No joke, I was 100% about to name this chapter How To Train Your Dragon. I thought it'd be for a good laugh, then I thought to myself "Don't be a bloody galah!"
Also, please point out any misspellings or errors in my writing! I'd greatly appreciate it, I've noticed a few times while I wrote this and even reviewing prior chapters that I misspelled a few times and wrote some gendered pronouns in. It might not be anything big, but I want to become a better writer so I refuse to allow even small blemishes.
Especially if things don't make sense! I'm writing this at 4:51 AM currently so...yeah.
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How long has it been since you first lifted up off the ground? Eight weeks or so? Feels much longer with how intense these new training drills mother made for you are, more so then ever since you've come a decently long way in your flight capabilities since then. Not quite enough to compete with the ODM Gear, but you'd work up to that point. Your wings got that cramped and tensed up feeling again, like your muscles and bones were shrinking and then expanding rapidly, it's been happening more and more lately with these damn random pains and flares of uncomfortable heat that rock your body and occasionally screw with you during training.
You gave a sigh, stretching out widely on the top of one of the window sills, breathing in the fresh cool afternoon air and basking in the low hanging orange sun that was nice to watching before it faded away to give way to the night. Simply replacing as the uncomfortable feeling in your wings faded naturally. Looking up you admired the bright purple and orange sky. The transition from light to dark was always so pleasant to you, it felt calming almost, granting you the same familiar feeling like the infinite abyss did in your dreams a few months back.
Footfalls grabbed your attention though, a quick look down below allowing you to see Uncle Erwin walking across the empty courtyard, his face strangely hard and more cold then it normally was. But you knew him, that simply meant he was either tired, Mother bored him with her tirades or he was discussing something that should be a secret. You knew that there was secrets you didn't know about, like the key to the officers pantry, Mothers sensitive research notes or how you were still remaining a well hidden secret from the public and the other Corps...but most of the secrets they kept from you was that your family don't always return from a mission beyond the walls...
It's true, you knew that it was a possibility that came with their duty. But that doesn't mean it never hurts less to see them leave and return with barely half their number each time. You'll always remember their names though, and how you'll keep them close. They were your family after all.
Another set of steps broke your deep and upsetting train of thought as you looked up again and froze at the sight of Levi walking along the same path as Erwin, just as stone faced yet unlike your Uncle you couldn't tell what this man was thinking or how he felt.
You could feel your body tense up and your wings slowly spread open instinctively, you felt off when the two were in the same room together much less alone, you didn't trust him after that spat about the scouts not being your 'true family'.
They walked closer to each other, neither one seemingly acknowledging the other, yet you felt so on edge your claws dug deeply into the wooden sill of the window, cracking it.
Your eyes were locked onto the shorter man, barely blinking and only breathing in shallow breaths as your heart hammered in your chest. Then they passed each other, and went on their way.
No incident and no interaction.
You let the air leave your lungs, blinking and leaning back as they both disappeared from sight and caused you to flop down in exhaustion.
Maybe you were overthinking things after all, or perhaps your mistrust was misplaced instead? He isn't really doing anything wrong or suspicious, unless his freaky obsession with cleaning is counted as suspicious.
You shook your head and leaned back to resume staring up at the sky, now fading from its orange and purple glows to a deep black and pale white light of the moon.
Yeah, maybe your overthinking things.
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"Staring at the birds still (Y/N)?"
"Yeah."
Indeed, your eyes were locked onto the distant creatures high in the sky, circling around and floating on the breeze. You were envious, they stayed up there so high, no worries about the problems on the ground. Living so freely.
"I can't wait to join them."
Your words were met with a giggle from the scout standing beside you on the fence, Maple her name was, she took care of the horses and had been there with Hange to introduce you to the animals months prior.
Now though, the two of you were out in the open fields were the scouts were going through their routinely training. It looked hard, seeing them put all that strain on their bodies to become better but then again you had your own strenuous regime to follow that your Mother had cobbled together for you. Right now you were just taking a break, your wings tired and worn out but your more then eager to get back into it.
You were about to say something before hoof beats made you turn your head to stare at a rapidly approaching horse with its rider happily laughing and steering her steed with practised precision and gently bringing him to a halt as she circled you and Maple for a moment.
"Stunning work Isabel. I can hardly believe this is your first time riding a horse."
"Yeah, I'm surprised! Are you sure someone didn't teach you how to ride one?"
Isabel smirked at the two of you, her expression bright and giddy like a child getting a present while petting the horses mane. She truely did seem like she was in her element, nearly carefree as she sat their on the mount.
"Nah, I've always been fond of animals though. This guy says he likes me!"
"No way!"
You stared at the interaction, what she said was certainly plausible, she did have amazing chemistry with the horses of the Survey Corps and even the one she was riding seemed really relaxed with her on top of it. Not even fighting the reigns she had a light grip on.
"That's the truth! I'm totally serious!"
She leaned back in the saddle, turning her excitable gaze from Maple over to your still body, smile growing into a wide and full fledged manic grin. She loved hanging around you, either staring or interacting with you as much as she could.
You've scolded the inquisitive girl more then then she could remember for calling you a pet or an animal, and even with how it clearly annoyed you, she loved the fact that you brushed it off and didn't treat her any different for it. In fact she enjoys how you sometimes call her name fun names in return if your feeling playful, which is more often then she would've thought. She, Furlan and to a much lesser extent Levi, have gotten to know you better over the past few months since they've joined.
Being the child of the 'crazy' scientist of the Scouts might put be a red flag for any newcomers to the scouts, along with being threatened by the entire Corps if the three ever revealed the knowledge you existed, but that honestly amazed her more then anything. All of them, not just some or even the majority, all of them were super protective of you to the point they'd be more then willing to start kicking out any new recruits that they didn't think could handle you and your existence.
It made her slightly jealous, even more so the first time you had referenced the entire Survey Corps as your family. She was shocked that you'd make such a bold claim, but the prior actions of the other Scouts and even how they treated you left no doubt in her mind about how special you were. Not only as the unknown creature you are, but as to how beloved you are to everyone.
This made her yearn for a similar relationship with you, sure she had Levi and Furlan, and she'd never replace that for anything in the world. But she wanted to be apart of the family that cared for you, she's already helped with your basic training, and even helping you learn to properly fly. She and the other two were even tutored by you every now and then, making it weird for the two males but she was ecstatic and so curious about how well versed you were with the rules and basic teachings.
As it turned out you knew a lot, and you were a pretty stern teacher too! She still remembers how she thought she was being sneaky by passing notes to the other rookies being taught by you...That tail stung.
Her focused returned as you were now sitting in front of her horse, upright on your hind legs while feeding the creature a handful of uprooted grass and patting its head softly, your wings unfolded to help with your balance. This made her laugh.
"Hey (Y/N)! You must be good with animals too huh?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Well apart from right now, the horses are always really calm when your around. I heard from Maple that they freaked out when you first visited them, but now it's like you've been their friends since day one!"
"I'm just careful and respectful to them, I don't think that qualifies as being as good as you are."
And that's another thing Isabel loved about you, sure there was your modesty which was adorable as hell but what she was really referring too was how you always complimented someone.
You're always handing out a compliment here or there, sometimes it's subtle and sometimes it's just you saying it plain as day.
"How do you know that? Have you ever tried to ride one?"
"Of course I've ridden on a horse."
"No no! I mean have YOU ridden one?"
It took a minute for you to understand exactly what she was asking, but when you did you frowned and titled your head slightly at the realisation that no, you yourself haven't actually ridden a horse. And for good reason, or so you believe.
"Well, no. But with my body I don't think I could, even if I wanted too."
"But...you've never tried right?"
"..."
"Come on then!"
You stared at Isabel's hand, the ambient glow of your hypnotic purple eyes dimming for a moment in surprise at the offer before following the hand up to its owner who stared at you with a wide and radiant smile.
"...Fine, but only for a minute."
"Yesss!"
She cheered as you carefully grabbed her hand, being mindful of your claws as she quickly lifted you up and helped you position yourself in front of her as she scooted back in the saddle.
"Already this feels so unnatural."
"Why? Because your both quadrupeds?"
"Can you please be serious for five minutes?"
"My record is four, but I think I can do it."
Isabel smirked wildly, making you both cover your face in regret for already taking her up on this offer and to try and hide the groan at her attempt at humour, not that her jokes and such aren't funny but their more groan worthy then anything.
She happily handed you the reigns to the horse, making you unstable in the saddle bit Isabel made sure to hold you carefully. Helping you sit properly in this unnatural position stop the animal, having to lean forward a lot to accommodate for your posture and your tail.
Meanwhile Maple was watching this all unfold, needless to say she was very amused by the scene of you trying to remain stable to ride another four legged animal. And as such she couldn't help the snort as she found your suffering entertaining.
This wasn't lost on you, but you couldn't give her so much as a scowl before Isabel got her seated properly and leaned back with a wicked smirk.
"Alright! Step one completed!"
"L-Looking great (Y/N)! Hahaha!"
Both women were revelling in how uncomfortable and unnatural you found this, a grimace on your face as you carefully looked back to Isabel.
"Alright, mission complete, now can you help me down?"
"Aww, but (Y/N), you haven't ridden him yet!"
As she said this she was slowly raising her hand, an evil smile on her face as you suddenly got nervous and carefully watched her with worry.
"F-funny! Now just help me down-ISABEL NO!"
"ISABEL YES!"
She laughed gleefully as she slapped the horses rear end, making the beast rear up and begin galloping forward, you releasing a shrill screech of fear and shock while gripping the reigns like your life depended on it. You've never had to direct a horse before, always riding on it with Uncle Erwin, Brother Mike or Mother occasionally but you've never had to control it before!
"Relax (Y/N)! Your too tense!"
"I WONDER WHY?!?"
You both zoomed past a few other scouts, all of them either sharing a worried look on your direction from the screams of fear and delight, or just laughing it off and cheering Isabel on. Traitors!
Though the girl wasn't totally heartless, eventually she did notice you truely had no idea what to do, quickly taking over as damage control and helping you even as the horse raced across the place.
"That's it! Now gently pull back on the reigns!"
You followed her words, softly urging the beast to slow down to a degree, turning away from the fence and towards the middle of the large field. Both of you shouting a quick sorry to a few of the scouts who had to dive out of the way of your rampant path.
You and Isabel, both singlehandedly almost injured multiple scouts, broke the post holding the other horses, made those horses take off running and even threw off Furlan from his horse which made Isabel laugh uncontrollably for a minute straight.
Eventually you both did slow down enough and eventually get the horse to stop completely, but by that point you were no longer freaking out or uncomfortable...maybe still uncomfortable.
"This was a mistake."
"A mistake we're going to laugh about one day!"
Isabel cheered enthusiastically, beaming widely as she watched you slump off the horse and land on the ground with a muted grunt, your limbs like wet bread as you dragged yourself up off the dirt and grunted at the energetic girl.
"But not today."
"Oh no, today was a mess!"
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After...that, incident along with multiple apologies to the others, you and Isabel rounded up the other horses and helped calm them down. Well at least Isabel did, you kind of just intimidated them into walking back with the snap of your jaws and a growl. It was far easier.
Not to mention that running after them left you winded, and Moblit wasn't letting you off the hook either because the moment you were done with the horses he was having you run through your drills again.
Currently you were perched on the branch of one of the giant trees, focusing on the target you were meant to glide down too.
True, you may not be able to fly high or reliably yet, but thanks to trial and error this was the best way to quickly improve your skills. To glide down from a high level, and control yourself enough to land in the middle of the marked space, from there you were expected to fly up the tree and begin it again. It was easier then you thought as first since Mother was kind enough to let you climb up the trees, seeing as how the closest of the branches was far above the base of it.
Gelgar landed beside you, smiling widely as Nanaba joined him with a hum, both were assigned to help you if need be. Though they were mostly there to catch you if something went wrong, not an out coming to look forward too. And no, it isn't because you were heavy like Gelgar joked about! You weren't fat or anything! Just...big boned!
"Your really focused on this flying training of yours huh kid?"
"Of course I am, I need to learn this stuff if I'm going to be of use to you all out on the field of battle.
Nanaba frowned deeply at this, it wasn't serious but she didn't like you talking like that at all, she worried that kind of attitude would lead to a dark and dangerous place.
"Hey now, you know that you don't need to be out there fighting with us. We can handle the dangers."
"I know, but I'd feel better if I could something to help you all. I mightn't be as skilled, but I want to try and be as strong as you guys. I want to keep you all safe."
That made her smile, distinctly remembering Mike's own words about how they were all role models in your life. But to hear it from your own mouth, about how you wanted to protect them warmed her heart. And after a moment, she nodded.
"Alright, how about we alter your training a little?"
"Oh? Got something in mind Nanaba?"
"Yeah. (Y/N), how about we try some offensive tactics?"
"Offensive tactics?"
She nodded, the small smile still on her face as she nodded to Gelgar who looked just as confused but he smiled all the same and jumped off the branch with her, leaving you to stare after them in confusion.
From up above you watched them setting up what looked like small, maybe three meter, Titan dummies with a few other scouts. Once that was done and they all stood erect, the pair zoomed back up to you with a matching pair of smiles.
"Here's the plan kid! Your going to swoop those dummies we set up, and use those claws of yours to tear out their napes!"
"That was put rather violently."
"What the knucklehead means, is that we want to test your capabilities, both with your attacks and how long you can stay in the air."
You looked down at the dummies, blinking slowly to process this information. So, they want you to swoop and fly back up?
...Ok, let's do this.
"-so don't worry, we'll be there if you need hel-Ah! Kid!?"
You had already jumped from the branch, letting your body fall through the air with your wings being filled with air as you drifted among the trees, your eyes never leaving the targets down below. The only real challenge you can immediately see was how you could pull yourself back up into the air, maybe you could flap your wings hard enough to gain more air but that could exhaust you too quickly.
You leaned forward, accelerating through the air as it whipped at your midnight black scales, claws fully unsheathing and glinting into the light that peeked through the leaves above before diving fast and hard. Your forelimbs reached out, aiming for the 'nape' of the Titan dummy with deep concentration.
And as you blinked, you suddenly found yourself having closed the distance.
The resistance caught you off guard, you weren't prepared for it but your claws didn't yield as they tore through the material that marked the kill spot for the Titan, a massive chunk that you had ripped out going flying as all that was left behind was the top and bottom. The middle part completely demolished and shredded from your first ever attack.
Though you had no time to relish in your apparent newfound strength as the ground was quickly coming to meet you, your wings shooting wide open to slow your descent but you landed heavily nonetheless. But it did little to dampen your mood, you still had plenty more targets to take down, and your instincts were going into overdrive.
"Again!"
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You were soaring high, feeling the wind in your wings and on your claws, trying a new tactic by dive bombing the dummy from straight above it. You needed to find a way to maintain your air superiority even after your attack, so far there hasn't been much luck but your so close! Your letting your instincts rule over your brain, your wings were strained with effort and that same burning feeling. Your bones felt too big for your body, your scales felt too small and your skin was stretched far too thin yet you pushed on.
You dived, only a blur to your stunned audience who watched in equal amounts of amazement and worry. You were tired, it was obvious to them all whenever you stopped for but a moment yet they also knew you wouldn't hear it, you were just stubborn like that.
A massive crack, making them all tense up and stare in shared fear, even if for a moment. For that crack didn't come from you, but the wooden structure of the dummy as it's head was now dangling by its metal brace, shattered and splintered as you were on the ground panting and shaking in pure excitement and adrenaline.
"Again!"
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The dummies were in very rough shape, nearly all of them worn out if not broken by your excessive use of violence on them.
But it was working, you were letting out instincts pull you in the right direction, you started chaining your attacks! Your current count was five, impressive but you needed to stay in the air, nothing less would do.
"(Y/N), maybe you should take a break."
A break? Maybe, how long have you been doing this now? Hours right? But no, that's silly, your so close now! Why would you want to loose this momentum?!
"I'm fine, Nanaba, thank you."
"Kid, I'm all for progress but maybe you should? I mean-"
"I said I'm fine! Just let me do this!"
You didn't give them the chance to answer, springing you from the branch and flapping your wings hard to gain your altitude. Though the doubt in the back of your mind screamed out that this wasn't natural, your body was burning with exhaustion and...something else. Your insides felt like they were on fire, your throat was dry and your eyes were strained yet you pushed on. Even as your bones felt like they were shifting, your muscles sore and spasming but you ignored it all.
You dived again, slicing through the dummies necks.
One.
You blink. Your vision was swimming.
Two.
Did you always feel this heavy?
Three.
Your spine hurt, it hurt so much.
Four.
Why was your skull on fire?! Why does it hurt?!
Five.
Your limbs feel like their falling off! Their so numb!
Six.
Your chest was in agonising pain, you could feel your ribs shifting and cracking under your skin.
Seven.
Something burning hot was in your mouth, it was so dense and yet you couldn't feel it.
Eight.
It was coming up from your chest, it's building up in your throat!
Nine.
Purple. It's all purple. It's so hot and it's burning, melting, but it's not hurting you.
...Ten...
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