The Birth of Freedom

The Choice

And if I know Eren he will be right behind me as soon as he is of age. I can protect him.

The only problem I had left was telling everyone. I had decided to tell Uncle Arlert as soon as we finished in the fields, he would tell the others and I would leave for the training camp tomorrow morning before they woke so no one could stop me. I just hoped this was the right choice.

I wiped my brow with the back of hand and spotted Eren holding out a water skin for me, I smiled and accepted the offering ruffling his hair. Aurora was a few rows across from us and spotted us before she began to make her way over to us, unravelling her knitted scarf as she walked. Coming up behind Eren she wrapped the garment around his neck and tucked it tightly into his oversized coat. He spun around and began to protest when she put a finger to his lips, hushing him. 

"You need to keep warm, besides" she reached behind her head and pulled her long thick braid around and slung it over her neck and shoulder. "I have a scarf already"

I burst out laughing and Eren scoffed, shoving Aurora before going back to his section of the Field, Aurora followed him with her eyes a soft smile on her mud-covered face. Reaching forward I rubbed the mud off her cheek gently brushing over the healing scar just beneath her one Green eye.

"You need to keep it clean unless you want an ugly scar" I said and Aurora brushed away my hand, her grey and green eyes rolling.

"Not like anyone would notice, not when they are staring at my witch-eyes" she drawled, wiggling her thick eyebrows at me. A foul excuse of a man had called her witch-eyes a few days ago when she had caught him trying to take Armin's share of rations from him. She had kicked in his knee and when he had fallen, she had headbutted him knocking him unconscious.

Grandfather would have been impressed .

As amusing as it had been to watch she had just recovered from a head injury herself and had not taken well to being scolded by Uncle Arlet about her lack of regard for her own health.

"You shouldn't joke about that; people are suffering and will look for any excuse to blame their problems on something or someone else" I said pointedly and she scrunched her nose in disapproval which had taken on a pinkish colour with the cold.

"Let them, I'll headbutt them too" Aurora shrugged, taking the water skin from me and drinking deeply. 

Charming.

"And you say Eren is a hot head" I muttered. She swallowed and wiped her mouth revealing the dirty bandages on her hand and my face twisted remembering how she got them as she eyed me strangely.

"Yeah well we all have our faults at least ours isn't lying" she stared me dead in the eye with one eyebrow arched. A flash of Eren's mother entered my mind, Carla always did that when she had caught us out and I swallowed painfully trying to squash down the memory.

"I have no idea what you're talking about" I feigned and began to push my hoe back into the dirt. She must have found my packed bag ready for my departure to the training camp and means to confront me.

Shit.

"Remember who your talking to brother," she pointed her finger at me accusingly "You've been acting shifty for the last few days and this morning I found a bag full of your things with a map and stowed away rations so you tell me what is going on" she demanded, crossing her arms in front of her chest and looking at me with furious eyes.

Does she think I'm abandoning them?

I sighed and dug the hoe back into the earth before turning to her and placing my hands on her shoulders, towering above her.