Chapter three
The next day, Starfire waited to hear from Levi, but when he never came to her room, she dressed in her usual clothes and left with Kristie to get some breakfast. They sat with another girl who's name was Ymir. She seemed to take a special liking to Kristie.
After breakfast, since she still hadn't heard anything from Levi, she stuck to Kristies side.
"Where will we go next?" Starfire asked Kristie.
"I'm going to meet some friends at the training ground. You'll probably get to know them since they're in the scouting troops too. We'll do some exercises and training bouts while we're down there." She explained. Starfire liked this idea of meeting new people and followed silently behind her new friend.
Meanwhile Levi Ackermen sat with General Paxis and Commander Erwin in a meeting room arguing about this new stranger.
"Sir," began Erwin, "I've talked with this young woman, and she is genuinely unaware of what she fell into. When she came here she didn't even know what a Titan was. She doesn't even look human and all we know is of how a human can turn into a Titan, not whatever she is."
Levi nodded and continued, "we had to inform her of what Titans were ourselves. She possesses the ability to fly and create orbs of green light in her hands and eyes. I have yet to see the power of these lights but she yielded them like a weapon. She's powerful, sir. With the combined forces of her and Yeager, we can eradicate the Titans in the Trost district"
They both waited for Paxis to say something. When he didn't Erwin continued, "Sir, with all due respect, this woman is not someone you want as an enemy. She says friends of hers are searching for her and will bring her home. In the mean time, I suggest we make this woman our ally and have her assist us in clearing the Trost district of Titans.
The General tapped his fingers on the table seemingly deep in thought. Both men had said all they wanted to say and were waiting for a reply now.
Finally, after a few minutes of silence, Paxis replies, "I understand what you gentlemen are trying to say. And if what you say is true, that there will be others coming for her, then we need to treat her well; so when they come they will not turn on us if they see us as her enemy. If these people can travel like she does then I do not want to be on the receiving end of their wrath. Ackerman," Levi looked up at him, "you are in charge of her. Are you sure you can handle Yeager and this new recruit?"
Levi nods, "Yes sir."
Paxis stands and the others follow. He nods and bids them a farewell, "well then I expect daily reports from you regarding both of your charges. I will report this to the higher ups and defend you men. Have a good day then." Erwin and Levi sit back down with a sigh.
"That was much easier than I'd planned," confesses Erwin.
"I guess he saw there were more advantages to having her as an ally than an enemy. Oh well, I better go find her before she gets in trouble." Levi stands to leave and nods to Erwin as he leaves.
Back on the training field, Starfire had Jean's face against the ground and his arms pinned behind his head. Krista and a few other spectators were snickering or cheering.
Starfire let go of Jean and tried to help him stand. But he pulled his arm away from her and dusted himself off, trying to regain what pride he could rummage from his obvious loss. She shrugged off his sore response to losing and smiled at her new friends.
"Wait to go, Starfire, that's the fourth one in a row!" Shouted Krista proudly. Starfire had also met Connie, Sasha, and a member of Levi's squad, Armin. The all smiled at her now, even Connie, who had a knot on his head from his own bout with her.
Armin looked at her now, with a curious look in his eyes. "Hey Starfire," he called.
"Yes Armin?" she replied.
"I remember yesterday you had these green things coming out of your hands. Can I ask what they were?" The others who weren't on the field yesterday looked at him cluelessly.
"Wait," interrupts Connie, "What green things?"
Starfire answered, "Those are my starbolts. I can generate them in my hands and my eyes. Here, look."
Starfire raised her hand and produces a green orb. All of their eyes widened and Connie jumped behind Sasha while Sasha was frozen on the spot. She saw their frightened reactions and quickly tried to lighten the mood by throwing the spheres in the air and juggling with them.
"There is nothing to be afraid of, friends. Look, I can even juggle more!" She added two more spheres into the mix and was throwing five of them into the air. The others started to calm down and see her as she was before: a friend. They even started laughing and teasing eachother.
For no apparent reason though, their faces all turned pale and they quickly stood in a single file line shoulder to shoulder. Confused, Starfire put away her starbolts and was about to ask what the matter was when a voice right next to her sent chills down her spine.
"What the hell are you idiots doing?" She let out a shriek and stood in line with the other soldiers and looked down while Levi stared at them all with murderous eyes. He did not want such a spectacle to grab the attention of the other cadets.
"Armin, Starfire, come with me. We're going to find the others and leave for the castle soon." Armin nodded and fell into step behind Levi as he started walking away, motioning for her to do the same. She waved to the others, and rushed to follow Armins lead.
Later, the rest of their comrades were all dressed and saddled up. Starfire had been introduced to the others. None of them seemed to show any distinct attitude toward her except curiosity and trepidation. The first one to say anything to her was Eren after they had already been riding for almost an hour.
"Your name is Starfire, right?" He started off.
"Yes, and you're Eren. I've heard you have the ability to turn into a monster. I have a friend back home that can do something like that too. His name is Beast Boy," She smiled and seemed not to notice his confused look.
"Um, that's cool I guess. Would you like to know where we're heading?" He offered.
She smiled at him and gladly replied, "Yes, I would love to be informed of our destination."
As Eren went on to describe the castle, Mikasa, Eren's friend, rode past. Not once taking her eyes off Starfire. The girls made eye contact, but while Starfire smiled kindly, Mikasa's eyes narrowed and she kicked her horse and rode ahead of the two. Starfire wondered why she would have such a sour attitude, but put it out of her mind and returned to listening to Eren.
The rest of the way there, Starfire explained to the others the extent of her powers while they all listened in awe. After she was done explaining, the others took a turn and told her all about their 3D maneuvering gear.
After a while of talking and then riding in silence, they finally arrived. Starfire gazed at the wonderful structure of stone, wondering what would happen inside those strong walls. They all dismounted and led their horses to a barn.
Once their steeds were taken care of, Levi stood before the group of soldiers, ready to make an announcement. But is was nothing Starfire expected to hear.
"Mikasa, clean the ground floor. Eren, clean the windows. Jean, clean the upper floors. Armin, you'll take the kitchen and the mess hall. Starfire, you'll dust all of the rafters in the dining room, clean all of the windows on the outside, and clean the chimneys."
They all nodded. Except for Starfire. After Levi took his exit she turned to the others and asked, "Why do we have to clean so much? Can't we just clean the rooms we'll be staying in?" Jean snickered and his arm around her shoulders.
"Our squad leader my be the best there is, but he's a clean freak. You'll even see him wiping his blade in batttle before all of the fighting is over with," he whispered to her. She pulled his arm off of her.
"Very well," she says simply and goes to find a rag to clean the windows.
It wasn't until late that night they all finished their chores. She was instructed that her new room was in the same hall as Levi's. She assumed it so he could keep a close eye on her. Starfire collapsed on her new bed on the top floor and fell asleep dreaming of what will happen the next day.
She awoke to a banging on her door and drowsily stood up to answer it. She was rubbing her eye when she opened the door and barely caught the bundle of clothes thrown at her.
"Levi says you are to wear a uniform," Mikasa said in a bland tone.
"Ok, thank you," she calls to Mikasa who was already walking away. She closed the door and quickly changed into the outfit. It took her a while to figure out the strange straps. Eventually she gave up on them and just did not put them on. After all, those were used to secure the user during the use of 3DMG. Which she would not be using. She donned the jacket with the survey corps insignia on the sleeve and contently walked to the dining hall to meet the others.
The rest of the day and into the week was spent training with the others and learning of the new world she was thrown into. She took turns teaching others her style of hand to hand combat while they taught her lessons on the Titans. By the end of the seven days she'd been there she was excited to prove her worth in battle. She wanted to show the others she could fight these monsters like the rest of them.
It looked like she would get her chance sooner than she thought. That morning during breakfast, which consisted of bread, eggs (from the chickens they raised themselves) and coffee, Levi strode in and called for everyones attention.
"We have reports of a collection of Titans still residing in the Trost district. I received orders late last night that we are to leave today and help exterminate some of them. We will leave in an hour," He grabbed himself a coffee and exited the room. She felt a nudge from her right and saw Jean, who had a strange mischevious smile on his face.
"If you get scared during battle, you can always find me, I'll protect you," he said with a wink.
"You're right," she started, making him grin, "If I hide behind you, the Titans won't look past your horse face and they'll ignore us both," She smirked and walked away haughtily. Leaving a very defeated Jean with a shadow cast over his eyes muttering something about not having a horse face. She left him and the others and went to her room to clean it up before they set out.
As she was opening her door, she heard foot steps to her right and turned to see Levi.
"Hello, sir" she greeted.
He stopped infront of her and replied, "Are you nervous to for your first encounter?"
She looked at her hands while she stroked her thumb, "just a little bit. These things are much more terrifying than what I ever faced at home. I've only ever seen such blood lust in predators on my home planet. Such things should not exist on Earth." She held her head up high and looked him straight in the eye. "But I am determined to show the others that I can be of use. I protect my friends at home with my life and I intend to do so with my comrades here." Her answer seemed to set something off in Levi.
"As noble as that cause is, I came here to tell you something. Everyone here has seen someone they know die fighting. That means getting crushed or eaten alive by those things. You need to know that sometimes there is only so much you can do. This isn't like where you come from and everything turns out like you wanted. The good guys don't always win. In fact, here, they hardly ever win." His harsh words seem to have the effect he wanted. She refused to look him in the eye and her knuckles were turning white around the door knov she'd clutched during his speech.
"It sounds to me like you've lost people close to you. For that I'm deeply sorry. But you won't change my mind. I will not allow any one near me to be eaten or murdered by those things. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to change. This uniform is who you people are. It's not who I am. I will fight in my own battle gear." She left him standing there and shut the door quietly behind her.
Quickly, she abandoned the survey corps uniform on the ground. Leaving it there as a small protest against the little mans cleanliness obsession. Digging in her drawer, she found her own clothes and ceremoniusly donned each item with a prayer for her and her friends safety. Finally, she pressed a button under each of her wrists and her arm gaurds unfolded a layer of metal to cover her upper arms. She pressed a similar button on each of her boots so they unfolded up her legs. Then did the same things again on her skirt so the metal climbed up her stomach and attached to her shirt.
Finally, she clicked the jade stone connected to her metal necklace attached to her shirt and it unhinged to reveal a triangular silver piece of metal. She pulled the triangle out and unfolded it until it stiffened and shaped the crown of her people that lined her face and stopped at her chin with two points at both of her temples. She'd let Cyborg upgrade her outfit about a month prior to her coming here and was very glad she did. She had new found confidence and pride in her gait and walked out of her room ready to take on those monsters and prove her squad leader wrong.
She met the others at the stables and ignored their open mouth gapes. Jean, Armin and Eren simoultaneously clutched their noses which all started to gush blood at the same. Mikasa sneered at them and tended to her horse. Starfire started to do the same when Levi walked in. He stopped in his tracks when he saw her.
He could barely believe the woman he saw now was the same one who he'd just talked to in the hallway. She seemed stronger and fearsome. The confidence she emitted was even effecting his troops. The others moved about like they felt they needed to prove their worth next to her. Unfortunately, he felt like he was the reason behind her steely gaze. He didn't mean to anger her earlier. He was actually worried about her. She had a personality like Krista's. She felt a need to make other people happy and to help them. But she didn't do those things to prove anything to herself. She just loved to assist others. Which was why he didn't want her freezing up on the battlefield feeling helpless while she saw her comrades losing limbs and organs to the Titans. He just wanted to prepare her. Which it looks like he did. But it seemed he was mad at her now. She wouldn't even look in his direction. This is not what he wanted at all. He sighed and walked slowlyt to his horse. While throwing on the saddle, he thought he definitely needed to work on his people skills. He began to wonder shortly if she liked poo jokes at the expense of others humiliation. He was good at those.
Sorry this one was longer than the others. I expected more to happen in this chapter but it ran a bit long so all the other stuff got pushed to the next chapter. Chapter 4 is gonna be a good one! If you like it so far don't forget to leave a review :)