Dormant Wings | A Levi Fanfiction

二十八 Secrets and Confusion

~28~

"Attention, Cadets!"

The eyes of chattering scouts skirt towards the commander's authoritative form, silencing the noisy mess hall.

"As most of you know," he starts, lowering his voice a bit, "I was away to Sina for military business. Now that I am back, it will unfortunately not be for long. I must return to the interior soon, and in the meantime, the Survey Corps will be undergoing temporary relocation."

Murmurs erupt throughout the hall, and I start to wonder if withholding part of the truth is really wise. After Commander Erwin realized his mistake of announcing all of our future plans to me without knowing, he insisted that it was imperative the rest of the scouts know as little as possible. He claimed it was meant to prevent a panic, but word of an unexpected relocation seems to be doing that all on its own.

"Relocation?"

"Where?"

"Why do we need to leave?"

Erwin attempts to silence the questions with yielding hands, but most are quieted by the fixed glare they receive from Levi, who is standing intimidatingly at his side.

Once everyone has calmed a bit, Erwin continues. "I know that this is soon and sudden, but take into consideration that it is necessary. We will be moving out quickly—by nightfall—so after this meal everyone is expected to return to the barracks and pack any essentials. The squad leaders will lead you all to the new site. Am I clear?"

In response, a chorus of uncertain 'yes, sirs' echo throughout the room, followed by the sound of people standing to leave the mess hall early. Reflecting my own expression, most seem worried for the real reason as to why we must relocate so soon.

"What do you think that was about?" Connie asks from across the table, grabbing my attention.

Jean shrugs. "Beats me. Why do we have to leave this quickly, though? It's such a pain."

Eren chuckles sourly at Jean's reluctance. "Of course you would be too lazy for a simple relocation."

Before Jean can retaliate by punching the titan shifter clear across the room, Armin speaks up timidly. "I'm sure Commander Erwin has a good reason for this. Why else wouldn't he give us details as to why we're moving?"

"If anything, it's concerning," Connie mutters under his breath.

I stay quiet throughout this exchange, as does Mikasa. She seems to be delved into her own thoughts, probably cooking up her own theories for this abrupt change.

"Kaira? Mikasa? You're awfully quiet, what do you guys think?" Jean asks suddenly.

I open my mouth to spew some pathetic excuse of an idea to cover up my knowledge, but Mikasa beats me to it. "That we should probably start packing our things. It's already nearly sundown."

"Right," Eren huffs, pushing out his chair to stand. "I'll be off then. Meet you guys after?"

Everyone agrees, and soon departs to our own separate rooms to gather our things together. Once I've finally reached the privacy and safety of my room, I let out a tired sigh. As soon as I spent a good half hour convincing the commander that I wouldn't tell a soul about what I know, he immediately led us to the mess hall, readying himself to make the grand announcement.

I haven't exactly had much time to process it all. The relocation isn't a problem, obviously, but the fact that Erwin seems convinced that the Survey Corps will be found guilty. If this happens, and his theory of us being hunted down and killed is correct, we're in some deep trouble. There won't be any point in keeping a secret from the rest of the cadets, because they'll have every reason to panic. If anything, it'll provide a better chance at survival if everyone knows that we're technically going into hiding.