Levi leaned against the trunk of an oak tree while he waited.

Through the tree's tangled branches, he could make out a portion of the object towering in a nearby clearing. He wondered once again why Celine wanted to meet in this particular spot of all places. She'd even requested he be in uniform. It appeared he would have answers soon enough when he picked up the sound of footsteps coming through the grass.

"Why ask me to meet you here?" Levi asked. "You even told me to gear up, although my arm is still–"

Levi whipped his head about. The sound of Celine's approach had been off. A toothy grin met him as he leaned around the tree.

"Getting the spring system for the joint working how I wanted was a real pain in the ass," Celine said. She put her hands on her hips, standing in a wide stance. "But it looks pretty good, right? With the tall boots, you can't even tell part of me is manufactured."

Levi pushed himself from the tree. He eyed Celine up and down. "It's hard to make an assessment without seeing you in motion."

The glow behind her eyes conveyed this was the comment Celine had been hoping for. She began to run in place. It was followed by her jogging around Levi in circles. He wouldn't have been able to tell anything was out of the ordinary save for her right foot coming down with a louder thud than her left.

"Real natural, yeah?" she said. "The other technologists nearly shat themselves when they saw it in motion. I'm being assigned to draw up formalized blueprints for mass manufacture. The metals in this thing make it sorta pricey, but the military is going to eat the costs for anyone who was injured in the line of duty. On top of that, I know some outside contractors who–"

"If you're going to talk to me," Levi said. "Stand still – you're like a dog chasing its tail."

Celine came to a stop. She lifted her chin. "Alright then – let's skip to the good part. This is where I need your help."

"To do something dangerous?"

Something flashed behind Celine's eye. "Only a little."

The puppets utilized for Titan encounter simulations weren't complicated to use. The wooden frames ranging from seven to ten meters in height were built on a swivel system which made adjusting their position as simple as tugging on a series of ropes. It was for this reason Levi could easily control it one-handed. Although, simply moving the puppet wasn't enough to simulate a real Titan encounter.

"Are you sure you can handle it?" Celine asked. She had positioned herself on a high branch at the edge of the clearing. She drew the swords at her hips with a flourish. "Controlling the puppet and trying to block my attacks with only one arm seems like a lot."

"Attempting to kill a Titan with only one foot also sounds like a lot," Levi said. "Don't get frustrated when you fail."

Celine could feel the taught skin of the scar on her cheek shifting as her smile widened. "You know, I might take this as an opportunity to stab you."

"Good luck."

Celine leapt from the branch. She swung in a large arc, positioning herself behind the puppet. Glints of sunlight reflected off her blades as she neared the stuffed sack attached to the wood to simulate a Titan's nape. The blow she attempted to make missed entirely when an unexpected kick to her back from Levi sent her hurtling toward the ground.

"Shit!"

The toes of Celine's boots brushed through the grass as the adjustment of her gear broke her fall. She flung herself skyward, shooting her grappling hooks into the puppet. They lodged themselves in the wood and yanked Celine forward.

A sudden 180-degree swivel to the puppet nearly flung her into the side of a tree, Celine only keeping her balance by increasing the speed of the cables pulling her in. Levi appeared in the blink of an eye to parry Celine's blow with a blade of his own.

Celine flicked a switch on her ODM controls, a panel running the length of her right calf popping out from the leather. A whirring sound heralded an eruption of steam from her ankle.

The new trajectory sent Celine flying straight up in a burst of speed. She flipped over Levi and sped toward her target. The additional propulsion allowed more power to run through her strike, her blades cutting through the sack like butter. A wedge fell to the clearing below as Celine screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Eat shit!"

The large branch beneath Celine swayed from her rough landing. Her cheeks felt flushed, strands of hair falling loose from her braid to nearly cover her face.

A landing in a far more graceful manner was made by Levi. He kept his distance on the opposite end of the branch as Celine gesticulated her merriment.

"Impressive, right?!" Celine said, waving her blades through the air. "Amazing, right?! No one can say I'm a burden and keep me behind a desk when I can do that! You have no idea how many nights I stayed up working on a propulsion system that would fit the parameters of the outer frame. Obviously, I could've used what we already have, but I wanted to find a good balance between form and function. The result is I have three mini turbines parallel to each other instead of just one. I'm thinking of using the idea as the basis for a model that can be attached to any soldier's boots for additional momentum. Ah! It turned out even greater than I imagined! I'm such a genius!"

"Put your swords away," Levi said, sheathing his own. "They're not toys."

Celine followed the suggestion in a dutiful fashion. The level of elation she felt was too great for the reprimand to even put a dent in her mood.

"Did you see that, Levi?" Celine asked. She took a wide stance, gesturing to herself with her thumb. Her grin stretched from ear-to-ear. "I killed a Titan!"

The lack of swords being swung about meant Levi was able to approach in a steady manner. A fluid motion led to him cupping the side of Celine's face and pulling her into a kiss.

Celine was too stunned to reciprocate; her eyes feeling as large as dinner plates when their lips parted a moment later. Her lashes fluttered as she got ahold of herself.

"You're into some weird stuff, huh?" Celine said. She slid her arms around Levi's shoulders with a laugh before pulling his face back to hers.