Chapter 3: New Places; New People
A wagon being drawn by two horses pulled up in front of the Slayer Base entrance where all of the Elite Slayers were waiting with a suitcase of belongings. Slane and Ace took care to try and cover their slayer parts, but Ace's arm was too big for his own good and Slane's bangs could only cover so much of his eyes. The driver was a member of the Survey Corps though and no one would see us on our way over to HQ, so it wouldn't really matter. Although we have revealed ourselves to the Survey Corps, it was still important for us to stay a secret from the rest of the humans. Our interactions with the Survey Corps is simply another test to see if we're stable. The driver hopped down from the wagon and helped us load all of our bags into the wagon.
"This is so exciting!" Elli shrieked, "I've never been anywhere inside the walls other than our own base!"
"I do have to admit this is pretty exciting," Slane commented.
Slane and Ace hopped into the wagon and helped us each board. I was the last one to enter the wagon and with all twelve of us in the same wagon, it was a tight fit.
"Man it's sure a lot smaller with all of us in here now," Ace commented.
"Try and find a seat everyone," the driver told us, "It's going to take about two hours to get to HQ and the road is a bit bumpy."
Ace sat down on a bench and relaxed until Elli jumped into his lap and clutched unto his neck.
"There's no more room so I have to sit on your lap!" Elli said as she smiled mischievously.
Ace looked towards the other benches but to his dismay there was nowhere else to sit.
"Ugh," he groaned, "Don't get any ideas, cause we're still not a couple."
Ark and Lavender sat together closely; Ark had his arm around Lavender's shoulders while she rested her head on his shoulder. Ark glanced around to see if anyone was looking in their direction and pecked Lavender on the head. Alph took notice of that and whistled at them.
"Don't get too comfy you two. We have a child among us and we don't want to scar her innocence," Alph teased.
The two blushed bright red at his comment.
"Alph, shut up!" Ark growled with his cheeks turning redder by the second as he saw everyone look at them.
"What does he mean by 'too comfy'?" Elli asked innocently.
"What he means is that-" Ren was about to explain to Elli when Alexander and Charlotte both put a hand to his face.
"Baka!" Charlotte snapped.
Elli stared at the three of them in confusion. Noticing her confused expression, Alexander took his hand off of Ren's mouth and squatted down in front of her.
"We'll explain when you're older," he answered with a smile and ruffled her hair.
I noticed Con and Mira were having a quiet conversation in front of me where no one could hear. Mira seemed worried about something while Con was trying to comfort her.
"Hey what's up guys?" I asked them.
Mira looked at me and bit her lip nervously before replying, "I'm worried about what happens if I shift."
"Oh," I said, "Mira, you shouldn't worry about that Mira, it'll only make it more likely to happen."
"I know that, but I can't control my emotions. If they get too out of control I'll shift without control. And you know what happened last time my slayer ran into a human! My slayer form is too aggressive for humans to handle," she complained.
"Relax Mira," I told her, "You won't be alone. I'll be here to keep a close eye on you and the other Elites will be here for you too."
She let out a heavy sigh, "I suppose…."
"Mira," Con told her, "You're fine."
The ride was very uncomfortable; all twelve of our bodies made the wagon very stuffy and the road we travelled on was very bumpy making it hard to stay still. There was barely air coming in the wagon due to the covers on it which made it hard to breathe. Despite all that however, the slayers all wore a smile on their faces. The excitement in their eyes and voices was enough to let them ignore the hot, bouncy two hour ride. Sure there were a few complaints thrown around here and there (mainly from the usual grumpy Ren), but we simply laughed it off. Alph had a laugh when Mira was about to fall asleep until we hit a bump, causing her to literally jump to the ceiling of the wagon. Alph enjoyed teasing her about her "cat like reflexes" throughout the rest of the trip. Elli fell asleep on Ace's lap which looked like a brother cradling his younger sister, earning a couple teases from Alph. Eventually Alph's teasing began to annoy everyone so I had to make him knock it off. The two hour drive over to the Survey Corps HQ ended a little earlier then noon. The sudden jerk of the wagon stopping caused all of us to fall to the side a bit. I could hear voices outside the wagon, one that sounded like Commander Erwin and another that sounded like Lance Corporal Levi. The wagon door opened and in front stood the commander and corporal at his side.
"Welcome slayers. I hope your journey here wasn't too unpleasant," Commander Erwin greeted.
"Not at all," I answered while hopping out the wagon.
Ace and Slane jumped out after me and bowed their heads in greeting.
"I don't believe I've introduced the other half-slayers," I said while gesturing to them, "This is Slane Tellers and Ace Valentine. These are the two other alphas among the Elites."
"Heya nice to meet y-" Ace casually greeted, but was cut off by Slane who just glared at him.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Commander," Slane greeted in a tone to correct Ace's informal speaking tone.
"Uh….. ya what he said," Ace replied while flashing a cheesy grin.
I face-palmed and shook my head, "Excuse Alpha Ace, he's not exactly the sharpest shed with tools."
"You mean the sharpest tool in the shed?" Ace corrected me.
"Don't correct me," I snapped.
"But you jus-"
"Shut it!" I hissed, "We will discuss this later. Don't make us look like fools."
I bowed apologetically to the commander and corporal, "Forgive us. We must still be a little dysfunctional from the stuffy air in the wagon."
Erwin and Levi gave us strange looks, but simply shrugged it off.
Erwin cleared his throat, "Well we should probably get you situated in the HQ."
"That is a fabulous idea Commander," I commented. I looked back at Ace and Slane, "I want you two to keep a close eye on the slayers. They might get a bit uncomfortable around so many people so I want you to help them."
Ace and Slane nodded their heads and began to help the slayers get out the wagon. Charlotte and Alexander jumped out first.
Charlotte stretched her arms up, "The air smells so fresh out here."
"The sun's warmer too," Alexander commented as he turned his body towards the sun and opened himself up to it.
Elli hopped into Ace's arms and cuddled up to him, "Acey bear!"
Ace sighed and let out a disappointed grumble to me, "I thought ravens were supposed to be smart. She's too thick-headed."
"I don't know Ace," I teased, "You two seem pretty cute."
Ace glared at me, "Don't you joke about this June! You'll only encourage her!"
Elli let out a giddy laugh, "Even June supports us together! Just face it Ace, we're meant to be!"
Ace dropped Elli on the floor, "NEVER happening!"
Elli began to tear up, "That hurt Ace! Why'd you drop me?!"
Ace face became surprised when he realized he was making her cry and bent down to rub her head, "I'm sorry Elli."
She jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck, "You're forgiven!"
I giggled at the two of them. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see Alph with a mischievous smile on his face.
"Look at Mira over there," he told me with a grin.
I peered over his shoulder and saw Mira and Levi talking. But Mira's body position was different. She seemed more shy and her fingers played with each other behind her back. She was nervous, but not in a scared nervous way like I'd expect her to be. Levi seemed slightly interested as well, but still kept his same composure. The only thing different was that he kept his arms at his sides and not crossed in front of his chest.
"It seems Mira has crush," Alph sang quietly.
"We never know. She may just be nervous about her emotional shifts," I replied.
Alph gave me a questionable look, "Come on, do you really think that? Just look at her. She's basically using him as eye candy."
"I suppose you're right," I answered, "but don't go around embarrassing her Alph. I already know what you're planning on doing and I won't allow it."
"Oh come on June," Alph whined, "You're no fun."
"Alpha June," Erwin called to me.
I looked over and walked over to him.
"I would like to discuss with you about our plan for our next expedition," he told me, "since you will be joining us after all it would be best if you knew about our strategy to advance."
"Alright then I'm all ears," I told him.
"Come with me to my office and we can discuss."
We began to talk about Erwin's strategy which involved the Survey Corps to be spread out in a large formation pattern. It was designed so that they could cover as much ground as possible without having to kill every single titan they saw, which was extremely different then what we slayers were used to. I assumed Ace would be disappointed when I told him he wouldn't be killing as many titans as he thought. The only time they would engage a titan was when it was an aberrant. They would each communicate through flares, but it kind of confused me as to which color flare meant what.
"So that's how we will be formed now I'm assuming you're mainly curious as to where the slayers will be placed in this formation," the commander said.
"Yes that would be useful information," I replied.
He pointed his finger toward the map of the formation, "You will be escorting us towards the base we will be staying at for the week. Since there are twelve of you who are capable of killing titans, I'll have each of you placed around the formation to create a barrier around us. Therefore if titan's tried to attack, the slayers would react first and slay them before they could reach us."
"A well thought up plan," I commented, "However, I can't say I'm very comfortable with the placement of my slayers.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, although some slayers are indeed able to slay titans well, some slayers aren't as well capable of killing titans or cannot function well on the field without their Alpha's orders," I explained, "When in their slayer form, they have a different mindset that makes them think more like animals then humans. I would not want to risk the lives of you men by the slayers being unable to protect them."
"Then what do you suggest?" he asked me.
"Each pack has their own specialties and fight better when they are together then separated," I explained. I pointed to the front of the formation, "I can place Ace's pack here. They are well suited for up close and personal combat with titans so they can demolish titans that first appear in the front. Slane's pack are mainly good for support so I'll have them in the middle so that they can see everywhere. As for my pack, we can take up the rear and take care of any aberants that are sighted. We specialize in assassination more than long combat."
Erwin nodded, "That sounds fine. Whatever works best for the slayers and benefits us the most."
"Thank you," I said, "I hope you will excuse me. I need to check on someone."
"You are excused."
I walked out and strolled through the halls. I wanted to see how Mira was feeling. I looked for her in the halls, but couldn't find any sign of her.
"Heya June," Ace greeted me when I crossed paths with him in the halls.
"Shouldn't you be setting up your room? You aren't just putting all the work on poor Slane right?" I interrogated.
"Of course not!" he quickly replied, "We finished that and decided to explore the HQ a bit. But I'm afraid I may have gotten myself separated from him and lost."
No surprise there…
"Anyways, I thought you were talking with Commander Erwin," he said.
"I was, but I excused myself to go find Mira," I told him, "By the way, have you seen her?"
"Either she's in her room with Elli and Lavender or she's taking a catnap in some tree somewhere," he replied.
"Thank you, I'll go shake every tree I pass by," I joked.
I walked past him and headed towards her dorm. As I walked, I began to think to myself.
I wonder what it's going to be like now that we're gathered among the humans. If we can prove ourselves to the commander, we may just be able to be with humans inside the walls other than the military. It would be nice to act human again among humans. Although slayers are human, their animal genes cause them to act…. Well like animals and is not always the most sane company to have around. But the first step is to earn the Survey Corps trust. Let's hope we don't act too insane.