SPECIAL OPERATIONS SQUAD

DAY 1

TIME: 1700 hours

In the rural corners of Wall Rose, everything was still. It was the peak of summer, and water hung stagnant in the air. The trees were untouched by wind, and not even the animals of the forests mustered up the will to move. Heat and humidity had taken the world by the neck, and seemed to have squeezed out all signs of life.

Reluctantly, there were eight horses that trudged through empty roads that hadn't been tread upon all day. On the saddle of each was a vagabond in a green cloak, drowning in the heat it provided. None of them dared to be the first to take it off, but desperately looked at their cohorts to start a chain reaction.

The rider bringing up the back sighed as they used their cloak to rub away the accumulating fog on their glasses. They weren't looking forward to working with soldiers that appeared more lifeless than the countless corpses they had observed in their line of work. As of now, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, but Hange Zoe pleaded for rain. Anything to wash away the dread that hung dormant in the group as they slowly but surely rode towards the upcoming village.

The leather straps of the saddle stuck unpleasantly to Sasha's legs, and this discomfort was in addition to the perpetual rumbling of her stomach. "Are we there yet?"

"Five more minutes," replied Armin, the only one of the group with the energy to respond to her desolate wonders.

Sasha pulled on the ends of her hair in endless frustration. "You said that five minutes ago."

In the front of the pack, Levi navigated his squad up their highest hill yet. They were getting closer to the village now- it was reportedly stuck in the middle of a valley, on the edge of the forest. They would stop there for a much needed break, but not long enough to completely regain their energy. They had another goal, and that was to reach their final destination before sundown.

They were headed deep into the forest for a reason. Since the Reiss cavern, Hange had been using every waking hour, it seemed, to conduct experiments on Eren's hardening technique. That had been over a week ago, now. For Eren, it seemed, every waking hour meant every hour.

The titan shifter struggled to maintain his balance on his horse as they ascended the path. He could count on both hands the amount of sleep he had gotten since Historia's coronation. So, when Mikasa asked him if he was alright from her own horse on his side, sue him if he was too distracted to hear.

"Oi, titan-head," Jean called from behind Mikasa and Eren's horses. "She asked you a question."

Eren willed his fingers to curl down, all but one, the latter of which he held in Jean's direction.

"Eren," Mikasa said again, now that she had his attention. "I said, when we stop in town, we should ask Levi to be put in charge of getting food. You need to eat more if you keep using your Titan. You're under a lot of pressure."

"I always am," Eren said, sad at how true the statement was. "This is nothing new, Mikasa. You don't need to make a big deal of it. Just do whatever Levi tells you."

Worry crossed Mikasa's visage. "Keeping you well is our first priority, Eren. Not whatever test they're planning next."

"Enough with the we," Eren spat, not taking his eyes off the road. "There is no we. Just you being freakishly parental about everything. Well, guess what? Both of my parents were eaten. So you can back off."

Jean sped his horse up so that he cantered in between the two Shiganshina kids. "Stop being such an irritable little shit and maybe be nice to the one of the few people who still put up with your garbage, Jaeger."

Eren collected a wad of spit in his mouth, and before Jean had ridden out of range, spat at him with impressive force.

"You suicidal fuck! Watch your damn back, Jaeger!"

Eren sacrificed the energy to grin as they descended down to the miniscule village Levi was leading them to, the Captain oblivious or simply uncaring about the verbal scuffle behind him after such an exhausting day that wasn't already over.

Jean's threat fell on deaf ears when they arrived to a stop at the village. Yeah, maybe Eren was being an irritable little shit. He couldn't help that everyone around him was so damn irritating. Especially Horseface. But despite their vexations, Eren couldn't collect the energy within himself to care.


Despite his lethargy, Eren managed to reach Levi first at the village so that he would be assigned a duty before Mikasa. By the time she dismounted her horse and gathered around her Captain, Eren was already off to purchase grains for the horses. Connie and Armin ended up being the ones sent to restock their food supply. Sasha was deliberately sent farthest away from any source of food, to gather miscellaneous supplies with Jean and Mikasa that they would need to fill their cabin with.

Levi had been sure to mention they would need a broom for said cabin. It was in a perfect abandoned spot, and Erwin had selected it back at HQ due to its isolated nature. Understandable, Levi thought, but the place is going to be a fucking mess if no one's lived there for so long.

It was definitely worth the seclusion. The last thing Levi needed were curious onlookers in range of Eren's titan.

One by one, the squad began to arrive back to Levi and Hange. Connie and Armin with sacks of food, Sasha with a sturdy broom, and Jean and Mikasa behind her with their bags on their back full. Lastly, Eren trudged back with the grain, taking the longest of any of them on the supply run.

Levi's brow furrowed. Kid better not be a slow ass once Hange starts doing their thing.

Still, as Levi watched Eren struggle to mount his horse, he pocketed his concern into the front of his mind. He would keep an eye on him, at least.

The Garrison on the outskirts of town let them pass without issue, and Levi noted disapprovingly that they had stripped off their cloaks from the heat, but were otherwise sterner and more professional than any small-town Garrison officer he had ever seen. No smiles littered their faces, and their hands were void of alcohol. A strange sight.

The rest of the ride was spent travelling off-road, but even in the diminishing daylight, was easy compared to some of the treks outside the walls that the Survey Corps had previously embarked on. The horses trotted leisurely, becoming more and more comfortable with the cooling air the evening brought.

By the time the squad had arrived at the cabin, the sun was just dipping below the horizon. It seemed the majority of the ride from the village was spent heading uphill, leaving the horses utterly exhausted.

"Training resumes tomorrow," Levi stated once his squad was gathered at the stable doors, having settled the horses for the night. "The trees around here are tall enough for gear. Eren, you'll be with us for the morning, then tomorrow afternoon Hange and I will take you farther up the escarpment to test your crystallizing. We're here for the week, so when we're gone, I expect all of you brats to clean this place up. There should be enough rooms in the cabin for everybody. Some might have to share. Meet outside at ten tomorrow. Got it?"

"Yes, sir!" various voices rang out through the still air, and the collection of soldiers dispersed into the cabin. Eren was silent, and Levi watched as he traipsed behind the rest of the hyperactive soldiers.

"He looks like crap," Hange offered as they caught Levi's eye lingering on the titan shifter. "I assume it's the guilt from what he learned about his father. It's eating the poor kid alive."

"Interesting way to put it," Levi mused. "There isn't much we can do. Kid's a rock in a hard place. The sooner we get Wall Maria back, the sooner he can deal with his shit."

Hange brought their hand to their chin as the back door of the cabin slammed shut. "Hmm. Perhaps that works for you, Levi. Not everyone can prolong their emotions. That boy is a ticking time bomb." Hange's eyes lit up with curiosity as an idea sparked in their mind. "Oh! It will be interesting to see how his emotional state effects his transformation."

Levi waved Hange off as he made his way to the cabin. Those damn brats better not have taken all the rooms, because no way in hell was he going to share with shitty glasses and listen to their preposterous schemes all night long.

The Captain opened the door to a face full of dust and sighed, searching for the broom Sasha had brought in. It seemed that Hange would be the least of his problems tonight.