𝐀 𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐋𝐀𝐕𝐄 | eren yeager

27 | Erwin Smith

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Word Count: 3148

Krista stared down at the horde of titans below the tree she currently stood on, backing up so that her back was against the trunk. A titan, that easily could've been an abnormal, was trying to climb up the tree beside hers. Sounds like snaps filled the air as the titan kept gripping the trunk violently, pulling off bits of the bark in the process. Feeling herself start to sweat, Krista turned to the soldier closest to her on the tree beside her.

"Uh... It's climbing up here," she uttered, clearly feeling uncomfortable.

Nanaba, one of the seniors, looked down at the situation. "So it is," she muttered, "If it makes it this far, maybe I'll get out of its way. But in a few minutes I think we'll be ordered to pull out."

Krista looked at her in confusion, "You think it's got something to do with those explosions inside the forest?"

Mikasa stared into the darkness further in the forest, clearly intrigued by the loud sounds coming from there. Sasha kept frequently glancing at her, nervous by the loud booms.

"Mikasa... What do you think those sounds are?" the brunette asked quietly, "Are they firing cannons inside the forest?"

"So damn noisy back there," Ymir grumbled, turning to look at the taller brunet on the tree next to her, "Hey, Bertolt, do you know where Krista went?"

"Sorry... No, I don't..." Bertolt responded, a small frown on his face.

"Guys! Let's move!"

"Right!"

(Y/N) jumped in surprise as she noticed the titan below her, staring back at its ginormous face. The titan was just few meters away from climbing on to the branch she currently stood on. She quickly grabbed the handles of gear, turning around as she pulled the triggers to shoot her wires to follow Jean and Armin away from the tree.

Jean swore with a laugh, looking back at the titan as its eyes followed the trio, "Bastard... Looks like it's figured it out. It's turning into quite a tree-climber!"

The titan had climbed up vertically using two trees by pushing its feet against the trunks and then pulling itself up by its hands. It had gotten pretty far up using the tactic, which was admittedly quite impressing for someone its kind.

"Then it has the capacity to learn..." Armin pointed out, "That's scary. Though I'm sure it depends on the individual."

The trio landed on another tree, observing their surroundings. The tree was further inside the forest, but gave them a spot closer to the others. Mikasa and Sasha were standing on a tree a few meters or ten away from them. (Y/N) gave the two a small wave of her hand, although they probably hadn't noticed their arrival.

"Hey guys," Jean spoke up, turning to look at the two, "They're obviously doing something deep inside the forest, and it just hit me what it probably is. We lured that Female Titan here so we could capture it, I bet. That's the only reason I can think of for why they only told certain soldiers about this operation."

"Whatever is going on inside that forest... It gives me a bad feeling in my guts," (Y/N) frowned, "But then... What you just said... Does that mean there are humans in our ranks who are trying to destroy the Walls?