WEAPON | JEAN KIRSCHTEIN

⟼ 03: Rendezvous

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Year 854
'Rendezvous'

The cackling colours of ember became their light source as the sun sank into the horizon.

The entire way back was dreaful. Bodies lied on the concrete ground on red pools. Some leaned against pillars, to weak to even lift a finger as they watched both Eris and Jean help Erwin with members of Security Unit trailing behind them. Their esteemed government attire lost its value with the amount of smeared holes and scarlet red on them. The ground evident with cracks and smoke came out of various rooms and halls. However, the government wasn't the only one with heavy losses.

It took long. With Erwin's weight and sickly stance, anyone would have abandoned him miles ago. But he was their commander, their leader. Doing so would mean disloyalty. Besides, none of them would have the courage to leave Erwin behind, even if it meant carrying his dying body over hundreds of kilometres.

The others were shocked, to say the least. About an hour later, both Erwin and Eris were wounded when they met up with the rest of their group. Eris' black attire had tears in places and she wasn't sure if it was her blood or sweat that had dampened the uniform. Erwin was no exception. His golden hair was a mess, curtaining his eyes.

Hange raced to the two.

"Walls," Hange cursed, "How did this happen?" they didn't expect a response from Eris. All she did was avoid eye contact. Hange let out an exasperated sigh, calling the medic team to assist their commander.

Their meeting point was a far distance away from Capitol. It surprised Hange to see that they made it back together in one piece. They were both grateful yet concerned. If Eris continued to push herself like this without a limit, who knows when her body would decide to give up entirely.

"Eris," they called.

Eris' dull eyes stared at them through the gaps of her mask. It had a few breaks on it, exposing a bit of her face. Nothing much as it still kept her facial features hidden.

"Take a seat, rest please. You've done enough," Hange said. While the girl looked unfazed, she sat down the floor and leaned against a murky wall. She gripped her arsenal tight, seeming to have forgotten about her own bloody wound. Hange returned with a small box barely filled with first aid supplies, "I'll properly treat you back at headquarters, but this will do the trick for the time being."

"Deputy Commander Hange!" a young cadet with blonde hair jogged up to the two, "The trains are ready. We'll depart back to headquarters at 1900."

Hange nodded and checked their watch. They had about 15 minutes to get up and prepare to return, "Thank you, Armin. Who's driving the trucks once we go outside Rose?"

"Captain Ackerman, Sergeant Berner, Sergeant Barrett, Private Springer and two others. As requested you'll be handling her truck," Armin nodded his head to Eris. He wasn't the only one in their entire syndicate who was clueless on what to refer her as. Calling her 'Eris' sounded too casual and they didn't want to admit that it made them uncomfortable to even acknowledge her. But she didn't have any specific ranks so it made the whole thing more confusing.

"Very well," now that Erwin was unconscious and unfit to lead, Hange had to step in with orders, "I want each divisions by their train cars at 1900 sharp. Those behind schedule will be left behind and I'd rather not have that. It'll be a hassle to get back to Maria from Sina without our transport,"