The sun, the witness to all of Earth's cruelty shone upon the figures shifting through the trees. Their wires and cords danced like shadow, as they stalked their prey. Survey Corps littered the forestry, slaying scores of titans. The 57th Expedition beyond the wall was in full swing, and the female titan was running rampant. Eren and his team had been on full retreat, as she slowly gained on their position.

"Almost..." Eren muttered, rolling the sleeve of his cloak up slightly to give his room more flexibility. His grapple connected to another tree, surging him forward. "Little bit further you big bitch..."

Eren unsheathed his blades, and propelled his gas on his ODM gear in preparation to strike. She was close, his ears pounding with each thundering pound her monstrous feet made on the forest floor.

Captain Levi kept a careful eye on the titan, still atop his steed below Eren, riding in the same direction. The female titan had completely focused her sights on her prey, not paying Levi the time of day. This annoyed him greatly.

"She's going for your wires, move!" The captain yelled.

All in one motion, the female titan snatched the wires connected to Eren's ODM gear, and pulled.

4 Years Before

Vibrant green eyes searched through the sky of Shiganshina, watching birds come in and out of view as they made refuge in trees. Eren was lying on his back, resting his body from the various chores he had to do for his family. The work was done, but he still had to go through the arduous task of actually carrying the chopped wood back home. What a bother.

"I heard you and Mikasa were fighting earlier, everything okay?" Armin asked, the meek bowl headed blonde boy relaxing next to Eren.

Eren turned to his friend, whilst standing up. The joints in his knees protested, wanting him to buckle from exhaustion, but he pushed through it. "Yeah... She always feels the need to act like mom does. It really pisses me off."

Armin's crystal blue eyes were reluctant to meet Eren's gaze, as he struggled to maintain his composure when having to disagree with him.

"She's usually right most of the time though... you have to admit." He chuckled cautiously.

Eren would sigh at this.

"You too, huh?" He mumbled, beginning to gather up his firewood.

Armin chewed his lip, and opened his mouth after taking a moment to think.

"Y-

Horns blared in the distance, causing the emerald spark to return to Eren's eyes. He quickly hoisted his lumber on his back, and sprinted with newfound vigor towards the noise.

"Come on Armin, the Scouts are back!"

Armin let out a weak grunt as he got to his feet, patting the dirt off his trousers, and followed after him.

Horses mounted by exhausted looking soldiers in mass made their way through Shiganshina's gate. Eren's enthusiasm was practically independent in relation to the populace's opinion on the Scouts, as the townsfolk watched the beaten down men & women enter the city. Somberness, disappointment, resentment, all of the following swelled into the atmosphere to the point it was almost palpable, but despite the thick negativity radiating from the populace, a brunette amongst the Scout Corps met the youthful Eren's eyes. She gave him a friendly wink, and a smile. It felt like both her and Eren were the only two happy to see each other.

"They are so badass..." Eren fawned. "I'd do anything to join them once I'm 16."

"The Scouts are always in danger though... There's always noticeably less of them that come back every time we see them leave."

"That's because they're the only ones that give a damn about seeing what's beyond the walls. If more people shared their enthusiasm they wouldn't have to go alone on these expeditions." Eren's young mind concluded.

The two boys finished watching the troops return, as the gate slowly made its way closed again, until the next expedition beyond the walls.

Dusk was approaching, prompting the boys to start jogging towards Armin's home. Eren had a habit of walking him home. The two friends said their farewells, and parted. Eren was often scolded for being home late, almost always in some sort of altercation with his mother due to his obsession with the Scouts. This didn't concern him though.

He would slowly make his way inside his home, which resided at the top of a hill on the eastern side of the city. Sneaking in was always difficult, but he'd managed to pull it off a few times. He crept over towards the fireplace, and rested the lumber down near it. As he wiped the sweat off his brow, he heard a shuffling from the adjacent room.

"Mr Jager, where have you been?" Carla, his mother shot.

Eren winced, and turned to face her.

"I was walking Armin home." He responded truthfully, conveniently leaving out the bit regarding the scouts. He would make his way to the table, seeing a plate of dormant food waiting for him. Despite it being cold, he was still ready to chow down.

His mother kept a tense stare on him, until her expression went lax, as she sighed with relief.

"You boys need to wrap up whatever you do sooner, I don't want to have to talk to his parents."

Eren also relaxed, that was a close one.

"He was watching the Scouts." Mikasa reported, making her way into the room giving Eren a careful stare from behind her scarf. Her hair and eyes both appeared black, but her eyes were actually a very deep and nearly undetectable brown. The only time their color appeared as anything other than black was when the sunlight shone directly on her face.

Eren glared at Mikasa, stopping his eating.

Carla whipped around, nearly dropping the pan she was wiping.

"We talked about this. No Scout Regiment!" Her voice was deathly serious now, causing Eren's posture and frame to retreat as his shoulders slumped. "Is that what you were doing?" She asked, hopeful that Mikasa had mistaken.

"Yes ma'am." Eren said, staring down into his food.

His mother sighed, and then blinked rapidly a few times after recuperating herself. After collecting herself, she took a deep breath.

"Finish your food, and head to your room... Your father is going to have a word with you when he is done working. Mika dear, are your chores done?" She turned to the short girl standing in the doorway.

Mikasa silently nodded, still worried about Eren.

"Good girl. Make sure you prepare for bed too, we've got work to do tomorrow."

"Okay." She said quietly. She felt bad for ratting out Eren, it tore at her insides. She always wanted him to trust her, but she valued his safety more, and would do anything it took to prevent him from joining the scouts.

Eren, now full, was lying back on his bed, staring at the ceiling. It was most likely nearly midnight, and he figured dad would talk to him tomorrow. His body was indeed tired, but the drama with his family did little to prevent his desire to join the Scouts. He would venture beyond the walls. He knew he could convince Armin, too. Armin's dread had worn off on him.

Expecting his father, Eren looked to the door as Mikasa entered, quietly closing the door.

"Hey snitch." He growled, turning away from her.

She frowned, making her way towards him.

"I'm sorry." She said truthfully. He knew it too. "Joining the scouts is stupid though." She added, not backing down from that point.

"I'm not going to argue with you right now. In fact, you're only allowed in here right now if you had one of your nightmares again, otherwise, leave."

Mikasa was silent, he was facing away from her so she couldn't see her ashamed face.

"I had one." She admitted.

Annoyed beyond belief, Eren let out an annoyed sigh and pushed his blankets to his knees, and scooted over towards the wall, making room for her.

"Fine." He said.

She climbed in, not proud of her shortcomings. Ever since Eren had saved her years ago, the mere fact they had both killed the men responsible for the death of her family haunted her. For whatever reason, it appeared as though Eren was immune to the trauma of that situation, but it laid waste to Mikasa to this day. The symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder were scattered about her well being, making her need to "sleep with" someone, in order to find true rest and peace from time to time. Despite Eren's annoyance, the innocent nature of the act, as well as his mutual understanding of what she went through made him never deny her, even when mad.

"Thank you."

The two didn't speak anymore, and slowly lost consciousness. The last thought in Eren's mind was the flag bearing the wings of freedom blowing in the wind, filling him with confidence.

Give your heart he had once heard, from one of the scouts who met him with a salute. He fully intended to.

Outside the walls, titans mustered, and the beginning of the war of the walls would soon begin.