Meow (AOT Story)

Snooping

A few days passed by, and there was no communication from Tiffany, much to Matthew's dismay. Although, a few developments did take place on Matthew's side of the Walls. Word that a murder had taken place in one of the military barracks had spread around like wildfire, and Hanji had already deduced who the murderers were. Matthew happened to be listening in on one of Hanji's conversations with the new Levi Squad, and happened to come across this speculation. Granted no one knew that he was present since he had transformed into his feline form. He knew that he would have to report this to Commander Erwin, even if Hanji didn't ask him to. 

"Welcome back." Erwin's tired voice echoed through the small bedroom.

"Thanks. I've delivered your message to Hanji, and she said that she is happy to start moving her plan into action." Matthew stated with slight hesitance. 

"Alright, has there been anything from Cadet Jones?" Erwin asks with slight amusement.

"No, but I overheard Hanji talking about the death of some Pastor in the military barracks." Matthew grimaced as he thought of the gruesome details that Hanji divulged.

"I see. He was a good source of intel. It seems he was murdered before we are able to receive any information though." Erwin sighed with deep frown.

"Oh. I wasn't aware of that." Matthew whispers slightly.

        Erwin merely grunts in response and dismisses Matthew from the room. Matthew immediately leaves and makes a beeline towards his own room, and strips off his clothes so that he can take a bath. He started to get comfortable but suddenly there was a buzzing in the back of his head which caused him to groan. Concentrating on the buzzing in his head, Matthew envisioned a meadow where he could relax. Moments later, Tiffany came bounding into the center of the meadow.

"Matthew!" Tiffany's voice echoed throughout the space.

"Hey there! I was wondering when you'd decide contact me." Matthew smirked as he watched Tiffany sit down in front of him.

"Sorry...It got pretty hectic when that Monkey Titan came." Tiffany frowned.

"Monkey Titan?" The older boy questioned with a quirked brow.

"Yeah, he apparently came from the same place that Reiner and Bertholdt came from. He's just older than us and it's kind of scary the resemblance to Eren he has." She shuddered slightly as she gazed past her brother.

"Do you have a name? Is he from within the walls? Have they stated what they're after yet?" Matthew shot out quickly while scooting closer to the girl.

"No, they came from across the sea. He said that they are after something called the Coordinate? It's something that is passed down between Titan Shifters or something, and they think that Eren has it." Tiffany explains briefly before rubbing her arm.

"Coordinate? So, is it true that Eren controlled the Titans then?" Matthew's voice grew serious as he gazed down at his sister.

"Y-yeah." She stuttered out before noticing her body blurring.

"Seems like they are trying to wake you. You better go." Matthew sighs with a slight disappointed glance.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't stay longer. I love you!" Tiffany frowned before wrapping her arms around his neck and disappearing.

"Love you too, little sister." Matthew sighed as he opened his eyes and found himself in his bathroom.

        He stayed in the water for a few minutes longer before deciding that it would be best that he get dressed again. There had been a slight uproar about the military a few towns away, and Erwin wanted Matthew to check out what the problem was. Pulling his shirt over his head, Matthew grabbed a pouch of coins and his small dagger. "Never know when you'll be needing this." Tiffany had once told him when she came by his little apartment in Trost before the second breach occurred.  Sighing, he slid the dagger in it's holster around his leg and headed out of the barracks. Making his way across the dirt paths, Matthew noticed how less populated the nearest town seemed to be compared to the other day. Frowning slightly, he morphed into his feline form and took off towards his destination a few towns over. It was always a wonder how Matthew had always managed to travel and not lose his belongings somewhere along the way. He arrived at the outskirts of a merchant run town and morphed back into his human form, and pulled out his coin pouch. 

"Excuse me, Sir?" Matthew calls out to a man that stood behind a half open door.

"What?" The man answered gruffly without looking away from the drink in his hand.

"Is there a place that I can stay for the next few days?" The younger asks with slight disgust as he watches the man down his drink.

"You can stay here at my inn. Have you been around here before?" The man spoke with a new found enthusiasm.

"No, this is my first time in the area." Matthew smiled slightly although he still felt uneasy.

"Alright, then your first night is free. Follow me to your room." The man smiled as he opened the door fully.

        Matthew followed behind the man a few paces, before realizing that he had entered a pub. Quirking his brow slightly, he noticed that the man had walked up a flight of stairs that seemed to have been hidden behind a large barrel. Making his way through the pub, Matthew walked up the steps and found the man unlocking a door near the end of the hall.

"This is your room during your stay here." The man stated with slightly shaking hands has he struggled to get his key out of the door. 

"Thank you, Sir." Matthew whispered as he watched give an aggravated grunt.

"Of course. This is your key as well, sorry but you'll have to get it out yourself." The man sighed as he turned and stalked away.

        Staring at the key in the door, Matthew debated whether or not he actually wanted to stay here. Now that he knew that this place wasn't the best for lodging, he sort of wanted to explore the town before setting his heart here. But the sound of fighting caused him to quickly jerk the handle open and step into his room. Closing the door behind him, he makes his way towards the window to check if he could see what the commotion was. Much to his dismay, it seemed that whatever was happening was actually inside of the pub. Sighing to himself, Matthew walked over to the bed and gently placed his hand across the pillow. Dust filled the air as he placed little pressure to the semi-soft fabric. Groaning silently, he picked up the pillow and shook it outside of his window so that all the dust wouldn't get inside of the room. Then he moved on to the bed sheets and then the rest of the room. After about an hour or so, Matthew had completely cleaned his room, and window, and bathroom. He now understood why no one actually stayed here. Rubbing his hands together, he noticed that he had managed to cut his finger on something somewhere in the room. Confusion spread across his face as he searched the room for any blood that could tell him as to where he managed to hurt himself, but his room was spotless. Frowning, for what seemed like the hundredth time, Matthew grabbed his money and dagger and left the inn so that he could explore the town. 

        It was nearly evening by the time he had arrived back to his room, and he noticed that the pub had increased in population for the evening. Groaning inwardly to himself, Matthew made his way around the people and towards the stairs. Walking up the stairs, he noticed how someone was staggering around in the hallway ahead of him. Making sure that no one was behind him, Matthew concentrated on his hearing and listened for what the man was doing.

"I swear, those damned MP's are gonna be the deaths of us all." The man slurred as he ran into what sounded like the wall.

"Will you just get in here before someone comes!" Someone else whispered angrily while wrenching a door open.

"Why does it matter? It's not like anything is going to happen." The man laughed before walking into the room.

        Matthew stalked towards the door that the two men had walked through, and listened intently. Unfortunately, their voices were muffled so it made everything difficult to understand. Although, he could hear "Levi" and "Bounty" clearly enough that he understood slightly what they must have been talking about. Waiting another minute, Matthew tried to hear if there were any other names that could be useful for him, but to avail. The two men had stopped talking and seemed to looking through papers. Taking that as his cue, Matthew made his way back to his room and started writing down any information that he could gather. So far, the only thing that he could get was that this town was under the protection of the Reeves Company, and that they seemed to be heavily involved with the Military Police. Also the little bit about Levi having some sort of bounty, but he would have to get more information before he could report that.

        But something was going to happen here in this town, and that something was going to involve Levi and his new squad.