Souls Of Sorrow || 𝐸𝑟𝑒𝑛 𝐽𝑎𝑒𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑋 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟

Chapter 24 - You

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Whack!

The axe I wield in my hands comes down, splitting the wood I was chopping clear in two.

I don't know how long I've been out here with the sun beating down on me, but it's had to have been at least a half hour. Mikasa is out here with me about a couple meters away, chopping wood and talking with Historia who's gathering it in her arms. Jean, Sasha, and Armin went to get food, and Eren and Connie are inside the cabin cleaning.

It's fairly early in the morning, but late enough to feel the heat setting in. My father is supposed to be here soon with a run down of what's going on. We've been staying at the cabin for a few days now and I've been passing time pretty well, hunting with Sasha, sparring with Mikasa, talking with Armin, and making out with Eren. That last one is a personal favorite.

Of course no one knows, and it only happens out of sight or after dark. It's not that I have a problem with liking Eren, but I'm not a big fan of PDA, nor do I feel the need to announce him as my boyfriend. Well, sort of boyfriend, I guess. We only slept together once and made out a couple times. I don't think that qualifies as dating, or maybe it does. This romance shit is really hard.

I bring down my axe again, splitting the wood into kindling. I gather up the wood in one arm and put the axe over my shoulder, turning to head back to the cabin. Mikasa and Historia follow after me with their own bundles.

The three of us enter the cabin, the rest of the squad already inside. Eren and Jean are mid argument when we step past the doorway, so nothing new. "We're back," Mikasa says, making our presence known as we carry the wood inside towards the fireplace.

Jean turns to look at her. "You were chopping wood?"

"Gotta stay in shape somehow," she replies simply.

"You were grabbed by a titan, you should be in bed resting!" Armin tells her, placing his hands on his hips. Eren scoffs, leaning against the broom he's holding. "You're wasting your breath, I caught her doing sit ups earlier."

"Oh, so you're a nag and a spy." Jean states, crossing his arms.
"What? How is that spying?" Eren furrows his brows, both men arguing with unnecessarily raised voices while Armin calls after Mikasa, telling her to take it easy.

"Funny," Historia says, turning everyone's attention to her. "It almost feels like we're back in the cadet corp," she says in an almost wistful tone.

Armin nods in agreement. "Yeah, chaos. Makes you wonder why they chose us for this new 'Levi squad.' Protecting Eren and Historia is such an important mission."

"It's because we're good at what we do, plus it doesn't matter if we die." Sasha replies in an accepting tone.

"That's true, we are considered expendable," Connie agrees.

Expendable. That's really what we are, the entire scout regiment really. Those brave or stupid enough to put their lives on the line for the military. I suppose there's not really any point putting too much thought into it now.

"Sasha, what did you just shove into your bag?" Armin asks, almost exasperated. She turns her head slightly, keeping a hand on her bag. "It's something that definitely isn't bread."

Jean scowls. "Seriously? What did I tell you?"
Connie sighs and make a 'give it' gesture with his hand. "Hand it over."

"Guys, come on. We have to finish cleaning before the Captain gets back." Eren says urgently, clutching the broom in his hands like his life depends on it. It's cute how he's still scared of my father. I almost smile.