[AN] welcome back darlings! this chapter is of a different format than from what I usually write. it's just a series of events that happen after Nephele broke her leg, up until the Trainees graduation.

the bracelet in this chapter is actually one I own. my friend bought it for me during Christmas time last year. here's the link so that you can see it for yourselves.

p/sterling-silver-heart-x-diamond-accent-bracelet/-/A-12765294?ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=12765294&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&AFID=google_pla_df&CPNG=pla_jewelry+shopping&adgroup=sc_jewelry&LID=18pgs&KID=7b4779e0-4909-4313-b6e9-5d2f7f4e9545&kpid=12765294&gclid=CjwKEAjwpaqvBRCxzIGoxs6v2TkSJADel-MI1kXnSfKX1MFLW5CD_KvS0Lpo1wqw6r_e42pcFwTpDRoCcYvw_wcB

"I don't mind losing to someone, but I won't be beaten by myself." -Shirou Emiya, Fate/ stay night

Chapter 9: Stargazer Lily

If one good thing came out of having a broken leg, it was that Nephele spent much more time developing the muscles in her arms and abdomen. For the first two weeks that she was bedridden, her time was spent either reading or exercising, doing crunches in bed and lifting hand weights. There sure as hell wasn't anything better that she could spend her time doing unless Jean, Armin, Marco, or Sasha came to visit her. Once, she even was paid a visit by Mikasa, who had said she hoped Nephele would be able to resume training soon.

"Is it boring, not having any competition?" Nephele joked, smiling at the girl. They didn't really have much in common other than their strength and the fact that they were the last descendants of their kind. Perhaps their ancestors had passed on their strength to the girls.

"Well, yes. Bertolt and Reiner are strong, too, but it's… different," she had said. Mikasa had never been so good with words, given that she used so few.

"I miss training with you and Levi. That was a good week. I'd never been better at the ODM than then." Whenever she said his name, it was like the syllables became lodged in her throat, making it difficult to speak. Whenever she thought his name, her mind went foggy, making it difficult to think, too.

"What happened?" Mikasa finally asked, as everyone else who came to visit her had. Nephele was certain that the incident wasn't an accident. Levi would never lose control of his own blade like that. Still, she didn't know why he had done such a thing. Did he want her to get expelled?

'Well, joke's on that asshole! Something as minor as a broken leg could never keep me from achieving my goal,' she thought bitterly.

As she had with everyone else, Nephele said that the force of one of Levi's blows knocked her off balance, and she fell on her leg, snapping it in two. Who would believe that humanity's strongest soldier accidentally broke some trainee's leg? Levi didn't make accidents. He cleaned up after them. Everyone accepted that explanation without question.

Jean had visited, too, the day after her "fall." He had bought her a bracelet back in Dunstad made of sterling silver. It came in a pretty, red velvet box. She wondered how he afforded it. It was comprised of tiny silver x's and hearts linked together.

"You shouldn't have spent any money on me," she insisted, looking at the piece of jewelry as it sat in the palm of her hand. "Thank you, Jean. It's lovely."

The slightest tint of red colored his cheeks, and he looked down. "It's no big deal," he said, though to Nephele it was. No one had ever given her such a sweet gift before other than her parents. Sure, she'd been hit on plenty of times before, but none of them ever even gave her so much as a flower. Except Jean. If only she could have the same feelings for Jean as she did for Levi.

Everyone wanted to see her cast. It was like some kind of badge of honor, apparently. It was made out of clay and plaster, encasing her left calf, and it was the second most annoying thing about having a broken leg because it stopped her from being able to scratch an itch. Her calf was probably sweaty and gross by then, too.

By the third week, the nurses let her try walking again. They gave her a pair of wooden crutches, and held her up as she slowly stood up from the bed for the first time in weeks. Her legs felt like gelatin, wobbly and hard to stand on. The broken bones ached in protest, yet she ignored their pleas and took the crutches handed to her. It felt good to have the floor beneath her feet once more.

"How do you feel?" one nurse asked, a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other as he waited for her response.

"With my sense of touch," she replied sarcastically. 'Try writing that down, creep.' She didn't like that nurse or the way he looked at her.

"You can make jokes well enough, so I'm assuming that means you feel well," one of the other nurses remarked, smiling.

"I'd be making jokes about my own death, too."

Nephele was only allowed to walk for the first week after that while under a staff member's supervision. It was a pain in the ass to be shadowed to the Dining Hall every day, and the nurse who was usually tasked with watching her was that creepy guy with the glasses and curly moustache. She wanted to throw her tray of food in his face.

It didn't help that everyone stared at her for the first few days outside of the infirmary. "It's Nephele. I heard Levi snapped her leg in half because she made fun of him for being short," she heard one girl murmur under her breath to her friends as Nephele walked by.

"I heard she and Levi were having an affair, and Levi got mad because he found out she cheated on him, and pushed her down a flight of stairs."

"Someone was angry at her for being able to spend so much time with Levi Heicho, so they messed with her ODM and she fell to the ground during training."

She was about ready to shove her crutches up someone's ass. If all those idiots knew how much of a jerk Levi Heicho really was, maybe they wouldn't be conjuring up all that ridiculous bullshit. He wasn't even that attractive! He was short, and his face always looked like he smelled something bad, and… whatever.

"Fucking bunch of ass lickers," she muttered under her breath one afternoon in the Dining Hall as the nurse carried her tray to the table she shared with her friends. She was sick of hearing all the lies these people were spreading, which grew more outrageous each passing day.

One culprit, a tall boy with red blemishes marring his face, stood up from his bench. He had thick brows, similar to Erwin Smith's, but they were dark and untrimmed. She had no idea who he was, but judging from his frail build that would be because he was in a lower class than her.

"What did you call me?" he howled, walking towards her. By then, her nurse was out of earshot and heading towards her table on the other side of the room thinking that Nephele was still following behind him.

"I called you an ass licker," she repeated, louder this time. Their side of the cafeteria went silent, anticipating a fight between the scrawny "ass licker" and the crippled "slut."

"You're the one who kissed Levi Heicho's ass, bitch. Look where that landed you," he sneered, placing his hands haughtily on his hips. God, this was ridiculous.

Swinging her crutches forward to bring her closer to the boy, Nephele looked up at him disdainfully, one of her neatly groomed eyebrows raised and a sardonic smile on her face.

"Listen here, ass licker. A word of advice. Maybe your face wouldn't be covered in all that acne if you weren't constantly rolling in the shit that comes out of your mouth."

Though she could no longer fight with swords, Nephele still had her tongue to battle others with. After that, the rumors about her broken leg slowly but surely began to die down. Humans are vapid creatures that grow bored of things quickly, though most never get tired of hearing themselves talk. That's how rumors start, and how they eventually end. People enjoy the limelight they receive while talking bad about others, but once that limelight fades with time, so too do the lies they spread.

After that week had passed, Nephele was allowed to walk around unsupervised. She hated those damn crutches, which dug into the pits of her arms, rubbing them raw and making them sore. At least she wasn't stuck in bed all day anymore. When the rest of the cadets were in the middle of their normal training regimen, Nephele observed them, learning their techniques and concocting moves to try out that incorporated the cadets' myriad of styles into her own. Shadis still required her present during physical training on top of attending their academic curriculum. She paid more attention during those classes now, even going as far as to take notes. She had journals filled with the information her instructors taught the cadets, from battle strategies in each military branch, to math and science. Even that knowledge wasn't enough to sate her hunger, so she'd always have a book checked out from the sparsely stocked library on subjects not taught in class.

Armin noticed Nephele's newfound interest in academics as she was taking notes during Instructor Hilja's geometry class. The two sat next to each other but Armin hardly ever spoke up unless it was to answer a question the instructor asked the entire class, to answer a question another classmate asked him, or ask a question to the instructor herself. He was always bent over his notes, studying the blackboard intently as if the numbers were some sort of cryptic code he had to solve in order to stop the apocalypse.

"Wow, Nephele! I thought I was the only one who paid attention during this class," he remarked, his words almost unintentionally offensive.

"Not anymore, blondie. I have to keep my mind occupied while I have this broken leg, or I'll go crazy," Nephele said, smiling at him.

Armin, excited by the prospect of a potential new study partner, eagerly suggested that they study together sometime.

"Sure. How about this, then. You tutor me for now, and when my leg's all better I'll show you a few moves I learned from Captain Levi himself."

There it was again; that sweet, sheepish smile. "Sure. It's always good to learn new things, even if it's not appropriate in a classroom setting."

"Don't worry, I won't break your leg," she assured. The knowledge Levi had given to Nephele would be put to better use if given to Armin. He was going in the Survey Corps, not her. He needed every weapon in his meager arsenal he could get. Nephele looked down at her notes to avoid his gaze then, and he returned back to his.

Nothing scared Nephele more than the thought of Armin face to face with a titan.

From then on, Nephele's days consisted of hopping around from Point A to Point B on her crutches, studying, reading, and weight training. By month two, she was up to forty pound dumbbells, doing twenty reps and fifteen sets twice every day. In the morning, she worked on her biceps. At night, it was triceps. In her words, it was "absolutely fucking horrible." Reiner, easily the strongest cadet in the 104th Trainees Squad, even remarked on how well Nephele was progressing. The two had never exchanged many words before despite him being one of the most popular guys in the Trainees on top of being the strongest.

"Damn, Nephele," he whistled when Nephele was doing her morning workout routine as she sat on a fallen log while the other cadets soared around the trees above on their ODM's. At first she thought he was making a pass at her until he continued with, "Keep that up and you'll have bigger biceps than me. Don't forget the tricep muscles, though. Those are what will really do some damage when you're slicing through titan flesh."

Nodding, Nephele said, "I know, I don't just do curls."

"Do you work on your deltoids, too?" he asked, sitting down on the rotting wood beside her. He was covered in sweat, and wiped away a bead as it trickled down his cheekbone.

This time, Nephele shook her head, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion as she finished her set and lowered her arms, putting the dumbbells on the ground. "I actually don't even know what those are," she admitted.

"They're in your shoulders and they're the muscles that rotate your arms," Reiner explained patiently. He pointed at her weights and asked, "Want me to demonstrate how to work them out?"

Reiner showed her how to do the seated shoulder press, and the seated palms-in alternated shoulder press, and suggested that she start with five pound weights, doing ten reps and eight sets per day. Flattered by his kindness, Nephele thanked him for his help.

"Once I get my deltoids up to forty pounds, do you want to have a friendly match of arm wrestling?" she laughed, holding her fist up for him. He tapped his own large one against hers, grinning widely.

"Sure thing, though that'll take a hell of a long time. How long has it been since you started weight training?"

"A little over two months. I started when I broke my leg. I figured if I couldn't work on my legs for four months, I might as well lift weights to pass the time," she answered, shrugging.

"Pass the time? Ha! You're already lifting forty pound dumbbells and doing fifteen sets. That's not passing time, that's fucking commitment," Reiner commented, giving her a heavy pat on the back that almost made her topple off the log.

Thanks to a broken leg, Nephele had gained new study and workout partners.

Armin was a good teacher. He thoroughly explained things that Nephele didn't understand, and gave better instructions than any of their teachers. On top of that, he was patient when there was a problem Nephele was stuck on and instead of scolding or ridiculing her, he helped her understand and find the answer. Rather than giving her the solutions, he would help her figure them out for herself. She liked how he didn't make her feel stupid.

"Do you remember how to solve this equation?" he asked as the two were studying for their upcoming algebra test, pointing his pencil at the question written on Nephele's paper. They were in the dusty, mold infested room that the faculty called the library, though there was just one shelf upon which were only a few dozen books. There wasn't even any literature dating farther back than twenty years ago. Dust motes danced in the light shining in through the windows which were kept open for much needed ventilation. The tiny room was stuffy and made Nephele feel somewhat claustrophobic.

Pursing her lips, the red head stared intently at the piece of paper as she tried to remember how to figure out the value of x. Then, she scribbled down her work and pushed the sheet over to Armin to look at.

Smiling broadly, Armin put his hand on Nephele's shoulder, saying, "Good job! That was a really hard one. Even Mikasa took a long time figuring that one out."

"Do you tutor Mikasa, too?" she asked.

"Her and Eren. Sometimes Jean, but he's too prideful to take any help from me most of the time, even though he probably needs the help even more than Eren," he chuckled.

"I see," murmured Nephele as she slid the paper back over to work on the next equation.

"Jean likes you a lot, you know," Armin suddenly said, his face suddenly turning red. Shaking his head, he apologized. "Sorry. I shouldn't have told you that."

"It's alright, I already knew. I'd have to be blind not to see it. He bought me that bracelet, after all." She never wore it, the piece of jewelry still in its red velvet box under her pillow, the same spot she put the bluebells he had picked for her so long ago.

"After Mikasa rejected him those first few months that we were here, he was pretty upset. Just don't lead him on, okay? I don't want to see him like that again," Armin said, his hand still on her shoulder. Nephele bit her lip and nodded.

"Should I give the bracelet back or just leave things be?" she asked, looking for advice. Armin could solve any math problem you threw at him, so maybe he knew some equation about love, too.

"Sorry, but my talents are in the brain, not the heart. I just think you should be honest."

'I guess he wouldn't have any answers about Levi, either.'

So, when Jean asked Nephele if she'd eat lunch with him that afternoon, Nephele smiled sadly at him and shook her head. She had the bracelet he had given her in one of her pockets, and pulled it out to place it in his hands. He looked humiliated and stunned as he stared down at the small box.

"I should have known when you didn't wear it," he muttered, shaking his head. "There I go again, getting my hopes up."

Nephele didn't apologize for not feeling the same way. She wasn't sorry for her own feelings, either. There was something missing in her, something that had flown away on the Wings of Freedom and followed Levi when he left.

"I'm not the one for you, but I think you've already met that person."

She saw Jean Kirstein and Marco Bott holding hands three weeks later.

Then, that fated day came...

The day Nephele could lift forty pounds doing fifteen sets on the alternated shoulder press.

When she saw Reiner during that morning's drill, her heart sped in her chest with anticipation. Seeing his wiry muscles practically ripple beneath his uniform, she feared that her arm would be broken as well. She waited on her fallen log, which was now covered in moss and even more rotted than it had been when she first got benched during practice, and watched as her fellow trainees showed off to one another and did tricks on their ODMs with envy. It would be two more months before she joined them, and even longer before she returned to her previous performance level.

After Shadis bellowed that practice had ended, Nephele picked up her crutches that had been propped up against the log beside her and swung over to Reiner, who was dabbing at his sweaty forehead with a towel. He noticed her walking towards him and tipped his head in acknowledgement, stopping for her to catch up to him. He was joined by the quiet, intimidating Annie and his close friend Bertolt.

"What's up, red?" he asked, smiling down at her. Bertolt exchanged his own hello while Annie stood off to the side without saying a word or even looking at Nephele.

"I think I'm ready for that arm wrestling match," she said, grinning at him. Reiner laughed raucously, the kind that would make anyone want to smile back. Well, anyone but Annie apparently.

"Oh yeah? You up to forty on your deltoid muscles?" Nephele shook her head.

"Nope, I'm at sixty."

"Damn. What about biceps and triceps?"

"I'm at ninety now, and thirty sets. I'm curious, what do you lift?"

Reiner whistled at the numbers like he had two months ago and said, "I'm not really sure about that. I haven't used dumbbells in a while. No offense, it's just beginner stuff. I mostly use a pull up bar for my arm workouts, but if I had to guess, I'd say I could lift two hundred or so with dumbbells."

That almost made Nephele back out. He was more than twice as strong as her! The only thing keeping her from chickening out is that she couldn't bare the thought of Reiner thinking that she was a wimp.

"That's it? Give me four more months and I'll be way ahead of you," Nephele teased, though she was almost certain that wouldn't be the case.

"Show me what you've got then, red."

Reiner found what he called a "suitable spot" for their match; the Dining Hall. Unfortunately, this attracted a decent crowd that circled around the table they were seated at. Reiner was a popular trainee, so many of the other cadets were eager to see him in an arm wrestling match. As Reiner was talking to Bertolt, who was standing up behind him, Nephele put her head in her hands and groaned. That was when Armin showed up, pushing his way through the crowd -or, rather, politely asking people to let him by- until he reached her.

"You won't beat him," Armin warned, lowering himself to whisper in her hear.

"Gee, thanks kid. I appreciate the support."

"I meant that he's too strong. If you just try to use brute force, he'll outmatch you," he explained. Turning her head to look at him, Nephele raised a brow and narrowed her eyes.

"Do you have some trick stashed up your sleeve, blondie?"

"Actually, yes. It's all about leverage. You have to work your hand up his palm so that you can get a better grip than him as soon as the match starts," he explained quickly.

"How?" she asked, trying to use as few words as possible. Reiner could start the match at any minute.

"Pull your hand towards you, and when his hand starts slipping down yours, move your hand further up his. Then, turn your wrist towards your body so that his wrist is facing up. Once you're about to finish him, rotate your body so that your shoulder is aligned in the direction your arm i-"

"You ready, Nephele?" Reiner's voice heralded the start of the match, and Nephele's head swiveled back to look at him. He was smiling ear to ear, confident that he'd be the victor. She could see familiar faces all around her, and felt dozens of pairs of eyes on her face.

"Just finish him quickly!" Armin quietly advised before leaving her side to join Eren and Mikasa, who stood on the inner ring of the crowd, talking to one another.

Letting out a big puff of air that was the breath she had just been holding, Nephele nodded and placed her elbow on the table, hand open. "Yeah, I'm ready."

Reiner mirrored her, leaning forward. Nephele realized that she was at an advantage for once in her life for being so small. Her arm was only so long, so Reiner had to meet her more than halfway across the table. She'd have better leverage then he would. Reiner must have been used to winning with brute strength, which would make it easier to catch him off guard. Their hands met, and his grip was firm and almost bone crushing. How would she be able to get him to loosen it?

Her hands started sweating from nervousness. She had also never been at an advantage for having clammy hands before.

It was Marco who was the referee for their match. "Are both of you ready?" he asked, his palms on the table in front of him as he carefully observed the contestants.

"Sure," Nephele sighed, trying to calm her nerves.

Reiner wouldn't take his arms off her as he said, "Ready."

"GO!"

Right when she heard the first letter, Nephele sprung into action before Reiner could respond. She did as Armin instructed and started pulling her hand towards her body. Because of the sweat on her palms, Reiner's hand started to slip down her palm, and she moved her own hand up his so that she was almost gripping his fingers. She felt Reiner trying to push her arm towards the table, but Nephele had the upper hand. Literally. 'So that's where the expression comes from...'

Then, she turned her hand towards herself to expose Reiner's wrist, which was easy to do because Reiner was too focused on trying to slam her hand on the table to notice. She was surprised by how well she was holding her ground against him. All around them, people were shouting their names. Most were for Reiner, but she still had plenty of people rooting for her to win. Jean, Armin, Sasha (who was loudest of them all), Connie, Ymir, Krista... even Eren. That one surprised her. She would have thought it more likely for Mikasa to show encouragement than Eren, though she was just silently watching the event.

To finish it off, Nephele rotated her body towards the direction she wanted her arm to go, pressing her abdomen against the table for support as she threw all of her strength and weight against Reiner's arm. Evidently, it wasn't even necessary for her to have used all of that power, because the back of Reiner's hand slammed hard against the table. The Dining Hall erupted with shouts of disbelief, everyone surprised that Nephele was able to best Reiner, the strongest trainee in their class.

"Holy fucking shit," Ymir yelled at the same time Nephele let go of Reiner's hand, pushing through the crowd to get to the champion. "You just fucking blasted him!" Ymir grabbed her by the shoulders and shook Nephele back and forth. "Do you realize what you've done? Bards will sing songs of your prowess!"

"Good job, Nephele!" congratulated Krista. She was never far behind Ymir.

"Thanks, but Armin's the one who taught me how to do that," she admitted, blushing. It was strange, being the center of attention.

"Armin taught you how to do what? Kick ass?" Ymir chuckled.

"He showed me how to get the upper hand."

Once the crowd had dispersed, Nephele started towards her next class when Reiner's voice interrupted her.

"Hey, red."

Turning to face him, Nephele noticed how red and swollen his hand was starting to look. She felt bad for slamming it down on the table so hard, and frowned as she readied herself to apologize.

"You should teach me that trick sometime. I'll show you a few of mine, too." He flashed a sideways grin at her and winked before continuing out the double doors that led outside, leaving Nephele speechless.

He winked at her. He fucking winked at her.

"Fuck."

"Are you ready to see your leg again?" the nurse asked, holding the surgical knife that was going to slice open Nephele's cast. Shaking her head, Nephele covered her face with both hands.

"Fuck that, just cut it off. It already stinks like death. It's going to be covered in hair and shriveled like a prune!" she groaned.

"Can I shave it?" Eren joked, chuckling at her despair. Mikasa shook her head at him and crossed her arms. Nephele and Eren had gotten rid of the bad blood between them and made amends, and the two were now good friends. She liked being a part of Mikasa, Armin, and Eren's entourage. She didn't have to look at Jean smile sadly at her whenever she spoke, or put up with Reiner's constant flirtations, or defend her plate of food against Sasha's ravenous stomach. Although she cared about each and every one of the cadets she had met in the past year and a half, it was nice to be uninvolved from all of that drama.

"How about I shave your nuts, kid?" Nephele suggested, her hands still covering her face. "Just get it over with. I'm taking a bath as soon as this is done."

"As you wish," the nurse agreed. Sitting up in a cot in the infirmary with her legs stretched out in front of her, Nephele was beyond relieved that this day had finally come. In the time that had passed, her legs had lost almost all of the muscle she had accumulated, but the rest of her body had never been in better shape. She was going to train every day and every night until her legs caught up. Until the day of the final exam. Unable to see what the nurse was doing, Nephele could still hear the sawing sound of the knife cutting into her cast. She started to feel it loosen around her leg, and then there was a crack similar to the one that resonated in her head when she broke her leg as the nurse split the cast in two with her hands, exposing her leg to the world once again.

"Gross!" Eren complained, and when Nephele uncovered her eyes she could see him pinching his nose and waving his hand through the air. Mikasa wore an expression of subtle disgust. When she followed their gazes, Nephele almost wept at what she saw. Her once smooth, porcelain leg was covered in dark red hair that was almost brown, each strand half an inch long. The skin around her calf where the cast had been was yellowed and flaking off in some places. The nurse lifted her leg to remove the cast, seeming unfazed by the leg's almost revolting condition, and discarded it in a trash barrel. She retrieved her clipboard from the bedside table and held her pen at the ready to take notes.

"It healed rather well," Armin noted as he stepped closer to take a look. Nephele felt like a lab rat. A hairy, smelly lab rat.

"You have Hange Zoe to thank for that," said the nurse. "So, how does it feel?"

"It's itchy," she complained, though didn't dare scratch her leg in front of them. Her skin might flake off her something. Oh, god, she was going to faint.

"Try to stand up. Don't put too much weight on it," advised the nurse as she scribbled something down on the sheet of paper.

Doing as instructed, Nephele swung her legs off the side of the cot, taking a deep inhalation of the antiseptic-infused air. Her feet dangled just a few inches off the wooden floor, until finally she scooted off the bed, her foot coming into contact with the ground for the first time in months. It felt strange. When she stood, she had placed too much weight onto her left leg, and she tilted precariously to the side. If it hadn't been for Mikasa, who rushed to her aid and placed an arm around her waist to hold her steady, Nephele would have fallen flat on her face.

"Thank you," Nephele murmured to the girl, smiling abashedly. Mikasa nodded and loosened her grip once Nephele had steadied herself, but kept her hand on her hip in case she were to fall over again. Though she had never vocalized it, it was clear that Mikasa cared for her. She was protective of those she loved, which was one of her many endearing qualities. Nephele hoped that one day, someone would care about her as much as Mikasa cared for Eren.

"Careful. It'll be about a week before you can walk without crutches, since you haven't used your leg in so long. After that, you'll still have complications, but we'll be assigning you another nurse to help with physical therapy," said the nurse, not looking at her as she continued writing.

Staring down at her legs, Nephele noticed how out of shape they were. She had lost most of the muscle in her thighs and calves from lack of exercise, though the rest of her body had never been in better shape. She wondered how long it would take for them to catch up with the progress she had made in the other regions of her body.

"When will I be able to return to training?" she asked solemnly, her gaze now casted at the floor.

"I'd say about a month before you can go back to your normal classes," the nurse replied, now looking up to see her reaction.

An entire month? She was supposed to graduate in six more months! How could she hope to be on the same level as her peers by then, let alone the top ten? She would probably have to remaster the ODM as well. Who knows how long that would take?

"Cheer up, Neph. You can probably still exercise to rebuild your strength in the meantime," Armin consoled, giving the nurse a hopeful look. "Right?"

Nodding, it seemed that the woman had finished her note taking. "Yes. You can discuss a workout regimen with your therapist, but be careful not to push yourself. The last month is critical to your long term recovery."

"See? You'll be kicking ass soon enough," Eren grinned, giving her a thumbs up. What did she do to deserve such kind friends?

With tears brimming in her eyes, Nephele smiled at the three. "Th-Thanks, guys. I don't know what I'd do without you." If Nephele ever cried, it would only be out of happiness, she decided. The only tears she'd ever shed from then on would be those of joy.

Afterwards, Mikasa went to the showers with Nephele. The sun had just begun its final descent of the day, peeking out just barely behind the jagged peaks of the valley's mountain and warping the blue sky into shades of mauve, indigo, orange, and pink. As she swung forward on her crutches, Nephele let her foot brush against the blades of grass and imagined that they were lending her the earth's strength. Casting her gaze to the sky, she smiled to herself.

'May my feet keep me grounded, and my heart push my dreams above the clouds.'