Hello everyone! Midnight here, alive and kicking!

Hope your holidays and festivities have treated you well! I am back with another line up of character arcs and circumstances that have kept me up and writing late into the night on many instances, so here I am again with more to add to my collection! This piece is one I've been working on for a while – as I look at my word count now I've written over 60k (edited) words so I'll give you the fair warning, you may be in it for the long haul with me!

For those who are new, welcome to my humble fan fiction! I hope you enjoy the read and stick around for the next chapter!


...

"Petra," the Captain's voice echoed across the arena, "Move southwest at ten degrees, team up with Gunther – Omega formation!"

She looked over her shoulder toward the Captain and gave a single nod, "Right!"

Adjusting her weight across the 3DM harness, Petra shot a wire into the appropriate pole and readjusted her route, swinging upward and releasing an adequate amount of gas to propel herself forward until she was moving alongside her instructed teammate.

"Good," she heard Levi call from a distance behind her, continuing his orders, "Now Eld, Oluo, hang back 50 meters until they are in position. Petra and Gunther, move forward toward the Titan and swoop in from the right, sweep top to bottom. No fancy moves here, you're just the diversion!"

Nodding again as she looked toward Gunther, he gave her a nod and they moved in unison toward the large Titan cutout that was stationed in the training grounds, starting from a higher position in the canopy before redirecting downward in a half freefall, half swinging sort of motion that was sure to grab any Titan's attention.

Petra looked around as she flew downward in a diagonal path, noting a few scouts that were stationed on the cutout as they pulled various ropes and levers that helped move the device every which way. Her eye followed their movements as they worked together to quickly pull a series of ropes, her mind already working to figure out what part of the Titan corresponded to their actions.

Her eyes followed it to a pulley that rested right beneath her and her eyes widened as she noted the left wooden arm was starting to fly upward. If they stayed in their current path, it would snag their wires and they'd either get stuck on the arm, or plummet to the ground with little time to correct their fall.

"Gunther!" Petra yelled loudly as she looked toward him fiercely, "Redirect to the right, now!"

Hearing her sudden announcement and quickly realizing the problem as well, he nodded and reshot his wires to the right, while Petra shot herself off to the left. Even though it had taken a mere moment to get the large obstacle moving, the arm that had been intended to halt their movement swung upward and met nothing but air, falling back downward with a large creak that echoed across the grounds.

"Well done Petra." The Captain's voice called from a distance back, "Now Eld, Oluo, move down around it's legs and work upward. Focus on severing where the joints and muscle groups would be." He continued, ensuring his instructions would be heard across the vast training field, "No deep cuts today, I don't want to see any dull blades – Petra, Gunther, swing back around from the left and right sides using the neck as your anchor point. I'll go for the nape while you two climb and cut. Immobilize the whole fucking thing - I don't want those arms grabbing anyone."

Hearing the next set of instructions, Petra looked forward and hoisted herself to a nearby tree, kicking off the trunk with her feet and tucking into a slight ball to help redirect her momentum as she flipped in the air. Intentionally free falling until she was just at the left forearm – safe from any ill wishing Titan hands - Petra shot her wires straight up into the neck, finally drawing out her blades as she did so.

Taking a deep breath as she landed on the wooden sculpture, she narrowed her eyes in determination and focused strength into her legs. Running up the wooden ledge and using the gas to help push her upwards, Petra made precise cuts as she ran, ensuring that while the incisions were not deep, they were intentional and at the right places that would have successfully immobilized the arm, had it actually been a real Titan and not a mere cutout.

As she ran up and over the curb of the shoulder, she noted the Captain was mere seconds away from the base of the neck, spinning in the air to build momentum and moving down toward the nape with impressive speed. He held his blades at the ready, but held back at the last moment as he landed, merely tapping the blades onto the mound of layered fabric, instead of severing into it and lopping off the nape.

Petra gave an exhale and relaxed her stance, resting her blades at her sides. That was that then.

Levi stood up fully and looked toward Petra and Gunther, both standing on the shoulder of the structure, and then down at Eld and Oluo, who were hanging in the air from where they were anchored in the cutout's back, taking the moment to relax as they hung in the air.

He nodded once and sheathed his blades with a metallic zip, "This exercise is over. Regroup on the forest floor."

A few moments passed by as they each made their way to the ground, no real hurry in their actions as they inched their way downward. There was an unspoken understanding that the sooner they met up, the sooner they'd have to start all over again, and considering that they had been running this same sequence since dawn, no one was exactly racing to meet up with the Captain anymore.

Levi waited till his squad was fully gathered again, addressing the group and paying no mind to their obvious exhaustion, "That wasn't bad, but we've still got work to do. Petra," he addressed her directly, "You broke formation in response to the Titan's movement. What happened up there?"

He didn't appear to be angry and had even gone as far as to compliment her actions earlier, so his question wasn't intimidating to her. She gave a nod, breathing deeply as she tried to catch her breath, "Well frankly I was looking at the ropes the other Scouts were pulling, so was able to predict what was going to happen. Obviously had we stayed in our intended path, we would be wrapped around the wooden plank, or have broken a leg after falling on the ground. Had it been a real Titan, that could have ended really badly."

Levi nodded, "No, that was good, I expect you to break formation if it means keeping yourself safe, and your quick thinking protected Gunther as well so I have no complaints. My only problem is that it had to happen at all. I want you both to be able to grab the attention of the Titan so that Oluo and Eld don't have to worry about getting grabbed at when they move in, but the same goes for you too. You both need to be in and out before the Titan can get handsy or the Omega formation won't be of any use. If my backup is tied up dodging big ass Titan hands, then the entire operation is fucked."

A silence fell over the group as Levi tried to reorganize the formation in his mind, still not satisfied with the results.

Petra exhaled, willing to give her feedback on the matter if it meant they'd finish with their training any quicker, "If I may Captain, I think it takes us too long to get from point A to point B when Gunther and I move in front of the Titan. I know it's a diversion, but I think there was like a three second free fall and that's what caused the problem here. It's just too much."

She looked to Gunther, who gave a nod, acknowledging that he had a similar experience as well, "Obviously we'll do what you say, but if you are looking for suggestions, perhaps if we took a more direct path where we weren't way up in the trees, moving way down near the ground, that might cut out some of the Titan's response time where we don't have to be so on our toes about being grabbed at right out of the gate."

Levi studied her, contemplating her words for a long moment.

He gave a single nod, then looked around at the rest of his Squad, "Alright, let's try that and see if we can cut out as many vulnerable windows as possible. We'll run it again but adjust some of the angles and distances like Petra suggested. Now this time I want-"

"Levi!" a voice called from a distance. After a moment, Hanji appeared, running into the training grounds to where they stood, catching her breath for a moment after reaching her apparent destination.

"Section Leader Hanji!" the Squad acknowledged with a salute, save for Levi, who merely gave her an even stare.

She gave a slight nod to the group in acknowledgement, "At ease guys, it's just me." She turned her attention solely to the Captain, her voice hushed, "Sorry to barge in like this, but the Commander needs to speak with you."

Levi quirked a brow as he observed her, then gave a long sigh, "Fine. Give me another thirty minutes to finish up with my squad and I'll head that way." He looked back towards the group, clearly putting Hanji on the back burner, "Is everyone clear on-"

Hanji cleared her throat, "Uh, sorry Levi, but it's urgent. He sent me out here to come fetch you; it can't wait."

"Of fucking course." He gave the Scientist a pointed glare, clearly agitated by the inconvenience, "Well then, it seems like our training is done for the day. Everyone get cleaned up, we'll discuss this more over dinner."

Without further explanation, the pair walked off and the remainder of Squad Levi stood tiredly for a few moments, wasting no time in ridding themselves of the blade and gas canisters strapped around their legs the second their Captain was out of sight.

Eld plopped onto the ground in a heap, sitting beside his blades and adjusting his disheveled hair back into a ponytail, "Thank the goddess' for Hanji – I thought he was going to run us until sunset!"

Gunther gave a nod of agreement and also chose to move to the ground, his chest heaving from exhaustion, "We've been doing this for days. Either the Captain is just going to have to accept the fact that there is no such thing as the perfect formation, or we're going to dig ourselves an early grave by working sun up to sundown every day like this. I'm beat."

Petra walked over to the edge of the grounds a few feet away, grabbing her water bottle and drinking from it greedily, then opened the lid and dumped the entire remaining amount over her head in attempts to cool off.

The guys watched her for a moment, then Eld groaned loudly. They had had this conversation with her before, but stubborn as ever…

"Petra. You know that when you do that your shirt is pretty well see through, right?" Eld scolded, giving her a disapproving glare as her now clear shirt began to cling to her damp skin, "You really shouldn't do that out in the open like this, it's not decent."

"That's why I'm wearing my black sports bra. I've worked out in just this same sports bra before and it wasn't a big deal, I don't know why you guys make such a fuss about seeing it now." Petra retorted casually, gathering her hair in her hands and tying it out of her face in a messy bun. She looked back to her team, grabbing a canteen, "Now catch, I don't want any of you passing out from dehydration - I'm not hauling your limp bodies back to the compound, that's for damn sure."

One by one she tossed her team's water canteens toward them, each seeming to forget Petra's wardrobe when presented with desperately needed water.

She rejoined her team, each enjoying the new-found down time that was presented to them. Considering the Captain was gone and dinner wasn't for a few more hours, there was no immediate rush or task at hand that required attention.

"What do you think the big emergency is?" Oluo asked after a few moments of silence, a question that all of them were secretly pondering.

Eld grinned bemusedly, "Five bucks says the Captain's behind on his paperwork again so now the Commander's going to chew him out. Must be really bad if he sent Hanji after him, like some sort of bounty hunter."

Gunther smirked toward him, "Five bucks? I'll take you up on that. Petra, you in? Sounds like easy cash to me. There could be a number of reasons why Levi's getting called away like this. I think our odds are pretty good."

Petra shrugged, "I don't know. Is it something bad you think? I mean, Hanji looked pretty worried to me. Did something happen?"

Oluo shrugged, "Beats me. I'll take you up on that bet though."

Eld frowned, "Wait so if I'm wrong then I have to pay ten?"

"Yeah, but if you won, you'd get a full ten back. That's quite a generous return rate."

"Fine. We'll shake on it." Eld agreed, "Petra! You're the official witness then, make sure these two dead weights pay up when the time comes!" The three males on her team all gave a high-five sort of shake, looking at her squarely for confirmation of their deal.

She rolled her eyes, "A bet? If you want you three can settle this over dinner to find out what the big emergency is - But this is your guy's idea. I don't want to be the one pissing the Captain off with these nosy questions, so you're on your own with beating it out of him."

Gunther stood up, "No problem with that. Let's all go ahead and start putting our gear away then get freshened up for dinner. I don't want to keep my earnings waiting too long. Besides, the Captain won't be pleased if we're still a mess from training after all the off time we were given. I'll take care of the gas canisters."

"Right. I'll store the blades away, anyone need to send any blades off for replacement or sharpening?" Petra offered, standing up and dusting off her rear as she moved towards the pile of the discarded weaponry.

Eld cleared his throat, "I'll take care of the blades, Petra. You just go get inside. Perhaps we're used to seeing you like that, but I assure you most of the Scout's aren't, and I speak for all of us when I say that we don't want you parading around the regiment like that."

Petra rolled her eyes, "You guys are being so old fashioned, I'm not the only female soldier to dress like this. It's fine."

Gunther picked up the gas canisters, grunting as he stood back up and glaring at Petra in irritation, "Stop being stubborn and just go get ready for dinner, we've got it covered here."

Hours had passed by since the previous abrupt end to training and the group had since reconvened, moved toward the mess hall while making light chatter about the day, bits of gossip that had filtered down the ranks, as well as how much they were each dreading this upcoming discussion about the much-hated Omega formation that Levi had promised earlier.

They had made it through the line of the mess hall, expecting to see the Captain or that he would be ushering them to hurry and scarf down their meal so they could get down to business more quickly, but to their surprise, he had yet to make an appearance.

"Looks like we dodged a bullet," Oluo stated as he took a seat at the table, the rest of the squad sitting in their traditional spots, "We got all the way through the dinner line and back to the compound without so much as a sighting of the Captain. Looks like we won't be having that talk about the Omega formation after all."

Eld grabbed his dinner roll, smirking before taking a large bite from it, "You're just happy he's not here because you know you'd have to pay up. The fact that he's late like this only proves my point. Everyone knows its nearing the time of year that Officers have to refill their orders on weapons and supplies. Wake up and smell the coffee, Levi has never made that deadline, so that's clearly what this is all about. It's obvious."

"I still don't think so," Oluo negated, "And until the Captain confirms it with his own mouth, I'm not paying you shit. Oi, pass me the salt; this pasta is bland as fuck."

"But he's not here to confirm or deny it," Gunther pointed out as he slid the salt container across the table toward Oluo, "Bummer, since I was really looking forward to the look on Eld's face after being proven wrong. He thinks he knows everything just because he's a higher rank than us."

Petra grabbed her spoon, pointing at her squad mates with it for a second before getting started on her soup, "Well I say it serves you all right for making such a stupid bet in the first place. If he's not here then I guess we'll never know. Let's just count our blessings that Hanji showed up when she did and mind our own business; if we need to know he'll tell us."

Eld quirked an eyebrow, grinning widely at Petra, "Oh? You're not the least bit curious as to what that whole thing was about today?"

"No I'm not." Petra stated indignantly, "Levi is our Captain, so obviously has different responsibilities and details he has to see to that we don't. Even if it is the paperwork, it's not our problem and I don't think he'd appreciate us laughing about it at his expense. Besides, we've got enough of our own problems to work through as it is, considering Captain's been stuck on this formation for so long now. One would think you'd put all this energy into patching up the formation so we can finally be done with it, not wasting all your time on petty bets."

Oluo groaned, "There she goes nagging again. Leave it to Petra to be the team's resident nark."

She rolled her eyes, "Shove it Oluo, I'm just saying is all. And pass the salt will ya, this is bad."

As Oluo slid the salt shaker toward Petra, the door of the Compound opened and Levi stepped inside, a tenseness falling across the room as he did so. It wasn't that he appeared angry – they were rather used to that – it was that he looked visibly…dazed? Pensive? In shock? It was difficult to get a good grasp on his current mood, and it set the room at ill-ease. He wordlessly moved toward the head of the table and sat down, carrying a cup of coffee that he sipped from occasionally.

Levi focused his attention on the surface of the table, and as the silence prolonged to the point that it was well past awkward, Petra cleared her throat, "Um Captain…it's dinner time, did you already eat?"

"Just the coffee is fine." He stated in response, still not looking up from the table as though lost in his thoughts.

Petra looked around the table toward her teammates, asking with her expression if anyone had any ideas, though they merely shrugged in response, confirming they were just as dumbfounded as she was.

Exhaling quietly, Petra returned to her dinner, trying to not let the unsettling silence get under her skin. While she had stated that she wasn't curious as to what events had happened this afternoon, she knew full well it wasn't true. Admittedly, she was probably the most curious of all her comrades, even more so after seeing the Captain like this – but not for their petty, selfish reasons.

Simple as it was, she cared for Levi – the same way she cared for all her squad mates. They had all eaten their meals together, battled Titans, seen each other on their best and worst days, and while it was true that Levi preferred to keep others at a distance, the years and familiarity had caused some of those walls to weaken.

She knew his likes and dislikes, had argued with him, debated philosophy with him – neither of them immediately recognized the subtle shift that had occurred over the years – but at this point it was impossible to deny that she had somehow formed a true friendship with the skilled and moody Captain.

But…as true as that may have been, after all this time it still didn't make reading him any easier.

"Say Captain," Eld spoke up, and Petra looked toward the pair curiously as she attempted to swallow another bite of the bland meal, all but choking on it when Eld continued, "I know it's that time of year when you fill out our restock forms. You know, blades, gas tanks, extra pants and shirts – that kind of thing. How is that going?"

Petra's eyes narrowed, and she kicked him under the table in attempt to show her displeasure with his choice of conversation. While it was true she wasn't sure what kind of mood the Captain was in right now, she was beyond certain that now was not the right time to bring up their unsettled wager.

Levi gave a noncommittal grunt, and Petra gave a pointed 'You see?' look to Eld, though the blonde continued, unsatisfied by the response that didn't confirm his suspicions one way or another, "Well I'm just curious if you've actually got our paperwork submitted or not yet. I know we can always borrow and exchange gas canisters with the other teams, but it's so much easier when we have our own stash. I'm just wondering, what if we have more things to add to the list?"

Petra kicked him again and Eld winced in response but gave an innocent smile as Levi finally looked up toward him.

The Captain looked inquisitive, a single eyebrow raised, "Is there something you need that is unaccounted for?"

Petra spoke quickly, trying to stop Eld before he got started, "It's nothing Captain, he's just being-"

Eld gave a quick laugh, speaking over Petra so he would be heard, "Well if I did need something, is there still time or did you already submit it all to Erwin?"

Petra pressed her lips together in frustration and kicked him for the third time, causing Eld's voice to crack at the end of his question, though he again tried to play it off with a laugh and watched the Captain pointedly for an answer, all while ignoring Petra's waspish glare.

Levi wore a confused expression that bordered irritated as he observed the way too happy Eld, the suddenly angry for no reason Petra, and a disturbingly expectant Oluo and Gunther that looked as though they were hanging on his every word as they watched him with wide eyes.

Levi felt a headache coming on - it appeared that his squad was at it again, and he was the center of some…discussion, apparently.

He sighed, eyes narrowed as he spoke, "Alright you little shits. What is this all about?"

Eld crossed his arms and shrugged, smirking as he spoke, "Right, as if you don't know Captain. About this afternoon, we were all just curious if-"

Petra coughed as she shook her head firmly, delivering yet one more powerful kick to Eld's shin beneath the table. He gave a slight hiss from the pain, finally deciding to fall silent in fear of being attacked again; his leg successfully throbbing from the repetitive abuse.

"Petra, why do you keep kicking him?" Levi asked sharply, officially irritated by his squad and their unruly behavior. He still had no idea what they were going on about and the last thing he had wanted to do was deal with them when they behaved so irritably like this, "At the very least you seem to know something. Fucking spill it, what the hell is going on here?"

Petra's mouth fell open at the realization that it somehow fell on her, again, and an embarrassed blush stained her cheeks. She looked to her other teammates for support, so they could come clean about their stupid bet, but they all artfully avoided her gaze as the silence prolonged.

"Well?" Levi challenged directly, watching her narrowly as he impatiently awaited her explanation.

Petra was mortified. How did it always happen like this? Every time!

She exhaled irritably as she tried to pick her words, deciding that if her team was just going to sell her out like this then she may as well just come clean about the whole thing.

She crossed her arms and huffed, glaring at each of them as she spoke, "Fine. They are curious as to why you got called away into Erwin's office earlier on. Eld has money down that you are behind on your paperwork and Erwin was chewing you out –that's why he's so interested in the status of those forms. Gunther and Oluo think that it's something else, so put money down on that. At the end of the day, all they want to know is what happened in Erwin's office so they can settle their bet."

A long silence followed her explanation, and all eyes focused on Levi to monitor his reaction, though he kept his response skillfully unreadable – an undeniable skill of the stoic Ackerman.

An exhale.

"What did you bet then, Petra?"

"Nothing!" she defended hotly, "I told them this whole thing was dumb - I told them we should just keep focused on perfecting the formation, but Eld wouldn't drop it and- well, here we are."

"Suck up." Oluo muttered under his breath, and Petra shot him a scathing glare that suggested just how many fucks she gave about his opinion, stopping just short of sticking her tongue out at him.

Watching this interaction, Levi pinched his nose and stood up from the table, crossing his arms and staring down at his squad pointedly, "You seriously mean to tell me that while I've been working nonstop with Erwin and Hanji for the past five fucking hours without so much as a coffee break, you've had the entire afternoon free and chose to spend it like this?" He shook his head firmly, displeasure radiating off him in waves, "And you wonder why I never grant you free time. It's because you little shits lack discipline! Show me some goddamned results, and then we'll talk."

"Listen Captain it was all-"

"Shut the fuck up." He responded sharply, his tone lowered in a manner that confirmed he was absolutely done talking about it.

His gaze fell solely onto Petra and he cleared his throat, voice still firm. "Petra. Are you finished with your dinner?"

"What? I uh, yeah, I'm done I just…"

"Good, a word then."

With that he walked off, leaving a wide eyed and fearful Petra behind him.

Petra groaned quietly, eyeing her teammates waspishly as they watched her dumbly, none of them quite sure what to make of the Captain's scolding. It was clear he was extremely angry, but he was just walking away?

But then why Petra?

"See?" she hissed as she stood up from the table, her anger toward her teammates rivaling the Captain's, "I'm always the one taking the blame for your hairbrained schemes. Now you've gone and pissed him off!"

She stood up begrudgingly, making sure to give her teammates one last dirty glare before she caught up to the Captain.

She ran up toward him, falling in step with him after a moment, "Look Captain, I know that they can get a little judgmental and critical about these things. I mean, if it really is just the paperwork then there's no need to stress about it. We can all pitch in and help get you caught back up, it's really nothing to be ashamed of so-"

"This isn't about paperwork." Levi responded almost absentmindedly, keeping his attention forward.

"Oh…" Petra responded dumbly, falling behind for just a moment before pumping her legs to keep up with him, "So uh, what is this about then? You needed to speak with me this far away from the guys? Now I'm really worried." She gave a small chuckle in attempts to lighten the atmosphere, though Levi remained just as stoic.

"It's not me. Erwin has requested to speak with you, we're headed to his office." Levi corrected, and Petra found she didn't have a response.

They walked silently through the halls, and Petra wondered what Erwin possibly needed from her. She knew she hadn't done anything wrong, at least, nothing intentionally that would lead to trouble. Even in the event she had stepped out of line somewhere, surely Levi would be the one to speak with her about it? Erwin simply wasn't needed for trivial matters like that.

So what was this all about then?

As they neared the door to the Commander's office, Levi paused in step and turned toward her directly. His expression was gravely serious.

"Petra, tell me. What does being a Scout mean to you?"

The question was so sudden, so abstract, that had it not been for the oddness of the situation and the fact there was not a trace of amusement on the Captain's face, Petra might have laughed and gave some sort of smart remark in return.

She bit the inside of her lip pensively, "Well…everything Captain."

"Everything?" Levi repeated, studying her with a focused expression that was impossible to read.

Petra gave a simple nod, watching him warily. She whispered after a few moments, her anxiety increasing by the minute, "Captain, what's going on?"

Levi gave a long sigh and he turned back towards the door, "…Come on. We've got a problem."

He opened the door and walked in, and Petra cautiously followed behind him, a knot forming in the pit of her stomach. Inside the room was both the Commander and Hanji, who wore similar expressions to Levi.

Grim at best.

Levi moved into the room and stood off to the side, leaning back against a wall and crossing his arms, his gaze instantly on the ground in a manner that suggested he was just as along for the ride as she was.

"Ms. Ral," Erwin greeted, "Please have a seat."

She gave a soft nod, blood pounding in her ears as she carefully made her way into the room, pulling out one of the chairs that sat in front of his desk and sitting down softly.

Erwin looked around the room, noting the lifeless expression of his peers, and the absolutely terrified expression of Petra. He forced a pleasant smile and cleared his throat, attempting to find a good starting place, "Well, let's see…where to begin with all of this mess. Um, Petra, tell me, how is your relationship with your father?"

Petra was taken back at the question, finding it a rather odd question to say the least. She didn't see what her father could possibly have to do with anything, unless…

She rose to her feet, hands over her mouth, "Oh gods, what happened? Is he sick? Did he…he couldn't have…"

Erwin quickly corrected himself, holding his hands up to try to calm her, "Oh heavens, no. Petra, my apologies, he's fine. We haven't received any word of health problems or anything of the sort, so please, sit down." He stole a glance toward Levi, who quirked an eyebrow and gave a slight shake of his head.

Erwin looked back toward her apologetically, "Perhaps that wasn't the best way for me to start this conversation."

Petra nodded cautiously, and slowly sank back into her chair.

Erwin sighed.

"Maybe…well, how familiar are you with law?" he tried again, "You know, legal practices, your rights as a citizen, rights as a member of the military, that sort of thing?"

Petra was only baffled all the more, not at all understanding why she was called in the office, the questions presented to her not shedding any light on the circumstance. She shrugged, "Well, not very familiar I guess…I don't exactly spend my free time digging through text books about law and order sir. Why? What does this have to do with...whatever this is?"

Erwin nodded, "Well Petra, I guess there's really no easy way to say this, but…" The commander looked around the room for a moment, then sank back into his chair and folded his hands in defeat, "Well, you're being discharged from the military."

...


End of Chapter


...

Alright, that's a wrap for chapter one! Don't fear, the next handful of chapters are already done so I won't make you wait terribly long on this semi cliff hanger. Expect the next chapter to launch the first week of March and we will go from there.

Until then, I'll try to write as frequently as possible so that updates can remain semi consistent for everyone this time around. I would love it if I could keep about 5+ chapters ahead each time I post, and that's just about where I am right now in terms of the plot line, but we'll see.

Yall stay warm and I'll see you at the next update!