A/n: Sorry for the wait! On top of school, chores and homework, there's only one computer within the entire house. Everybody up in here has to use it too. So lately, I've been using my phone to type with. It takes FOREVER to write with that thing!
Special shout out to JelloNutello, 15alexa14, annamaystevenson, ShinChanWaifu, Woodpelt, Hikaringo1 and LunarFox42 for voting, leaving comments, following me and adding this story to their Reading lists. And thank you to all you dear readers for contributing to 400+ reads and 20 stars:
JE VOUS REMERCIE!!! Enjoy~
Mikasa's P.O.V
As soon as we reached HQ, I checked on Eren and Armin. They were tired, bruised in some places, had minor injuries and they were a bit dirty. Other than that, they were both fine. I am glad.
As long as I am alive, I will look out for the both of them. I made a promise to Eren's mom, Mrs. Yeager- who was also my former adoptive mom- to keep Eren safe. Before the expedition, I mentally included Armin to that same promise. He is Eren's best friend, and mine as well. So he is therefore family. (IalsostillfeelreallyguiltythatIforgotabouthimwhenweweregoingtogetshotbycannonfireafterhej-uststoodupforallofustoo).
After we reunited, the three of us were about to go inside HQ, when Eren gasped and turned. "Hey! It's that horse again!" ({[This is starting to become a slogan for whenever somebody sees Reader-chan/Reader-kun ^^ ]}) We turned, and it really was THAT horse again. The one with the (b/c) coat, (h/c) hair, that peculiar (black/white) mark that resembled the Wings of Freedom on it's (left/right) flank, and the sword that it stole from the shorty.
Upon seeing the (stallion/mare) across the way, Armin started to get nervous. He was shaking a little. "D-did (he/she)... Follow us here?" "It seems so," I answered. "Why are you afraid of that horse, Armin?" "I-I'm not scared! It's just that... (he/she) seems to be too intelligent for the average horse. Have you ever seen a horse take down a titan? It's kinda unnerving." Eren scoffed. "You kidding?! That horse... that, that MONSTER killed somebody!"
His outburst made a scene, and we stared at him in shock. Even the wild horse seemed to be listening since it lifted it's head, ears perked, in Eren's direction.
"'Oi brats! What's going on here?" Great. Here comes the shorty. Ever since he beat Eren in court, I despised him. If it weren't for Armin holding me back, I would have killed him. "Captain Levi, sir!" Eren called as everybody saluted. Normally, he would stammer a little because he fears the shorty, but this was an exception because he was angry. "We were discussing that horse, sir! We need to kill it!"
"... Tch. Which one, brat? We have over hundreds of them."
Darn him, he was doing this on purpose! The shorty was waiting for Eren to say something that he will consider to be out of line, so that he can give him punishments. That was bound to happen very soon with Eren's attitude. He puts so much passion into whatever he does, that he sometimes oversteps his boundaries. What the shorty just said had triggered Eren's temper, and he was very close to losing it. It was totally obvious that he knew what Eren was talking about. I know because he hesitated. At this point, Eren was trying very hard to restrain himself from lashing out.
I would have (begrudgingly) calmed him down some, but I was not one to talk. I also, was restraining myself from mouthing off the shorty. Unlike Eren though, I have a better grip on self-control- so the most I did was clench my fists.
Eren was breathing deeply and raggedly. A muffled growl murmured in his throat, his eye twitched, and he was shaking a little- kind of like how Armin was when he saw that one horse earlier. Only difference is that Eren was shaking in fury. He wasn't mad at the shorty, though. He was enraged at whatever that horse did.
When Eren finally calmed himself down a little, he proceeded to tell Levi what had happened. Everybody else listened in, while the horse seemed to have snuck away with that sword still in its mouth.
The shorty's voice brought me back to attention. "And why should I believe you?" Eren sputtered. "What?! I mean, y-you were there sir!" "And just what do you mean?"he said, slightly raising an eyebrow. I swear if he keeps this up, I'm gonna kill him... "All I saw it do was attack a titan. It's a real shame though, that the horse was unable to deliver the killing blow. I know you're pretty psyched about killing 'every last one'. So much that you held back my squad when the order was given to retreat. They were endangered because of your reluctance. Don't accuse some innocent animal of murder just so you can get the killing urges out of your system." And... Eren lost it. "BUT I'M TELLING THE TRUTH, SIR!"
It was obvious that the shorty wasn't buying any of what Eren was saying. So I decided to speak up in his defense. "I believe Eren." The shorty glanced at me. "Of course you would. You're on his side." I figured that he'd say something like that. That's what everybody says whenever I speak up for Eren. I glanced at Armin, and he seemed very conflicted with himself. That could only mean one thing: there was something wrong, and it involved this argument and that one horse... Before I could think any further, the Commander interfered. "This is all conflicting information. After dinner, come to my office so that we can discuss this situation. For now, settle down from the expedition. You're all dismissed."
Third Person
You had decided to sneak away from that conversation. It was very, VERY awkward for you, and slightly concerning.
Obviously, none of that was ever in the anime or the manga. But what worried you even more were the attitudes that certain characters were displaying. It seemed that Levi didn't trust Eren at all, and Mikasa was holding very strongly to her grudge against Levi.
Eren was suppose to gain Levi's trust and Mikasa was supposed to forgive Levi for what he did at court after the previous expedition. Then again, was the price for those things to occur really worth it? To you, it wasn't. Not at the cost of the deaths of Squad Levi, a broken ankle, and the Military Police demanding custody over Eren.
Then again... that might happen anyway. You had successfully prevented the deaths of the Special Operations Squad, but at the same time, caused Eren to misbehave- talking back to his superiors. The Survey Corps are supposed to prove that they had Eren under control. But with that mouth and attitude of his, that was going to cause problems. Plus, the previous events also prevented Annie from being discovered as a titan-shifter. She could be anywhere for all you know.
How the heck were you going to fix this?
A tugging sensation on your sword broke you from your thoughts. You had absent-mindedly followed the other horses to the stables, and one of the stable hands were trying to dislodge the sword from your mouth.
First Person
"Whoa! Were in the heck did YOU come from, random... person... guy? And you don't go taking my stuff like it's yours!" I hollered.
Of course, I was ignored because this guy didn't speak horse. Plus, it was kinda hard to scold him while there was a freaking sword in my mouth. But I didn't care. This sword is mine.
Levi Ackerman himself pretty much gave me permission to have it! Who wouldn't be thrilled to have something from Humanity's Strongest in their possession? He could be a jerk at times, but still.
Since I reared up a little, the person stumbled back, murmuring something about having to "fix up" yet another stallion/mare . When he was all up in my face, I didn't really get a good look at him until now.
He was tall, a bit obese, had a wrinkly face, dark bags beneath his eyes, had reddish-brown hair, and a matching mustache...
*GASP*
Wait a minute...
That's Murphy, that abusive stable hand guy from the movie "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron". What the heck is HE doing in Attack on Titan?!
"Careful, Murphy, (He/She)'s a wild one!" a soldier called out. He merely chuckled. "We'll see how 'wild' (he/she) is when I'm done with (him/her)."
Oh. HECK. No.
Murphy said that exact same thing before he attempted to clip Spirit's mane, shoe him, and attempt to brand him with a hot iron with the emblem, U.S.A.
If this guy does the same thing that he did in Spirit, then that will happen to me. I kinda like my long, horsey hair- I don't wanna look like the other horses with that short hair-do. Plus they use NAILS to shoe horses.
Quite frankly, hooves are really sensitive, mostly in the center. I dunno if that'll hurt me or make a funny sensation, but the thought of having NAILS getting hammered into my feet does not sound appealing at all.
Lastly, I already have a cutie mark with the Wings of Freedom, so what the heck is he gonna brand me with?
He only brought out the hot iron when Spirit the horse was not cooperating in the movie WHERE HE BELONGS, but I'm not going to risk it.
When Murphy approached me, I jerked away before he could touch me, taking five steps back. It seemed that he was aiming to confiscate my sword whilst herding me inside towards some sort of gate thingy... what they used to restrain horses with while they get shoed and stuff. When he still continued to approach me, an angry (unintentional) guttural noise left my throat, and my ears pinned themselves back as I tilted my head so that I could point the sword at his face.
He froze and looked cross-eyed at the saber for a moment before he stumbled back once more. Yeah, that's right. You'd better back the heck up!
Murphy turned to some of the bystanders. "HEY! Make yourselves useful and get that horse! Bring it to my workstation and take that sword while you're at it!" Soon, many soldiers (that weren't wounded from the expedition) and stable hands appeared and they were armed with ropes. I was completely surrounded.
How DARE they?!
Is it too much to say 'please', or ask me politely to do something? Must they consort to violence and treat me like some sort of ANIMAL?
Oh yeah... I'm a horse now.
But still, I have feelings. I'm sure they have a possession that they refuse to part with. They most likely won't enjoy getting restrained, forced to get a freakishly small hair cut, getting shoed, and tortured with branding. I sure don't!
And I was not about to let them do any of that either.
When the first rope was thrown, I dodged out the way. Then a whole rain of them started falling. In one swift movement, I jumped, and in mid-air, slashed them up with one, swift, stroke.
SLICE!
Ha-! They didn't even see that coming. Their faces were soooo priceless!
"KEEP GOING!" Murphy barked from behind a crate. "DON'T LET IT ESCAPE!!!"
Wow. Murphy is acting way out of character from how he was in Spirit. And I'm not even attempting to escape- I'm acting in self defense. He's one to talk, cowering behind something while everyone else does the work... And again with the it. I AM NOT AN "IT"!
Rendering the ropes useless, the soldiers and stables hands extended their arms into waving gestures. They were crowding me from all sides, and I was backed against a wall.
I dunno what they were trying to do, but they were restricting my movement. I didn't want to cut them on accident, but there was no way I was gonna drop the saber and leave it behind. I don't wanna get shoed and branded either.
I glanced at Murphy. He had both his elbows propped up on the top of the crate, and under his chin. He had a smug look plastered on his face- as if he was entertained by me struggling.
Angered, I reared up and smashed my front hooves on top of the crate.
THUD!
Murphy spluttered and jumped back, landing on his bottom. Within seconds, he proceeded to shout orders at everyone.
"GRAB IT, YOU FOOLS!"
Nope!
Before they could even lay a single hand on me, I pulled myself on top of the crate and leaped onto the roof of the stables.
My hooves made thumping noises against the wood as I ran. But I still caught the shouts and exclamations of shock, rage (from Murphy), and surprise.
And it was music to my ears.