She is a field medic for the Survey Corps - having only joined for one purpose. Aside from duties on the field; she assists her squad leader, Hange, in Titan research and Titan-related injuries. But when grief strikes the Scouts once again, she find...
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My face stared blankly ahead as we approached the walls of Calaneth District. My eyes ached. My cheeks were stained from dried tears.
On our way back, our backline was chased by two Titans, forcing one of our wagons to dump bodies in order to lighten the load and get away safely. I knew in my heart that Petra was amongst them. I winced at the thought, trying to shake the fact that she was gone.
The wagon behind me carried an injured Eren, the only other survivor from Squad Levi.
Levi rode silently by my side the rest of the way back. It surprised me, but it's as if we were both mourning Petra together. Did he feel guilty? Or did he just not want to be alone? What exactly happened out there after we separated?
When we arrived at the gate, Erwin raised his arm in the air, signaling the Garrison to allow us entry. The stone gate grinded open and we were greeted with hundreds of citizens lining the streets to see our arrival. Slowly, we made our way through. I remained on horseback, pulling closer towards Hange, who was riding behind Erwin. Levi had hopped off his horse, deciding to escort it on foot as we entered the city.
Murmurs of citizens can be heard as they watch us enter the town.
"There seems to be less of them than before..."
"Yeah, a LOT less..."
"Filthy pigs, using up our taxes to go on these stupid missions. For what? To throw away lives needlessly?"
I clenched my teeth and closed my eyes, trying my best to ignore the comments. If only they knew what we had just been through... that we were so close to finding out more about our world. That we were within reach of a huge step for humanity.
My heart began to break more when a man approached Levi, clutching a letter to his chest, a smile etched into his face.
"Captain Levi, Sir! I wanted to speak with you before I saw my daughter! I'm Petra's father. She was so excited that you hand-picked her for your squad," he went on, "She speaks so highly of you and said she was one hundred percent devoted to you! Now, speaking as a father - I think she's too young for marriage - but she seems completely all-in -"
More tears pooled in my eyes and I quietly began to sob to myself, tuning out Petra's father. I didn't bear to look at Levi, who remained completely silent as the man was speaking. Tuning out the conversation wasn't so hard to do, as more and more citizens began to rally and shout at us in anger and confusion.
"WAS IT WORTH IT?"
"HOW MANY LIVES WERE LOST IN THIS MISSION?"
"WE DESERVE TO KNOW!"
I hung my head low, feeling utterly defeated, as we continued to trudge through the city to our old headquarters.
---
It had been a couple of days since we returned from the 57th expedition. Levi, Eren, and I remained at the castle headquarters while the remaining scout soldiers were ordered to appear at the Capitol. Hange insisted that I stay and that she would return for me as quickly as possible.
