"...They're the people that have to put up with your shit and still love you. That's family"- Edith M. Brown Diary, 849
Spring 849,
Trost District
Fog hung low over the district as morning broke on this new day. A day like any other, that is, except for one. On that day, the boy remembered with fear...that he was subject to their dominance... And recalled with shame that the walls around him were a cage.
Charcoal dusted hands, furiously darted across the parchment as an image started to form. The apple of his eye, who wouldn't even look his way. The sound of footsteps thundering up the stairs, ignored as he became lost in his art.
At the same time the door swung open, hitting the bookshelf with a bang, Jean rolled himself up in his blanket hiding himself and the items on his bed from his mother. "How many times do I have to call you?! It's lunchtime!" his mother demanded, pan in hand as she continued to cook lunch.
"Knock first, you old hag!" Jean snapped back, "What'd you bring that in here for?!"
"Even when I yell, you refuse to come down, so the omelette came up to tell you itself"
"Just get out, you withered old witch!" Jean cried as he leapt from him bed and shoved his mother out of the room, slamming the door in her face with the picture he had been working on scrunched up in his hand.
Unravelling the wrinkled piece of paper, Jean stared down at the ruined image before tearing it into smaller pieces and throwing them up into the air with a curse. I will join the Military Police and achieve my goal! Jean thought as he overlooked the view of the district from his bedroom window. My goal of securing an easy, danger-free life behind the innermost wall...I will achieve it!
Titan Training Exercise, 849
Trost District
Spurred on by his dream, the boy left home and survived the gruelling military training. Humiliation after humiliation only served to fuel his fire and two years later, the boy returned to the cage he'd once escaped from.
"This is awesome! This is the first time I've been inside one of the walled cities!" Connie cheered, gripping tight to the straps on his pack as the 104th cadet corps traipsed through the city on their way to the meeting point.
"There'll be lots of tasty food to eat!" Sasha added excitedly. She wasn't the only one, many of the cadets were watching their surroundings with awe and excitement.
All except one. Jean Kirschstein walked down the familiar streets with a look of boredom on his face. He had joined to military to get away from this place, and yet here he was, back at square one.
"Hey, you lot" Jean called, listening to the conversation in front of him.
"Huh?" Connie and Sasha chorused as they peeked over their shoulders at the teen behind them.
"If you join the City Guard, you can stay here as long as you like. I'll even come visit and see how you're doing when I'm in the Military Police" Jean laughed at their annoyed expressions.
"Hey...Where exactly is your house, Jean?" Armin asked curious, as Jean hadn't really said much about his home life. Not that any of them really had, but still.
"Does it matter?" Jean asked, the jovial tone abruptly gone as he answered the question.
"Aren't you going to pop home?" Marco asked, oblivious to Jean's feelings about the subject, "Thomas said he was going to"
"You're mum will be happy to see you" Armin added.
"Shut it, you two!" Jean snapped, "Just drop it!"
"...What about you, Edith?" Marco asked the quiet girl.
"Hm? I don't know, I might go see how Gus is doing, but other than that..." she replied absentmindedly.
"Oh! Gus! Is this some new boy toy?" Sasha teased spinning around to face the quartet behind her.
"What? No!" Edith replied, blushing red at the insinuation. Sasha just laughed as she turned back around to the front and continued chatting with Connie. Edith continued on in embarrassed silence as she thought of what was to come.
Listen closely, you pigs! Training for the anticipated attack on Trost will take place shortly. The commanding officer of the southern region, Commander Pixis, will also be in attendance. Show him how you farmyard pigs have transformed into soldiers over the last two years!
With the tolling of the district bell, the cadets stationed on the roofs leapt forward towards the wooden Titans stationed throughout the city. Sure the stationary targets were nothing compared to the real things, but they gave a good template for height and the foam nape helped to teach cadets where you had to hit, to kill them.
Down below, the Garrison soldiers ordered the citizens to evacuate calmly and obey the instructions given. Up on the rooftops, the groups of cadets raced towards the Titan targets set up throughout the city. Edith ran along side Annie, Jean and Armin, blades at the ready as they charged towards the wooden targets.
"Jean! Are you sure we're allowed to push up this far?" Armin called out to Jean who ran ahead, "Our objective is to deal with the Titans that make it through the front line-"
"Stop being so inflexible!" Jean called back, "We're soldiers, which means we kill Titans!"
"All you want to do is score more brownie points" Annie grumbled as the quartet launched themselves from the rooftop towards the nearest wooden Titan.
"Commander, the 21st Squad has left their post" The Garrison soldier reported looking down at the cadets through the telescope, when she received no reply, she looked up to see Commander Pixis snoring away with his arms crossed and reeking of alcohol.
Getting to her feet, the soldier leant into Pixis' ear and shouted him awake."Commander? Commander!"
"Wha-? Is it already time to eat?" Pixis mumbled as he woke.
"You only had lunch a little while ago" the soldier reminded him as she knocked the small flask from his hands and went to stand by her comrade over by the wall-mounted canon.
"He should take this more seriously" she grumbled, shoving the flask into the front pocket of her jacket.
"Well, for him, this counts as downtime" her comrade replied as they watched Pixis pull a second flask from his jacket and took a swig from it.
"I wonder what we're having for dinner..." Pixis mumbled, his face flushed as he watched over the training exercise.
Meanwhile, as Edith's group came upon their first Titan with Jean at the helm and Edith at the rear; another group began to close in as well. There's one...Jean thought as he came upon the Titan.
"He's mine!" Jean called slinging himself forward, ready to slice through its nape when a blur passed through his eye line and got to the Titan first. It was Mikasa. Had it been anyone else, he would have chewed their head off for taking his kill. But Jean had been harbouring a not-so subtle crush on Mikasa since he'd met her. As amazing as always Jean thought, You're the only one who can outmanoeuvre me.
"Guys! This way!" Jean called as he took a hard right around the closest villa, the squad following close behind. I'll get one this time!
"As always, thank you Jean!" Connie called as he dropped down from Jean's right and slashed through the Titan's nape as Sasha and Reiner got the other two.
"Sorry Jean" Reiner apologised as he landed on a nearby roof and Sasha cheered from the Titan she had alighted on.
Edith stood next to Armin on a neighbouring rooftop with a frown on her face. She knew that today was important, not only to prepare them for any possible future catastrophes but also because Commander Pixis was watching over the exercise and a good word from him was bound to get you into the corps of your choosing.
She also knew that as a field medic she was unlikely to get in as many hits as the others, but she thought for sure that she'd get at least a couple of hits in. Instead it looked like she might have to do damage control if Jean's angered face was anything to go by.
"You've gotten better!" Connie called to Sasha as he flew overhead.
"I've always been this good" she replied.
"But you're still no match for me!"
"That was playing dirty, you thieving bastards!" Jean shouted at Sasha and Connie who sat against a wall as the cadets broke for lunch.
"Huh?" Connie muttered around a mouthful of baked potato.
"I spotted them first!"
Off to the side, Edith stood chewing on a piece of crystallised ginger, the rest of the bag shoved in the medi-pack on her hips along with rolls of bandages and thread. This was going to be a bad one. Jean had always been hot-headed, but he usually took it out on Eren (which everyone was fine with as they wore each other out). It seems being back on his home turf had riled him up instead of calming him down. So much for home-field advantage.
"Playing dirty?" Sasha questioned smugly, "Jean, you sure come up with some baloney. You think there's an etiquette when it comes to hunting?"
"Don't lay your hunter logic on me, Potato Girl" Jean retorted.
"Potato Girl?! I thought everyone had forgotten about that...Don't call me names!"
"Yeah! Apologise to her!" Connie agreed as the two leapt to their feet and faced off with the taller cadet.
"For starters, that whole area was in our zone" Reiner added, joining the conversation.
"Yeah! Exactly!" Connie agreed, "Y'know, you're acting kinda weird today, shouting out of the blue like that. Are you itching to go see Mummy?" he teased.
"Is that it?" Sasha genuinely asked.
"As if!" Jean retorted swinging his fist towards the two.
"That's enough you two!" Reiner interrupted as Sasha and Connie took up stances to defend themselves, "You too, Jean. You won't make Military Police like this"
"When we finish up our training tomorrow, we'll see who can take out more targets" Jean snapped, letting his fist fall back to his side.
"Interesting" commented Pixis, appearing next to the group as the cadets quickly responded with salutes and Pixis wandered down the street before coming to a halt next to Jean, Sasha and Connie. "I'll adjudicate. Your fighting spirit is certainly commendable. However, using a training exercise to win an argument is unacceptable"
He paused to take a swig from his flask before he continued, "You'll fight by cooking"
"Pardon?" the trio chorused, confusion written on their faces.
Well, that took a turn. Edith thought as she watched the situation unfold.
"Fight by cooking!" Pixis repeated, his face flushed.
"Huh?"
"Cooking?!" Sasha repeated with her hands clasped to her chest, a look of awe on her face.
"That's right, cooking. A cook-off!"
"A cook-off?!"
"Why cooking of all things? I should've confiscated that hip flask sooner" The Garrison soldier mumbled from behind Pixis.
"I-I don't mean to be rude, Commander Pixis, but we're soldiers. Cooking isn't in our-" Jean spoke up. That boy's got balls. Edith thought as she watched Jean speak out against the southern region Commander.
"Jean! How much do you even know about cooking?" Sasha interjected, shoving her cooling potato into his face. Decorum completely gone out the window as she defended her favourite pastime.
Not that Edith would complain, Sasha almost always had some sort snack that she'd sneak out of the officers pantry that she shared around the cabin. Some jerky here, some cheese there. The girl was a genius with food and the boys still had no idea. Except for maybe Connie, Sasha had a soft spot for him. Edith and few of the others had a bet to see how long it would take for them to get together; Edith had her money on late 20s.
"Exactly! I bet your mum always cooked for you at home!" Connie added.
"Jean, my boy, I will teach you the true art of cooking" Sasha challenged as she took a bite of her potato. Jean clenched his hands into white knuckled fists as he accepted the challenge.
"FINE! LET'S DO THIS! COOKING, CLEANING...THROWING WHAT YOU LIKE AT ME. IF I WIN, YOU GOTTA STAY OUTTA MY WAY, POTATO GIRL!"
"GOOD! THE BATTLE WILL TAKE PLACE TONIGHT. BOTH OF YOU WILL COOK AND SERVE A MAIN COURSE FOR DINNER. BRING YOUR BEST DISH TO THE TABLE!"
"All right! It's in sight!" Jean called as he raced ahead of the others.
"Why are we hunting out here?" Annie asked from Edith's right, a rifle slung over her shoulders.
"Not much we can do, Annie. We have to work as a squad" Armin replied from the other side of Annie.
"I used to play in that forest as a kid. It's where the infamous Colossal Boar lives" Jean explained, "If we capture it and serve it up, victory will be ours"
"What about practicing your cooking techniques?" Armin asked.
"I don't have time to think about that!"
"You do know this is a cooking completion, right?" Edith questioned.
"Well, isn't this a coincidence?" Sasha called as her squad pulled up alongside the others.
"You guys...why?!" Jean demanded as Sasha's squad pulled ahead.
"Sasha's nose caught the scent of prime meant. She's like a bloodhound!" Connie replied.
"I'm not just gonna let you take all the meat for yourself! Hyah!" Sasha cried as her quiver jostled on her back as she rode on.
"Dammit!" Jean cursed.
"Let's go Jean! This is your backyard, right?" Armin called, "We have the upper hand!"
"Jean, we're lost, aren't we?" Edith asked as she stumbled over yet another root covering the forest floor. They had continued on through the undergrowth on foot, having left their horses tied to a couple of trees near the boundary.
"No"
"But I swear we've passed that-"
"No, we haven't!"
"Sina! I was just asking"
"Look! This tree, you might've seen a mark like this earlier. But we're definitely closing in on it"
"He has no idea what he's doing, does he?" Edith muttered to Armin and Annie who watched on with an annoyed look on his face.
"Hey now...We're not going to find it by just wandering around" Reiner spoke up, "I'd understand if there was snow, but tracking footprints in the mud? We'd need four or five days at least..."
"Hey, look! There it is Connie" Sasha cried as she and Connie squatted down next to a huge turd and began poking it with a stick"
"It's massive" Connie breathed. Reiner watched on in surprise.
"Yes. It's beast, all right. Fresh too. Its den must be nearby"
"You guys just got lucky" said Reiner, "But you won't be able to find the boar so easi-"
"There it is!" Sasha called from her vantage point on the outcropping, next to Connie.
Down below, the large boar lay sleeping, unaware of the hunters who had locked onto it. "That's one big hog" Connie breathed in awe.
"You said it. It's probably a colossal class" replied Sasha, her eyes never leaving the boar in front of her.
"Right...we're going home. That thing's uncatchable" Reiner decided as he turned and began to make his way back to where the horses were tied. Sasha quickly over and cut Reiner off, she didn't think twice about slapping him across the face and then followed through with an elbow to the head.
"How can you say that?!" Sasha demanded, "That makes me so sad! What would your ancestors think? The world is connected, you know!" she cried, covering her face with her hands and Reiner picked himself off of the forest floor.
"I'm sorry, Sasha. I haven't a clue what you're talking about, but I was in the wrong" Reiner apologised.
"Well, if you get it, we're good. Now! Hunt the meat!"
"Yes, ma'am!" Reiner saluted Sasha.
"Uh, g-guys?" Connie called out to the others, his voice trembling slightly as he did so. Spinning around, the duo pulled their weapons from their back.
"Let's do this, Sasha!" said Reiner.
"Right!"
"You take the first shot!"
"Okay!" Sasha called as she ran forward, an arrow nocked with Connie at her side as they hooked their ODM gear into the boar, flying behind the hog like odd little flags.
"Boar meat! Boar steaks! Boar sausages!" Sasha sang as she pulled herself upright, ignoring Armin's attempts to bribe her away from the hog with potatoes.
Jean's squad had appeared rather suddenly, no doubt drawn over by the commotion Sasha's squad and the hog was creating. "So many ways to cook it! The best foodstuff in the world! I'm talking about...m-e-a-t!" Sasha roared as she leapt from the boar's back, pulled the bow string taut and fired hitting the boar square in the forehead.
The single arrow felled the giant boar much to the surprise of the others. Sasha sure knew what she was doing. Edith knew that Jean wouldn't take this well, the fact that his face was already burning red signalled that he would definitely blow a gasket soon. Not to mention, knowing Connie and Sasha, there would be much fanfare as they brought the boar back into town.
That night, Edith forewent dinner at the mess hall instead heading over to The Old Maid (one of the local bars), to meet up with Augusta and a couple of friends for drinks and dinner. That evening, she had swapped her cadet uniform for a tan blouse, a dirt brown waistcoat and a dark brown skirt, paired with her uniform boots.
Weaving her way through the crowd of tipsy and drunk bar goers, Edith passed the Garrison soldiers that commandeered several tables off to the side as they drank and leered at women nearby, thankfully they were mostly drowned out by the small band in the corner. Although, they'd probably be trouble later on.
Taking a right at the table occupied by a group of Survey Corps members, she arrived at the table where Gus and a few others sat. A couple of the faces she recognised from earlier introductions and a couple she didn't. Everyone was garbed in casual wear, most of it seemed to be of better quality, showing their heritage within the interior. "Eddie! Over here!" Klaus Grune called, waving his arm in the air as he stood up.
The tall ginger wore a loose and silly grin as he embraced the short girl, his breath reeking of the alcohol he had already consumed. Next to him, a similar looking man-his twin brother, sat lounging with his feet on the table, both were garbed in loose tunics and dark pants that cupped their asses in the just the right way.
"It's good to see you, Klaus" Edith laughed as she hugged the taller man, "You too, Noah"
"What? No sugar for me?" Augusta laughed, her face already flushed pink.
"There's always sugar for you, Gus" Edith laughed as she hugged her friend tight. A wolf-whistle sounded from across the table and Gus just flipped off the blonde as she let go of Eddie and sat back down. "Eddie, this is Frankie and Joe. Boys, this is Eddie" Gus introduced, gesturing to the bearded blonde and fresh-shaven brunette respectively.
"Nice to meet 'cha!" Eddie said as she shook their hands, their's easily dwarfing her own, "So what are we drinking?"
"What's your poison?" Joe fired back quickly as he poured her a glass of mead from the jug and handed it to her. Edith wasted no time in chugging down the drink, welcoming the warm buzz that wafted over her as she did so.
"Hit me" Edith stated as she placed her empty mug down on the table in front of her. Glancing up, she grinned at the surprised looks on the mens' faces as Gus laughed, "What? Never seen a lady drink before?"
"Oh I like you!" Joe cheered as the drinks began to flow. There was no doubt in her mind that Eddie would regret this tomorrow, but for now she enjoyed the company.
Meanwhile back at the Trost city training camp, Jean sat tucked away in a small alcove reading over the note that had come with the package his mother had brought for him. He hadn't taken it at first, instead shaming her in front of the other cadets. He should've gone home earlier, at least then he wouldn't have been embarrassed in front of the others.
He had been on his way to steal some beef from the officer's pantry, after the failed attempts of Armin and Annie. He had no idea where Edith had wandered off to, he'd have to ask her later. That was the plan anyway, until Eren had cornered him by the doorway to the pantry and had given him a reality check. Stating outright that he really should be more grateful for what he's got.
Reading over the note again, he could almost hear his mother's voice as he did so and couldn't help think that maybe Eren was right. Something he would never admit aloud.
Dear Jeanie-boy,
Please enjoy the food and carry on working hard. Don't be a burden on others, you hear?
Love, Mum
Opening the package in his lap, allowed for the smells trapped inside to waft out and envelop him its flavours. Unbidden, memories of his childhood flew across his vision as he stared down at the omelette in his lap.
"Om-e-lette! Om-e-lette!" a young Jean cheered as he sat at the table, watching his mother as she cooked his food.
"Here we go" His mother sighed as she set the plate down in front of hime, "You really love your omelettes, don't you Jeanie-boy?"
An older Jean stood in the doorway of his home, his clothes were torn and dirty as he wailed. "I can't understand you if you just stand there and cry, can I, Jeanie-Boy?" his mother questioned as she bent down and clasped his head in her hands, wiping away his tears, "Now what happened?"
A young teenage Jean carried a tray of food into his mother's room where she lay sick in bed. "How are you? Do you think you can eat?" he asked as he gently set the tray down in his mother's lap.
"Thank you" his mother tiredly replied, "You really are a sweet kid"
"Mum..." Jean whispered, as he continued to stare at the uneaten food in his lap. Mind made up, he returned to kitchens and began to furiously whip up the meal he would serve to the Commander. Next to him Connie and Reiner helped chop the vegetables for Sasha, who was cooking the boar meat over the roaring fire.
Jean had always thought that standing up to a Titan would be nerve-racking, but at this point in time he would've taken it over standing on stage in front of the 104th cadet corps with his omelette in front of him. A meal that held so much meaning for him, if the Commander didn't like it...he didn't know what he'd do.
Armin and Annie stood on either side of him, each silent sentinels supporting him in this competition. Across from the trio, stood Sasha with Reiner and Connie on either side of her, each wearing varying looks of smugness on their faces.
"It looks like you've both brought your A-game to this contest" Pixis commented from his seat at the table in the centre of the stage, a glass of red wine placed in front him to accompany the dishes.
"We will now commence the cook-off between
"WE WILL NOW COMMENCE THE COOK-OFF BETWEEN 104TH SQUAD MEMBERS, JEAN KIRSCHSTEIN AND SASHA BLOUSE!" Shadis yelled much to the delight of the cadets gathered.
"THE FIRST DISH: SASHA BLOUSE!"
"Sir!" Sasha replied, placing her dish in front of the Commander. Lifting the lid, the delicious smell of cooked meat wafted out and many in the crowd began to drool at the size of the steak the Commander had been served.
"All right..." Pixis began as he cut into the tender meat. He barely swallowed the slice of meat before his eyes bulged and his thoughts exploded, THIS BOAR MEAT! SUCCULENT BOAR MEAT! IT'S AWE-INSPIRING! THE TEXTURE IS MAGNIFICENT! THE MORE I CHEW, THE TASTIER IT GETS! THE WINE MASKS THE PUNGENCY OF THE BEAST AND ALL THAT REMAINS IS THE SWEETNESS OF THE MEAT! I've never...tasted wine...this good...
The Commander was brought out of his trance when Jean placed his smaller dish in front of the Commander. There were no theatrics involved when the lid was lifted to reveal a small omelette. It almost seemed dismal in compared to the steak.
"Well, isn't this a cute little thing?" Pixis commented, utensils at the ready.
"Please, have a taste" Jean replied. There was no reply as the Commander ate the entire omelette and wiped his mouth when he had finished.
"The commander isn't saying anything" Connie muttered.
"That means the victory is ours!" Reiner added.
"There's nothing in the whole wide world that tastes better than meat!" Sasha crowed.
"And now, my decision" Pixis stated as he stood, staring out at the cadets before him. "The winner of this contest is...Jean Kirschstein!" Jean couldn't believe it, he'd won. Apparently, neither could Sasha as she slammed her hands down on the table in front of the Commander, demanding he tell her why she lost.
"Listen rookie, what exactly is meat?" he asked.
"Meat is meat" Sasha replied, confused at the question.
"Exactly. Meat is meat. It is nothing more, nothing less. Meat is simply...meat. That is why you lost"
"I was such a fool!" Sasha cried as she sank to floor, "I completely overlooked the carrots and potatoes I've relied on up till now. I tried to win by simply roasting the meat!"
"There's no need to be embarrassed" Jean stated as he held out a hand to help the crying girl up, "You aren't the only one who just roasted their dish"
"I'm sorry Jean"
"It's fine"
"Sir, why did the omelette win?" a Garrison soldier asked Pixis as they walked down the hallway.
"When you eat late at night like that it leaves you feeling bloated. Though, something about that omelette...Taste aside, it was a perfect late night snack"
The moon hung high in the sky when Hanji's conversation was interrupted by the commotion in the corner. Loud guffaws and whistles could be heard as several members of the bar danced and spun wildly to polka music that band had begun to play.
Looking over the rim of her mug, she recognised one of the younger patrons. "Well, what'd ya know! It's Brown!" she commented to no one in particular.
"Who?" Petra asked from her right. Hanji had joined Levi's squad for drinks tonight, not sure what they were celebrating though. Maybe another successful expedition? Who knew, what she did know was that, Petra had somehow managed to wrangle the OCD captain into joining them and for that Petra was her new favourite person.
"You see that midget dancing with the blonde giant?" Hanji said pointing towards said girl as she and her partner spun around the dance floor like children, joy clearing written on their flushed faces.
"Yeah?"
"That's Edith Brown, she's one of the cadets in the medic programme. Apparently she's got 'magic hands"
"H-Hanji!" Eld spluttered as he choked on his drink, having joined the conversation at the wrong time.
"Norfolk's words, not mine" Hanji excused taking a swig of her drink, "Wonder what she's doing in the city?"
"The cadets had a training exercise here today" Petra supplied.
"Mm"
There was a beat of silence as the band ended the song and moved onto another, lowering the noise in the pub ever so slightly. By this point the party over in the corner had begun to break up, leaving Edith to trail after the others as they stumbled their way out the door.
Suddenly, a meaty hand shot out and grabbed onto Gus, pulling the short brunette towards its owner. Edith stopped in her tracks as she latched onto Gus' other wrist and pulled hard. The other person hadn't been expecting that and Gus had come flying back at her, tripping over the chairs next to her as she tried to regain some of her balance.
"What are you doing, you bitch?!" the tall Garrison soldier roared at her. Edith had to tilt her head back to look the meaty man in the eye. He reminded her very much of the boar the cadets had tried to hunt that afternoon.
"What was that for?" she calmly asked him, foolishly placing herself between Gus and the pissed soldier.
"That twink's gonna finish the job!"
"...You think she's a twink?" Edith tilted her head to the side, similar to that of a dog.
"She gave me blue balls!"
Edith paused for a moment, before sending a mean right hook straight for the man's crotch. "Now they're black and blue balls" she chirped as the tall man fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes, clutching his groin and groaning in pain. Spinning on her heel, she haphazardly skipped over to Gus who was still struggling to get up.
The sudden shout from one of the Garrison soldiers drew the attention of the Survey members once more. Cadet Brown appeared to be squaring off against the soldier who was at least a good foot or so taller than her.
"She looks like she'd get crushed, she's so tiny!" Petra gushed, tipsy.
"She seems to be handling it" Eld replied as the group watched this tiny cadet take on the giant Garrison soldier. The argument escalated quickly and the next thing they knew, the giant soldier was on the floor clutching his groin.
Brown happily stumbled away from the group and towards her friend on the floor, unaware of second soldier who had appeared, throwing a punch at the back of her head. She turned at the sound of approaching footsteps, only to receive the punch to her cheek instead.
Her head snapped to the side so fast, Hanji could almost feel the whiplash from here. Brown's eyes narrowed as she whipped back around to face the soldier, her eyes promising murder.
Hanji was happy to let the bar fight play out, it would teach the girl character. Maybe knock the Garrison soldier down a few notches too. That was the thinking at first. At least until she saw the glint of a knife in Brown's hand.
"Or maybe not" Hanji muttered as she slammed her cup on the table and leapt forward; quickly snagging Brown by the waist. Hanji then threw the cadet over her shoulder and made her way outside where the cold evening air seemed to wake the girl up like a slap in the face.
Once back on her feet, Brown blinked a few times, trying to focus on the person in front of her. When she did, her fist snapped into a salute. Of course it was the wrong hand, but the girl was pissed. "At ease" Hanji laughed as the girl dropped her incorrect salute and would've fallen to the floor had Hanji not been holding her upright.
Hanji inspected Brown's cheek to see that a bruise was already starting to form and would no doubt, be a right shiner by tomorrow. Hanji watched amused as Brown's eyes kept fluttering shut and her head bobbing up and down as she tried to stay awake; before she sighed and threw the cadet over her shoulder once more. There were only so many many good medics going around, it would be shameful to waste one. Calling a goodbye to the group inside, she headed towards the city's training barracks, her small cargo already snoring away.
Back inside the pub, the incident was forgotten almost instantly as the next song began to play, drawing the drunk and tipsy back to the dance floor. They'd forget all about the tiny girl; writing it off as some alcohol-ridden dream.
All except one, who throughout the night kept his eyes on the people around him. Who watched and listened as people partied and laughed, ignorant to the eyes watching them; a habit so ingrained in the man, it was damn near impossible to break. And so it was that Levi watched through narrowed eyes as this tiny girl felled a giant.