Mute Ackerman

~23

"Aren't there a lot fewer people than this morning?"

"Another disaster."

"This is where our taxes go to?"

"What was the point?"

"Who knows. But judging by their gloomy expressions, They wasted more of our taxes, if nothing else."

Those were some of the responses the Survey Corps got as they got back. Marie walked next to Levi with her horse when suddenly a man walked up to him.

"Captain Levi! My daughter is in your squad... I'm Petra's father."

Marie kept looking straight ahead with a blank face but she followed their conversation closely.

"Before Petra sees me, I wanted to talk to you. She sent me this letter," Petra's father said as he held it up.

Her father talked about what Petra had written in the letter and that she would devote herself to Levi. Her father kept talking but Levi never responded once. He kept walking ahead with a devastating look.

In the meantime, people shouted at the commander for why many didn't make it back and that it was his fault

"Go outside the walls yourself then... See it with your own shitty eyes..." Marie thought.

The expedition's expenses and casualties were more than enough to discredit the faction that had supported the Survey Corps. As those responsible, including Erwin, were summoned to the Capital, It was decided that Eren was to be handed over.

.............

After their trial at the Capital, Marie, Eren, and Levi went back to the old HQ. Tomorrow, Eren will be handed to the Military and there was nothing they could really do. It was already pretty late in the evening and Levi exchanged some words with Eren before Eren left to the basement where he sleeps. Levi and Marie went to their own room and immediately changed into their normal wear.

"Now let me take a look at your ankle. You walked around with it for way too long."

Levi sat down on the bed and just gave in. Marie gently took off his boot and sock. Sometimes Levi squinted his eyes because it hurt. She rolled up his jeans to his knee and she saw a swelling on his ankle and a slight bump. His ankle didn't have any discoloration so that was a good sign. She grabbed a pillow and placed it on the ground for his foot to rest on.

Marie quietly sighed and looked up at Levi.

"I don't know how you managed to walk on this but your ankle is dislocated. I have to put it back into place before I can do anything for it. It's not too bad for a dislocated ankle but it will still hurt like a bitch."

"Do what is needed."

Marie told Levi to lay down and she made sure his ankle didn't move as he did so. She placed the pillow back under his foot and looked at him with a worried expression.

"I will put it back in place now... You count to three since I can't. On the count of three, I'll move it back in place okay?"

Levi nodded and started to count to three.

"One... Two... Three..." Levi said and he grunted as Marie put his ankle back in place.

"I'm sorry. That must've hurt..."

"It's... Fine..." Levi said as he swallowed his pain away.

Marie grabbed a bucket of Ice and took out a handful and placed them in a cloth. She wrapped the cloth around his ankle and told him to let it sit for no more than twenty minutes.