The streets outside in the Ehrmich district bustled with life, it was another sunny and productive day for these people. Fitting for one Floch Forster who could barely contain his excitement as the doctor inspected his healing arm. If all is well, he might just be out of this place soon, the walls know he's been dying to leave. Floch wiggled his fingers to test the waters, trying to get a feel for how far he'd come along in his healing, nodding at the doctor's evaluation.
"Well cadet, you're progressing faster than I expected, the way you're going you'll be fully healed within the next week. The next session will determine if you're fit for service or not, if all goes well you should be clear for reintegration into the cadet training program." The doctor spoke before dismissing him from his office.
"About time..." Floch muttered to himself as he left.
He leaned against the windowsill in the hallway, stretching his limbs in preparation for a light workout. It wasn't much, but it beat having all of his muscles go stiff from lying around too much. The last thing he needed was to ruin his own body beyond what his injuries had. His mind raced back to his recent interaction, It was rather disappointing the way the nurse had reacted. One of the things Floch grew to hate in this world was a misguided sense of morality, the mere thought of it left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"You're so young for such a terrible crime..." She whispered under her breath. "It's not right! I... I- I have to tell them what happened." she said, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Then by all means go ahead."
Her eyes flashed with surprise.
"No point justifying myself to you, nor will I sit here and soothe your sorrows. None of it matters, go up to the MP's and tell your truth. Without proof or evidence you'll be hard-pressed to find anyone who cares, a shame isn't it? Go now, be the hero and save the day. See how far can a good conscience take you in this world."
Her brows twitched, her lips quivered, and that stern mask she donned broke with growing uncertainty. She faltered, releasing her hold on his shoulders and dropping to her knees, her palm pressed to her lips as if she were about to retch. Tears streamed freely down her face as the guilt ate at her soul, He was right. Floch couldn't help but sneer at her state. He knelt and placed his good arm on her shoulder with a firm squeeze, she looked up at him, utterly defeated.
"You said it yourself back then, remember? He had it coming! I know It's not easy to ignore, but this isn't your burden to bear. You're not to blame here, do not feel complicit or guilty." She felt ice rush through her veins at his expression, no child should look this gleeful discussing murder.
Her eyes widened in disbelief. "How could you say that when you convinced me to let you kill him..."
"You couldn't have known, it isn't your fault. I stopped lying to myself ages ago and so should you! He would have had no issues making your life a living hell so why should you care? He deserved it, every second of it." He passionately spoke.
"I-I can't...I just can't..." She covered her mouth and cried in the empty office.
"Sure you can, come, Emma. Let's go for a walk. You need to clear your mind, and so do I." The boy spoke offering her his hand.
That had been yesterday, whether she followed his advice or not mattered little to him. In the end, It's all the same.
He idly wondered how the cadets were doing back at the camp, it had been a month now since he last saw them, What were Eren and Ymir up to? How were Hannah and Franz? Was Ruth holding up well in training? Did Gordon and Sandra receive his reply? So many questions, and a lot of time on his hands to overthink them. Floch heard the sound of a twisting door knob and turned around to see Petra step out of their room and into the hall, the woman waved as she saw him.
"Morning, Floch." Petra greeted.
The redhead made her way next to him and carefully leaned against the windowsill without stressing her recovering arm.
"Morning, Miss Petra."
Floch found it confusing how such an innocent greeting made the woman's face contort with discontent.
"Please just call me Petra, I'm only eighteen years old. If you make me sound any older you'll be staying here longer okay?"
"Alright. Though, being in the survey corps must considerably age you, no?"
Petra sighed, dropping her head down. "That much is right, but merely saying It's stressful is an understatement. It's tough but it's what we have to do."
"I can only imagine what It's like."
Floch realized he's never truly experienced a traditional survey corps scouting mission, the operation to retake wall Maria was nothing short of hell on earth compared to an average expedition. By the time he attained the rank of an officer due to understaffing, they were simply doing sweeps across the interior of wall Maria to make sure the titans were exterminated. Gone were the days of mystery and suspense, when soldiers set foot outside and died in droves to establish a simple supply line, with no other grande goals in mind. He'd have said good riddance had he not been sent back here and at the height of the organization's journey at that.
A sixteen-year-old Floch, Jean, Connie, and Sasha were riding their horses through the forest, in the background, a loud thudding could be heard as it shook the earth with every step. Floch looked up behind him at the horizon to gaze at the giant form of Armin's colossal titan, thanks to Hange, they've decided to combine his titan training and their scouting into one as a way to scan for the pockets of pure titans left scattered within the wall of Maria. It felt strange, that something so gigantic and catastrophic was now fighting on their side.
Floch noticed the colossal point in a certain direction. Naturally, he decided to alert the group.
"Hey! Look! it found something!" He shouted.
"Alright, Armin! Now we're talking!" Connie yelled enthusiastically.
"Sasha, give the signal," Jean called out.
"I'm on it, signal out!" Sasha replied before launching a red flare into the air.
Floch couldn't keep his eyes away from Armin, all of that power, a god of destruction amongst mere mortals, Erwin smith should have been in there.
"You just did that thing again."
Floch blinked at her in confusion.
"Oluo pointed it out a while ago, you do this thing where you zone out and get all soft in the face while looking up at the sky," Petra explained.
"My apologies."
"I don't mind. Anyway, the corporal looks out for us most of the time. We trust one another to have each other's backs and corporal Levi is a the top of that chain."
Trust? The same trust he blindly placed in Eren? Perhaps, it was the trust he gave Jean as his secondhand man? Or was it the trust he had in his previous commander before she went on to kill her men? Floch spoke in a dry tone. "You have my utmost respect for surviving that long with an idiot like Oluo to watch your back."
"I know I constantly chew him out around you, but that doesn't mean you can lay into the guy, He's still your superior you know?" She chastised him with a hint of amusement in her voice.
"My apologies."
"Oluo can be a handful at times but don't let his appearance fool you, his obnoxious bragging is all true. Still, even under all that bravado, he's genuinely a great guy even when he's a pathetic idiot half the time." She informed him.
Floch raised a brow in question. "I suppose everyone has their way of dealing with the bad times."
Petra glanced at him from the corner of her eyes with a question in mind. "I'm curious about you, where does your deisre to join the scouts come from? You're from the old interior aren't you? Most kids your age would shit their pants and dig themselves into the ground the second they get a hint of a survey corps recruiter in their area."
Floch paused, in his mind the conversation he had with Erwin replayed itself. "As if Karanes isn't the old interior as well, heh. Though, are you genuinely interested or simply trying to reassure yourself?"
She felt surprised by his question. "It can be both."
"I'm a man of amibtion, I have a dream I share with a select few and that is to do everything in our ability to protect our lands and people, to give them all a brighter future. Even at the cost of our lives and nothing can deter me from that goal, nothing at all." He spoke solemnly.
Petra's eyes briefly widened in awe. "I have to say... That's truly admirable. If I'm honest with you we all thought you were full of shit but then you go on and pull off that stunt in the day room with the guard, I wish I still had your drive." Petra said.
"I'm sure you still have it somewhere in you."
"Maybe. Say, about your arm. You never told us how you broke it." She diverted.
"Ran out of gas while training." Floch gave her a summary.
"Ouch, I suspected it was something along those lines, Glad you're okay."
"Thanks, you?"
Petra froze as a sullen expression contorted her features. "I was stupid enough to get caught by a titan, squeezed me 'till it broke my arm too. It's only thanks to Oluo that I'm here right now, but he broke his leg while saving me as you already saw." She revealed with a nervous chuckle.
"That's tough. Still going back out there?" He asked her, her eyes widened.
Petra glanced back at him, studying his features and gazing deep into that lone amber. She sighed in return. "I'm not so sure. Hey... Keep this between us, I need it off my chest and don't exactly want to dampen the mood for the others. Okay?" She asked him.
"Go ahead, can't dampen my mood any further." He didn't have anything better to do anyway.
"Always so morbid... Where to even start? The nightmares? The morale? How devastated we all are after that expedition? We've never had so many losses like this before. As if that weren't enough, the interior's trying to shut us down.*Sigh*, It's all too much. Day by day, resigning from my duties and retreating to Karanes becomes much more appealing. Yet, here I am amid all of the confusion." She confessed, feeling the weight on her shoulders decrease.
Her shoulders sagged as she continued. "Tsk. Yeah, some good that turned out to be. I have so many responsibilities, a lot of hurdles in the way and all I've done is a vent to a kid, no offense. On certain days I'm not even sure if this cause is worth all the trouble."
Floch froze.
'...Even fodder like me has a right to decide if this cause is worth dying for.'
Her head hung low. "Pathetic is it not?"
"Everyone cracks under the pressure, It's more important that you don't give up and continue to fight. You're not indecisve, you've already made your choice by staying here, you want to continue whether you know it or not. Nothing stops you from leaving to live out the rest of your day in Karanes, but deep down in your heart you must know that it won't be worth it to leave all of this behind especially after all the sacrifices you've made." Floch said much to her shock.
Her eyebrow raised. "You know, you do not speak or act your age. I'm genuinely impressed, I suppose you're right though. I was going to bring this up to the Corporal on his next visit, but I don't think that's a good idea now." She sighed. "Thanks, Floch. I needed that." She turned to him and smiled.
"You're welcome."
"I'm going for a walk, See you around!" She bid her farewell as the woman turned to leave the hall.
Floch kept his eyes on the view outside, coincidentally stumbling upon Emma walking through the courtyard with her luggage in hand. She paused as if sensing his eyes on her and turned around to inspect the surrounding area. A few seconds later their eyes met as the boy smiled in her direction and waved, she quickly turned around and walked away much to his amusement.
"I don't get it..." He muttered under his breath.
The door to his room silently closed behind him.
"I think he was surprised by what a fool you are, Oluo." Petra ral 850 AD, to Oluo bozado after making a mockery of himself.
Several days later.
Today was the day, his arm had finally healed and the doctors signed off on his departure from the facility. Floch was bubbling with barely hidden excitement, so much so that he had trouble sleeping last night. It was finally time to resume his training and reunite with the one hundred and fourth cadets.
When he woke up, he was puzzled to find none of the veteran scouts around. Thinking nothing of it, he gathered his things and put on his cadet corps uniform, grinning as he slid his arm through the shirt. No longer was he shackled by the mortality of his flesh, his arm had finally healed past the need for a cast. He felt refreshed at the newfound freedom of movement. Before he left, Floch reached below his bed and pulled out two wrapped packages he borrowed, he placed each one underneath Oluo and Henning's pillows respectively before attaching a note next to one of them.
With that done, he made his way to the reception desk to meet his camp's physician and be on his way.
"Congratulations!"
Floch was startled by the shouting as he turned around the corner, as the shock wore down he began to feel awed at the cheers he received from the veteran scouts. There they were, all five of them waiting for him at the entrance. It felt strange being given a warm goodbye, it was among the many experiences that were buried by circumstances in his previous life.
"W-what is this?." He blurted out.
"What? You thought you could just sneak out without saying anything?" Henning spoke first as he wrapped an arm around the boy.
"I would give you parting gifts, but you took everything from me at our last game." He sorely commented.
"Good to see you're better!" Nifa spoke lightly punching his right shoulder.
"Thanks." He muttered.
"Hah! Look at him, he's all red in the face!" Henning laughed, squeezing him tightly.
"Good riddance, It was starting to get cramped in that room," Oluo spoke with a haughty tone.
Petra was taken aback "Oluo! Apologize you insensitive asshole!"
"For what? I haven't said anything wrong." He frowned.
"You're pushing it, you know that?" She sneered.
"All I'm saying is that he's nothing special." Oluo huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Then why did you come?" Rashad pointed out.
Oluo looked up at Rashad cluelessly. "Huh? It was Petra's idea, what do you mean?"
Floch chuckled, unable to suppress his laughter. The rest of the scouts looked back at him and couldn't help but laugh at Oluo's expense as well. After a few more words, the group bid their farewell to the boy as he walked outside with the Bootcamp physician to the carriage, he carefully climbed the back, reminding himself not to put too much strain on his arm. It looked like it would be a lonely journey back, not that he minded.
"Wait!" A voice suddenly shouted.
Floch and the driver of the carriage looked back to see Oluo rushing out with his crutches, Floch furrowed his brows at the sight.
"What are you doing?" The boy asked.
"Shut up brat, I just wanted to say something." Oluo barked.
"Make it snappy back there!" The physician yelled, getting a few looks from the bystanders.
"Listen, for all the shit I gave you. I just wanted to say thanks." Oluo spoke genuinely, devoid of his usual antics.
"You... didn't have to," Floch spoke slowly.
"I heard what you said to Petra, and I'm grateful for that. The scout life gets to you, you know? So much responsibility can become too much to bear. After what happened, everyone was just trying to forget. We needed any distraction we could find. Any new face that walked in through that door would have done the job, and that face happened to be yours. Well, you're not exactly the sunshine and rainbows we hoped you'd be, but you were good enough." Oluo explained, he scratched the back of his head and looked off to the side with an indecipherable emotion.
Oluo looked back at Floch and bid his farewell. "That's all, Goodluck brat."
With that said, Oluo tapped against the carriage with his crutch. Floch didn't get to say as much as a goodbye, as the carriage sped away.
By the time Oluo had made his way back to his room, it was nearly dark outside, he walked in and found everyone inside. Rashad and Nifa were playing cards by the table, Petra was sitting by the windowsill with a book in hand and Henning was sitting on his bed inspecting a bottle-shaped package. Oluo felt intrigued by the sight.
"Hey I just found this under my pillow... hold on there's a note attached... 'To cover for your loss', did the kid leave this here?" He read the note out loud and asked.
Everyone's attention was now on Henning as he tore away the packaging to reveal a bottle of alcohol, Henning felt awe-struck at the sight. He turned around and showcased the bottle with tears in his eyes. Nifa froze, suddenly feeling excited.
"The kid's after my heart, all those years of Gelgar stealing my booze have led to this moment." He choked out.
"Wonder where he got it from?" Nifa asked, gazing at the bottle with thirst in her eyes.
"Stole it from the MP's probably, but that's not our problem now is it?" Rashad grinned.
"Bah, whatever! Stole it! Bought it! It's ours now!" Henning celebrated loudly.
"You better leave some for the rest of us," Oluo demanded as he lay on his bed only to feel something press against his head.
"Huh?"
He sat up and removed his pillows only to find another bottle-shaped package, his eyes widened as Henning laughed harder. Oluo couldn't help but grin at the gift, He tossed the bottle to Henning before sinking deep into his bed.
"The more the merrier! That's it! That kid's joining squad Mike when he graduates!" Henning proclaimed, hugging the two bottles to his chest;
Oluo perked up. "And who gave you the right to decide? Squad Levi is better! And stop hugging those bottles, they'll get warm!"
"Pfft! Don't make me laugh! Who was it that caught your corporal again? Oh right! Us!" Henning pointed to his chest with a hearty laugh.
Nifa interjected, snatching a bottle from Henning. "He'll be more useful under the section commander."
"Stay out of this!" They both shouted.
"I'm an honest man, it's better than acting all tough when you're scared shitless." Jean Kirstein 850 AD.
It was an uninteresting evening for one Eren Yeager, as were the last few weeks. The training mission in Trost had been the highlight of this entire month, but that wasn't saying much. He had been bummed to learn that extensive urban training doesn't begin until their third year at the camp. A pity, since he began to grow tired of the monotony of military life. However, that was a small sacrifice he had to make to keep moving forward toward his bigger goals.
There he was now, sitting at a table in the mess hall, palm pressed against his chin and elbow propped on the table, bored and aimless for the time being. His other hand was preoccupied with poking the food with his spoon, he didn't even feel hungry enough to eat the military-grade slop they pass off as food.
"Eren, you have to eat before your food gets cold."
Eren spared the girl to his right a single glance, feeling his irritation rise. He loved Mikasa, he truly did. The only other living person in this entire world he loved as much as she was Armin, but for the life of him she just never seems to get the right idea. No matter how much he tried, she kept on babying him relentlessly. For some time after the breach of Maria it was tolerable, but as the days went on it grew to become a habit of hers that he utterly detested.
"You're not my mother Mikasa, just drop it already." He scowled, slamming his fist against the table lightly.
The suddenness of his actions startled the cadets next to him, as Armin, Sasha, Mina, Mylius, and Nack sent him questioning looks.
"No, you have to eat." She replied unflinchingly, her face stoic as ever.
"Eren, you can't expect to get stronger on an empty stomach, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow," Armin interjected, reasoning with the green-eyed boy.
Eren finally gave in. "Tsk. Fine, whatever."
Jean looked on from another table nearby with a visible scowl on his face, he envied how caring Mikasa was towards Eren. And more so angry at Eren for being so ungrateful for such a blessing. Jean found that he quite disliked Eren, everything from the foolishness which left his mouth to his beliefs and manners have made him distasteful of Yeager.
"Eat up Eren, wouldn't wanna stay a short scrawny little boy forever would you?" He jeered.
"It says a lot more about you if these scrawny legs knocked your ass down to the floor Jean." Eren fired back nonchalantly.
"He's got you there." Reiner chuckled on the other side of Jean's table.
Jean was taken aback by the insult as everyone around him laughed at his expense, He was seconds from standing up to beat the kid to a pulp before a hand grabbed him halfway through. Jean looked down to see Marco holding him, he tried to yank his arm away to no avail.
"Let go! Marco!"
"Sit down, Jean. Let's not get a repeat of last time." He told him
Jean stilled in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me, you too?!" He hissed at him accusingly.
"I meant instructor Shadis! Honest!" Marco held up both arms in the air in defense.
Jean groaned as he sat back down. "Damn him."
"But why? I think Eren is quite the upstanding guy if you get to know him well." Marco inquired.
Jean contemplated for a second, going dead in the eyes at that memory. "My reasonings are beyond your understanding, his mere existence is a blight to human decency."
The freckled boy looked puzzled, turning to Reiner for help. "What?"
"I'm not so sure either," Reiner replied.
Mikasa and Armin looked rather pleased that Eren didn't fight Jean this time around as the boy began stuffing his face with food, Mikasa hummed to herself contently before focusing on her dinner. Armin sighed and gave a small smile at the sight before resuming his discussion with the others.
"Jeez, what crawled up Yeager's ass, Nack?" Gordon leaned in from another table and whispered to the boy, nudging him with his elbow.
"Cut that shit off, it tickles," Nack growled.
"What crawled up yours?" Gordon asked with a raised brow.
A hand reached out from behind Gordon and pulled harshly on his ear, Gordon cried out in pain as Sandra pulled him back to their table. The boy rubbed his sore ear and looked back at the girl, as Franz, Hanna, Ruth, and Tom snickered.
"Ouch, what the hell Sandra?!" Gordon whined.
Sandra replied. "You know the rules, idiotic behavior is not tolerated."
"I was just asking a damned question woman!" He exclaimed incredulously.
"Irrelevant, eat your food and stop being a moron." She said with finality.
"You never do this stuff to Floch." He grumbled as he ate.
"Probably because Floch is intimidating, Gordon." Franz butted in.
"Yeah, and you're totally the opposite of who Floch is." Hannah added.
"Oh shut up you two! Don't think I'm not onto you holding hands underneath the table." Gordon grumbled.
The new couple were startled with embarrassment and quickly separated, both of them went red in the face as they stared in opposite directions. Gordon smirked at the sight, enjoying his small victory, and took another bite of food. Ruth who kept on silently watching their interactions chuckled to herself, enjoying the company.
"W-we weren't!" Franz stammered.
"Y-Yeah! We just happened to both have our hands on the bench! Don't get any silly ideas!" Hannah quickly followed.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say lovebirds." Gordon dismissed.
Sandra sighed, but ultimately cracked a smile at her friends' antics. She was always insecure about meeting new people at the boot camp, however, things turned out better than she expected. Aside from their situation with Floch, she didn't have much trouble with others. Here they were now, slowly forming a bond, and to think it all started because of that fateful journey down the mountain.
Her mind quickly raced back to Floch, it had been nearly a month and a half since she last saw him, and some time since they last exchanged letters. To say she was worried about him was an understatement, all she hoped for was that he made a swift recovery. Air pushed out of her nose as she barely suppressed a dry chuckle, she was in disbelief that she almost lost someone so precious to her like it was nothing.
That thought alone made her rethink their future together as friends, Floch wanted to go with the scouts, that much she knew. However, the same couldn't be said for her and Gordon. She wanted to stop him, to convince him to quit his delusions and steer from danger. She had enough sense to know that it would be an exercise in futility, Floch always had an uncompromising heart.
Her chest tightened at the implications of it all, they never agreed to join to pursue that kind of life. They joined so that they can all be together and better their lives in the Garrison. To think that one day they'll have to go their separate paths, to think that the worst would inevitably come. She could picture it clear as day, being on duty and receiving the grim news when she would least expect it, why did things have to change so much?
The door of the mess hall opened with an audible creak, the conditioned cadets went deathly quiet fully expecting Shadis to barge in and chew their ears out as usual. Fretful eyes were glued to the entrance to look out for the newcomer. Eventually, the door opened all the way, and none other than Floch Forster stepped inside. The redhead found himself greeted with the whispers and murmurs of the 104th cadets.
"Hey! Look who's back!" Connie called out leading Sandra and the rest of her group to snap their heads in Floch's direction.
Floch waved at him as he scanned the room for an empty seat. To which he found one right next to Ruth, He made his way towards the group, feeling annoyed at the number of eyes glued to him. Sandra and Gordon bolted from their seats and rushed towards him, they paused just a few feet away from him as the awkwardness began to settle around them.
'Damn, this is much easier when it's ink and papers.' Floch cursed inwardly.
"Well... uhh. Hey big man! back stronger than ever eh?" Gordon tried to relieve some of the awkward tension, thankfully, most of the cadets had stopped paying attention.
"As strong as I can be, how are you two holding up?" He replied.
"Quite well, welcome back, Floch." Sandra smiled.
He turned to Sandra and gave her a weak smile. "That's good to hear, hello, Sandra."
Floch frowned much to their worry. Amber eyes roamed back and forth between them both. He sighed, pulling the two teens into an unexpected embrace, much to their shock. He held the two flabbergasted cadets tightly, Gordon and Sandra looked at each other questioningly but didn't dare to ruin this moment. Seconds later Floch pulled away, keeping his hands on both of their shoulders.
"Look, I know things between us could have been better the last few months. But I missed you guys a lot, I'm just glad to see you both... and I'm sorry." He confessed.
Gordon chuckled in disbelief. "Yeah, me too man! Good to have you back! Well, that wasn't so bad! let's go sit down!" Gordon suggested as he led the two back to the table.
He was unsure how to proceed with the conversation at first, but Floch eased himself into it after seeing that Sandra and Gordon themselves were both relaxed and easygoing. He found himself deeply missing moments like these as he sat and chatted with his classmates. It was as if he was truly back to his first life, and for the first time in years, he felt like he could enjoy himself again.
"And that's about it, I know it's probably not as interesting as what you must have gone through out there in Ehrmich but it's something!" Gordon spoke.
"Sorry, what was that? I didn't catch what you said." Floch replied, snapping out of his stupor.
Gordon stiffened with shock, his shoulders sagged after realizing that he had fallen victim to Floch's short attention span. The others at the table laughed at his expense, as the crestfallen boy wallowed in shame.
"Ruth, how are you coming along in your training?" Floch turned to the redhead to ask her.
Ruth straightened up at the attention, feeling slightly nervous at being the focus of the conversation. The rest of the table was curious about the question, unaware of the arrangement the two had made a couple of weeks ago.
"W-well, I've t-took my training more seriously after we last spoke, and I've reached out for help from various other people." She replied shyly.
"I see, I'll check for myself how serious you've taken it. We'll start tomorrow, prepare yourself because there won't be mercy." Floch told her much to her dismay.
"Y-Yes, sir." She shakily replied, tears threatening to spill.
"Did she just call him sir?" Gordon spoke out.
"Shhhh, He's never been this chatty before, don't ruin this." Hannah hissed from across the table, stepping on Gordon's foot.
"Ow! Son of a-!" Gordon cried out. "Control your girlfriend man!"
The two teens went red in the face again as they looked away from everyone and fidgeted in their seats, However, Sandra wasn't paying much attention to all of that. There was something more important.
She looked lost, as she stared at Floch and Ruth. She didn't understand, did she hear wrong? Did he offer to help her train? Whereas nearly a year ago he requested that she leave? Her anger began to rise, and her blood boiled at the thought. Why? Why not her instead? What did Ruth have that she didn't? What did she have to prove to him to get the same treatment? She furrowed her brows, clutching the wooden cup in a death grip as she did her best not to cause a scene.
"Well, well, Are you seeing this Krista? He spent a month away at a hospital and he hasn't recovered from that awful haircut." A voice spoke out from behind him.
Floch turned to see Ymir and Historia standing behind him, He smirked at the brunette and replied. "You know one more jab at the hair and I'll start to think you like it."
"Tsk. That rat's nest? Hardly." She snorted.
"Hello Floch, It's great to see you've gotten better." Historia smiled kindly.
"Thank you, your maj-, Thanks Krista." He awkwardly corrected himself.
Ymir raised her brow at this, seemingly the only person to have caught the slip-up.
"Hey, why don't you two join us? This is perfect actually, You'll finally tell us what happened that day!" Tom spoke out, gaining the attention of the cadets around.
"Yeah, no. We were just leav-" Ymir rejected but got cut off halfway through.
Connie's ears perked up. "Oh! Now that I wanna hear! Floch's gonna tell the story!" He exclaimed as he stood up from his seat and walked towards Floch's table, many others followed, Ymir grimaced as the cadets surrounded her and Kirsta preventing them from leaving.
Soon enough all sorts of faces were crowded around the table, whether it was Sasha, Mina, Jean, Marco, or even Reiner and Bertholdt, all of them were now gathered for him specifically. Floch frowned, glancing towards Tom who seemed rather satisfied with himself.
"Come on then, wouldn't wanna disappoint all these people, we've been dying to know since Ymir wouldn't speak!" Tom grinned, getting some nods and approvals from those around them but not noticing the intense glare Ymir shot at him.
"I heard you guys fought a giant forest monster!"
"Forest monster? Anders said it was a titan."
"A titan out here? Are you stupid?"
"Shut up! Let us hear it from Floch." Connie interjected as everyone quieted down.
"Well.." He glanced up towards Ymir, she gave him a discrete nonverbal warning.
He nodded and closed his eyes in thought, before opening them up again and focusing on the group of people huddled around him, he locked eyes with Eren who stood directly opposite to him behind Gordon.
"I suppose it all began on that mountain..."
I've fought demons to prevent myself from making the final line "only Ymir knows", there are only so many times I can milk these 139 memes.
Anyway hello, finally back, I wanted to answer a few things from the last few reviews I received quick(these are from FFN):
1- (AJ) Floch not hating Shadis: He didn't know who derailed the train reinforcements in the port battle and was in the water bleeding out when Shadis showed up so to him Shadis stopped being a problem after they beat the shit out of him in shiganshina.
2- (Rimk10) Eren being a jokester: To my knowledge of rewatching/rereading the manga, Eren's been somewhat of a joker during his training days but became more serious after his first battle at trost (which is the idea now).
3-(Rimk10) Levi not being violent: This is simply not true, he's been violent his entire life and it didn't change when he joined the scouts, Eren's trial, the captured MP, Historia in the uprising arc, and Eren/jean in the RTS arc and so on.
4-(Rimk10) "If there's anything I hate in this world, it's little brats like you, running around the place like they have something to prove.": This dialogue bit between Floch and Levi refers to Isabel and Furlan, this fic currently takes place in 848, 4 years after Levi lost them both because they were too stubborn to let him go by himself on the expedition, they both died.
5- (Sergeant Gross) the disbanding of the SC: it's something I-
6-(Sergeant Gross) The Ymir reveal: I like to see it as an onion, with many layers. Where Ymir will start to find out more and more things down the line. hihi
7- (PM) "what's your top 5 aot characters" : Floch/Erwin/Eren(pre-139)/Zeke(pre-137)/Hange(season1-3) in that order.
8-(PM) "Is this just an alliance bashing fic?" : It's written from the POV of somebody who hated that alliance, so I would say so. If I were to write from Magath or Gabi's pov this will suddenly become an Eldia bashing fic.
Anyway, if you're reading this, thank you for your time, and have a good day/night. Goodbye!
