Chapter Text
I've never been one to consider love as motivation. Life just had a way of taking things that I loved away from me. Pain and grief was all too familiar.
So when I finally found love again, it knocked me off my feet. It only made sense that I found myself joining the Scout Regiment to be close to the man I loved.
My life of pain and sorrow finally felt like it had purpose. Motivation finally came to me.
But at what cost...?
———
Being in the military gave me a new sense of "family". Something I hadn't experienced in a long while. I have only been in the military for a couple of years now, particularly in the Scout Regiment, studying medicine and being a field-medic for immediate assistance to injured soldiers during missions. On top of my duties, I assist my Squad Leader, Hange, in experiments for Titan-related injuries. While we haven't found much information yet, given that most of the victims were eaten, it's still nice knowing I'm giving back in some way.
"Hey, Emily...? You awake back there?" Hange asked me, noticing my horse had fallen behind her at some point.
"Oh- yeah. Sorry. Just thinking." I replied.
Hange and I were on a trek to the old Scout headquarters. A remote castle in the outskirts of Wall Rose. Recently, a Titan-shifter by the name of Eren came into the Scouts' custody. Trost district was attacked by the Colossal Titan and with the help of his new-found powers, he was able to close the hole that threatened the city. Eren was assigned to the Special Ops Squad, also known as 'Squad Levi', who were now residing in the castle for safety purposes. Hange has been salivating at the mouth to get her hands on him for research.
Night was beginning to meet us as the sky turned a beautiful orange color. We had been traveling by horse for a while now. Long trips are definitely tiring, and I'm just aching to be able to relax for a bit.
"It shouldn't be much longer. Ooh, I can't wait to ask him so many questions!" She exclaimed, rather loudly. Hange was always an excitable person. I couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm.
"Maybe you should wait until morning. The poor kid has probably been put through the ringer enough for a day," I said, keeping my smile.
"What?! I've been waiting long enough as it is!" She gasped, acting as if she were offended at my suggestion.
"He is with Captain Levi, after all..." I added.
"Oh, that grump. He's harmless," she flicked her wrist, pushing the air at her side. I could only raise my eyebrows with a sheepish grin, shrugging off her selected description of the Captain.
I had met Captain Levi a few times. Being a field medic, I have treated many soldiers and their injuries. I had seen Levi a couple of times for treatment of minor injuries, but other times were at briefings and other business meetings alongside Hange and the other leaders. I was never a combat-heavy soldier, but having knowledge of medicine and quick-thinking has helped many fallen soldiers survive when out on expeditions - this also required my attendance to briefings with the Commander. I'm not an officer, per-se, but I am almost like Hange's second. I, unfortunately, have the duty to report casualties and injuries when out on the field.
Captain Levi is a stubborn and distant man, but you can tell he has empathy and respect for his squad. I admired him for that. "Harmless" wouldn't be the word I would choose, however. He's disciplined, and makes sure everyone around him is the same. He's also a very high-skilled combatant, easily making him the best soldier within the Scouts. It makes sense why they would release the Titan-Shifter to his custody.
Getting on his squad is quite the honor, as he hand-picks his team based on their stats. My bunk-mate, Petra Ral, was chosen for his squad. I admired Petra and her skill. She was always great on the field and has quite a few Titan kills and assists under her belt. It doesn't surprise me that she was chosen for Levi's Squad.
I could see the castle peeking over the trees as our horses continued to gallop. I breathed a sigh of relief just thinking about having a cup of tea, maybe even a bath. I'll get to see Petra again, too. It had been about a week since we last saw each other.
After about a half hour, we finally arrived to the castle. Horses were tied near the front at the stable, indicating that our comrades made it here safely. Soft torch light illuminated the stone on the outside and filled the open windows upstairs.
Hange basically leaped onto the ground, quickly tying her horse to a beam, and made a dash to the doors. I quickly followed suit as to not fall behind.
"We're here! We're here! We're here!" she squeaked.
I smiled and followed Hange through the doors of the castle. We walked through a large common room and down a hallway where we could hear faint talking. Hange was bee-lining towards the dining hall like she were a hound in a mission. She stopped at a large door and a smile creeped on her face. Hardly containing herself, she pushed the door open to find the Levi Squad all gathered around a large wooden table.
"HELLO SPECIAL OPERATIONS SQUAD!" She greeted loudly. I peeked under her outstretched arm and smiled.
Levi sat at the head of the table, with the members of the special ops squad on either side of him. I saw Petra and gave a small wave. She smiled a returned the favor. She sat directly to the Captain's left side, followed by Eld and Eren. The right side of the table sat the other members of the squad: Oluo, Gunther.
"You're too early..." an annoyed grumble said. I could recognize that voice anywhere. Levi always acted irritated with Hange. Perhaps because of her rather loud enthusiasm. They seem to be complete opposites.
Hange had her eyes set on the young boy at the far end of the table who was looking at us like we were going to eat him. She quickly made her way to the boy, seemingly ignoring the comment from Captain Levi.
"Hange insisted..." I shrugged sheepishly, "you know she has the patience of an infant." I made my way to the left side of the table, stopping by the Captain's side and giving him a nod.
"Pleasure to see you again, Captain Levi."
He peered up at me over the rim of his teacup. "Meyer..." he greeted. He always called me by my last name.
I then turned to Petra and smiled. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, squeezing me in a hug. "Emily! You made it!"
"Yeah I can say the same for you!" I replied, pulling back and looking at her.
"Hey, Emily!" Eld greeted with a small wave. I turned to the table to greet the other members. Gunther, Uluo, and Eld were all looking towards me, seemingly ignoring Hange.
"Hi guys. Gunther, how's that wrist?" I ask. I had recently treated him for a sprain some weeks back after a training incident. "Better, thank you," he said, holding up his fist.
"I'm Hange! Head of research!" I look over to Hange who now has the boy's hands within her own. I could already tell she was squeezing the life out of them in her excitement. The boy's expression was a mix of fear and confusion, rendering him speechless.
"Uh, Hi. I'm Emily," I greet, seeing him peek around Hange's side. "E-Eren Jaeger," he stutters.
"Eren! I'm so excited to properly meet you! It's a pleasure," Hange inserted herself back into the conversation, grabbing his attention.
We both met him after his trial within the Capitol. The military police were calling for his execution while the Commander countered, stating he'd be better off within the Scouts. It was only then that Levi stepped in and, rather brutally, beat him to a pulp to prove a point, stating that he would watch over Eren while in the Scout's custody and that he would be the one to kill him should things get out of hand. The commander had pulled me aside after the trial to assess Eren afterward. It was then that we discovered the tooth he had lost, due to Levi's kicks, had grown back nearly instantly. It was chaotic and we somehow skipped our introductions.
Ever since then, Hange has been beside herself, just waiting to be able to experiment with Eren.
"Captain, what's on Eren's docket for tomorrow?!" Hange asked over her shoulder, directed at Levi.
"Pulling weeds," He uttered, his tone irritated, as he peered over the rim of his teacup.
"Perfect! You're coming with me, then! There's so much I need to learn!" she responds, turning her attention back to Eren. "W-what are we going to do? E-Experiments or something?"
Uh oh...
The whole group tensed and looked at each other. It's like a bomb was about to burst. Eren had uttered Hange's favorite word.
"Oh... so you are the same. You have a thirst for knowledge like me," she leaned over him, inching her face towards his. Her voice was low, almost a whisper.
Simultaneously we all got up and started leaving the room. Once Hange gets going, she could continue for hours on end if allowed. Usually I enjoy her talks and sharing her discoveries, I was too tired after the long trip to subject myself to hearing something I'd most likely heard already. We all managed to slink our away out of the room, leaving Hange and Eren alone.
"So, how was the trek up here?" Petra turned to me and we all started making our way up a large staircase.
"Oh, you know, lots of trees?" I giggled, "What did you all do today?"
"Cleaned, mostly. Since this is our new temporary residence, have to bring it up to standards" she whispered the last half, obviously careful not to disrespect Levi. He is known for being a clean freak.
I smiled back at her as we now entered a hallway leading to what I would assume were living quarters. "Are you bunking with me?" She asked.
"Oh, sure I guess? I hadn't thought about it."
"Well it'll be nice to catch up since it's been a couple weeks. I don't know if you know this, but being around boys constantly makes for some not fun conversation," she groaned, "they're always talking about strategy and battle, which girl is 'wife material'. Gross..."
I laughed. I seemed to have the opposite issue with Hange. I had never really thought about Petra being the only woman on Levi's Squad. However, I know she must be talking about Eld, Oluo, and Gunther. I do not see Levi being much of a gossip or a talker. My interactions with him were always brief and to-the-point. Even when treating his injuries, he didn't seem to enjoy small talk.
"Hey -" a monotoned voice interrupted both of us, "You brats better get some sleep. Got a busy day tomorrow."
I looked up, down the hall where we were walking, to see Levi turned towards us. Everyone else seemed to have made it to their rooms already.
"Yes, sir." I acknowledged. Petra nodded.
"Come on, our room is this way", Petra slinked her arm around mine and guided me further up the hall to a door on our right.
The room was rather large and made of beautiful stone, the same as the outside of the castle. Directly across from the door was a large window. Two beds occupied the corners of the room adjacent to the window. A large wood armoire sat against the wall to the left and a desk occupied the wall to the right. Moonlight lit up the room, saturating everything with a blue hue.
Although sleep and I rarely met, it was always nice to have company in the night. I occupied the bed to the left of the room.
Petra and I ended up speaking well into the night before she got tired and eventually went to sleep.