Aesthetic Acid | eren x levi |

♘: Seventeenth Battle

The tents were too small to hold a meeting, so the superiors decided it would be best to gather around the giant campfire. Everyone was there, and it wasn't a formal or strict gathering, but the topic itself was rather serious. The soldiers sat on the moist dirt or on the wet logs dragged from the corner of the forest and near the fire. Erwin, Hanji and an old man whom Eren didn't recognize were up at the front behind the fire. It casted a grim shadow on their sullen faces. Petra was a few feet away from them, eyeing nervously at the ground and shooting looks at the old man. She smiled whenever anyone stared at her, but glared when she thought no one was looking.

"We sincerely apologize for keeping you all here when you're supposed to be hitting the sack, Hanji started as she made hand gestures. "But we have someone important here with us. Pixis, take it away."

The old man coughed before removing a flask from his pocket and taking a quick swig. Eren squinted at him. He looked like an easygoing man, the sort that wouldn't really care if something horrible were to happen. He was completely bald, but had a nicely trimmed mustache sitting upon his lip. Worry lines covered his forehead, which Eren found a bit funny.

"As you may know, a large amount of you are already taking shifts to guard the town. However, we need more of you now. Unfortunately, the number of deaths are increasing rapidly. Our people need more protection. Worry not, the Military Police will provide the correct weapons that you will all need in order to defeat them. And I'm assuming you know what I'm referring to when I say 'them'. Smith has been training you so that you can do this, and I want you to do it while knowing you might die," he explained.

Eren noticed how a few people around him started to tremble in fear. They had indeed join so that they could protect their people, but did they really want to have the risk of throwing away their young lives? It suddenly occurred to him that it was always possible for death to find its way to him, and it made it a whole lot easier since he was a soldier. He was afraid.

"Don't look at the ground," Erwin snapped as he noticed a few of them started to look away. "Face what's ahead of you and accept it. What's ahead is your future. You want to protect them, right? This is what I've trained you all for, and I don't need any of you hesitating now. Understood?"

Straightening up and removing the horror from their faces, they all slapped a fist over where their heart could be found and shouted in unison. "Yes, sir!"

"Good. Now that that's settled, I will put you all in groups of six tomorrow. Each group will be responsible for one area of the town. You will switch areas every two hours and will be expected to use teamwork if you are to come across an enemy. Fortunately, they aren't known to attack in large groups, so I am confident that you will be able to bring them down. Any questions?" Hanji spoke with raised eyebrows.

When no one bothered to raise their hand, she clapped her hand with a big smile plastered on her face. "Alright. You may go home now, or stay here if you wish. If I see any lanterns on when it's past 10, I will show you a piece of my mind. Up, up, up! Off you go now!"

With sluggish and rigid movements, they all pushed themselves off the ground. Eren stayed behind, bringing up his knees and tucking it under his chin as he watched the ember's glow begin to fade away. The cold air tickled his ears and nose, and he didn't notice until a few moments later that Sasha had come over to sit beside him.

"She's staring you down. Damn, did you get on her bad side or something?" she whispered and jutted her chin slightly to Petra's direction, who was speaking with Erwin.

He sighed and crossed his arms. "I have no idea."

"Anyways," She said, stretching her a's. "What's up? Haven't heard from you in a while. Kitchen duty is really dull without you. No one wants to do potato peeling with me."