"...To Stay by Your Side..." (AOT Alternative Universe)

33. I'm Home

AUTHOR'S POV:

Sasha raced on her horse alongside another Scout. "See that? It's the village!"

"Is that the last one?" The scout asked.

"No! My village is deep in the forest!" Sasha said. "I'll go there alone!"

"Alright! Leave this village to me!" The scout said and left.

"Got it!" Sasha said and watched him veer off to the right. She gazed intently forward.

Words echoed in her mind. "Hey! Quit it, Sasha!"
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In the woods, two log cabins behind them, Artur Braus, Sasha's father, yelled at his daughter. "Sasha! You been nabbing snacks again?!"

Sasha growled, ripping into the meat in her hands.

"Stop! Spit it out!" Arthur said, trying to remove the meat piece from Sasha's mouth.

They continued to struggle.

"Get it out of yer mouth! We fixin' to smoke that for winter, ya moron!" Arthur said.

The piece of meat fell from Sasha's grasp and her father stood before her, trying to keep her from grabbing it.

With a mad cry, Sasha ducked down and pushed up her arm, shoving his face away, greedily ripping at the meat.

"You damn dumb girl!" Arthur said. "Fine!" He walked away. "Have it yer way. Dagnabbit."

Sasha ran to a tree and hid behind it, watching her father sit on the steps to one of the storage cabins.

"Sasha, have you asked yerself why the world is a-changing? Why these past few years the forest be shrinkin' and game harder to find?" Arthur asked. "Have you ever thunk about it?"

Sasha swallowed the bite. "It's 'cause more people be comin' and taking food and game from the forest. That's why I'm hungry."

"That's true. But, hey... They lost their homes and got no place to go." Arthur said. "They got no other choice."

"Their fault for losing it." Sasha said. "They oughta leave ours."

Arthur glared at her. "Titans took it from 'em. They knocked a hole straight through Wall Maria. Where else can they go? You can feed a hell of a lot more people by clearin' the forest and plantin' grain." He crossed his arms, glancing at the bow and arrow placed against a tree stump. "Maybe it's time for our family to let go of the forest and give up huntin' for good. The government said they would pay us. Every horse that we raise is money in our pockets."

"You gotta be kidding!" Sasha shouted. "If we give up huntin', we be givin' up who we are! Why should we give a hoot about the people who make fun of our lifestyle?"

"I'll tell ya why. It's because... we're all part of the same world." Arthur said. "We humans... We've always been pack animals. Sure, we all live our different ways." He stopped, staring down. "But when space is this short, we gotta join the group and do what's best to-"

"No! I refuse!" Sasha shouted. "We've lived here all our lives, just like the way our ancestors taught us! We don't owe nothing to any outsiders!"

Arthur looked back at her before staring off. "I see... So be it." He tilted his head toward the sky. "Ya can live here in this forest, along with the others who think the same. But, Sasha..." He looked at Sasha. "Are ya willin' to die for that choice?"

Sasha blinked, straightening.

Arthur looked at her. "No matter what trouble comes yer way, ya can't go beggin' for help. If you're not there for them, don't expect them to be there for you. I'm willin' to give up our traditions if it means I can live with my family. Goes to show ya our world's connected, whether you like it or not. Sasha, are you that much of a scaredy-cat?"