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Alex

"Ah! Ah! Carrie, it's my day today!" I squeal.
"Alex, Alex, calm down! You forgot to do your braid." Carrie raises her eyebrows. She's been my best friend since I first joined the Scouting Legion.

I blush and tie my hair back into a braid. It's sloppy, but presentable. "How did your outing go yesterday? Are there any secret tips? Did you get results back?"

Carrie shrugs. "I guess I did pretty good. Got a few kills in. You can't even tell if he's impressed, though. Always looks pissed."

"Really?"

"Really. There isn't any special way to get in, just sorta be yourself and try and be as creative as you can. Observe alot, he seems to like that."

"Thanks, Carrie!" I wave, and walk out the door. This outing is going to determine whether I have a place in Squad Leader Ivel's squad. Apparently it's tough to get into but I suppose I'm good enough considering I was nominated for the opportunity.

After a few minutes walking I finally get to the wall. It's such a nice view, considering it keeps us stuck in a small, confined space to protect us from Titans. A few Stationaries patrol, giving quick nods of acknowledgement to me as they pass by.

Then I see Ivel standing next to a Stationary officer, talking. I don't know why Carrie says he looks pissed, he looks more tired than anything. He seems sort of indifferent talking to the officer. He leans against a barrel casually, but the officer looks very worked up. Obviously it's an argument.

I walk a little closer and hear a glimpse of it. "I am not letting you or your little babies out there! You lose men faster than a prisoner can lose his mind, Ivel! Make them take tests like normal squad leaders, not your little outings!" The officer shouts.

Ivel glances in my direction. "Officer, meet Alex Adler, my latest. She's awfully bright, judging by her scores that allowed her to go to this outing. What a waste if I couldn't make sure her mind can be used." Ivel looks down in mock disappointment. He's a good actor.

The officer shakes his head and walks away. "Fine. But if she dies don't cry about it."

I walk even closer. "Um, hello, Squad Leader." I salute as I always should to respect superiors.

He smirks. "No need to salute, Alex. This is an informal outing. I'm only gonna see how you can do on the battlefield. Titans won't sit you down with a test and eat you if you fail." He raises his eyebrows at me. "Is there something wrong? You heard the conversation I had with Officer Stall, didn't you?"

"Yes, sir."

"No need for the 'sir', either." He tilts his head. "You're tall. Taller than me. That's not exactly a feat, though."

A small laugh escapes me. Good, he has a sense of humor. "Why's my height so important?"

Ivel shrugs. "Just some basic logic. You can't move as fast as I can. You've got more weight behind your attacks, though."

Some stray thought hit my mind: Why does Carrie find this guy cute? He has sunken eyelids, prominent cheekbones, and small green eyes. Oh well, different tastes, I guess. "So how is this outing gonna work?"

"We go into the forest, the two of us, and we kill titans. I'll observe, ask you questions, et cetera. Sound good?"

"Yeah."

The two of us take a safe route to the forest, using horses mainly.

"Carrie said you'd talk more." I blurt out. I guess someone had to break the silence.

"What else did she say about me? She blushed a bunch of times and nearly got eaten trying to talk to me." Ivel looks at me.

Oh man, here it comes. "She said you were cute."

Ivel

Damn. I wonder how I'm gonna break it to the kid.

I guess it's too late for that, we finally reach the forest. "Alright. You want to go first?"

Alex shakes her head. I can't blame her. Once you see Titans you never really want to face them again. "N-no, sir-I mean Ivel, I-"

"Kid, don't get too worked up."

We leave our horses nearby. There's no real need to worry about them, because they're good runners and Titans don't usually bother animals other than humans. I'm not sure if that reassures or terrifies me.

I go ahead of Alex and dart up a tree with 3DMG. I find the highest branch I can, as you never know quite what a Titan can do. Some of them jump, others reach up high. Hell, I've heard stories of some that will actually attack the tree. I signal Alex to get up to my branch, that it's safe. She shoots out her gear's cables and she lands perfectly.

Good. She's got coordination.

What she doesn't have is nerve.

"Ivel, um, there's a Titan over there..."

"Yeah. How big?" I raise my eyebrows. It's important to see if they have judgement.

"Uh, 10 meters? Maybe 12?" She stutters. You could see the sweat on her a mile away.

I look over to the Titan. She's right, it's a 10 meter-class. Its cold, unfeeling eyes look straight at us. I should have expected this; the more humans in an area, the more likely it is to attract a Titan. The Titan runs at an unusual pace, its arms flailing wildly.

"Shit!" I say, a bit more audible than I would have liked. "It's a runner. Alex, I'll get its attention. Once its attention is on me I need you to fly in and kill it quickly. These bastards are tough to out-3DMG, so you won't have a large time window."

Alex nods and takes her blades out. I shoot a cable to the tree opposite us, and slashed at the runner Titan's face for good measure. Some blood got on my blades, causing them to steam. "Damn," I whisper, annoyed that my vision could be obscured.

The good thing is that I got the runner's attention. It's chasing me at top speed now, and I'm nearly down to half my gas just to stay away from it.

A shhk and grunt tell me that Alex got the Titan right in its weak point. I land on a close branch and turn around. On top of the steaming corpse's head is none other than Alex.

She flashes a grin at me. "How was that?"

I can't help but smile back. "Perfect. You're excellent at following orders. Now get up here before some other Titan gets you."

"Why thank you, I'm-" Alex freezes mid-sentence. She darts up to the branch I'm on.

"Did you hear that, Alex?" I say, quiet as I dare. It's the sound of footsteps, and thumping. But it isn't the normal thundering steps of a Titan. "It's a Crawling Aberrant."

Several more animalistic footsteps follow, as if to confirm my suspicions. "Alex," I say.

No response.

I turn to her and stare at her. "Alex, you need to listen, okay? Crawlers are very difficult to kill. If you want to walk out of this forest and end the test now I will not condemn you whatsoever." I'm serious, too. I don't want this kid to be killed.

She looks at me, with wide eyes and shaky breaths. "N-no, I'll stay. Y-you're a Squad Leader, you're good enough to still be alive.

Alex

I really wish I hadn't said that, now. Ivel is low on gas and we both know it. He's just trying to make me feel better, I know it. The footsteps are growing louder every second we stand here.

"Are you absolutely sure, Alex?" He looks at me, genuine concern in his eyes.

"No, I'm not, Squad Leader. I-" I am cut off by a large body jumping right underneath the branch, catching Ivel's foot with its hand. He shouts quite a few profanities before being taken off by the Titan.

I see him break out of its hand and ride on its back, but he doesn't have much time. I shoot a cable to the Titan's head and latch on, grabbing its greasy hair if you can call it that. I look back at Ivel, giving him a weak smile. He laughs nervously, though I can barely hear it from the wind in my ears.

I slowly use my blades to climb across its head to its neck when it jumps again. "Is it trying to shake us off?" I shout.

"Probably. It is an aberrant, after all." Ivel shouts back.

I manage to take in how badly he's injured. He has his sword buried in the Titan's back, and he's weakly dangling from it as the Titan runs. His ankle is bent at an odd angle, and most of his face is covered in blood. It isn't steaming.

Eventually I reach the nape of the neck. I try to slash at it, and it works. The flesh flies off and nearly hits Ivel in the face if he hadn't ducked. The Titan jerks to a stop, falling to the ground. We pull our blades out and I walk over to Ivel.

"You alright, Squad Leader?"

"Yeah, I'm perfect. Just, you know, broken ankle, sprained wrist and face covered in blood." He manages to smile weakly before wincing. "Please tell me you're strong enough to carry me back to our horses."

"I'll try." We're on the edge of the woods so it isn't a far walk to the horses. There aren't any more Titans so it was a simple walk. We finally reach the horses after 20 minutes easy of supporting Ivel's weight.

We reach the horses and are relieved to find they are exactly how they were when we left them. I help him onto his horse and climb onto mine. We start the hour-long run to the walls.

"So how bad is your ankle? And your wrist?" I ask.

"It's really, really, sore. Aw, fuck," he winces, shutting his eyes. It pains him to show weakness to me. My father used to do that, too.

"Are we able to weaken the pain in any way?"

"Not without stopping, no. We just have to hope this trip goes somewhat quickly."

Ivel

I lean my head forward, into my horse's mane. My teeth are clenched so hard I think I could have cracked one. I look over at Alex, who seems to be looking forward, with a tough resolve.

Yeah, I picked the right one. Determination? Check. Strategy? Check. Loyalty? Check. Compassion? Extra credit.

"Hey, Alex? You alright?"

"I think you're the one that should be asked that question, with all due respect, sir."

"Cut those formalities, Alex! I asked you first." I look at her sternly.

I nod. "I guess I'm doing fine, sir. But I was very afraid, back there. I-"

"I won't hate you for your honesty. I respect you for being open about your fears, it's important. It's okay to be scared, Alex."

"But I felt so cowardly, just admitting that I didn't want to fight the Aberrant." Her voice became shakier.

"Don't feel cowardly for it; Aberrants are terrifying. My best friend, Erwhen, he's like 6'7 and he is very hesitant to go against one. Fear is allowed, but don't let it cloud your judgement."

"Yes, sir." She replies, her face a bit looser.

The ride wasn't as long as I had expected it to be, thankfully. It was just quiet, if anything. Alex helps me limp back to the squad's estate. Erwhen is waiting at the door.

"So how did it-" He lets out a small gasp. "Ivel, what happened? Why are you-"

"Just let me get in the house, please, then you can nag me." I sigh exasperatedly. The other two help me inside.

To be honest, I don't feel like being tended to like some surgical patient so I insist on sitting near the fire for now. It's nice and warm, in contrast to the chilly forest we were just in.

Erwhen sits next to me. "What happened? Your wrist, your ankle-"

"Yeah, sprained wrist and broken ankle. I know." I wave him off.

"Can I at least clean your face off?"

"Nah, it's fine." I shake my head. There's no need to trouble anyone.

"Come on, Ivel, it's covered in blood and it's obviously yours. It could be cut, you could get infected-"

"I said I'll deal with it later. Man, Erwhen, you're getting like Carrie." I laugh a little before a sharp pain in my cheek flares up. I can't help but wince a little.

"See, there's a cut on your cheek. Just let me clean it, Ivel." Erwhen pleads.

"Fine, fine, just to shut you up." I give in.

Erwhen gets up to get some alcohol and comes back in. "Don't whine too much, Ivel. You can get pretty loud."

I flush. "I don't whine... Just shut up and do it already, okay?"

I tense and bite down on nothing while Erwhen rubs the alcohol on the cut. It stings pretty badly and I can feel some foam. The pain slowly subsides after a few minutes.

"See, I told you. I don't whine." I smirk. "I am tired, though, but too tired to bother getting into bed."

"Do I really have to carry you?" Erwhen sighs. I don't know why he complains, I'm practically a twig.

"No, I'll just sleep here by the fire." I say, laying on my side and grabbing a pillow from a chair.

Alex

Carrie sits on her bed, and I stand by her nightstand. "So how did it go?" She asks eagerly.

"Uh, sorta good. We ran into a running Titan and devised a quick strategy to kill it. Then, uh..."

"Ooh! We only got some normal Titans! What a bore!" She looked up at the ceiling, rolling her eyes.

"Well we had some, 'excitement', I guess. A Crawling Aberrant popped up and grabbed the Squad Leader right from the branch we were on!" I shrug.

"Is that why he's limping?" Carrie shows genuine concern now.

"Yeah."

"We should go in and check on him, how was he injured?" Carrie asks. She's a whiz with medical things, but hasn't really done more than soothe a migraine or clean a cut.

"Sprained wrist, broken ankle. He was bleeding pretty bad, too." I reply, as we both walk down the hall to the living room.

Erwhen is sitting down with his legs crossed, and Ivel's head resting on them. He looks over to us and puts a finger over his mouth. We need to be quiet, Ivel's sleeping. We sit down next to Erwhen and Carrie looks at him inquisitively.

"He was hoping you guys wouldn't see," Erwhen whispers, barely audible.

"Sorry!" Carrie mumbles back.

Erwhen shrugs. "I guess it's fine now, but don't say anything. I cleaned the cut on his cheek so he looks somewhat better."

"Anything is an improvement from having his whole face covered in blood, I would think." I smile.

A knock on the door rouses us from the peaceful quiet and crackling of the fire. Erwhen gives us one look and I can tell, "Get out of here for a few minutes, Ivel's gonna wake up."

I grab Carrie's arm and quickly speed out of the living room into my bedroom. She looks at me, grinning like a maniac.

"He looked so cute like that! Ugh, I could just kiss him." Carrie swooned.

"Shut up, he'll hear you!" I whisper. "Besides, what do you even see in him, man?"

"I don't know, I just-" She is interrupted by Erwhen poking his head in and nodding. It's safe to come out.

The two of us follow Erwhen into the living room. Ivel sits on his chair calmly, looking at the two visitors.

One of them is of medium height, a little taller than I am. He has short, blond hair that falls in a mess on his head and striking grey eyes. The other is a bit more eerie. He has the same blond hair but it's in an undercut, parted perfectly and falling similar to the other visitor's. His eyes are the same but smaller and less warm. A white bandage covers everything on his face under his nose, completing the effect of eeriness. He is significantly taller than his companion. I can only assume they are brothers.

The taller one looked at his brother, and he nodded.

"Hello, Squad Leader, for the both of us. I'm-"

"Vincent Adessi, and your brother Stefano Adessi. Yes, you are right on schedule." Ivel replies, calm as ever. He looks almost sinister in the firelight, with his fresh cut on his cheek, but his warm eyes betray that feeling.

Vincent looks taken aback for a split second, then he regains his composure. "Y-yes, sir. I'm curious as to the date of the outing."

Ivel

I glance at Erwhen and he shakes his head. "It's cancelled tomorrow. I need to recover from my injuries during the latest outing." Vincent is just about to leave when I call, "You're welcome to stay with us for the time being. We'll work some system out."

Vincent looks at Stefano, and they nod at each other. "Sure, we'll stay with you guys. Where are our rooms?"

"Down the hall, Carrie'll show you." I look at Carrie and she flushes, walking off with the two brothers following her.

Next to me, Erwhen laughs a little, and so does Alex. "What?" I ask.

They keep laughing, no response.

"Oh come on, what the hell is it?" I ask again, getting a little more annoyed. I glare at the two, and they just keep giggling like little teenagers. Well, in Alex's defense, she is one.

Finally Alex spits it out. "Carrie thinks you're cute. Like, really cute." She's doubled over laughing, and has to sit down to regain her composure.

Erwhen flushes a shade of deep pink. I look at him. "What's wrong, Erwhen?" On the inside I'm laughing, but I need to keep serious for an occasion like this.

"N-nothing..." He looks down. His face gets even redder.

Alex looks over to him. "Come on! Spit it out, Erwhen, we won't hate you."

I know exactly what he's gonna say. Before he can, though, Carrie returns to a flushed Erwhen, laughing Alex, and me looking at Erwhen. She looks perplexed but quickly recovers.

"The two of those guys are sleeping. They're tired." She says, sitting down next to Alex.

"You know what? I am too. Erwhen, carry me to my room." I command jokingly.

Erwhen obliges and picks me up easily. He carries me over to the room and sets me down on the bed.

"I need some company," I whisper softly, and pull him gently onto the bed next to me. "Please?"

"I don't have much choice now, do I?" He breathes in my ear, smiling. "You're gonna need a month at least to recover, you know. No action until you're healed."

"I guess that gives me more time with you, then," I say, giving him a kiss.

Suddenly, I don't mind at all the fact that I'll be stuck at home for a month.

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Alex

"Ah! Ah! Carrie, it's my day today!" I squeal.
"Alex, Alex, calm down! You forgot to do your braid." Carrie raises her eyebrows. She's been my best friend since I first joined the Scouting Legion.

I blush and tie my hair back into a braid. It's sloppy, but presentable. "How did your outing go yesterday? Are there any secret tips? Did you get results back?"

Carrie shrugs. "I guess I did pretty good. Got a few kills in. You can't even tell if he's impressed, though. Always looks pissed."

"Really?"

"Really. There isn't any special way to get in, just sorta be yourself and try and be as creative as you can. Observe alot, he seems to like that."

"Thanks, Carrie!" I wave, and walk out the door. This outing is going to determine whether I have a place in Squad Leader Ivel's squad. Apparently it's tough to get into but I suppose I'm good enough considering I was nominated for the opportunity.

After a few minutes walking I finally get to the wall. It's such a nice view, considering it keeps us stuck in a small, confined space to protect us from Titans. A few Stationaries patrol, giving quick nods of acknowledgement to me as they pass by.

Then I see Ivel standing next to a Stationary officer, talking. I don't know why Carrie says he looks pissed, he looks more tired than anything. He seems sort of indifferent talking to the officer. He leans against a barrel casually, but the officer looks very worked up. Obviously it's an argument.

I walk a little closer and hear a glimpse of it. "I am not letting you or your little babies out there! You lose men faster than a prisoner can lose his mind, Ivel! Make them take tests like normal squad leaders, not your little outings!" The officer shouts.

Ivel glances in my direction. "Officer, meet Alex Adler, my latest. She's awfully bright, judging by her scores that allowed her to go to this outing. What a waste if I couldn't make sure her mind can be used." Ivel looks down in mock disappointment. He's a good actor.

The officer shakes his head and walks away. "Fine. But if she dies don't cry about it."

I walk even closer. "Um, hello, Squad Leader." I salute as I always should to respect superiors.

He smirks. "No need to salute, Alex. This is an informal outing. I'm only gonna see how you can do on the battlefield. Titans won't sit you down with a test and eat you if you fail." He raises his eyebrows at me. "Is there something wrong? You heard the conversation I had with Officer Stall, didn't you?"

"Yes, sir."

"No need for the 'sir', either." He tilts his head. "You're tall. Taller than me. That's not exactly a feat, though."

A small laugh escapes me. Good, he has a sense of humor. "Why's my height so important?"

Ivel shrugs. "Just some basic logic. You can't move as fast as I can. You've got more weight behind your attacks, though."

Some stray thought hit my mind: Why does Carrie find this guy cute? He has sunken eyelids, prominent cheekbones, and small green eyes. Oh well, different tastes, I guess. "So how is this outing gonna work?"

"We go into the forest, the two of us, and we kill titans. I'll observe, ask you questions, et cetera. Sound good?"

"Yeah."

The two of us take a safe route to the forest, using horses mainly.

"Carrie said you'd talk more." I blurt out. I guess someone had to break the silence.

"What else did she say about me? She blushed a bunch of times and nearly got eaten trying to talk to me." Ivel looks at me.

Oh man, here it comes. "She said you were cute."

Ivel

Damn. I wonder how I'm gonna break it to the kid.

I guess it's too late for that, we finally reach the forest. "Alright. You want to go first?"

Alex shakes her head. I can't blame her. Once you see Titans you never really want to face them again. "N-no, sir-I mean Ivel, I-"

"Kid, don't get too worked up."

We leave our horses nearby. There's no real need to worry about them, because they're good runners and Titans don't usually bother animals other than humans. I'm not sure if that reassures or terrifies me.

I go ahead of Alex and dart up a tree with 3DMG. I find the highest branch I can, as you never know quite what a Titan can do. Some of them jump, others reach up high. Hell, I've heard stories of some that will actually attack the tree. I signal Alex to get up to my branch, that it's safe. She shoots out her gear's cables and she lands perfectly.

Good. She's got coordination.

What she doesn't have is nerve.

"Ivel, um, there's a Titan over there..."

"Yeah. How big?" I raise my eyebrows. It's important to see if they have judgement.

"Uh, 10 meters? Maybe 12?" She stutters. You could see the sweat on her a mile away.

I look over to the Titan. She's right, it's a 10 meter-class. Its cold, unfeeling eyes look straight at us. I should have expected this; the more humans in an area, the more likely it is to attract a Titan. The Titan runs at an unusual pace, its arms flailing wildly.

"Shit!" I say, a bit more audible than I would have liked. "It's a runner. Alex, I'll get its attention. Once its attention is on me I need you to fly in and kill it quickly. These bastards are tough to out-3DMG, so you won't have a large time window."

Alex nods and takes her blades out. I shoot a cable to the tree opposite us, and slashed at the runner Titan's face for good measure. Some blood got on my blades, causing them to steam. "Damn," I whisper, annoyed that my vision could be obscured.

The good thing is that I got the runner's attention. It's chasing me at top speed now, and I'm nearly down to half my gas just to stay away from it.

A shhk and grunt tell me that Alex got the Titan right in its weak point. I land on a close branch and turn around. On top of the steaming corpse's head is none other than Alex.

She flashes a grin at me. "How was that?"

I can't help but smile back. "Perfect. You're excellent at following orders. Now get up here before some other Titan gets you."

"Why thank you, I'm-" Alex freezes mid-sentence. She darts up to the branch I'm on.

"Did you hear that, Alex?" I say, quiet as I dare. It's the sound of footsteps, and thumping. But it isn't the normal thundering steps of a Titan. "It's a Crawling Aberrant."

Several more animalistic footsteps follow, as if to confirm my suspicions. "Alex," I say.

No response.

I turn to her and stare at her. "Alex, you need to listen, okay? Crawlers are very difficult to kill. If you want to walk out of this forest and end the test now I will not condemn you whatsoever." I'm serious, too. I don't want this kid to be killed.

She looks at me, with wide eyes and shaky breaths. "N-no, I'll stay. Y-you're a Squad Leader, you're good enough to still be alive.

Alex

I really wish I hadn't said that, now. Ivel is low on gas and we both know it. He's just trying to make me feel better, I know it. The footsteps are growing louder every second we stand here.

"Are you absolutely sure, Alex?" He looks at me, genuine concern in his eyes.

"No, I'm not, Squad Leader. I-" I am cut off by a large body jumping right underneath the branch, catching Ivel's foot with its hand. He shouts quite a few profanities before being taken off by the Titan.

I see him break out of its hand and ride on its back, but he doesn't have much time. I shoot a cable to the Titan's head and latch on, grabbing its greasy hair if you can call it that. I look back at Ivel, giving him a weak smile. He laughs nervously, though I can barely hear it from the wind in my ears.

I slowly use my blades to climb across its head to its neck when it jumps again. "Is it trying to shake us off?" I shout.

"Probably. It is an aberrant, after all." Ivel shouts back.

I manage to take in how badly he's injured. He has his sword buried in the Titan's back, and he's weakly dangling from it as the Titan runs. His ankle is bent at an odd angle, and most of his face is covered in blood. It isn't steaming.

Eventually I reach the nape of the neck. I try to slash at it, and it works. The flesh flies off and nearly hits Ivel in the face if he hadn't ducked. The Titan jerks to a stop, falling to the ground. We pull our blades out and I walk over to Ivel.

"You alright, Squad Leader?"

"Yeah, I'm perfect. Just, you know, broken ankle, sprained wrist and face covered in blood." He manages to smile weakly before wincing. "Please tell me you're strong enough to carry me back to our horses."

"I'll try." We're on the edge of the woods so it isn't a far walk to the horses. There aren't any more Titans so it was a simple walk. We finally reach the horses after 20 minutes easy of supporting Ivel's weight.

We reach the horses and are relieved to find they are exactly how they were when we left them. I help him onto his horse and climb onto mine. We start the hour-long run to the walls.

"So how bad is your ankle? And your wrist?" I ask.

"It's really, really, sore. Aw, fuck," he winces, shutting his eyes. It pains him to show weakness to me. My father used to do that, too.

"Are we able to weaken the pain in any way?"

"Not without stopping, no. We just have to hope this trip goes somewhat quickly."

Ivel

I lean my head forward, into my horse's mane. My teeth are clenched so hard I think I could have cracked one. I look over at Alex, who seems to be looking forward, with a tough resolve.

Yeah, I picked the right one. Determination? Check. Strategy? Check. Loyalty? Check. Compassion? Extra credit.

"Hey, Alex? You alright?"

"I think you're the one that should be asked that question, with all due respect, sir."

"Cut those formalities, Alex! I asked you first." I look at her sternly.

I nod. "I guess I'm doing fine, sir. But I was very afraid, back there. I-"

"I won't hate you for your honesty. I respect you for being open about your fears, it's important. It's okay to be scared, Alex."

"But I felt so cowardly, just admitting that I didn't want to fight the Aberrant." Her voice became shakier.

"Don't feel cowardly for it; Aberrants are terrifying. My best friend, Erwhen, he's like 6'7 and he is very hesitant to go against one. Fear is allowed, but don't let it cloud your judgement."

"Yes, sir." She replies, her face a bit looser.

The ride wasn't as long as I had expected it to be, thankfully. It was just quiet, if anything. Alex helps me limp back to the squad's estate. Erwhen is waiting at the door.

"So how did it-" He lets out a small gasp. "Ivel, what happened? Why are you-"

"Just let me get in the house, please, then you can nag me." I sigh exasperatedly. The other two help me inside.

To be honest, I don't feel like being tended to like some surgical patient so I insist on sitting near the fire for now. It's nice and warm, in contrast to the chilly forest we were just in.

Erwhen sits next to me. "What happened? Your wrist, your ankle-"

"Yeah, sprained wrist and broken ankle. I know." I wave him off.

"Can I at least clean your face off?"

"Nah, it's fine." I shake my head. There's no need to trouble anyone.

"Come on, Ivel, it's covered in blood and it's obviously yours. It could be cut, you could get infected-"

"I said I'll deal with it later. Man, Erwhen, you're getting like Carrie." I laugh a little before a sharp pain in my cheek flares up. I can't help but wince a little.

"See, there's a cut on your cheek. Just let me clean it, Ivel." Erwhen pleads.

"Fine, fine, just to shut you up." I give in.

Erwhen gets up to get some alcohol and comes back in. "Don't whine too much, Ivel. You can get pretty loud."

I flush. "I don't whine... Just shut up and do it already, okay?"

I tense and bite down on nothing while Erwhen rubs the alcohol on the cut. It stings pretty badly and I can feel some foam. The pain slowly subsides after a few minutes.

"See, I told you. I don't whine." I smirk. "I am tired, though, but too tired to bother getting into bed."

"Do I really have to carry you?" Erwhen sighs. I don't know why he complains, I'm practically a twig.

"No, I'll just sleep here by the fire." I say, laying on my side and grabbing a pillow from a chair.

Alex

Carrie sits on her bed, and I stand by her nightstand. "So how did it go?" She asks eagerly.

"Uh, sorta good. We ran into a running Titan and devised a quick strategy to kill it. Then, uh..."

"Ooh! We only got some normal Titans! What a bore!" She looked up at the ceiling, rolling her eyes.

"Well we had some, 'excitement', I guess. A Crawling Aberrant popped up and grabbed the Squad Leader right from the branch we were on!" I shrug.

"Is that why he's limping?" Carrie shows genuine concern now.

"Yeah."

"We should go in and check on him, how was he injured?" Carrie asks. She's a whiz with medical things, but hasn't really done more than soothe a migraine or clean a cut.

"Sprained wrist, broken ankle. He was bleeding pretty bad, too." I reply, as we both walk down the hall to the living room.

Erwhen is sitting down with his legs crossed, and Ivel's head resting on them. He looks over to us and puts a finger over his mouth. We need to be quiet, Ivel's sleeping. We sit down next to Erwhen and Carrie looks at him inquisitively.

"He was hoping you guys wouldn't see," Erwhen whispers, barely audible.

"Sorry!" Carrie mumbles back.

Erwhen shrugs. "I guess it's fine now, but don't say anything. I cleaned the cut on his cheek so he looks somewhat better."

"Anything is an improvement from having his whole face covered in blood, I would think." I smile.

A knock on the door rouses us from the peaceful quiet and crackling of the fire. Erwhen gives us one look and I can tell, "Get out of here for a few minutes, Ivel's gonna wake up."

I grab Carrie's arm and quickly speed out of the living room into my bedroom. She looks at me, grinning like a maniac.

"He looked so cute like that! Ugh, I could just kiss him." Carrie swooned.

"Shut up, he'll hear you!" I whisper. "Besides, what do you even see in him, man?"

"I don't know, I just-" She is interrupted by Erwhen poking his head in and nodding. It's safe to come out.

The two of us follow Erwhen into the living room. Ivel sits on his chair calmly, looking at the two visitors.

One of them is of medium height, a little taller than I am. He has short, blond hair that falls in a mess on his head and striking grey eyes. The other is a bit more eerie. He has the same blond hair but it's in an undercut, parted perfectly and falling similar to the other visitor's. His eyes are the same but smaller and less warm. A white bandage covers everything on his face under his nose, completing the effect of eeriness. He is significantly taller than his companion. I can only assume they are brothers.

The taller one looked at his brother, and he nodded.

"Hello, Squad Leader, for the both of us. I'm-"

"Vincent Adessi, and your brother Stefano Adessi. Yes, you are right on schedule." Ivel replies, calm as ever. He looks almost sinister in the firelight, with his fresh cut on his cheek, but his warm eyes betray that feeling.

Vincent looks taken aback for a split second, then he regains his composure. "Y-yes, sir. I'm curious as to the date of the outing."

Ivel

I glance at Erwhen and he shakes his head. "It's cancelled tomorrow. I need to recover from my injuries during the latest outing." Vincent is just about to leave when I call, "You're welcome to stay with us for the time being. We'll work some system out."

Vincent looks at Stefano, and they nod at each other. "Sure, we'll stay with you guys. Where are our rooms?"

"Down the hall, Carrie'll show you." I look at Carrie and she flushes, walking off with the two brothers following her.

Next to me, Erwhen laughs a little, and so does Alex. "What?" I ask.

They keep laughing, no response.

"Oh come on, what the hell is it?" I ask again, getting a little more annoyed. I glare at the two, and they just keep giggling like little teenagers. Well, in Alex's defense, she is one.

Finally Alex spits it out. "Carrie thinks you're cute. Like, really cute." She's doubled over laughing, and has to sit down to regain her composure.

Erwhen flushes a shade of deep pink. I look at him. "What's wrong, Erwhen?" On the inside I'm laughing, but I need to keep serious for an occasion like this.

"N-nothing..." He looks down. His face gets even redder.

Alex looks over to him. "Come on! Spit it out, Erwhen, we won't hate you."

I know exactly what he's gonna say. Before he can, though, Carrie returns to a flushed Erwhen, laughing Alex, and me looking at Erwhen. She looks perplexed but quickly recovers.

"The two of those guys are sleeping. They're tired." She says, sitting down next to Alex.

"You know what? I am too. Erwhen, carry me to my room." I command jokingly.

Erwhen obliges and picks me up easily. He carries me over to the room and sets me down on the bed.

"I need some company," I whisper softly, and pull him gently onto the bed next to me. "Please?"

"I don't have much choice now, do I?" He breathes in my ear, smiling. "You're gonna need a month at least to recover, you know. No action until you're healed."

"I guess that gives me more time with you, then," I say, giving him a kiss.

Suddenly, I don't mind at all the fact that I'll be stuck at home for a month.