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the-traveling-poet · 2 months ago

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𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝟧 ~ 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝐹𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝒻 𝒶 𝒞𝒾𝓉𝓎

𝒮𝓊𝓂𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓎: A long day of bestowing grievous news upon many an unfortunate soul follows Captain Aveline across the boarders of Trost District, though she carries the burdening task not alone. Meeting up with the rest of her squad, their grueling task takes them through the towns within Wall Rose and beyond, eventually coming to the beautiful District of Shiganshina. What looked like the end of their duties for the day, was only a shattered hope for a promise of brief rest as the outermost wall comes crumbling down in waves of stone.

𝒞𝑜𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓃𝓉: Friendly banter, Angst, Descriptions of death, Descriptions of injuries

𝐸𝓃𝒿𝑜𝓎~

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Ten stops towards the east, fifteen stops towards the south....yet so many more remained uncharted on her list.

Already Aveline had filled numerous pages in her log book for the people who wanted their loved one's possessions returned; howsoever they chose. Yet it seemed never ending.

Dione trotted along behind her, his posture lax as his half lidded eyes peering up at the sky with a frown. While he tumbled into his own thoughts, Aveline had begun her search down street ways for any sign of Baxten with Norbert and Lyra. It didn't take her to long, either, as soon she saw the familiar tuft of silver blond hair riding atop a chestnut mare heading up the hill their way.

Aveline brought her horse to a stop, keeping her weary gaze locked on the trio heading their way.

"Ready to enter Maria?"

She mumbled, once they were all close enough to hear. The squad all exchanged tired glances, before hesitantly nodding.

"I need a break from the grief...We've been out all day; the damned sun outta set soon."

Norbert grumbled, but his tone lacked its usual stubborn air.

"It's only Six O'clock,"

Baxten sighed, squinting up at the bright skies above.

"Maybe seven..."

"Baxten's right, it's somewhere between those times. We should push on till we pass through the last two towns left in Maria and make it down to Shiganshina."

Aveline spoke up, interrupting Norbert's sigh.

"We'll find an inn for the night there, then head back to Trost in the morning."

"Then it's all over again, just with wagons of corpses and bags, and more grieving civilians,"

Lyra commented dryly as she brought her horse over to Dion's side.

"Think of it this way, Lyra; to some, this helps them cope with the grief they feel; gives them something physical to focus on."

Dione commented as they both once more brought their horses to a walk, going slightly ahead of the others. For a brief time, Aveline just watched on with pride as Dione's words started to fade in the breeze as they grew further apart down the road. Even at the growing distance, she could see how Dione's echoed words calmed Lara's posture in her saddle.

"Kid's maturing. Never thought that'd happen," Norbert commented dryly as he picked up his reins and begun to move after them, scratching subconsciously at the uneven stubble on his chin.

With his comment Aveline did the same by picking up her reins, staying just behind Norbert and Baxten as they followed down the street.

"Seems he took my words to heart. He's a good kid; he'll be alright," Aveline mused with a knowing smile tugging at the corner of her thin lips, watching as Lyra rode just a tad closer to Dione after their talk just up ahead.

The city of Shiganshina gleamed pleasantly against the evening sun, with its citizens milling about the streets either coming home from work or tending to their rambunctious children playing out on the streets.

Occasionally a covered carriage led by horses clipped down the streets at the hand of a coachman set behind the steeds pulling the craft, with the passenger's windows propped open to the slight warm breeze blowing down the way.

Aveline brought her horse to a stop once more on an incline in the road, carful to shift her weight off the horse's withers as she slid forward as she observed their peaceful surroundings. With a sigh, she turned to look over her shoulder towards her squad, trying her best to put on a smile, though wry it reminds despite her best efforts.

"Dion, Lyra, you both did pretty well earlier; you can solo this time if you'd like. I'll take Baxten and head west, as I personally know a few families in the area who are on our list, and as such I feel it appropriate I be the one to break the news to them. You two can head south and work your way back up since the inns I had in mind are closer to the gate anyways. And Norbert, you can head east. Sound fair?"

Dion's eyes lit up; the first time they'd shone with genuine, positive interest today. With an affirmative nod from the boy, he quickly nudged his horse closer towards Lyra.

"Don't worry Cap', I'll make sure to keep her in line."

With a roll of her eyes, Lyra led her horse to the side to walk past them all and head out towards the south.

"Yes ma'am, Captain."

She spoke softly, giving a small smile over her shoulder. With a smile of her own, Aveline tossed the dark brunette girl her own log book and pen, which the younger girl caught easily.

Dion was quick to follow after Lyra after a sloppy wave and a grin over his shoulder towards his Captain.

With a sigh Norbert gave a salute and faced himself and his horse towards the east.

"Don't suppose we'll be back at the inn for dinner?"

He asked hopefully, shooting a sheepish look between Baxten and Aveline over his shoulder.

With a slight chuckle Aveline nodded.

"That's the plan, if we all stick to our routs."

With this confirmation Norbert relaxed in his saddle, seeming content as he made his way down an adjacent street towards the west border of the Shiganshina wall. After his departure, Baxten let out a tired sigh.

"Do you think we should have given him a log book?"

Aveline paused, absorbing her friend's words before coming to an understanding.

"I gave mine to Lyra. If you had, we'd be out of a book."

Aveline pointed out, a half smile forming across her lips.

Baxten hummed in thought, before finally agreeing with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders.

"Guess he'll just have to remember."

"He has his own log book, doesn't he?"

Aveline asked as they began their decent down the slanted path. Again, Baxten just hummed in responce as he kept his eyes on the horizon off to his right. Or, what of it they could see over the walls.

"He should, yes. Or at least, he would, If I hadn't forgotten mine in the barracks this morning and borrowed his earlier."

The man mused as he pulled the book out of his jacket and flipped through the pages in dramatic fashion.

" 'Property of Norbert Digs; R.O.S.E. Retrieval Log Book'...Huh. Well, shit. Wonder how long it'll take till he realizes..."

Aveline shook her head in exasperation as she nudged her horse forward. Catching up with her a moment later, Baxten sighed before continuing on to himself.

"Poor bastard won't realize for another ten minutes, at most."

Rolling her eyes with a quiet scoff, Aveline reached over and snatched the borrowed log book from his hands.

"You're going to cause me an aneurism one of these days."

"You've had plenty of years of knowing me to have had one already. Either prove your claim already or hush,"

Baxten grumbled, holding his hands up in mock surrender as the book was slipped from his hand.

Shrugging off his comment as per usual, Aveline pushed forward and lead the way down a narrow side street.

"You'll have to wait a while longer for that, I'm afraid. Now hurry up or be left alone in Shiganshina."

Offering no protest, Baxten followed after her in silence.

And silent their journey remained, as the sky overhead turned from shades of brilliant blue to fading greens and yellows and the sun began its decent behind the wall. Despite the sun beginning its decent, children still remained outdoors just beyond their homes, playing games popularly enjoyed by those of their youth and racing about in competition.

Parents and guardians watched on with jovial laughter; some even joining in on their games.

Yet others still only watched on from sidewalks; sipping beverages, reading papers, or merely strolling by hand in hand as the evening breeze swept through their hair and ruffled their coats.

Aveline hadn't seen such peace in what felt as though an age, though she supposed it had been merely a handful of days since she last walked the streets of a nearby city to muse the sights each and every town beheld.

It was refreshing, bringing a calm to her mind. On the off chance of an upcoming expedition, her mind would always become so scattered and so focused on the job she knew she would soon be appointed, leaving her deprived of a positive outlook for several weeks pre and post operation.

However, viewing humanity in a healthy, peaceful setting...it was a nice change of pace.

But all too soon those pleasant sights were hidden from view as the pair then turned down a separate road; one void of persistent activity.

The road before them was scarce of any civilians; most likely many were gathered in the busiest part of town to enjoy the remainder of the day.

Taking this chance to slide down from her horse free of any obstacle, Aveline removed her feet from the stirrups and landed in step with her mare and grasped the reins loosely in her right hand.

"You said you knew some families here?"

Baxten finally broke the comfortable silence that had long since fallen over them, once he had pulled the reins over his horse's head to hold onto to join his Captain on foot along the cobblestone below.

"Yeah, they used to know my family before they moved down here some years ago. I'm not entirely close with them, but I figured a familiar face might console them after the news we have to deliver."

Aveline spoke over her shoulder as she walked on up ahead, pushing aside her wind tangled hair to look up and see him properly.

"We were neighbors, for a time. I grew up with their son; the one we're here to speak with them about. It's been years since I've seen any of their family, but...It just felt right; me being the one to visit them after their loss. They should be a block up the road from here, if I remember correctly..."

While looking behind her to meet Baxten's eye as she spoke, Aveline failed to notice her horse coming to an abrupt stop, just before a sudden force slammed into her hip.

This might have knocked her over, if she hadn't stumbled back into Baxten's chest, who had been walking a hair too close to her back at the wrong time.

"Son of a!- Oh, uhm...hello...?"

Looking down, Aveline saw a young boy glaring up at her as he rubbed at his brow; obviously he what must have been what had rushed into her.

His bright eyes darted about her features before coming to rest on the Garrison crest adorning her jacket, at which point he seemed to pout his bottom lip.

"Sorry, ma'am," He mumbled, refusing to meet her eye again with a stubborn scowl.

As she assessed the boy for any sign of distress, Aveline took note of his furrowed brows and clenched jaw, as well as the way his stormy eyes were widened with an emotion she couldn't quite place.

"Are you alright?" She asked slowly, as she studied him.

"Fine," The boy only mumbled with eyes trained on the uneven cobblestones lining the road between their feet.

Standing back up straight, Aveline hummed in acknowledgement. Before she could turn to Baxten with a raised brow, a young girl suddenly rounded the corner up ahead and made a beeline straight for the kid. Yet the boy didn't flinch; only huffed through his nose.

"Eren!-" The girl panted in exasperation, but quickly straightened her posture when she noticed the two Garrison soldiers standing not even a yard away. Her steely grey eyes took on a more stolen gleam, as though she were closely studying the adults in front of her from the loose strands of onyx hair parting around her face.

"Well, 'Eren'...Be carful out here and enjoy your day," Aveline managed to compose her earlier hesitance and shoot the boy a quick smile.

With a grumble she couldn't quite catch, Eren looked up at the both of them with a more neutral expression.

"Thank you."

With a nod Aveline watched the pair dart off down another ally way, leaving the road before them silent once more. Though, not before catching a curious look shot her way from the young girl over her shoulder, before she rounded yet another corner down the alley way, chasing after the boy.

"My god Ave, you're terrible with children. You looked like you were constipated the whole interaction,"

Baxten chuckled once the kids were both out of sight.

"Shut it, Bax." She grumbled, picking up her steps again as she marched up the hilly road.

"That poor boy looked...I dunno. I was just caught off guard."

"He looked pissed, to me. Maybe concerned cause that girl was after him," Baxten caught up with her easily, in only a couple quick strides, then resumed his slower pace off to her left.

"Who knows? He was eyeing my Garrison crest with distain; could be he was wary of us from some bad experiences in his past," Aveline sighed, picking her gaze back up from the ground.

"You like to over analyze every situation placed before you, don't you?" Baxten asked, more rhetorically than he was actually serious. Of course he knew the answer already.

"That a bad thing? It's saved my life more than once. And yours too, if I recall. More times than my own."

Baxten only sighed, a hand on his brow in exasperation. Of course, she was right. But he had yet to ever admit it.

"Never said it was, Ave. Just being observant," the blonde shrugged, urging his horse forward to walk at her side.

Aveline only hummed in acknowledgment as she scanned the houses lining the left side of the street over Baxten's shoulder.

"Twenty four, twenty five...I believe the Weber's house is thirty first houses up the hill on the left, if I remember correctly," she mused with her free hand perched on her hip.

And indeed, at the thirty first house was Aveline's first destination in Shiganshina for the evening. She quick ascended a brick stairway towards the front door, leaving Baxten both sets of reins so she could move freely. Ignoring his grumbling as he took to tying the horses to a nearby tree, Aveline slowly made her way up the narrow walkway and reached the door set sturdily before her. Exhaling deeply, she slowly brought up a raised fist to the door and give a few echoing knocks. She didn't have to wait long to hear the shuffled footsteps making their way towards her from the other side of the wood.

A woman in her mid fourties' opened the door on creaking hinges, her eyes softening immediately upon landing on the young woman before her.

"Miss Faye, my, how the years have gone by," Mrs. Weber smiled, widening the lines scrunched along the width of her full lips.

Aveline offered a kind smile in return, with a quick salute to follow.

"Mrs. Weber, it's been years. I'm sorry to come here on such matters."

Mrs. Weber peered over the brunette's shoulder and spotted Baxten, who had stayed a respectable distance away, and her smile started to falter.

"I haven't done a thing wrong, have I? Oh...this about Ben, is it? They already informed me of my son's demise."

Mrs. Weber trailed off, her voice growing fainter after each word.

"It is...We located some possessions of his out on the field, and his intact remains. It's our duty to inform you of this, and offer you what we have that was once his," Aveline sighed, letting her eyes fall to the steps she stood on.

Mrs. Weber's trembling hands gripped tightly onto the wood of her doorframe as a shuddered breath drew between clenched teeth.

"My poor Ben...I-You found his things out there?" She whispered, barely even looking up from the cobblestone path leading up to her front door. Though, it didn't seem she even really saw that much, with how glazed her gaze had become.

"That's correct, ma'am. I'm very sorry, but we came to hear what your wishes for your son might be." Baxten spoke up, having since stepped forward to stand at his Captain's side.

Reassured by his support, Aveline finally looked back up to meet the faraway gaze of her old family friend.

"I'm very sorry for your loss, Mrs. Anna. Seems only last year Ben and I were neighbors, back in Wall Rose." She offered softly.

After a long pause in which Anna composed her breathing and managed to meet Aveline's murky green eyes, Anna spoke up in a trembling tone of voice.

"Let me speak with William for a moment," she rasped out, already turning to face the interior of her home befit she had even finished speaking. Aveline and Baxten took a respectful step back, ready to wait as long as it took for Anna Weber's return.

While unintentionally listening in to the quiet, quivering voices inside the home, Baxten laid a supportive hand onto Aveline's shoulder; and for once, the Captain didn't brush off the unexpected physical contact.

A handful of seconds passed where only silence met their ears, before Anna returned to the door with her husband, William, right at her arm.

"We'd like to bury him if possible, please. And keep his possessions found," William stated softly, his gruffer voice not carrying any further than the doorway the four of them stood at. Despite the grief now perhaps permanently etched onto their weathered faces, they looked just the same as they had all those years ago in Aveline's eyes; only adding to the crushing guilt she felt on their son's behalf.

Aveline slowly nodded, signaling for Baxten to write down this information as she once more went to salute before departing.

"We'll be sure to come back by in a week's notice. I'm very sorry we had to meet again under these circumstances, Mr. and Mrs. Weber."

"My dear, don't apologize for doing your job. You're giving us one last chance to put our grief at ease, and I'm glad it was you. We've missed you, my dear; you and your family." Mrs. Weber gave a watery smile, reaching out her arms with a slight tremble as she stepped towards Aveline.

Just as Aveline had hesitantly lifted her arms from her sides to return the older woman's embrace, the very air around her seemed to suddenly ignite with an energy she'd never felt before.

She paused, looking around curiously. Was she this upset on duty? Given the circumstances, she supposed that was understandable. But given her title, she couldn't allow herself to fall into grief in such a time.

But her doubts all came shattering down around her when Baxten tensed as well, suddenly becoming much more alert than he previously had been.

"What was that?" He murmured, looking back and forth between Aveline and then up towards the sky, as if it might hold some answer.

"What was what, dear?" Mrs. Weber asked, already in the arms of her husband who now held her closely. For a moment, even their grief was held aside as the ground beginning to quake stole their focus away.

The sky dimmed of its fading yellow hue, becoming more of a sickly green in color as the air grew thick and hazy. Shingles on rooftops began to click and clack, echoing together with the slamming of nearby shutters knocking into brick walls. Dust arose in the streets, twirling this way and that to form miniature tornadoes along the dusty streets.

Aveline hadn't had time to do anything more than open her mouth to shout for the Weber's to return inside their home, a shout that died on her tongue, when a sudden bolt of neon light touched down in the distance; right at the base of Shiganshina's outer wall not even a mile away.

The electricity lit up the town like a second sun, nearly blinding those who chanced to look towards the southern wall and up into the sky.

Following the ear shattering crack that echoed over the town, came a noise much louder and much, much more terrifying.

The distant shriek of tearing metal and crumbling stone reverberated across the land, making any sound Aveline might have made in a panic die in her throat.

There was nothing any of them could do but watch on in abject horror as what appeared to be the fall of Shinganshina's southernmost wall.

Chunks of pale stone fell in boulders, first flying straight up into the air, only to then inevitably come hurdling down in jagged heaps into the streets below and into the homes of many. Echoed cries of fear sounded all around the city, as all in Shiganshina paused to behold this horror story fashion spectacle lighting up the sky above the walls.

Anna's startled cry broke Aveline of her haze, as she then shot forward to grasp her shoulder.

"If that wall's down, we need to begin evacuation. Even if this might only be minor, we can't take any precautions."

Anna's wide eyes shot up to her husband's; whose grip tightened around her middle.

"Lead the way, Captain," He replied gruffly, trying desperately to hide the panic in his dull colored eyes from his wife.

Baxten had already shot off after their horses, panicked as they understandably were, and grasped their reins tightly. In the time it took Aveline to merely remove her grip from around the woman's shoulder, the blond man had already gathered the horses at the edge of the road at the ready.

He reached out his hand for Anna, whom William had ushered forward before himself.

"I'll help you on ma'am, just hold on tight-"

But the words were quickly muffled out against another round of deep rumbling booms. Just behind him, a boulder the size of a home demolished the road; blocking any escape back down into the heart of town the way the Garrison soldiers had arrived.

Aveline's jaw clenched as Baxten barely managed to leap out of the way in time, but the same couldn't be said for his horse, who now lay mostly crushed with a broken neck. Her own horse had used the now lax grip Baxten held over her reins to bolt, soon disappearing around the bend in the road up ahead.

"Fuck..." Aveline hissed, trying desperately to find a new way to get the elderly couple safe and into Wall Rose in time to aid her comrades in herding the rest of humanity in Shiganshina past the Wall Gate.

She didn't have to wonder long, as a wavering shadow clouded out most of the already fading light around the Webber's house. Baxten's muffled scream hardly reached her ears, but already she was moving on instinct.

Taking a running leap off the pathway's brick steps, Aveline tucked out of the way just as a heavy force knocked into the side of her leg that sent her sprawling. Just as a crunch followed her landing, she briefly caught the sound of a strangled cry sounding from behind her, before another loud boom drowned it out.

With ringing ears Aveline stood on shaking legs, immediately searching out Anna and William. But what met her eyes nearly had her collapsing back onto the shattered road.

Nothing more remained of the Webber's home, nor of its occupants; the only clue to their fate being a spreading dark pool of blood forming under the jagged cracks of stone at the threshold of the splintering structure. The rest of the home was soon to follow, collapsing in a deafening heap all across the street in shards of wood and stone.

The breath was stolen from Aveline's lungs when two strong hands gripped her shoulders and hoisted her up into a more secure position against the chest of the man always by her side. And this time, she heard him clearly.

"We have to move! Focus, Ave!"

Raising a shaking hand to her brow, Aveline only nodded her understanding as Baxten then started to drag her away from the bloody scene still burnt into the back of her eyes.

Her mind was numb, devoid of any thought aside from why? and how? How could this have happened? What was going on outside the walls?

Once more Baxten shook her from her numb spiral; this time by coming to an abrupt halt only halfway up the side of the road that was clear that jarred her steps.

Aveline, finally coming back to her senses fully, snapped her gaze up to his face; only to see he was staring in wide eyed horror at something behind them in the distance.

Quickly following the line of his gaze, every rational thought she'd just gained back the ability to have was wiped away.

Atop the southernmost wall of Shiganshina sat a hand; spindly in shape and deep scarlet in color. Steam arose from its uneven skin, thick and curling, before finally a head peered up over the stone. Eyes they could see from such a distance....they were void of emotion, staring down at the humans below it as they screamed in both horror and agony as their home was now crushed underfoot.

On halted breath Aveline took in the sight with wide eyes.

Shiganshina had begun its decent into defeat...Humanity had lost to the titans.

{ Word Count ~4,266 }

𝒜/𝒩: And we’re back on track! Another Saturday, another Rose chapter :3 I was really excited about this chapter since we’re finally getting into some action, and chapter 6 next week will be a continuation of said action. I know we’re moving along a little slow but bear with me; I’m having fun lol. We’ll get to Levi by chapter 8. I promise, it’s worth the wait. Just follow along and you’ll see :)

I’d almost given up on writing The Rose due to feeling like no one was/is reading this fic, and afterwards receiving some anon hate for there being “nothing interesting, aka smut/porn” in this fic. But I’m happy to announce that a few of my most treasured moots convinced me to keep writing what I love, if for no one else to read than for my own joy! Love y’all, thank you so much to those of you who stayed around for reading along and stayed patient for the eventual romance/interesting character growth <3

𝒯𝒶𝑔𝓁𝒾𝓈𝓉: @21aurora @deepzombieyouth @braunsbabe @pelicanpizza @humanitys-strongest-brat @raginginferno267 @ackermanswifee @sellowbabe If you'd like to be added to the taglist for my usual Levi content, just DM me! :3

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