Wings Of Freedom

Chapter 3

"AAAAHHHH!" Eren shot awake screaming again and breathed heavily as his friends held him in place "Eren!" Mikasa called with worry as he sat there. Eren then looked around and he could tell, he hadn't even been asleep for an hour before waking up and disturbing his friends.

Eren Looked down with his baggy and tear stained eyes "damn it" he said, his voice braking a little as he ran a hand through his hair and gripped it I can't go on like this. It's not just me who's suffering from it Eren thought and looked up at his exhausted friends at this rate, I'm going to get them killed too he thought with tears still leaking from his eyes a little.

Mikasa placed a hand on Eren's shoulder "it's ok Eren, everything is going to be fine" she tried to reassure him, but Eren clenched his fist and averted his gaze "no, it's not ok. Nothing about this is ok" he said with a broken voice. His friends looked down at him with concern "Eren, I realize that things aren't looking good, but-"

"Your not getting it!" Eren cut Armin off and then looked up with sad and desperate eyes "we can't go on like this. I'm just dragging you all down and at this rate, we'll all end up dead" Eren said and Mikasa looked horrified as she could tell where he was going "you'd be better off leaving me behind" Eren confessed and his friends stood frozen in horror as they stared down at him in dead silence.

BANG!

Eren's head was suddenly thrown to the side with a groan of pain as Mikasa punched him "Mikasa!?" Armin exclaimed but froze before he could do anything, when she shot him a glare, telling him to stay out of it. Then, as Eren was recovering, Mikasa grabbed him by the shoulders and pinned him against the wall and she radiated fury as her gray eyes bored into Eren's green ones "don't you dare say anything like that" Mikasa said coldly and her arms started to trembling slightly "I promised your mom I wouldn't let you die, and I'm not about to let her down" she affirmed.

Eren was too stunned to respond at first, but then he grimaced "damn it Mikasa, I won't let my friends die because I cant hold it together!" he shot back but Mikasa tightened her grip and pushed him into the wall with more force "and I'm not letting you die! I've already lost too much!" Mikasa yelled and everything fell silent for a moment as Eren stared at her in shock. Eren then gasped slightly as he noticed a tear streak down Mikasa's face. Mikasa then locked eyes with Eren "I'm not letting anyone else I care about die" she said with dead seriousness.

Eren and Armin were both too stunned to come up with a response, Eren hadn't seen her like this since the night they first met and it really hit home how disturbed Mikasa was. Eren tried to think of something to say in response, but it wouldn't be necessary, because they were all interrupted by a sudden.

CRACK!

Everyone froze up for a moment "um, what was that?" Armin asked and his question was answered by a squeak. The three friends then slowly turned their heads to see the stone that Eren found, glistening in a ray of sunlight that was leaking in. The stone then shook on it's own and cracks started to form on it's surface as more squeaks came from inside the stone.

Mikasa let go of Eren as they all stared, mesmerized by the stone. Then, part of the stone broke and a scaly, silver paw, stuck out. Armin's tired brain finally caught up with him and he gasped "it's an egg" he blurted out, while the others continued to watch the egg shake and more cracks spider webbed it's surface.

Eren's tired mind, raced as he watched the egg brake and more paws stuck out "what would lay an egg like this?" he thought aloud. Then the egg stopped moving and everyone held their breath in suspense as a small growl emanated from inside the egg. Then the front suddenly exploded outward as a bright red, reptile with silver accents, jumped out and flailed around as it toppled over it's self and fell in the water.

Armin blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes to make sure they went playing tricks on him "what...is that thing?" he asked as they watched it flail around in the water and eventually scramble to it's feet. The kids then got a good look at the little reptile as it growled at it's egg, then started pawing the gunk off the scales around it's eyes, "it's...kind of cute" Mikasa admitted, but her assessment, though accurate, did it no justice. It's scales sparkled with a metallic sheen in what little sun leaked into the cave. They were mostly red, but it's paws, belly and spines were a stunning silver, along with it's eyes, the tip of it's tail, and the nubs on it's head that would grow into horns. There was also a line of silver running the edge of it's wings, where the bone was.

Eren blinked a few times. The creature was beautiful, and adorable "Armin, did your book say anything about this thing?" Eren asked and his friend snapped out of it as he tried to recall his book on the outside "sorry, but I can't think of anything right now" Armin admitted, his brain too sleep deprived and distracted by the creature in front of him to remember properly.

Everyone froze again as the reptile looked in there direction and squeaked at them, before waddling over and nearly tripping on it's own feet a few times. It then stopped and sat right in front of them and stared intently at Armin, like it was looking for something "what's it doing?" Mikasa asked as the reptile snorted and shook it's head before turning to Mikasa, apparently not finding what it was looking for "I'm not sure. Animals usually are afraid of Humans unless we domesticate them...Maybe since it just hatched, it's-"

Squeak!

Armin was interrupted by the little reptile. It had moved on from Mikasa, and the moment it laid eyes on Eren, it started squeaking and reared up on it's hind legs, only to fall in the water again. Eren was shocked by it's reaction to him and leaned back a little as it stood back up and walked up to him and extended it's head in his direction, like it was waiting for something. But then as Eren looked into the little reptile's eyes, he saw something. A spark of something like intelligence, and he felt compelled to reach out a meet it halfway "Eren, maybe you shouldn't-" Mikasa warning came too late, as Eren's right hand made contact with the reptile's snout and he let loose the most bloody and agonized scream of his entire life and convulsed on the ground before falling unconscious, and the last thing he heard was Mikasa yelling his name.

[Trost District]

Thalia flew high above the clouds, in the cover of the sun, so if anyone was stupid enough to look up at into It's rays, she would just look like a bird. The Dragon peered down at the city and extended her mind to look for the missing egg "any luck up there Thalia?" Roy asked his Dragon from the ground. Thalia huffed "nothing. Just more pain and regret from the people's minds" she answered.

Down on the ground, Roy mimicked his Dragon "same here" he replied. Roy was getting really frustrated. It wasn't enough that he lost his home, his friends, and now the egg. But on top of that, he was now stranded in an foreign land, and he couldn't understand a word anyone was saying. Being able to read emotions and access people's minds, did give him some wiggle room, but it didn't change the fact that Roy didn't understand any of their language.

Roy sighed as he walked down the street and extended his mind out to look for the egg one last time. Accessing the minds of all the refugees and feeling their pain and grief was starting to effect Roy and bring out his own grief, which he had been burying deep down, and the solders weren't much better. One of them was racked with grief over what had happened out at the outer wall, and all Roy was getting out of him were images of three kids and a woman trapped under a house.

Thalia sensed Roy staring to fall into depression and roared in his mind, snapping him out of it "thanks Thalia" Roy thanked his Dragon "I don't think the egg is here, and you've been in the mind of too many depressed people. Perhaps we should leave for now and search elsewhere" Thalia suggested with worry in her mental voice. Roy sighed as he tossed the pack of clothes he'd stolen to replace his torn and blooded ones, over his shoulder. He hated steeling and would have simply bought them, but as things stood, he didn't have a choice. He was just glad the chaos and disorder allowed him to move about in his current clothing without arousing suspicion "alright, I'm heading to the spot where up set me down, now but before we go, there's something I need to do" Roy told Thalia as he manipulated the minds of the guards and sneaked through the gate.

Thalia hummed as she came in for a landing "you want to help the people here" she guessed and Roy glanced back at the city "I don't need to read minds to tell their going through a famine, and with all the refugees, their headed for starvation" Roy explained and he could feel his Dragon's confliction. She wanted to go out and look for the egg, but she couldn't let these people starve "alright, but we go out and look for the egg immediately after" Thalia said with no room for argument as she landed in an area thick with trees and Roy jumped up on the saddle "I promise, no telling what might be happening to it out there" Roy said aloud as they took off.