Chapter Eleven {Warmth}

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The days the four spent at the recon corps passed by much quicker than any of them would have liked. Between the strenuous training, hours of studying the formations and maps outside the walls and searching for the documents, months went by with the former thugs have little success in their main endeavour.

Now, they were a week away from leaving the safety of the walls and the group were becoming restless. Furlan was feeling the pressure of finding the documents that would grant their freedom, but Erwin was more meticulous than he first thought.

Fragon had been observing the four closely for any sign that they were slacking off, but much to his surprise, they were putting in the work to ensure they could use their gear properly as well as improving their horseback riding. The two he was most surprised by were Levi and Anna. Using the gear seemed like second nature to the two, with Anna just narrowly behind Levi in terms of skill. However, what really impressed the leader of the squad was the time and effort Anna had put into her training. Not only did she do the work alongside the rest of the squad, but she spent time afterwards and days off to improve herself; that day was no exception.

Levi stood in a high reaching branch, observing Anna closely below. During these months, she had focused all her extra efforts into her upper body strength so that she could slice through the thick napes of the titans. Blood, sweat and tears had been poured into her efforts which had yielded satisfactory results. Each blow was much more consistent than the prior week's and she was slowly but surely becoming more confident in herself.

After that day's extra training, Anna flew next to Levi with heavy breaths and smiled. She knew that her friend had better things to do with his spare time, so she appreciated that he put in the effort to ensure that her form was the best it could be for what was to come.

"Thanks again Levi," she panted, slowly regaining her composure, "I'm finally getting there."

"Don't go thanking others for your own hard work," Levi said with his stoic expression, his gentle eyes the only thing expressing his true feelings.

The sun was slowly setting behind them, the golden rays embracing them in its dwindling warmth. Anna decided to sit on the hefty branch and gaze at the forest in front of her.

"Hey Levi?"

"Yeah Brat?"

"Do you think my family are still looking for me?"

Levi didn't quite know what to say and was taken aback by her question, thinking that she surely, he couldn't answer that question with any certainty.

"I thought you didn't care about that shit?" He recalled their conversation that they were her family and that her past never mattered to her.

"Hmm, it's not that I'll ever be chasing answers, but the memory of my sister from a while back just got me wondering if I'm someone they'd be missing. The more I learn, I guess the more curious I am about who I was. Does that make sense?"

"I suppose the closer you are to finishing the puzzle, the more you want to solve it."

Anna looked up at Levi who was still gazing at the forest surrounding them. Whenever he was looking at the scenery, Anna could make out a glimmer of serenity in his steel eyes.

"Good to know you're still a softy at heart," she chuckled. "I just know that if one of you guys went missing, I don't think I'd ever stop looking. I just don't want people worrying about me. I'd rather they thought I was gone for good and find peace."

Levi looked down, a slightly annoyed look on his face, "You always put others before yourself. Be selfish for once; if you want to look for them, then do it. Don't find yourself regretting someday that you completely lost that part of yourself."

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