The Attack on Trost held devastating losses. Still, with the help of an abnormal titan, humans won. The battle opened my eyes and helped me to decide my allegiance. Eren had a point. My dream was noble; to serve the King, willing to risk life and limb. The best way to protect the King was to be on the front lines. The Scouting Legion.

I waited all night long for Jean, anxious to tell him of my decision. Maybe I could convince him to join me in the Scouting Legion. Curfew hit quicker than I thought it would. I fell asleep thinking he was at another lodging.

Being woken up early is never pleasant. Especially when it's to identify and clean up the corpses. I was searching for Jean as I swept through the streets. Turning down a side road, I was hit with the stench. Even with the cloth tied across my face, it penetrated deeply. Walking further down that road only seemed to increase the smell. At the peak of the foul fragrance, I froze.

My eyes began to water as I looked at the corpse. The body had been dead for a while. Not much you could do when missing a good chunk of your right half. Even with an incomplete face, I could recognize who it was. The light hair, the long angular face, the now lifeless tawny eyes.

I hit the ground hard, my knees giving way beneath me. I didn't know when I started to cry, but as soon as the first tear fell, I was sobbing. My gloved hands clung to his body as my body wracked with the quiet sobs. His name fell my lips, broken and sad. "Jean. Jean." Over and over, again and again. I didn't even hear the woman asking who the dead soldier was. She quickly moved, either having gotten what she wanted or figuring she'd get it somewhere else. I just stayed there and wept, realizing I lost my closest companion.