Wings Of Freedom

Chapter 6

The sun shown down on the open plains as the grass flowed in the breeze. Birds and other small animal darted back and forth while cows and larger animals roamed calmly, with no concern for the Titans walking about them. However, among the tall grass, there was a metallic glimmer as the grass swayed and in a flash and a blur of red and silver, a poor rabbit was crunched between two powerful jaws with a panicked squeak.

The four day old Dragon let the rabbit fall to the ground so she could give a small but triumphant roar at her first successful rabbit hunt. The hatchling then grabbed the rabbit and took off towards a group of giant trees and though it payed her no mind, the Dragon gave a wondering Titan a wide berth and bounded up to a tree with a hole at it's base.

The Dragon squeezed through the small hole and into a surprisingly spacious hollow in the tree and was greeted by the smiling face of her Rider and his friends. The hatchling squeaked happily through the rabbit in her mouth and pounced at her Rider, rapping herself around his neck "wow!" Eren yelped as he fell back against the wall. The dragon had grown impossibly fast over the past few days and was now the size of a small dog.

After regaining his balance, Eren looked to the hatchling and chuckled "I missed you too" he said and the Dragon gave a happy chirp and hopped down. She then set her rabbit on the ground in front of her Rider "hay, you caught a rabbit" he said excitedly and the hatchling gave another happy but small roar.

Armin kneeled down and picked up the rabbit while petting the Dragon "nice going. It'll be nice to have something other then just fish and berries" he said but the Dragon gave him a small growl "n-not that there's anything wrong with fish" Armin stuttered nervously, but quirked an eyebrow in confusion as the hatchling gave an odd sound and Eren started chuckling "I think she was just massing with you Armin" Eren explained and Armin's eyes widened as he realized the hatchling was laughing.

Armin blinked as he stood up "this thing is way too smart to be a normal animal" he commented. Mikasa then waked over and grabbed the rabbit "I think we've already established that she isn't a normal animal" she added and the hatchling stopped and hunkered down as she moved away from Mikasa. Even after four days stuck with her in a tree, the hatchling was still scared of Mikasa and it was starting to annoy Eren.

Eren set that problem aside for the moment however and turned his attention back to his friends "so will this be enough to last us for the trip?" he asked and Armin turned to their packs and the supplies they had gathered "yah, this should last us until we reach that cave we spotted. We're just lucky that the Titans don't bother her" he answered while gesturing to the Dragon. Eren sighed as he looked out the hole in the side of the tree "I just hope it's bigger then this tree" he said and Armin nodded in agreement "yah, it is pretty cramped in here, and it's not really that safe from the Titans if one small enough to fit between the trees comes around" Armin admitted. He then looked up with worry as a creek went through the tree "and I'm not sure how much longer this tree will last. It's pretty old" he added.

Mikasa pulled the drawstring on her pack tight "it only needs to last until tonight, we'll be long gone after that" she said. Eren nodded numbly as he watched a Titan walk past "yah, just until tonight" he said as the Titan walked by and he gazed out past it at Wall Rose.

The hatchling noticed Eren's state and jumped up on his shoulders and rubbed her face against his, forcing him to smile and scratch her behind her ear "thanks" he said then paused as he gave a thoughtful hum "Karry?" he said but the hatchling huffed at him and hopped off, intentionally hitting him in the head with her tail as she did. Eren groaned while Armin chuckled a little "she shot you down again?" he said and Eren grumbled as he watched the hatchling sit with her back to him, radiating humor at his expense "I swear, finding a name she'll respond to is impossible" Eren complained as he glared at the hatchling "I'm sure you'll figure something out eventually" Armin said as he started getting his supplies in order.

Eren sighed as he started going over their supplies too. He then looked out the tree again at the distance they had to travel "one thing's for sure. No one could be as bad off as we are" Eren commented.

[Wall Maria, Several Miles From Shiganshina]

Roy lay painting on his back, atop the wall with Thalia next to him in the same condition "no one could possibly be as bad off as we are right now" The Rider wheezed as he gripped his side and clenched his bloodshot eye. Thalia whimpered next to him "how the hell did this happen? How does that thing even exist?" she moaned as she snaked her head around and started licking her wounds.

Roy groaned as he sat up "isn't it obvious. It's no coincidence that thing was right below where we killed the Shade that chased us here" Roy said as he looked out to Shiganshina "one thing's for certain though. We can't fight that thing alone, especially not me" Roy groaned in frustration as he traced the scar over his eye. Thalia growled as she eyed the scar, then looked back to Shiganshina as well "and we can't seal the breach as long as it's there" she added and Roy grimaced as he turned his attention to Wall Rose "and we can't looked for the egg if we're constantly on the lookout for those things. Which means we only have one option left" Roy finished.

Thalia fallowed his gaze "indeed. It is time" she said but rather then get up, she winced and turned back to her wounds "but first we need to recover" she admitted bitterly and Roy shared her feelings on the matter "it seams like all we've done since getting here is recover" he spat as he began healing there injuries.

[Later, With The Others]

Crickets chirped as the moon rose in the sky and was interrupted by the sound of a Titan crashing to the ground as it passed out from lack of sunlight.

Not far away, Eren watched the Titan fall from inside the tree "ok, that was the last one" he said and squeezed his way through the hole, followed by his Dragon and his friends. Eren looked around for any Titans he might have missed, while his Dragon perched on his shoulder and did the same "alright, the coast is clear" he said and Armin walked out into the open and scanned the horizon "alright, the cave is in that direction. We should be able to make it there with time to spare before the sun comes up" he said and Mikasa hefted her pack over her shoulder "let's get moving then" she said and took the lead.

The Dragon on Eren's shoulder yelped and jumped off to hide behind him, causing Eren to loose his balance a little. Eren groaned as he glared between the two this can't go on much longer he thought with frustration. It wasn't just that the Dragon didn't like being around Mikasa, but her emotions were effecting Eren too, making him somewhat afraid of Mikasa and it was was driving him crazy we're definitely sitting down and dealing with this once we get settled Eren thought as he fell in line behind Armin, with his Dragon right at his side.

After a long trek, the group finally saw their destination. A shear drop from a small plateau with a small cave, high up in the side. It was an odd brake in the monotony of the landscape, which mostly consisted of ether wide open planes or dense forests.

Yet in spite of the good news that they were nearly at their destination, Eren groaned irritably. the tension between his Dragon and Mikasa was hitting an unusual high that he hadn't seen since the Dragon first hatched. Eren suspected that Mikasa was getting tired of the Dragon freaking out around her and him reacting in kind, do to their link, which was driving him crazy as well, and in response to Eren's discomfort, the little reptile was getting more nervous around Mikasa.

Eren's eye twitched as they walked and his Dragon's emotions spilled over and his frustration fed her nerves in return. The small group was turning into a powder keg and Armin was all too aware of it and he sweated a little "come on guys, just a little bit further" he urged them onward but received only grunts of acknowledgment from the others as they bottled up their frustration please just hold out till we reach the cave Armin prayed as they continued on.

The group continued for a little while, until Armin brought them to a stop "ok, we'll have to be careful for this part" he warned as they all peered over the edge of a small ravine, that stood between them and safety.

They all lined up and on the edge and looked down as some rocks came loose and fell to the bottom "it's not as deep as i though it would be" Eren commented "it's deep enough that we probably wouldn't be able to climb back out if we fell" Armin warned before moving right, along the edge.

Armin came up on a log that bridged the gap the gap and he gave an experimental shove, to make sure it was still sturdy "ok, let's go ahead and cross" he called as he started balancing his way across, with the others in tow.

Eren practically held his breath as he tried to ignore the tension between the Dragon on his shoulder and the girl fallowing closely behind. So far they had made it half way across and that's when the log shifted "whoa!" they all yelped as they struggled to regain their balance and Mikasa grabbed Eren's shoulder to steady herself.

And that's when the powder keg went off...

The hatchling shrieked in fear as it shifted away from her, causing Eren to loose his balance and Eren, not having the time or focus to separate his emotions from her's, pulled away from Mikasa, which caused her to loose balance again and Eren to bump into Armin.

This domino effect nearly continued but Armin miraculously managed to regain his balance and grabbed Eren before he could fall and Eren in turn, managed to snap out of it and grab Mikasa while the hatchling fell off his shoulder and latched herself to the log with her claws.

Everyone stood absolutely still, aside from their heavy breathing, as they all balanced there "whoa. That was too close" Armin breathed a sigh of relief. His words were poorly time however, as he heard Mikasa growling with anger "what was that about!?" she yelled and Eren glared back at her "hay it wasn't my fault!" he yelled back "I know that, but I also know who's it is!" Mikasa seethed while glaring at the hatchling.

Eren's anger flared even higher in response as he pulled away from her and stared her down "don't you bring her into this!" he yelled and Armin paled as the log slightly shifted again "uh, guys can we talk about this later?" he hesitantly asked but his word went unheeded "she's already a part of this Eren! She nearly got us killed!' Mikasa yelled "well maybe if you hadn't gone homicidal on her right after she hatched, we wouldn't be in this situation!" Eren yelled back.

Armin felt helpless as all the stress and frustration they had been bottling up, came spilling out "guys, come on, we need to move!" he warned, but again went unheard "well what did you expect me to do!? It might have been trying to kill you for all I knew!"

"And so you just jumped in without thinking!?"

"Your one to talk!"

Eren was seething and looked like he strangle Mikasa with is bare hands but Armin looped his arms under Eren's and pulled him back"enough! We don't have time for this!" he yelled, loosing his temper too.

Everyone suddenly went still though as the log shifted "what-" Eren's words were cut short by the log falling a few feet before catching on the rocks again and he and Armin stumbled back while Mikasa and the Dragon stumbled the other way.

In that moment, all the anger and rage evaporated as Eren and Mikasa locked eyes with each other and they both knew what was about to happen.

The log fell loose "EREN!"

"MIKASA!" they both screamed as they fell into the dark shadows of the ravine.

A/N - Bump Bump Buuuum! Cliffhanger!

Sorry if this one was a little short but I haven't had the chance to wright much since my family commandeered my computer. Thank you to all who have stuck with my story so far. Please review, I really enjoy feedback so I can improve the story. Also, any Inheritance Cycle info you could send my way would be amazing.

As always, happy reading and happy holidays.