Her Wings of Freedom {Rewriting--Metamorphosis of Dispositon}

Chapter 10: Dutiful Reminder

"There are times when a man loses himself, especially when a woman he's grown fond of eases her way into the picture. Aoife, women have truly proved to be, in their own rights, the world's most unexplained mystery. We tend to fall in love with them for each thing they do and for everything that they are."

[Third Person POV]

"Annie," said Reiner as he followed closely behind his blonde, slightly-infuriated comrade.

The female coolly glanced over her shoulder at him, her scrutinizing blue orbs causing the broad-shouldered man to cringe. She briskly raised her eyebrow at him, then carried her gaze ahead, just as she sent her cable flying into another building's bricks and made her form continue onward. "What is it?" she asked in a calm manner.

"Are you sure that we should've done that?"

She heavily sighed. "It's not about what's morally right, Reiner . . . it's about fulfilling our mission." She peered over her shoulder and gave him a straight look. "You know that." The cables of their gear had been the only thing to provide a hint of sound fore they'd all grown silent after her grave words.

Carrying his gaze down to the ground, Reiner grimaced and allowed his thoughts to drift to Aoife and on the fact that he'd willingly allowed her to go off on her own, while he stayed behind and opted to meeting up with Annie instead.

I hope she remembers what I told her, he thought, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Reiner," whispered Bertoldt, catching the blonde's attention.

"Hm?"

The dark-haired lad peered over at him, his deep green eyes stern. "You shouldn't worry yourself with her," he said, his voice serious as though he'd known just what Reiner was thinking, "Aoife will only bring you down and cause you to fail in your mission."

Reiner stared at his childhood friend's face, taking in the way his eyes weren't gentle, no . . . they were strengthened by some sort of evergreen flame lurking within.

"There's nothing between the two of them, Bertoldt," interrupted Annie as she glanced over her shoulder, her eyes dull as she shifted them to the blonde. "Isn't that right, Reiner?"

Knowing that his answer would be a lie, the boy used his gear to land atop the roof of the building to his right. Walking over to the ledge of the building, he paused and took a deep breath, his hands on his hips as he closed his eyes and bowed his head, quickly massaging his temples before glancing back over at his companions as they landed atop the complex with him. "You're both worrying yourselves with me and Aoife, when . . . your real attention should be focused on the bastard that's been trailing us this whole time."

Annie and Bertoldt's mouths opened slightly before they shared a confused glance with one another, then looked back to Reiner. "Why did you wait until now to tell us?" asked Bertoldt, his eyebrows furrowed.

Reiner shrugged before turning back around and sighing.

"Who are they?!" asked Bertoldt as he took a step towards Reiner, his voice louder than usual.

Annie suddenly kicked underneath Bertoldt's leg, causing him to fall to the tiles and grab his now-throbbing calf muscle. "Keep it down," she hissed, "you don't want to let them know that you're aware of their presence or else they'll attempt to converse with us, moron."

Bertoldt peered up at Annie as he massaged his leg, then stood up, his cheeks slightly blushing.

Reiner shook his head and walked over to the out edge of the building, balancing himself on its ledge. Scanning the surrounding perimeter, he spotted no Titans and scoffed. He wasn't annoyed by the fact that there were three Titans in the area, rather over the fact that he didn't know in which direction Aoife was in.