vi. SO LITTLE FAITH

episode 19: bite - the 57th expedition; part 3

CHAPTER SIX

SO LITTLE FAITH

•••

A week.

Seven days passed without a sudden inevitable interruption. Afternoons were filled with formal maneuvering gear training. Hot days shone down. It was a week with the Special-Ops squad. Consisting of Oluo chattering with snide comments, Petra seeming to find a flaw to complain about him, and Eld and Gunther observing from afar as Freya composed herself to at least be familiar with the handle grips, angles, and unexpected surprise attacks from cutout Titans that came slamming in her face. A long and uneventful week.

It's been a week since she last saw grey eyes glaring at her.

A leave of absence. That was it. That's what she heard, at least. The following morning, not long after her first day of her not so successful training, it seemed that Levi had left headquarters. Merely filled with curiosity at the unanticipated decision, Freya was somewhat displeased even, seven days passed her by without her mentioning it. All but wondering the reason of his departure. A part of her though that after their last conversation, she may have driven him away. That was an amusing theory. But she knew better that a man like him wouldn't be fully fazed by her uncivil behavior.

As she pushed away the thought of him gone, she deemed that it wasn't necessary to be having distractions linger in her mind with something that wasn't trivial and worth the care. Except that when the second week of the month came rolling around, she was greeted at the sight of Levi when called into an empty looking classroom and blackboard. Along with the Special-Ops squad and Hange sitting by the window, Freya and Eren gave a perplexed look to the group, the blonde female squinting at Levi who had his back faced towards them.

"What's this about?" Freya inquired as she stared at each and everyone. The Special-Ops squad was scattered at different corners of the room, her and Eren appallingly standing in the center. She felt reigned over by their gazes but focused hers on the man in front. Chalk against the hard surface, hand moving in reposed strokes. She watched as Levi drew on the board. He gently placed down the white chalk, over with his doing.

"I thought of a way to avoid killing you." Levi stated. He rubbed his thumb and pointer finger together clean, white dust particles from the white chalk sprinkling on the floor before he dropped his hand by his side.

"What?" Eren's eyes widened. He turned to Freya, finding to see that her jaw had went slack, tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth as she released a small and deliberating 'huh...' He returned his attention back straight ahead to see if he misheard. Freya wouldn't be surprised if that statement was directed to her. But apparently that wasn't cade with the reaction that Eren gave.

"I said the only way to stop you in your Titan form is to kill you. But with this method, you'll only be injured. That said, it required a certain amount of skill. In essence, you'll be cut out along with the nape. As a result, the ends of your arms and legs will be severed." A tiny, faceless, squiggly figure had its limbs stretched out. Drawn over it was a diamond shape illustrated in broken lines. Inside the diamond engulfed the whole body, with the exception for its hands and feet. "Then again, they'll just grow back like a lizard's, right?" Levi's shoulders went taught for a second. "It creeps me out."

"Wait a minute." Eren asserted, growing nervous at the contingency plan. "I don't know how they grow back or anything. Isn't there any other way..."

"So you want there to be no danger and no cost whatsoever?" Levi questioned. Staring at the back of his head, Freya noticed how refined the cut of his hair was. Trimmed neatly and palatably. An odd thought before she pushed it at the back of her mind.

Eren's mouth parted, eyes falling down. "No..."

"Then prepare yourself." Levi turned to face them, hands on his hips. "We're in the same boat. There's a risk that you'll kill us. So rest at ease."

"Right." Eren nodded. "I understand." Levi snapped his eyes to Freya, waiting for a response.

Freya stared at his eyes and dragged the silence even further than necessary. She shifted her weight one foot to the other. She wouldn't admit it, but she was struggling to make sense of this discussion. Like the rest of them, she was unsure of how Eren's abilities functioned. Except that they all had some sort of experience with Titans. But Freya was still slowly processing the fact that powers could very much exist in a boy. She looked back to the chalkboard drawing, grinning lightly. "Your level of artistry amazes me."

Levi squinted, his mouth turning down.

"S-So, I can experiment now, right?" Hange spoke, barely even able to contain her emotions as she sat by the window. Her elbows rested on her knees, hands intertwined together, and chin resting on her fingers. The spectacles of her glasses glinted as a shadow fell on her face.

"The risk is high." Levi reminded, pulling his gaze away from Freya to speak to the brunette. "But even so, we can't afford to not inspect him."

"I can take care of the planning, right?" Hange continued. "Eren, if you're confused about anything, figure it out. There's plenty reason to risk our lives for this."

Swallowing his nerves, Eren once again can't help but glance at Freya. They were both in the dark about many things. Freya wasn't that all very much concerned about it, someone who was often dauntless to speak her mind, which was why he shot her a somewhat expecting look. Lost. Looking for a clue.

Freya noticed this. After the many glares, scowls, and painful stares that strangers gave her, helplessness wasn't something she was used to receiving, bringing her on edge as she tilted her head away and murmured quietly. "I'm not telling you what to do."

•••

"Ready to start, Eren?" Hange asked Eren who stood at the bottom of the dark well. Freya, Hange, and Levi all gathered in the open, far from headquarters, and by a standby-post house that conveniently had a well installed beside it. Musty water could be smelled lingering from below, drifting up that Freya softly breathed through her mouth with parted lips.

"This is ridiculous." Freya mumbled, neatly tying up the ends of the rope of the ladder that went down inside the well to a peg nudged in the cracks of the ledge.

"Once we're ready, we'll fire a smoke signal." Hange continued to speak. "What you do after that is up to you."

"Understood!" Eren's response echoed in the enclosed space.

"This dry well will be able to restrain a Titan even if it's out of control." Hange smiled. "Probably."

Hearing the last statement, Freya quirked an eyebrow. "Probably?" Hange shrugged. Her and Levi returned to their horses. Unfortunately for Freya, she was set on her feet but to walk.

Stepping back, Freya watched as Hange pulled out a flare gun from her waist. She readied herself with the sonorous impact and boom once the trigger is pulled. However, glancing away for a second to distract herself from the deafening sound, it strangely never came. Freya turned to Hange and found the woman to be smiling encouragingly. She glanced down as she noticed Hange's extended hand, the handle of the flare gun pointed towards her to take.

Sending the woman an odd look at what she was doing, Freya's brow's furrowed. Her mouth tilted down, while Hange's only grew wider as she rattled the gun to take. Freya glanced behind her shoulder, silently questioning Levi what this was about. But his features remained stoic and unbothered by the exchange that Hange initiated. Shaking her head with a light scoff, Freya grabbed the handle of the gun, rolling her shoulders and raising her right hand in the sky. The barrel of the gun was pointed up above their head. Licking her bottom lip, Freya didn't waste another second to pull the trigger.

Green smoke shot out and rocketed its way up. It barreled in a spiraling motion. Clouds of greenery flowed down. There was a short ring resonating in her ears seeing as she didn't cover or plug them in the moment. More so, the ring lasted longer in her right earlobe. It took a few seconds before it faded, now clearly hearing the rustle of leaves and howl of winds. But the complete and peculiar silence seemed conspicuous as she tossed away the empty flare gun on the grass.

"What's taking so long?" Freya broke the stilled air, squinting at the dry well. Nothing out of the ordinary broke out as Hange made it out to be. There was no roar of a Titan being trapped. And even so, not a single word came from Eren.

"Quiet." Levi told her from behind. She pursed her lips, irked by the order.

"I wonder if he didn't see the signal." Hange said.

"No." Levi said, an underlying tone of slated disappointment was detected. "We weren't even particularly certain of this in the first place."

"Like I said, ridiculous." Freya mused in a knowing tone.

"Hey, Eren!" Levi yelled. "The experiment's on hold."

Walking towards the well, Freya was curious to figure out what was going on down there. Levi and Hange stayed behind, eyes directed on her back. She planted the palms of hand on the stone edge, leaning forward to take a look. Her eyebrows rose at the sight, a thoughtful hum vibrated from her. "Hmm."

"Is something wrong?" Hange asked. Levi's lips turned down, a crease formed in between his eyebrows.

"You could say that." Freya held back a grimace. Looking down, she witnessed Eren taking gruesome bites on his hands. Marks of teeth were gnawed on his skin. Tiny, but noticeable blood marks now seeped out of his open wounds. They spread down his arms, dripping from his elbows and finger tips. Spatter of red dotted his chin, a trail of blood ran down the corner of his mouth. Hange hopped off her saddle, running forward and planting her hands on the well to take a look, almost toppling forward inside with nerves. Warm heat now radiated from beside Freya as Levi stood by her side, a few inches away from the well as he didn't want to be touching the aging stone to just take a look. But he could clearly see the scene in the dark.

Scared and wide green eyes peered up, an empty and hollow voice rasping. "I can't turn into a Titan."

•••

The sun had now set, casting an orange and red hue on the field of grass. Tilting her head back, Freya gulped down the last of her cup's liquid contents. Water dripped from the corner of her mouth before she wiped it away with the pad of her thumb. She was parched, despite the lack of training she had today with the failed experiment taking place. But she wasn't complaining. She considered this day to be a small break for her to enjoy. Wooden tables and benches were laid out, water and teapots installed by the side, and somewhat edible food prepared as cadets had joined in by the field.

"You better stop that." She mumbled in annoyance, turning to face Eren who sat down on the bench beside her as she stood on her feet. Still even on times like these, Freya had now made it a habit to never leave the boy's side which concerned her in the slightest considering how her priorities had now shifted.

"Sorry." Eren looked up at her, before glancing down at his hands. They were covered in white bandages, wrapped around his palms, and his fingers wouldn't stop fidgeting to claw the cover away.

Freya opened her mouth. But couldn't ponder with anything to say as it would end up in being an insult with his lack of self control. She couldn't bare any sort of squirming manner as it would eventually end up with her feeling the same. So, she had to put an end to his nerves before it could affect her. She looked down at her empty cup, observing the bottom surface with tiny drops of excess water.

"The wounds you got from biting yourself aren't healing?"

Freya turned to the deep voice. She found Levi standing in front of her, but his attention was directed to the boy. He wasn't holding his usual porcelain teacup in his hand, fingers now gripping the rim of a metal tankard.

"Yes." Eren answered, shifting on his seat.

"If you can't turn into a Titan, sealing Wall Maria and all is nothing but a dream." Levi switched his gaze to Freya for a fraction, eyes hardening into a cold look before returning to Eren. Freya didn't fail to notice the stare. "This is an order. Do something about it." He walked away as Freya's lips quirked up.

"Don't be so depressed, Eren." Eld assured Eren who sat opposite from him on the table.

The boy's shoulders sagged. "But..."

"Well, this just means you're more human than we thought." Oluo rested his chin the palm of his hand as he sat on Eren's left side. He shot Freya a glare. "That, and we might have a reason to throw you away."

She smiled. "I want nothing more in the world." The man gritted his teeth.

"I prefer this to hurrying matters and losing lives." Eld said. "This wasn't meaningless."

"Yeah." Gunther agreed from beside Eld. "You can never be too careful."

A small chuckled escaped Freya's mouth as she leaned on the other table beside theirs. She placed her cup on the surface, putting her hands on the edge of the table and leaning all her weight back. "Keep telling yourselves that." She said. Despite hearing her, the Special-Ops squad rendered her absent, ignoring her presence and her pessimistic attitude.

Eren's tea was now starting to turn cold. Concentrating on the metal spoon beside the cup, he reached for it, grabbing a hold. But he underestimated the stinging pain in his hand that as he lifted the spoon from the table, it came falling back on the table, jumping and landing on the ground as he clenched his eyes shut at the ache shooting up his arm.

"You alright?" Eld questioned in concerned.

"Yeah." Eren nodded, somewhat frustrated that he couldn't carry a simple spoon. He looked at Freya who had her eyes directed somewhere else, but she was aware of the fallen utensil.

"I'm not helping you pick that up." Was all she said. She was staring at Levi's back, noticing that he was deep in thought as he watched the setting sun. He shifted on his boots left and right, sipping from his cup here and there that after awhile of staring, Freya realized how odd her actions was and shook her head in slight disbelief. She held back laugh. Levi headed straight towards her direction, but his attention seemed to be focused on something behind her.

Freya watched him as he took a seat on the table she leaned on. Albeit it was from the far side of the bench, Freya couldn't help but give him a glance. Grabbing her empty cup from the table, she pushed herself off and went for another refill. Just as she was about to pass him behind his back, a sharp strike of lightning boomed in the air. A swirling tornado, granules of dirt rounding up in the air, from the harsh wind that blew, Freya's balance staggered as her feet wobbled and hair whipped wildly. The cup from her hands blew away from her grasp, her vision going blurry as the heels from her boots lost contact with the ground.

Gravity took its job, pulling her down, weight falling and body collapsing. The back of her knees bumped into the bench, her heart leaping in her chest. She released a tiny yelp, landing on something solid that when she peered up again, she gave out another yelp that sounded straight out of shock.

Glancing down at her, Levi's grey eyes mirrored blue ones. Both wide and taking a minute to process what happened. Freya's back rested sideways on his lap, her hands surprisingly gripping his collar tightly out of instinct to grab a hold of something the other on his shoulder. While in Levi's right hand, he held onto his teacup, not a single drop spilled. Crimson red stained her cheeks. She couldn't look away. Strands of her blonde hair had frayed messily. Nothing but the pounding beat of her heart drumming in her ears.

The roaring wind howled. A second passed. Another. And Freya found herself scrambling off his lap with flustered cheeks. The force was incredibly strong. Scouts came tumbling feet away from the grounds, flying away to land with a painful thud meters away from where they originally stood. She tightly held onto the table with one hand, fingers gripping hard onto edge from being flung away. Or worse, back on Levi's lap. She didn't look back to see if he was still seated as she bit down hard on the insides of her cheek. Her other hand was placed in front of her face, blocking any tiny debris, and blue eyes squinting to see through the smoke. A figure fidgeted inches away. Ultimately, her blood went cold.

"Why now?!"

Quick and staggered breaths. Sweat forming on his temples. An unpleasant feeling formed in the pit of his stomach. Nerve wracking stares and gasps. Their reaction added more into the terrifying and overwhelming experience that he was now having. Why now. Eren exerted all his strength in pulling his hand. But the unexpected transformation had him feeling a faint tiresome fatigue drifting away in the bones of his body. Gritted teeth and heavy breathing through his nose. He planted his feet firmly, but no matter how hard he pulled, he could feel their aggressive stares directed on him, proving it to be difficult to rid himself from this situation.

"Calm down." Levi's voice sliced through the air.

"Lance Corporal Levi!" Eren yelled hurriedly. "This is..." He turned around and his voice trailed off even more in worry. His voice hitched up at the back of his throat.

"Move!"

"We should've taken her out when we had the chance!"

"Just what do you think you're doing?!"

The smoke had now cleared. Shaking hands and skin turning pale. White as snow but red littering her neck and cheeks. The drumming of her heart seemed feint and nonexistent in her ears. Her legs wanted nothing to do but collapse on the ground, but stood firm in a fighting stance. The handle of her dagger seemed heavy in her palm. And comparing it with the double blades pointed right towards her and the boy behind who had his eyes wide, there was no doubt that a dagger wouldn't win this battle. But Freya gritted her teeth together, adjusting her hold on her weapon and glaring heatedly at everyone. "My job."

"I'm telling you to calm down." Levi firmly said. In the chaos of it all, Freya didn't notice him standing in between her and the Special-Ops squad. Until he craned his neck to the side to stare at her, brows furrowed. "All of you." His eyes trailed down to her trembling hands.

"Eren..." Eld was the first to yell from the squad. They surrounded them in all directions. Eld taking in from the left, Gunther from behind, Petra on the right, and Oluo facing front as Freya narrowed her eyes at the man, Levi in between them. "What's the meaning of this?!"

"Sir?" Eren asked in confusion.

"Lower it down, will you?" Freya hissed, slowly turning frantic with all the yelling.

"Stay out of it." Eld snapped before retiring his attention to Eren. "Why'd you transform without permission? Answer me!"

"Eld, hold on." Levi stated.

"Answer him, Eren!" Oluo demanded. "What're you thinking?!"

"No, save that for later." Gunther took a few menacing steps forward. "Prove to us that you're not our enemy—mankind's enemy." A second passed before anyone could think. "Hurry up and prove it to us! It's your responsibility to do so."

"Don't you so much as dare twitch that arm!" Oluo chided. "The moment you do, your head will roll." When Freya raised her hand and weapon even higher, Oluo didn't back out as there was a challenging look on his face. "I'll do it. I'm serious! Want to try me?"

Freya's breathing became staggered. She was struggling to breathe. Struggling to stand. And struggling to keep her mind clear enough from running away out of utter fear and terror with the unknown entity behind her that she guarded. "Quiet... down." She said through greeted teeth.

"Oluo!" Levi's anger was slowly emerging. Generally, his subordinates would follow a command with no hesitation. The second it came out his mouth, the next it would be followed, obeyed, or fulfilled. With them ignoring him, and the arguments with Freya, he didn't like it one bit. "I'm telling you to calm down."

"Lance Corporal." Petra said, just as focused on Eren as her squad mates. "Please step away from Eren. You're too close."

He was starting to find it ridiculous. "No, you're the ones who should step away. Stand down."

"Why?!" Outraged by the response, she asked.

"My instincts tell me so." Levi told her. Freya wanted nothing more than to shove him off a cliff with the answer. It wasn't as comforting or reassuring as she thought it to be. Although, nothing about this was. She was terrified. Pushing herself to mask that fear with determination and all but the reason to live. She didn't know if protecting Eren and... whatever was attached to his forearm was a logical move considering how she only armed herself with a dagger, but she only had one goal in mind. Keeping him alive assured that she was to going to make it too.

Levi glanced again to Freya. She was turning pale with each minute. White as snow. Shaking and swallowing saliva, releasing deep breaths. The pressure was getting onto her. So much so that she couldn't even give out a single retort which made him realize that this was unusual for her to encounter. Freya couldn't look at him. She was never going to admit it, but she envied how calm he took in the situation. Annoyingly but relaxingly calm.

"Well, Eren?" Eld questioned. "Say something!"

Eren snapped his head to the man. "I'm–"

"Don't make any funny moves!" Oluo threatened.

"Prove it already." Gunther probed.

"Eren!"

Eren shook his head "I'm not sure what's—"

"Answer me!"

"You think we can't kill you?"

"I'm serious. Hurry up!"

"You hear me? I'll do it!"

Freya was turning her head left and right to whoever spoke. She was getting whiplash just by it, but she had to keep her guard raised no matter what. They were unfortunately stepping close, trapping them in with threats and commands. Getting tired with all the yelling, she turned to Levi who stood in front of her, voice somewhat despering. "Do somethi–!"

She was cut off by Eren's loud and frustrated yell. "Please shut up for a minute!"

The air, thick with tension, suffocated her. The silence given was loud. She could hear her breathing. This was a small moment for her to just catch up with her racing mind. Although terrified, Freya's curiosity won over her fear as she slowly turned her head around to take a peak at the unknown entity attached to Eren. She couldn't understand it at first. Bones and red tendons meeting her vision with the boy on top and kneeling. It was massive. With a rig arm formed but the rib cage half covered, the left side of the chest area nothing but bones as the ribs. Her eyebrows scrunched up together. The more she tried to understand, the more she got lost.

"Eren!"

She moved her eyes just behind the half formed body to see Hange running towards them with hands excitedly pumped in the air and Moblit struggling to catch up with a worried expression. "Can I touch that arm?! It's okay, right?"

"Hange!" Eren said in surprise as the woman raised her palms and brought it closer to the Titan body. "Wait a second!"

Hange dared to touch it without a second thought. "H...–"

"Hot." Freya hissed quietly to herself. She wasn't bold enough to fully touch the surface with her entire hand. Instead, just a poke with the tip of her finger, she could already feel the steam boiling from it and shocking her at the temperature and the fact that she was able to even bring herself closer to the body. Immediately, she brought her hand back to her side and clenched her other hand that held onto her dagger.

"It's damn hot when there's no skin!" Hange jumped around.

"Squad Leader!" Moblit panicked behind her. "You're being too reckless!"

Hange peeked around the Titan body with wide eyes to look at the blonde. "Say, isn't it hot, Freya?"

Freya didn't answer. Instead, she looked down at her pointer finger and noticed the skin turning a shade of red.

"How exactly are you connected to that arm?" Hange continued, eyes glinting at Eren. "I really want to see!"

"H–Hey, Eren! No funny business!" Oluo nervously said as Eren shifted in his position, grinding his teeth together, and planting his feet firmly.

Freya snapped her head at him, glaring. "Back off."

Feeling hand hold her back on her shoulder, she turned around to find Levi staring at her with that nonchalant stare. A look that told to stand down. She directed her heated glare at him, tired with silent but obvious orders directed. Except that a thud had caught her attention. Landing right beside her on the grass, Eren fell on his knees with his chest puffing up and down, head hanging low. As soon as he disembarked himself from the body, hot steam evaporated from it, protruding a layer of smoke to surround.

"How do you feel?"

The question came from Levi, the blonde surprised that he had even asked. He wasn't looking at her anymore. He didn't seem to be focusing his stare on Eren. He observed the evaporating body, deep in concentration. However, a second passed and his eyes met Freya's dark and glowering ones. Ignoring the loud cries from Hange and Moblit attempting to calm her down, Freya roughly shrugged his hand from her shoulder, looking down at her still-red pointer fingertip. Her cheeks matched the shade crimson, feeling the warm temperature emitting from the steam.

"Hot."

•••

Night had fallen. It relatively became colder by the time they headed back for the aging castle and delved back deep in the basement. Freya had been with Eren by the bottom of the dark stone staircase. The young boy sat down on one of the steps as Freya slowly paced back and forth in front of him, ordered to stand by and wait as the Special-Ops squad discussed with Hange.

The blonde couldn't help but fidget this time. She usually wouldn't be this restless. Anxious. And still have hands shaking. Constant walking distracted her mind from the fact that she couldn't calm herself down. When Levi unexpectedly joined in to wait, Freya forced her legs to stop, not wanting him to see her in this unusual state as she sat beside Eren on the steps, couldn't help but glare at her hands that lay on her lap.

"I didn't notice until they really turned on me. To think they had so little faith in me..." Eren trailed off, gazing down at the ground.

"Are you really that surprised?" Freya scoffed in irritation.

He looked away. "Well..."

"Obviously. I picked them because they're such people." Levi said as he leaned on the wall beside them with crossed arms. "It's popular opinion within the Survey Corps that you're not one of us until after a mission. When confronting Titans, you'll always lack intel. There are far too many situations where you can't make sense out of anything. So quick action and extraordinary determination are emphasized instead. Even so, it's not as if they lack blood and tears. I doubt they felt nothing when they turned their blades on you."

Freya pondered if she was a part of that consideration when recruited into Squad Levi. Or her being was just a proposition from Erwin. She was sure enough that even a mission or two, scouts wouldn't be still so welcoming to her. Something lingered in the back of her mind, the pit of her stomach. But she couldn't decipher what that unpleasant feeling was.

"Got something to say?" Levi quirked an eyebrow, noticing the perplexed look on her face.

She raised her eyes to meet his. The fire lighted lamp installed above his head illuminated a cunning shadow on his face, highlighting the contours of his narrow nose and jawline, deepening the intensity of his dull grey gaze. She released a breath, shaking her head.

"Nothing."

Levi narrowed his gaze at her. Grey eyes were wanting to push her for an answer.

"Lance Corporal Levi." Moblit bounded down the stairs. "Squad Leader Hange called for you."

When they entered the dining hall, Levi was the first to break the silence, glancing at Hange who stood by a table in the center of the room. "Constipated or something?"

"Not at all." She responded lightly. "It was nice and smooth."

Freya had no idea if this was their form of communication. Or a joke that they only found to understand. Either way, she found the exchange amusing. The dining hall door closed behind her with a squeak. Ignoring the Special-Ops squad scattered in the room, she stood closely behind Eren as Levi blocked the doorway.

"Explaining to the higher-ups took some time. Well, anyway, take a look at this." Hange laid down a white cloth on the table. Unwrapping it open, a silver teaspoon glinted darkly from the litter candles and lanterns. She held it up for everyone to see.

Eren's face morphed into sheer confusion. "A teaspoon?"

"Yes. Eren's Titan arm was holding onto this. Like this, between the index finger and thumb." Hange demonstrated to grip it in her right hand.

"Huh?" Freya's jaw slight hung open. Levi turned his head towards her and squinted his eyes at the face she made.

"It's hard to believe it was a mere coincidence. And for some reason, there's no deformation from heat or pressure." Hange spoke severely. "Does anything come to mind?"

"I think I was trying to pick that up when I transformed." Eren recalled.

"I see." The brunette hummed in thought. "Then that could explain why you weren't able to turn into a Titan before. 'Kill the Titans', 'Defend against the cannon', 'Lift the boulder'. In every instance, you had a clear goal before you transformed. It's likely that self-injury isn't the trigger on its own; you need some sort of objective as well."

"I can't believe you're actually making sense this time." Freya mused.

"I can't believe that I agree." Oluo grumbled from the side. Freya didn't bother to muster up a glare for him as she bit down on her tongue.

"It's true that this is similar to when I defended against the cannon. But still..." Looking at his hands, Eren observed that they were no longer covered in bandages. The bleeding and bite marks gone from his rapid healing. "Turning into a Titan to pick up a spoon... What the hell's up with that?"

It sounded absurd to their ears as Gunther spoke. "So basically, you didn't act against orders on purpose, right?"

"Yes." Eren replied, looking up at the man across the room with a glint in his eye and flooded with relief.

Exhaling a loud breath, Gunther turned to Eld beside him. The two men nodded their heads. Followed by Oluo and Petra who silently gazed at each other. A silent agreement passed between the four. Guiltily looking down at their right hand, they raised it to their mouths and bit down hard on the soft skin.

With wide eyes, Eren stared at them hectically. "Wait, what are you doing?!"

"Hold on, hold on..." Freya said to him, holding him back by placing her hand on his shoulder. Voice light and merry as the sound of teeth digging into their flesh resonated in her ears. Her lips quirked up, gratified and pleased by the sight.

"Ow..." They murmured and grumbled in disdain at the sting. Teeth marks now engraved on their palm and back of their hand.

"Nothing to say to this?" Freya asked Levi as she attempted to hide the chipper smile on her face, which went noticed by the man. Levi blinked at her.

"This is tough." Eld commented. "Eren, I'm surprised you can bite yourself like that."

"It was the wrong call on our part. This is our modest way of apologizing." Gunther confessed glumly, but with a sheepish pursed smile. Reluctantly, his eyes met Freya's. "To the both of you. Not that it really makes a difference though."

The blonde's smile faltered in the slightest.

"Our job is to keep you in check, after all. We made no mistakes about that!" Oluo confidently added from his seat.

"No mistakes? None?" Freya narrowed her eyes at him. Raising an eyebrow, she tilted her head. Her adversarial tone had everyone look at her. Grey eyes pierced the back of her head, but she ignored it.

"Don't get too cocky." Oluo grumbled, losing his faux coolness.

Petra sighed. "I'm sorry. We were too on edge. You two must be upset by our indiscretion. As we rely on you guys, we also want you to rely on us. So, believe... in us."

That cold and unpleasant feeling returned. Without meaning to, Freya unintentionally shoved shoulders with Levi as she immediately bolted out of the room without a second glance back.

•••

Freya

She's gone.

•••

— AUTHOR NOTE —

i was writing in my drafts and i'm pretty sure there will be four more chapters before we'll be following the seriessss soooo yay! lowkey excited for the four chapters