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FOLLOWING THE SECTION COMMANDER'S LEAD, THE SCOUTS CHARGED OUTSIDE EHRMICH DISTRICT A FEW HOURS BEFORE DAYBREAK. More people than Micah could count mounted their horses, excluding Eugene and Captain Levi with their injuries, and filtered out of the gates in fanned out sections. The further they rode out into the country, the more the soldiers spread out on the open land. Micah assumed that that was part of some strategy they used in the military, but he didn't ask Elliot for any confirmation.
Since the wagons were left behind and there weren't many extra horses to spare, Elliot had escorted Micah to what he'd argue had to be the tallest horse he'd ever seen. His coat was dark like the night itself, accompanied with the slickest black mane. Upon approaching him, the horse had held his head up high, like it was sizing Micah up. And if there was ever an animal with an ego larger than Eugene's it would have to be his sister's horse. Not to mention the fact that the horse was a breed that was among the tallest. He remembered from a time when he was younger that his mother had wanted to get such a horse for his older brother, but it had never happened.
Now, Micah didn't know how he'd be of any help with whatever they were traveling towards Wall Rose for. He didn't have any training, and he figured he would be about as useful as a rock against any Titans━━if it were true that there was a breach in the wall like they'd been told. But Hange had insisted that he come along, and Elliot had promised both him and Eugene that she would protect him at all costs.
For the most part, Micah couldn't believe his eyes. The outside world wasn't exactly living up to how he remembered it to be, but he should have suspected as much considering the most he'd seen over the past five years consisted of a dusty courtyard and flashes of the pathways just beyond the gated entrance. And even then they were blurry images he'd forced his brain to make sense of in between visits. If he saw them now, Micah was sure he'd have everything all warped and misconstructed in his head. But he didn't want anything to do with that place for as long as he could avoid it. It was dirtied by years of torment and pain, and he would risk everything he had to his name if it meant proving to Commander Erwin Smith and Section Commander Hange Zoё and Captains Elliot Castillon and Levi that they need not send him back.
Compared to what he'd known, the dimly lit grasslands that flew past him on either side was such a delight. As a child his mother had not let him enjoy the spring and summer seasons because of the reactions he'd have to the wild flowers that grew in the gardens. So he'd automatically become accustomed to the colder months of the year being his favorite. But, this━━the earthy scent that invaded his nose, the wind that swept the hood of Elliot's cloak off his head and blew his long, black hair off the back of his neck━━was better than anything Micah had ever experienced before.
He could only wish that the clouds would disappear from the sky entirely so the moon would shine its light on the landscape. Not forever but long enough for him to finally understand what he'd been missing his whole life. The grass swaying, the crickets chirping, the smell! Micah wished Eugene could be with them to get a whiff of even a fraction of what he was smelling right now. (Realistically, he wouldn't be able to, but Eugene would play it up like he could understand what Micah was feeling just to make him feel better). Everything was so earthy and so beautiful, and he would have liked to stay in this moment for the rest of his life. It was peaceful despite the circumstances.
