AOT: Life of a Scout

Ambush Pt. 2

As the field came into view the leader at the head of the formation turned about to face the other three. He removed his hood, letting the rain beat against his bald head. 

Ezra could barely make out his face. The man's hairless head turned as shiny as any mirror thanks to the downpour. But what he lacked in head-hair was made up for in a beard that circled his lips and ended in a scraggly tuft that withheld his chin from sight. 

Though his looks portrayed an atmosphere of weariness and fatigue, the man's personality was the polar opposite.

Staff Sergeant Boris Vogel was a well aged squad leader, regimental veteran and the strangest yet most enthusiastic man Ezra had ever met . . . and that in itself was saying a lot considering his current line of work.

The middle-aged Scout had served in the Corps since its earliest excursions and proved himself a more than capable soldier when it came down to organizing the squad's tactics when engaging the enemy. 

As a result he'd risen through the ranks thanks to his logistical prowess and had become this team's leader merely  four months ago. He'd worked together with them all ever since.

But unlike most Corps members whom appeared gloomy and dissatisfied on their good days, Vogel was one that proved not so easy to crack. 

Considering the number of missions under his belt along with the probable action he'd witnessed with those tours of duty, Vogel carried himself as a caring and sympathetic man. A confusing truth in comparison to his rough figure.

He stood at roughly six feet in height, his up-right posture and quick smile often replacing his appearance of fatigue with that of satisfaction. 

Despite having been put into dozens of life or death situations, he always managed to show an honest grin at the end of the day. At least that's what Ezra had been told. 

Some thought him to be fearless, giving accounts of his many courageous deeds. Many others saw him as a broken man suffering from the insanity that set in after you saw your first mangled corpse or dismembered limb.

Even so, Ezra honestly had to admit that Vogel was quite impressive. No matter what people had to say about him. 

The fact that someone could go through the horrors of not just one but well over a dozen expeditions and survive was incredible. To witness it all and still come out smiling . . . well . . . that was unheard of entirely.

Such contentedness with himself was only matched by his way of responding to others. When people pried him for his reason for signing up with the Survey Corps his easy going posture would change. His back would go ram rod straight. 

The subtle happiness behind his tired looking eyes seemed to seep out. He'd start fondling and twisting his beard while staring into empty space with a troubled gaze. 

"Because it was necessary", came the answer. He wouldn't say much afterwards. His smile usually returned and his posture was once again relaxed. But on the inside Ezra wondered what so provoked the man to give such a trivial answer every time the question came up.

Maybe there was something else to his smile after all. Either way, Vogel was still their squad leader and even what Ezra could call a friend. He'd just have to wait and see how things played out.

"We're approaching the target area!" Vogel had to shout for his voice to be heard over the roar of the cascading rainfall and the loud rhythm of their horses' hooves trampling the ground with their passing. 

"Lia, you and I are on diversion duty for this one!" He looked over his shoulder to the teammate left of Ezra. The soldier, in turn, removed her hoodie, allowing her medium length blonde hair to cascade onto her shoulders. She turned to the sergeant, revealing more of her features.

Corporal Lia Sabre. For as long as he'd known the woman, which was little more than a month, Ezra had always regarded Lia with awe and suspicion. From the first day he'd seen her he'd gone week in the knees. She was absolutely beautiful, a marvel to behold. 

Her blue eyes often transfixed him and left him in a trance like state. 

She'd have to wave a hand before in his face to bring him back to reality. Ezra would snap out of it and give a nervous chuckle. They would engage in casual conversations all the time but he always found it hard to focus on them, and even more so to try not to lose himself within those blue orbs.

Overtime he developed a crush on her but often tried to keep it professional. Whenever she confronted him about something or just plain conversed with him, it would require all his will power to keep his cheeks from turning a flushed red. 

However, every now and then there were slip ups. Lia would casually point it out to him. He'd try to hide his embarrassment by blaming the day's heat for his skin reacting the way it did. Lia had simply feigned ignorance and went along with it.

As time went on however, he learned to get past her looks, and see the person behind them. While Ezra was ordinarily reluctant when it came to interacting with someone he didn't know, Lia was a joyful, social butterfly. 

Unlike many 'interior' girls that thrived on attention from men and adoration from their female peers, Lia was an individual that was quick to form real, lasting relationships with those she worked with. The promise of a true friend emanated from her.

But behind her comradery she had another air about her. One she kept hidden. He could see it in her eyes sometimes. Behind the kindhearted soul was a suspicious conscience. 

He couldn't quite put a finger on it. On one occasion Ezra found her in the headquarters' attic staring out a window. When he came in closer he noticed her reflection. Her face was emotionless and grim.

After several long seconds she noticed him and swiftly turned around, her face flushed as she tried to explain herself. Just like she'd done with him, he feigned ignorance, simply telling her he was just checking up on her. 

She sighed. "Thanks for your concern but . . ." Lia's gaze drifted to some distant part of the room. "

"Lia?" Ezra called to her in worry. She wasn't acting like her normal cheerful self. She suddenly snapped back. Instead of its usual happy aura, those blue orbs carried a sense of weariness to them. 

"I'm fine", she said trying to sound more believable the second time around. ". . . really".

No matter how conflicting she seemed at times, Ezra couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She'd been in the Corps for nine months and served and survived in eight different excursions into enemy territory. 

Her record was indeed impressive, but was plagued by several different details, details that she served alongside and shared laughs with, details that, to this day, were now six-feet under.

A while or so back Lia had been in a squad whose members had been consistent for an unusual amount of time. Unusual in that most squads shifted in terms of its member every several or so expeditions often to compensate for those lost on previous missions. 

 Unfortunately her former team's lucky streak had come to a sudden and abrupt end during one expedition.

From what fellow grunts had shared with Ezra, he'd found out that Lia's squad was a part of the fore- left flank of the most recent excursion. They and another squad were returning home when it was suddenly ambushed by the enemy and massacred. 

Lia herself was on the right flank, unaware of the grizzly fate that had befallen her comrades. Only when news came in of what happened after the fact did she respond the way she did.

She'd reportedly gone AWOL in Shiganshina in a grief stricken state for three days before returning to active duty. A week later she was reassigned to the newly fermented Vogel squad. It had only been a week and already she had to adjust to a new team; a new family. Ezra understood the transition itself probably had taken her off guard. 

She wanted to hide her grief behind the guise of a laid back girl. Or maybe she was simply conflicted. There was a variety of possibilities and assumptions about the woman but, for the time being, Ezra was content not to delve too deep into the confusing mix that was her personality.