A/N- I LIIIIIIVVVVVEEEE! (author rises from the grave)

Happy new year everyone and I'm so sorry for the long wait, but I'm back and ready to wright agin (provided I don't get any more righter's block)

Anyway, I've got news, which is not necessarily bad for you but sad for me.

No one voted on the Dragon's name!

I realized I messed up pretty bad with the poles but no one even wrote in a suggestion in the comments. In fact I have only received one comment over the corse of this story.

I know people are reading my story and I have a few favs and followers, which is more then enough for me, but this is my fist published story and I literally have no idea if I'm actually doing a good job of righting this or not.

All I'm asking for is a little impute, am I doing well or not, please.

Anyway, now that my mental breakdown is over, here's the next chapter.

As always, happy reading.

Wings of Freedom

Chapter 10

Roy sat atop a branch, high up in one of the giant trees that grew in large clumps, scattered across the land.

The Rider breathed in the fresh evening air, blowing through the trees, the sounds and smells it carried invoking memories of happier times. The forest of giant trees reminded Roy of the Elven kingdom, which he had visited during training "it can be so peaceful here at times…but at others…" he trailed off as a roar filled the air, accompanied by a bright light and a wave of heat and rage.

Roy looked to the ground as his enraged Dragon, turned any and all Titans in sight to ash "…it can be the most insane place you've ever seen" he finished as he felt Thalia's rage at their continued failure to locate the egg, wash over him and he tried his best to let it just slide off him like water, as he had been since getting here, but it was getting harder as time went. He was just glad they weren't anywhere near their bass, or was it their home now? Roy didn't really know. It certainly didn't feel like a home to him.

Roy sighed as another wave of light and heat, washed against his face. He had tried to calm his Dragon, but all the pain and anguish she had been bottling up had finally boiled over. As it was he couldn't even touch her mind without having to pry away the image of the lost egg, which was all he saw when attempting to contact her.

In the end, Roy knew the only thing he could do was sit and wait for his Dragon to ether cool off or burn out, and with Thalia, the latter was more likely, meaning Roy was probably going to be stuck up in this tree for a while. They might not even make it back before sunset.

So, knowing this, Roy settled in for a long wait as he pulled some provisions out of his pack. He froze though, as he felt an odd sensation, like a magnet repelling another. Confused, Roy probed the spot in his pack with his mind and felt magic within "what?" He questioned before casting a spell to identify the magic "Vanyalí thorta onr ilumëo" he spoke the spell which roughly translated to "Magic speak your truth". It was a little rough, but Roy wasn't perfectly fluent in the Ancient Language like most other Riders.

It was enough though, and Roy immediately recognized the magic as a combination of illusion and magnetism, to hide whatever was in there while holding it in place, but the Rider also noticed that the spell was relatively weak and was fading. By Roy's estaminet, it would dissipate within a day at most, revealing what was hidden.

Roy was very confused and concerned. For all he knew, one of the Forsworn might have slipped whatever this was into his pack so they could track him or worse. And so, Roy braced himself as he spoke another incantation to dispel the magic and there was a small pop and discharge of magic like static and something metallic fell into Roy's hand. The Rider retracted his hand to find he was holding a silver circlet, forged in a pattern like interwoven vines, with a sapphire in the center that glowed with power, and a few sapphire Dragon scales were melded to it with magic.

Roy stared at the circlet for a long moment before he felt something wet, dripping on his lap "Ari…you sly fox…when did you find the time to slip this in my pack during the fall?" Roy said with a broken voice as tears began to fall "I guess we both knew you weren't coming back from that fight…not after you lost Vorlin to that monster that chased us here, but still…" he trailed off and gripped the circlet tightly with one hand, while the other traveled to his silver eye, as memories he had long been surprising, of a beautiful young elven girl and her young silver dragon with sapphire scales on the tip of his tail and the edges of his wings, forced their way to the forefront of his mind "I guess thanks for buying us time to escape. I only wish you could have…" he trailed off again.

Roy couldn't take it anymore. He had been trying to hold strong for his Dragon, but now, with Thalia in the depths of her grief and with Roy not only feeling every bit of it, but also finally having time to process everything and with the discovery of this circlet which meant so much to the only one he could have loved a much as his Dragon…

Roy simply couldn't hold it in anymore…the loss of his home, his friends, his mentors, the love of his life…the closest thing to a family he'd ever known…it was just too much to hold in anymore and he began to sob before screaming to the heavens in harmony with his Dragon as all the grief he had been holding in for his partner's sake, mingled with that of his Dragon and came spilling out.

Elsewhere, another, much younger Dragon, paused and looked out at the horizon, thinking for the thousandth time that she heard something out there. But she brushed it off with a shake of her head and resumed her trek back to the cave where she and the partner-of-her-heart-and-mind resided with their friends.

The two week old dragon trotted along and gave low growl to a Titan that was reaching up toward the cave and gave it a quick slice to the Achilles' tendon and backed up quickly as it fell before pouncing on its nape and clawing at it until the Titan stopped moving and began to evaporate.

The young dragon gave a satisfied snort before hopping off the Titan, away from the cave to give her some distance, then she flared her wings out and drove them down as she hopped back up towards the cave.

The Dragon felt more then a little pride at how well she could fly now and her joy only grew as she crested the ledge of the cave and saw her Rider standing there waiting for her with a smile on his face. The smile disappeared though as the Dragon gave a muffled but happy roar and he felt the emotions coming off her "don't you dare" he warned but the Dragon ignored him and charged at him "no, no, no, no!" Eren yelped as he attempted to jump out of the way, but the Dragon flared her wings out, catching him and pulling him under her as she tackled him.

Eren groaned from under his Dragon and his groan only deepened as he heard historical laughter from deeper in the cave. His Dragon's tendency to tackle him was quickly becoming a common Occurrence, much to Eren's chagrin.

Fortunately, it appeared the Dragon wasn't in the mood to pin her Rider down for that long, this time and got up off Eren, who rose to his feet with a pained groan and he placed his hands on his back as he stretched, earning an audible pop from his spine as he gave a sigh of relief.

Eren then looked to his Dragon with an irritated glare as she snickered at him "yah, yah, laugh it up" he said as he stretched some more if she gets any bigger, she gonna start crushing me Eren though with worry at how quickly she had been growing. Only two weeks old and she was already the size of a German Shepard, and Eren didn't know when she would stop.

Eren shook himself free from his thoughts as he heard more laughing and his irritated features softened when he turned and saw Armin, hobbling towards him on a makeshift crutch. The blond was recovering well from the fall into the ravine and the fallowing infection. His arm and leg were still in splints, but he was able to get around with help now and he no longer looked anemic and sleep deprived.

Eren hid the guilty expression that tried to show it's self in his face at the sight of Armin hobbling up to him "well I'm glad you find me being crushed so funny" he scoffed, trying to act normal.

Armin grew a slightly distant look in his eyes. He knew Eren and Mikasa still blamed themselves for what happened to him and it killed him to see his friends going out of there way so much to help him, but as it stood, he couldn't really refuse their aid until he had recovered more and so, like Eren, he too attempted to act normal "I'm sorry, but it's kind of hard not to laugh" he replied as the Dragon walked up to him and whimpered a little as she sniffed Armin's hurt leg and walked to his other side and offered to support him.

Armin smiled down at the Dragon as he shifted his crutch to his other hand and leaned against the Dragon "thanks" he said and the Dragon purred in response, though it was miffed slightly.

Mikasa walked in with a basket in her arms "glad to see your back" Mikasa greeted the Dragon, who responded with a hum as Mikasa walked in front of her and held the basket out "so how was your trip this time?" she asked and the Dragon held her snout over the basket and opened her mouth, letting several rabbits and fish, fall into the basket "your getting better at hunting" Eren complimented his Dragon as he looked over her catch and she gave a small, triumphant roar.

Everyone smiled at the Dragon as Mikasa took the food to their makeshift kitchen to clean and prepare it to eat. Meanwhile, Armin hobbled up to the mouth of the cave with help from Eren and his Dragon, and he gazed out at the open fields "I still can't believe we've survived out here this long" Armin mused as he watched the Titans wander towards Wall Rose "I know what you mean. A hundred years and the Scouts never managed to expand beyond the Wall, but here we are, a few kids, surviving in Titan territory" Eren commented with a combination of pride and concern in his voice.

Eren might have been proud and thickheaded, but he wasn't stupid. He knew the only reason they were alive was because they found that egg and it hatched for him, and even then, it had been nothing but starvation, injury and PTSD, up to this point.

Admittedly they were better off now, but Eren had developed a pessimism that bordered on paranoid, after everything he'd been through leading up to this point, and he knew they were far from out in the clear yet. They still had miles of Titan territory to negotiate before they were safe, and Eren suspected their problems wouldn't end there.

Eren sighed as he shook himself free of the dreary thought. In spite of his newly acquired pessimism, he couldn't help but feel pride in what they had accomplished, both in surviving and discovering the Dragon. And so he smiled as he looked out at the field, then out at Wall Rose we'll get there eventually. I know it Eren thought with determination before turning and going back inside to help Mikasa.

A fire crawled in the mouth of the cave as Eren and his friends sat around it and watched the sunset.

Eren gave a burp as he finished off his food and stroked the scales of his Dragon, curled up next to him. Eren then gave a content sigh "it's so nice not to be starving anymore" he commenting, earning a chuckle from Armin "yah, no more going hungry and no more running for our live every night and having nightmares during the day" he mused as he leaned back and leaned on his good arm.

Eren hummed in agreement as he gazed out at Wall Rose again but his face fell a little "hay, what's wrong?" Mikasa asked, taking notice "oh, what?…it's nothing" Eren tried to play it off but Mikasa just frowned "Eren" she repeated with a slight edge to her voice and, to Eren's surprise, his Dragon gave him a low growl in support of Mikasa, encouraging him to come clean.

Eren gave a frustrated sigh "alright, it's just…well I've been thinking about if-…when we get to Wall Rose…what do we do about her?" He asked while looking to his Dragon, who folded her ears back upon hearing his concern was for her.

Armin hummed as he thought it over "yah, I see what you mean. There's no telling how the government will react to her" he admitted as he thought over their dilemma.

Mikasa was silent as she pondered everything. She had grown surprisingly close to the Dragon, in spite of how their relationship started and she knew if anything happened to her, then Eren would suffer from it too "I'm sure we'll figure something out. After all, we've survived out here for this long and that's suppose to be impossible" she said, trying to sound encroaching and, though he was hesitant, Eren smiled in response "thanks Mikasa" he said and looked out at the field as that old fire, burned to life in his eyes again "I don't know how we're going to make it to Wall Rose or what happens after…but when we do make it, I'm going to find a way to fight back and make the Titans pay for what they've done" he said with determination.

Everyone was silent for a long moment after Eren's proclamation, when Armin suddenly blurted our "I'm going with you!" and Eren looked at him is shock "Armin!? Come on, we both know your life is in books, you don't have to throw away doing what you love to-"

"I know that!" Armin interrupted Eren and tears began to build in his eyes "I know I'm not suited to fighting like you and Mikasa and there's no guarantee that I'll fully recover from this…" he said while looking down at his arm and leg "but…but after what happened to grandpa and everything we've been through…" he said before looking back out at the Titans wandering around, and a fire lit in his eyes that Eren had never seen in his friend before "I know I probably don't stand a chance, but after everything we've been through…I refuse to live in fear of these things!" He said with a determination that shocked Eren.

Eren had never seen his friend like this before. It was so unlike him. But then Eren started to remember how Armin had reacted to everything after Wall Maria fell and their boat was smashed. In all his grief and with how sleep deprived he was, Eren hadn't noticed how much Armin had suffered then.

Eren began to feel even more guilt as he realized that Armin had been scared and changed by what had happened, and he hadn't even noticed.

Eren clinched his fists as he berated himself for his stupidity and tried to form a response to Armin's proclamation, but Mikasa beat him too it "I'm going with you too" she said and Eren turned to her "oh come on, not you too. None of you need to die following me" he said but Mikasa just looked at him with that emotionless stare of her's "wherever you go Eren, I go" she stated.

Eren groaned as he tried to come up with a counter argument, but his Dragon growled at him and batted him with her head, earning his attention, and as he looked into her eyes, he understood what she was trying to convey.

He wasn't getting out of this.

"Eren" Armin called, earning his friends attention and he looked up to see Armin with that same determination to in his eyes but he also had a smile on his face "your not going anywhere without us…and besides, we made a promise didn't we?" He asked and Eren gasped a little as he remembered it. Their promise to go beyond the wall see the world for themselves.

Eren just sat there for a moment, starring at Armin and that fire that burned within him and he briefly wandered if this was what it was like to deal with him. Eren then looked between his friends and his Dragon and finally gave a sigh of defeat "ok, we're in this together then" he said and the others smiled at him "right" Armin said and gave a nod.

Armin's expression changed though as he looked at the Dragon "ok, but seriously, you need to come up with a name for her" he deadpanned and Eren gave an exasperated groan while the Dragon gave a short of snicker.

Eren looked down at his Dragon and saw a look in her eyes as she raised her tail in preparation to smack him over the head, almost like she was daring him to try.

Eren frowned as he looked his Dragon over, as if it might give him some kind of clue as to what the Dragon might respond to. Eren's eyes widened slightly though as he looked over her scales and got and idea. She probably would shoot it down, but he had a good feeling about this one "how about…" he started and winced as she lifted her tail higher in preparation "Scarlett" he said and squeezed his eyes shut as her tail suddenly moved towards him.

But it never hit, and Eren opened one eye with confusion before looking to the Dragon and she had lowered her tail and was looking down with a contemplative expression and emotions. Then Eren's eyes widened in shock as the Dragon looked up at Eren with approval in her eyes and flowing over their link.

Eren gasped and thrust his hands in the air in victory "yes! Finally!" He exclaimed and the others looked at him with surprise "she finally went with one?" Armin asked and Eren nodded happily and the now named Scarlett, gave a happy roar, causing the others to smile and laugh a little at her.

Eren smiled as he stroked Scarlett's scales and looked to his friend who would never leave his side. His family who would always be there to support him, even when he didn't want it. It was a perfect moment.

So of corse the universe decided to ruin it, with an earth shattering…

BANG!

"What the hell!?" Eren yelled as they got up and looked out of the cave, where a missive dust cloud was settling, giving way to steam and Eren's eyes widened in horror as a Titan, with long, lean arms and legs, crawled it's way out of the crater it had made and looked right at them before crouching down like a frog, getting ready to leap "it's an abnormal!" Eren exclaimed but his warning came to late as it leaped right at them, easily matching the hight of the cave.

Memories flashed through Eren's mind and in that moment he reacted. He didn't think he just reacted and shoved his friends back into the cave before his world suddenly went black and pain exploded in his left arm and leg, and the last thing he heard was Mikasa calling out his name as Scarlett let loose the loudest and most panicked roared of her life.