Libertas ↠ AOT

III

Flagon and Antheia were tasked with showing the trio to the barracks in which they would be staying. Flagon pushed open a wooden door and revealed a room containing multiple bunk beds. There were more soldiers than there were rooms in the castle so singular rooms were reserved for higher ranking officers in order to give them the space and peace that they needed for their paperwork, everyone else was forced to share accomodation.

"These are the barracks," Flagon informed them, stepping into the room and allowing the others to follow suit. Antheia stepped into the barracks after Flagon, Farlan close behind her.

"There are quite a few," Farlan observed, his eyes scanning over the beds that filled the rooms.

"Yay! We're all in the same room!" Isabel cheered, not knowing that this section of the barracks was for Farlan and Levi only.

"Women have a separate section," Flagon told her.

"I'll be showing you to your barracks when we're done here," Antheia added from where she stood beside Flagon.

"What?! But I wanna stay here!" Isabel exclaimed, neither Flagon or Antheia responding to her outburst.

"You two men will sleep here," Flagon consolidated.

Levi gradually made his way over to one of the bunk beds with a monotone expression, raising his hand to brush his fingers underneath the frame of one of the top bunks. As soon as his fingertips touched the wood a steady cascade of dust particles fell onto his palm and drifted through the air. He looked absolutely mortified at what he discovered while Farlan and Isabel looked concerned for his well-being.

"You lot have been living in the dumps of the Underground, but do try to keep this place clean."

"Huh?" Levi questioned, turning his head to look over at the man who had just insulted him.

Isbael and Farlan now looked concerned for Flagon's well-being, or more importantly what would happen to them if any of them laid a harmful finger on their newly appointed Squad Leader. Antheia let out a gentle sigh but made no attempt to intervene, deciding to simply watch.

"What's with that look?" Flagon asked, a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek while he was face-to-face with Levi's unwavering glare. Levi was shorter than Flagon yet he still managed to intimidate him without having to say a single word. "How dare you approach a superior officer with that attitude—"

"Sorry!" Farlan interrupted, quickly outstretching his arm between the men to prevent anything from escalating. "Got it. We'll try to keep the place clean." Farlan again made an attempt at saluting, but this time his elbow was lined up with his shoulder.

"Tch. You'll begin training first thing tomorrow, got it? Your hand's upside down!" Flagon spoke as he left the barracks, slamming the door on his way out.

At Flagon's words, Farlan attempted to correct his salute.

"And your elbow's too high. I appreciate the enthusiasm, but the salute is supposed to have a slightly more relaxed stance," Antheia told him, reaching over to push his elbow down so that it didn't threaten to take anyone's eye out. "And your other arm is supposed to go behind your back," she explained, moving his arm in the correct placement that she had just described. When she was finished she stepped backwards and admired her handiwork—now he looked like a proper soldier.

Farlan nodded determinedly to himself and moved his arms back to his sides before reattempting the salute, recalling where Antheia had placed his arms and correctly saluting her. She smiled encouragingly at him to show that he had done it correctly.

"Thanks," he said, his expression giving away just how proud of himself he was.

"Meet me outside in ten minutes and I'll show you where you'll be staying," Antheia directed her statement to Isabel, allowing her to have some time to say her farewells for the night. She then turned her attention to Levi who appeared to have a permanent scowl etched on his face. "I know that he can be an arsehole sometimes, but if you could refrain from murdering him with your eyes it'll make life here easier for you," she said. The only response that she received was an indignant glare before she turned and left the barracks.

When the door closed behind her she jogged forwards to catch up to Flagon who was heading back to the main building and where his own room was located. It only took a few seconds for her to catch up to him and she alerted him to her presence by raising her palm and sending a swift smack to the back of his head.

"What the hell was that for?!" Flagon exclaimed, stopping in his tracks and turning to face Antheia, his hand nursing the back of his throbbing head.

"Did you have to insult them by insinuating that they were unclean?" she asked him, the corners of her lips curving downwards to form a frown.

"They're the ones who lived in that foul city," Flagon attempted to defend himself.

"Did you see the way that Levi looked at the dust that came off the bed? He looked at it with the same amount of horror on his face that I had on mine when I saw my first Titan, it's obvious that he hates dirt more than most people and is probably cleaner than you are. You don't have to like them but you don't have to be rude towards them either."

"I think you're too kind to them. They're criminals after all, not soldiers."

"Maybe a little kindness is exactly what they need. You didn't see it down there, they've been abandoned by the rest of humanity. Those three are lucky that they managed to get out, I bet the majority of people down there will never see the sun," she explained, a solemn tone coating her words.

"Maybe. Maybe not. Deal with them however you want to, I won't stop you but I'm free to deal with them however I want to as well," Flagon responded before continuing on his way and leaving Antheia outside.

Flagon and Antheia had a complicated relationship, one minute they got along swimmingly and the next minute they were practically ripping each other's throats out. The scouts that knew them were fully aware of their dynamic and barely batted an eyelash to their change of behaviour around one another, always staying out of any spats that the both of them had.

Just as Antheia had instructed, Isabel left the men's barracks after ten minutes had passed. Antheia had stood a little ways away from the door in order to give the three of them their privacy before stepping over to Isabel when she walked out. Without exchanging any words they began on their way to the women's barracks, their footsteps echoing through the empty grounds of the castle while the sunset bathed the stone in a warm glow. As they walked, Antheia flitted her eyes to Isabel, her gaze lowering to her wrists. Everytime her left foot stepped forwards her right arm would swing in the same direction and consequently lift her sleeve a little, revealing a slighty red mark that resembled fingertips.

"I'm sorry if I was too rough with you. Hurting you was the last thing I wanted to do but you didn't hold back with your struggling and I didn't have much of a choice in order to keep you from escaping," Antheia spoke up regretfully, her stomach churning at the thought that she had caused even a slither of harm to the woman beside her.

"Huh? Oh you mean this?" Isabel asked, following Antheia's line of sight to her wrists and looking down at the marks herself. "It didn't even hurt, I'm stronger than I look," she assured, a minor grin taking over her face.

"I'm sure you are," Antheia responded with a light-hearted smile before her footsteps halted upon reaching an identical building to the one that they had just been at, reaching out to push open the door to reveal the exact same layout of the men's barracks. "This is where you'll be staying. It isn't too far away from your friends and you'll be seeing them often with your training and such," she explained, holding the door open for Isabel as she stepped into the room. "Your training will begin tomorrow, I suggest getting as much rest as you can before then."

"Aren't you staying here too?" Isabel asked out of curiosity when noticing that Antheia was heading out of the room.

"I have my own room inside the castle. I'm a Squad Le—was a Squad Leader," she quickly corrected herself, "so I don't share with anyone at the moment. Goodnight."

After saying her farewell and exiting the room she headed back into the castle and towards her own room, noticing Erwin stepping into his own private quarters on the way. Shadis had always been extremely observant and having spent much of her time in the Survey Corps by his side she had latched onto that quality so was fully aware that Erwin was hiding something from her that regarded the recent recruitment of the trio from the Underground. Everything inside her wanted to pry into the real reason that they were here but she knew that she wouldn't be able to get anything out of him, so instead she walked past his door until she reached hers to settle down for the night.