When faced with two choices, Connie Springer was more often than not going to choose the choice which required the least amount of effort. It wasn't to say that the boy was lazy, rather that he preferred to make use of his energy elsewhere. So when he was faced with the choice of searching for people who'd leaked rumours to the press or finding the recently escaped prisoners, he decided that searching for the prisoners would require less effort.
It wasn't as though finding the Marleyan prisoners was going to be easy; finding escaped war prisoners was definitely not an easy task. Rather, there were just too many variables associated with finding those rumour-spreading troublemakers. He would have to put in more effort to find everyone associated with the rumours. At least with the prisoners, Connie knew exactly who he was looking for.
He would be searching for the kids who killed Sasha, and (Y/n). No, and a traitor. It didn't feel right to address her in such a casual way anymore. Connie reminded himself that she was never really his friend. She was only ever someone who caused him pain.
First things first, Connie decided to check the area around the prison where the prisoners had been. He hoped that by some miracle they were still around the area, but when had things ever been that easy?
Of course, the Marleyans were not within a reasonable distance from the prison. As he'd been instructed to do, he began riding back towards the headquarters to report what he'd found (which was nothing). It wasn't often that the boy would have so long to ride along the country by himself. The last time he'd done something this leisurely was back when he was a cadet.
Connie grimaced. He'd somehow managed to ride in the direction of the cadet training grounds. The two years spent under Shadis's watchful eyes were not fun, but they were simple. At the very least, it was a time when everything seemed way more straightforward. The only enemies Connie had to fear were giant man eating monsters who came from outside of the walls. It was strange how the biggest obstacles four years ago were now significantly lower on Connie's list of worries.
Speaking of worries, Connie reminisced about a time where he had less of them. The trees of the forest grew high above Connie's head. He wondered what it would be like to use the old ODM gear again, rather than the new anti-personnel equipment. He used to love feeling the wind as it caught in his clothes. The chill was thrilling and always managed to get his adrenaline pumping.
Nothing about the past stood out more than the memories he'd made with his fellow cadets. Many of them replayed like clockwork. Some were days of carefree and joyous adventures while other memories were bittersweet.
Perhaps if Connie could just close his eyes, he could recall that familiar feeling he used to love.
The trees became blurs of brown and green as Connie zipped past. He often liked to let himself drop close to the ground before manoeuvring back into the air at high speeds. Sometimes the boy liked to see how long he could wait before pulling the triggers of his ODM gear, but that had caused him to crash into the ground on more than one occasion.
Connie dipped down towards the ground once again, closing his eyes and letting his mind free itself of its worries. This was definitely one of the best parts of training.
"Connie!" A familiar voice exclaimed, causing Connie's eyes to snap open. His body twisted in an uncomfortable way as he adjusted for an abrupt landing. After the impromptu landing, Connie turned to the person who had called his name.
"You really shouldn't fly in front of someone so haphazardly." They scolded. "We would've collided if I wasn't paying attention."
Connie met the gaze of the (h/c)ette sheepishly. "Sorry about that (Y/n). I wasn't trying to. I was just... really excited to see you?" he lied. He couldn't just tell (Y/n) that he'd been flying around with his eyes closed. He wouldn't want her to think less of him. Thankfully, a smile pulled at the girl's lips.
YOU ARE READING
Allies and Enemies (AoT Reader Insert)
Romantizm"We were made to live." Second installment of "A Tenth Shifter; The Crystal Titan" Series.
