Wolf

Eva had left to climb the walls with the others, aided by other cadets ready to assist their injured comrade. She had not seen Armin or Mikasa since they left HQ. A lot had happened from HQ to the wall, mostly dodging through the surviving titans in Trost. But they made it safely, the remaining cadets had arrived within the safety of Wall Rose. Unbridled relief washed over them, most fell to their knees and cried, others just wanted to get inside as fast as possible.

Garrison soldiers helped them move forward, got the cadets on lifts and lowered them to the ground. Emergency infirmaries were everywhere as well as collections of rations for the exhausted soldiers.

Unsurprisingly, Eva was rushed to the infirmary closest to them. She was given all the medical attention she could ever want. With meds to ward off the pain, stitches, bandages, antibiotics. Nothing was spared getting her back in fighting shape; the military branches took their fallen soldiers seriously. Eva was thankful, though she did know the supplies were unnecessary.

It didn't take long before she was allowed to get up again, but only with a crutch. The nurses walked her out like a prisoner just to make sure she would use it. Eva caved into their demands, they truly cared about her health, she didn't want to upset them.

She had hoped someone would've visited her, at least at some point. Then she realized the only people who knew her were Eren, Armin, and Mikasa... She hadn't seen Armin and Mikasa since HQ, there was no telling where they were right now.

Without the enclosed feeling of the cadet training grounds or the company of Armin, Mikasa and... Eva sighed, her eyes raising to see the Wall towering above her. They were likely somewhere grieving, saying goodbye to Eren in their own way.

Whatever that meant, it left her here to hope they were alright and to find food. Life went on, no matter the losses they suffered or the horrors they witnessed. They needed to eat and move forward.

Eva leaned on her crutch, limping down the street slowly. Too many people so condensed it was hard to move around. Without the nurses in sight, she figured it wouldn't harm anyone if she stopped using it. She stopped using the crutch and carried it in her hand. Still she was in pain, unable to regenerate. The limp was noticeable, her winces of pain also quite clear. She wasn't good at hiding them. Though the wound would've likely bedridden a human soldier, Eva was lucky she didn't require that rest and recovery phase.

At times her weakened leg would give somewhat, causing her to stumble for just a moment. It wasn't bad, she never fell down. It just took a bit more effort to walk around. The crutch only agitated her, she was far too stubborn to actually use it without the nurses around.

When she finally found a woman handing out bowls of stew, Eva waited to get her own bowl. The woman was kind, seeing the injured soldier before her, she gave a generous amount. "Get your rest, soldier. We're all glad you came home to us!" She offered this sweet, yet sad smile. It was sympathy as she tried to cheer up the cadets. Eva liked this woman, she was good.

As Eva held the bowl and spoon in one hand, she fought to keep herself steady. All she wanted was to heal, stand up, and walk like normal. This whole situation frustrated her to no end. She started to trip again, her leg bending when she didn't want it to. Part of the stew spilled onto the ground and Eva cursed to herself. There went half her food.

She might not need to eat like everyone else, but she did need energy to push on. Eating kept the body alive, all it did for Eva was help her keep her strength up. After she burned so much energy at Trost fighting titans, she needed something to fill her aching stomach. She was always so hungry after she did hard work, even during training. At the very first second of physical exertion her body began to heat up and her need for sustenance would grow. Hunger was the term for surviving, living. To eat to satisfy that ache, to keep themselves alive and healthy.

Eva didn't eat for that, she ate to keep moving faster. The more the ate, the faster and stronger she was. There were limitations, but every bit helped. Right now she wanted to eat so she could work through the pain and start preparing for what comes next. Food would rapidly increase her recovery, even without regeneration.

Her physical struggles frustrated her and did not go unnoticed. There was always one person in the cadets that wanted to help everyone. The only person she had never gotten through to was Eva. She would never let the smaller girl help her out with anything, always turning away without a word. Now she saw her chance to help Eva.

"Hey!" Footsteps rushed up to her, the clanking sounds of ODM gear rattling. "Hold on, let me help."

Eva saw Krista's hands take her bowl from her, holding it steady in two hands. Her first instinct was to deny the offer for help and go on her way. That same lone wolf attitude she had given their entire three years in training together. Rejecting the others for her own sake.

Looking at Krista's eyes, her sorrowful look. She did smile softly to Eva, just the same as the lady handing out stew to the soldiers. There was pain behind that smile, but they both put on a happy face just to make the suffering soldiers feel better. A moment of respite to not think about all the things they just saw in Trost. The hopeless feeling of death and destruction.

All through training Eva had turned this girl down, utterly rejected anything she offered without a second thought. Distance was safe and she remained impersonal with everyone. No one knew her well enough to even know she was injured, at least, not well enough to visit. It wasn't malicious or hurtful in anyway, the fault wasn't on them.

It was on Eva and she knew that. She wanted to be wanted, to be able to join the team... It was a shame it took her three years to get comfortable enough to even consider the idea.

So, to Krista's surprise, Eva accepted. She righted herself, letting her take the bowl from her hands before hurrying back to the woman serving the stew. Eva leaned on the crutch somewhat, watching the blue eyed girl thank the woman and return to Eva with a full bowl of piping hot stew.

"Here, come sit down." Krista lead Eva to a few wooden tables, setting the bowl down at a table below a cloth awning. She helped Eva out anyway she could, even took the crutch from her when she sat down, resting it against the nearby wall. Eva cautiously accepted her assistance, it was so strange being doted on.

Taking the spoon in her hand, she finally began to eat. The warmth and filling soup did wonders to her battered and exhausted body. She was instantly beginning to feel better. No regenerating. She had to remind herself, it was hard not to.

There were a few cadets around her, but less she actually knew. Jean, Krista, Ymir, Reiner, Bertoldt. Two others she had seen around, but never formally met. Eva watched them, especially focusing on the strange look on Jean's face. It was strange, different.

"What happened to you?" She heard the question and slowly turned to see Krista's always concerned expression.

Eva didn't care to get too in depth, the injury was minor compared to everything else going on. "I got grabbed by a titan. Broke through a window, got cut up by the glass." Her voice was low, unsure. Speaking to them wasn't easy. Ymir didn't look too interested in anything Eva had to say, much less how she was injured. Mostly she was there because Krista wanted to be.

Changing the subject, Eva pointed to Jean. "What happened to him?"

Ymir just crossed her arms, rolling her eyes. "We've asked him and he won't tell us. Something about a gag order and that's got something to do with why Mikasa and Armin aren't here." She was annoyed that Jean wasn't talking, that people were missing and no one would explain why. Or perhaps she was just annoyed because Ymir always seemed annoyed at something or someone.

Alarmed by that response, Eva abandoned her stew and turned around to face Jean. Her piercing gaze got to Jean instantly. "Jean. Where's Armin and Mikasa?" He was nervous about something, but resolved to not answer. The other cadets around him were also just as disturbed, so she turned to them instead. "Reiner, Bertoldt?"

Again, they stayed silent. Eva returned to the others at the table. "What happened to everyone? I saw a lot of cadets at HQ, did they even make it back?"

"Yes, a lot did. Me and Ymir had already climbed the Wall before we ran out of gas. I'm sorry, we should've run supplies." Krista glanced down, "If we knew what was going on, we would've done whatever we could to help."

"We're lucky we got out when we did. I'm not about to die running gas to the vanguard because a few cadets got too cocky and ended up titan chow." Ymir put a hand on her hip. She was being dismissive about the lost soldiers and Eva really couldn't care less.

So she took another bite of her stew and tried to think back to HQ, back to the last time she saw Mikasa and Armin. It wasn't so long ago that her memory was clouded, it was so fast. The moment they stepped outside the cadets began evacuating Trost as quickly as they possibly could, burning gas straight through Trost's streets and up Wall Rose. They were relived to survive, horrified to know those that didn't.

As she ate, strong vibrations shook the table; a loud crack of electricity was unmistakable. Followed by an earth shattering explosion from cannon fire. Everyone jumped up, all the cadets turned to see the cloud of smoke, dust, and... steam rising into the sky from inside the Wall. No more than a few blocks away from where they stood. Panic enveloped them all, civilians still in the area began to flee.

Eva hurried along with the others as fast as she could, the cadets all staring into the sky.

The first to race off into the unknown was Reiner, leading the charge and quickly followed by three more. She wanted to go with them, but her ODM gear was removed in the infirmary. She had no way to pursue them, no way to find out what the hell was going on.

People began talking, pure conjecture born from fear and fresh trauma.

She could do nothing but wait.

Eva took a deep breath and calmed herself down. Too much was happening at once, too much that couldn't be helped no matter what they did. She just had to deal with it for now. They all had to wait, but there were no more sounds of cannon fire or the stomping of a titan. If they were inside Wall Rose... everyone would know by now. This panic was something else entirely.

She would just have to see what it was when Jean and the others returned. Her eyes rested on other cadets, people she didn't really know very well. People she began to wonder if she should get to know. Things were changing rapidly, it was time to forge bonds not separate herself further.

Returning to the table with a few cadets still there, tensed with the fear of a titan inside the Wall. Eva studied Krista's expression as she thought about what to say. It was hard... she already fought with herself just to talk to Eren, Mikasa, and Armin. But willingly holding a conversation with another stranger...?

Eva gave up. She had physical strength, agility, and adaptability to keep herself alive. The only thing she didn't learn in the last five years was how to talk to another person. How to tell them that she appreciated their help and wanted to engage with them more, to get to know them. Did she want to get to know anyone here, Krista included? She wasn't sure...

She just knew the longer she was around these people the more she realized she didn't want to be alone anymore.

For now she kept her mouth shut and finished her stew. It gave her the push she needed to move forward. All that held her back now was this injury from Trost... She couldn't recover, she could only hope that if she needed to they would be so detached from her current state that they wouldn't notice her.

That is until they were being rounded up by the Garrison to stand directly in front of the Wall Rose to Trost gate. Perhaps not the safest place to be considering what happened to the Wall Maria gate. Still, they all stood in a crowd waiting to hear what the Garrison commander had to say. All Eva knew was that she stood, leaning over, listening to whispers that tore through the crowd like fire.

They talked about a recovery mission in Trost, something about returning to block the broken Trost gate. She was unaware there was a way to do so. If there had been during Shiganshina than they would've used it; unless this plan was created due to that massacre? Or something else entirely.

Eva spotted people beginning to outright panic, publicly in front of their superiors. Some cried, shook violently, crouched down, holding their heads... It was crippling fear from the initial attack. There was no one who could possibly blame them for this fear, so many had died and a good deal of these soldiers were cadets. Not even trained in their chosen regiment.

She felt sorry for them, but they couldn't retreat. Desertion was... frowned upon, to say the least.

Eva had caught the attention of Krista, the girl seemed so happy Eva even acknowledged her earlier. Years of ignoring her made that one moment of reaction monumental. With Eva's injured state, Krista felt the need to interrupt.

"You should go back to the nurses, let them take care of you." Krista insisted, her eyes wide and worried. She held her hands clasped together in front of her, almost like this sweet begging for Eva to listen to her. "Please, you shouldn't go out there like this. You'll die." It was pleading; pleading for Eva's life as she believed. Though the taller woman would hear nothing of it.

Eva's critical stare unnerved Krista. It was the usual look the older cadet had given everyone through training. Intimidating, towering; Eva was an adult woman that towered over the young cadets. It was hard to ignore that look she would give them, how cold and harsh it felt being on the receiving end. The woman's eyes were sharp, steel blue, and an expression that every single word you could say to her would only make her angrier.

Of course, Eva was not upset with Krista in the slightest. This expression was simply her face and meant no ill will towards the sweet girl that only wanted to help everyone around her.

Ymir was never far from her, always watching the girl do what she did best. Help people.

"I'll be fine." Her short answer suggested she would not listen to what Krista had to say at all. Eva knew her injuries would not hold her back at all, but no one else did. From the outside, Eva looked like a mess. A wounded soldier on the verge of falling over. Her early years of adjusting to ODM gear in Shiganshina taught her a lot, but not how to refrain from injury. Without the fear of permanent harm or death, Eva never focused on self preservation.

The panic spread through the crowd like wildfire, burning hot and scaring other soldiers. People began to turn around, superiors began threatening them for desertion, which incited more panic. It would soon turn into a stampede of people trying to escape certain death. If they were not careful, a lot more could go wrong.

It was at this critical moment when the Garrison Regiment Commander called from atop the Wall.

"Attention!"

Every single soldier stopped dead in their tracks. While they were terrified, hearing the Commander's voice definitely struck them deeply. "I shall now explain the Trost Recovery Operation." A few people gasped, shaking their heads. The rumor was true, there was a recovery mission. "Our primary objective is to reseal the hole."

Eva frowned, How do they intend to do that? Other soldiers agreed, murmuring to each other about the impossibility of it all.

"As for how the task will be done, allow me to introduce someone. This is cadet Eren Yaeger." Even Eva was shocked when the familiar cadet approached the Commander's side and saluted. What is he-?

Beside Krista, Connie paled. "Eren?!" Everyone shared his shock, staring wide eyed at their friend. He was a part of this plan, there was something more going on here.

"This young man is the successful product of cutting-edge research. Cadet Yaeger possesses the ability to manifest himself as a titan." Eva instantly froze, her body aching it was so tense.

... Eren can... Her mind went insane with a thousand questions at once. He can become a titan too? So... was that him, in Trost? The one killing titans...? Eva's jaw clenched, hands grasped into tight fists. She had no idea what she was, no idea what it meant. No one else said a single thing about this being possible. All three years in training and not once had anyone said turning into a titan was possible; not even a tiny hint.

So now, all of a sudden, today of all days... Someone can become a titan. Someone else that is. Did they understand it all along? Was this known, but perhaps under wraps for an unseen reason?

"Hey, I didn't understand what the Commander said, but it's not because I'm stupid, right?" Connie looked to Ymir for answers. She ignored him for the most part, just telling him to be quiet.

"Having assumed titan form, Cadet Yaeger will hoist that immense boulder on his back and seal the hole with it. Your duties are to protect him from other titans!" The Commander paused, listening to the crowd of soldiers below.

The silence only lasted a moment, but every second felt like hours. Fear was already running rampant; now it was pure terror. Soldiers began to retreat.

Dozens turned tail, brushing passed others in a hurry. Eva watched so many abandon this mission, abandon their duties as a soldier. They were the only people standing between millions of people and the wild titans just outside that gate.

So many with tears down their faces, dark shadows over their eyes. Too scared, too pained. It was hard to see people shaken to the core.

Then came the threats of death. Garrison soldiers threatened the deserters. "Traitors! I'll kill you where you stand!" Swords were drawn, aimed at those too scared to fight again. More swords could be heard being unsheathed, ready to execute deserters.

People started to cry out in retaliation. The crowd was devolving fast.

"Anyone wishing to leave will be given by my orders not to be charged with treason!" The Commander was full of surprises today. "Those who have seen a titan firsthand will not be expected to relive it again. Anyone that knows the horrors of a titan, leave us! Additionally, whoever knows the horror of a titan, but wants their own family to experience the same horror, leave us!"

Eva liked this Commander. He didn't play fair, he knew how to turn a crowd from a panicked mob to a docile unit.

"I want to tell you a story that happened four years ago. Namely, the operation to retake Wall Maria. I'm sure all of you know this already." Eva... did not. Four years ago she was outside Wall Rose, living in the titan controlled lands beyond human reach. "Officially, we labelled it reconnaissance. In fact, it was little more than an exercise in population control. We let ourselves believe a lie because the deaths of our fellow human beings allowed us to survive."

She wondered what any of that really meant. Though she understood some things about human life, she truly didn't understand a lot. Population control wasn't something she knew was an issue.

"The guilt is ours. We have a debt to pay back to humanity. The citizens of Wall Maria survived due to many casualties. But what about this time?" His words turned sharper, more pointed towards the soldiers below him. "If Wall Rose succumbs, the repercussions will be immeasurable. The resources within Wall Sina cannot support half of those who live there now. Humanity will be wiped out not by the titans, but through killing each other. We can't kill each other at this wall."

The rally was proving successful. Cadets and Garrison soldiers around her all began to feel the Commander's energy. He certainly had a way with his soldiers.

"If we must die, let us die here in battle!"

People were still horrified, but they had calmed down. It was time to begin and everyone was involved.

Eva had picked up her ODM gear, strapping herself back in. It hurt certainly, but the pain was dulled thanks to the medicine they had given her. Not much, just enough.

She pulled her jacket back on, straightening it out. Running her fingers through her hair, pulling it up to keep it out of the ODM gear just in case. As protocol, she inspected the blades, canisters, and cables to ensure everything was working as intended. She might not be great at fighting right now, it didn't mean she was entirely useless either.

The plan she was informed of involved three separate groups. One elite squad escorting Eren, multiple soldiers hanging off the Wall Rose to keep titans there, and a few squads on the ground attracting titans to the grouped soldiers on Wall Rose. It was effectively an attempt to control the path of the titans, leading them away from Eren so he could do what needed to be done.

With more titans pouring in through the open gate there was only so much anyone could do. Eventually, titans would begin to pick up on Eren's location and head to him. No matter what anyone did.

Eva wasn't too worried though, she could handle rogue titans wandering the streets. She just couldn't fight so aggressively anymore; she needed time. Her strength on her right side was also heavily in question as she was unable to apply much pressure when gripping her triggers. It would still work, just not as well. This meant when she attacked a titan trying to cut deep enough into the nape, she may be unable to do so.

With other soldiers around her, it may be best to stick to severing hands, cutting tendons in the legs, and blinding them. That did not require nearly as much strength and she would still remain useful on the field.

They were all taking lifts to the top of Wall Rose, so she waited her turn. Small groups on each one, slowly raised and lowered back down. It took some time; they were bringing up all cadets and Garrison soldiers they possibly could. To attract and keep so many titans on this side of the Wall, they needed a group so large no titan that could see them could ignore it.

Once her chance came, she was placed on a lift with six others, including a familiar cadet. Jean was shoulder to shoulder with her, waiting on the lift like everyone else. It took him a moment to realize the woman beside him was Eva. His eyes glanced over her, looking for the wounds he had just seen merely hours ago. They were significant and he had serious doubts she was physically prepared to fight.

However, he did not speak up on the lift. Instead, when they finally reached the top, Jean grabbed her arm. The contact was wholly unwelcome and stunned her just long enough for Jean to remove her from the soldiers heading towards the meeting point.

Behind a few crates, Jean stopped with Eva in tow. His critical expression conveyed his concern clearly.

"What do you think you're doing?" His tone stern, but he spoke quietly. No need to get anyone else involved, at least, not yet.

Eva pointed to the rest of the soldiers heading to the far side of the Wall. "Following orders."

Jean scoffed, "You were barely able to stand even with a crutch. You expect to be of any use up here? If you try to fight, you'll die." His voice began to raise as he considered Eva's likely death.

He didn't want to, it wasn't as if he liked thinking about his comrades dying in Trost. Jean was never one to stick his neck out for anyone... before today that is. Now he heard the screams of cadets he knew for the last three years, he watched Garrison soldiers be torn apart... The streets littered in blood and body parts. A horrific sight, a nightmare of a memory.

Here stood Eva, another cadet of the 104th. He knew her... somewhat. Mostly by reputation, but all the rep she had gotten over the years was created by other cadets. As he thought more about this loner cadet, he realized he had never spoken more than a sentence to her in the last three years. She never made any efforts to interact with anyone unless forced to do so during training.

No matter how little he knew this soldier, he didn't want her running blindly to her death. Another brave fool like Eren, he figured.

"No, no. You're not going anywhere. You're going right back down to the infirmary and staying there. We can handle this." Jean put his foot down. As if reprimanding a toddler throwing a tantrum. He was certain that if he didn't intervene, Eva would be another corpse on the streets and he would have to listen to her die; another cadet dead before they got to join their Regiment.

Eva, completely unaffected by Jean's demands, just stared at him blankly. "Can you really though." Her voice was smooth, not a single sign of defiance. She didn't need it, her confidence was radiating. Jean swallowed, seeing the unimpressed gaze weighing him down. "This is a shot in the dark and you need every soldier you can get. Able bodied or not. I'm still strong, so I'm going to help."

She pushed passed him, heading straight to the gathered soldiers. Jean gritted his teeth and followed her. He wasn't going to get her to stay on his own.

She saw a few soldiers repelling off the edge of the Wall to keep the titan's attention down below. They were doing everything they could to get titans to gather, clawing mindlessly at the Wall. Eva peered over the edge, curious.

Was that what I looked like? She sneered. They looked pathetic to her yet she empathized with them. She knew what it was like, she remembered that suffering. It made her feel angry and... scared. She stepped back from the ledge and checked over her ODM gear again, prepared to dive into Trost once more.

Teams had been put together, groups of cadets and Garrison Soldiers ready to fight.

Eva was not part of those teams, instead she repelled down the Wall with the other soldiers. The squads had not yet moved out and more were being formed every few minutes. They were attempted to lure all the titans still deeper in the city towards the Wall. Eventually, she would be back in Trost fighting the same fight. Only this time, they were a bit more prepared.

Her boots skidded down the Wall, dropping small rocks and dust into the air. Hanging just above the reach of the tallest titans, Eva waited for her turn to come.

The rumbling crash of titan's reaching out, slamming their palms to the Wall. It vibrated through the stone, through their boots. Soldiers on the Wall were scared, even though they knew they were safe. As long as they stayed there, the titans couldn't get them. Gnashing jaws so close they could feel their breath. It wasn't pleasant. Everyone was riding on Eren's ability to complete this mission.

Eva looked out over the city. Eren was somewhere on the Wall running all the way down to the opposite side. Could he even lift the boulder? Would it matter? Eva's brow furrowed. So much could go wrong, so many people could die for this outrageous strategy they cooked up.

"Eva!" Her head snapped to the side. There, just a few feet away was Armin. "What are you doing here?" His concern etched across his face. A lot of the cadets knew she had been injured, it was hard to ignore the soldier that broke through a window staining the entire area in her own blood. It was a bit graphic. She winced, Not my best move.

Looking to the titans and back to Armin, she pulled back and swung over towards him. She adjusted her cables, keeping her just below and to the side. "Why are you here?"

Dodging a question like that wouldn't work on Armin. He paused a moment, clearly nervous with sweat dripping down his forehead. "Eva, you shouldn't be here. You're hurt, you can't-"

"I am here, I will stay here, and I will fight." Her expression confident, pointed. Armin wasn't good with confrontation, it just wasn't in his nature. Eva was always so self assured. Just her company felt demanding and that wasn't a good thing. It put people on edge, it created tension that shouldn't be between comrades. It made Armin feel uncomfortable about telling Eva no.

Though through her thick skinned exterior, Armin still recalled that night at graduation. Eva always gave off this 'Don't mess with me' aura and everyone listened to it. Even if they didn't at first, they would eventually. Mina was the first to talk about Eva on the first night, commenting on her cold personality.

People labeled Eva as cold, even callous to her fellow cadets. Her insistence about being alone definitely supported that reputation. Even when their training focused on teamwork, Eva maintained that abrasive persona. She still succeeded in teamwork, but not for the same reason most cadets were. Armin blinked, realizing that her reputation was entirely unfounded. Armin wasn't seeing someone who had no regard for others, that hated everyone around them. He was seeing someone who cared more than they could admit; more than they could handle.

Shadis stood on a large branch, criticizing everything they did as per usual. As a cadet hit the ground and rubbed their head, Shadis instantly focused on him. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Cadet?! This exercise is about teamwork, not an exercise in carrying Cadet Yaro's ass because he can't follow basic instructions!" The Cadet stood up, flinching from Shadis' incredible glare. "Are you deaf?! Get back to your squad!"

Armin saw the Cadet fly off back into the sky, weaving between the giant trees. He was a bit worried for the other Cadet, but there wasn't anything anyone could do if someone got on Shadis' bad side. Usually that ended up in both cadets getting in trouble.

Pushing through it, Armin raced ahead with his own assigned squad. With him was Marco, Thomas, Ruth, and their assigned squad leader Eva Faust.

It was evident from the moment they started Eva was on her own course, in her own league. She was stronger and faster than the rest of her team. This was the first coordination training that had Eva as leader, it was the test to put their strengths and weaknesses in front of Shadis. They all knew Eva already had extensive experience with ODM gear and could use it more effectively than the cadets on her team.

The first issue with their squad; her team struggled to keep up with her and she disregarded them.

The second issue; Eva did not delegate to her subordinates.

Thirdly; no one dared speak up against her, regardless of whether or not it was in their best interests.

Shadis marked the failure of Eva's team almost immediately. He wasn't unreasonable, he gave them a chance to pick it up. When there was no signs of the group improving, their marks began falling quickly. Each small infraction was a glaring issue to a squad. The weakest link here wasn't Armin's lack of strength or Ruth's inability to cut deep enough into a dummy titan... It was Eva herself.

The moment any of them began to fail, Eva pushed herself to maintain course. She would handle the dummy titan, she would keep the group together, she would do everything for them. Not once ordering them to do something for themselves.

It made everything harder when no one could speak up. Eva had a reputation; one no one wanted to tempt fate with. She was cold, uncaring... she never spent more than a minute with another cadet. Everyone believed she hated them, that she thought less of them. Or that she was just some asshole they would be stuck with until graduation. In any case, Eva was no ones friend.

Unfortunately, Armin was the cadet weakest physically on the team. He had to push himself much harder to keep up, even harder to attack the dummy titans before the other squads got there.

If their squad came in last they would all be punished. With Eva at the helm, this seemed highly likely.

Armin struggled so hard. Sweat poured from him, his hands shaking under the stress; he couldn't keep this up. As Shadis expected, the first cadet to fall.

The moment Armin lost grip on his blade he knew he was done for. They were too high up and he lost one of the ODM triggers. He was far too weak to use one cable to bring himself down. He had lost his strength entirely, his body aching and his hands numb. There wasn't anything he could do but fall.

Eva's eyes were sharp, she saw everything her team did the second they did it. Her awareness was one of her greatest strengths; her reaction speed was incredible. As Armin began to fall she was already turning around.

The squad was surprised to see her maneuver so quickly. She blew right between them, nosediving towards Armin as fast as she could. They realized what she was doing the moment they spotted Armin.

She hit him, her arm wrapping around him and, in the blink of an eye, they were back up in the air. Eva used their speed and angle to launch them onto a nearby branch surrounded by leaves and other branches. It was hard to see, even Shadis couldn't make out where they were anymore.

Eva landed on her back, Armin still in her arms, as the two hit the branch she protected him with her own body. The branch hit her back, her head whipping back and cracking on the tree branch. The force of the hit dazed Eva, her arms releasing Armin as she was momentarily incapacitated. He was breathing hard, surprised by the catch. His squad came through for him and he was thankful for it.

As he calmed his breathing and looked at the limp arm around him, he realized that the cadet that picked him out of the air wasn't moving. Alarmed, he pushed himself up, the arm dropping off him. "Eva." He was surprised to see their squad leader be the one to grab him.

He shook her shoulder, watching her eyes flicker as she regained herself. It took a moment before she sat up with Armin's help. "Armin... Are you alright?" She raised a hand to her head, wincing as her eyes turn to focus on him.

"Y-yeah..." His voice quiet. She sighed, finally shaking off the dizziness. She stood up, brushing off the dirt and broken pieces of bark off her clothes. "Eva-" He rose with her, watching as she studied their surroundings. She wasn't entirely certain where she had dropped them, but she knew they had fallen even further behind than they already were.

"We should get back." Her boots scratched the bark, the wood snapping under her weight. Armin followed her hesitantly; he needed to say something. It was hard for him to act first, to act out; he wasn't that kind of person. Eva scared everyone and Armin was one of the people most scared of her... Really, he was scared of most things.

As she checked her gear to ensure that she could bring them back safely, Armin let the courage he needed build up like boiling water. Until eventually, just before Eva was prepared to leave, he spoke out against her. "Eva, you're a bad leader!"

Shocked at himself Armin froze on the spot. Eva's eyes hidden by her blonde hair, hiding her reaction to Armin's outburst. She hadn't moved an inch, she just stood there with her blades in hand looking over the edge of the branch.

Armin swallowed hard, tense with fear. He had no idea what Eva's wrath looked like but he was certain it was coming. No one had ever antagonized Eva intentionally, no one had ever spoken negatively towards her. They didn't know what would happen, what Eva could make happen. She was this unknown entity in the 104th cadets. She didn't speak to anyone unless forced to, she didn't interact during dinner. Eva stayed alone, she stayed quiet, and the few times someone did bump into her... the intensity of her glare was enough to get them running.

She was scary and Armin didn't know what he had just done. He knew he wanted to be a good soldier, someone honest and trustworthy. He wanted to fight with his friends even though he didn't have the physical strength to do so.

Yet, he had the bravery to confront someone that scared the rest of the 104th cadets.

Heavy footfalls told him she had approached him swiftly, the leather boots stopping just in front of him. Taking a deep breath, he looked up to see Eva's stoic expression. He didn't know what to say and if he could say it at all. Fortunately, Eva did.

"You do it." She spoke pointedly to him, her tone sharp.

Was it a threat? Was she trying to test if he could do any better? Armin gasped, being given the lead wasn't part of the exercise. He was so scared of failing, so scared he wasn't capable like the others...

Eva's hand gripped his shoulder, bringing him back to reality. "You're right. I'm no leader. I don't want it. You take it."

It wasn't intimidation, it was honesty. Armin was reluctantly relieved to see she wasn't daring him to try just to see him fail, but instead urging him to take it from her because she had failed.

As they returned to the group, Armin held the reins. He gave directions, though he was cautious and insecure, he did his best. The squad saw improvements immediately, Shadis noted.

Eva was a strong weapon for the squad, able to overpower the rest of the cadets. As a leader she had no direction, no strategy to make her team effective. However, she followed orders perfectly. She never failed a single delegated task or let a cadet on her team fall behind. With Armin's natural intelligence and Eva's strength, the squad quickly blazed a trail back to the top.

Armin offered her an appreciative smile. "We care about you too, Eva." He could read her body language easily. She didn't have time to hide it, she had been caught completely off guard. She became tense and her eyes narrowed on him. It wasn't aggressive like so many other cadets had believed; Armin knew that was wrong now. She wasn't giving him a warning to stop, she was just surprised. "Please, take care of yourself. Don't push yourself too hard."

This was the first time Armin saw Eva at a loss for words, not because she didn't want to speak, but because she didn't know what to say.

He didn't know what made such a simple statement shake someone to their core like that, he was just glad he got to say it. It took three years to finally gain an understanding of his fellow cadet. Three years to know that nothing they did ever actually angered her... she was just so well guarded she didn't let anyone close. Armin wondered if he was the only cadet do have done this.

The world began to fade back in, the titans below her chomping and reaching out desperately. They still couldn't reach them, but they should've seen Eren's team send a signal by now.

Eva didn't have the chance to respond before Armin began to return to the top of the Wall. Looking back to the titans below and towards Armin, she chose to follow him. It was a strange partnership she was developing with him... She didn't want to call him a friend, she didn't think she deserved that right. Still, she felt good knowing he seemed to consider her a friend.

Back on top of the Wall, she saw the Garrison soldiers and back up cadets all staring over the city. Armin's eyes following their gaze, spotting in the distance a single red flare. It told them so much without any detail.

Something had gone wrong with the mission. Immediately, Armin sprinted off down the Wall, no doubt to rejoin with his friends and find out what was happening. Eva wanted this mission to succeed, she wanted Trost to survive the attack that destroyed Shiganshina and Wall Maria's lands. They needed to win a fight, they had nothing left to hold onto.

The Garrison Commander was right. If Wall Rose falls, than all the people in every surviving city would fall into ruin. There simply wasn't enough food to go around, not enough space for people to live. Rioting would dissolve the government within months. It would end the people inside these Walls.

She ran behind Armin, unable to move as fast as she could. He would be able to outrun her quickly, but she knew where he was going and she would find him there. With Eren and Mikasa.

Aeonsvoid:
Hey, I hope you like it so far! :)

Weebsweb:
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