Later that night was when Levi and Yavena gathered Eren, Armin, Mikasa, Jean, Conny, Sasha, and Historia and told them that they were the new members of Squad Levi. There had been quite a few mixed emotions at the news: Armin, Jean, and Historia seemed proud yet also concerned. Conny and Sasha had been delighted, shouting triumphantly while pumping a fist to the air. Eren seemed both happy for his friends and worried for them, and unsurprisingly, Mikasa did not react at all.

Seeing as the vast majority of them were brand new, Levi said it would be up to Yavena to train them all on some of the teamwork exercises that she had learned almost a year ago. Most of the new members of the squad were intrigued by what those would be; she gave them a brief overview of a few of the movements and what would be expected on the daily.

"You'll start training when we relocate to a temporary base within Wall Rose," said Levi, crossing his arms and glaring across the six new members. "We leave this outpost in five days. Prepare yourselves before then."

And with that, he had left.

The following four days were filled with Armin, Jean, Conny, and Sasha asking Yavena plenty of questions regarding their new positions as members of Squad Levi. They seemed like they wished to be prepared for everything, as they all knew what a high honor and responsibility their placements entailed.

Every night after dinner, Yavena would sit with these four, Eren, Mikasa, and Levi within the lounge, although Levi seemed perfectly content to continue reading City of Dust, and thus left much of the explaining to her. She would tell them of special operations in the past, as well as a few stories from her days in Squad Levi before they had arrived at the old Scout Regiment headquarters. All six of the young soldiers would listen intently, lingering on each word.

The night before they were supposed to leave for their new housing, Yavena was telling them the story of when Squad Levi was attempting to capture a Titan. Eren in particular seemed fascinated by the tale, as it was one of few that she hadn't yet told him.

"It was incredibly ugly," she said with a light smirk. "I could see it up close when it was gnawing through the bars of the cage to get to me. The others outside began hauling the rocks away so I could escape, but since its teeth were sharp, it was able to break through the bars easily. I told Hange to leave me… capturing a Titan was something we hadn't achieved for almost two decades at that point. I was willing to die for it."

She felt Levi's eyes find her face, though when she looked back to him, there were no edges waiting for her.

It was Sasha who asked, in a hushed voice, "So what happened?"

Yavena grinned and took a sip of her tea before resuming the story. "Levi had managed to get a hole large enough for me to crawl through, but by the time it had been made, the Titan's hot breath was sticking to the back of my neck. For that one second, I knew I was going to die—and then there was screaming, and hot blood drowning my back. It was Hange. She had chosen to kill the Titan to save me."

"Hange?" repeated Eren in apparent disbelief. "Section-Commander Hange?"

"Aye. The very same."

Eren thought on this for a minute. And then his eyes widened in realization. "When I met with you after my hearing… Hange had been talking about how you wouldn't have to be in danger anymore, once she had captured Sawney and Beane."

Yavena laughed. "I'd forgotten about that. Aye, that's what she meant."

"Oye, Captain Levi!" said Eren next, his cyan eyes turning towards the man slumped against the couch. "What did you do when all that happened?"

Levi glared up at him from over the book in his hands; and then he turned towards Yavena and raised an eyebrow. It was clearly a question for her, on whether or not he should answer.

A sideways grin came over her face. "You can tell him."

With this, Levi turned back to Eren and said, "I grabbed Yavena by the collar and ordered her to never resign herself to death again."

"He was quite persuasive, as you can see," muttered Yavena from within her mug of tea. She was met with a few restrained snickers from Sasha and Conny, both of whom were sitting cross-legged in front of her, their backs to the fireplace.

Eren seemed as though he had expected this answer. A complacent grin on his face, he drained the remainder of his mug.

For a little while longer, they eight remained. Sasha was telling Yavena about the very first day she had been within the Cadet Corps, and how she angered the Commandant Keith Shadies by eating a potato during the welcome ceremony.

Yavena couldn't help but burst into laughter as she heard Sasha had been made to run laps around the entire camp. Everyone else had been watching her, she said, because the punishment had been to keep running until her legs gave out from underneath her.

"I even missed dinner," said Sasha, with a blatant scowl. "But Historia really helped! She brought me some bread from the dining hall. She's a saint."

At the mention of Historia, Yavena glanced around the lounge. "Speaking of, where is she? I don't think she's been around to any of these little gatherings we've been having after dinner… even Levi is here, and he hates people."

"Tch," he scoffed from the couch.

"What? You do," she answered, although it was hard to bite back the grin upon her face as he rolled his eyes at her from over his book.

The others began looking around the room as well, as though searching for Historia. It was Sasha who spoke up, albeit quietly. "I think she's been going through a bit of a rough time now that Ymir is gone…"

Yavena remembered how close Historia and Ymir had seemed when they first arrived at the Scout Regiment. She never saw one of them without the other; and although Ymir had turned out to be a traitor to humanity, Yavena was not so without sympathy that she would simply let Historia suffer or grieve on her own.

Still, there would be a proper time to approach and check on Historia. For now, Yavena decided to say, "If she wishes to be alone, we can respect that. But if I can ask a favor of the rest of you: be kind to her. I'm sure you always are, but… even more so, I mean."

There were no arguments with this. Each of the six of them nodded; some of them finished off their tea. Others were staring into the coiling lights of the fireplace. Yavena herself was lost in empty space, wondering what the following day would bring. While she was getting along well with her new squad-mates, she still worried over whether they would be able to handle the pressure—and more importantly, if they'd be able to stay alive when they inevitably ran into trouble.

"Well, we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow," said Yavena. She rose to her feet and stretched before grinning at them all. "It'll probably be about a three hour journey to the temporary housing, and we'll have to clean it once we arrive."

"Clean it?" asked Conny with a light frown.

Yavena eyed him seriously, struggling not to laugh. "Oh, yes," she said, a severe promise in her voice. "Top to bottom, of course. There will not be a speck of dust anywhere at all. Isn't that right, Eren?"

Eren grinned and nodded, though his eyes flickered over to Levi, who was watching them both with a mildly amused expression.

Harrumphing somewhat, Sasha said, "I don't clean, I cook."

"You mean you eat," retorted Conny, rolling his eyes.

Sasha stuck out her tongue at him.

"Come on, you lot, clear out," said Yavena. She laughed at the exasperated look upon Jean's face, already knowing that he was about to groan and make a smart remark about how she reminded him of his mother. "Get some rest. We're all going to need it."

Luckily for her, they obeyed without much protest. Conny and Sasha both wished her good night as they exited the lounge—Armin smiled and nodded as well. Jean and Mikasa both left without a farewell. Levi left the lounge as well, though as he passed Yavena, he placed a hand upon her shoulder, his silver eyes carrying a clear message: that she should get enough sleep, too.

And then it was only she and Eren remaining.

When Yavena looked towards Eren, she noted that there was a perturbed light within his turquoise eyes. She cocked her head sideways, trying not to fret too much as she asked, "Something wrong, Eren?"

He shrugged. "It seems like these experiments are going to be… important. You said Hange's going to be overseeing them?"

Eren was trying to hide it, but he was nervous. Wishing to give him some peace of mind, Yavena replied, "She is, but I'll be with you the whole time. Erwin told me that I'll be assisting her while also watching over your well-being. It'll be like when you first joined. Right?"

"Right," he answered. He exhaled; his shoulders slumped a modicum of a degree. Then he added, "I just hope I can seal the Wall…"

"I'm sure things will be fine. You weren't sure if we'd catch the Female Titan either, were you? And yet here we are: she's underground, and will never be a danger to humankind again."

Although it was obvious that Eren wanted to take comfort from this statement, his fists clenched, and his mouth pressed into a thin, bitter line. "We should've gotten information out of her. But we didn't because I hesitated. And that's my fault."

Yavena sat back down on the couch and pat at the seat next to her. Eren slowly lowered himself onto the cushions, leaning forward and holding his head in his hands. Seeing that he was not comforted yet, she said, "Do you remember what I told you, while we were on our way to Castle Utgard? You're only one person, Eren. Things could've been different in so many ways."

He sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"You're far too young to put such blame on your own shoulders," she added, although this comment was made more to herself rather than to him. "It makes me sad… it's not a burden one person should ever have to bear."

Eren said nothing to this, which meant the only sound in the lounge was that of the crackling fire. Some of the coals were burning so hot they were almost white; a startling color in the midst of the yellows and oranges.

"I can do it," Eren said at last. He straightened and set his shoulders again. "I told Captain Levi that I'd do whatever it takes to seal the Wall. I'm holding to that."

She smiled and reached out to nudge his shoulder with her own. "I know you can. Just remember you aren't alone. If I can help you by looking out for you during the experiments, or by getting you something so insignificant as a cup of tea, or by telling you an incredibly shitty joke that will make Levi scoff at me, let me know. I want you to never doubt that you have friends with you."

Eren smiled too and rose from the couch again. Noting that he was preparing to go to sleep, Yavena followed his lead—when she looked over him, she sighed, "You're half my age and still four or five centimeters taller than me. Unbelievable."

Now he snickered. "At least you're taller than Captain Levi."

"Only barely," she replied, although the corners of her mouth were curling at the reminder. "It's not enough to give him shit for, that's for sure. Not that I'd attempt to do so. Anyone who'd try would probably end up with a black eye."

"No, he probably couldn't reach that high. They'd end up with bruised shins."

Yavena burst into laughter, grabbing onto Eren's arm to steady herself as she nearly fell over. He began to chuckle too, but then his mirth grew until he was laughing too because such a visceral reaction honestly was so ridiculous.

After some seconds of this, Yavena lightly slugged him in the arm and said in between gasps, "By the way, Eren… Armin told me the other day that you were looking out for me, hoping that I was happy. I just wanted to say thank you for that. It means a lot."

Eren returned a punch to her arm. "Of course. You're my friend."

Even though this was already a well-established fact, hearing Eren confirm it once again simply brought a wash of comfort across her conscience. Having reassurance was never amiss.

"And you are happy, right?" he asked, his voice suddenly lowering in pitch. "Because you know… if anything goes wrong, I could attempt to have a few words with the Captain…"

Yavena smirked and shook her head, appreciating the sentiment but knowing that any sort of action against Levi would be a death wish. "You don't need to worry, Eren. I'm happy. And the last thing I'd want you to do is confront Levi and end up with those bruised shins."

They both sniggered again. And with that, Yavena wished him good night and exited the lounge.

The ride to the temporary housing the next day was made during calm and easy weather, which came as a relief to all. All nine of them were upon horseback, with Yavena and Levi riding at the front of the pack. They two were relatively quiet, although they could hear Sasha, Conny, and Jean talking to one another only a few meters behind them.

"I'm assuming we'll need to split up chores when we arrive," said Yavena. She had grown a little weary of hearing those three talk about whether or not Sasha would win a fight against a pack of wolves when a rack of ribs was on the line. "Some of us will need to clean, some will need to obtain groceries, some will need to chop firewood…"

"None of those should take too much time." Levi looked over his shoulder towards the new members of his squad; Eren and Armin had joined in on the chaos and were laughing at some strange face that Sasha had made. "Let's hope they clean at least half as well as they goof off."

Yavena couldn't help but giggle. "They're young."

"They're brats," he sighed, rolling his eyes.

"You were that young once, too," she said, her eyes bright. "Didn't you ever get to have a childhood moment? Even one?"

Levi was quiet for a long while. His silver eyes flickered back to the young soldiers, all of whom were completely oblivious to the conversation unfolding ahead of them. Then he sighed. "No. I did not."

Yavena blinked, both saddened and yet unsurprised by his answer. He had grown up in the Underground District, after all… he had not told her much about his upbringing, but Yavena could only assume it was not a happy story. Knowing that she had to say something, she took a deep breath and said, "Well, I suppose if things had been any different in your life, you wouldn't be who you are now. And I like who you are now."

She had expected a scoff from this answer, or for him to roll his eyes, or maybe even make some sort of sarcastic remark. But that was not what she received. What she received was a warm look and the words, "Thank you."

Even though it was well to the end of autumn, Yavena was no longer cold.

The sounds of her friends in high spirits continued on for a little while. Arguments broke out here and there, but they were always resolved quickly—Yavena heard Eren trying to tell Mikasa not to strain herself since she was supposed to be resting. She also heard Jean threatening Sasha to not hog all the bread at dinner since the nine of them would have to make their own food.

On and on the travel seemed to go, and as they went forward, Levi's expression slowly became more and more murderous. It was obvious that he was already at his wit's end with his new squad, and such revelations had Yavena stifling laughter in the palm of her hand the whole time.

At last, however, they had made it. The house they were to inhabit seemed large enough to suit nine people well; it would likely take more than half of the day to clean, and even longer if those assigned that task were slow or meticulous at it. Dust was layered across the furniture and the surfaces of each room, although it wasn't as bad as it had been in the old headquarters. One quick scan through the house revealed that there were five rooms, a dining room, a kitchen, and a cellar.

Once they were gathered around outside, Levi stepped forward and said, a bit of a bite to his voice, "We'll split up the chores. Eren, Conny, and Armin are going to clean. Jean and Sasha will retrieve some groceries. Historia, Mikasa, chop up some firewood. Yavena, I need to discuss some of Erwin's orders with you before we assist with any of these tasks."

Everyone nodded, saluted at these orders, and proceeded to rush forth. Seeing that Historia and Mikasa were beginning to leave, Yavena called after them, "Don't strain yourself too hard chopping firewood, Mikasa."

Mikasa turned around, a small smile on her face. "It's fine. It'll keep me in shape." And then the two young women were gone.

Figuring that even if she had ordered Mikasa to rest those orders would've been duly ignored, Yavena stepped forward and followed Levi, who had turned aside and began to walk down the road from whence they had come. As they passed by the horses they had just ridden upon, he grabbed one of the extra Scout Regiment cloaks and handed it over to her.

She smiled and draped it around her shoulders, grateful for his interjection. Seeing as this was a day for travel, Squad Levi had not put on their uniforms. Instead they were wearing typical clothes, which in Yavena's case, meant a long brown skirt and a white blouse with a dark vest atop it. She was unused to wearing clothes that were not her uniform, especially recently.

Not that Yavena would complain about the travel-wear, for two good reasons: the first being that sometimes pants were simply intolerable, the second being that Levi had on a smart suit that looked quite nice on him.

Once they were a fair distance away from the others, Yavena turned to him and asked, "So what are these orders you wished to talk to me about?"

Levi smirked. "There were none. Those brats were just giving me a headache."

She laughed and promptly threw a hand to her mouth to stifle the sound. Yavena looked back to the house to make sure no one had overheard—they hadn't. Comforted, she lowered her hand in favor of clutching her arms tightly across her body. "Part of me feels a little guilty, but… the other part of me says this can be part of their official welcome to Squad Levi. I'm sure they can handle it."

"I'm not," said Levi, who put his hands in his pockets as they continued to walk down the road. "I hope you realize that when we get back to that house, it'll be the two of us redoing everything they've already cleaned."

"You don't think Eren will do a sufficient job?" she asked.

Levi scoffed. "No. You were the one dusting and cleaning the furniture back in the old headquarters. You, at least, know how to get the job done correctly. It's likely that Eren does not."

Although Yavena wished to stick up for her friend, the fact of the matter was that Levi was probably right. His cleaning standards were exact; and Eren had not yet been taught just how exact they were, even though it was likely that Eren would do everything in his power to satisfy his Captains.

She bit the inside of her cheek, her dark eyes gleaming. "Clean Freak."

"Pumpkin Head."

"Oh? We're back to Pumpkin Head again?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Levi looked at her from the corner of his eye; the way the sunlight fell upon his face revealed that mixed in with the silver of his eyes, there was the slightest tinge of blue as well. "Only when you insist on calling me 'Clean Freak.'"

Yavena smiled and shook her head. "Then you'll have to tell me what else to call you. I've never heard anyone else give you any nicknames…"

"My name is fine," he said.

They continued down the road for a little while longer; horses passed by them from the direction of the house. Upon them were Jean and Sasha, the latter of whom was waving frantically while exclaiming, "Hi, Captain! Hi, Yavena!" as she went.

"Be careful!" Yavena cried back, biting her lip.

Sasha just laughed and encouraged her horse to go faster.

Once they were gone, Levi sighed. "They seem to see you as more of a comrade than a superior officer."

"Maybe so," Yavena said. She knew that Levi would likely wish for her to begin establishing a more professional relationship with their squad-mates now that she was a Captain, but in truth, that seemed so strange to her. Yavena had spent so much time trying to welcome them to the Scout Regiment and ensure that they were well that having them call her by anything other than her name would be jarring. "But I don't mind. If it makes them happier, more comfortable, then… I'm all right with just being Yavena to them."

The corners of Levi's lips turned downwards. "You deserve respect."

She stopped walking, suddenly realizing why he was perturbed. Keeping her arms clutched tightly across her chest, she said, "I see. You think that they do not respect me because they see me as a friend?"

Levi said nothing. His sharp eyes scanned her face.

Yavena smiled at this. "You don't need to worry, Levi. Even if they see me as more of a friend than an officer, our relationships are still built on trust and respect. In times of danger, when it matters… they'll heed my orders. True, their respect for me is remarkably different than theirs for you, but… do they not both get the same thing done, at the end of the day?"

It seemed that Levi did not have anything to respond to this. He merely waved her onward, further down the road. Not one to be left behind, Yavena followed.

The sun slowly sank over the western sky, casting the surrounding pastures in warm golden colors. Behind them, indigo and black took over the horizons. Turning towards Levi, Yavena sighed and asked, "Time to head back? It's been a half hour."

He nodded, and so they turned around, their backs on the last of the sun's rays. Yavena couldn't help but smile a little as she glanced up towards the stars. She was about to tell Levi of how her mother was the one to wonder about what lay further above the sky when there was the pounding of horse hooves.

Each of them stepped to the side of the road to avoid getting trampled, but as she rushed to get out of the horses' way, Yavena tripped over her skirts. She yelped as she began to fall; then there was a sharp tug, and she was pulled away from the ground and held against Levi's chest.

The horses stopped; Jean's voice was saying, "Captain! You all right?"

Yavena blinked and looked up, realizing that it was Jean and Sasha returning from obtaining the groceries. Jean was looking at her with barely concealed horror, as though he'd been afraid that he'd run her over. Seeing this, Yavena swallowed and laughed, "Don't look so worried, Jean. I'm fine."

"Need a lift?" asked Sasha, who was grinning and who had her arms full of two burlap sacks filled with what was presumably food and ingredients. Yavena locked eyes with her to see a happy shine had overtaken Sasha's face—likely because of the food.

"Get back to the house," said Levi, his voice carefully neutral now that he was back in the presence of some of his charges. "Tell the others we'll be along shortly."

Both Jean and Sasha saluted as best as they were able while carrying bags and boxes, and then they hurried forth. The house was in sight; a few lights were on within the windows. If Yavena looked hard enough, she could see Eren hard at work with a broom or a mop and cloths covering his mouth and nose.

Once they were gone, Yavena looked to Levi—she was quite aware of the fact that his arms were still around her as she said, a bit more breathless than she'd wanted it to be, "Thanks for that."

"Clumsy," he retorted. "No wonder you prefer our uniforms." Then he let her go.

Yavena laughed lightly, grateful for the oncoming set of night that would hide the flush from her face. One of her hands hid underneath her cloak, placed upon the spot where he'd grabbed her. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling.

Despite all of these precautions to keep him from noticing how affected she'd been by the sudden contact, it didn't seem to be enough. Levi exhaled through his nose—certainly a sign of amusement—before saying, "You're hopeless," and placing an arm around her shoulder, the way he had done in the lounge only a week before.

She smiled as they began to walk back to the house, wishing now that she hadn't prompted their return earlier. "Well, if being hopeless brings about these results, you won't hear me complaining."

"Tch."

But he was not annoyed. There was the slightest of smiles on his face.

As they drew closer to the house, Yavena could hear her squad-mates talking and arguing inside. She and Levi exchanged looks before rolling their eyes and approaching the porch, where Armin's voice was saying, "Sasha… what did you just put in your bag?"

"Nothing bread-related," said Sasha.

Jean groaned. "Why, you—"

"Give it back!"

"Oye, focus!" shouted Eren. "We got to finish cleaning before the Captains get back!"

And with that, Levi and Yavena stepped through the doorway and into the main room, where everyone else was gathered. Yavena shut the door behind them to prevent a cold draft from infiltrating the house, though she noted that Levi had stopped while waiting for her, and did not seem in any immediate hurry to remove his arm from her shoulder.

"What's going on now?" asked Levi. He stepped forward; his eyes narrowed as he looked across the room—he ran a hand underneath the table. A thin layer of dust and dirt hit the floor. Then he turned back to his new charges with apparent irritation. "I'm quite sure I gave you enough time."

Eren slapped a hand to his forehead and cringed, apparently unhappy with the fact that his Captain was displeased. The others were staring at Levi with wide eyes, as if they were afraid that they would be punished for not having the main room, at the very least, clean.

But Levi just sighed and turned back to Yavena. "My point from earlier stands."

She laughed and rolled her eyes again, slipping out from underneath his arm. "All right, then, let me get a mask on and we'll get to work."

So it was that within the next couple of minutes, they were cleaning the main room, the kitchen, and the first of the upstairs rooms. Yavena made sure to stick by Eren, informing him of the many steps that needed to be taken while cleaning under Levi's supervision: how the furniture needed to be dusted across all surfaces, then washed and dried, and the same for the floors. They each worked together to dust in between every nook and cranny in the main room.

"Thanks," sighed Eren once the main room was done. Levi and Conny had already gotten a head-start on the kitchen—Eren glanced over at them warily and whispered, "How much of the house are we cleaning tonight?"

Yavena shrugged. "As much as we can, probably. But if you need to rest early, go ahead. You've got a long day ahead of you tomorrow."

Eren, however, just stood taller. "I'll keep helping."

"If you insist," she said, because she knew that trying to convince Eren to rest instead of help would've been a lost cause. She nudged his arm with her shoulder and moved into the kitchen, carrying one of the buckets of water and a number of handkerchiefs with her.

As they walked inside, Levi glanced up and said, "Is the main room done?"

Yavena nodded and set down the bucket of water. Dunking a handkerchief in it so she could begin washing the stovetop and the counters, she said, "Aye. You can go inspect it if you wish."

Levi did not move. "I'll trust your judgment."

While he did not say as much, Yavena knew this was quite the milestone. He was so meticulous about cleanliness that she was surprised he trusted her enough to take nothing but her word for it; but then, she had just told him that all relationships were built on a foundation of trust.

Yavena smiled, knowing that no one would be able to see it underneath her mask, and continued to scrub the countertops.

Three hours later, the sun had long since set. The main room, dining area, and kitchen were completed, and under Eren's leadership, he, Armin, Sasha, and Jean had purified all but one of the bedrooms upstairs. Figuring that it was far past the normal hours for dinner, Yavena unpacked the groceries that had been retrieved and began to make something to eat.

She was not alone in this task. Sasha and Historia joined her, peeling and cutting potatoes as Yavena took care of the carrots and sprouts for a stew. The others were sitting in the main room in front of the fireplace, discussing what the following day would look like. Even from the kitchen, Yavena could hear Levi telling Eren, "Remember, sealing Wall Maria is going to rely entirely on whether these experiments are a success or not. So figure it out."

Yavena sighed upon hearing these words; turning to Sasha and Historia, she whispered, "So encouraging, isn't he, our Captain."

"I heard that," said Levi from the opposite room.

She and Sasha began to giggle, although Yavena noted that Historia only barely managed to eke a small smile. Figuring that now would be a good time to check in on her, she said, "I know things have been difficult lately. Are you doing okay, Historia?"

The young woman turned to Yavena, blue eyes bright. "Why are you asking? You don't actually care. You have your favorites, and I'm not one of them."

Everything in the house went still, even in the main room. Yavena could feel Eren's startled gaze boring into the back of her head, as well as Armin's, though both of them were utterly silent.

In the kitchen, Sasha gasped and dropped her knife upon the cutting board, forsaking the potato in her hand. "Historia, why would you say something like that? That's not true!"

"No, Sasha, it's okay," said Yavena. There was something in Historia's face that intrigued her; a clear absence of caring, a lack of desire for approval. It seemed like something had changed in her demeanor… she was certainly no longer the same person she had been upon joining the Scout Regiment. Turning back to Historia, she said, "All right. So maybe I do spend more time with Eren or Armin, or with Sasha or Conny. Does that mean I have no more room in my heart to care about you, or Jean, or Mikasa?"

Historia stared at Yavena without fear and said, "There is only so much room in one person's heart to care about so many people. Yours is nearly full."

"And how would you know?" asked Yavena. Her dark eyes were fixed upon Historia's, though she was admittedly impressed with the young woman's gumption.

Now Historia looked away, back to the potato she held in one trembling hand. "Everyone has their limits."

Yavena continued to slice the carrots and sprouts ahead of her; it was the only sound to be heard in the entire house, the dull thud of the knife upon the wood. "I agree with you there. But you do not know me, Historia, just as I do not know you. If I did not at least wish to reach out and try to become better acquainted with you, then I wouldn't."

She was met with silence. Historia began to cut through the potato again, though her gestures were hesitant and lethargic.

Seizing the opportunity to speak again, Yavena said, "We're comrades. Even more than that, we're squad-mates now. Despite how little I know of you, I trust you. There is no other choice. But in the meantime, during days like this… while it's true that my care for you does not run as deeply as it does with others, that does not mean it's too late to start building the same relationship."

Historia blinked and looked back to Yavena in surprise. Her voice soft, she said, "I… I suppose so."

Yavena moved towards the two kettles, filled them with water, and placed them over the fire. Then she turned towards Historia and said, "If I remember rightly, you prefer black tea to green, and you take yours with a spoonful of sugar."

"How… how did you know?" Historia whispered.

"I paid attention," said Yavena. She smiled. "It was one little thing to know about you."

Historia ducked her head and returned to cutting the potatoes next to her. It seemed as though she was shocked; as though perhaps this little gesture had meant more than Yavena had intended it to. For a long while, she did not speak. All that could be heard was the dull thud from the knife, over and over again.

And then Yavena heard it.

"Thank you," said Historia, looking at the other woman again. Her blue eyes were bright once more, filled with tears. "For remembering."

While Yavena did not know why such a simple gesture was worth so much, she would not pry. Instead, she simply placed a hand on Historia's shoulder and squeezed it once, doing what she could to be a supportive presence.

"And the offer was genuine, if you ever wish to talk," said Yavena.

Now it was Historia who smiled. "I know."

Whatever tension had appeared in the house ebbed away. The others in the living room started up hushed conversations again that gradually grew louder and rowdier until it seemed as though things were back to normal. As Sasha, Yavena, and Historia worked in the kitchen together, the three of them began talking about simple things like how they were going to prepare for the winter, and warm clothes that would need to be made or mended.

Since Sasha had grown up in the forest, she was well-accustomed to hardships brought on by the cold. Squad Levi would need to remain in this temporary housing until Eren's hardening experiments were successful beyond a doubt, which could take a while. And so Sasha began distributing a few tips: how to forage in the wild, the heartiest meals to make, how to best shove towels or handkerchiefs in the windowsills to insulate against the cold.

Within the following hour, Squad Levi was sitting amongst the dining table, with bowls of stew and mugs of tea in front of each person. Levi and Yavena were sitting at the opposite heads of the table—it made her laugh, how she knew the two of them were going to have to watch over the rest of the squad. It would be about as easy as herding cats.

Based on the look on his face, Levi had come to the same conclusion.

For the next five to ten minutes, everything proceeded as normal. Most of the new members of Squad Levi were already enjoying the company; Sasha was eating as eagerly as always, as was Eren. Armin and Jean were talking about how they expected the next day's experiments to go. Neither Levi nor Mikasa talked much during meals. Conny was asking Yavena questions about when the teamwork exercises would begin.

And Historia was quiet, which did not go unnoticed by Yavena.

As soon as she answered Conny's question—which had been about how the 'limb-splitter' worked—Yavena turned towards Historia and said, "There's something on your mind, Historia. I can tell."

The conversations around the dinner table halted. Everyone seemed to be concerned for Historia; or, everyone except Levi, who merely took a sip of tea.

"I was… thinking that I should tell you about why Christa Lenz had to exist," said Historia quietly, picking at her stew. "And since my lineage is apparently important, it might also be helpful information." Her blue eyes looked into Yavena's. "Would that be all right? It's not a happy story, exactly."

"Of course," Yavena wasted no time in replying.

The others all nodded in agreement, sobered by their friend's subdued comment and demeanor.

Historia nodded and took a deep breath. Then, she began to speak. "I was born on a small farm in the northern region of Wall Rose. It was on land owned by the noble family of Reiss. As far back as I can remember, I was helping around the farm, but my mother was always reading books and not once did I see her doing any housework. She was a beautiful woman… At night, someone would come for her in a wagon, and she'd go off to the city wearing fancy clothes. For me, that was just life as I knew it."

Yavena watched Historia intently as she spoke. Her eyes were far away, somewhere she could not be found.

"After I learned to read and write, I picked up a book to imitate my mother. Only then did I know how alone I was. In all the books, parents cared about their children. They talked, hugged, fought… or so the stories went. I had never experienced any of those things. One day, out of curiosity, I decided to try hugging my mother. I just wanted to see what kind of face she would make. She ended up shoving me away, but that was the first thing my mother ever did to me. That's why it made me so happy. But then she said, 'If only I had the courage… to kill the girl.' Those were the first words my mother said to me."

Looks of horror were upon the faces of most of their comrades. While Jean's, Eren's, and Armin's surprise were restrained to their eyes, Conny and Sasha weren't even attempting to hide how shocked they were. Sasha's spoon was suspended just before her agape mouth.

"After that, she left the house and began living somewhere else. And then, five years ago, one night just days after Wall Maria fell… for the very first time, I met my father. That man was the lord ruling the land we lived on. My mother I hadn't seen in years looked terribly frightened. There was a carriage that was going to take us away someplace safe, but we were accosted by some men in dark cloaks. They said that since we were associated with my father, that we would have to die. He stuck a knife under my mother's throat. I looked into her eyes as her neck was exposed. 'If only I had never had you,' she said. And then she was killed."

Sasha's spoon was back in her bowl. Even Levi seemed perturbed by what he had heard, and that was a truly horrifying thing.

Historia sighed and looked down at her stew, which was no longer hot. "Those were my mother's last words. Moments before I was to be killed, my father proposed an idea. That if I were to be sent far away and live out a quiet life, perhaps they could spare me. He told me my name was to be Christa Lenz, and to never use my real name again if I wished to be safe. That was the last that I heard of him—the last that I know."

It was deadly silent around the table once Historia was done speaking. She did not look at anyone; she merely picked up her spoon and began to eat.

No one seemed willing to break the disquiet, but Yavena could not help wondering if this was the reason that Historia had been so moved by her remembering the way she liked her tea. For the longest time, Historia had been neglected—horribly so. She had turned her trauma around; made herself sweet and helpful to everyone else, so they might never have to feel as though they were not cared about. But that was no guarantee that someone else had done the same for Historia.

"Thank you for telling us this, Historia," Yavena said, keeping her face devoid of the disbelief and sorrow that was hiding in the faces of everyone else. Instead, she looked at Historia with calmness; something to balance out the mood of the room. "I won't get on a soapbox, but I encourage you to look around. You aren't alone anymore."

This last sentence breathed life back into those still accumulated around the dining table. Armin was nodding at Historia with a light smile upon his face; Eren was giving her a strong-willed look.

Historia glanced across them all before looking back to Yavena and smiling.

The rest of the meal passed swiftly, although there was no longer any careless conversation or ridiculous jokes. As soon as it was over, everyone cleaned their dishes—largely at the unspoken behest of Captain Levi—and migrated to the main room save for Yavena.

Once it was only her, Yavena put another kettle over the fireplace, intending to bring everyone another cup of tea. Leaning against the countertops, she found herself thinking it seemed as though many members of the 104th had had disturbing things happen to them while growing up. It was almost like they were cursed; four Titans—five including Annie—multiple parents eaten or killed…

Yavena had never had anything quite so traumatic as that happen to her in her childhood. The most frightened she had been was when she had been looking at the fresh wounds her parents had sustained from missions beyond the Walls. Compared to the rest of her squad-mates, she had been fortunate indeed.

The kettle began to whistle; she moved forward and took it off the fire. One by one she organized nine cups, seven of which she filled with black tea and varying amounts of sugar and the other two with green tea. After placing them all on a tray, she walked into the main room.

All seven of the young soldiers were sitting on the couches by the fire, talking in hushed whispers amongst themselves. Yavena was gladdened to see that Historia was among them—and then she began distributing the tea to each person based on their preferences.

"Yavena," said Eren as he took his cup. "Settle a bet for us."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What is it?"

"Sasha thinks you drink three to four cups of tea a day, and I'm trying to tell her it's more like five or six. So which is it?"

Yavena chuckled; Eld's face flashed through her mind. You're going to drown in that stuff one day, his voice said.

Then she blinked. Eld was gone, and Eren was in front of her again.

At least Eren was still with her: him and Levi. While the makeup of the squad was now different, there was one thing that remained the same… that Yavena was still surrounded by friends that would support and care about her, just as she strove to do for them.

"I don't really know," she said with a light grin. "I can't say I've been keeping track."

"Both of you are wrong," said Levi's voice from the chair in the corner of the room. He was once again holding the book City of Dust in his hands—but based on how few pages were remaining, Yavena knew that he was quite close to its ending. "It's easily at least eight cups on average."

While the others began to laugh, Yavena just sighed and rolled her eyes. She grabbed the cup meant for Levi and walked over to him, holding it out.

It was there that she really looked at him, for the first time in a long while. He was so different in her eyes now than he had been even one year ago. There was a familiar shield around his person, one that Yavena was able to slip through like wind. His silver eyes were hard but determined, yet even as he looked back to her, they softened. The sharpness to his expression wasn't so pronounced anymore; he was warmer than she had once known him to be.

These were never changes she would've expected to see from him, not in a million years. And she was lucky that she was able to see them. To be an exception to someone who, for the longest time, had hesitated to be close to anyone else.

She really did care about him so much; it almost frightened her, how quickly and deeply he'd somehow wormed his way into her heart.

Wishing to show him this, to indicate anything at all, Yavena leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the temple.

She knew that the others had noticed and that they were stunned, but Yavena didn't care. Her eyes were only for Levi, whose expression remained unchanged as he looked up at her and asked, "What the hell was that?"

"Affection," she said.

"Disgusting." He took a sip of his tea and glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "Do it again."

She laughed and obliged, taking care to repeat the gesture exactly the same way as she had done it the first time. Although her cup of tea was still upon the tray in the middle of the room, Yavena did not wish to move away to get it. Instead, she sat upon the armrest of the chair that Levi was sitting in, peering curiously into the spot of the book that he was at.

"It's almost finished," he said, noticing this. His thumb flipped through the pages; there were even less than Yavena had originally speculated. "But you said this one wasn't your favorite."

Yavena smiled and shook her head. "No, it's not. That's The Four Far Beyond."

Levi said nothing to this. His attentions were once again on the book.

Figuring that she ought to leave him to it, Yavena rose from her seat and returned to the remainder of her squad-mates. Eren pat the couch next to him, having saved her a seat between himself and Historia—she took it, reaching out for her cup of tea, and said, "Are we ready for tomorrow, then?"

Each of them nodded, although Eren's face turned green. Noting this, Yavena placed an arm around his shoulder carelessly, the way that Hange so often did to herself. "Don't fret, Eren, we'll be right there with you, helping you all the way. Same as always. Right?"

"Right." He clapped a hand around her arm as well: a return of comradely—almost brotherly—support.

The remainder of the evening was spent in good company and fortitude. Yavena promised both Eren and Sasha that she would count the number of servings of tea that she drank for the next three days to help them settle their bet—she clinked her teacup against Armin's in cheers, as they were the only two of the lot who preferred green tea to black.

"I hope the coming days will be as exciting as you wish them to be," said Yavena with a light smirk. "Seeing as you're now members of Squad Levi, and all."

"Something tells me they'll be too exciting," Eren muttered under his breath.

"Which means we should all get some sleep," Yavena finished. She turned towards Eren and raised an eyebrow. "You most of all, Jaeger."

Eren groaned in protest, but at one well-trained glare from his new Captain, he held up his hands in surrender and rose to his feet. Seeing that their squad-mate was admitting defeat, the rest of them began to do the same. Each of them washed out their teacups and wished Yavena good night before heading up the next floor, where they would divvy up the nine beds that were waiting.

Once they'd all tromped their way upstairs, Yavena turned back to Levi and asked, "So what do you think? Will they shape up into another formidable Squad Levi?"

He closed the book and returned her glance. "With time, they'll be fine."

"Good," she answered. Yavena turned back to the fireplace and smiled. She had faith in them. Her fears for their safety had melted within the last number of days—after all, they'd survived plenty of difficult ordeals. They could survive more.

Footsteps sounded behind her, and then Levi was reaching over her to place the book she'd lent him back in her lap. "Lend me the other one when you can. Good night, Mystery."

And then, just like so many nights before, he was gone.

Hey guys, thanks a bunch for the kind words recently. :) I really appreciate them. Big thanks to HeavenlyCondemned, khalieyf, Guest1995 and Ulle for the support. I'm feeling a lot better about the story now, and I hope you liked the chapter!

I don't really have much to say other than that for now, except for, as always, to take care of yourselves! Have a good day. :)