Honorary Scout

Prologue

If any of you here have read another story I wrote, called Little Star, you'll know I love kids. Yeah, that's all I wanted to say. Happy reading😎

A quiet winter morning in a quiet little town witnessed no one roaming the streets at this early hour, save for the two children who silently sat outside a house. Even their young faces were silent, until the boy winced and slightly glanced at the house behind him.

"I didn't know that giving birth took so much time or hurt so bad. Why do you think Mom is in so much pain?"

"I don't know. But the midwife once told me that every woman goes through a lot of pain when she gives birth."

The girl replied and the boy winced again. Only upon closer inspection would one realize that the house itself was nowhere near as silent as the two children. Shrill feminine screams echoed into the cold external environment every other minute or so.

"Thank goodness I'm not a woman then."

The boy muttered and looked away, attempting his best to not wince when another scream landed upon his ears. The girl next to him, however, maintained her calm.

"Eren."

She spoke after the elapse of a few wordless moments.

"Do you think it will be a boy or a girl?"

"Huh?"

The boy, Eren, appeared startled for a bit and slowly looked up at the ashen sky.

"I honestly don't know, and I honestly don't care either. Yeah, I'm gonna be a big brother now but what's the big deal? This second kid is special to my parents but I never wished for it to come into this world. Doesn't really concern me."

"Mrs. Jaeger told me that it's a girl. She said that she could sense it in her womb. This time felt different from the time she was pregnant with you."

"I guess it's a girl then. What do you think, Mikasa?"

Now the girl too appeared startled and slowly looked up at the ashen sky as well.

"I believe Mrs. Jaeger is right. It's a girl. Are you not even slightly excited?"

"Not really. And all the other kids in our neighborhood who have siblings only ever complain about how annoying their siblings are, especially if the siblings are younger. So I'm not looking forward to that. I'm perfectly happy with the peaceful life I have with you and Armin and I don't want a nagging kid to ruin that. Are you excited?"

"A little. Your parents have been so happy these last nine months, happier than I've ever seen them, and I'm excited to see their happiness after the baby is finally born."

"Yeah, I guess that's something I can be excited about too."

Eren replied and continued to stare up at the ashen sky as he and Mikasa fell into silence again. This silence persisted for the next hour or so, occasionally ruptured by those shrill feminine screams, until they were eventually replaced by a shrill wailing. The two children glanced at each other, and then instantly rose to their feet as the door to the house was gently pulled open. They were met with the sight of a portly woman donned in a plump brown dress, her graying bun matching her warm grey eyes.

"Come inside, children."

She spoke softly in her aged voice.

"It's a beautiful little baby girl."

The two children glanced at each other again, mildly impressed by how the mother had been uncannily accurate about the gender of the child, before they slowly walked into the house. The master bedroom appeared as it always did, save for the large white curtain that separated the bed from the rest of the room. Eren was the first to speak after a moment of hesitation.