𝔇𝔢𝔣𝔦𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔢 (𝔏𝔢𝔳𝔦 𝔵 ℜ𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔢𝔯)

XIII - Peculiar Brunette

Potential.

***

"Visit us after your expedition, okay?" Mum says as she hugged me tight.

"Of course." I whisper hugging her back just as tight. She pulled away rubbing my shoulders.

"My beautiful girl. You've grown up way too fast." She says proudly. I swat her hands away with a chuckle.

"We all know you're going to treat me the same no matter how old I am." I say.

"True." She chuckled. She disappears briefly into the kitchen. I watch as she vanished from view and am engulfed by another embrace.

"Stay safe, young one." Dad murmurs.

"Always." I whisper back. He pulls away before Mum waltzes out of the house again, this time with two heavy looking satchels.

"Take these." She says, handing me the bags. I take them from her hands and open one satchel. An assortment of fruit took up the space available in the bag, and a lot of them.

"What's this for?" I asked looking back at her.

"I know how poorly grown your fruit is so take this back to the scouts as a token of our gratitude. Your lives are at constant risk and you don't get nearly enough appreciation." She explains with a shrug.

"Thanks, mum. I'll send the Commander your regards." I say with a smile. I turned to Felix who stood next to my father. He sighed before opening his arms in an awaiting hug.

"I suppose." He said. I roll my eyes with a smile and walk to him.

"See you later, big brother." I chuckle.

"Later, little sister." He replied. I pulled away from my brother to see Isabel in a tight embrace with both of my parents. I smiled at the sight.

"You're welcome here anytime, little one." Dad says. She chuckled in response.

"Can I bring my brothers next time?" She asks quietly.

"Of course, we'll see you then. In the meantime, stay safe." Mum says. Isabel pulls away with a large smile.

"Count on it." She replies proudly. She moved in front of my brother and held out a hand. "See you soon, Fe." She declares.

"Likewise, Bel." He responds placing his hand in hers.

Over the past week we were in Karanes, Isabel and I had grown a lot closer. At this point, I practically considered her a sister and I'm nearly certain my parents considered her another daughter.

I set the satchels on my horse, making sure the saddle was not going to break my neck and if the horse was hungry or thirsty. Then we finally set off back for Headquarters. My family waved us off and we set off through Karanes and into Wall Rose.

The trip back was uneventful. Isabel and I barely spoke, just admired the scenery in the comfort of each other's presence. And Headquarters hadn't even been fully exposed before four of my favourite people had began sprinting down the path to meet us halfway.

"Y/N!" Hange screamed in the distance as she ran full throttle towards us. As she got closer, I saw a fearful expression on her face. I raise an eyebrow.

"What in the-" I whisper to myself as she gripped my arm and hauled herself onto my horse behind me making me nearly fall and my horse stumble slightly. My horse huffed in frustration and I look behind me to glare at Hange.

"What did you do?" I ask as she buries her face in my back.

"I may or may not have accidentally teased Levi and he's now coming for my neck." She mumbles.