DIADEMS | AOT

xxiii: THE FIRST EXPERIMENT

chapter 23

[word count: 8.3k]

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Erwin is a fucking genius.

It was days after keeping the castle spotless and hours dedicated to doing patrols around the area that Maeve received a letter from a familiar falcon pecking at her window. She skimmed her eyes over the neat penmanship, only stopping when she read the words that he was about to place certain people in the Survey Corps and that they should be under close surveillance at all times. It bubbled manic laughter right in Maeve's chest.

Pull your enemies closer, was the fitting saying for what Erwin was planning.

Maeve read the names of the recruits. Some of them could be the Armored and Colossal Titans. She placed the letter aside and started sifting through the profiles that were delivered just yesterday by a messenger Scout. She cracked her knuckles and stretched her back by reaching as high as she could over her head. Now that everything was loosened, Maeve started to work.

It would take her until daybreak to finish but once she found the pieces holding everything together, she would be one of those who would have the first and last laugh once the fucking pests were captured and unearthed. It would just be a matter of time.

—

The golden hour bathed Aurora as she swerved another kick coming from her regular opponent. Blooming hues of deeper yellow color her skin and the cuts on her cheek and arms that revealed the godly ichor of her veins were plastered using bandages. It had been this way since she was brought to the old headquarters — her being pulled to the courtyard by Beah and Samantha and was then pulverized by Maeve with hand-to-hand combat training. It was baffling, to say the least, seeing as they were preparing for an expedition against Titans, not humans. Nonetheless, she gained a lot of newfound knowledge about maintaining her core when spinning to give someone a kick (during her successful move, Kallos had to duck down a little so, it resulted in him kneeling in front of the girl and the others howling in laughter) or about making herself look unpredictable to the opponent despite having a plan in mind. She also couldn't forget that the first tip Maeve told her was to think like the enemy, whether it be humanoid monsters or devils in disguise. Aurora had to process that because those are what Maeve told her, word for word.

Aurora was fast but Maeve moved like a monster, always spotting the girl's blind side and making her meet the ground with unceremonious thuds, both of which made the Captain's squad wince at the sidelines.

So far, Aurora only had one win against the woman but that was because she was caught off guard when Levi called for her as the man came back from his daily patrol with Eren and some of his squad members. After sending a mental apology to her aunt, Aurora slid her leg to trip Maeve, consequently restraining her on the ground. The Vanguard squad whooped with joviality; even Agnes was wearing a large grin for once. Of course, she felt remorse for doing the one thing she shouldn't have done — attack someone when they were still vulnerable and her body possessing so many openings — until she saw Maeve's smile, the woman's laugh filled with pride despite her pathetic position during the end of the nth spar. It made Aurora glow — a luminary among pinpricks of satellites circling her around.