You're stupider than I thought."

Why did her brother have to be the dimmest dimwit to ever grace the Earth. Rico might not like the M.P. but she was a stickler for rules and definitely did not condone what they did that day, even less, she wouldn't try to understand their reasons with an open mind. And for him to bring up Lynne like that. That was the cherry on top. Aria covered her face. Lynne herself seemed just about done with him as well. Still, Aria had to thank her brother for the conversation lightened up after that. Rico was more curious about what they had been doing beyond the walls than Aria expected. It was good to put in perspective how not many, soldiers included, got to really experience what it's like beyond the walls.

She learned that Rico was really bent on changing the ways of the Garrison. It was hard to enforce that change if Commander Dot Pixis, a well known easy-going lad with a profound love for alcohol, did not adhere to the same standards. It was also easy to forget that the Garrison don't see many titans since there hasn't been heightened activity near the walls, much less a breach for the longest time. The soldiers don't exude that same sense of urgency and passion soldiers in the legion do, but Rico was trying to change that as well.

"We'll definitely hear from you sometime again?" Aria asked after they finished up. Her friend didn't confirm or deny.

"We'll take that as a 'yes' then," Klaud shrugged. Levi, Gelgar, Tomas, and Lynne left earlier to give them some space. They stood around silently for a couple moments before Nanaba spoke up.

"It was nice seeing you again. Really. And it's good to know that you're doing well." He nodded to her and started to head back himself as well.

"You guys as well," She responded in a stately matter.

Aria frowned when Klaud simply waved and gave her a little smile before turning around. "Fine, if it's going to be that way," she said, "I'm sure he's going to write to you soon anyway."

Rico huffed at the shorter girl in annoyance but didn't make any moves to retire back into her barracks. Aria smiled at this and took this as her chance to quickly squeeze her friend one more time. She couldn't help herself but backed off and raised her hands up in defeat, shrugging at the woman's half-assed glare. It was going to be a while before they would meet again. Plus, as a scout, she tried to live every day, week, month as if it were her last.

"Take care of yourself, little Richter." The silver-haired woman suspiciously eyed her bandages again.

"Yeah, you too." Aria grinned and waved before jogging to catch up to the others.

By nightfall, Aria didn't get the chance to see Elijah nor Nanaba his family. "That woman's not the most likable one out there, but you gotta admit, she's got spunk!" Gelgar took another swig from his canister.

"We'll take our leave now." Nanaba hoisted the man up from his seat by the scruff of his collar.

"Can you imagine being promoted to elite force captain just like that?" Gelgar snapped his fingers in awe and continued to sway down the corridors, voice getting fainter and fainter, "uh-maaaazing."

Levi smirked knowingly, but no one seemed to have noticed.

"It's not going to be you, that's for sure. That fool," Lynne said as she got up to retire, "It's a work night. If squad leader Mike finds out again…"

A week later, squad leader Mike reported that the legion was going to start doing their own thing again and that they won't be working with the other branches anymore. Squad Mike's last assignment was the MP again but this time, it was carried out in almost complete silence between the two factions. Word must have spread but the past was in the past. They focused on practicing the next few days to get ready for another expedition. Apparently, squad leader Hanji had already finalized some plans and wanted to test them out as soon as possible. Aria, Nanaba, and Levi were summoned to meet with their captain and the commander. They stood in a line even though none of their superiors were there yet. A bag of ice wrapped in a handkerchief was plopped down on Aria's shoulder. She looked up at the Ackerman in confusion.

"Make sure those heal up faster. I don't want another one of your dumbass friends thinking I was the one who beat the shit out of you," He said and dismissed her protest.

"It's kind of gross how nice you're being. That's not the Levi I know. That Levi does beat the shit out of me." She pursed her lips in distaste but took the bag anyways.

"It's not my fault you suck at everything you do and it's Corporal or sir, by the way. Address your commanding officers the right way or you're going to be punished accordingly."

Even Nanaba's eyes widened at the man.

"Oh come on, I didn't know you could tell jokes now too!" Aria brushed it off, "You even got Nanaba."

"He's not joking, Richter." Commander Erwin walked in with squad leader Mike right behind him, "You and all the other soldiers will begin to address him as such, no exceptions. He's the legion's new Corporal. He is also relatively new to the legion in some ways. In other ways, not so much. He might need some assistance, whatever that might be, and Mike has volunteered the both of you to be that helping hand. Of course, this is only a temporary fix until our new Corporal finds his men, but until then, you will be considered to be in his squad. Is everything clear?"

Aria's jaw dropped to the floor.