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

Chapter 15: Her Wings of Freedom

"Humans might not have the materials to fly, but, they do possess the materials necessary to mimic those avian bastards."

[Third Person POV]

Aoife sped through the forest's path, Lucian's hooves thundering loudly against the dirt foundation---his breathing sturdy, yet heavy. She knew that these kinds of horses were bred to endure long expeditions, but she'd never experienced their strength first-hand. Once she had reached the Scout Regiment's Head Quarters, she knew that she'd have to say her farewells to that steed and hello to a new horse as well as a new uniform.

Her thoughts raced with images of herself standing atop a grassy hill, the wind gently blowing her green cloak, and the symbol of the Wings of Freedom swaying in the breeze as if they were about to take flight. Along with such images, she remembered Reiner . . . she didn't know whether his words were honest, or if they were complete lies because she hadn't paid much mind to his eyes during their conversation. Her grandfather had always taught her to pay attention, yet . . . when she was around Reiner, she found herself so . . . off-guard.

Narrowing her eyes as a clearing came into her sight, she grinned to herself and heeled Lucian's side, causing the beast's pace to jolt into a speed slightly quicker than it had been. "Giddy up!" she exclaimed, her heart pounding with excitement as well as a hint of adrenaline.

This is it, she thought, sitting upright as Lucian and she entered into the clearing and cantered around in a circle, then came to a walking gait.

Releasing a snort, Lucian strode towards the post situated next to the massive, stone structure.

Aoife patted the horse's side. "You did well, Lucian."

She held onto the horn of the saddle, lifted her right leg out of its stir-up, then hopped off of his back. Aoife walked ahead of Lucian, his reins in her hand, then tied it firmly to the post. Glancing over to him, she smiled sweetly. "Thank you."

The brown and white painted steed whinnied as Aoife stepped away from it and ascended the multiple stone steps that led into the castle-like building. Stopping outside of the arched, wooden door, she lifted her bundled fist and knocked three times.

Within ten seconds, the door was opened and standing in its way was a blonde-haired man of around six feet in height, his eyebrow raised in an inquiring manner. "Hmm," he paused for a moment as he leaned forward and sniffed of the girl from her left shoulder to her right, causing Aoife to give him a frightened and bewildered look.

"Um . . . er . . . I-I was sent here to deliver this letter to Commander Erwin," she said, removing the envelope from her pocket and holding it outward as the strange fellow stood upright and nodded.

"Ehhh? A new recruit?" he mumbled, rubbing at the stubble on either side of his jaw. "What's your name?"

"Aoife Callaghan, Sir."

Snatching the letter from the auburn-haired girl's hand, he swiveled on his heel and waved for her to follow.

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Aoife stood before the desk of Erwin Smith, his cold, bored blue eyes thoroughly reading each word of the letter. He paused for a moment as he rubbed his smooth, chiseled chin and sat the letter down. There was at least fifteen seconds of silence before he interlaced his fingers in front of his mouth and heaved out a low sigh. "You missed the Cadets' graduation, however . . ." he said as he reached over and grabbed his mug of warm, bitter coffee and sipped of it, "you missed it for good reason; your recuperation was too important for you to worry yourself with a graduation."

Aoife nodded.

"The Survey Corps is never one to turn down a recruit so willing to toss themselves into a heap of danger," he explained, crumbling up the letter and tossing it aside on his cleanly desk, his face decorated with not a single aspect of joy as he continued, "meaning you're welcome to join us so long as you're earnest and prepared to give your life at any given order."

"I am prepared to do whatever I need to do," Aoife said with a sort of bow as she stared seriously at the stern man before her.

Erwin subtly bobbed his head before glancing over at the man to his left. "Replace her coat of arms and find her a cloak---she'll need them for our next expedition."

Aoife's heart pounded in an ecstatic manner against her ribcage as the tawny-haired man walked past him, waved for her to follow, and left the room to receive her "Wings of Freedom" . . .

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Soooooooooo . . . don't murder me for uploading such a SHORT chapter. .-. I'm working myself into the groove of writing this story again. >n<