After lunch, they met back up at the forest geared up for ODM training. Like he did when Isa joined the Scouts, Flagon wanted to assess how the new recruits meshed with his squad members.

Some of the other scouts had come to see the new recruits in action, Hange included. Isa saw her standing with a man she had yet to meet.

Once the trio of new recruits had arrived, Flagon instructed Isa, Ingrid, and Sofia to spread out through the forest. Derek and Sairam were to go through the course with Levi first. Afterwards they would swap roles.

After seeing how well they did on the horses, Isa was excited to see them on ODM gear. She'd heard that this was what they'd been recruited for, so surely they must be extremely skilled.

Isa watched as Levi flipped his blades backwards. It was different from how they were taught, but honestly, she didn't care. If that's how he felt comfortable holding the blades, who was she to judge?

Apparently, Flagon did not have the same opinion, and she had to hold herself back from rolling her eyes when he reprimanded Levi. The nerve of the man for calling him a punk just because he did things a little differently.

"All that matters is slicing through the back of the titan's neck right?" Flagon gaped at Levi's blunt response. "Let me do that however I want."

Isa couldn't hold back her laugh when Flagon growled in frustration.

Serves him right, who honestly cares? Apparently, Flagon is just trying to be difficult with the new recruits. He's taking out his frustration of having been assigned them, directly onto them.

At Isa's laugh, Levi turned and looked at her with a raised brow, almost as if he were curious, and she just sent him a thumbs up, and felt completely ridiculous as soon as she did.

A thumbs up? Really? What am I five?

Shaking off the embarrassment, she shot off into the forest to find a spot near some titan dummies.

As she flew off, she could hear Hange squealing in excitement about the new recruits. Isa laughed to herself as she heard Hange gush about how individual approaches to fighting titans can make a world of difference in succeeding in expeditions.

She has a point…just…does she have to be so loud?

Shaking her head in amusement at her friend, she found some trees near the center of the forest where a couple of titan dummies were set up. She grabbed the ropes for each one and situated herself in a nearby tree.

As a squad, they'd done this sort of thing numerous times before. The idea was to change the titan's position at the last moment, so that the scout has to either adapt or crash. Isa'd had her fair share of blunders and had ended up bruised and bloodied at the end of training more times than she could count. It was worth it in the end though, as long as she could learn from her mistakes.

As she waited, she began to wonder what they were like using ODM. Furlan had grasped horseback riding faster than she'd expected, all three of them had. If that was any indication of their abilities, she knew they had to be exceptionally adept with ODM. It wasn't just that. The fact that Erwin had gone on a special mission to the Underground, specifically to recruit them, was proof enough that these three were most likely on par with the rest of the Scouts, if not better.

Lost in thought, she almost missed the blur of color as it flew by her. Caught off guard, she wasn't able to move the first titan before the blur sliced its nape, but she recovered quickly and yanked hard on the second, attempting to throw off the scout.

The scout easily adjusted, swooping over the titan, and using the tree behind it to ricochet back towards its nape. She realized the scout was Levi and watched in awe as he used his momentum to spin around and tear through the titan's neck, effectively downing it. She gaped as she watched the giant chunk fall to the ground.

That looks a hell of a lot bigger than the normal chunks we slice off. That would definitely render the titan incapacitated. How the hell did he spin like that?

She abandoned her spot, wanting to see more, and shot off in the direction he'd gone, catching up with relative ease.

She watched as he approached another titan dummy, only to be cut off by Sairam. She rolled her eyes at the arrogance of her comrade.

Really? The whole point is to see how they work with us and he's pulling this shit again?

Isa saw that Levi had paused on a tree near the dummy allowing him to watch the scene unfold, calculating as always. As she took in the scene before her, Isa realized there was a problem. Sairam had been so focused on trying to outshine Levi and to bring him down a notch, that he had failed to notice the broken blade sticking out of the rubber nape.

With the way Sairam was hurtling towards it, there wasn't a way for him to dodge or maneuver out of the way, and she was too far out to help.

"Hey watch out!" Levi's voice cut through the forest.

Isa heard a loud crack resound through the trees, and she gaped at the dent that was left in the tree's bark Levi had been resting on mere seconds prior.

A blur of color filled the air as Levi sped towards the titan, in an attempt to reach it before Sairam.

He's so fast! How the hell can he move that fast?! Is that normal? That can't be normal right? And what the hell with that dent? Just him pushing off the tree was enough to do that to that tree?!

Eyes wide and gaping, Isa watched as Levi easily moved past Sairam, slicing through the titan's nape, and moving out of the way just in time for Sairam to land on the titan, right where the blade had been.

Had Levi not been so quick to respond, Sairam would currently be impaled on the forest floor most likely bleeding out, leading to a quick death.

He's lucky Levi reacted the way he did. There's no way he could have survived that otherwise.

The nape now lay on the forest floor, no longer a danger.

She landed neatly beside Sairam and gave him a smug look. "That's what you get for trying to show off. Next time watch where you're going."

He growled at her. Snapping he said, "Your arrogance is going to get you killed princess."

Despite hating the name, she only laughed. "Funny, I was thinking the same about you, princess." He bristled when his insult was reversed back to him. "You should be thanking him, not sniping at me."

Not wanting to let him to get another word in, she quickly sped away, leaving him fuming.

That ought to show him. What a jerk, instead of thanking Levi, he wants to act like an ass. If anyone else had saved him, would he be acting this way? Is he only acting this way because they're from the Underground? If he is, which he probably is, what an even bigger ass.

Afterwards, Isa ran the course with Isabel, and then Sofia and Ingrid went with Furlan. Isa was as impressed with them as she had been with Levi. Isabel and Furlan didn't have Levi's speed and strength, but they were by no means weak, and were definitely on par with the rest of the branch, no doubt about it.

Isabel reminded her of Hange, just a bit, when it came to how she attacked the titan dummies. The two were both so energetic and enthusiastic, bouncing around and just enjoying the feel of maneuvering in the gear. Isa could always tell when Isabel was near, because she would hear the shouts and cheers coming from the young girl.

Isa was impressed at Isabel's strength. She was so tiny, like Isa, yet she was easily as strong as someone twice her size. Isa had the bruise on her stomach to prove it.

She was intrigued with Furlan and his approach. He, like Levi, had a calculating nature, always taking in information around him and using that to make his decisions. She noticed that Furlan usually took a little time to determine the best course of action before jumping into the fray. It was as though his mind were running through all the possibilities of each path and deciding on the best one. Levi seemed to operate more on calculating instinct that guided his movements.

Isa was certain these three would have been the top three if they had gone through traditional training, no questions asked.

No wonder they didn't have them bother going through that. Honestly the only thing they needed to learn was horseback riding and maneuvering on their horses using ODM. That's it. Nothing else. Maybe survival skills, but that can honestly be taught outside of formal training.

At the end of training, Isa observed the reactions of her squad members, wanting to gauge the atmosphere. She saw that Sofia and Ingrid both looked impressed at the three new recruits. She noticed that they seemed to show a keen interest towards Levi and Furlan.

Sairam just looked like he wanted to punch Levi.

Ridiculous. Levi literally just saved the man, and he can't even show a little gratitude. What is his deal?

Derek was looking at them as if they were shit he'd scraped off his shoes. When he caught her watching him, he sent her a wink that made her skin crawl.

Breaking eye contact with him, she spotted Hange and the brown-haired man who'd been with her earlier. She hurried over, wanting to get as far away from Derek as possible, and could hear Hange still gushing about the trio.

Spotting Isa, she squealed. "Isa! Did you see them? Did you see how good they were? And what's with the way Levi holds his blades? It's so cool. And Isabel is so strong for someone so small, she reminds me of you. And then did you see the way Levi saved Sairam? And what abo—"

Isa's hand over Hange's mouth cut her off mid-speech. "Hange. Breathe."

She could feel Hange's breath on her hand as her friend complied. "Okay, I'm going to remove my hand and then answer your questions. Alright?"

Hange nodded.

Removing her hand from Hange's mouth, Isa worked her way through Hange's questions. "I did see them, and they do seem really skilled. I'm impressed since they've never had any training. They must have been a sight to see in the Underground. And Sairam is a dick, as always. Levi saved him, and the man can't even muster up a simple 'thank you.'"

"I don't think that's even in his vocabulary."

Isa laughed at her friend's accurate assumption. Turning her head to the nervous looking man beside Hange, she said, "So Hange, who is this?"

"What? Oh! This is Moblit. He was recently assigned to Erwin's squad. He's really good at ODM too. And strong. Not as strong as those three, but I don't know if anyone is."

Isa took in the man's flush that spread across his cheeks at Hange's praise. "Nice to meet you Moblit. Hopefully Hange here isn't driving you crazy."

"Not at all. She's…unique."

Isa chuckled at the accurate description of her beloved friend. "That she is Moblit." At that moment, her stomach decided to rumble loudly. "Alright, I'm starved, who's up for some dinner?"

That night, Isa awoke to quiet whimpers coming from the bottom bed in the bunk next to hers. The bed used to be Lucy's and was given to Isabel the day before. Looking down, she saw the younger girl curled up in a small ball underneath her blanket, body shaking as she tried to control her crying, clearly not wanting to wake anyone.

A pang of empathy crashed through her. She realized that the girl must be feeling lonely without her two friends. They seemed exceptionally close, almost like a small family, and this would be her first night without them, since the night before they'd all been up on the roof. Isa didn't know how long they'd all been together, but it was clear that Isabel was having trouble adjusting to being alone in a room full of complete strangers.

She quietly made her way down to the floor and tiptoed over to Isabel's bed. Sitting beside her, she laid a hand on the girl's shoulder, and her heart broke a little when the girl's tear-filled eyes met her own. It felt so out-of-character to see the energetic girl so forlorn and downhearted.

"What's the matter Isabel?" She tried to keep her voice gentle and soothing, murmuring to the younger girl.

Isabel fixed her gaze on the nightstand beside her bed. "You'll think it's weird."

"I promise you that I won't."

The girl remained silent, clearly worried that Isa would judge her.

Isa figured that while Isabel was an open and friendly person with new people, when it came to her more inner struggles, it was harder for her to share them with people she was unfamiliar with. Isa could empathize with that, and while she hated sharing any of her own personal turmoil, she hated seeing this bright girl so miserable.

"If I tell you something about me, will you tell me?"

Isabel considered her offer, and then nodded in agreement.

"Alright, here, scootch over." She laid under the covers next to the girl. She took a few minutes to try to decide what she could share that was vulnerable enough to make Isabel feel more comfortable in sharing what was bothering her.

"Well you know how I grew up in Mitras right?"

Isabel nodded.

She'd finally shared this with Hange one night on the roof a couple of weeks after Lucy's death, but this would be the first time she shared this much with someone she barely knew, so Isa had to take a breath to prepare herself. "Well, there's a reason that I hated it so much there and a reason why it took me so long to sign up as a cadet. The two people who raised me there…weren't the best. They tried to bend and mold me into something I could never fit into. They wanted me to be this perfect noblewoman, but I didn't want that. So I rebelled, which they hated."

She thought back to the fights, the arguments, the threats, and the darkness when they'd had enough and threw her inside her prison. Her eyes started to sting. "If I couldn't meet their standards, they locked me into this small dark room, sometimes a day, sometimes a week, the longest I was locked up was maybe around a month. It was always hard to know how long I was in there, because there was no way to tell when it was day or night."

She remembered the tiny, windowless room, so dark, she couldn't even see her hand if she held it up in front of her face. At first, the dark had terrified her, but she'd eventually adapted. She would still get scared each time they threw her, literally threw her, into the room, but it would take her less time to adjust.

She remembered sobbing for her parents to come save her, but they couldn't. They were dead. When she'd fully realized that, and that they were never coming to help her, a cold had settled over her, and it had taken a while for warmth to fill her again.

She still got a little nervous now if it got too dark, but she managed for the most part. She had yet to be anywhere that matched the level of darkness in that room, and she hoped she never would.

She swallowed the lump in her throat so that she could continue. "They would only give me one meal a day when I was in that room. They would tell me that when I learned to listen, I would be allowed full meals again." She could still feel the hunger pains that would course through her, especially when she was locked up for long periods of time.

"I would eventually comply just so I could get out of there, but it was always an endless cycle, because I refused to let them turn me into something I wasn't." She didn't mention that sometimes she'd thought about just giving in and letting them turn her into some posh noblewoman, but something inside her refused to let her yield and would push through and fight back.

She looked at Isabel, a slight haunted look hiding deep within her eyes. "I was put in their care when I was seven. They kept me locked up in either their giant house, or that tiny prison. I left the house a handful of times, and always with someone else. It took me nine years to finally escape. And that's why I was so much older than the other cadets in training."

"Wait? What do you mean 'put in their care'? And how did you escape?"

Isa shook her head. "Nuh-uh. It's your turn now."

Isabel rolled her eyes. "Fine…well, it's just that this is the first time I've ever been away from Furlan and bro at night. Even in the Underground, their room was right next to mine, and I could go in whenever I wanted if I was feeling lonely or scared." Isabel's voice broke and she had to take a minute to regain composure, wiping the tears in her eyes.

"Now I can't do that since we aren't allowed in the men's barracks at night. And…and…and I miss them." Isabel's lower lip quivered as she tried to hold back the tears threatening to spill over. "I know it's dumb, I'm going to see them in the morning, and I just saw them a few hours ago, but I miss them so much."

"It's not dumb at all. You guys are really close, it's easy to tell. I'd be surprised if you didn't miss them. You probably spent a lot of time together in the Underground."

"We were almost always together."

"Well then it's no wonder you miss them so much. To go from being around each other all the time, you now have to spend the scariest part of the day completely separated from them."

Isabel nodded.

"Well you don't have to worry, because you're not alone." Isa hoped that Isabel wouldn't reject her offer of friendship, but her desire to make sure the girl didn't feel alone overrode the fear that Isabel didn't want to be friends. "I'm here, I'm your friend too. If you need me, you're free to crawl in my bed up there so you don't feel alone."

Isabel lit up at Isa's words. "You mean, you think of me as a friend?"

Isa nodded. "I'd like to."

Isabel threw her arms around Isa's neck. "Thank you, I'd like that too."

And just like that, Isa had another friend.

I wish things like this were always this easy.

When she made to get up to return to her bed, Isabel held on tight. "Can…can you stay here with me? I…I don't want to be alone."

"Of course." She settled herself more comfortably in the bed, and then looked at Isabel, whose eyes were red from her tears. "Can you tell me a story about your time in the Underground? If you want to of course, I can imagine the time there wasn't always the best."

She thought maybe sharing a story from her time with her family would help Isabel drift off to sleep.

"I don't mind, what do you want to hear?"

"Whatever story you feel comfortable with sharing."

Isabel seemed to think hard over her time spent in the Underground, trying to find a good memory to share. Finally, she settled on one.

"Well there was this one time where Furlan had told me a scary story about a stinky, rotting man, who carries some large blade thing that he uses to chop off human heads." Isa shuddered at the image.

"Well I was laying in bed that night, and there was this weird shape on my ceiling that looked exactly like the man from Furlan's story. I was so scared, and then all of a sudden, the ceiling burst and something came crashing down." Her eyes were wide now at the memory of what she thought was a monster falling through her ceiling to murder her. "I pulled out my blades and I was about to attack when I realized it was just bro."

Isa's had to muffle her laughter in the pillow and her body shook from the effort of keeping quiet, at the thought of Isabel attacking Levi thinking it was some scary monster. Trying to keep her voice down, she asked, "What happened then?"

Isabel gave a sheepish chuckle. "Well…uh…turns out some barrels in the room above mine had been leaking, which made the ceiling weak, and when Levi fell through, it made a huge mess. Which he…made me clean up." She pouted at the memory of all the cleaning she had to do that night.

Isa looked up from the pillow. "He really likes things to be clean, doesn't he?"

"You have no idea. The amount of time we spent cleaning down there. If there's one way to get on his bad side, it's to make a mess of things and not clean it up."

With that, Isabel gave a big yawn. Apparently, Isa had been right that the story would help wind the younger girl down.

"Sleep Isabel, I'll be here."

Isabel gave a sleepy nod as her eyes drifted shut, a peaceful look now on her face from the happy memory.

Isa waited until Isabel had drifted off to sleep before allowing herself to do the same.

The next morning, Isa woke to find Isabel still asleep beside her. She smiled at how innocent the girl looked beside her.

She's such a trusting person. How can someone from such a horrid place trust so easily? Her life couldn't have been easy.

Knowing it was time to get moving she poked Isabel's shoulder. She laughed as the girl's brow furrowed.

Isabel swiped at Isa's hand. "No. Don't wanna get up."

Isa raised an eyebrow. "Do I need to go get a bucket of cold water?"

Isabel's eyes snapped open in fear. She shook her head wildly at the threat of cold water being dumped on her. "Nonono, I'm awake now."

"Come on sleepy-head, it's time for another day of training."

Sitting up, she saw that Sherri had already left as usual. She always left before Isa woke. Sighing, she turned to look at Hange and laughed when she saw her friend was still sound asleep.

Between Hange and Isabel, looks like I have my work cut out for me.

Sighing she walked over to Hange and poked her shoulder, and laughed at how similar Hange's reaction was to Isabel's.

"Nope, not today." Hange's voice held a stubborn tone to it, completely unwilling to greet the day.

She asked Hange the same thing she'd asked Isabel. "Do I need to go get a bucket of cold water?"

Hange rolled over, pulling the blankets over her head and ignoring Isa.

Isa sighed. Not one to go back on her word, Isa grabbed the bucket she kept on hand from underneath her bunk, and marched to the showers, filling it with the coldest water she could get. Trying to keep the water from sloshing over the sides of the bucket, she marched back up to her room, to the bunk where Hange was still laying asleep. Without hesitation, she ripped the covers back and dumped the entire bucket of cold water all over Hange.

Hange shrieked as the cold water pulled her from her beloved sleep. She sat up and glared at what she assumed was Isa, seeing as her glasses were resting on her nightstand and all she saw was a blob in front of her.

"Dammit Isa, was that necessary?"

"I offered you the chance to get up on your own, and it's your fault for not taking it."

Grumbling Hange wiped the water from her face and grabbed her glasses.

When Isa turned to look at Isabel, she laughed at the girl's fearful expression, having realized that Isa meant business when it came to her threats. "Don't worry Isabel, as long as you don't try me, you won't get water dumped on your head."

Isabel nodded her compliance, not wanting to ever have that happen to her.

After they were all ready and had eaten breakfast, Isa and Isabel headed to the stables to get their horses. Flagon had informed them that today they'd be working with the new recruits on maneuvering on and off the horses with ODM gear. Normally they'd have to work their way up to this, but based on how well the three of them performed the day before, Flagon was confident they were ready for this next part.

Plus, they needed to be fully up to speed as soon as possible, so that they could start training together as a squad. Getting the basics down was enough, and then they'd be able to build off of that in the coming months.

Isabel and Isa grabbed their horses from their stalls, as well as their gear, and guided them outside to the fence where they could tack up their mares.

As they walked out of the stable, she saw Sherri on the far end of the fence, tacking up her horse.

Looks like our squad isn't the only one doing work with our horses today.

At the sight of Isa, Sherri's gaze turned ice cold, and the memory of her last words filled Isa.

'The only thing that you could have done to fix this was to take Lucy's place.'

Isa still couldn't believe that Sherri would say such a thing. She never would have pegged Sherri to be that cruel. She knew that Sherri was in pain right now, but to say something that hurtful…her words had sliced through Isa.

When tears threatened to fall, Isa quickly shoved the memory to the side, not wanting to bring down the mood.

Isa wasn't the only one to have noticed Sherri's presence and dark aura.

Nodding towards Sherri, Isabel asked. "What's her problem? She keeps glaring over here."

Isa tensed, she'd been hoping that Isabel wouldn't notice, but it turned out that she was quite perceptive. She shouldn't have expected any less, considering how observant her two friends were.

How do I go about this? I'm not really sure what to say or how to explain what happened.

Chewing at her lip, she finally said, "Well she blames me for one of our friend's deaths."

What if Isabel hears what happened and she agrees that it was my fault…I don't want her to hate me too...

Isabel moved her gaze from Sherri to Isa. "Was it your fault?" Her tone wasn't accusatory, just curious, questioning.

Isa looked down at the ground, avoiding the girl's searching eyes. "It feels like it."

"How did she die?"

Her eyes filled with tears threatening to spill over as she remembered Lucy's attempts to work the triggers of her gears, the desperation on her face when they failed, her screams as she was grabbed, her groans and cries as the titan bit down on her.

"Our first expedition, her...gear malfunctioned, and a titan grabbed her. I tried to save her…but I didn't get there in time." Isa attempted to keep her voice even, but the lump in her throat made that impossible.

Isabel's gaze turned thoughtful.

"Did you push her into the titan?"

"No."

"Did you damage her gear?"

"Of course not." She thought about the person who wrote that note, the one who did tamper with Lucy's gear.

"Then to me it doesn't sound like it was your fault."

"But I didn't get to her in time." Her voice was tense, waiting for the outburst from the girl that she expected to come.

"I think that sometimes you just can't make it in time, but that doesn't mean it's your fault. It sounds like you did your best to save her, and that's all that matters in the end." Isabel's voice was sweet and compassionate, green eyes full of empathy for Isa.

Isa threw her hands in the air, exasperated, as she shared the next bit of information that she felt had ultimately led to Lucy's death. "But it was my words that made her join this branch in the first place! For some reason, when I told her why I wanted to join the Scouts, it made her change her mind!" Her voice cracked, and she had to furiously wipe away the tears that were gathering in her eyes.

Isabel laid an empathetic hand on Isa's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze and waited until Isa's devastated eyes met hers. "I don't think a few words from someone can make a person just change their mind completely. I think it was something that was probably already in the back of her mind and you just made it stronger."

Isa sniffled. "That's what everyone keeps telling me, and I want to believe it, but why is it so hard?" She gave Isabel a helpless look. "Why can't I shake the feeling that I'm to blame?"

"Were you close with the girl that keeps glaring at us?"

"All four of us, Lucy, Sherri, Hange, and I, we were friends all throughout training."

"It sounds like you can't shake the guilt, because your friend is mad at you, and you're trying to find a reason why. Sometimes people don't have a reason." Isabel thought carefully over what her next words would be. "I think your friend is just grieving and she's trying to find someone to blame. You're just an easy target for her, because you were there."

A light went off in Isabel's head and she looked at Isa with wide eyes. "She may even blame herself because she didn't convince Lucy to join one of the other branches. Or she may blame herself for not being there."

Isa gaped at the girl as another small piece of her healed. "I…I hadn't thought of that."

An understanding, compassionate smile took over Isabel's face. "Sometimes you just need an outsider to look in and see what you can't."

Gratitude shone brightly in Isa's eyes as she looked at Isabel. "You're pretty smart you know that?"

Isabel beamed at her. "You really think that?" Her smile turned to a pout. "Levi and Furlan are always calling me an idiot."

Isa laughed. "I think that's something brothers call their sisters sometimes, from what I've heard at least. Besides, I've heard them call you that, and there's never any heat or malice behind it. It's almost more endearing. I don't think they actually think you're an idiot."

"You really think so?"

"I do."

"You're really smart too sis."

Her jaw dropped. "Sis?" Isa's eyes pricked with tears at the nickname.

"Yea, Levi's my bro, so you can be my sis. I've never had one before."

Isa's mouth opened and closed, as if struggling to find something to say. Isabel wrapped her in a big hug. "It's okay, bro isn't all that great with feelings either."

She hugged Isabel for a little longer, before pulling back. "Thanks for the new perspective. It…helped clear some things up for me."

"Of course sis, what are friends for?"

Smiling, Isa turned back to Luna to finish tacking her up.

Once they arrived at the training grounds with their horses, Flagon grouped them off, this time he paired Isa with Levi.

For some reason, Isa felt a bit more nervous at the thought of being paired with Levi than she had with Furlan.

When she met his eyes, she nodded her head, indicating for him to follow her to a clear area on the training grounds.

They found a clear patch far enough away from everyone, but still close enough that they could see their squad members. They were close to the trees, which would come in handy once they started actually flying off the horse and would need something to latch onto.

She wasn't sure where to start, so she thought she'd do the same as she did with Furlan the day before and just demonstrate for him.

"So how comfortable do you feel riding your horse?"

He shrugged. "As good as I can I guess."

She nodded. "Doing this is going to really test your balance. I'm going to demonstrate standing up in the saddle first for you, and then we'll go from there."

Hopping onto her horse, she nudged Isa into a gallop, guiding her into a big circle around where Levi stood with his horse. She could sense his calculating gaze on her, and it made her nerves jangle.

"Alright Luna, like we've done countless times now. Stay steady for me." She saw the mare's ears flicker towards her, and she knew Luna wouldn't fail her.

Taking a steady breath, she slowly removed her feet from the stirrups and placed them underneath her.

She took a few beats to make sure she was balanced, and slowly stood up in the saddle. Her arms were outstretched, and knees bent to keep her balance. The saddles the scouts used were specially designed for standing, to make sure the scout was as safe as possible when they needed to stand up and take off from their horse. There was enough danger outside the walls as is.

Standing at full height as Luna galloped beneath her, Isa couldn't help the radiant smile that took over her face. She loved this feeling of standing on top of Luna like this. It felt like flying, but it was different from flying with ODM.

There was something oddly freeing for her, standing on top of a running horse as the wind whipped across her face. The tendrils of hair that had come loose from her braid fluttering behind her.

She rode around in a few circles, simply enjoying the feeling of being, before settling herself back in the saddle. Slowing Luna down, she brought them over to where Levi was standing, the smile still ever present on her face.

Slightly breathless from the exhilaration, she met his gaze. "So, what do you think? Think you can do that?"

He nodded. "Shouldn't be an issue."

"Granted, outside the walls, you'll have to move a lot faster than I did, but for the purpose of practicing, we're going to go slow today. You can build up speed as you train."

"Anything else I should know?"

A little taken aback that he'd even asked, she thought for a second before answering. "Just, make sure you stay balanced. Being off balance in the slightest, could make you fall, which is extremely dangerous since you'll be falling from high up and you could get caught underneath your horse's hooves."

Nodding, he hopped onto his horse, and nudged him into a gallop.

Isa watched as he confidently guided his horse in the same path she had just taken. Slowly he followed the movements she'd taken, pulling his feet out of the stirrups and underneath him, and standing fully, arms out and knees, just as she'd done.

She watched in awe at how magnificent, how fierce, he looked standing on his horse with ease.

How the hell is he managing to do this so easily? I fell on my ass I don't even know how many times doing this, and I did it at a walk first. His horse is galloping. Does everything just come easily, naturally to him?

Settling himself back in his saddle, he made his way back to where Isa stood, gaping at him.

"Stop gawking."

She jolted at that, mouth snapping shut. "Sorry, it's just…how the hell? This was your first time doing that? Are you sure you've never ridden a horse before?"

"It's not like we had horses in the Underground, so no."

"I just…it's just…" Completely at a loss for words, she could only fumble.

He shrugged. "Some things just come more easily for me." He hopped down from his horse.

Shaking herself from her daze, she marched up to him. Standing this close to him, she realized that he had a few inches on her, which irked her beyond reason.

Oh you have got to be kidding me. The man is on the shorter side, and is still taller than me? How is that even fair?

She pushed the thoughts away, and did the unthinkable. She poked his shoulder, hard.

He glared at her. "Oi, what the fuck?"

She poked him again.

"Do you mind?" She thought his voice sounded a touch exasperated this time.

When she went to poke him again, he grabbed her wrist. "Stop." Now his voice held a firm command in it.

She blinked at him. "I'm sorry, I just had to see if you were real or I was dreaming all of this."

"I thought you were supposed to pinch yourself for that."

"Who knows. I just…okay, I'm sorry for that." Fully realizing what she had just done, a flush crept its way onto her cheek, only to burn even hotter when she realized how close they were.

His eyes bore down into hers as she met his, and for a second, all thought fled her mind. Swallowing, she pulled her arm from his grasp, and took a few steps back.

"Sorry about that again."

Why is my voice so breathy?

"So…since you have seemed to grasp that miraculously well, I guess we can move on to actually maneuvering off the horse."

She showed him the motions of flying off the horse, and when he copied her actions, she was no longer surprised at how quickly he grasped it.

They made their way back over to their squad, and Isa saw that Furlan and Isabel were also succeeding in maneuvering off their horses.

No wonder Erwin wanted to recruit these three. It took me a good year to get to the point where I could consistently stand up and move off of Luna without any issues. They've mastered this in a day…this is going to be interesting.

About a month had passed and Isa found herself out on the training grounds for close combat training. She abhorred these days, seeing as her fighting skills were terrible. No matter how hard she tried, she always struggled pinning opponents who were larger than her.

Today, was no different, as she found herself currently paired off with Hange. Flagon's squad had been joined by Erwin's for training.

It wasn't just her poor fighting skills that had her thrown to the ground by her opponent over and over again. Isa was having trouble focusing, her attention continuously drawn to the short, raven-haired man who was currently paired off with Derek. It was almost comical the height difference, yet, Levi never faltered, never had any issues with taking down his opponent. She had yet to see Derek make a successful pin, or even land a blow.

His movements are so fluid. Never hesitates. How can he possibly take down someone so much bigger than he? I don't understand.

Sensing Isa's distraction, Hange kicked out, connecting with Isa's side, knocking her off balance. Running full force at Isa, Hange tackled her and had Isa on her back. Pinned. Yet again.

Hange was never one to pass up a chance to embarrass her friend. Humor lined her voice as she said, "I don't blame you for being distracted Isa. He is rather attractive."

Isa's eyes narrowed as warmth spread across her face. She stood on her feet, fixing her friend in a harsh stare. Clenched teeth ground out, "I don't know what you're talking about."

The look Hange gave her said, you can't fool me.

"Whatever, let's just keep going," Isa grumbled.

As they fought, she still couldn't help herself from glancing his way, curiosity getting the better of her. She vaguely wondered if the raven strands were as silky and smooth as they looked. She recalled the way those piercing gray eyes had seared into her that first day, the way her skin had tingled. The muscles of his back and arms bunching underneath his shirt as he gracefully dodged his opponent's attacks made something clench inside her.

Hange noticed Isa's attention was elsewhere again and took full advantage of her distraction. And Isa ended up on the ground. Again. Growling in frustration Isa forced her attention back to her opponent.

What the hell am I even thinking? What is wrong with me?

Several rounds later, Isa landed on the ground again, this time face down.

Flagon called out, "Sloppy moves Isa! Go again!"

The two girls squared off again. This time, as Hange punched out, Isa grabbed her arm. The arm closest to Hange wrapped around her neck as she used her foot to kick out, sending Hange face down on the ground. Moving quick, Isa twisted Hange's arm behind her back, effectively pinning her down, though Isa knew Hange had only let her win in an attempt to get Flagon off her back.

"Better, but still sloppy. Let's try pairing you with someone else." Flagon perused the other Scouts on the training grounds. "Levi!"

Levi, who was in the middle of pinning his opponent, yet again, turned and regarded Flagon with bored eyes.

"Come over here and swap with Hange. Hange, go pair up with Derek."

Isa sputtered. "B-but sir, is that really necessary?"

There's no way I can fight him! Just look at how easily he took down Derek. And Derek is practically twice my size!

"Are you questioning a superior officer?"

"N-no sir."

Scowling, Levi slowly made his way over to where Isa stood.

"Isa, maybe you'll learn something from the Underground rat." At that, Flagon turned and walked away.

"Yes sir," she ground out, a bit annoyed at the insult Flagon had spat out. She turned to Levi who was standing, arms crossed, regarding her with that bored expression, revealing nothing. As her heart thudded in her ears, she raised her arms up in defense. Levi did the same.

Both waited for the other to make a move until finally Levi broke the silence, rolling his eyes in the process. "Are you gonna make the first move or you gonna keep standing there like you're about to shit yourself?"

Swallowing hard, she took the first swing. And realized quickly she was even more outmatched now than she'd ever been. She knew she shouldn't be surprised, given how easily and continuously he knocked Derek onto the ground.

Amazed against her better wishes, she thought, so fast, how the hell does he move so fast. She struggled to dodge the blows he sent her way. She didn't even bother trying to swing again, too focused on trying to avoid getting hit. She failed to dodge his leg as it swept hers, effectively knocking her on her ass.

Glowering as she rose and faced him again, they continued practicing. His punches and kicks landing, the adrenaline blocking the pain for the time being, but she knew the aches would only come in the morning, a reminder of this humiliation.

He knocked her off her feet, face down, arm wrenched behind her back. His voice like dark silk in her ear as she squirmed beneath him, "Tell me how someone from Mitras ended up here in the Scouts. What, get bored with Wall Sina? Thought you'd slum it with the laypeople."

Despite the shiver that ran down her spine at the feel of his breath tickling her ear, her eyes flashed. She hated that he was still so suspicious of her. Isabel and Furlan had long accepted her, but their gray-eyed friend was still wary. "You don't know anything about me. I'm surprised you'd judge someone you barely know, when that's exactly what everyone is doing to you three. Except me…and Hange."

When he released her, she rose back up, senses on edge as she met his bored gaze, and faced off against him again. She struggled to dodge the series of punches he threw her way. Several landed. Her shoulder. Her arm. A kick to her side. Moving back as he advanced on her, she did her best to avoid the round kick he sent her way.

Before she had time to process what was happening, he'd grabbed the hand she hadn't realized she was swinging his way, kicked her feet out from under her, knocking her flat on her back. Straddling her as he drew her arms up and over her head, he'd effectively pinned her. Again. Frustrated, she met his gaze.

Looking up at him, she realized something. His eyes weren't gray. Or they were, but there were hints of blue hiding deep in his eyes, and she wondered what it would take to make those flecks the dominant color in his eyes. Her eyes widened as she realized she wanted to see more of that blue.

A faint scent of mint and tea, mixed with something masculine that she could not place, engulfed her. Consumed her. Her heart fluttered and thrummed in her ears when she noted how close he was, his body practically flush against hers as he pinned her to the ground. Her body was on fire from the heat of his.

Breath hitching, she didn't understand the sudden rush that flowed through her veins. She fought against a primal instinct that urged her to lift her hips, which threw her off completely.

What the hell? Focus Isa, you're in the middle of training and just lost another fight, why are you reacting like this? What the hell is this? Focus!

As she lay beneath him, struggling to free herself from his hold, trying to understand the sensations coursing through her, a flash of light in her mind disoriented her, and the world around her faded.

She's now in a small room. The air is dank, smelling of sewer, with a staleness in it that makes it hard to take a decent breath. The aftertaste sticks to her mouth, threatening to never leave. There is a small bed against the wall, and a wardrobe across from it. No other furniture adorns the room.

On the floor, a young boy of maybe four, with warm gray eyes that hold small flecks of blue, plays alone with some faded blocks.

A woman walks in through the door, gray eyes haunted, tired, and worn from the day. When the boy looks at her, Isa can feel the affection surging through him, a warmth settling deep inside.

The woman is so beautiful, so young, her delicate features lighting up with love and joy as she looks at the child playing in the room. Her gray eyes now shine with complete adoration at the boy sitting in front of her, the devastated look completely erased from her eyes as she watches her precious child.

'Levi.' Her honeyed voice has a gentle lilt to it, full of the fondness that plays all over her face. 'Levi, my love, how's my sweet, handsome boy?'

The boy's body floods with happiness at the nickname.

'Mama play.'

Her face brightens further at her son's request, and she gives him a stunningly sweet smile. 'Of course, my love.'

She sits on the floor and plays with her little boy. Her sweet laughter at her son's imagination fills the stale air around them. With her in the room, the air seems lighter, fresher, happier.

The boy looks at his mother.

'Mama hug.'

The woman doesn't hesitate to bring her son into her warm, loving arms.

A smile so big, so beautiful, so precious spreads across his face. Love that only a child can feel, radiates from his tiny body. The gray in his eyes has been overtaken by the blue hue, filling with that childlike love. He cups her face in his tiny hands, kisses her on the cheek, and then presses his forehead against hers.

'Mama, I love you.'

A matching smile fills the woman's face, her eyes watering with joy, love, happiness.

He snuggles into his mother's comforting embrace, and with a sleepy yawn, falls into a peaceful slumber. Isa watches as a single tear falls from the woman's eyes, as she holds him closer, gently stroking his hair.

Isa can feel the love, the desire to protect and cherish, the desperate emotions only a mother can feel for her child, emanating in waves from her. It's almost too much to bear, yet too precious to look away from.

Her voice is loving and tender as she speaks her next words.

'I love you too my sweet, handsome boy. Always.'