Venus and Rose

Chapter Thirteen: Expedition

His face that had always beamed when he looked at you would now turn away. It had been so difficult to tell him your decision. To hope that you could remain friends, but he refused to even answer; just left you alone in the Scout courtyard. Expecting him to get angry or upset with you, it felt worse to receive no reaction at all. All you could do was watch his retreating back and silently hope you had made the right decision.

A loud crash instantly brought you back to the present. In the distance ahead of you, a red signal flared upwards, meaning a titan was spotted. Both the flare and crash came from the same direction as Sasha's placement, and your grip on the reins tightened in your worry. Briefly, your mind flashed back to Reiner and Jean, but you harshly pushed those thoughts away. It would do no good to think about them now, not when danger was everywhere.

Passing over a brief hilltop, you spied the motionless limbs of a titan and as you rode closer you saw the titan's face smashed against a large tree trunk and half its body lying across a demolished house. It didn't have its nape removed but appeared to be unconscious. Instead of firing a red flare, you decidedly used your ODM gear on the tree to sling-shot you over the titan. Slicing through the nape cleanly, you quickly recalled Sichern who trotted towards you. If it had woken, the titan would just attack the following Scouts, so you finished it off instead.

So far, the ride had actually been peaceful aside from the beginning when some titans approached the Scouts passing through the town. Now, as you rode deeper into Wall Maria's territory, shambling houses became far between and the land consisted primarily of wide grassy fields. Only a few minutes earlier, another flare had signaled a titan, but it was far to your left.

Somewhere to your right was Mikasa, but you hadn't seen any flares from her direction so you supposed she was alright. Riding for another five minutes, you soon spotted another rider. He turned in the saddle to look when you whistled to get his attention, and you recognized him as one of the older Scouts placed in your line. Bringing Sichern alongside the Scout, he had to yell over the sound of hoofbeats to make himself heard.

"Braus, I just saw your sister. She's ahead and paired with the section commander. I'm going to ride with you. A titan was missed by the outer ring, caught us by surprise but we took care of it. If another one comes, let me deal with it, alright rookie?" You nodded, thankful to have the company and security, especially now you knew Sasha was also okay.

The rest of the ride was quiet except for when the trail of green smoke flares repeatedly signaled for you to move further east. Obviously, all that time in the library hadn't been for nothing since you instantly knew where the signals were taking you to. Finally, you spoke up. "Sir, aren't we supposed to be going to the old city in the south?"

"Yes, that's our destination."

"But we're too far east. We are heading directly for the Forest of Giant Trees."

Your senior only shrugged. "I guess that's where the Commander wants us to pass through then."

You wondered why Commander Smith planned to take them through the forest. How could that benefit them? Unless perhaps the right side of the formation was having far more trouble than your side was. You gulped nervously at the thought. You knew Reiner and Jean were both placed on the right side, and you desperately hoped your assumptions were wrong.

Another fifteen minutes passed until you spotted the black mass in the distance. As it grew closer, you were in reverence at the unbelievable height of the trees making up the forest. You had learned that the forest had long been a sightseeing place within Wall Maria before the wall fell; now it was used by the Scouts for their safety. The trees were so tall in fact, most titans couldn't hope to reach the higher branches.