Sillage

Chapter 14 - Victim. Enemy.

TW SWEARING/WEAPONS/BLOOD

A short knock at the Commander's office door interrupted the unusual silence of the Scouts Headquarters in Trost.

It seemed everyone had left for their morning training before their arrival, or had already relocated in their old base, which could explain the lack of human bustle in the building. They had faced no irritating questioning on their absence so far inside the district, and both Levi and Hange hoped to keep it that way.

Erwin's plan relied on everyone keeping their mouth shut until the expedition, but with Eren's last transformation resulting in an injured soldier, things weren't looking so good. Unrest was slowly creeping inside the Corps, and they wondered how much time they could keep silent before the Military Police stepped in.

"Enter." Erwin's deep voice resonated through the thick wood.

They wasted no time.

Entering the office, Levi took his usual spot near the window, casually leaning against the wall, while Hange plopped down unceremoniously on the old blue couch.

Erwin was busy doing paperwork as usual, and until he would be done, they had nothing better to do than become engrossed in their own thoughts. Tired eyes darting away from the Commander, Levi fixed his gaze on the abnormally quiet street down below.

He hadn't seen Trost in almost two weeks, and yet he couldn't help but notice how different everything looked after the Wall had been breached. Debris from the destroyed buildings littered every corner of every street, and rubble from the severed Wall occupied almost a quarter of the district. He wondered what those lazy Garrison soldiers were doing instead of cleaning the town, but more than that he wondered where the people were. On their way to the Military HQ, they saw few to almost no citizens, and the ones they did see, weren't in their best condition. He made a mental note to ask Erwin later why the town was still in such a state, even though it had escaped complete destruction by a hair's breadth. Normally, shouldn't the people be out and about, trying to rebuild their lives, as well as their homes?

The sound of paper rustling caught his attention, as his eyes returned over Erwin's form. The Scouting Regiment's Commander settled his paperwork aside, finally greeting them with a genuine smile.

Erwin's blue eyes analyzed both of them from head to toe, before settling his gaze on Levi. "How are things going at the castle? Any trouble so far?"

Levi pondered over for a second, before giving him a short shrug in response. He told him everything he needed to know in his report, so he didn't understand the purpose of his question.

"Nothing's changed. Training and business as usual."

"I see. What about the injured soldier?" Erwin inquired further.

"I heard he got discharged today. His parents came to take him home."

"You heard? Hasn't the physician informed you of his state?"

Levi needed to think of a proper answer for a moment, but Hange beat him to it, before he could even open his mouth. "Levi and the doctor are not speaking to each other at the moment. We only met with his parents, before departing towards Trost."

"Is that so? And what's the reason for the lack of communication? You didn't mention that in your report, Levi." Erwin shot Levi a sideways glance, as the dark-haired soldier rolled his eyes.

"I didn't consider it necessary to inform you of the status of my relationship with the doctor. As long as she does her job and I do mine, there's no need for me to talk to her, is it?"