A/N: Soooo I have a friend who does authors notes on her story as well, and I mean, EVERYONE does them. Some do it for entertainment, others for information. And a person had the gall to say that it was "against the rules."

*Takes deep breath* AHAHAHA! That's funny! Yes, it may be against the rules, but no one gets in trouble for it because fanfiction doesn't bother to care anymore. And furthermore, it's a stupid rule that's bound to be broken by authors. I mean, seriously. People are going to add their own notes to let people know how they're doing and/or facts about the story.

Anyway enough about that. Like I had mentioned in the last chapter, there is going to be an additional expedition that is done by me before the female titan arc. I'm doing this for many reasons, but those are just what you are going to have to find out (;

Thank you for following me so far, and enjoy!

(o~o~o~)

"Umm…Caryn?"

"Yes, Eren?"

"Why does your horse have wings?"

"Ah, I thought you'd ask that. It's a long story, really." The blonde responded to the titan-shifter, patting Octavian's side as she stood next to him, already dismounted in the training forest. It was midday now due to their late departure, but they still had plenty of time to train and patrol before sundown.

Eren scratched his head in half-hearted amusement, a small smile on his face. "Yeah, I'd say that it's strange and unexpected, but with the things that have happened over the past week, I don't question anything anymore."

The goddess laughed in merriment, following behind her other comrades to tie her winged-horse up with the others. "I promise to tell you when we have free time. I don't think right now is the best time."

"O-Of course."

"Damn right it isn't!" Oluo barked from behind them, causing them to jump. "It's bad enough that Captain let you keep it! What happens if it somehow gets lose and starts to destroy things?!"

"Bite your tongue off, Oluo. If Captain says its okay, then it's okay. There's no need to be an asshole over it." Petra jibed, punching the man rather forcefully on his arm and making him wince. As if a switch had been flipped, Oluo's face went from angry to sad, pouting at the way Petra was treating him.

"Oh come on, Petra!" he replied petulantly, almost whining like a child would as he threw a hand in dismay at the two younger squad members. "Don't you find it strange how it suddenly just appeared and starting attacking everyone?!"

"He did not attack anyone!" Caryn snarled, clenching her teeth furiously. Oluo was getting on her last nerve. There was only so much complaining from him that she could take, and she was about ready to knock him out with some wind. "Anyone would have reacted the way he did had they suddenly decided to assault them! You're just too stubborn to take fault for it!"

Oluo glared at her harshly, striding up to her and preparing to size her up. "You little b-"

"Oluo."

Eren had stepped in front of the blonde to protect her much to her surprise, but that wasn't what had stopped him from continuing his threatening position. All it took was for Levi to say his name in a frightening tone, and that halted him in his tracks. Oluo was frozen to his spot, not looking back at his superior to acknowledge him.

Levi stood behind him, his face holding no emotion. Caryn shuddered when she felt his angry, annoyed aura coming off of him in potent waves, nearly making her choke. He would really have to start reigning that in, otherwise it would make her sick.

'Curse the gods for making me sensitive to auras.' She thought bitterly, rubbing her arm to make the goosebumps disappear.

"Shut your mouth. I'm not going to tolerate any more of your shit today." Walking past him with his horse, he didn't even turn around to look at him. "Either you can it, or I'm sending you back to HQ to clean. Understood?"

"Y-Yes, sir…" Oluo stammered in defeated, his shoulders slumping as he followed suit to tie his horse to the fence posts. Caryn sighed, relieved that she wouldn't have to fight with him anymore. Eld and Gunther had already tied their own horses up, and the rest of her comrades followed closely to do the same.

Both she and Eren hadn't moved from their spots, Caryn waiting for Eren to breathe calmly before looking back at her. She placed a hand on his shoulder gently, causing him to flinch slightly before staring at her over his shoulder. She gave him an easy smile, and he turned around to fully face her.

"Thank you for that. You didn't need to stand up for me." She thanked him politely, and he grinned, waving a hand dismissively while turning and pulling his chocolate mare along.

"It's no problem. I respect Oluo, but I don't think he should be so hard on you or your….um…horse," he replied carefully, not sure what to recognize the black beauty as. Octavian tossed his head in pride, proud to be called a horse even though he was anything but.

"It's alright. I understand that it's going to take some time to gain his trust. He's just wary of me. It's only been a week since we've met, after all. I don't mind being patient." She said sweetly, laying a hand carelessly on her 3DMG as she walked behind him. "I'm just glad the Corporal stopped him before he could continue. Otherwise, the outcome would have been bad for the both of us."

"I wouldn't have just let him hurt you!" Eren suddenly shouted, going red at his outburst and covering his mouth with a hand. The blonde giggled, tying Octavian up next to Eren's mare. She reached up onto her toes, ruffling his hair messily. The brunette grumbled, fixing the unruly hairs.

"Thank you for being so kind, Eren. I assure you I can handle it myself."

"S-Sure…" he agreed embarrassedly, placing a hand on the back of his neck as his gaze bore into hers. "We're kind of in the same situation, after all. It's nice to know that I'm not all alone in this."

"Oi, brats. Hurry it up." Levi called from a bit away from them, interrupting them. "Eren, you're with me. Caryn, you're with Petra. The rest of you, go do whatever the hell you want. We still have a little more time before we start analyzing the perimeter."

At hearing him say her name, Caryn blushed, hiding it by pulling up her hood. She pushed her white-blonde hair into her face so that it was concealed. The way Levi had said her name gave her chills up and down her spine. It sounded so…attractive when it rolled off his tongue. In fact, that was the first time he had said her name. Hoping it wouldn't be the last, she nodded vigorously, walking over to stand next to the ginger-haired woman.

Eren followed behind Levi and the rest of the boys, who had decided to do their training with their Captain. Caryn was glad that Oluo didn't decide to come with Petra and her, because if he had, there was surely to be another argument.

When the other half of her squad took off, the duo stood there watching them leave before Petra turned to the taller blonde. "Well, let's get started then. You remember how to use the gear, right?"

"Of course." The goddess nodded, unsheathing her blades and preparing to aim at a tree upon Petra's command. When she gave the okay, Caryn shot the grapple and connected herself to a trunk, pulling herself along better than she thought she would. This time, there was no difficulty as she landed on the branch swiftly and easily.

Petra gave a yip of success, proud of her blonde comrade for sticking the landing. "Good job, you did that in record timing! Since you're getting the hang of it now, why don't we start moving around a bit more? You can handle that, can't you?"

Caryn nodded eagerly, excited that the idiotic gear was finally working with her. She shot her lines a couple of times to glide from tree to tree, slowly picking up speed each time and enjoying the feeling of wind pressing against her face. It was a thrill to feel her stomach flop every time she lost altitude. When she was finished, she waved a hand to the ginger below her who applauded her. "How was that, Petra?"

"Excellent! You're doing so well!" she praised, making her comrade blush bashfully. It was a rare occurrence when someone learned how to use the 3DMG properly in just a week. Especially when it was rushed onto you.

"Does this mean I can start using the blades now too?" the goddess asked, pleading with her eyes for Petra to say yes. At first, the woman looked hesitant to let her. There were so many trees around, and she could easily make a mistake by crashing into one if she wasn't careful with controlling her speed. Not to mention there were others in the forest that didn't know of her presence. Most of the Survey Corps had trusted the blonde already, but some were still weary of her. Many things could go bad at any moment.

"I don't know about that…" Petra said unsurely, biting her lip. Her emotions were conflicted and Caryn gave a little pout, placing her hands on her hips. "It's not exactly the safest place for amateurs to be using their blades."

"I promise to be careful, Petra. It's only for a little while, so I'll be fine." Caryn persuaded, waving a hand in dismissal. She was perfectly capable of keeping a safe distance from the others and using her gear wisely and effectively.

"Caryn…"

"Goddesses, Petra! I'm not going to learn how to get use to this unless I take some time by myself." The goddess said frustratingly, giving her teammate a half-hearted glare. Said woman frowned at Caryn's defiance.

Petra opened her mouth to make a retort, but was cut off when Caryn ignored her, jumping off the branch she was standing on and speeding away through the trees with her 3DMG, her mind set on showing her comrade just how capable she was of training on her own.

Caryn could hear the ginger-haired female calling after her, telling her to stop. But she had other things in mind. She was going the fastest she had ever gone with her gear, hopping from branch to branch and propelling herself forward with her grapples to get farther away from Petra.

'Now to find one of those wooden-Titans…there!'

A couple of meters from her stood a Titan dummy, surprisingly still in-tact. Her eyes narrowed upon seeing it, going as fast as she could to gain the momentum to slice its neck with her blades. Now that she knew a Titan's week spot, she didn't need to use Rogue Sight to find it.

She was going to sow Petra just how well she could use her gear by herself.

Of course, that's what was intended.

"Move out of the fucking way!—"

SMACK!

The warning came too late. As soon as she got within a couple of feet of the dummy, she collided with an unknown force that smacked into her like a human projectile. A gasp left her throat as her and the other being were thrown to the side, and Caryn's back met with a tree branch as they barreled towards the ground.

And then, everything stopped.

Caryn let out a groan of pain, as did the person she was tangled up with. Her eyes were closed so she couldn't see who the other being was, but she felt herself pressed tightly against someone else as they were wrapped in 3DMG wires, their arms and legs useless and not able to move about.

The goddesses head felt like lead, and she could tell that her back was injured badly when she tried to arch it. Hissing briefly, she opened her eyes to see the other unlucky person who was stuck in the same situation. She regretted it instantly when she was met with a slate-grey glare.

'Oh no…'

"C-C-C-Captain Levi?!"

Said Captain winced when she nearly shrieked his name, wishing that he could cover her mouth with his hand to quiet her down. He found himself unable to due to being restrained by his wires. He could feel Caryn's panicked breath on his face, making it harder for him to breathe himself. "Quiet down, damnit! I have a searing headache, and you're not making it much better with that loud ass voice of yours."

"Goddesses, I am so sorry! Are you injured?!" she completely ignored what he asked of her, continuing to berate him with questions. Levi clicked his tongue, head-butting her shoulder to get her attention. When a whine of agony left her, he stiffened amicably, regretting his actions. Currently, they were hanging upside-down by their wires, Caryn's blonde hair freed of her pony-tail and Levi's hanging there with the rest of him.

"I'm right here, there's no need for you to fucking scream. And no, other than some cuts here and there, I'm fine. But you're not, are you?"

Of course, he already knew the answer to his question when she had responded to him hitting his head against her. Caryn bit her lip, nodding her head at him. "I seemed to have hit my back on a branch when we…umm…crashed."

"About that." He scowled, making the goddess shrink back as far as she could from him. Her efforts were in vain, considering they were pressed too tightly together. "What the hell were you doing on your own?! I specifically said to stay with Petra, but your ass just decided to disobey and train by yourself!"

And there it was again. The overwhelming aura that he possessed seeped out of his skin, permeating the air and making it hard for Caryn to take a deep breath. The goddess wondered if he was even aware of it, but considering it wasn't visible to the human eye she doubted it.

"Well? Answer me."

Clenching her teeth, she fought back a witty retort and forced herself to reply respectfully. "I-I just thought that I could show her I was capable enough to train on my own…" she trailed off, the words left hanging as the Corporal gave her a furious glare, the scowl on his face prominent as his eyes flashed dangerously.

"Clearly you're not ready to be on your own yet. Had we been in an actual battle, you would have died," Levi reprimanded her, making the blonde turn her stare to the tree trunk behind him. "You weren't aware of your surroundings, and you were left wide open. A Titan could easily snatch you mid-air and you would become its food, just like that."

What could she say? She knew he was right. But Caryn was independent; she hardly ever asked for help from someone else, let alone needed it. In her current situation, though, it was becoming a habit. All she had wanted to do was to prove her worth to her teammates and show them that she could be just as skilled with her gear as they could. But that backfired when she had ran into Levi in the process of trying to use her blades on a dummy.

"I don't know what to say, other than I'm sorry." She apologized again, waiting for the barrage of insults to come her way. "I ask that you give me an appropriate punishment later, but as for right now, we should find a way to get out of these lines. It's dangerous when blood rushes to your head."

"Tch. You can damn well bet I'm giving you an 'appropriate' punishment." Levi growled, wringing his hands that were behind his back and squirming around, hating the feeling of being restrained. Caryn's body was pushed flush up against his, making his breaths labored. He didn't want to admit it, but pressing his chest against hers caused something to flutter in his heart. "Worried for me, brat?" he asked mockingly, earning a blush from the goddess.

"O-Of course, Captain! I could have really injured you!" she fussed, scanning his face for any cuts or bruises and pleased that she found none. Levi rolled his eyes at the motherly action.

"It's going to take a lot more than this to cause me pain. But never mind that, you're right." Caryn blinked profusely at his agreeing tone, surprised that he actually called her right. "This position is uncomfortable as hell, and I bet that Titan-brat is looking for us, as well as Petra."

Yes, the position was really uncomfortable. But not physically, more mentally. Being this close to her Captain had Caryn's heart beating out of her chest. She was close enough to reach in and kiss him if she wanted to, but she knew that wouldn't sit well with him and would probably lead to an early death by 3DMG blade. Blushing at her crude thoughts, she cleared her throat. "I have an idea. Why don't you try swinging your body left, and I'll try to swing mine right? It may help loosen the lines a bit."

Without replying, Levi shook his head, maneuvering himself to the left and Caryn followed suit. Confirming her suspicion, the lines began to loosen, gradually making it less tight on their bodies and making it so they could move a bit. Grinning, she continued the action. "This is proving to work better than I had originally thou—"

She had definitely spoke too soon.

The branch holding their wires up had jerked, splitting against the additional weight of their bodies and causing them to drop significantly, a few meters lower than before. Caryn shrieked, wishing she had something to hold onto, anything. She even would take the risk of latching onto the Corporal.

Her heart jumped into her throat at what unexpectedly happened next.

Due to the violent swaying in their movements, the blonde's head hit the back of the tree trunk, causing Levi to wrench forward and bump noses with her. One of his straps slid to the back of his neck, trapping him there and causing his lips to connect with hers.

Caryn's eyes widened miraculously, her blush reddening tenfold at the shocking but searing kiss. It was an accidental, chaste kiss with no passion behind it; well, maybe not for Levi.

The snow-blondes emotions were running haywire. The kiss felt like a shock of lightening coursing through her body, heat pooling where she had least expected it. Levi's lips were soft. Slightly chapped, but soft as they moved languidly against hers, causing a quiet mewl to escape her mouth. The Captain tensed, leisurely pulling back and giving her a monotonous look. His face held no emotion whatsoever, and then she began to process what had just happened.

She had kissed Levi.

She had kissed her Captain.

Several deadly scenarios flew through her mind, further frightening her and making her tense to a degree that was like Levi's. Of course, the kiss was an accident; but she had just kissed her superior. There was no way he was going to let something as intimate as that not go unpunished.

Moments passed between the two, and only breathing could be heard as they stared at each other, Caryn red-faced while Levi holding no trace of emotion, not even the infamous scowl he usually wore.

'What have I done?! Do I have a death wish?!'

Opening her mouth, she aimed to apologize repeatedly, but was stopped once her Captain leaned in again, capturing her lips in a deeper, more profound kiss. Caryn let out an alarmed noise, trying to move away so that she could speak. She was disciplined and quieted when she felt his teeth sink slightly into her lower lip, causing her to squeak unattractively.

Before he could prod her mouth with his tongue, she tilted her head to the side, freeing her mouth from the extensive kiss. "C-Captain, what—"

"Just shut the hell up, Caryn." Levi growled suddenly, lunging back in for yet another kiss. He tugged at her lip with his teeth, his tongue begging to be let in. Caryn finally gave into the guilty pleasure of it, sinking in to the feeling as their tongues danced. She shuddered voluntarily as she felt him lick the roof of her mouth, earning a low groan from him that sent endless chills racing down their spine.

She realized what she had felt for him now. It wasn't some passing feeling of lust, or a confusing moment between the two of them.

Caryn was in love with the stoic Corporal. With a human male. A human male that was stronger than her and more skilled at sparring than she was. A human male with a blunt, sarcastic attitude who was feared by his subordinates and even by some superiors. A human male who had a hard time expressing himself, who was gentler than he had let on.

Nonetheless, she loved him.

The steamy kiss had gradually died down, becoming less fierce and more gentle as Levi finally pulled himself back, allowing the both of them to catch their breath. Caryn was surprised and a bit amused when she saw the slight tinge of pink on Levi's cheeks, disappearing just as fast as she had caught a glimpse of it.

Neither of them spoke. They relished in the comfort of being near each other, basking in each other's presence just like they had the day when they had sparred. It felt similar to that day, only Caryn finally understand why they were so calm and collected. A pang of fear assaulted the goddesses' heart then. What if he didn't feel the same? What if it was just a sudden urge that he needed to extinguish? He was her superior, after all; a relationship would be frowned upon in the Legion due to their current profession.

"Caryn, Captain! Are you alright?!"

The duo broke out of their enchanting stupor, snapping their heads to the sound of their comrade's voices. At a distance, Petra and Eren were speeding towards them, looks of relief and confusion etched onto their features. The solace Caryn felt was palpable when she looked to her teammates. They would finally be released from this position—although the goddess hadn't really wanted to at the moment—so they could fix their gear. Or so, she told herself.

As if on cue, the branch above them began to crack and snap, each time losing more wood that was holding them up. It was dangerously close to snapping and wouldn't hold them up much longer if it wasn't repaired.

Pieces of wooden debris began to fall carelessly around them, some brushing past the goddess's cheeks while others getting stuck in her hair. Stalling their movements as much as he could, Levi turned his head to yell an order to his subordinates. "Shoot your wires to connect the branch back to the tree! It won't break off if something else replaces the wood!"

His words weren't heard fast enough, and it was too late. The branch broke off, sending the duo descending to the ground rapidly. It was as if everything was happening in slow motion. The wires around Caryn and Levi loosened, and Levi's arms were freed as he reached out to the blonde deity while she did the same.

Petra shot her 3DMG wire to grab the Captain around his ankles, halting him from falling and causing him to miss Caryn's hands by a few inches. Eren had tried to copy the process, but missed and latched onto the tree beside her instead.

And then she was falling, plummeting towards the ground without anything to grab onto. The wind blew her hair up around her face, obscuring her vision. The goddesses' arms went instantly around herself, her mind beckoning her powers to come forward but finding them useless when she was out of time.

The pain was brief when she hit the ground head-first.

A flash of light passed before her eyes before she could register that she had already stopped falling, and her vision faded from white to black as her consciousness was ripped away from her, far away cries from her comrades becoming blurred and unheard as she was knocked out for the third or fourth time since arriving on Earth.

Things were not going as she had planned.

(o~o~o~)

Im sooo sorry for late updates! I have finals this week and the next and they're just so stressful, so I'm doing as much as I can with getting these chapters out for you guys. I'm glad you guys enjoy this story so far, I know I do. I hope the fluff wasn't too rushed, I wanted to gradually spread out Levi and Caryn's relationship so I hope this wasn't too soon.

I may not update for about a couple days, But will find time to write during them while studying. I have to keep good grades because my parent's expectations are incredibly high. Thank you for your patience, everyone!~

~M