The Humanity's Strongest & The Graceful

The 104th Cadets

The Following Day:

"Zoe, will you let me go!" Tessa begged as she tried to free herself from Hange's tight grip for the past few minutes, but Hange wouldn't let her go. Everything was ready for them to leave, except the horses were waiting for their masters. Levi holds onto Shadow's reins as he, Erwin, Miche, Nanaba, and their squad, watch the scene of Moblit trying to pry Hange's arms off Tessa. Tessa clicks her tongue as she's had enough of being smothered and kicks Hange's feet out from under her, which helps her get free, "About damn time." She huffs while straightening out her jacket and shirt. Everyone laughs as Hange slowly gets up to dust herself off, "You had to go for the cheap shot, didn't you, Cat?" She asks, and Tessa laughs, "Well, I couldn't breathe anymore, so I had to do what I had to, Zoe," Tessa counters while flipping out her hair, "Now, we need to get going, otherwise, we will be late." She says while getting beside Star. Levi glares his storm-colored eyes at Hange, "No doubt, Shitty-Glasses has already made us, Tess. She acts like she won't see you again." He retorts, and Hange's jaws drop, "Why, you-" She goes to say, only for Tessa to get between them, "Both of you knock it off, or so help me, I'm kicking both your asses!" She growls while putting both of her hands on their chests. Erwin and Miche start snickering, and Tessa cuts her sky-blue eyes over to them, "You two will be next if you don't help me out with this!" She warns, and Miche nods, "Sorry, Tessa," He replies, then pulls Hange back, "They need to go, Hange." He insists as he drags Hange between Erwin and him. Tessa puts her hands on her hips and breathes a sigh of relief, "Thank you. Now," She says, then looks at Levi, "You ready?" She asks, and Levi nods, "Yeah, let's go, Tess." He replies before getting onto Shadow. Tessa follows his lead as she hops onto Star and whistles for Kip, who gets between Shadow and Star.

While Levi and Tessa grip their horses' reins, Levi faces the squad, "Keep up with the training. Also, don't let Hange trick you into some Titan experiment." He instructs, and Hange scoffs, "Love that you have such little faith in me, Levi." She retorts, and Levi smirks, "Someone has to, Four-Eyes." He says in a deadpan tone as he looks at Tessa, who rolls her eyes, "Anyways! We'll see all of you in a week," She grins before pulling back Star's reins, "Let's ride!" She chuckles before tapping her foot against Star's side. After waving goodbye to the gang, Humanity's protectors leave the Headquarters, both unaware that this would be the last time for a year.

The journey to the Southern Division of Cadet Corp had only taken a day and a half, with very few stops, though the blistering summer heat was the cause of them. Tessa took off her cloak and jacket to help with the heat, which didn't go unnoticed by Levi, "I feel your eyes on me," Tessa smiled as she looked at the map, "What is it?" She asked, and Levi chuckled, "You just look comfortable over there, Tess." He replied. Tessa rolls her eyes as she puts her long ebony-colored hair in a ponytail before returning to the map that's sitting on her lap. Her fingers trace the path they need to take to avoid any titans attacks or anything else that could be a threat. They only had the rest of today before arriving at their destination. Levi watches Tessa twist the wing, and he knows she is stressed. He leans over and takes the hand tracing the precise path, which makes Tessa look at him, "What?" She asks, and Levi sighs, "Are you okay?" He asks, and Tessa nods, but Levi knows better, "Tess, talk to me. What is it?" He asks again.

Tessa sighed as she looked away from his stormy eyes because those dark thoughts were still plaguing her, but it was something else. This week will be the first time since Tessa has stepped foot on the Cadet grounds in six years. She had plenty of happy memories in the Cadets, but what happened at her graduation and the day after were the ones she always remembered. One of her mother's killers taught her everything for her to be a skilled soldier, while the other had the lust to be with her despite the age difference between them. Alexander and Tegan made her uncomfortable with how they stared at her, and she didn't know why until it was too late. Tessa bites her lip as she faces the map again, "Going back there will bring back so many memories, Levi," She confesses, "Some good and...and some bad." She says while keeping her voice even. Even with Tessa saying very little about what was on her mind, Levi knew what she meant. He remembered Hange telling him, Furlan, and Isabel that the Cadets were how she met Tessa. Of course, that was the good Tessa talked about, and the bad was about Alexander.