3rd POV
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The quiet noises of the scribbles could be heard in the office, their rhythm imperturbed by the muffled activities going on outside which served more as ambient noise for the commander who seemed rather absorbed by his paperwork than by what was happening there. Planning, anticipating the regiment's budget, funerals and compensation for the families of fallen soldiers, and other things related to the corps. Although there were very fewer casualties during the last missions, they still encountered abnormals that were still difficult to predict, thus resulting in unfortunate victims.
*Knock knock knock*
The scribbling stopped as cerulean eyes traveled to the door where the knocking sounds originated from. "State your name and business."
There was a brief pause before the person behind the door answered.
"Cadet Tobe, sir. May I come in?"
The Commander slightly straightened up. Having not expected her sudden presence. "Of course," he answered coolly.
The door creaked open as the intriguing cadet's head popped in to look at him, gold meet blue. "Good afternoon sir! Are you sure I'm not intruding? I can come back later if you're busy." she briefly eyed the stack of papers on his desk before her gaze shifted back to him.
The blond smiled. "Of course not, please do come in, Colith."
He heard her choke in surprise before a cough ensued as she entered with her face slightly red. Erwin watched in amusement as she clumsily closed the door before turning to him, executing a salute he dismissed with a chuckle.
"At ease, soldier. To what do I owe you this sudden visit? Is there a problem?" Erwin inquired good-naturedly before his curious gaze shifted to the little basket she was currently carrying.
"Ah !" Colith perked up before grinning. She walked further in, stopped in front of his desk, and placed the basket filled with unknown pastries, well unknown to him at least, on the only available spot on the table with a toothy smile. Erwin blinked as she leaned back, clapping her hands together. "Well, since you weren't here during the afternoon snack, I decided to bring you these." she informed gesturing toward the basket. "they're called muffins! I hope you'll like it."
He quirked a brow as he eyed the basket. He took one of these so-called 'muffins' and observed it. "Afternoon snack?" he glanced up in question as she nodded, dark locks bouncing along.
"Yes! It's something I used to do back home! So I thought to myself, why not do it here too since people seem to like my cooking! They're vanilla flavored!" although, her smile began to fade a little as doubt settled. " And here I remember that I didn't ask If I could do that. "she cringed then adorned a serious look, straightening up "My apologies, I should have asked before do-"
Erwin shook his head. "No, do not fret. It seems like the soldiers are appreciating it" they both glanced outside the window where they could see some soldiers walking idly by while they ate these so-called 'muffins' with light smiles. The commander's piercing eyes returned to the young woman. "I commend you for the efforts you've made on behalf of the regiment recently. You have my entire gratitude." he smiled. "Please do take a seat." he gestures to one of the chairs in front of him as he cleared his desk.
Colith nodded once more, a faint blush present on her face as she took a sit. Before she could open her mouth to speak, the Commander bit into the pastry without hesitation, startling Colith who released a small gasp. It seemed as though she wasn't expecting him to immediately try it.
Erwin's eyes slightly widened once he registered the taste. A pleasant hum threatened to bypass his lips though he held back from doing so. "It's...really delicious." he compliments genuinely "Thank you for having thought of me. I will be sure to not leave anything." he nodded before noticing the stunned look on her features.
"Huh, I wasn't actually expecting you to eat it so rapidly." she blinked.
The statement brought a chuckle out of the blond. "Why? Should I have assumed they were poisoned?"
"What? No- Allah no" she stammered before coughing in her fist. "I-I mean I thought you'd tell me to taste it first out of caution, that's why..." she scratched her cheek.
He chortled. "Levi, I presume?"
Colith flinched a little before her shoulders sagged as she sighed. "...yeees. But we're good now!" she clarified with a big smile. "We got to chat last night so I can certainly say that we are on good terms now."
This seemed to surprise Erwin as his eyes slightly widened. That must explain the little change in behavior the corporal seemed to have gone through. Fascinating. "I see, and what did you two talk about if I may ask?"
Colith pursed her lips "Heh, I'm not sure if I should be the one telling you. I don't think Le-the captain would take it well about me revealing things about him without his consent. No offense."
"None taken, I understand." The Commander nodded before intertwining his fingers together, watching the woman closely. "And I suppose that things must've gone well yesterday based on your good mood today. Mind if you enlighten me a little?"
Colith immediately understood where he was hinting at and proceeded to straighten up, though she kept a relaxed smile. "Yes, hum that's why I'm here actually."
"Oh?, and here I thought you were just here to bring me muffins."
Colith's mouth twitched. "that too...but I promised an explanation and I never go back on my word! I'm ready to answer any questions you might have for me. However, I must inform you that there might be things I won't be able to divulge yet." she warned.
He hummed. "And why is that?"
She shook her head before a little mischievous smile appeared. "To keep the mystery! Otherwise, it wouldn't be interesting! " she chuckled at the male's stunned look. "Alright, Mister! What do you want to know?"
Erwin released a small huff. This woman was truly...intriguing. He could've opted for a rather serious approach, yet, something told him that it would've been for naught. Why threaten with authority someone who showed no fear for it whatsoever. Her lack of reaction, if not, blatant display of disinterest at the trial didn't go unnoticed. Speaking of which-
"All right, then would it be possible to shed some light on what you provoked at the trial?"
Colith cocked her head to the side. "hmm, I'm not sure I follow you sir." the male was about to clarify but the woman chuckled. "I'm just kidding, you must be referring to the whole 'people dropping like flies' incident I presume?"
"indeed."
"Huh, that's because they pissed me off."
Erwin blinked. "Come again ?"
She let out a laugh. "When angered, I tend to spontaneously release something-I don't know how to put words on it but it's effective enough to overwhelm others' psyches. Yeah, that's that."
"And I presume you have...good control of it?"
"Well, you guys didn't faint so yeah." she nodded then used that opportunity to explain that her 'shifting abilities' allowed her to do a bunch of things including what she did at the trial.
She practically revealed the same things she told the kids and Levi minus the Ackerman part. She guessed that was something the man would want to reveal himself, that's if he even wishes to. Heh. Erwin was truly showing interest in her 'abilities' and was stunned when she revealed her true age and accordingly aged up simultaneously. He couldn't believe the possibility of the things going on at the moment. Could it be that others like Colith existed? Was she one of a kind? And why did cadet Ilse utter the possibility of her not being...human? What could that mean? His interest in the woman grew the more she answered him.
"So about the true purpose of the expedition, you're hoping to lure the traitors out, am I right?" Colith suddenly hummed.
The Commander didn't even seem surprised at this point and simply answered with a positive nod.
"And what do you plan to do if supposedly, we manage to capture them?"
"Learn more about their motivations and possibly where they originate from. As cruel as it may sound, I cannot exclude the possibility of...torture in order to obtain more information," he revealed with a straight face.
There was a silence as something flashed through the woman's eyes. "I see. I see. Hum say, Erwin, what if I told you that there might be no need for such a thing?" she adopted a Gendo Ikari pose as she stared at the man. The sudden shift in behavior caused the Commander to involuntarily stiffen, though it was barely noticeable, probably due to all these years of practice.
"Oh? And what do you propose, Colith?" cerulean clashed with gold in a battle for dominance. Who would back down first? The atmosphere was no longer light-hearted as the two individuals observed each other, attempting to find even a small flaw in the other's defense. After a long silence, the woman leaned back, though she kept a serious face.
"How about we make a deal, dear commander?"
Erwin didn't show any signs of emotions as he stared at her. "A deal?" Though he was...intrigued, to say the least.
Colith smiled smoothly before stating her conditions. The male's eyes widened halfway through the conversation before he ended up conceding to her demands. After all, he wasn't at a loss here, quite the opposite, really. Though the real motives behind her words remained a mystery he was quite...keen to discover, one day. He wasn't expecting this side of the usually happy-go-lucky female, but there were still things he ignored about her. Not everyone tends to show everything to the others, even to their close ones...
Although the seriousness of the conversation immediately dissipated once the woman made a particular request that slightly threw the Commander...off.
"Can you say 'Good grief' and 'Ora Ora Ora'? Please?"
Erwin wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to truly understand Colith one day.
The training for the upcoming expedition was... rather rigorous. Much more difficult and demanding than what cadets had been accustomed to in the training corps. They were mostly assessed on their ODM skills and it is not surprising that the top 10 were the ones who fared much better than the others. Although the fear of constant death followed by the still-fresh memories of Trost incident was enough to push them to do their best, resulting in a 76% success rate in training, unlike the previous years where the rate did not exceed more than 40%. It was...astounding!
It didn't stop there. They learned to use the equipment on horseback. Although they briefly glossed over it in the training camp since the Survey Corps was usually a last resort choice for cadets, this portion of the training tended to be put aside. However, with the number of cadets this year, it became a crucial skill that needed to be mastered by every scout without exception, otherwise, it was certain death as soon as they set foot outside. It was not as easy as it seemed with all the movement produced by the horse, keeping balance while it was moving was difficult, but not impossible in itself. It was simply a matter of dedication and survival.
Otherwise, the days passed while the dreaded expedition was rapidly approaching. Although, despite the dread and concern, things still managed to stay lively enough for everyone to feel less agitated. They alterned between ODM training, hand-to-hand combat in which, for obvious reasons, no one wanted to spar with the number one cadet, except Mikasa, to the point of attracting the attention of the special operations squad, from which an arrogant Oluo tried to prove his superiority only to get knocked out by the first blow. The fight had been so anticlimatic that it was hilarious.
Speaking of which, the woman had suggested to add a new training regiment that would only take place once a week. It simply consists of a real-time spar against a shifter. The idea had been a surprise to everyone, though it was immediately applied with enthusiasm by the scouts, even though some showed reticence at the prospect of fighting a titan. Whether it be an ally or not. Though the various reactions to her Titan form didn't leave some...people indifferent. Obviously, Eren wasn't included in the shifting part, for it was still too early for him to be trusted with his ability to completely control himself, even though Colith backed him up on the ordeal.
Aside from that, the arsenal improvements had not yet been made for the regiment lacked the necessary funds to create such eccentric weapons designed by none other than Hanji. The woman had been delighted with the idea of having free rein over the design of the regiment's new weapons and had immediately proposed plans which she had apparently drawn a few hours after the idea of facing sturdier titans was brought up back in the office. It was therefore a great disappointment to learn that their request for additional funding was denied by the government, claiming that such an investment would be useless for the scouts already have two titans at their disposal.
It was really unfortunate, until the Survey Corps got a mysterious sponsor the day after the refusal, who deposited the necessary funds directly into the commander's office one afternoon. No one knew how the money arrived here, although it was accompanied by a small note detailing for them to use the money wisely with a scribbling of a sun at the edge of the note. Erwin was not sure what had happened because he had not foreseen such a turn of events. There was no sign of a break-in and the amount of money exceeded anything he had ever seen in the past. Regardless, the male had an idea of who it was, as far-fetched as it seemed.
He had eventually caught wind of the 'underground's mysterious benefactor' or to put it simply 'God'. No one knew their identity nor their motives, though, it was known by many that they would help those living in the underground, and apparently, life had become easier, at least easier than before, for those currently living there. The Commander had not put enough thoughts on the matter for it had nothing to do with the regiment, however now he was intrigued, if not wary, for the application for funds had not been made public and only transpired between the Commander and the government, therefore a secret. So how did they know? And why would they decide to help the Survey Corps out of the blue...? This wasn't normal...
"Gah! This is infuriating!!" a woman cried out as she kicked into a boulder in frustration, easily shattering it while beady blue eyes stared at her pacing back and forth in front of it.
"...uuh."
The woman paused at the noise and whipped her head toward the giant before sighing at the worried expression it had on its face. "Sorry Mavea, but it's so complicated!" She lifted her hands to the sky in aggravation before letting them drop to her sides.
The titan tilted its head to the side while watching the woman resume her pacing, this time with a hand holding her chin while mumbling with a visible frown.
"It's easy to text a 'find a cure' like Ugh! How am I supposed to find it just like that?! Plus why am I stuck with this while she's playing around with the main cast?! I wanna do that too!" she fumed.
It's been weeks since she was assigned with finding a cure to the eldian curse and so far...she had no idea of how to fix this. Sure she ultimately knew the curse would be lifted at some point but she wasn't about to let things go to that point. Hell no. The original was too attached to the three, heck she and the others were too for her to let things go that way, though, her mind was racing!
Granted she had all these powers at her disposal, how come she couldn't just, click, find it?! Sure, she didn't watch or read much Manga back then, though she tried almost everything. [Instant Heal] , was...a failure. Mavea remained the same, then again, she wasn't sick or wounded, to begin with so it was basically useless in this situation.
Regardless, after trying every healing ability she knew to exist and even those she found on the net, the titan was still, well a titan. Although she wasn't a big fan of MHA, Eri's quirk could've done the trick. She thinks, but she rapidly realized that most of the titans on the island might have been created decades, if not centuries ago which would take too long! She needed something immediate for Allah's sake! There was no way she'd have enough patience for it anyway so she dropped that idea. In addition, she'd have to study the functioning of the quirk and have a good understanding of it before using it. Otherwise, some wild shit could happen if she wasn't careful enough and disperse herself. Now that would be embarrassing.
With a groan, she plops on the ground, the little titan approaching her spot with curious eyes before settling next to her. There was a peaceful silence as both stared into space until the woman then let out a heavy sigh.
"Seriously, what did the original think about when giving me that order?!" She continued to grumble before freezing suddenly, a new idea forming in her head. She was up on her feet in a second and executed a quick snap of her finger which produced a poof of smoke that startled the titan next to her.
"What makes you think that I'll be of any help? I'm you."
"Yes but now I have someone to discuss with! No offense Mavea."
"..none..ta..ken."
The new clone rolled her eyes. "Besides what the hell do you want me to do?"
"Find a solution?"
"Haha, yeah no, I'm as clueless as you are sis and we both know that you already tried everything I would even think to suggest." she shrugged, cracking her neck while sighing lazily. "I mean, sure, having two brains's better than one but it's not much help if it originates from the same person, you get me?"
"I know... Uh, what should I refer to you anyway?"
"hm, since you're #6 just call me Wooro."
#6 deadpans. "it basically means 'six' moron."
"yes but in Bambara." she waved her hand dismissively, "Besides, did you think about asking Ymir? She might be able to help since you're stuck and all." she appeared on Mavea's head and started playing with the blond strands of hair beneath her. They definitely needed washing...otherwise they were soft.
Wooro pauses at the silence that greeted her statement and proceeded to glance at the silent woman with incredulous eyes, " No way... "
"Sh-Shut the fuck up! I panicked, okay?!"
Wooro simply chuckled as she watched the disgruntled clone march toward a puzzled Mavea who blinked in surprise when #6 motioned to lean down. Wooro shook her head, detachment oozing out of her.
"Dumbass."
A middle-aged man could be seen trudging with some difficulties in the streets, a basket of groceries in one hand and a cane in the other. And by the amount of greens inside, it could be assumed that he lived alone for it would only suffice a person for about a week. He received various greetings from people who seemed familiar with him, though the man barely deigned to respond, his mind continuously clouded with worry for his child. It had been years since he's last heard of her. Was she alright? Was she safe? He couldn't know...
Arriving at the front door of his little house he refused to depart with despite his new status, he entered and placed the basket on the little table in the middle of the room. The house wasn't that big, but good enough for a small family of three, which was a luxury for someone with his blood, though he was at least grateful for it. He took a seat with a grunt due to his condition, youthfulness and energy had left room for continuous worry and despair a parent would have for their child. It was not as if he was that old, probably between 50-60, although, the leg injury he had suffered in the past made it difficult to maneuver for a long period, practically rendering him crippled for the rest of his life. The man removed his beret, placing it on the table as he glanced up, so lost in thought that he nearly missed the knocking sound coming from the front door.
A frown came across his face as his eyes shifted to the door a few feet from him. He wasn't expecting anyone to his knowledge..? This did not prevent him from getting up to answer the door, curious about who it might be for he rarely received visitors. Cautious by nature, the man slightly opens the door to see the person behind it only to frown slightly as he glances up at the stranger's face. It was a...woman. A middle-aged woman to be precise.
Her skin was far darker than his, reminding him of those originating from the continent of Alkebulan he could see wandering from time to time in the city, though it was quite a...rare sight to witness one in the internment zone. She was rather tall, sporting a yellow headscarf usually seen on their women which concealed entirely her head, a light brown coat followed by a long marron red skirt. Where she had found these gold earrings while being here was beyond him, although his eyes lingered the most on something else instead of the shining metal. The sand-colored armband on her left arm, however, signaled her belonging to the Eldian race. Somewhat.
"Mr. Leonhart?"
His eyes immediately narrowed in suspicion. "what do you want?"
The woman paused before tilting her head forward in a show of politeness. "May I have a few words with you? I promise It won't be long." she smiled, gold hues glistening through the shadows produced by the afternoon sunset occuring just behind her.
The man, now known as Leonhart found himself quite unsure about this strangely patient woman... Others would've already backed away at his usual crankiness, so he was quite caught off guards by her serenity. He grunted and let her in. It is only after they settled at the dinner table that the male froze in realization.
"How did you know my name?"
She purely and simply pointed to the red armband he was still wearing even though had been home for a while and probably forgot to remove it once inside. Though that wasn't enough for him for he's sure to have never seen this woman in the internment zone before.
"I asked around."
Which was in itself...not unconceivable since he was the only one living here. Nothing could've prevented her from doing some research beforehand. Additionally, he was the only one known with a crippled leg in the neighborhood so it must've been easy locating him.
"Mr. Hoover was of great help actually. He was the one who showed me the way to your house. I hope this does not bother you?"
He slowly shook his head in silence. "Hoover, huh?"
Ever since his sudden recovery a few weeks ago, Furbar and his wife could be seen more and more outside of their homes. They...seemed much more happier than before.
He frowned.
He still couldn't fathom how they could live so blissfully while their son was out there, risking his life in the devils' den. Then again, it was none of his business to begin with.
He sighed, "I guess, what's your name and what do you want from me exactly?"
At that, the woman rested a gloved hand on her chest and proceeded to graciously introduce herself, "You can refer to me as Fila, it's a pleasure to meet you." before smiling, eyes creasing at the same time. Mr. Leonhart rose a brow at the foreign name before nodding for her to continue. She didn't need to be told twice.
"...?" Mikasa stopped what she was doing to stare at Colith. She gently placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. "Are you alright?"
Colith blinked, seemingly snapping out of it, and shook her head to clear her mind. She glanced down at a frowning Mikasa in question. "Hm?"
"it...it happened again..."
"What ha- oh." Colith chuckled in realization. She wiped her hand on her pants before reaching to fondly pat the Ackerman's head. "stop worrying, would you? I told it it was nothing."
The raven-haired girl wasn't convinced, "You've been having those...episodes more often... Are you sure it has nothing to do with shifting? You should leave this to me and rest." she went to pull the bucket toward her but Colith prevented her with a sweatdrop.
"It's okay Mika, I'm totally fine! I was just lost in thoughts, no big deal!" She resumed what she was doing. "these clothes ain't gonna wash themselves so come on, let's finish this so we can relax and enjoy the rest of the day!" She grinned, "What do you think about the expedition, think you're ready?"
Mikasa squinted at the obvious attempt to change the subject, though she let go. It wasn't as though she could force Colith to tell her. The girl sighed. "I guess...I'm more worried about your well being though. We still don't know which part of the formation You and Eren are placed in." she frowned. Not liking the idea of not being near her family.
Colith huffed, letting out a soft giggle before lifting the now clean jacket she twisted to rid it of the excess water. She then proceeded to place it in a bucket filled with clothes in the same state and repeated the motion. "it's for safety purposes I guess. The Commander's an enigmatic guy who knows what he's doing so yeah. Maybe there's a reason." she shrugs.
The Ackerman showed skepticism at her words, "You've been going to his office almost every week. Everything suggests that you already know exactly where you'll be."
"Gosh, is Armin rubbing off on you? Dayum. But yeah, as much as I love you, dearie, I cannot go against Erwin's orders so I can't tell you." she shook her head.
Mikasa's shoulders sag a little in disappointment which did not go unnoticed by the woman. Colith pats her back before getting up, finished with her task. "Now come on, we still have a week before the big day so don't make that face." she easily hoisted the buckets full of clothes up and was about to walk away until Mikasa's next words stopped her march.
"is it wrong of me...to wish to stay close to my family...? Armin's already placed in the right flank, in a different squad from me. Now you and Eren...how am I supposed to know that you're all okay? What if things went wrong? What if one of you died? I... I won't be able to protect all of you like this..." her grip on her drenched scarf tightened exponentially as worry and dread clouded her mind.
Colith stared at her surrogate daughter for a few seconds before her gaze softened. She glanced around to see if anyone was near before flicking her hand. An action that caused the raven-haired girl's scarf to dry instantly which was enough to cause the girl to jolt in surprise and look up at the ebony woman with wide eyes.
"It's not. You have every right to be worried, we're heading outside after all. Though I must advise you to follow orders. It's hard, but I'm confident that we'll pull through this!" She squished Mikasa's cheek before resting a hand on her head. "Plus, I'm the one who should be worried, I'm the mama here, so leave that to me, baby and relax! I won't let anything happen to you guys, mark my words." her eyes creased in a smile.
Mikasa shook her head and then reached to grab Colith's hand with pleading eyes. "I...I know that..! But what about you?"
"About me?"
"You're the one who worries me the most..!"
Colith stared for a few seconds before she felt a fuzzy and warm feeling swell in her. These kids... "I see. I tell you what, I promise to be very careful, okay? We'll even have a barbecue after the expedition if you want. And don't worry, I'm not planning to die until you tell Eren how you feel." she winked then roared with laughter at the sight of the crimson shades on the Ackerman's usually pale features.
" I...That's...that's wrong. We're a family- I can't-" she stammered, quickly wrapping the scarf in hope of concealing her beet-red face while Colith finally calmed down and gazed at her with mischief.
"That so...? Hm..." she pretended to think, a shit-eating grin written on her face. "To my knowledge, husbands are generally part of the family... I mean...y'know?" she threw her head back in a cackle as she walked toward the clotheslines, leaving a stunned Mikasa behind.
The girl in mention stared into space before a deep blush coated her face as a small gasp left her lips in realization.
"...Oh."
Fila* = two in Bambara.