Hange was speechless. She had never heard a story like the one Lara had just told them.
Of course she had already heard about terrible orphanages, worthy of horror stories. But nothing like that. Throwing children off the Walls was inhumane. The person who made and organized that scheme had a heart of stone.
Besides the fact that it was illegal. Certainly, there were people from the Garrison Regiment involved. She would definitely do the investigation herself.
Hange noticed that Erwin had a twinkle in his eyes, but Levi was completely covered by the shadows. The rain was still heavy.
A sound was heard and everyone turned to Lara. Hange leaned forward.
"I'm..." Lara looked at her, "I'm starving, Hange..."
Hange jumped up from her chair. What was she thinking?! The girl probably hadn't eaten since she was at the orphanage. It was already the morning after the events of yesterday's dusk. Lara must be starving, for she had slept for over twelve hours straight.
"It's almost lunchtime," Hange helped the girl out of bed, waving at Erwin and Levi to get out of the way. "First, let's give you a bath and change these clothes."
Hange winked at Levi. She knew he would say that sooner or later. The hard part would be finding proper clothes for Lara, for the kid was pretty small. But she would find a way.
Hange prepared a nice warm bath for Lara in one of the camp's bathing rooms. Other fellow female soldiers with lower ranks could do this kind of work, but Hange felt it was her duty to take care of Lara. Her life was saved because of that child. She couldn't tell, but there was something about Lara that seemed to connect with her.
It's like with those people we barely know, but we already feel great affection for them. That's how Hange felt about Lara. In addition, of course, having feelings such as pity, compassion, and also anger, for now knowing the whole situation that the girl had gone through.
The water from the bathtub was very pleasant and Lara couldn't remember the last time someone took care of her like that.
Full attention. That's what Lara was getting.
Something she almost never had in her life.
Lara didn't know if it was due to the hell she had faced alone in that forest; or because she was still tired; or because she was so, so hungry; or because she simply realized she had lived a lifetime being left behind, practically begging for some attention - both in a physical and emotional sense - but at that moment, Lara felt an overwhelming urge to cry.
She gazed at Hange, her eyes filled with tears, and didn't know what to do. After all, no one could blame her. She was just a child and didn't know how to deal with her emotions, because no one ever cared about them, or much less taught her how to do so.
Right away, Hange noticed Lara's emotional state and gently stroked her cheek.
"Go on, my dear," whispered Hange, smiling gently.
That act of affection on Lara's face almost made her heart explode, and she couldn't hold it any longer.
She cried.
A lot.
Her tears mixed with the water in the bathtub and her shoulders bounced as she cried. Gently, with the sponge in hand, Hange made circular movements on the girl's back, comforting her.
"I-I don't wanna g-go back there!" exclaimed Lara, between sobs. "They'll t-throw me off a-again!"
"Oh, you won't go," Hange shook her head, closing her eyes. "I won't allow you to step on that place again."
"D-Do you swear?!" sobbed Lara.
"I swear by the Wings of Freedom on the cloak you were wearing," Hange closed her wet right hand and hit the left side of her chest. "I swore I would dedicate my heart to try to free humanity from the Titans' dominion, but I don't know if I'll succeed in fulfilling this oath. But, not allowing you to go back to that place, that's an oath I can fulfill."
Looking up, Lara gazed at Hange as if she were the apparition of an angel.
A strength began to rise inside Lara, not knowing where it was coming from. She imitated Hange's salute.
"I also want to dedicate my heart to help humanity! I swear that, when I enlist, I'll do my best to make you guys proud! I repeat: I'll be the strongest soldier humanity's ever had!"
The gleam of determination in her eyes was such, that if Lara had any desire for someone feeling proud of her, Hange already was. The Squad Leader laughed heartily and stroked the girl's hair.
"Let's see how Levi will react when he realizes he'll have to compete with you! I'd bet my money on it!"
They both laughed a lot and for the first time in a long while, Lara felt peace.
Little did they know that, when Levi was passing by the corridor, he heard a cry. Worried, he ended up so absorbed in everything he was listening to, Levi didn't realize he was literally with his ears glued to the door.
After listening to what Hange had said, Levi couldn't help but smile kindly. After all, he was all alone in that corridor. Levi sighed deeply and walked towards the camp refectory.