Year 850: Two days after the Invasion of Stohess District

The orders to report immediately to Stohess District had apparently changed en route; Erwin was nowhere to be found. Being so close to the capital made Katrine claustrophobic, clawing her frayed nerves further. Instead, she focused on the crumpled buildings and stones littering the streets. The setting sun gave them an unnatural reddish tint, like blood had been mixed into the cement. Ominous dark stains spattered on the pavement. It appeared as if an earthquake had struck, though the last measured earthquake was thirty-five years ago and barely did any damage, at least according to the book she'd read last year, Natural Disasters Within the Walls.

The Survey Corps compound, unharmed and bustling with both Scouts and Garrison soldiers, had a thrumming, anxious air. Katrine slipped in and out of empty offices, pushing her way through crowded hallways and dragging Sara along whenever she tried to stop and chat.

"I haven't seen Benjamin in ages!" she complained. "I promise I won't be long—"

"No." Katrine stood on her toes to peer above heads, searching for Erwin and those overgrown eyebrows.

"Why? I don't even need to be in the room when you talk to the Commander. You always let us—"

"No."

"You didn't even answer me!"

"No!" This time Katrine threw her a menacing look.

Sara crossed her arms. "Just because you suck with men doesn't mean the rest of us do, too." She immediately cringed, warm brown eyes widening. "Sorry." Katrine only shook her head.

When she finally found a veteran's office that was occupied, she slammed open the door, ambushing the man inside. The other women followed, sheepish. "I was told Erwin was here and he ditched me. Where is he?"

The man looked up in annoyance, but the young Scout beside him jumped. "You should have knocked, Captain Casimir."

"Don't have time, Jason, where'd he run off?"

"That's Section Leader Mason Zimmermann to you."

"That's a mouthful. Where is he?"

The sandy-haired boy beside Mason swallowed so loud she could hear it. "Excuse me, you're Captain Casimir? I have orders from Commander Erwin for you."

Katrine wrinkled her nose. "Erwin sent a child to deliver my orders? That's insulting."

"I'm not a child, I'm sixteen—"

"Commander Erwin left today for Ehrmich District," Mason said. "He was here this morning to meet with the mayor of Stohess District regarding the invasion by the Female Titan. The—"

"Wait, what? A Titan got into Stohess? How could that possibly have happened? That's why there's so much damage? And what do you mean by Female Titan?" Shocked, Katrine forgot her previous concerns. Her curiosity swelled.

"You didn't know?"

"What did she look like? She, I mean, I can say 'she' instead of 'it'? What could she do? How much damage did she do? How many people died? Was it like what happened in Shiganshina and Trost? I can't believe it's happened again!"

Mason held up his hands. "Look, I don't know all the details—"

"Sorry, sorry. But wow." She sighed in wonderment.

The young man beside Mason hesitated before speaking again as if bracing for another barrage. "Senior officers including Section Leader Hange and Captain Levi," —she ignored the dip in her stomach— "along with members of the 104th Training Corps have relocated to Ehrmich District. Commander Erwin left me behind to escort you there."

Nervousness flooded her again. "Escort, by a child? That's the order?"

"That's what he said! I'm just doing what I've been told!" He narrowed his eyes, a flush blooming in his cheeks.

"Sorry, sorry. What's your name?"

"Jean Kirstein, ma'am!" He straightened and saluted Katrine with the earnestness only the recently graduated could muster. She sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"Johan, why are they going to Ehrmich?"

"I don't know. And, I apologize, but it's Jean."

"That's just like Erwin, always keeping his cards close. I bet he's messing with me. He likes to keep us guessing, right?" Katrine turned to Elisabeth. She frowned and raked a lock of honey-blonde hair behind one ear.

"Watch your tongue, Casimir. There are cadets here," Mason said.

"How's he going to know? Come on, Johan, we're heading out." She motioned to Jean and turned to leave. Immediately she noticed Mila staring wide-eyed at Jean, her lips parted. Pink speckles dotted her cheeks. Katrine groaned inwardly.

She strode out of the building toward the stables, leaving Jean nearly running to keep up with her. When she saw the dying sun, she halted. Jean skidded to a stop and bumped into her.

"I apologize, Captain Casimir!"

"It's Katrine. Did Erwin say to leave immediately, or wait until morning?"

"He said for us to leave as soon as you got here."

So, it's important. "How rude, he's making us risk getting lost in the dark."

"Well, at least there won't be any Titans." Sara touched her shoulder. Katrine registered the touch but remembered to not shake her off. "Here are the maps." She pulled the worn rolls of paper from her pack.

"I know where I'm going. Let's get the horses ready, I want to be out in a half-hour."

"But we won't even have time to eat, or sleep! We've been riding all day!" Sara moaned and clutched her stomach.

"You can eat when you're dead," Katrine said. Better to end this horrible day as quickly as possible.

When they reached the stables, Katrine ordered Jean to gather their horses and for Elisabeth and Sara to replenish their supplies. Before anyone had time to ask, Katrine grabbed Mila's arm and pulled her outside and behind the stables. When out of earshot, she reached up and shook her shoulders. The enraptured look on her face had not dissipated.

"I saw you giving bedroom eyes to that boy. First, you're two years older than him, and we all know boys don't mature until they're thirty. Second, he's a recent graduate. He's drooling over getting direct orders from Erwin," Katrine said.

Mila reddened. "I— I'm allowed to think he's cute! Who says I'm going to do anything about it?"

"Your hormones do! And he looks like a horse."

"No, he doesn't! Horses don't have cheekbones like that!"

"Oh, you're a poet now? It's been what, fifteen minutes? Besides, it's never a good idea to get involved with another Scout. Be like Sara and go for Garrison soldiers."

"You're one to talk!" Mila spat, but her face showed immediate remorse. Katrine broke the tension with a snort. She had no response to that.

"Well then, you can learn from my mistakes. And I'm going to shove you in that horse shit and then he'll want nothing to do with you."

Mila rolled her eyes.

Katrine had traveled to Ehrmich many years before with the Company, and the memory of the topography and roads felt fresh in her mind as if it happened yesterday. Not needing to pay attention, she grilled Jean about the Female Titan, learning that a girl his age, another member of the 104th, had been a Titan shifter. She'd been discovered and cornered in Stohess, doing considerable damage but was eventually stopped by the Titan controlled by Eren Jaeger. Katrine had read about the Jaeger boy from an official report sent to her by Erwin while in Utopia, which was one page long. There was obviously much more that Erwin knew about the shifter because he would wear himself ragged just to know one scrap of information. Of all the things she disliked about him, his thirst for knowledge was one she couldn't fault.

Instead of taking the shortcuts she'd planned, Katrine kept to the main road. She needed the time to process all that had happened so she would have an answer to every statement, question, or request from Erwin. And Levi, which she hated to admit, but better to be prepared. On the way to Stohess, she'd considered every possible scenario, thought of questions to ask and barbs to throw, analyzed every insecurity. Unfortunately, there were few.

When they arrived at Ehrmich the sun had set hours ago, but the streets were flooded with people trudging toward the gate. A few exhausted Garrison soldiers attempted to corral the hoard into more manageable groups. The people looked ashen and filthy; they clutched at each other and said little. The only sounds were the shuffling of their worn shoes and the soft whimpering of children. Many of them had multiple layers of tattered clothing and shouldered large sacks. The last time Katrine had been to Ehrmich, the citizens had dressed smartly and for warmer weather. Something was amiss.

"Jean, why are all these people here?" Mila asked.

"I'm not sure. They certainly don't look like they live here," Jean said, his eyes heavy with sympathy. Mila, however, looked displeased that Jean wasn't looking at her.

"Let's go, Johan. Where's Erwin?" Katrine asked.

"It's Jean."

"That's what I said. Do they keep you out of the loop, too?"

He gritted his teeth but held back whatever he was thinking. "The Scouts have been stationed at the Garrison headquarters. It's back this way."

"Lead the way, Johan." Katrine smiled and waved him forward.

Jean pursed his lips and walked toward headquarters, the squat square building made of logs. The women followed, moving against the crowd. Katrine avoided their eyes and focused on their feet. Many of them wore shoes worn through at the toes, had bloody bandages wrapped around their feet, or had no coverings at all. Deep scratches, broken toenails, missing toes. When she saw the pair of bruised bare legs belonging to a young girl clutching her mother, she looked away and stared instead at Jean's boots in front of her.

Scouts and Garrison soldiers alike raced about at headquarters, clutching papers, weapons, and supplies. They were so engrossed in their tasks that no one noticed their entrance. Relieved at their invisibility, Katrine found a young Scout sifting through a pile of maps. She poked the girl's shoulder and she looked up, face sallow and eyes dull, clearly running on fumes.

"Hey, where's Erwin?"

"Upstairs, first door on the right." The girl pointed to the staircase. She turned back to Katrine and her eyes widened. "Wait, aren't you—"

She was already gone and bounding up the steps. Once she found his office she stared at the closed door for a moment and quieted every muscle. It'd been six months, and it hadn't ended well. She pressed her lips together in a firm line, lifted her chin, and tapped one pointed toe on the floor in front of her. Ready. Or mostly ready. Inhaling sharply, she sprang open the door, slamming it behind her as she entered.

Erwin looked up from the desk covered in stacks of paper, a few feeble candles illuminating his writing. He was scrawling his missive with a weighted expression as if the sun rising tomorrow depended on it. The haggard expression did not change when he looked at her. "Katrine, good to see you've made it." He didn't comment on her unauthorized entrance.

"Er-win! I've been pining for this moment for months. You look hale and hearty as usual, how do you do it?" She flopped into the chair facing him, uninvited, and gave him a wide, malicious grin.

Instead of responding, he finished the last sentence of the letter, blew on the ink to dry it, and folded it. Katrine felt the usual twinge of irritation that he didn't chide her rudeness.

"I heard you let Stohess be invaded by a Titan shifter. That's two now? You're going to leave behind a great legacy for the history books. And they're both in the 104th? Really, what did they put in the water over there?" Katrine rested her foot on the edge of his desk.

Erwin continued his work, rummaging around the desk for an envelope. He inserted the letter and dribbled a bit of wax from the candle to seal it. "I apologize for the short notice. I hope the mission in Utopia will continue well enough without you?"

Deflecting. "Well enough, we've re-secured the underground path to the Eis Mine. We expect that the miners can resume extracting iceburst stone within the month. There were so few Titans, they barely needed us."

"Excellent. I hear the cold weather can be very calming."

The hell does that mean? "Invigorating, you should try it sometime."

The two regarded each other: Katrine with pursed lips and narrowed eyes, Erwin with a distracted look.

"It's been an eventful week, to say the least," he said. "I called your squad back after an intelligent Titan attacked the 57th Expedition. We've been referring to it as the Female Titan since that's what it appeared to be. She killed thirty soldiers. Luckily, we figured out that she was Annie Leonhart of the 104th Training Corps quickly. Unluckily, when we trapped her in Stohess, she did not go willingly."

"I'll say, I saw the damage. Personally, I think it would have been smarter to let her demolish Mitras instead of Stohess, but I'm not the commander." She threw up her hands with a rueful expression.

Erwin inspected the seal on the envelope. "The woman controlling the Titan was stationed in Stohess. Besides, if Mitras was destroyed, then almost certainly our funding would be revoked, and I think that would be just as detrimental to you as it would everyone else." His tone was neutral.

This was how every single conversation with Erwin went. Katrine would attempt to provoke him into saying something he regretted or lose his temper, and it never worked. With every other Scout leader it was child's play, but Erwin was a cold fish. He never got angry when she questioned his plans or criticized his decisions. Sometimes he entertained her outlandish schemes or explained why her criticism was warranted or not. He'd never even bothered punishing her for her disobedience; though many officers had given up on trying to beat a lesson into her, a few kept trying. For Erwin, it was because he was either too busy or he just didn't care. It was deeply offensive.

Katrine would never admit she'd met her intellectual match in Erwin Smith, or even her superior. However, continuing to goad him was pointless. And this Female Titan sounded fascinating. Sighing, she rested her elbow on the leg perched on his desk. "So how similar is this Female Titan to the other sentient Titan you wrote to me about?"

Erwin leaned back in his chair and placed his arms behind his head. "They seem to have equal strength, but while Eren Jaeger is more than willing to cooperate with us, Annie Leonhart was defiant to the bitter end. In fact, instead of allowing herself to be captured, she encased her human body in some kind of glass or ice-like substance."

"You should try lighting her on fire."

"I'll make sure that recommendation gets to Hange."

Katrine also leaned back in her chair and put her arms behind her head, mirroring Erwin's position. "You must be hurting if you need us delicate cartographers to help you."

"I do need your subordinates, because Wall Rose has been breached."

Her hands dropped to the arms of her chair and she threw herself forward, stomping her previously raised foot on the floor. "You decide to tell me this now?" She hated not knowing what everyone else did. If she had the strength she would have broken his nose, but imagining that wasn't calming her. Her knuckles turned white.

"We've received word that Titans have been spotted inside Wall Rose. I apologize for not telling you earlier, I only just found out."

"And you don't know where the breach is? It's not in a district?"

"From the reports, it doesn't seem so."

Katrine was quiet for a moment, considering the situation. "So if this is similar to what happened in Trost, or five years ago in Shiganshina, it would have been the Colossal or Armored Titan, and those were in densely populated areas. If it were either of them, then why not attack another district? Why break the Wall in the middle of nowhere?"

"I agree, it is strange. Though everything these intelligent Titans do is strange."

"And the Scouts are going to be looking for this breach?"

"Correct."

Katrine cocked her head. "You said you just needed my subordinates. You don't need me?"

"Not for the mission to determine the severity of the breach. I need you for something else."

That piqued her interest. "What's this, then?"

"In Stohess, we took into custody a peculiar man by the name of Pastor Nick. He appears to be a high-ranking official within the Order of the Walls. Hange is the one who apprehended him, so I'll let her explain his motives, but he's not been forthcoming on pertinent information. The Order seems to know more about the Walls than they're willing to reveal, and I need to know this information. There's a major church in Stohess called the Edelweiss Cathedral, which Nick appeared to be visiting at the time of the attack. The church is still standing. I don't know if that's fortuitous or suspicious."

Katrine steepled her fingers. "And I'm investigating it? I always thought those Wall Cultists were strange."

For the first time in their conversation, Erwin smiled. "I knew you'd be willing."

"I'm still going to tell everyone you twisted my arm like the bully you are. I assume I'll be working alone?"

"Of course not, Levi is going to assist you."

It took every ounce of concentration she had to prevent the muscles in her face from twitching. "I don't need his help."

"You will, because this is a break-in. I don't know what kind of security Edelweiss Cathedral has, if any, and I'd prefer you not be arrested. Or worse."

"The Commander of the Survey Corps is telling me to break into a holy church? I'll be sure to blame you when the Walls fall down on me. Besides, won't he be more useful in securing Wall Rose?"

"He injured his leg in the 57th Expedition."

"So if he's got a bum leg, he'd just slow me down."

"If you run into trouble, I'm sure you'd want him on your side. Unless you've made improvements on your hand-to-hand combat?" He raised his chin a bit, amused.

Katrine brought a hand to her heart in mock offense. "Thank you for the vote of confidence. What'll I be breaking in for?"

"That part I don't know. Really, this is a shot in the dark to find whatever they're hiding. Levi's getting you in there, but you've got to find whatever they have written down and figure out what's important. And whatever you find that's important, I need you to memorize it and tell me exactly what it is, since I can't risk you stealing papers and them noticing."

Katrine was quiet. Despite the fact that she'd rather pull out her own teeth than spend a minute with Levi, Erwin's request was intriguing. She'd always been fascinated by the Cult and the men who ran it, dressed in violet cloaks and heavy medallions portraying the women of the Walls, screaming about damnation. The only information in any book or newspaper came from puff pieces applauding the Order's beautiful sermons and apparent devotion to educating children, especially orphans. If all went smoothly, she could just ignore Levi and find some good dirt to smear. It would be a fantastic distraction.

"You'd better hope these papers aren't boring," she said.

"I'm sure you'll find something to hold your attention."

Katrine reclined and gave a small laugh, shaking her head. "I guess I can't pretend to refuse now, can I? Though I want my women with Nanaba."

"She's investigating the breach at the moment, so they'll be under Keiji."

"He's a moron. If they come back with any hair on their beautiful heads out of place, I will singe every shirt you own." As she spoke, Erwin bent down to locate something in his desk drawer and didn't even look at her. She made an ugly face at the top of his head, but quickly composed herself when he lifted it again.

"Levi, Hange, and the priest should still be in the stockroom. You can meet up with them now and leave tomorrow morning. It is getting rather late." Erwin looked at his watch and frowned as if he was expecting it to be hours earlier. He then stared directly at Katrine, his blue eyes boring into her own. The hair on her arms prickled, but she refused to look away, no matter how uncomfortable that stare made her. Erwin had a strange way of making her feel like every thought running through her mind was printed on her forehead, a book he'd taken from the shelf to flip through, taking its secrets with no resistance.

"I don't mean to overstep, but you will be able to work with Levi without any concerns?" His voice was measured. It was a question disguising a command.

Katrine flared her nostrils. "There is absolutely nothing to be concerned about." She stood, nervous energy causing her to bounce out of the chair, and scraped it back so the sound was loud and screeching. She walked to the door, but paused with her hand on the knob and turned. Erwin gazed out the window at the crush of people, no end to them in sight.

"Why'd you send a kid to deliver your orders?"

He turned. "Jean Kirstein? The fact that two Titan shifters were part of the 104th cannot be ignored, so I sent him into a stressful situation. If he ran into trouble and shifted, then I'd have someone there to handle it."

Of course. "And what would you've done if I died fighting the Horse Titan?"

"Like I said, you'd have handled it." He went back to rummaging through his desk. Katrine curled her lip, simultaneously thrilled and infuriated by their conversation. Seeing Erwin's head bent, crouched over the desk drawer, he looked oddly small. With everything that had happened in the last few days, he had an immeasurable weight on his shoulders, but she had no sympathy for him. He'd accepted the job, after all. She'd been forced into hers.

Katrine opened the door but stopped when she heard Erwin stand. The wood floor creaked beneath him, but it really could have been the sound of his joints groaning in exhaustion.

"Tell Elisabeth I said hello," he said.

"Too busy to tell her yourself?" She left without closing the door.

Katrine found her subordinates and Jean waiting in the hallway. By their artfully slouched positions and inability to look her in the eye, they'd clearly been listening.

"Jean, I have a mission for you."

He brightened. "Yes, Captain Casimir!"

She brought her hands to her cheeks and dragged them down, exposing the whites of her eyes and letting her mouth gape open. "I said it's Katrine. This has been the longest day of my life and it won't be over anytime soon."

Jean took a step back and rubbed his neck. "Cap— uh, Katrine, what do you need me to do?"

"Do you know where the stockrooms are?"

"Oh, yes, please follow me." Jean turned on one heel and descended the stairs. The women trailed, Katrine at the rear. The pressure in her stomach, building since they'd left Utopia, started growing at a cancerous rate when she learned she would not only have to see but work with Levi again. Maybe she could claim an illness and go back to bed.

Jean led them out of the building, spitting them onto the main road still congested with people she now realized were refugees from Wall Maria, reeking with the sour stench of fear. Katrine looked to Jean for directions, not wishing to make eye contact with any of them. He pointed to a small gray structure a few buildings away. "The stockroom is that one over there." Scouts swarmed around the entrance, some leading horses and others carrying supplies. One turned back toward the inside and shouted, "Yes, right away, Section Leader Hange!"

Katrine grimaced. "Jean?"

"Yes, Katrine?"

"Is there a back way into this building?"

"If you go around back there's an entrance to a hallway that'll lead you to the main stockroom. But I think Section Leader Hange and Captain Levi are right there."

"Jean, please don't tell anyone this, but I get incredible anxiety around crowds. It makes me so claustrophobic. Sometimes I even start hyperventilating, and one time I even puked on somebody very important. I'd rather go through the quieter way. Please, Jean, I need your help." She gave him a small, embarrassed smile and placed one hand gently on his forearm. Jean froze at her touch, and she could feel the gears grinding away in his brain. He would do the right thing.

"Yes, Captain Casimir! This way, please!" He turned and marched toward the rear of the building. All little boys want to be knights in shining armor, she thought, and she turned to her subordinates with a knowing smile. Sara looked amused while Mila had a gutted expression.

"Sorry!" Katrine mouthed to Mila and followed Jean.

When they reached the back of the building, Jean opened the back door and turned to the women, but they were grouped in a small huddle, whispering. "What are you—"

Sara turned and held a finger to her lips. "Shh!"

Katrine pulled the small silver pocket mirror from her waistband and opened it. Wetting her thumb with her tongue, she smoothed back the small tendrils that had escaped her tight braid. She inspected her bright red lipstick, checking for any flaky bits or smudges on her teeth. She had to be flawless. The others waited patiently, used to it.

Few understood why she made the effort to paint her lips when the Scouts' jobs were steeped in dirt, sweat, and death, but that was all the point she needed. It disarmed people, catching them flat-footed. It gave them an initial impression of her that she would later shatter. Most of the Scouts, besides the new ones, had finally stopped questioning her about it.

Besides, old habits were hard to break.

"Katrine, let me see!" Mila snatched the mirror and inspected her own hair. Tall and gangly with dark hair and plump lips, Mila would never be mistaken as Katrine's younger sister, but she still copied her braid and begged to do the same with the lipstick, which Katrine forbade.

Taking back the mirror and tucking it into her waistband, Katrine shrugged apologetically to Jean and motioned him into the building. They slipped through the back door and down a dark hallway, and when they turned the corner and encountered a doorway illuminated with light, Katrine stopped them. She held a finger to her lips and crept forward, listening. The only familiar voice was Hange's, probing and dynamic, but the rest were unfamiliar. She didn't hear Levi's, but he had to be there. The heavy, choking feeling in the air proved it.

The familiar grip of anxiety snaked through her muscles, beginning in her feet and creeping to her thighs like she was about to step onstage. But then she'd always been prepared and could do the steps backward if needed. Here, she had no plan to follow, no choreography to guide her, and even though she'd thought of multiple scenarios and snappy responses to each, something unforeseen could always happen. With him, it was all but guaranteed.

Katrine twirled the end of her braid around her hand and yanked. "Now, Jean, remember I told you I had a mission for you? Here it is." She had to tilt her head back to stare directly into his eyes, trying to mimic the serious look of a leader. Jean sucked his lips between his teeth.

"You're going to run in there and declare that Commander Erwin has ordered you to tell them that Captain Katrine Casimir of the Cartography Squad has arrived and is currently discussing very important matters with him."

His face fell. "Why?"

"I need a good lead. You'll do great."

"But...I don't understand. You're lying."

"The only thing you have to understand is that you should never underestimate the power of a good entrance. If your timing is off, or you enter when the conversation is wrong, then you'll just look a fool." She raised a finger as if he were a child slow to understand a simple concept.

"Why do we want to wait? Isn't time of the essence?"

"Good entrances need precision. Precision can't be rushed." She brought the finger to her lips, thoughtful. "Actually, that's a good idea. Tell them Captain Casimir will report to the stockrooms immediately afterward to rendezvous with senior officers, as she knows time is of the essence. You can pronounce that, right? Ron-day-voo?"

Jean bristled. "Of course I know that word."

"Marvelous. Off you go!" With a sweeping gesture, she motioned toward the doorway. Jean looked back at the others for assistance, but they avoided his pleading eyes.

"Run!" she hissed. Jean grimaced and ran inside, disappearing into the light.

"Excuse my intrusion! Commander Erwin has ordered me to inform you that Captain Katrine Casimir has arrived in Ehrmich and is meeting with the Commander now! She will rendezvous with you shortly!"

Katrine beamed. Perfect. No matter that he forgot to mention the Cartography Squad bit, that kid had a future as an actor.

A squeal of delight. "Ka-trine! Finally! She's going to die when she hears about all the things we've learned on Titans this month." It was Hange. Katrine exhaled with relief. Dependable, always excitable Hange.

"She needs to hurry the hell up." Levi. Ignoring the fact that her stomach had migrated to her throat, Katrine turned toward the other women and made a gagging motion. Mila giggled and Sara clamped one hand over her squadmate's mouth. Elisabeth was unamused.

"Don't be rude, Levi. It's always nice to see an old friend again. Doesn't happen frequently in our line of work."

"Who's Captain Casimir?" An unfamiliar voice spoke up, light and inquisitive.

"Katrine Casimir is the captain of the Cartography squad. They explore and map out the hard-to-reach areas," Hange said.

"Really? There's a special squad for that? I didn't know that." At least this person seemed excited to meet her.

"Yes, they were sent to the Utopia District on a special mission about six months ago," Hange said. Katrine nodded. An acceptable explanation, albeit terse.

"It wasn't a special mission, it was Erwin throwing the government a bone. More iceburst for them, more funding for us," Levi said.

Katrine pressed her fingers down on her eyebrows to give her eyes a dark and sunken appearance to mimic Levi. She turned to her squadmates and sneered. Tears leaked from Mila's eyes as she swallowed her laughter. Her reaction was thankfully mollifying the anticipation swirling through her, if only just a bit. If she could make his looming shadow appear smaller to them, then it could work for her, too.

Hange sighed. "Since that squad was made a year ago they've only lost one soldier. That's better than any of us can say."

"Because they avoid Titans," Levi said. "Katrine can barely kill a Titan on her own."

Hearing that, Katrine motioned to the women and crept forward. The moment was about to arrive.

"The explosion of the Schwarz coal mine killed more Titans at once than anyone else ever has," Hange said.

"That was her?" a female voice asked.

Levi scoffed. "Dumb luck. She's killed maybe two Titans by herself."

"Which is completely acceptable when your assist count stands at eighty," Katrine said as she strode into the room. Head high, shoulders relaxed, pace measured. Whatever words were in their mouths died when she entered, and all eyes were on her. Perfectly timed.

Katrine set her eyes on Hange's messy ponytail but gauged who else was in the room through her periphery. Hange, Levi, and five young soldiers, including Jean. The way he stood with them indicated he knew them, so they must have been from the 104th. They regarded her with expressions varying from earnestness to wariness. Levi was in the shadowy corner at the far side of the room, like always, waiting for the right moment to strike. But she'd readied her armor.

Hange nearly knocked over the lantern on the table illuminating her reports when she rushed to greet her. "Katrine! I missed you. I'm so sorry you never got a chance to see Sonny and Bean, I really wanted you to meet them," she said as she wrapped her arms around Katrine, engulfing her in the scent of multiple days' worth of sweat.

"Hange, what I did I tell you about the touching." Katrine pushed her away but smiled. She'd missed Hange, too, and her deranged energy.

"Your timing is shitty, as usual." He'd emerged. But his expression was dark as if the shadows still stained it.

Calm. Cold as ice. "Some pitiful creature has lodged itself far up your asshole. As usual."

The first time seeing Levi in six months was just as unnerving and electrifying as she'd anticipated. He looked the same as she remembered, flinty-eyed and all sharp angles, but the way he leaned against the wall made it obvious he favored his left leg. He wasn't in the regular Scout uniform but his own suit, the same jacket draped over his shoulders that years ago she'd helped repair a seam in the lining. The back of her throat pricked at the memory, and she felt woefully underdressed in her scratchy Scout jacket that should have been washed weeks ago.

He still looked handsome. She could have slapped herself for noticing.

"Looking fancy. We do have a date with a priest, after all." Katrine cocked her head at Hange. "Speaking of, where is Humanity's Holiest?"

"Sent to bed. We're discussing things he doesn't need to hear. And we'd actually be discussing them if you hadn't interrupted," Levi said.

"My apologies. I'm sure these discussions were scintillating. Absolutely no need for anything I've learned these past few months, huh, Hange? Useless." She'd hoped for a little backup, but Hange had returned to her report and seemed to have suddenly gone deaf.

"Just about as useless as that rat's nest you refuse to cut."

Unconsciously she touched her hair and immediately cursed herself. "You should never criticize a woman's appearance, Levi. Though I'm not surprised you wouldn't know."

A brown-haired girl from the recruits clapped a hand over her mouth. The others exchanged uncomfortable glances, wondering what to do if two Scout leaders lunged for each other's throats right in front of them. Good. Undermining his authority worked, too.

"I apologize for my manners, I seem to have left them up in Utopia," she said to them before Levi could bite back. "I'm Katrine. Now, which one of you is the Titan? Was it Eric Jaeger?"

"Cut the shit, you know his name." She could feel the daggers at her back.

The boy with brown hair and green eyes stepped forward. "Me. I'm Eren Jaeger." He had a strange duality to his face that was unsettling. Part of it seemed earnest, eager to be given a command and to follow through. The other part, not immediately visible but lurking behind his eyes, was vicious, intense, and bloodthirsty. It was ready to roar out of him and tear apart anything standing in his way. Katrine had never seen anything like it on any human face before. His pupils were too large, too black. The dim light in the stockrooms didn't reflect off of them.

She ignored the fear drying her lips. "Why didn't you kill the Female Titan?"

The boy's eyes widened for a second, and then they hardened, pupils somehow turning even blacker. For a second she felt a twinge of panic that he would transform right there and destroy her. But why hadn't he? And what had he done to gain such power?

Suddenly Levi was beside her. He was still silent in his movements, even with a sprained ankle. "Don't provoke him."

Raising her chin, she looked down at him, fully utilizing the three centimeters she had on him in height. "Like you said, I can barely kill a Titan on my own. So what's he got to be worried about?" She turned back to Eren and took a step closer. "I'm just curious."

"Eren, you don't have to answer her," Levi said. The solemn black-haired girl beside Eren shifted, ready to strike at any minute.

Eren's gaze turned to Levi, but shifted back to Katrine, his apprehension turning to animosity as he stepped forward. He was too tall and now entirely too close, his hot breath dancing on her forehead. She regretted baiting him, regretted coming to Ehrmich, regretted ever leaving Utopia.

"Because I was weak. She was a comrade, a comrade who betrayed us, and I was too much of a weakling to put her down like the traitor she was. But mark my words, if this happens again, I will tear them apart, whoever they are. I will slaughter them and make them regret ever thinking about harming us. When I'm done with this world, people will forget that there even were Titans around to terrorize us." He spat the words out like venom. Even though many Scouts boasted that they would be the ones to kill all the Titans, she believed this kid. If Titans felt fear, they would be petrified of him.

With immense effort, she tore her eyes away from Eren to observe Levi from her peripheral. He too watched Eren but with wariness, like he was ready to tackle Eren if he got overzealous. Katrine took the opportunity to throw him a sharp elbow to the ribs. "This one's spicy. I like him. Don't beat the spirit out of him like you do all the others."

Levi clenched his jaw but didn't take his gaze off Eren, more irritated than pained. She wished she'd worked more on strength training in the north so that it would leave a bruise.

"Hate to interrupt, but Katrine, I need to talk to you about Pastor Nick," Hange said as she pushed back her chair, rolling her papers. She turned to the recruits and waved the rolled-up papers like a baton. "Get the horses ready and pack the supplies. We're leaving for Utgard Castle in an hour." She strode into a dark room at the corner of the stockroom.

"You heard her," Levi said and followed her.

Katrine grit her teeth, wishing she could talk to Hange alone. She waved off her squad members to follow the recruits. "Go find Keiji. Have fun." She brought one hand to her brow in exhaustion, now that Levi's back was to her.

"Excuse me, Captain Casimir?" It was the light voice from before. Katrine turned to find the source, a slight blonde recruit. He might have been male, but he was prettier than Mila.

"It's just Katrine. What?" She moved her hand to cover her eyes, wishing the kid would leave her alone.

"Well, they were just talking about the explosion at Schwarz Mine, and I didn't know you were the one that did that. We went over it briefly in training but the instructor didn't go into much detail. I was wondering, could you tell me how it worked?"

Katrine removed her hand and reconsidered the recruit. They were the same height and probably the same weight, but he seemed much smaller and frailer. This kid probably couldn't take down a Titan on his own either. He had an eager look similar to Eren's but without the dark undercurrent. "It exploded, that's really all there is to it."

"Right, but how did it explode? It couldn't have just done it spontaneously. How did you know it would happen? Or if you didn't, how did you make it happen?"

"Why do you want to know?" Most people didn't care about the physics of how it happened, and if they pretended to, they got lost after a minute of explanation. She hadn't even really planned it, either.

"Well, if you could kill so many Titans at once—"

"Katrine! Leave Armin alone." Levi's bark echoed through the now empty stockroom.

Katrine rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help smiling at the boy. "I'll tell you another time, Arnold."

After her debriefing, Katrine slinked to her tiny bedroom in the soldiers' barracks. Thankfully she was entitled to private quarters as an officer, no matter that she was one of the lower-ranking ones. The meeting had consisted of her and Hange jabbering back and forth about everything they'd learned in their respective missions while Levi sat brooding with little to add. When they'd started shrieking about Titan hypothermia and knocked over cups of tea when they leaped to their feet and slammed their hands on the table, Levi scraped his chair back and left. Relieved, Katrine laid her hysterics to rest. Hange was so easy to rile up.

Exhausted but too wired to sleep, Katrine dug through her bag and pulled out her pointe shoes. The shoes traveled everywhere with her and they showed their age. Dingy brown stains bruised the previously gleaming pink satin. The delicate ribbons that crossed her ankles were frayed and the toes sticky with tape from her attempts to salvage them. They were at death's door, but these were her last pair, and replenishing her stock was such a hassle. Mitras itself was always a hassle.

Katrine peeled off her Scout uniform, grimacing at the rough weave of the tan standard-issue jacket, and moaned in relief when she stepped into the soft leotard and leggings. After coiling her braid into a tight bun, she tugged her boots back on, tucked the shoes under her arm, and left the barracks.

She knew where to go. In fifteen minutes she reached the cluster of warehouses that surrounded a half-constructed building illuminated by the moon. Luckily for her, they'd finished the flooring before abandoning it. She slipped between the buildings like a phantom and when she was certain that no one was loitering nearby, she replaced her boots with the pointe shoes and sank to the ground to begin stretching, relishing the warmth of the southern air, the first thing she'd enjoyed all day.

Her muscles growing loose and limber, Katrine pushed herself off the floor and stood straight, remembering like she'd been told to tie a string around her neck and pull up, up, up until she felt like a pliable mound of dough being stretched by an overeager baker. She lifted both arms to chest level, bending the elbows so it appeared she was holding something precious in her arms, and relaxed her fingers, letting them curl in but keeping each an equal measure apart. Mr. Kaiser always said that no one ever noticed the beauty of hands until it was too late, and by then you already had those beautiful hands wrapped around their necks. Katrine had snorted at that and gotten a switch to the calf, but later realized over and over that he was right.

She'd known what she wanted to practice before she even arrived in Ehrmich that evening. Orchestra of the Birds, Act III, "The Caging of the Falcon." It was frenzied, pulsing, and demanding; it left her gasping for air every time she finished. It required the ballerina to be fearless for the multiple leaps and surging turns, but also mimic the terror and despair of being locked into a cage. Katrine was always good at the first part, but even though she'd continued practicing it without accompanying music and criticism from an instructor, she thought she was better at it now because she finally understood the second part.

Katrine stilled her lungs and rose to her toes, catching the balance between pitching backward and tumbling forward. The violins, harps, and piano sang in her ears, replacing the distant echo of nighttime insects and refugees' footsteps. Her mind vanished and only muscles remained; she began.