Wings and Hammers

1. Arrival

The Town Hall was beaming with joy and glow that day. Even with an Abnormal attacking Wall Rose, and the unmasking of the King and his Council, the news of the new Queen had brought peace to the people. They saw her slay the Abnormal with their own eyes. Who could be more worthy, if not her?

The genius of Commander Erwin Smith and the optimism of Historia Reiss lead to what could be seen as a new beginning for their nation. With the last few months brimming with new discoveries about the enemy's strengths and weaknesses, and the loss of soldiers and citizens galore, there was absolutely no time for personal reflections for anyone.

Ever since the attack on Shiganshina five years ago, and the emergence of Eren Jaeger as a Titan within the Walls, everyone has always been on the lookout - cadets, captains, commanders and civilians alike. The only people to have had the opportunity to visit their homes were Sasha and Connie, and that was only to witness their houses shattered, families lost. While many lost their families during the attacks on Shiganshina, Orvud, Ragako, Trost and other districts, many others did not get the chance to go back to their loved ones for months on end. Their comrades had become their family away from family.

The day of Queen Historia's coronation was a small sigh of relief in a long period of ghastly accidents. The living families of the soldiers - dead or alive - were all invited. The civilians were all asked to gather just outside the Town Hall, where the Queen would address them, after honoring the Scouting Legion for their heroic ventures and sacrifices in the last few months.

The 104th Cadet Corps were lined up on one side of the huge room. Captains Levi and Hange stood near them, speaking. Hange's father had arrived a little earlier and was seated in the audience.

"It is too much for Historia to handle, don't you think?" Eren whined, standing at the front of the line.

"Well, she chose it for herself," Mikasa said, adjusting her scarf, "you heard her say it. The Commander only asked."

"You know that's not true," Eren almost screamed.

"Oi," Levi called out from where he stood with Hange, "shut up already."

Eren stopped whining at the warning, but was not satisfied. He looked up at his friends, with pursed lips and clenched fists. Except for Mikasa, everyone gave him the rolling eye.

"Where is he anyway," Sasha asked, "the Commander? Isn't he supposed to be the one leading us, when Historia calls the Scouts?"

Commander Erwin shouldn't have been hard to notice. He was easily the tallest man in the room. And with his handsome face with those striking blue eyes and prominent eyebrows and only one full arm, he should not have been hard to notice. That would have been the case if he was in the room in the first place. He was in a different room with Pixis, Zachary and Historia, discussing future affairs.

"Hey, isn't that Aura?" the Cadets heard that name for the first time, coming out of Hange's mouth. "Of course it is. Aura! Aura!" She called her out, waving her arms frantically in the air to get her attention. When she did, and the new woman started making her way towards them, Hange tuned to the freshmen and said, "now this is someone you're all gonna absolutely adore."

"Hange! McShorty!" The new woman came running into her friends' arms.

"Jeez!" Levi shrugged, looking dead at his apparently old friend's face, "with that year-long cold shoulder, I could have iced all my whiskey, Aura."

"Shut up, Grumpy! You could have written some letters too, you know." She seemed to have some cool nicknames for the captains already. The Cadets listened on very carefully, trying to figure out who that person really was.