𝔇𝔢𝔣𝔦𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔢 (𝔏𝔢𝔳𝔦 𝔵 ℜ𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔢𝔯)

XXXVII - River of Koi

"Brat."

***

Later that night, after everyone had finished cleaning up the place we all settled down for the time being in the mess hall. The room was illuminated by few torches mounted on the walls, emitting a subtle warmth as well as the cups of tea we held in our hands.

The entire squad sat silently around a table, Levi at the head with Oluo and I on either side of him. Eld was seated next to me and because he could sense my uncomfortable state around this new squad, he dared tried to talk to me when he thought Levi wasn't looking. Only, because Eld was out of legs reach, I'd be the one receiving a subtle kick under the table from the Captain himself.

"May I ask you to stop glaring at me?" I ask as I lean forward on the table, gazing across the table at Oluo who barely spared anyone else a glance. Everyone eyed us curiously, even Levi who's lips and nose were tucked innocently behind a teacup. Oluo glared at me hard before rolling his eyes and turning away. Raising an eyebrow at his immaturity, I proceed to lean forward on the table, propping my elbow on the hardwood and placing my chin in my palm. The room was silent for a moment, the soft crackle of torches seemed to echo throughout the hall.

"I assume our orders to remain on standby will last for a few more days, but remember hearing something about a major expedition outside the wall a month from now." Eld breaks the silence. I pick up a cup of tea that was situated in front of me and brought it to my lips, my head not moving from my palm as I listen to Eld word his thoughts.

"And that fresh graduates are going to participate as soon as they join too." He says. I nearly choke on my mouthful of tea as it registered in my mind.

"Oi, careful." Levi scolds for my lack of carefulness. I cough a few times, lightly beating at my chest to get the tea loose.

"I'm sorry, what?" I wheeze out, looking at Eld wide eyed. He spared me a glance before returning his gaze to the table.

"Are you sure, Eld? That's pretty sudden if you ask me, especially since the rookies already had to endure the last titan attack." Gunther voices.

"I bet those brats were scared out of their minds." Oluo voices. I scoff slightly, knowing I taught them all better than to let their fear overcome their minds.

"Is this true, Captain?" Petra asks, turning to Levi who remained unfazed next to me.

"I'm not in charge of the missions coming up." Levi answers. "But knowing Erwin, he's put much more thought into this than we have."

"He couldn't have waited an extra week or two so the rookies could get settled in first. Though we can't guarantee they'll all be here long enough anyway." I say, my gaze set on the table.

"I bet you wouldn't either." Oluo smirks. I cock an eyebrow, moving my gaze from the table up to him.

"How many titan kills do you have?" I ask, suddenly feeling cocky and confident. Oluo grins whereas everyone just gazed at us in silence, even Eren and Levi seemed to be curious as to where this was going.

"Thirty nine titan kills and nine assists." He says, confidence oozing through his voice. I let out a soft hum as I sit back in my chair and take a sip from my tea, a small smile plastered on my face. Oluo noticed I wasn't going to say anything so he piped up again. "And? What's yours, I bet you could never-"

"Y/N L/N." Levi interferes, gazing straight ahead. "I'm aware of your stats, as a captain I pay close attention to many members stats. A woman who's been in the military for twelve years." I kept my gaze on Oluo whose eyes were flicking between the captain and I.