In the next couple of months, Antonia sometimes watched some of the people from her squad briefly interact with Furlan and Isabel during training. Yet the aura of inapproachability that surrounded Levi ensured that no one dared to even get close to the trio's table in the dining hall.
Much to her contentment, her squad had stopped gossiping viciously about them and, as a result, she could finally enjoy her meals in peace. She guessed that Erwin's grave silence whenever anyone would utter anything negative about them, surely played a part in this development.
The other squads, however still seemed as averse to the newcomers as they were before they had arrived. And their very own squad seemed to be in the forefront of resentment.
Sairam, for instance, seemed to be highly frustrated by his new comrades' audacity to display a similar amount of arrogance and talent - and would use every encounter to complain about them.
After enduring his venting the first couple of times, Antonia had soon started to avoid him. This, however, did not always work.
When it was time to get ready for another excursion beyond the walls, Sairam found her alone in the stables where she tended to her horse.
Funnily, Antonia loved that creature to bits. Maybe it was because titans never attacked animals that she allowed herself to get so attached to a horse. She didn't know what he had been named by his former owner, but she liked to call him Liam.
It might have been silly, but there were few things that gave her as much joy as shoving carrots into Liam's face. And it somehow consoled her that even if she perished, that horse had a very good chance of living a good and long life.
When the reassuring face of the horse's chewing got interrupted by Sairam's loud voice, Antonia flinched slightly.
"Oi! Toni, good to see you! Are you excited for the mission?" – he did not wait for an answer - "you know, I think these three punks are going to die on us today."
"What makes you think that?" Antonia asked politely.
"They don't listen to a word Flagon says. They refuse to cooperate with any of us. And if they continue to lone it out there, they are dead. Frankly, they are a big pain in the - "
He got interrupted by a loud snort produced by Liam. Antonia petted the animal gently.
"Well, let's hope that gets better once they realise how serious it is out there" Antonia tried to sound optimistic.
"Let's hope we don't go down with them" Sairam muttered darkly.
Antonia felt relieved once more people entered the stables and their conversation was ended by the sound of horses being saddled. She let herself immerse into the atmosphere of departure.
It did not take long for the survey corps to reach the southern Shiganshina disctrict. The world inside the walls was small, after all.
She remembered how excited she had been the first time she entered the world that stretched beyond the fifty-metre-high wall Maria. And how wary she had felt every time after that.
She wondered how Isabel, Furlan and Levi would react to the sheer endlessness that awaited them and tried to observe their reaction.
Antonia made a mental note that Furlan seemed to be the most reasonable one of them. He appeared to be trembling with anxiousness while his red-haired friend seemed to tremble with excitement. When they turned their faces to the side to talk to each other, Isabel wore her wide signature grin whereas Furlan wore a worried frown.
She could not see Levi's reaction to the world outside of the wall and felt somewhat disappointed. It would have been nice to see any emotion on that empty face for a change. But he probably did not show any either way.
Soon, everyone had moved into formation and she could no longer see the newcomers. She briefly wondered if they would die today.
I should have tried to make at least the girl and Furlan feel welcome. They seem nice. Maybe then, even people like Sairam would have come around and they would have learned how to get along…
She stopped herself from thinking further and reminded her of the rule she had set for herself.
No more dead friends.
Her jolly thoughts were interrupted by loud shouting.
To their left, a titan had emerged out of the forest.
This soon? We still aren't far off from the wall?
Antonia cursed her poor perception. She would not have noticed the 15-metre class in time.
While she was still staring at the titan, Commander Shadis had already decided on a strategy.
It's a good thing I'm not in a leading position, she thought grimly.
When he and Vanguard's squad went off to kill the titan in the woods, another one emerged out, far too close to their supply wagons.
That must be twenty metres tall, she thought grimly. At least it's only one of them for now.
She looked to Erwin expectantly. They were in the front of the formation and the titan was getting closer to the middle of their column. Whether she and the rest of her squad would turn around and engage was up to him.
But Erwin just continued to head forward. As if he had felt her gaze, he turned to her with a neutral expression on his face
"Sebastian's and Flagon's squad will take care of it" he gave her a reassuring smile.
She wondered why he would place so much trust in the squad that included the newcomers and apparently had troubles with teamwork.
Or does he want to find out if they can survive?
She felt a bitter taste in her mouth. She quickly pushed the thought aside and decided to trust in her squad leader.
"It's an abnormal!" someone shouted.
Antonia spent a couple of seconds watching Erwin's back for a reaction and when none came, she turned around - just in time to see Sebastian's body get devoured.
His head fell to the ground and soon after, two lifeless bodies followed.
Finally, Erwin gave the order to turn around.
We are too far away, she thought bitterly and looked at her comrades.
Emma's sun-kissed skin looked almost pale and there was a hatred burning in her eyes that was all too familiar with Antonia. Ben, who usually displayed a calm demeanour, was shaking ever so slightly. She remembered that he had been friends with a lot of people from Sebastian's squad.
She could not make out Hange's eyes, but her lips were pressed together firmly, and her hands held on to the reins tightly.
No matter how fast they rode, they would never make it in time. The feeling of hopelessness began to crawl under her skin again.
Antonia's eyes became wide with shock once she saw Furlan, Isabel and Levi approach the titan.
What on earth are they thinking? Are they suicidal?
Apparently, the trio itself did not have a problem with teamwork. Antonia watched in awe as they carried out a perfectly coordinated attack.
Once Levi had landed on the titan's back, Isabel and Furlan cut deeply into its upper leg, causing it to lose balance and to kneel on the ground. After what seemed to be only a second, Levi had sliced its neck and all of them landed on the grass.
Antonia was speechless.
Erwin had stopped a couple of metres away from the trio, wearing a smile on his face as he watched them complimenting each other.
Ben, Emma, Hange and herself stopped a few metres behind their squad leaders, their mouths agape.
It occurred to her that she rarely saw Erwin smile. Then again, there did not seem to be a lot of reasons to do so in his line of work.
This time, however, it seemed called for.
Maybe things would change for the better now.
Author's Notes: Thank you so much for your review, sherline.v! :)