𝔇𝔢𝔣𝔦𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔢 (𝔏𝔢𝔳𝔦 𝔵 ℜ𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔢𝔯)

LXXIV - An Order Of Silence

"Blood is to be spilt, and we'd rather it theirs than ours." 

***

~The Next Day, An Hour After Dawn~ 

The woods were golden. Mellow rays of fresh morning sunshine painted an orangey golden hue within every inch it could touch. A gorgeous morning, really, waking up early often had its benefits if the clouds weren't around to restrain the sun and keep it to themselves. The squad found themselves readying their gear after Levi had walked around the cabin with intentions of waking everyone up just after dawn, preparing horses and a carriage. 

A small clearing was amidst the woods, a few hundred yards behind the cabin, near the top of a hill, and we all prepared our horses before riding to experiment on Eren's titan form. The short journey itself took about fifteen minutes, eventually glimpsing the clearing that had similar properties to a crater, a ledge forming from about half way around the circular glade and rising around ten metres off the ground. 

The squad was drowsy, half of them having only slept for minimal hours, their loss of time counting towards their games of cards in the dining room the night prior. Eren rode in front of me, his head hanging a little after he let out an audible yawn. Mikasa rode to his left, side glancing him every few seconds, I assume to keep a close on him and his tiredness. Armin, who rode on the opposite side of Mikasa, only gazed around at the trees, the light making it seem like his hair was glowing. 

The closer we approached the clearing, I observed the small cliff, a slope leading from the side to the highest part being the part both Levi, Hange, Historia and a few others were aiming to climb up on their horses. I continued towards the centre with Eren and the rest of the squad, two boys eventually making their presences known as their horses trotted up on either side of me. 

I meet their gazes, one by one, though it didn't reach theirs as they continued to look around, watching for something. Intruders, spies, anything that seemed out of the ordinary. I didn't blame them, we were on a tracking radar, hiding away from pursuers we didn't even know we had until we made them our enemies. 

Everyone moving towards the centre of the clearing stopped, Eren running a hand down his face before dismounting his horse. He looked around in wonder, watching as one of the boys went and gripped the reins to his horse and lead it away from the zone we were to be commencing experiments in.

Levi, Hange and Historia all stood at the peak of the slope, looking down at us, watching us all. I emit a low hum, trotting towards the brunette boy who looked down at his hand he flexed and clenched. 

"If it gets to be too much, transforming, tell me. I'll put a stop to it immediately." I say to the boy. He looked up at me, giving a singular nod and took a few steps back. The entire squad dispersed, surrounding Eren at a reasonable distance before we all waited eagerly for his transformation. He tilted his head at his hand, bringing it up to his mouth and clamping his teeth down. At first, there wasn't anything. No noise, no change in visuals, not even the slightest of movements from anyone or anything, apart from the trickle of thick, red blood trailing down from Eren's bite mark down his wrist. 

Then, a strike of lightning struck the boy as he was enveloped in a large explosion, making all of us put an arm up to shield our eyes and all of our horses pace in uneasiness. It was loud, everyone fighting against the strong winds that came from the blow before it all ceased, and the cloud of steam around Eren began submerging. The trees settled, our horses slowed their panics, and we were able to finally make out the titan figure amongst the thinning smoke screen. Once again, silence, all until I hear the high pitched screech of excitement coming from the top of the cliff as Hange jumped up and down in exhilaration.