In Between The Ends

Chapter Thirty Two

     Sliding rigidly from the back of his horse, Jean's aching feet gave out from under him, and he tumbled to the ground in heap. Groaning, he tried to straighten out the muscles in his legs and bring feeling back into them. A blanket of stars hung overhead next to a sliver of moon, and he watched as a shooting star passed across its inky surface and into the warm summer night.

Days of nothing but walking and riding had all of them exhausted, and one by one they collapsed gratefully onto the hard-packed dirt surrounding the Braus family stables.

The Braus's moved their homestead to the North of wall Sina shortly after the events of the Rumbling, hoping to put some distance between themselves and the prospect of war that loomed over the island like a guillotine. This decision had given the Allied Nations the perfect muster point for their mission: far enough away from the Capitol that their arrival wouldn't be noticed, but close enough that a single day's ride would put them directly into the heart of Mitras and an arms-length away from Mikasa, Historia and Arya.

The thought of Mikasa being so close to the Jaegerist forces sent a shiver of anger through Jean, and he sat up with a quiet growl. How did she always find a way to be directly in the line of fire, protecting someone else? Again? Hadn't she spent enough of her life in the defense of a suicidal maniac to be doing it again now?

He sighed inwardly. Jean knew that it wasn't fair to blame either of them for the position Mikasa was currently in after Arya so selflessly offered up her life in exchange for those of their people. Compared to the odds she had at surviving this their plan was practically guaranteed, though that wasn't to say that they had come this far completely unscathed.

The foothills of Marotsara had been a labyrinth of towering, serrated rock; seemingly endless paths where every turn bared a sense of familiarity and panic. To anyone else, those hills would have seen them lost forever, but luckily for them they weren't just anybody. Captain Levi may not have had much usable memory of the layout of their winding trails close to the mountain base, but through his unmatched instincts and use of their ODM they had made it out the other side in less than a day and a half.

It was there that they had met Mr. Braus and his greatly appreciated horses, but their relief hadn't lasted long in the wake of a days' worth of riding. Now that they were here, however, the laborious journey had definitely been worth it in the sense of time. They still had 24 hours ahead of them before they were meant to leave for the Capitol, offering then plenty of time to recoup.

"Won't be long now until we are headed back home, the queen and our lovely doctor in tow!" Orin exclaimed, being matched in his enthusiasm by the other young cadets.

The Survey Corps alum sat in a hush, looking periodically towards their road to the South: they would celebrate once this was over.

After a hearty meal and equally hearty conversation, most of the expedition force was fast asleep in blankets laid out on the floor of the Braus home by the time the moon was creeping its way towards the horizon. Even Levi had his feet kicked up, hood drawn deep over his face and his arms crossed tightly over his chest, though no one could tell if he was sleeping or not.

Jean, Connie and Armin sat at the large table with Artur, mugs of hot tea in their hands. Sleep had all together evaded them, and after hours of speaking quietly between one another they had lapse into a heavy silence, minds consumed with the weight of what was about to come.

Armin was thinking of Arya again, though if he was honest with himself, he had been thinking of little else since her departure from them.

When she had come to him that night back at the barracks, eyes ablaze with determination, he had been reminded of Eren. So many times he had seen an expression like that on his face, as if a fire had been lit deep within him and burned out to the surface of his skin. Even back when they we kids Armin could see it, and day by day that determination twisted until it became the wrath that had destroyed the world.