A/N - welp, my brain is thoroughly fried now!
This is the longest chapter I've written so far and that's before the author's note. And to top it all off I think I'm coming down with something so I've been a little looping today, so their will most likely be some spelling errors. I would like to apologize for that in advance.
Also, again this chapter gets a little graphic. just a heads up.
And finally, a thank you to the guest reviewer from the last chapter. It was only a few words but it helps immensely to know that I'm not failing miserably at righting this story, so again thank you.
Now, that's enough from me. I'm going to go down some medicine and sleep this off.
As always, happy reading!
Wings of Freedom
Chapter 11
"Whoa!" Roy yelped as he narrowly dodged a branch as Thalia flew full speed through the trees "Thalia! What the heck has gotten into you!?" He exclaimed over the high wind with a little irritation at being woken up.
After Thalia finally calmed down, they found that they were both, emotionally and physically drained, and it was already late, so they decided to rest there.
Then, Thalia suddenly woke him up with a panicked roar and slung him rather harshly over her shoulder and onto her saddle before shooting off, not even giving him time to properly orient himself.
Now the Rider was dodging branches as his Dragon raced through the forest at top speed, her mind shut off and focused solely on the image of the lost egg.
Roy dodged another branch "Thalia would you please-whoa!" He dodged another branch "just tell me-ahh!" another branch "WHAT IN THE NAME OF!-"
SLAP!
"Ahh!-son of a!-" He bit back the rest of his cures as he rubbed the new red line of irritated flash that now adorned his left cheek, with a hiss.
The agitated Rider looked at his Dragon with a scowl "Thalia, what in the name of-"
"RRRRRRRAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Roy froze as a panicked Dragon's roar, echoed out over the planes. A roar that was not Thalia's, and Roy immediately understood his Dragon's behavior and he grew a determined look as she roared in response and the Rider hunkered down as she increased her speed.
"RRRRAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Armin awoke to searing pain and the sound of Scarlett's panicked roar "EREN!" Mikasa wailed and Armin winced as he tried to organize his jumbled mind and make since of what was happening around him.
Armin tried to push himself up but nearly vomited as his, once again, broken lambs flared up again and he kept his eyes screwed shut as chaos erupted around him. Eventually the pain subsided to a manageable level and Armin used his good arm, which was now hurting as well, and pushed himself up and opened his eyes and gasped at what he saw.
Armin was on the ground, with boulders and pieces of the cave, broken and scattered around him amidst the waining hours of the day.
Armin heard more roars and the earth shook as loud thuds echoed out but Armin was still too dazed to figure out what was going on. It was then that he saw Eren's arm, sticking out from under some rubble and reached for it "Eren?" He wheezed as he coughed his lounges back into working order and grabbed Eren's hand and pulled.
Armin's eyes widened in horror as he pulled the limp hand up, only to find it wasn't connected to anything.
Armin screamed and dropped the severed appendage as he scrambled away from it, in spite of his hurt limbs. Armin then went stock still and ashen white as the memories finally came back to him of the Titan jumping at the cave and Eren pushing them out of the way, before the Titan closed it's jaws around him, severing his left arm and leg in the process.
Armin then slowly turned his head, to see the Titan stumbling around as Scarlett clung to it's face and mauled it unmercifully while roaring at it and Mikasa sat there with her ankle twisted at a painful angle with a look of complete shock and despair about her.
Armin sat there in shock for a moment before his brain finally caught up with him and he screamed at the top of his lounges as Mikasa screamed Eren's name.
Scarlett roared as she clawed and snapped wildly, any and all sense of strategy or forethought giving way to unbridled rage. Eventually she brought the Titan to the ground with it's nape facing Mikasa.
The girl stared for a moment before glancing down at a knife laying next to her. Her face then hardened over into a look of rage and madness that could strike fear into even a Dragon, as she picked up the knife and stood, in spite of her broken foot and charged the Titan with a scream of rage.
Mikasa's foot worsened under the effort but she ignored it as she drove the dull knife, deep into the Titan's nape, all the way up to her shoulder and it twitched for a moment before going limp as Scarlett continued to tear into it.
Mikasa managed you pull her arm loose and fell on her rump with a pained yell as her, now much worse foot, finally caught up with her.
Mikasa looked up at the dead Titan "EREN!" she called out and Armin finally seamed to snap out of his trance and began to hesitantly crawl over to Mikasa Eren…he can't be gone…he can't…he- Armin gasped and his train of thought stalled as he remembered the Titan eating his friend. Aside from the arm and the leg, the Titan had eaten Eren whole, that meant…
Armin's eyes widened "he might still be alive in there!" He called out and saw Mikasa flinch, but before ether of them could do anything, Scarlett pounced on the Titan's stomach with a roar and started tearing it apart, until there was a sudden burst of steam and stomach acid came spilling out and a body came spilling out with it.
Mikasa gasped upon seeing him "Eren!" She called as Scarlett roared and Mikasa stared dragging herself towards him, as her foot would no longer support her weight and Scarlett was on top of Eren in seconds, sniffing all over him in spite of the stench.
Mikasa reached Eren and went to grab him but quickly retracted her hand with a hiss as it was burned by the acid. Mikasa scowled though as she ripped some of her clothing off and began wiping off the acid "Eren! Wake up!" she called desperately but got no response from him and her fears grew.
But then Scarlett growled at him and roared right in Eren's face and he jolted awake with a yell and started coughing "Eren" Mikasa said with relief as he finished coughing and gulped down a deep breath of air.
Armin finally dragged himself up to them "Eren, are you ok?" He asked with relief but it evaporated as he saw the haunted look in Eren's eyes and he knew, Eren had been awake while in the Titan's stomach.
Eren finally blinked himself back to reality "A-Armin?…Mikasa?…" he asked in a daze as pain racked his body and he tried to process everything. Eren tried to reach up with his left hand to grip his face but was met with the sight of his bleeding stump and stared in shock for a moment before he screamed "Eren, everything's going to be ok" Armin tried to reassure him as he pushed what was left of Eren's arm, back down and out of sight as he started tying a tourniquet around it with ripped strips of his shirt.
Eren didn't hear his friend's words though as his hearing devolved into nothing but ringing and he went into shock at his lost limbs what am supposed to do now? I can't fight without my arm and leg Eren though with despair. His Dragon noticed his downward spiral and roared at him to try and bring him back, but Eren didn't hear it how am I suppose to keep my promise?…I'm useless now… Eren fell deeper into his depression as he stared off into space, ignorant of his friends trying to talk to him. Scarlett grew more panicked as her roars went unheeded and so she dove deep into his mind and felt all his depression as she tried being him back out of it but Eren just fell deeper and deeper what's the point in going on-
"RRRRRRAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Scarlett's roar was both real and inside Eren's head as she she grew close to a mental brake down upon hearing his last thoughts. The Dragon simply couldn't let her partner-of-her-heart-and-mind fall like this. She had to do something!
Just then, Scarlett felt a strange feeling in the core of her being and it surged forth as she felt inspiration and suddenly she knew what to do and her mood evened out and became more calm and collected "Eren! Come on, speak to me!" Mikasa called out in vain as they tried to reach him and with all the commotion, Armin didn't notice the sudden change in the Dragon's behavior until she calmly moved to stand over him and brought her head in close to his face.
Armin watch in confusion as he paused in addressing Eren's injuries "what's she?…" he trailed off but then gasped as her snout began to glow faintly and she hesitated for a fraction of a second before touching her snout to Eren's head and closing her eyes.
The effect was instantaneous as Eren's eyes flew wide for a moment before closing with an almost serine look and the glow spread to the rest of his body. Then Armin and Mikasa both yelped and shuffled back a little as Eren's stump of an arm and leg, glowed brighter and began to grow until he had two new limbs, unblemished, aside from a ring of metallic red around where the limbs had been severed, with a pattern similar to Scarlett's scales. Additionally, all the acid was lifted away and vanished and Eren's hair color shifted from it's natural brown, to a metallic red with a steak of silver through one of his bangs and it reflected the waining lite of the sun like metal.
The glow faded and Scarlett backed up at little as she looked down at her Rider and Armin and Mikasa just stared in shock.
A tense moment passed as they watched Eren lay there, unmoving. Then, with a gasp, Eren shot up, wide awake and unhurt "w-what the…" He said with a shaky breath but froze as he realized he was no longer in pain, and more then that, he could feel the soft grass beneath his lost limbs.
Eren hesitantly looked down to see he had a new arm and leg and wiggled his new toes as if to test if they were real. He then held up his left hand and stared at it with wide eyes for a long moment "what the hell…" he trailed off in shock for a moment but was brought out of it as someone rapped him in a hug "Eren! Your ok!" Mikasa said with a broken voice as she held him and Eren looked over at her, still too stunned by everything to formulate a response. Then he looked up at Armin, who was just staring at him wide eyed and slack jawed. Eren then looked back to his new arm "how did-"
THUD!
Everyone's train of though or in the case of Armin, the lack there of, was immediately interrupted and pulled the Dragon that saved Eren, as she collapsed and let out a shuttered whine. Eren eyes flew wide upon seeing his Dragon collapse "oh no!" He said as he got up with no difficulty and ran to her, his near suicidal train of thought from mere seconds ago, forgotten. But as soon as Eren took one step towards Scarlett, he felt an unnatural exhaustion overtake him and he fell to his hands and knees what the… he though as he tried to stand again but it was just too much for him it's like I'm being drained Eren observed as he tried to crawl over to his Dragon.
THUMP!
Eren's eyes widened oh god, please not now he thought as he turned his head to see more Titans approaching.
The others noticed the other Titans coming too "come on, we need to move!" Armin exclaimed as he tried to get up but his broken body wouldn't allow it and Mikasa wasn't much better.
Eren grimaced as he looked between his friends, his Dragon and the Titans that were slowly but surly getting closer "damn it!" Eren cursed as he forced himself to stand and walked over to pick up Armin and give him and Mikasa someone too lean on "the sun's almost down, so all we have to do is keep away from then until it's dark" Armin explained through gritted teeth to stifled his grunts of pain "wait, what about Scarlett?" Eren asked and Armin looked to the Dragon for a moment "she'll be fine until we can come back for her. The Titans don't care about her" he explained and Eren grunted in acknowledgement before casting one last glance at his Dragon "we'll come back" he promised his Dragon, who gave a weak whine.
Eren turned and started helping his friends run but something about the way his Dragon had responded, bugged him. It wasn't that she didn't want him to leave, he could feel that coming from her, but it was more like she DID want him to go. And more then that, there was a finality to it, like someone saying goodby.
As Eren pondered this, he finally noticed that his strength seamed to be returning to him with every step he took. He didn't know why that was but he counted himself lucky as he went and cast his mind back to check on his Dragon.
Eren immediately halted and stood stock still "Eren? What's wrong?" Mikasa asked with worry but Eren didn't answered as he tried desperately to pull his Dragon's fading mind back up to the surface.
Eren then gasped and looked back with horror and realization. With every step he took away from his Dragon, he had indeed gotten his strength back, but with every step away, so too did Scarlett's mind fade.
Eren may not have fulling understood everything that was going on, but he knew they were nowhere near far enough away from each other for their minds to fade from one another, and the horrible truth dawned on Eren as he realized that his Dragon was dying.
Eren took a hesitant step back, without even realizing it, causing his friends to gasp in shock and his' Dragon's panic to skyrocket "Eren! What are you doing!?" Mikasa exclaimed and Eren stood there frozen for a moment "she's dying…" he breathed and took another automatic step back towards his Dragon, ignorant of the Titans approaching "whoa, Eren you can't go back! You'll get eaten!" Armin exclaimed but Eren just seamed more determined to reach his Dragon.
Mikasa grabbed hold of Eren as she tried to hold him back "I can't leave her!" Eren yelled and his Dragon roared weakly in protest "we can't let you go back there Eren!" Armin yelped back as he too begin trying to hold his friend back, in spite of his injuries "no, I can't leave!" Eren yelled back as he struggled "Eren!" His friends yelled in protest and amidst the confusion and turmoil, Eren didn't notice the extra voice "please, just let me save her!" he yelled back "EREN!" a mental roar, accompanied that scream and Eren wince at the intense volume and mild headache it induced. Eren froze though as he realized he didn't know that voice. Not only that but he also hadn't heard it with his ears.
Eren simply stood there like a stump as his friends cast him confused looks while trying to pull him back. Eren simply couldn't shake the feeling that he recognized that voice, even though he knew he had never head it before, it just felt so familiar. The voice was feminine and would have been soft and gentle, had it not been screaming at him and it sounded a little bit like a teenager.
Eren's eyes then widened with a gasp as he slowly looked up at his Dragon, who was weakly looking back at him with desperation in her eyes "Eren" she weakly spoke again and Eren fell back as his legs went limp, taking his friends with him as they hadn't been expecting his sudden lack of resistance.
Eren simply stared at his Dragon in shock. He knew she was no mere animal, it was obvious from just being around her as long as he had, but this…this was no animal at all. This was a thinking, feeling and intelligent creature before him. It was alive. It may not have been Human, but it was a person.
Eren blinked a few times "S-Scarlett?" He asked hesitantly and he felt happiness flow off her for a moment at him finally recognizing her for what she was. But the despair that quickly fallowed made Eren's breath catch in his throat "go" Scarlett said with such sadness.
Eren felt tears streak down his face. His Dragon had just spoken her first words but they were telling him to go and leave her to die.
Eren understood the impossible decision his Dragon was making. If Eren left, then she would die, but if he stayed and helped her, then he would die. Knowing this did nothing to alleviate his anguish though as memories of everyone he's lost, come flooding back. He couldn't stand to loose anyone else, especially not his Dragon, he simply couldn't "no!" Eren yelled as he tried to get up and run to her again but his friends held him down.
Scarlett gave Eren a sad and sympathetic look but her face hardened over with rage as she heard the Titan getting closer. It was nearly on top of her now, and so with the last of her strength, she determined to go down swinging and at least buy time for her Rider as she turned her head to face the Titan with a growl. Scarlett then brought her hard back to let loose a roar.
"RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
Everyone froze upon hearing that roar, even scarlet and she looked just as surprised as everyone else. That roar was far louder then any she had made before. Scarlet then hesitantly opened her mouth see if she could replicate it, but before she could, another roar, tore though the air along with what sounded like a cannonball flying through the air and the next thing they knew, the area where the Titan once stood was enveloped by a cloud of dust as something crashed into it, sending ruble everywhere.
Everyone coughed as the dust settled "what was that?" Armin coughed out but then the air he had been so desperate for, caught in his throat as the dust settled and they stared in shock, amazement and a little fear at what was now standing on top of the Titan, emanating a feral growl.
A white and red Dragon, severally times larger then Scarlett, nearly fifteen meters long from tale to snout, was crushing the Titan beneath her own, massive weight and was growling at the Titan with such rage. But then the Dragon looked up and saw Scarlett and for the briefest of moments, there was no anger or hatred, only relief and carrying, but it passed quickly as the older Dragon turned her attention back to the Titan beneath her and let loose a roar so loud that it shook the earth.
The Dragon then leaped off the Titan and stood protectively between it and Scarlett. The Dragon then raised up her head and the kids saw a light shining in her mouth for a moment before she let loose a torrent of white flames unpon the Titan and sustained it far passed what was necessary, until all that was left was a puddle of molten rock.
The fires finally died down and all was still for a moment as Humans and young Dragon alike, both stared with wide eyes and mouths agape.
Eren was the first to snap out of it though and broke away from his friends as he ran to Scarlett. The older Dragon noticed and seamed as though it was about to intercept him, but someone speaking in a language the kids didn't understand, made the Dragon stop and look over her shoulder for a moment. A few more unrecognized words were spoken and the Dragon looked back and her eyes dilated and she calmed immensely upon seeing Scarlett and Eren embracing each other and Scarlett even seamed to growling up at the larger dragon in a protective manner.
Armin and Mikasa both stood still as stone as they continued to just stare up at the larger Dragon, completely scatterbrained. But then a Human jumped down from the Dragon's saddle and sprinted up to Scarlett as the larger Dragon moved in closer while humming in various tones to Scarlett.
The young Dragon was hesitant at first and still growled a little at then as she weakly rapped a wing around Eren, who was now, once again experiencing crippling exhaustion, he still managed to take a somewhat defensive stance though and the older Rider halted his sprinting a lifted his hands in a non-threatening manner.
They all just stared at each other for a long moment, the teen that rode the older Dragon looking between the kids and the young Dragon with amazement before looking up at his Dragon with an expression like they were having a conversation. He then looked to Eren and spoke "Eka weohnata néiat haina ono un onr skulblaka".
Everyone tensed at the nonsense that spewed forth from his mouth, but with it also came an odd sense of safety and assurance. The teen then took a breath like he was preparing for something and spoke again "I can help you and your Dragon" this time he spoke in broken German and with a bit of strain to his voice and an accent, like this was the fist time he had spoken the language.
Eren then looked to Scarlett for a moment then back at his friends. Then he looked up at the massive white Dragon, looming over them but was surprised to see all her anger gone and replaced with something else. Eren then jumped and recoiled from the white dragon a little for some reason and Scarlett growled a little, but then Eren placed a hand on her neck to calm her before turning back to the teen "ok" he called out the the older Rider and Dragon converged on them.
The Rider kneeled down and held his hands out over the young Dragon "Waíse Heill" he spoke and his hands glowed as he chanted in the Ancient Language and moved his glowing hands over Scarlett's prone form.
Meanwhile, the older Dragon was humming to Scarlett and sniffing every inch of her like a doting mother. Eventually she spoke a few mental words to her and the eyes of both Scarlett and Eren widened with surprise. Then, after a moment's hesitation, Scarlett extended her neck out and the two Dragons nuzzles each other.
It was then that the Rider took noticed of Eren's friends, still standing there in shock "you can come over you know?…we won't bite" he called over and the two seamed to snap out of it and hesitated before picking themselves up and limping towards them.
The older Dragon noticed their condition and hesitated for a moment before leaving Scarlett's side and moving over to them. The kids stiffened in response as they looked up at the Dragon nervously. The Dragon noticed and gave a huff "I will not harm you" she spoke and just like that, the kid's jaws went slack again "s-she can talk!?" Armin exclaimed with astonishment and Eren looked over at them with confusion "yah, didn't you hear her and Scarlett earlier?" He asked and they looked at him in shock "n-no" Armin stuttered.
The Rider glanced over at them for a moment and paused in his chanting "a Dragon's first words are meant for their Rider and no one else. And Thalia was only speaking to you and…Scarlett" he paused as he tried to speak the name, still having trouble with the language. He also cast a concerned glance at Scarlett though, upon hearing that she already had a name, in spite of apparently only just now finding her voice.
The Rider brushed that aside for the moment however and refocused on the Dragon while Thalia lent Armin and Mikasa a paw to sit on. Then, using her wings, "hopped" back over to the the others and landed as gently as she could before letting the two kids down.
The two kids felt incredibly small beneath Thalia as they process everything "so…they're called Dragons" Armin ventured hesitantly and Thalia bright her head down to their level "it is the closest word in your language for our kind" she said before turning her attention back to Scarlett as the Rider grimaced and lowered his hands "what happened to her?" He asked while looking at Eren.
The young Rider's eyes widened for a moment and he looked down at his hand as he remembered "I don't really know…all I know is that she healed me somehow" he explained and the older Rider looked at him with confusion for a moment before he took notice of Eren's new and unnatural hair color, and then how his left pant leg and sleeve were ripped and realization dawned on him as he reach up and traced the scar over his eye.
The older Rider then proceeded to curse in his native language while Thalia doted over Scarlett with a series of whines and hums. The Rider then looked to Eren "it's a good thing you did not leave, else your Dragon would be dead" he said and Eren clung to his Dragon tighter. The Rider then realized his mistake "I apologize, I am still not…accustomed to your tongue. Your Dragon will be fine, so long as we work fast and you remain nearby" he tried to explain.
Armin finally felt collected and confident enough to formulate proper words "who are you and what is going on?" He asked and the Rider looked over at him with his multi-colored eyes before giving a sigh "my name is Ruaidhrí Mayson, Rider of Thalia Razor Claws, but please…call me Roy" he said, again struggling with the language "as for what is happening, that is a discussion too long and complicated for this place and time" he said as he turned his attention back to Scarlett.
The three kids were a little disappointed at being kept out of the loop after everything they've been through, but at the moment they were just happy to be alive. Still, Armin had a few questions he wanted answered "ok, but happened to her and Eren?" He asked and Roy sighed "what happened was wild magic, and as for why it's hurting Scarlet…she is still too-err…young…to preform such a feat" he explained.
Earlier today, the kids might have laughed at the mention of magic, but after what they just witnessed, they were willing to believe almost anything "so, what can we do?" Eren asked and the Rider sighed as he rubbed his temples and looked to his Dragon and spoke to her in English before looking to Eren, who was looking more exhausted by the second. He then grew a reserved look for a moment before reaching into his pack and pulling out a circlet.
Thalia yelped upon seeing this and looked it over with wide eyes and the two had a silent conversation for a moment before the Dragon whined with a sad exasperation and Roy took a breath to steel his nerves "here, put this on" he said and held out the circlet. Eren looked at it with confusion for a moment "please, just take it" Roy said with a reluctance to his voice.
Eren was a little taken back by his tone but hesitantly took the circlet and put it on. The effect was instantaneous as the sapphire in the circlet glowed "whoa!" Eren yelped with surprise and gasped as he and Scarlett both shot up with a sudden surge of energy.
Roy sighed "that should give you enough energy to keep you both going until your Dragon recovers, just be sure to keep close to her" he explained but then grew a slight edge to his voice "but I expect to get that circlet back once you are recovered" he said, earning quick nod from Eren.
Roy then looked to the others "I best deal with those injuries before they get worse" he said and moved to them. Mikasa was still a little weary of him though and gave him a glare, though she made no move to stop him. The message was clear to the Rider "don't try anything funny" and the Roy smirked at her in response as he looked her foot over "I'll need to reset this before I can do anything about it" he said and Mikasa nodded as she prepared herself for the pain. Roy cast a quick spell to dull the pain before resting the bone with a quick and sickening snap. He was amazed that she didn't so much as squeak though, even with the pain dulled it would still hurt like hell. Roy then cast the healing spell again and the kids watched with amazement as the torn flesh around Mikasa's ankle, stitched it's self back together with a slight itching sensation.
Roy then turned to Armin and grimaced, to which Armin sighed "I know" he said, having more experience with being injured then he'd like. Roy offered a sympathetic smile in response as he went about resetting Armin's MANY injuries, both old and new. Setting the bones and eliciting several strained noises from Armin as he fought back the dulled pain. Thalia finally took her attention off of Scarlett for a moment as she glance at Armin "you are very brave" she complimented him for his stoic defiance of the pain that had surly been racking his body up to that point.
Armin still felt incredibly awkward, speaking with a Dragon "well, I've had my fare share of injuries lately" he said sheepishly as he tried to ignore the itchy sensation of his flesh stitching it's self together and his bones mending themselves. The relief that came with it though was more then worth it and it showed in his face. The boy then looked to Roy "my name is Armin by the way, and this and Mikasa and that's Eren" he introduced them and Roy smiled at him "it is a pleasure to meet you all" he said and Armin arched an eyebrow at him. It wasn't just his accent or his lack of experience with their language that caught his attention but also his dialect that got him. The way he spoke and oriented sentences and the phrases he used. It was just so foreign to him and it just filled Armin with more and more questions.
Armin's curiosity was banished though as he remembered something important "wait! What about the other Titans!?" He said with worry. With all the commotion and the rather dramatic appearance of Thalia and Roy, he had forgotten about them.
The Rider simply looked at him in confusion though as he paused in his healing, until Thalia made a few whining noises in his direction "oh, you reefer to those creatures" he said while looked back to where the Titans had been approaching from and the others fallowed his gaze only to gasp upon seeing them all dead and in varying states of evaporation. Thalia snorted with distain "we slew them upon arriving here" she explained and the kids felt relief at knowing the Titans were dead and the sun had long since dipped below the horizon.
Armin finally felt the itching sensation he had been feeling end and looked down and to his amazement, his injuries were fully healed and he hesitantly stood and smiled as he felt no pain "wow" he breathed as, for the first time in days, he wasn't in pain or uncomfortable "thank you" he said to Roy but then noticed the Rider looked a little tired and was rubbing his head "hay, are you ok?" He asked and Roy looked up at him "I am fine, just not that good at casting magic, so I get tired easer then most when using it" he explained before standing up and stretching his limbs and turning his attention back to Scarlett. Roy then looked back up to Thalia and had a silent conversation before looking over the area and everyone present and sighing "we have a safe place to stay. You can come with us if you wish" he said. Of corse he knew they didn't really have a choice but he felt better offering them one.
The kids looked among themselves for a moment and judging by how Eren was emoting, he was having a silent conversation with his Dragon, which surprised Roy given how young the Dragon was and how inexperienced Eren surly was. Eren then looked to Roy "well, we don't really have a choice do we" he said and Roy smiled "the fact that you four have survived out here for at least two weeks, suggests otherwise" he said, earning a surprised but happy smile from Eren.
Roy looked to Scarlett, then the others "It will be a tight fit but Thalia will carry Scarlett while we ride in the saddle" he explained and Thalia made an agitated sound at the prospect of carrying so much weight, but it disappeared when she looked to the hurt Dragon.
The kids on the other hand, wore shock expressions "wait, you mean…" Armin trailed off while looking at Thalia, then up to the sky and the others fallowed suit as realization dawned on them. Roy had to surprise the grin that came to his face.
Eren flashed back to the dream he had back when Scarlett first hatched and felt excitement for a moment as he finally understood it. But his excitement was dulled by a feeling of disappointment and he looked over to see Scarlett looking down with a slight growl and he felt jealousy of all things coming off her.
Eren then understood what had her so upset and suddenly he wasn't so excited for the flight. His first flight should be with her, no one else.
Eren looked to the others with confection. They couldn't afford to move slowly if where they were going was far away but Eren couldn't shake the guilt that welled up inside him. Roy and Thalia noticed Eren's guilty expression and Scarlett's agitated one and instantly understood, but they didn't have a choice. Scarlett was too weak to travel or be separated from Eren and it was too far to travel on foot.
And so Roy walked over to them and helped Eren to his feet "I'm sorry" he quietly said to them and Eren was surprised that he under stood what he was going through. Still, Eren reluctantly climbed atop the saddle with help from Roy before he jumped up himself.
Thalia groaned from the extra weight but it wasn't as bad as it would have been had they been older, and so she stood up, eliciting a yelp from Armin as he clung to Eren to hold himself steady and Mikasa held onto him. Eren didn't so much as react though as he couldn't help but feel how wrong that he was riding this Dragon first, even given the dire circumstances.
Eren then looked to his Dragon laying there and he made a decision. He may not be able to avoid riding this Dragon, but he could ignore it. And so he shut his eyes and did his best to ignore anything and everything around him, instead focusing solely on clinging to his weaken Dragon's mind and he immediately felt surprise radiating off her, but then gratitude "thank" Scarlett said with her still broken German and Eren smiled as she did the same as him, blocking out everything and focusing solely on him.
While Eren and his Dragon were doing this, Thalia lifted off the ground and hovered over Scarlett before coming down and grabbing her. She then drove her wings down and gained altitude, eliciting reactions of wonder and terror from Armin as they ascended and flew off to safety.
All the while, Armin couldn't help but ponder everything that had happened. First they were attacked by a Titan and nearly died. Then Eren was injured a miraculously healed, only for Scarlett to collapse. Then they were saved by this stranger and his Dragon, which also turned out to be an intelligent creature, not an animal.
Armin couldn't help but chuckle at the insanity of it all and his mind swam with questions as they were now FLYING through the sky. He still didn't fully trust Roy but they didn't really have any choice, and beside, he hadn't done anything but help them so far, and Armin was determined to get some answers once they reached their destination.
And so, as they flew off into the horizon, Roy glanced down toward Scarlett as, for the first time in moths, he felt Thalia relax and he turned his attention back to the horizon as he though we finally found her.
A/N - Just to clarify. I said earlier that underlined words would be translated from the ancient language and that will still hold true, but only during conversations. other times when the whole point is the language it's self, it will not be translated until the author's note and spells will fallow the same principle.
Now that, that's cleared up, the translations for what he said during the story.
"Eka weohnata néiat haina ono un onr skulblaka" - "I will not harm you and your Dragon"
"Waíse Heill" - "be heal"