Flying on Her Wings (Attack on Titan)

Friends? Friends.

Rachel's P.O.V

   "Rachel?"  Armin's voice brings me out of my saddest memory.  It takes a moment for me to re-establish my bearings, for when I gaze down at Armin, Mikasa, and Eren, I see phantom memories of Jack, Lucy, and me.  Quickly wiping away the tear I smile and ask,

   "So, does Eren now know the truth?"  Concern shines in the blond's eyes, but he senses that I don't want to talk about it, so he lets it go.  Bless his soul.

   "Yeah, he knows the truth now."  Glancing at the girl who is standing off to the side, her eyes meet mine in a heated glare before she turns away.

   "I'm going to the Mess Hall, call me if you need me, Eren."  Mikasa's eyes soften when they land on the brunette, and I understand with startling clarity why she is so... resentful, towards me.  She loves him... My thoughts are cut off by Eren clearing his throat awkwardly.

"Well, Miss Rachel... I'm sorry for... um... wrongly accusing you earlier."  I can tell apologizing isn't his strong suit, so I merely laugh and say,

   "Apology accepted, young Eren."  I descend a branch lower, because even though Eren is a hothead, he seems like an okay kid.  I wonder what makes him so... passionate.  "So Rachel..." he begins.

Bong... Bong....

I startle, alarmed by the loud sound.

   "Rachel, Rachel, it's okay!  It's just the lunch bell!"  Armin soothes me, and I calm, although I do keep my senses at their peak.  "Rachel, what will you eat for lunch?"  His sudden question catches me off-guard.  Shrugging my shoulders, which causes a jolt of pain to go through the my left side, I give a nonchalant reply,

   "I don't really know."  Armin thinks for a minute, hand under his chin as he contemplates my situation.  He then slams his fist into his other hand, a light sparking in his eyes.  He leans over to whisper something in Eren's ear, which I decide not to listen in on due to my newfound respect for the two.  When Eren suddenly runs off, Armin faces me with a smile on his face.

   "If we have what I need, then you may be able to eat with us!"  I am about to tell the boy that he needn't worry about me, when Eren comes rushing back; a folded, dark brown cloth in his arms.  When he unfurls it, I realize it is a cloak– except instead of the waist-length ones like the Survey Corps', this one reaches all the way to the ground.  Grinning, I hop down from the branch, finally landing on the ground in front of the two boys.

   "May I?"  I hadn't realized when Armin spoke that he holds a strip of cloth that matches the color of the cloak.  I raise my eyebrow in suspicion, as I have had bad experiences in the past with such objects.  "Oh, no, Rachel, not for anything bad.  Just to keep your bad wing in place since we don't want it dragging across the ground."  Since I trust the boy, I let him loosely tie my wing up so it isn't hanging limply at my side anymore.  Smiling at him, I ruffle his hair in appreciation, before dawning the cloak.

   "How does it look?"  Armin makes a few adjustments (since I assume Eren wasn't exactly comfortable around me yet) and then steps back to admire his work.  He nods, satisfied, before he and Eren walk on each side of me while leading me to the Mess Hall.  I have to admit, I am a bit nervous since this has been my first human interaction in a while, but I am excited to meet new people for the first time in forever (literally).

   As we enter the Mess Hall, quite a few people stopped eating and stare at us; well, mainly, me.  Since I am wearing the cloak, it kind of looks like I have a major hunchback, and I feel a little awkward being the center of attention.  Everyone stops staring after a little while when Eren, Armin and I get our food.  We sit down at a table with quite a few other people; the two-toned brunette from the field– Jean, a freckled boy with black hair, Reiner, a tall and timid-looking boy with black hair, Mikasa, a brunette who looks quite fond of her meal, a freckled brunette, a petite-looking blonde, and a bald teenage boy.  Eren introduces them one by one.

   "The guy that has a horse face? Jean.  Freckled guy is Marco.  Shaggy hair, bulky body– Reiner.  Sitting next to Reiner is Bertoldt, he's basically a gentle giant.  You already know Mikasa, the one who looks like she never eats is Sasha.  Connie is the bald kid.  The freckled girl sitting next to the blonde girl?  Ymir.  The blonde girl sitting next to Ymir is Christa.  You already know Armin and I, so that's pretty much everyone."  All the people at the table seem friendly enough, and all wave or say a simple, "Hey," when their name is called.  Except Jean... he seems mad that Eren called him a horse face. I guess it's my turn now, huh?

   "Hello, everyone!  I am Rachel, and it is a pleasure to meet each of you." Once we are done with the introductions, everyone goes back to different conversations.  Since Eren, Armin and I are sitting a little ways away from the group and across from each other, we decide to put our heads together. I can tell Jean and Reiner are confused as to why I am here, but they don't want to make a scene– which I am grateful for. Smiling at Armin and Eren, I thank them for everything.

"Armin and Eren, you two have done much for me. Thank you both so much." Both their cheeks gain a tint of red to them, and I raise an eyebrow in question. A voice cuts through our conversation though, and only one can have such a venomous voice towards me.

"Cadets Jaeger and Arlert, what is she doing here?" Captain Shorty. Rolling my eyes, I think, here we go again, before turning to face the Squad Leader.

"Well, Captain, it's obvious that they invited me to lunch and I believe it would be rude if I declined them, no?" He shoots me a murderous glare, which isn't much (I've seen worse). Finally turning on his heel, he calls over his shoulder,

"Well, girl, Erwin is expecting you in his office." As he is about to exit the Mess Hall, I decide I want to have a little fun.  What makes him think he can storm in, say that, and storm out?

"Well, Levi, I believe I told your superior that I don't take orders from him, and that we are equals." The whole Hall is silent now, as everyone watches Levi turn around with an even more dangerous glare than before. Smirking slightly, I stand and stretch, facing him.

Okay, I am either going to deeply regret this, or have the most fun I've had in ages. Either way, I'm sure I will be dead by the hands of Captain Shorty.