Tough // A.O.T

12 // capital

ignore any errors !!

-

A green flare was shot. 

"We'll leave as soon as we have confirmed our positions. Stay sharp!"

The scouts were planning on where to move from here on out. With a failed expedition, and soldiers' blood on their hands, some sulked and some were looking forward to return inside the walls where safety was assured. Dieter was one of those who were sulking. When he heard a horse's neigh, he looked to the side.

A 5'3 captain dismounted the horse and began to search his pockets. "Captain Levi," Dieter addressed the male. "I..." He mumbled, averting his eyes from the captain's stern gaze. Levi approached him, "This is proof that they once lived." Levi spoke. "That's how I see it, anyway." He handed Dieter the scout regiment's symbol, pieces on the sides that showed that it had been torn off of a brave soldier's heart. 

Dieter gasped, his hands shaking. "It's Ivan's." Levi told him. Dieter's eyes began to water. "Captain..." He sobbed, the tears flowing down his face like a stream. Levi walked away and mounted his horse, leaving the male's sorrow to his own. 

You sighed, the feeling of exhaustion hitting you like a brick. "Do you have any injuries?" Cal asked, already having a long white cloth in his hands. "Nope," You replied with a loud exhale. "Y'know, it's kinda odd that you immediately came to me asking if I had any wounds." You added with a soft chuckle. Cal only sighed, sweat-dropping as he lowered the item in his hands. 

"Well, you've been gone for, what, hours? And you were snatched off your horse by that female titan everyone's talking about! Of course I'm going to ask," He stated with worry. "Not to mention how you came around with blood all over you..." He mumbled. Then came the blonde haired male you were hoping to have still been alive.

"(Name), are you all right?" 

Armin had asked, coming along with Jean. "Yeah. Cal told us you were snatched off of your horse by the female titan." Jean spoke with a hint of concern. "I'm fine, Armin!" You said enthusiastically with a grin.

"Let's move out!" 

You looked up from your horse that Cal had saved. "All right, then. Let's go," You held your horse's rein. The others nodded and went to their own horses. "Hey, (Name)," Cal called. You hummed as a response. "Good thing you came around when they were in trouble, huh?" He said with a closed-eye smile. Yours faded after a second before nodding. "Yeah, I guess it was."

-

Elsewhere, within Eren's dream, a small, simple memory came to mind.

A lone flower stood, flowing with the wind. Eren, along with Mikasa, carried firewood to their home. "Eren, I'd forget about joining the scout regiment if I were you." Mikasa spoke behind him. "What? You think the scout regiment is a joke, too?" Eren asked, turning his head to look at her. "It's not about what I think," She told him. Then the bell rang. "The scout regiment is back!" Eren exclaimed, excited for the scout regiment's appearance within Trost district. "They're going to open the front gate. Let's go and see the heroes return, Mikasa!"

Eren held Mikasa's wrist and began to run. Mikasa exclaimed, being dragged along with Eren down to the front gate. Within the crowd, Eren and Mikasa found two crates to stand on. They wouldn't have been able to see the scout regiment with a grin inside the crowd. But Eren's smile faded. He gasped, seeing the scouts with wounds and traumatized looks. Some had gauze wrapped just about everywhere in their body, and some were fine with minor injuries—though the people hadn't expected much of their sanity.

"They're the only ones who made it back?" A man in front of Eren asked with a disbelieving tone. "Everyone else must have gotten eaten." Another spoke. "This is what they get for going outside the walls. Our taxes are basically going to feed and fatten those things up now." Said a bald man to his friend. Eren glared at the three, picking up a piece of firewood from the stacks he'd piled up and tied together. "Eren," Mikasa called, predicting his sudden action. Eren was about to walk up, but he halted. He began to shake. "What's wrong?" Mikasa asked, seeing him lower the firewood.