As time went on, Eren was getting more and more accustomed to living on a farm. Simple tasks like taking care of the animals, ploughing the fields and harvesting the crops when they were ready, didn't take much, yet felt way too rewarding. Especially now that he had a kindred spirit to spend all this time with.
"Eren!"
The boy stood up from the crops. With a straw hat on his head and a scythe in his hands, he had a very nice rustic outlook. He saw that Historia was running towards him, holding her shepherd's crook.
"Maria is in delivery!" The blonde cried out as she motioned for him to come along.
Eren smiled at the girl and started running after her. In the few months that they had spent together, the two kids have gotten really close. The boy actually thought that he had never met anyone that could understand him better than Historia.
The two ran into the pasture. The sheep looked up from the grass to see just who exactly entered the field, but upon seeing two familiar faces, they returned to their previous activity. At first, Eren didn't really like the farm animals. They had reminded him too much of his own predicament. Ignorant and weak, they couldn't even decide on the way they would die. But after spending some time with them, he started understanding that simplicity didn't necessarily require freedom. Despite that, he still preferred to spend time on the field, tending to the crops.
Finally, the two kids reached their destined target.
Maria, a young ewe was laying on the ground, trying to bear with the pain she was obviously feeling.
"I'll stay with her" Historia spoke as she crouched beside the sheep "go get some water and a few blankets."
The boy did as he was told and ran over to the nearby shed. Those sheep were a rarity among the walls, as only the mountainous terrain behind wall Sina was suited for sheep grazing. The meat was extremely valuable and ensuring a safe delivery was something crucial to all shepherds.
As Eren was carrying the bucket and a few woollen towels, he suddenly heard the sound of bleating. When he neared the patch that the ewe was occupying, two little lambs could be seen beneath her.
"It is done" Historia said happily as she took the water and wiped the little ones with a towel.
It wasn't everyday that the young boy got to see the miracle of life. There was just something beautiful in bringing another to this world. Despite being extremely tired, Maria looked content with what she had done. Well, at least as content as a sheep could be.
"Jeschua just got a brother and a sister" the blonde said as she sighed with relief.
Jeschua was a lamb from Maria's previous pregnancy. His joyful exterior always brought smile to Eren's face. Usually, he was the loudest and the most energetic of the whole flock.
But right now, for some reason, the boy couldn't hear that lamb.
"Historia" he exclaimed as he nervously looked around in search of the little fluffy bundle of joy "have you seen Jeschua anywhere?"
"No…" the girl said anxiously "oh my… He must've walked away…"
The boy sighed and grabbed his scythe.
"Come on" he said, "let's go find him."
They couldn't find the lamb anywhere on the farm. The only other place that he could've gone was the nearby forest, but it wasn't exactly safe for two children to wander around the woods all alone. However, there was little chance of finding Jeschua tomorrow, so they decided to head out into the forest.
The trees blocked off most of the sunlight. It was giving Eren an old, unique feel, like he was stepping into the dangers of the wild. After about half an hour, the two had reached a clearing.
"Well, he was definitely here" Historia exclaimed as she crouched down over a small holly, covered in little, white shreds of fur.
"BAA!" The two suddenly heard from behind a nearby shrub.
As Eren was approaching the bush, he could see that Jeschua got himself stuck in the thorny branches.
"There, there…" he said as he reached out for the lamb.
It gave him a look of a troublemaker caught in the act, yet full of gratitude. The boy slowly picked the small sheep up.
"EREN!"
The boy turned around to see that a pack of wolves was approaching him.
His heart started to beat wildly with fear. Yet, somehow, he was way more at peace than this life-threatening situation would imply. Had he seen something like this before?
He slowly retreated towards Historia, with the scythe in his hand and the lamb under his arm.
"Eren…" the girl whispered with laboured breathes "what do we do?"
"Take Jeschua" the boy said as he handed her the lamb "I'll deal with it…"
"Are you crazy?" Historia asked with fear in her eyes "they will tear you to shreds…"
Instead of responding, Eren stood in between of the approaching animals and his blonde friend. As the leader of the pack got closer, the boy held his scythe tighter.
WRROAR!
The wolf barked as he jumped towards him with killing intent. In the split second, Eren took a powerful swing and hit the jumping animal, embedding the sharp end of the blade into the wolf's side.
The animal howled in pain as it squirmed on the ground. Seeing the defeat of their leader, the rest of the pack started running away.
Breathing heavily, Eren lowered his weapon. Howls of the dying wolf filled the air.
'Historia is safe' the boy thought as he walked over to his adversary.
With one final blow to the neck, he finished off the animal.
"It's alright…" he tried to say, before the girl impacted him with a hug.
"You're stupid…" the blonde cried out between tears "how could you do something so reckless…?"
"It's either that or death" Eren replied, embracing his friend "I killed it so we could live to see the other day…"
He looked over the dead wolf. It would be such waste if he just left the carcass here.
"Take Jeschua" the boy spoke to his friend, before crouching over his prey "I'll grab my game…"
As they were walking back to the farm, he could see that the sun was already setting. When they approached the pasture, the small lamb jumped out of Historia's hands, and ran to greet his new brother and sister.
"He looks so happy" the blonde exclaimed with melancholy.
"Too bad he's going to the slaughterhouse soon…" Eren said.
The girl looked at him with furrowed brows.
"Way to kill the mood" she replied, looking at his face "haven't you just risked your life to save his?"
The boy suddenly looked deep into her eyes.
"I did it to save yours…"
The crimson painted the young girl's cheeks as she felt butterflies fill her stomach.
"…and to give you a nice coat for winter" Eren continued with a small laugh, pointing at the dead wolf on his back.
"Y-you're crazy…" Historia said while looking away, trying to hide her blush from him.
"A suicidal bastard, if you will" the boy spoke with a smile.
"Yeah…"
The children just stood there, watching the sun disappear beneath the horizon.