Mind over Matter | Armin Arlert

The story from then

"I don't think she's going to make it."

The weigh that followed those words muttered were unbearable, a sudden drop in the atmosphere that got hearts pumping and sharp breaths were followed. All of their eyes, at least the scouts, had widened, a rush of disbelief and sorrow flooding their mind at the thought of losing someone they'd known for so long.

Freyja only glanced down at the floor, at the hem of her sleeves as she fidgeted with them. She wasn't expecting those news either, but she hadn't been unprepared. After all, there was never one true victory for the survey corps.

She'd grown fond of all the squad members in the last few years. Sasha was no exception, and she quite liked the girl. Sasha was loud, obnoxiously so, and incredibly playful at times, but maybe that was what Freyja had needed in her dull life. 

And yet, she didn't follow them when they ran out; she barely moved even a inch. The thuds of their footsteps sounded in her ears, somehow heavier than before. Instead, she only raised her head slightly, to meet with a familiar pair of brown eyes, one that she had missed dearly but could never bring herself to admit.

Hange only returned a grave but earnest look, her eyes brimmed with sadness, but above all, exhaustion etched into her features, plaguing her thoughts. Being the new commander had certainly taken it's troll on her, and the brunette shut the door behind those who had left.  

"Would you say that everything went to plan, Zeke Yeager?" Hange said, malice traced beneath her tone of voice, a silent threat drowse in fury.

"For the most part," Zeke replied, his expression unrecognizable. "But there were a number of miscalculations."

 "Who are these kids?" she looked towards the pair, battered in Jean's arms. But there was no more wrath in their eyes, only a keen sense of betrayal.

"Miscalculations."

"Yelena!" Jean yelled, the anger visible on his face. His brows furrowed, and his voice had raised. "What happened to locking down the jaw and the cart? Some of our soldiers are dead because of you!"

"Sorry... I did manage to trap those two down in that hole... but then I let them get away," Yelena said in a solemn voice, but there was a certain twinkle behind her beady eyes; unremorseful and indifference plastered like  an annoying thought in her mind. 

"And that then caused the beast to throw more rocks at us than planned..." Levi sent a glare in her direction, then towards the man sitting on the floor below. There was no doubt that the wrath and loathing he felt must've been more then enough to burn down a whole city. "As far as farces go, I'd call that a hell of an improv act. Wouldn't you agree, beardy...?"

"Don't glare at me like that, Levi... what're you going to do if I piss myself?" Zeke said, none but a trace of regret in his expression. "Anyway, I'd say you make a pretty good actor yourself. Especially considering just how much you must have wanted to kill me right there..."

There was only a split silence that came after those words left his mouth. A heavy tension that had welcomed itself to settle down in the space between. Their eyes met in a deep dark despair, hidden conflict and bad blood between the two danced in their line of sight from from eye to the other. 

Freyja knew that they practically loathed each other, and it must've taken Levi everything to not be at his throat this very instant. She recalled the report she'd read four years ago, of the mission to retake Wall Maria that had ended in so-called victory, but an inhumane amount of casualties. So she was aware that Levi had unfortunately failed to kill the Beast Titan right then and there, and she knew that the burden of it weighed down her brother, like an un-leaving shadow.