Shingeki no Jiyu

XV

      Adria's gear fragmented when she hit the ground; the gas canisters shot off, her blades scattered, and the remaining mechanisms tangled her legs. The ache in her ribs seemed dull in comparison to the immense tearing in her chest. Her gaze was transfixed on the entrance to the forest where the trees–bent and mangled–seemed to bow under her stare. All that she could see was wisps of black smoke, there was no echo of the Beast Titan and the tremors from its steps had stopped.

      Leo alerted the Captains while Graham double-backed to her location. He jumped from his horse and skid across his knees to get to her. With trembling hands Graham shook her shoulders, "Yeltsie, what the fuck happened!? Where's Viktor?"

       His name alone caused Adria's lips to part, but no sound came out. Had she lost it? No, she hadn't given a scream when she saw the blood. Adria, on her knees also, brought her arms around her aching sternum and hunched forward. By this time the Captains had reached them and asked their own questions, as if seeing the macabre sight wasn't evidence enough.

      "Where's Viktor?"

       During their time between expeditions, the group spent their moments of peace in the mess hall. Leo was adamant to win the game of poker, their only wager being the re-fills of warm beer or cask wine. Graham knocked on the table to signal 'check' as Adria entered. She cleared her throat for Viktor to move his spread legs, so she could sit, he gave her the classic smirk whilst chewing on a piece of bread. When she attempted to swing her leg over his thigh, he hooked one arm around her waist causing her to lose balance and end up sitting in his lap haphazardly.

      "Careful there Yeltsie, don't want to get impaled by his third leg," Graham flipped one of the cards in the centre with a chaste smile.

       "It can only be as small as his self-respect," she snorted, easily escaping Viktor's grasp. She laughed at his facial expression, "What can I say? 'Humanities strongest' had to come with terms and conditions, yours was a small dick."

       "Adria, where is he?"

      Viktor sat on the rooftop, brooding as usual. His maroon brows were knit in a sharp frown. Drawing his knees close to his chest, Viktor didn't acknowledge her swing onto the tiles. He was dressed formally in a pressed button-down and slacks, though his feet remained bare.

       "Who's wedding?" she commented with an eye-roll.

      "My funeral, actually," he shot her a pointed look. "I overheard Erwin having a dig at Hanji. How fucked is this; they conducted a plan to keep Neal alive—it's inevitable that he'll come find you and have my head."

      Adria crossed her legs, unclipping the canisters of gas and blade sheath, "He won't come anywhere near me. Besides, as you always say, we're humanities strongest duo. . .nothing will stop that."

      The wind ruffled his red locks, he'd recently trimmed them to keep out of his eyes during combat. It remained shaggy as ever, but in a uniform way that captured his rugged persona. Viktor quirked an eyebrow, "Until we both can't walk."

      "Until we both can't walk," she agreed with a nod and averted her gaze to the sunset.

     ". . .is he inside the forest? Does he need our assistance?"

      Viktor grabbed the hood of her Survey Corps cloak and tossed her towards one of the branches. She skidded to a stop while he hooked himself on the tree opposite her.

      Huffing, he set his jaw tight, "We can't outrun the Abnormal forever. We've done our best leading it away from Hana."

       Adria tapped the tanks of gas with her knuckles, "I've got enough to get us halfway to the Walls, until then it's horseback only."