TWELVE MONTHS AFTER DEPARTING THE TREEHOUSE
The hill Morrigan sat upon was a perfect vantage point, for she could see along the wall for miles- and she felt her heart fill with an emotion she couldn't name upon seeing its unmarred surface- gate standing tall; with no titans in sight for the sun had set about two hours ago.
Her keen eyesight- honed after years of living in a dark forest allowed her to scan the top of the wall- unable to make out distinct features but able to determine a guestimate of the number of people atop it thanks to the torches that lined its perimeter. There were about thirty, all either chatting or walking along the edges, and that was the final confirmation she needed.
She'd arrive with the dawn, when she assumes their shifts would change; but for now, she would settle down against the warm side of her mount and rest, staring at those flickering lights below in slight awe.
She fully admitted that she was glad… giddy even that she had found civilization; though nervous at what it could possibly have in store. She couldn't hide that she was still shaken up by her encounter with the bandits; a small voice in the back of her head claiming that people like them would be the only thing she would find behind the walls.
But as she lay there, the horse's neck pressed to her chest as it kept her warm; and she thought about what she was feeling, she realized that she couldn't allow them to see her weak. They couldn't see her wallow in front of them, weeping in joy, or fear. It wasn't her that was going to be in fear for what they had in store for her; but they would be surprised by what she had in store for them.
She wasn't some weakling who needed saving.
She mulled over different plans as the night hours went on, the moon having just completed its cycle and nowhere to be seen- the new moons' presence- or lack thereof - was almost like fate; if she believed in that kind of thing. Her mother told her, on long nights like these she and her daughter would spend staring up at the stars; that the new moon signified new beginnings and first impressions.
She couldn't help but chuckle at the irony now.
She couldn't scale the walls and try and blend in and fInd her father herself- no she may not have ever really, you know, seen herself in the literal sense; she knew she had grey eyes and pale orange hair that got darker in the winter and sun-bleached in the summer months, but that was really about it. But from what the bandits had commented on, and the fact that she was covered in layers of dirt, grime, and gore, she knew that was completely out of the question. Especially considering she had no clue of the layout of the walls- only a general base knowledge and whatever her mother had written in her journal; something Morrigan only took out on the quietest of nights where she knew she wasn't at risk of losing it.
She knew she was facing Trost- with a river to her right running under the wall - though it was barricaded underneath by a heavy steel grate she'd never be able to get through.
She couldn't just march right up to the front gate and knock- they'd likely have her arrested and charged with lunacy, they'd never listen to her and she'd never find her father. At best she'd be left out there, worst… locked in a cell somewhere no one could hear her scream. And there was little that scared Morrigan more than being trapped. She never once took the freedom she had for granted, and she knew she would miss it once in the walls. But she knew she'd be back. After all, she still had to find her mom. Wherever the fuck she was.
So as the dark got to its deepest point, she stood up, stretching and listening to her spine pop as she prepared for the final stretch of her journey, her horse standing as well and shaking her head whimsically.
It was then that Morrigan realized that this lovely animal had stayed with her day and night for months now, loyally and without knowledgeable direction; and she hadn't even given the mare a name.
She rubbed her hands up and down the animal's neck, cooing softly and hopping upon her back, beginning their ride towards the twinkling lights of Trost.
The lights below weren't quite close enough to block out the stars above- which shone brightly without the moon, and our heroines' eyes are turned up as she speaks softly, patting the walking horses' neck lovingly.
"Calypso." She says, and the horse knickers quietly, nodding her head in agreement. It meant to hide, conceal, something the blood-streaked mare had helped her do faithfully.
"Glad you like it."
They reached the walls, to the left of the gate and pressed to it as closely as possible just as the sky began to lighten, and Morrigan noted that there were grooves in the pillars that stuck out from the walls, where the concrete naturally wore away. She'd use this to ascend the wall, standing atop the horse and giving her a loving pat between the ears. Silently promising to return for her.
She left everything on the horse, save for her pack which contained her mother's notebook and, the strange vial she had found on the beach - a time that seemed years ago, not months - both of which laid atop the hundreds of patches, family crests, and significant pieces of jewelry she could find; her knife on her hip where it always sat.
She began to climb, and upon reaching halfway- she found an opening maybe the height of her hand and twice as deep; and save for a few spiders, it was empty. She felt as though she shouldn't carry something she had no information on into the walls - not when she was pretty sure they would at least confiscate her things and question her on anything that they found, so she took the syringe with its case and stuffed it into the hole, shimmying loose a few rocks and placing them there as well before continuing on her way.
The sun was just below peeking over the horizon when she reached just shy of a couple of meters below the edge- close enough for her to hear any conversation, but far enough that no one just glancing below would be able to spot her.
"Man, the wife has been on my ass lately, saying I go out drinking with you guys too much!" A masculine voice said with a laugh, and a few others joined in; about five or six by her count. She hung there, listening to them chatter for about five or ten minutes, until her arms began to tingle with the beginnings of tiredness and the sun was about to peek above the horizon.
The voice was coming from right above her, but away, his back to her, and a break in their conversation, a lull that lasted long enough to probably seem comfortable to them is when she took advantage, her legs muscles coiling like that of a predator, before extending with all of her might and shooting her upwards; the sun coming above the edge of their world as she did; leaving her unrecognizable as anything but a swift dark shadow behind the man who was relaxing with his comrades, even while on duty.
She pushed him over onto his face with her feet, the other men staring at her appearance in shock for a beat, the scene so silent save for the sound of the wind.
But soon they sprung into action, running at the girl and shouting at her to stop where she was; and though she dodged them easily enough, those who got close enough to touch her were dealt with as non-lethally as possible.
The first man went at her with no weapon, reaching for her shoulders which she dodged easily enough, ducking down and slamming her shoulder underneath his ribs and knocking the breath out of his lungs before tossing him to the side.
The next tried to sweep under her legs, but she jumped and rolled behind him, using the same donkey-kick she had before on the bandits, except this time she hit the back of his skull with her heels, knocking the man unconscious as he landed flat on his face, the girl rolling to her feet from a flip and turning back to the advancing soldiers.
The combat "training" her mother had given her- which Morrigan before had dreaded- was now coming in handy, blocking their moves and incapacitating them with swift elbows to their necks and heads; but soon enough, after five or six men had been downed by her wild, unpredictable movements spurred by pure adrenaline.. she felt herself tiring. She could tell they were growing desperate, and angry, but what she didn't recognize what was one soldier pulled from their hip shakily, pointing it at her moving form with unsure aim as the girl fought their comrades.
The first shot was startlingly loud, causing Morrigan to jump, and a soldier to get a punch into her face, fist connecting with soft flesh as her teeth cut her lower lip; the girl spitting out blood as she glanced at the concrete the object in the soldier's hands had launched a projectile at, the surface now baring a hole with a small metal object poking out.
'What the fuck?' Was all she thought, before spurring into action. she moved onto the next stage of her plan- grabbing the blond man she had initially pushed, their scuffle having brought them down the eastern, outer side of the wall.
But before she could continue on, another shot rang out, and a hot, searing pain tore through her upper thigh, a feral screech ripping through her throat- the first sound she had uttered causing them all to hesitate- hesitate long enough to allow this new surge of rage and adrenaline to spur the girl the last few meters to the very edge with the man.
The other soldiers seemed to watch on in shock, proving Morrigan right, she felt, in how easily they must fall to Titans.
She drew her knife and the soldiers shouted in fear, but she did not draw blood- no, she sliced the ODM straps on his thighs and hips and slid the blade underneath his chest strap, the flat of it pressed between his pectorals as she then pushed him off the edge of the wall.
She heard shouts of horror, but they were cut short as they realized their comrade was not dead.
No, he stood nearly vertical, the toes of his boots gripping for dear life as the young woman teetered him off the edge of humanity.
There was a deathly silence once again, as the soldiers seemed to await her next move with bated breath.
She turned her eyes to them, staring them down as her chest heaved, the pain in her leg pulsing with every heartbeat before speaking to them in a low, questioning tone.
"Would any of you happen to know an Erwin Smith?"
The Scout Commander was visiting the Training Corps that day, sitting in a meeting room with Hange Zoë, Levi Ackermann, Dot Pyxis, and Anka and Gustav, Dots' escorts. They were discussing the progress the cadets had made thus far, the end of the year approaching- when they were interrupted by a breathless Garrison regiment officer slamming through the doors of the meeting room, eyes scanning for and finding their target.
"Commander Erwin- we have a situation in the Trost district that requires your immediate attention." The soldier panted out, and the commander stood immediately, walking over to the man and touching his shoulders firmly but not unkindly.
"What do you mean, soldier?" He asked, and they began to stutter out a response.
"There's a- there's a girl covered in blood. She scaled the walls from- from the outside. There was a fight- men weren't lost but…. incapacitated, and now she has Hannes' hanging over the edge of the wall and-and she says she won't let him go safely unless you come and speak to her." They say breathlessly, and the room goes deathly silent.
It was quiet for a moment or two as they all processed the soldiers' words, looking at them as though they were all awaiting the punchline to a joke that was executed poorly; before they realized it...wasn't coming.
All thought of courtesy was thrown aside as Erwin sprinted out the door, the others following in hot pursuit. All aside from Dot Pyxis, who leisurely arose from his seat, a curious twinkle in his eyes.
Oh, he wondered what the day would bring.
The Scout commander was visiting the Cadets' training camp, and the group deftly dodged questions they couldn't answer from the trainees, leaving on horseback and out at a dead sprint, Erwins' mind racing just as fast as his horse.
He had absolutely zero clue as to what they all had in store, but he was relieved it just wasn't Titans this time; although what it was was almost equally as worrying.
Upon reaching Trost, they switched from their horses to their ODM gear, reaching the large gaggle of troops gathered in a circle swiftly, the men slowly parting as the Scout Commander and their Garrison leader walked up, the motion taking a moment, slowly unblocking the scene in which they gawked.
A young woman- no- a teen- held Hannes' ODM chest strap with a sharp, wide dagger, his toes barely balancing on the wall as he tried not to panic, arms windmilling as he struggled not to fall as the girl held him almost vertically. His eyes were terrified, and the girl seemed thoroughly… terrifying.
The situation took a few moments to process for the incoming group.
The girl was tall, close to Erwins' own six foot two, and her thick, wavy ginger hair was slicked back to her head in what indeed appeared to be blood. Blood that stained her body wherever dirt and grime did not. She was bleeding freely from a gunshot wound on her upper thigh, though not enough to cause her to be in danger of bleeding out, the stream a trickle which told them the bullet was still inside.
The one clear, shining thing that stood out were her eyes...Steely and piercing, they were a grey that bordered on silver. They reminded him of something, something he couldn't quite remember. As did the ends of her hair, the color of which he hadn't seen in almost two decades. That. That he remembers; it's reminiscent of someone he lost far too long ago to be this young woman here.
"Which one of you is Erwin Smith?" She asked cooly, and the Commander stepped forwards.
"That is me, I am Commander Erwin Smi-" he was cut off by a snort of snarky laughter, and he paused in confusion as she looked him up and down, then back down at Hannes
"Treat your wife better." She said with a lift of her lip, very closely resembling a snarl, before tossing him towards safety, his knees hitting the ground as he shook violently. 'Kinda… sad?' The thought briefly flitted through her mind, before zoning every ounce of her attention onto Erwin and those who came with him.
The weight of her gaze was almost physical, as though she was staring straight through a person rather than at them; her focus setting the group on edge immediately as she eyed them up.
A bald man with a white mustache sent off the garrison regiment whose shift it was on that wall, carrying their K.O.'d teammates and being ordered to keep quiet about the current situation before turning his attention to the fur-clad teen. He stared at her in bemusement; like how her mother would stare at her while she drew on the walls with the charcoal sticks her mother taught her to write with as a child; like she was doing something she shouldn't but it was too damn entertaining to stop her.
Next to him was a raven-haired man with narrow eyes and a piercing glare that bore into her; an emotion she wouldn't acknowledge as unease settling upon her shoulders.
'He'd like to push me right off this wall, it seems.' She pondered, before laying her eyes on the next person, someone with a messy brown ponytail and goggles that covered their eyes, though she could see them wide with curiosity. Their mouth was agape slightly as they gawked at her, and a slight smirk came to Morrigans' lips, flashing her teeth for a moment, which caught their interest greatly.
They were all considerably shorter than her frame, aside from Erwin. She didn't realize her mother and her father were of considerable height, nor that everyone else… didn't seem to be. Her mother was at least the height Morrigan was now.
She removed her pack as she scanned them, and the short, raven-haired man drew his blades though Commander Erwin brought his hand up to stop him; and he halted immediately.
'Like a dog.' She thought bemusedly herself, exhaling slightly in something resembling a laugh, which drew a sharper glare from the petite man.
Morrigan brought out that old, leather-bound journal, and watched the blond mans' face as she did so. She was hoping to see something- a flash of recognition, shame, shock, anything. But instead she was given nothing. His face was a blank slate to her prying gaze.
She opened it and out fell the letter her mother had addressed to him so many years ago, stepping forward and drawing herself to her full height, being able to stare him in the eye as she handed the papers to him. They were an arm's width apart as he tore his eyes from hers and looked down, unfolding the pages and reading them.
She watched so many emotions cross his face, confusion dominant for the first half, and realization, agony, and grief the latter as he read of what her mother- his lover was forced to go through.
It wasn't a short letter, and it took him a few moments to read. Moments in tense silence that Hanje used to observe the new anomaly closely, while her attention was solely kept by Erwin.
Their skin was almost impossible to determine the true color- though it was likely some sort of shade of tan to white; her hair a dark burgundy stained with - yes indeed that was blood - which also covered her from head to toe, red handprints displayed across the large amount of skin that she had uncovered; wearing nothing but what could only be described as a loincloth with shorts- and a vest that covered her from midriff to collarbones. Hanges' gaze was purely from an analytical and scientific standpoint as she stared at the muscles defined along the young woman's legs and arms, muscles sinewy and strong. She had the body of a young warrior, though that was proven by those of which she had been able to take down in the scuffle, and the fact that despite a current, leaking bullet hole she was still standing tall.
"Until the Gods bring us together again.
Flora Allway
832"
Erwin whispered the last lines and as he looked up, tears were lining his eyes; but what he saw in hers was not joy, not happiness nor excitement. He didn't find what he was looking for. No, what he saw was fire. A burning rage that was unkempt and burning deep within what he now knew to be his daughters' soul.
A forest fire that unbeknownst to him, had been lit a very long time ago. A fire that he had not only started, but was about to burn him.
SMACK!
The sound resonated high up on the walls, the action being too swift and sudden for anyone to predict, and Erwins' head snapped to the left, his cheek beginning to brighten in the shape of a handprint; no soldier able to react before the teen spoke; her voice projecting, yet almost quiet; a thin facade of calm wrapped around the rage she could feel bubbling under her skin at finally having him in front of her.
He did not respond, his hand going back up to stop his friends from stepping in as the girl stepped forwards again; and as he straightened, she slapped him again, across the other cheek now as his head whipped, and before the other soldiers could step in she started to speak, taking a step back.
"My name is Morrigan Allaway, and seventeen years ago you and your comrades left my mother, Flora Allaway, to die in the wood with no way to get back home." Her voice was a strong steady, low tone; though near a whisper, each word forced through clenched teeth, she knew they could hear her, even with the wind whipping about them as high up as they were; her eyes pricking from either the wind force or her emotions, she'd never tell.
"Commander Erwin Smith? I hope you're happy with your promotion, really. But please know that I truly couldn't care less about your status. Because that is not why I arrived here today." Her words were even, and all of the individual squad leaders' eyes widened further; if that was even possible at this point.
She continued, never breaking his gaze as she raised her voice, ignoring the way it cracked in the beginning, giving away her true emotions; if just for a moment.
"You left her in a forest full of titans and you let her have your fucking baby alone there! Alone!" Her voice rose higher as she stepped closer and closer to Erwin again, until she was stabbing a pointed, sharp-nailed finger into his chest; and the group behind the commander shared a shocked look amongst themselves, Erwin never having mentioned any lovers, past, present, or really any that he saw having in the future. This information was new and startling.
"She has to be lying-" Levi began, stepping forward before Dot raised his hand; silencing the man.
"She's not." The man said, and Levi could see the recognition in the Garrison regiment commanders'' eyes as he watched the woman.
"She has his eyes and is just….as much of a fight as her mother was." The man said solemnly, and Levi felt his heart beat in his throat as he watched the scene unfold in shock.
So this was Erwins' daughter?
" And now I have no idea where the hell she is!"
She was shouting now, her words laced with rage as the past year of hell she had endured finally caught up with her; the rage and pain and hate she'd kept at bay finally boiling over and escaping in any way it could find. It was a beat before she could regain her composure, her next words forced but even; a thin layer of ice over a simmering pot.
"I came to tell you that."
"And that I wish you were the one that was left there to fucking rot." She spat the last words at him, and save for the wind around them it was deathly silent; the entire group staring at her in shock as she glared at the man she'd waited damn near 17 years to confront.
She heard an inhalation of surprise when after a beat, the man dropped to his knees in front of her, taking her hands in his own which she nearly tore away in either shock or disgust- but she didn't - and they all saw his shoulders begin to shake as he began to sob quietly, tears running down his face as he released the emotions he'd never been able to acknowledge before now.
"I didn't know, I didn't know… I didn't know… I'm so sorry." He whispered, his voice thick with emotion; and she could feel his tears soaking her hands. Tears of her own started to fall, leaving tracks through the grime on her face which stayed stoic, staring not at Erwin- but were closed, not wanting to acknowledge the emotional scene. Not knowing how to process it.
They sat there for a solid amount of time as Erwin begged for her forgiveness and she stood there unmoving, like a gruesome statue, a tribute to someone he thought long gone; the others staying silent out of respect, until Levi turned to the southeast, hand over his eyes to block the sun.
"We have company. Titans." He said, and a shiver ran up Morrigans' spine, out of both embarrassment at being seen in such a state, and shock. It was like she'd forgotten what world they lived in, just for a moment though. It was almost peaceful.
She tore her hands from Erwins' grasp and the others were immediately on guard; save for the bald man and Erwin himself; who straightened as and turned towards where Levi had stated, seeing three to four, six to eight-meter titans advancing quickly. Morrigan shook herself off and wiped her eyes quickly while they focused upon the incoming threat.
Morrigan reached into her pack and grabbed the only strip of fur in there- her long, four foxtail length scarf, and wrapped it around her wound, covering it and typing it tightly with a hiss.
"Too fast for the cannons." Erwin said irritably, and the black-haired man "tsk"ed, sighing. "Do you want me to-"
He was cut off by a flash of burgundy stained fur and skin as the teen- Morrigan leapt past him and jumped off the wall backwards, shooting Levi a smirk and a two-finger salute which caused all of them to shout and follow her, staring past the edge and watching as she ran down the side of the wall. They could spot her horse down there as well; knickering in greeting as the girl landed beside her.
"She doesn't have ODM gear on." Dot Pyxis pointed out the obvious, and they all watched in terror as a titan approached the girl-and fast.
The first- and tallest of the titans was about to reach the walls when the teen jumped from them, having jumped over her horse to retrieve her last remaining blades from her side before climbing back up, reaching a vantage point that she could use to leap from; disarming the first titan in such quick order that the Scouts above watched in stunned, shocked silence.
They watched as the almost- seventeen-year-old took out the frustration she felt over crying in front of them the way she had promised to herself she wouldn't; this display of raw rage and power her way of erasing the events that had just happened from her mind. Three of the four titans being not only incapacitated; but absolutely demolished. It was a few moments before Levi himself swung into action, felling the last one before it could reach the teen, and snagging her from the ground, and zipping both he and Morrigan to the top of the wall via his ODM gear; something she physically struggles against greatly.
"Do you have a deathwish?" The raven-haired man shouted at her, pushing her off of him and getting in her face- well, as close as he could while being a whole head shorter than she.
"...Who are you?" She asks, blinking while staring into his eyes, her expression flat and emotionless. It was easy, though as she stared at his features longer, something bubbled up in her lower stomach that she was unable to name; and therefore ignored.
"Commander Corporal Levi Ackermann." He said through his teeth, staring at her with intense disdain. Not for who she was, but for… how she was. She smelled disgusting, caked in mud and blood and Gods knew what else, she was quite literally his absolute nightmare woman, though he wasn't going to even hint at that.
His tone surprised her, and she cocked a brow, getting closer to him, stepping forwards, and to the others' shock- Levi stepped back. She took two more steps, advancing on him and leaning down to help him try and intimidate her.
"With all due respect, of which there is none; I have spent the last year wandering this godforsaken place. By. My. Self. I have spent seventeen years waiting to find these stupid fucking walls and the cowards behind them. So don't you dare try and tell me what I can or cannot do." She said, through her own gritted teeth, before brushing past him quite rudely.
"And never touch me without my permission again, Commander Corporal." her voice was soft, the threat so quiet only he could hear his title spoken mockingly before she raised her voice, staring her father down with a cool, steady gleam in her eye
"Because I have zero issues going back outside these walls and taking myself back to that forest with the titans if you people end up being the real monsters. And from what I've seen of what lines the path from Wall Maria; I might just take my chances."
