A/N: So most of you a probably wondering why I had Levi beat Caryn in a sparring match. I can tell you though, that I had fully meant to for a purpose, and there is a reason as to why she was defeated so single-handedly by him. Of course, I won't reveal why until the story starts to completely unfold, so I ask that you all be patient. It will be worth the wait (;

Oh, and don't worry. Our little goddess is going to kick ass very soon.

I also forgot to mention that I did change the storyline a bit, so instead of having the recruiting ceremony for the 104th on the day of the expedition, it will be a couple days after. The expedition will follow suit. I hope this does good not to confuse anyone, I just wanted to speed things up a bit. Thanks and continue (:

(o~o~o~)

Hanji was devastated.

Right under her nose, her two Titan test subjects had been murdered, and she wasn't there to do a thing about it. Not only was she devastated, she was furious. So furious that she demanded the culprit be found immediately and punished for their crime against the Legion.

Caryn watched in remorse as the scientist continued to wail in front of Sonny and Bean's corpses that were now only reduced to bone. It pained her to see her new friend in such a saddened state, but only partially. She was actually a little relieved that they were killed. Why would anyone want to hold a Titan of all things captive?

"That just seems a little too deranged for me to handle," the blonde muttered under her breath, relishing in the warmth Petra's spare cloak gave her. She was somewhat relieved that at least this particular piece of clothing wasn't too small for her.

"Oi, do you always talk to yourself? Or are you secretly insane like shitty-glasses over there?"

Caryn jumped, startled that Levi had just suddenly appeared next to her. She turned her head, peering into his eyes under the hood that was shadowing her features. "Do you always sneak up on people?" she asked matter-of-factly, earning a glare from the Corporal.

"Don't answer a question with a question, you shitty-brat." He retorted, opting to smack her on the back off the head. When he did so, it felt more like an annoying pat. Caryn almost wondered why he was being so gentle, considering it wasn't in his nature to be. If he kept being like this with her, she'd forget her formalities and it wouldn't entirely be her fault.

"Sorry. I was just thinking…" she tilted her head to the side, troublesome thoughts crossing her mind. "…who do you think could have done something like this? You would think that security would have caught the offender the moment they struck, but apparently not…"

"Tch. It makes me wonder too. The guards must have been doing a half-assed job to just let them slip through their fingers. Either that, or they were sitting elsewhere with their hands in their pants."

Caryn blinked confusedly, not quite sure what he was trying to say. "Pardon?"

Levi paused, placing a hand on his forehead in annoyance. Was she really that innocent to not understand what he was getting at? He shook his head, turning the way he came and walking away briskly. "Nothing, forget what I said. Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself while trying to figure it out."

'Oh, now that's utterly cold!'

"I'm not going to get hurt! Those times were just accidents!" she pouted at his retreating back, almost wishing she could throw some wind, water, ice, anything that would make him turn back around and acknowledge her. Deciding against it, she sighed and turned back around to continue watching the distressed female cry over the loss of her Titan friends.

'Maybe it really was for the best, but…' she paused, narrowing her eyes at the pile of bones laid out in front of her.

'There is something very important we're missing here.'

(o~o~o~)

A few days after the tragic murder event, Petra and Caryn were lounging in their shared room. A soft knock reverberated through the room, and the ginger-haired soldier went to open it. Caryn looked up from rummaging through her bag, hearing Petra exchange a few words with another cadet. She couldn't see who was on the other side of the door, but after a few minutes, Petra opened the door wider to grab a medium-sized package from him, thanking him and shutting the door with her leg.

"Special delivery," she joked, walking over to the curious blonde and setting the package down on her bed. Caryn raised an eyebrow at her.

"Is this for me?" she asked, eyes scanning over the package before carefully placing her hands on the top. She looked at her roommate for confirmation.

"Yep, looks like your uniform finally came," she smiled as the goddess began to open the box, pulling out several pairs of clothing. "Looks like they'll fit perfectly this time. Go on, try them on!"

Everything was accounted for. Her jacket, her cloak, her 3DMG straps, her pants, and her knee-length boots. Caryn cringed slightly at seeing the bottom half of her uniform, disappointed that she had to wear pants. Sooner or later, she'd ask the Corporal for a drastic change. She could move more freely without the straps and pants, especially when she didn't need to use the maneuvering gear. She was perfectly capable of jumping from tree to tree without hesitation.

Quickly undressing and putting the uniform on, she was happy to find that it was indeed less tight then the borrowed uniform she had worn previously, but it still had areas here and there which were uncomfortable. Shrugging, she decided that it just took some getting used to.

"I was right! It is a perfect fit!" Petra exclaimed happily, grabbing Caryn's cloak and tossing it at the blonde goddess. She caught the piece of clothing before it could hit her face. "Hurry and put that on, we've got training to do today and we don't want to be late, otherwise Captain will make us run laps."

Nodding to the shorter girl, she threw the cloak over her shoulders, buttoning it at the neck and putting her hair into a pony-tail. It was helpful that even though she slept with it down, it hadn't ruffled itself to the point it needed major tending to.

"Okay, I'm ready. Shall we go?" Caryn gestured to the door, filing out with Petra on her heels. Truthfully, the deity didn't really want to get involved with the 3DMG again, but orders were orders; and being a subordinate, she couldn't disobey them. Unless she wanted another beating, and that was the last thing she wanted.

'Speaking of subordinates…'

"Say, Petra…" she looked at the girl as they walked down the corridors to the outside world. "Aren't the new recruits coming tomorrow?"

"I believe so..." Petra replied, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Commander Erwin is supposed to head to the moving up ceremony today and convince them to join the Scouting Legion. Since we had to postpone the expedition to a later date, this gives us more time to recruit new cadets and train them so they'll be prepared the day of. Though it's hard to say how many will join this time, usually it's a small, brave amount of soldiers."

Of course it would be a small amount. Caryn couldn't blame them, joining a certain force that fought against the very monsters they had wanted to be away from in the first place was a difficult thing to do. "I see. Well, you can't very well train someone who doesn't have the heart in the first place, yes?" she responded matter-of-factly, and Petra nodded.

"Exactly. With how low our numbers are, any skilled soldier who is willing to fight is sufficient enough. But the ones who replace their fear with a sense of valiance are the individuals who truly seek their freedom and humanity's the most."

The duo chatted, engrossed in their conversation as they walked out of the castle, going their separate ways as Petra went to greet Eld and Gunther and Caryn to Eren, who was currently feeding the horses of the Legion while they stood in their stalls waiting eagerly.

"Good day, Eren," Caryn greeted the green-eyed teen cheerfully. Eren jumped, fumbling to readjust his grip on the feed bucket so he didn't drop it. The horse he was feeding snorted into the feed as if what he just witnessed amused him. Eren smiled sheepishly at the goddess, a faint blush on his cheeks. Caryn couldn't help but snicker at him.

'Aww, he's flustered. It's actually quite fun to startle him sometimes.'

"H-Hi, Caryn! What brings you here?" he stuttered, pausing as his eyes trailed down her body. The goddess didn't feel insulted when he did, because she knew he was only taking in her new uniform that was properly fit. "You're uniform came, huh? I-It looks nice!"

"Thank you," she grinned, patting him on his shoulder. "Although I do wish to alter it a bit later on."

Eren looked confused. "You're going to change it?"

"If the Corporal lets me, then yes. I am not used to wearing such tight clothes. Goddesses in Elysium don't wear pants unless we are doing extremely taxing manual labor." She replied indignantly, huffing as she picked at the 3DMG straps.

The green-eyed boy blinked, moving onto the next horse to feed it. "What do you wear, then?"

"Well, we have a very precise way of dressing. Usually we wear dresses and skirts made out of thin, white materials. We also wear plenty of gold and silver jewelry. Personally, I prefer diadems and arm bangles."

"That sounds…comprehensive." Eren added, bringing one of his hands up to rake through his hair. "Do all, um…Elysians have appearances like you do too? Or…"

Caryn laughed at his question, shaking her head slightly at his innocence. "For the most part, yes. We do look supplementary divine to humans, but only just. For instance, our eyes are never just one color. And though we do have the same hair attributes and such, color is not restrained in our genes. A deity can be born with red, green, blue, or even purple hair. This is also why my strands are not particularly blonde; they are more white the accounted for."

Eren gazed at the hair on the goddesses head, eyeing it while it was in its ponytail. As if alive and complimented, it ruffled slightly in the wind, and she brushed a stray strand back behind her ear. "That's pretty cool! I wonder what it's like there."

"It's amazing, Eren." Caryn exclaimed excitedly, throwing her hands in the air animatedly. Talking about Elysium always made things better for her. "It's a beautiful, tranquil place; everyone there resides in happiness, and we hardly ever have conflict. Someday, I want to bring you all there. You'd all love it."

Though it was taboo to bring humans to Elysium, is wasn't against the rules. And sometimes, a human with questionable skill was turned into a god if they were recognized by the queen. Caryn understood that her great uncle had been a human-born god; and just like pure-blood deities, he was acknowledged all the same for his impressive power.

"You'd really do that for us?" Eren asked the goddess, astounded. She nodded, giving him a warm smile.

"Of course. But…" Caryn paused, pursing her lips and fingering the button on her cloak. "I don't know how my mother would feel about that right now. I did break the most important rule by letting my existence be known. Usually when a human travels to Elysium they're a trusted ally, and even so, it's only an individual. Bringing multiple humans to my home has never happened before. But I'm willing to make an exception, and somehow, I'll convince my mother to as well."

"You're…really generous, aren't you Caryn?"

"I try to be," she winked, and once again, his face reddened to a small extent. She felt his gaze burning on the cut that marred her cheek, the gash now scabbed over but not completely healed. It irritated the goddess to know that she couldn't speed up the process, especially when she knew it was a repulsive yellow color. Perhaps she should cover it up when she had the time?

"Your cheek…" the titan-shifter pointed out, and on impulse, the blonde covered it with her hand.

"Disgusting, isn't it?" she said sadly, frustration lacing her tone as she hid the cut from view. "Captain Levi gave me this when we were sparring. I'd heal it if I could, but unfortunately my powers are limited here." Shaking her head and getting rid of the woeful thoughts, she smiled and took her hand off her cheek, waving it reassuringly. "But don't worry, he didn't leave unscathed either."

"So it's true…" Eren replied, astonished. "You really did fight Corporal! How was it? Is he terrifyingly strong? I mean, I'd know that since he did beat me during my trial, but…"

"He's very strong, just like everyone has said. He did beat me, after all."

"H-He beat you?!" his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. The teen had thought the goddess would have been stronger than Levi, in many ways. It was hard to believe that he was on the same level as a deity.

"Yes, he did. And fairly, I might add." Caryn leaned against the stall, looking over to her other squad members who were chatting a couple feet away from them, drinking either coffee or tea. She didn't know. "I was rather surprised myself that he possessed such incredible strength."

Caryn was rather glad that Eren hadn't seen her lose to Levi; it was a bit embarrassing to remember how she had cried when she was defeated. Usually, she had accepted her loss with the utmost pride.

"Man, I wish I could have watched." The green-eyed boy said gloomily, staggering when the horse he was feeding face-planted into the bucket diligently. "Captain never lets me out of the dungeon unless he has a job for me to do. And usually, its cleaning." The disappointment was easily evident in his voice as he gave a depressed look.

'Poor boy, he doesn't deserve such treatment. He may be able to turn into a Titan, but that doesn't make him any less human than he proves to be.' Caryn thought to herself, but she knew she was partly wrong.

They were interrupted when Gunther called to them from where he was sitting. "Hey, Eren!" he alerted the boy, making Eren turn his head to look at the elder comrade. Caryn took the bucket from his hands to he could pay attention to him and not ignore him. The horse whinnied lowly, nudging her hand playfully before bringing his head back into the bucket.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know if any of your classmates are going to join us?" he asked curiously, and the brunette tilted his head to the side, scratching behind his ear.

"A few, I think. Well, at least there were. I'm not so sure now." He replied vaguely, a dark look passing his features. The sound of hooves were heard in the distance as Caryn and her squad were requested to fall in, the black stallion responsible stopping with its rider. Gunther and Eld saluted Levi as he steadied his horse.

"Saddle up, everyone. We're going on patrol." He ordered the two men. Eren ran to greet the Corporal and Caryn followed suit, setting the feed bucket down and giving the horse a quick pat before trailing behind. Stopping next to Gunther and Eld, the duo saluted their superior.

"Good morning, Captain! Reporting for duty!" Eren said proudly, earning a firm nod from Levi. The ravenette stared down at them from atop his horse, his gaze raking over the blonde goddess next to the teen. She was saluting him, a gentle but determined look crossing her features while she was studied by him. His eyes landed on the cut upon her cheek, a pang of guilt stabbing him momentarily before disappearing just as fast. Levi then noticed the signature cloak and uniform she was wearing, now fitted to her form correctly.

"I see you've finally received your uniform," the Corporal acknowledged, and Caryn dropped her hand from her heart, confirming what he said by nodding her head.

"Yes, sir. A soldier brought it to my room earlier."

"Good. Hearing you complain about the tightness of it was starting to get irritating." He sat a bit farther back on his horse, looking between both cadets now. "Listen up, both of you. You are to stay within ten meters of me at all times. The only reason you are allowed to accompany us is because of my orders. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir!" they replied in unison. Caryn felt mischievousness creep into her as she covered her mouth with her hand, muttering under her breath. "Crystal, sir." Eren heard her, as did her other teammates and they let out muffled snorts of amusement. Levi turned to look at them over his shoulder as he steered his horse away, a scowl igniting on his face.

"Is there something else you would like to say?" he growled at them, and his subordinates stiffened, Eld and Gunther acting like they had no part as Caryn fumbled for words.

"N-No, of course not!" she replied hastily, then added, "Of course not, sir." The goddess emphasized the sir, just in case he missed it. Just in case.

"Then move out. Oh," Levi dismounted his steed, walking over to the puzzled blonde and pulling her by her cloak over to the stables. "I almost forgot, you don't have a horse yet do you? There's no way in hell I'm doubling up with you, you're already babied too much."

Caryn blushed out of embarrassment and bashfulness as he tugged her behind him, leaving his comrades to tend to their horses and get ready for departure. The goddess opened her mouth, gaping like a fish before closing it. It wouldn't do any good to argue with him.

He let go when they stopped in front of a couple stalls, and Levi gained the attention of the stable hand, passing words back and forth. He seemed irritated with what the man had been telling him, and he pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. Not sticking around to listen, Caryn strolled in front of a few horses, taking in their appearances. They were all beautiful and muscular, proof that they were hard-working animals. As much as she liked them, she felt there was something missing.

'They are not at all like steeds in Elysium. They're much smaller.'

"What the fuck do you mean, you can't find a horse for her?! Half of these damn animals haven't even been assigned to a soldier yet!" she heard Levi spit at the stable hand, and the soldier shriveled in fear under the ravenette's glare. Even though he was short in stature, the man didn't feel any less intimidated.

"I-I'm sorry, Corporal!" he squeaked, taking calculated steps back from the furious male. "But we aren't supposed to assign a soldier a horse that doesn't fit their personality! And well, um…" he paused, shivering as Levi's gaze stabbed him like a thousand knives. "There aren't any horses that would match hers, the four we have are either untrained or stubborn as mules."

Levi gritted his teeth angrily, grabbing the soldier by his collar and shaking him roughly. He was fuming at how this poor excuse for a stable hand was stalling his departure for patrol. If he didn't get the blonde a horse soon, the raven-haired man was bound to snap.

"Does it look like I give a shit?! I don't feel like being late on the job. Now bring me a damn horse cadet, before I shove my boot up your—"

Before Caryn could grab the back of his cravat and restrain him from mauling the poor man, alarmed yells could be heard from outside the stables, alerting the trio that something was horribly wrong. Letting the stable hand drop to the ground, Levi rushed out of the stables, Caryn hot on his heels.

Once they reached the entrance, a shocking scene had unfolded right before their eyes. Levi's eyes went uncharacteristically wide, and the goddess gasped in surprise and realization.

"Hurry, restrain it! It's too unstable!" Eld commanded his comrades, unsheathing his 3DMG blades and taking on a defensive stance as the black beast in front of them lashed out, sending any soldier near it tumbling away.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Oluo panicked, backing up safely when the animal had reared on him, trying to injure him. "We need to kill it before it damages anything else! The damn thing's crazy!"

Before Eld and Gunther could rush at the mysterious creature and strike him, Caryn sprinted towards them and stopped in front of the rearing, dangerous anomaly. She put her hands up, halting them in their place.

"Please, don't hurt him! He's just frightened!" she begged her teammates, and they glared at the beast behind her, their eyes filled with distrust and awe.

"Move away from it, Caryn!" Eld pleaded, trying to usher her away for her own safety. "It's too dangerous!"

A whir could be heard to the side of her, and she lunged in the direction it was coming from. She knew that sound. She stopped protectively in front of the familiar being, stopping him from approaching the creature. Levi had his blades drawn, stopped mid-swing from Caryn. She had jumped in front of him the second he had tried to attack the weird being behind her.

"Out of my way, brat." Levi said lowly, dangerously while keeping his eyes trained on the black animal. Caryn didn't budge, returning his harsh gaze with a glare of her own. She would not back down, she knew the creature all too well.

"No."

Levi paused, almost as if he was stunned by her resistance. "Move."

"I refuse."

Clicking his tongue, he swiped his blade in front of the goddess, pressing it under her chin and using it to lift her head. Her gaze was firm, resolute, and her hands were outstretched in a protective manner to let nothing get past her.

Levi's grey eyes took a deadly glint to them, ready to strike the disobeying cadet if necessary. He still felt hesitant when threatening to hurt her, but right now, he was protecting his subordinates and the Legion from the dangerous animal in front of them. He couldn't allow her to protect it.

"Did you hear me, cadet? I said to move! Or do you want to be mincemeat too?"

"I can't let you hurt him. He's harmless!" she cried, trying to get Levi to reconsider his actions. "Let me calm him down. I promise, he means you no harm. He's just spooked."

Levi narrowed his eyes at the goddess. Was she being serious? "And why should I let you do that? Why should I let this thing roam free and hurt more of my men? Because that's what you're asking me to let it do." He pressed, still holding up the blade against Caryn's jugular. "You're only in the way. Now I suggest you move, otherwise—"

'That does it!' Caryn screamed mentally. There was no coming to an understanding with this man. Deciding to put matters into her hands, she leaned forward, allowing the tip of the blade to nick some of the skin on her throat. A single stream of blood flowed down Levi's blade, causing him to instantly take it away as if he had been burned.

"He is my mother's familiar!" She screeched, causing everyone but the animal to go quiet. Some had wondered what a familiar was, and others looked at her in confusion and distress. Wiping away the blood from her throat, she huffed angrily, stomping up to the creature.

As soon as its red eyes landed on her, it calmed down rather quickly and lowered its head submissively. Caryn smiled gently, placing her hand on the base of his skull and patting it. The large creature was now seen as docile next to the goddess.

In short, the creature was identified as a dragon. He was about the size of a Clydesdale horse, with midnight black skin and scales. His eyes were red, the pupils slit like a cats and he stood on all fours with giant bat-like wings poking out of his back. Most would be terrified of such a creature, but not Caryn. Familiars were all too common in Elysium, and this one in particular belonged to the queen.

She continued to pet the nearly dormant dragon on the top of his head, looking back at her squad members. Luckily, the commotion they caused wasn't as drastic as it seemed, and it was only Squad Levi who was present. All of them looked extremely tense as she comforted him.

"Everything is alright now, these humans will not hurt you." Caryn cooed, and the dragon nudged her with his shadowed nose, earning a laugh from the goddess. "See? I told you all; he's harmless."

"We don't know that for sure," Gunther said, standing hesitantly with his blades at the ready. "It seems content with you, but what about the rest of us? It could attack at any moment if we're not careful!"

"What happened when he arrived?"

"He just randomly appeared out of nowhere." Eld replied, eyeing the dragon mercilessly. Caryn rolled her eyes.

"And then what?" she pressed on, and the blonde male began to sweat nervously, looking away from her gaze. And then she realized something. "Oh, for goodness sakes! Did you attack him?!"

"We didn't know what to do!" Oluo snarled, batting a hand in anger. "Imagine what would happen if he wreaked havoc on the Legion! The damn thing's a menace!"

"He is no such thing," Caryn snapped, and the dragon growled at the elder soldier, causing him to take a step back and raise his blades again. She patted him, shushing him back to a comfortable state. "I don't know the reason as to why he is here, but it must be important. He belongs to my mother."

"And just what the hell is a familiar? I know you're not talking about the nostalgic type of familiar. Spit it out already." Levi ordered, lowering his blades and preparing to sheath them. He was still wary of the creature before him, but if Caryn had managed to contain him that easily, he would trust her judgment. Part of him wanted to haul the goddess away and kill it, but the other part was shocked; surprised that such a thing existed.

"A familiar is a being devoid of a single form and can change at will depending on their master's orders. In Elysium, they're very common. A familiar is assigned to a deity when they are born, but neither I nor my brothers have received one to call our own yet. Why, we don't have a clue." Caryn explained.

Seeing that their Captain had put his blades away, his squad followed suit, trusting that if Levi deemed the creature safe, then they would too. As much as they were afraid of the anomaly, it was not as dangerous as a Titan.

Levi's eyes roamed over the dragon judgingly, taking in its massive form. "What's that around its neck?"

"Oh, this?" Caryn pointed to the alabaster white chain that hung from his neck, a diamond-shaped stone stuck to the scales of his skin. "I believe this is a linking stone. It allows the familiar's master to shift it into a being they see fit. Of course, I don't know if I could change his form, but I could try. Hm?" she paused, noticing a piece of paper sticking out from the chain. "What's this?"

The seal of Elysium was on the letter, closing it from prying eyes and the rest of it was embroidered in fine detail. Ripping the side of it—and not taking the time to use a letter opener—she pulled out a smaller piece of paper, unfolding it to read the sentences there.

-To my dearest daughter, Caryn;

I am so very disappointed in you, child. After what I have said to you, you chose to leave four days too early and abandon your post here. Of course, this was not entirely your doing; Kadir is also very much responsible for your escapade to Earth. As much as I am furious about this, it is not what has come to my attention.

While arriving, you had also revealed yourself to a vast amount of humans. You do understand that it is our sworn duty to keep ourselves hidden from them? By doing this, you have jeopardized us. Luckily the humans do not have a way of traveling here, so they cannot truly harm us.

On another note, despite being angry with you, I am also quite proud.

I understand that it was necessary to reveal yourself while trying to save some unfortunate souls from being devoured by Titans. I admire you for this, you are so young and brave. You had volunteered in both of your siblings' places and took the grave responsibility of aiding humanity. I do not know any other deity as substantial as you. I praise you deeply.

If you have found this note, it will be attached to Octavian, my familiar. I have sent him to you for your own benefit, as his assistance will become quite helpful. I am not sure how you will go about changing his form at the moment, considering he does belong to me. I now understand our powers are limited greatly if we stay on Earth for too long, so you will need to come home every so often to replenish. If you wish to change Octavian into something different, do your best to press the stone.

That is all I have to say for now. A messenger will be sent so that we can keep in touch. Please write back, Elysium worries greatly for you every day. Be safe, darling. And do not cause even more conflict then you already have. I am putting my utmost faith in you.

With love,

Mother.

"Oh dear…"

An array of emotions swirled in Caryn as she read the letter sent by her mother. Relief was one of them, but so was guilt. She just prayed that her mother could trust her enough to let her stay a bit longer. It would be a pain if someone came and retrieved her from Earth just to take her back home.

Skimming back over the letter once more, a small breeze blew over her face before it was ripped out of her grasp and into larger, calloused hands. Startled, Caryn looked up to see Levi reading it, his face not showing any emotion. After seeming he was done, he handed it back to her.

"So its name is Octavian, right?" he commented, slate-grey eyes flickering to the scaled beast before returning back to her. "There's no way we're keeping a big ass creature that big in a horse stall. I can't even imagine the mess it would make. And another thing, the other soldiers will shit themselves if they see it waltzing around with you."

"Weren't you listening when I said familiars can change their form?" Caryn scolded her Captain gently, making him glare at her harshly.

"Well then, there's your horse. Be useful and morph it into that." He spat, roughly pushing her closer to Octavian. He was fed up with the many surprises happening today, and wanting nothing more than to get this over with.

Rolling her eyes but not letting Levi see, she set her palm firmly on the stone only to make a red glow emit from it and at first, nothing happened. Everyone waited for a few seconds until the light grew brighter, and Caryn began to visibly sweat as she poured as much strength into the act as possible.

'This is really eating up a lot of my energy…' the blonde's thoughts were strained as she proceeded, her vision blurring to a dangerous degree. With a final blast of power, Octavian's form changed, a white light enveloping him as he morphed into a large, beautiful black steed.

Well, partially.

He was indeed a stallion of his own kind, but still attached to his form were raven-like wings that folded against his sides. Even with the energy she had managed to put into changing him, he had still ended up a mythical creature. And for the better word, a Pegasus.

"Really? A horse with wings?" Levi drawled, a scowl set on his face. "That's not much better than before. He's still gigantic as hell."

Octavian, now in horse form, snorted and tossed his head in annoyance while slightly rubbing his nose against the goddesses head. Caryn sighed in defeat, rubbing her palm against his nose. She had tried to make a more solid animal out of him, but even that was too difficult. "This is all I can do. He does not belong to me, therefore it is twice as hard to change his form. That was the only thing I could do without using all of my energy on him."

Caryn bowed her head, gritting her teeth in irritation. It was frustrating to know that she couldn't use her powers to her full potential and that they were restricted immensely on Earth. She felt the piercing stares of her comrades and looked up again, giving a sorrowful look.

"I am truly sorry. I will take whatever punishment you shall give me." She carried on. Her comrades looked at each other remorsefully, debating on whether or not it would be safe to keep the modified horse in the stables where it could easily be spotted. Levi let out a sigh through his nose, briefly shaking his head before motioning for her to come next to him.

Slowly and unsurely, she made her way towards him and stood in front of him, her shoulders dropping in defeat. Caryn felt a bit muddled when nothing painful came in contact with her, but her relief was short lived when she felt a sharp pain on her bowed forehead. Hissing and reaching up to rub the pain away, she looked up to meet Levi's gaze. His face was completely blank of emotion, but his eyes held amusement when he looked at the blonde.

"T-That's all?" Caryn asked apprehensively, confusion lacing her tone. She was expecting something a little more unpleasant than a simple flick. The Corporal took a second to heed her words until a small, evil smirk etched itself onto his face.

"Are you a masochist or something?" Levi asked, raising an eyebrow mockingly and making the goddess blush furiously. "I'm not going to spank you, if that's what you want."

'He looks too attractive when he does that…' Caryn thought, panicking briefly when she had realized what she just said. Her heartbeat sped up to an unhealthy degree, making her blush harder if it wasn't already possible. The effect he had on her was just too unsettling.

"N-No! Not at all!" she fumbled, the words falling from her mouth quickly. Her comrades snickered under their breaths at the rare display between superior and subordinate. They noticed that Levi was very calm and teasing around the blonde, despite her skittish ways and where she had originated from. She may be just what he needed to stay at least a bit sane in this deathly world of theirs.

"Hn." His smirk left his face, replacing it with a stoic look as he disregarded his comrades and turned around to approach his horse, removing the reigns from the post and mounting him with easy finesse. His horse tossed its head, welcoming the additional weight and Levi patted it's neck firmly. "As much as I'd like to continue this conversation," he said with obvious sarcasm, even though it was hardly visible in his tone. "We have a patrol to attend to. And you can bet your asses that it will be a long one."

The ravenette's slate-grey eyes flickered back towards Caryn. He waved a hand in an attempt to remember. "Can your…"

Caryn's eyes lit up when he referred to Octavian, reminding him easily of his species. "Familiar?" she corrected. He nodded, gripping his reigns absentmindedly.

"Can your familiar handle being ridden for a while?"

"Of course. I shall go grab his necessities, excuse me."

Without a second glance, the blonde took off towards the stables in search of a saddle and halter for the oversized Pegasus. Levi watched in silence as she disappeared, feeling his horse shuffle its feet. Like his rider, he was feeling unsettled.

Steering his horse around, he began to direct it in the direction Eren and Petra went when they went to retrieve their gear. Oluo made a discontent sound, watching his Captains retreating back with troubled feelings. "W-Wait, Captain Levi! You're just going to let her ride the thing without knowing it's completely stable?!" he asked, finding it plenty ridiculous when Levi had just allowed her to do so without much difficulty.

Levi halted, turning his head to look at the most skilled soldier in his squad. Of course, he had given Caryn his consent with difficulty beforehand. It wasn't an easy subject to continue on. But, had he stayed on the matter much longer, they would be scolded for their tardiness on patrol. "Yes. The shitty-brat has proven to be able to tame him without much effort. So long as she's around with him, it won't matter." His eyes darkened, making Oluo tense slightly. "Is there a problem, Oluo?"

Oluo froze, averting his eyes from the intimidating Captain. He knew that when Levi's mind was made up, there was no altering his decision. And if you had tried, you were surely be cleaning for an immense amount of time, or running laps. The perfect punishment from the ever-stoic Corporal. "N-No sir, I had just thought—"

"Thought what? That I would just let the damned girl do whatever she wanted with him? Not a fucking chance." He said spitefully, continuing on his way with a scowl on his face. "You'd do well to remember just who's in charge here, soldier. Don't question my authority." He picked up speed, bit by bit. "Make sure she's ready within five minutes. I don't want any more distractions, are we clear?"

Gunther, Eld, and Oluo all saluted him, even though his back was completely turned from them. "Yes, sir!" They said in unison. That was all Levi acknowledged before completely disappearing out of sight, exiting to the training grounds.

The trio remained silent for some time before Gunther broke said silence. "That must have been really stressful for Captain. I don't think I've ever seen him like that unless he's on the battlefield."

Eld nodded, agreeing while scratching his head. "Right. He's somehow different while she's around. Usually he'd cut down an enemy, no problem." Pausing, he wracked his brain for possible scenarios, only coming up with a couple. "And why do you think he panicked so quickly when his blade nicked her?"

His comrades shrugged, and Oluo clicked his tongue angrily, clearly not happy that the Captain had scolded him so ruthlessly for just a brief question. "I don't know, but we can't let our guard down with blondie around. God knows something's up with her, and I don't want to be the one to find out."

"Calm down, Oluo. If Captain trusts her, then we should, too. She even saved our lives, remember?" Gunther chided, placing his hands on his hips while looking at the elder male. Oluo just rolled his eyes at his comrades' gentleness towards the goddess.

"Trusts her, my ass!" he snorted childishly, his hands flying up signaling how ridiculous this all was. "For all we know, this could be all a part of her plan to kill us when we're not looking!"

While the three were immersed in conversation, Caryn overheard them, eavesdropping with her head just barely poking out the sides of the stable wall. Luckily, no one had noticed her yet, so she continued to listen.

It hurt her to know that even after all this time, her comrades still doubted her good intentions. She knew that it would be hard at first to gain their trust, but recently, things had gotten worse and worse between them. Lightly kicking herself for it, she made a mental note to completely invest herself in gaining their trust. It was a mandatory manner, not optional.

Allowing her courage to kick back in, she quickly revealed herself, creating heavy footsteps while walking towards Octavian to notify the group of her presence. It had worked, and the trio all stopped their conversation to move their eyes and turn their heads to look at the goddess, who was currently preparing her—now suitable, but not quite—horse.

Fixing a few kinks in the saddle, she propelled herself onto the behemoth horse, situating herself and gripping the reigns to turn towards her squad mates. "I apologize for interrupting, but shouldn't we depart now? I believe the Corporal will be upset with us if we stall any longer."

The three men looked between one another, half in guilt and half in agreement as they sent nods her way, mumbling under their breaths as they retrieved and mounted their horses, taking off in the direction their other comrades disappeared in. Following suit, Caryn kicked Octavian's sides, coaxing him to speed up into a trot. The four of them rode in sync as they began to leave the Legion's headquarters.

Caryn still felt uneasy about everything that was currently happening to her. First, she had volunteered to assist humanity in any way that she could by joining the Survey Corps. Second, she had been beaten senselessly by a certain Captain in an attempt to save her from falling into perilous hands. And third, here she was, training—if not more so—to fight Titans alongside stubborn, curt humans who had little faith in her.

And the outcome of all of this? She didn't know. But, she had hoped all her efforts weren't in vain.

(o~o~o~)

Okay first off, I am soooo sorry about the late update. Please forgive me, I have been ill for these past couple of days and have been sleeping nonstop to get rid of any viruses infecting my body. Another long chapter for your troubles (:

This one was a bit shorter than I intended it to be, but we are getting closer to the expedition. Of course, I am adding my own expedition with the 104th included BEFORE the Female Titan Arc commences. How I'm going to add it before that arc, I'm not quite sure, but I will do my best to ensure it's completely blended with the sort. Thank you for reading!

~M