Do No Harm

Day of Disaster

"Do you ever feel like something terrible is about to happen?" Eriel Jeager looked up to her parents from the book in front of her. She watched as her father placed his spoon back in the bowl before looking back at her. Her mother paused in her movements at the sink before quickly returning to the dishes.

"Like what?" Grisha asked.

Eriel shrugged. "I just got a feeling that something really bad is about to happen. Eren is with Mikasa, so he should be okay." Eriel often had a way of knowing when her twin was up to no good and dragging their friends into it.

Grisha ruffled her hair. "It's just nerves. I'm taking you with me to the interior tomorrow so you can meet a friend of mine. It must be that."

He wasn't wrong. Unlike Eren, Eriel wanted to help people within the walls. She wanted to go to school and become a doctor like her father. To do that, she would need the help of her father's commander friend. It was a lot of pressure on a 10-year-old.

"Just keep studying, and you'll do just fine." Her mother chimed in. Carla winked back at Eriel.

The door was kicked open with a sizable bang. Her brother and foster sister had returned and by the looks of it, Mikasa did all the work collecting firewood again. After putting away the wood, Eren plopped down next to his sister. His face was twisted into a disgusted pout.

As astounding as it was to be (what they assumed) the only twins in the city, Eren and Eriel were actually very different outside of looks. They had the same eyes, but Eriel's were colder and less telling than her brothers. Where Eren was impulsive, Eriel was observant. Where Eriel was ruthless, Eren showed compassion. If we're being honest, it frightened their parents sometimes. Eren was warm but consumed everything like a wildfire. Eriel was cold but destroyed only what was deemed necessary. Neither child forgave easily without some sort of compensation.

"Mikasa stop you from fighting again?" she whispered to him.

Eren grunted. "People were talking down about the scouts again." He began eating the food placed in front of him before continuing. "They're heroes. I don't understand."

Eriel shrugged in reply, trying to stay as inconspicuous as possible in front of their parents. She admired the scouts as Eren did. She just didn't believe the pros outweighed the cons when it came to exploring outside the walls. For all they knew, something far worse than titans was waiting for them.

"Eren wants to join the scouts," Mikasa announced. "He told Eriel, too."

Their house went still for a moment. Eriel gaped at Mikasa from across the table. She really didn't want to be dragged into this fight.

"Mikasa!" Eren jumped from his seat, slamming his hands on the dining table. "I told you not to tell them!"

"Eren!" Their mother turned Eren to face her. Kneeling down to his level, she kept a tight grip on him so he couldn't turn away. "What are you thinking?! Do you know how many people died because they dared to venture outside the wall?"

Eriel decided to bury her head in her father's book about medicinal herbs. It was safer than reminding her mother that she knew about Eren's plan.

"Eriel!"

Well, she tried anyway.

Eriel looked up from the inked pages. Carla was glaring at her from over Eren's shoulders. "Why didn't you say anything?! Don't you know how dangerous this is?"

She flashed her mother an innocent smile, "Unlike Mikasa, I'm not a snitch. And Eren changes his mind about everything. I assumed he'd grow bored with the idea if we didn't entertain it."