Wings and Hammers

11. Shiganshina

For the next few days, all Aura knew was training and transforming. Sherridan helped her in getting more information out of Peony, the War Hammer Titan. Although the pretty name did not suit her external appearance, her persona was sweet. Maybe it reflected Aura's personality. Dr. Davos had also been extending the gifts  of her medical career to look after the soldiers, and take even more special care of Aura.
Hange had her plate full with training both Aura and Eren. On top of that, she had been working with engineers to develop thunder spears designed specifically to deal with Reiner's Armored Titan.

Captain Levi, with the help of the other Section Commanders, had been busy with training the cadets. Aura's ODM gear handling had definitely improved under his guidance, but he would rather not have her off the ground for too long. The Commander had agreed with it, and hence Aura's training was limited.

Eren Jaeger proved to be a worthy companion during training. He used combat techniques he had picked up when he fought against the Armored and Female Titans, and made the War Hammer Titan more competent in practice.

By the end of the training period, Aura had almost mastered fighting techniques both in and out of the Titan. The only area where she still lacked some confidence was in building structures out of her fingers. When she was under the nape of the Titan, it was pretty easy to think of an image of what she wanted to make, and eventually conjure it up in the palms of her hands.

But, when she kept her distance, a lax seemed to creep in between the moment she thought of the weapon and the moment Peony could project that thought into existence. More often than not, this endeavor would have Aura break down on the grass. The voices in her head would grow louder every time she failed at something, the sounds of her ancestors menacing and sending chills down her spine.

Other than these times, the voices came sometimes in the morning. Either to tell her how she would never be able to protect those she loved, or to try to persuade her to turn her back to the Survey Corps in the Battle of Shiganshina. "Reveal your true nature and family name to the Warriors, and they would take you in," she had heard one of the men saying one morning.

The voices would drain at the advent of a different person. On most mornings, it would be Erwin walking into the room, and putting his arm around her that would drive the voices away. The Commander had been there by her side during the weeks of training, but he kept a modest distance. He was not completely over the occurrences of the past weeks, yet he knew he needed to support his wife. While on the field, his voice held excited encouragement, back in their quarters, he could not find a single word to say to her. It broke Aura's heart over and over again, every day. But, she kept in mind Levi's advice and gave Erwin the space he needed.

***

"We leave tomorrow," Erwin said as they had dinner in silence. It was the night before the night they were to leave for Shiganshina. The soundless room was excruciating to bear for the both of them, but Aura uttered no words at all. When Erwin broke the silence, she replied with a low, shy 'hmm'.

Finishing the food in her mouth, she wiped her lips and was about to get up. But Erwin stopped her. Glancing from her to the leftover bread and vegetables on her plate, he said, "finish your food, Aura." She made a disgruntled face as she stood up, and shook her head.

He chuckled a little under his breath and continued, "you are not just eating for yourself, right? You're a doctor, you know all that." That was the most he had spoken to her in almost a week.

She looked up at him as a sweet smile played on his lips. Taking in a deep breath, she pushed the plate towards him. "You want me to feed you?" he asked, his smile widening into a grin. "Come here," he motioned with his hand, as he produced his legs from underneath the table. Although it shocked her a little bit, Aura happily went around the table and took a place on his thighs.