𝔇𝔢𝔣𝔦𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔢 (𝔏𝔢𝔳𝔦 𝔵 ℜ𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔢𝔯)

XCVI - The Cunning Brown Fox

A small gift from myself, Hange and the squad. Chamomile tea and lavender oil to help with your sleep, and a cake for a little something sweet.

I hope you had a good day, happy birthday Lee ♡

***

The next day, Levi didn't wake up until mid morning.

As I had requested, we all left him to sleep knowing full well he needed it more than any of us, and I stuck around to do the usual work Levi would've done if he were present. I didn't mind writing reports. In fact, I found it rather interesting comparing my own reports to the raven's. With how intricate he wrote his to how I chose to describe mine, I enjoyed reading his files. From the way his handwriting improved significantly since the first letters from my absence from the Scouts all the way to now, there was such a drastic difference in how he handled a pen.

Headquarters was deathly quiet as I left it, after I leave the only person in the building was going to be the sleeping raven haired Captain, who would appreciate the silence of the place as we left to help Eren with his hardening practices. He mastered it quickly, the ability to harden his titan form, only further growing our optimism in a successful wall retake that was to take place in just over a month. The expedition itself was creeping up on us far too quickly, barely giving us any time to breathe before we're dumped onto the battlefield.

My intuition didn't know what to expect, and my mind kept creating endless possibilities when it came to what could happen. Losing a limb? Losing Hange? Losing Levi? Losing even myself? I feared death enough as is, yet losing Hange would cause me to lose some of my sanity. But even just the thought of losing Levi, I was sure I'd lose myself completely. Any ounce of humanity or mental stability would surely turn to the abyss, leaving me clueless, hopeless and utterly miserable.

Losing anyone, a shred of my soul was sure to go with them.

As I exited the building, I find Hange and the squad all conversing amongst themselves as they saddled up their horses, getting ready to depart the vicinity to continue with Eren's hardening practices. Hange's face lit up as I walked toward them, hands in pockets with a content expression on my face. Abandoning her horse, she swerved around the squad members and began skipping in my direction, ponytail swaying from side to side with each bounce she did. A bright smile was on her lips, eyes glistening in the morning light, not an uncommon sight coming from the brunette.

"Morning Sunshine!" She beamed as she quickly looped an arm over my shoulder and turned to look at the squad. "I take it Shorty's still asleep?"

"Yes ma'am, I've finished most of the reports based on the data you and I have gathered from the experiments. Hopefully takes a lot more off his shoulders when he decides to return to the living." I reply, allowing her to guide me forward, to the squad and their horses. They all uttered their good mornings in which I return. Everyone seemed to be in a rather cheerful mood today and I couldn't help but wonder why.

"So what's happening today then? You're all far too happy with this expedition coming up as fast as it is," I ask, eyeing each of the kids carefully.

"We're going to have a look at the Trost gate! I've heard they're nearly finished with the guillotine construction and Eren's hardening will hopefully have its first real trial run tomorrow afternoon, given Garrison is finished by today or tomorrow." Hange exclaims giddily, barely able to contain her own happiness. My eyebrows raised a little, a small smile gracing my features at the news.

"I'll tag along, I don't have much else to do anyway." I say casually, Hange nearly squealing in response as she practically threw herself at me, making me stumble a little to the side.