Hate 34

"How do your horses run that fast!?"

Levi wasn't sure what he expected to hear from Grice on the first night they stopped to camp and rest the horses.

That certainly wasn't it.

"They've been bred and trained to run faster and longer. It's the only way we've been able to out-maneuver the Titans out in the open," Levi remarked thoughtfully.

"Trained my tail! I've seen horses racing, these things are going at least twice as fast as they should be," Grice said with a head shake. "Look at me, a giant monster on Paradis, and I'm freaking out over something like the horses being faster than they should be."

"Yeah, that is a bit much," Levi agreed evenly as he hung from the wall on the outside. Grice gave him an annoyed look for his remark. "Any sign of anything out here?"

"Nothing so far. I ate a few Titans while I read. I thought I was ahead of you for so long, I thought I could stop and eat. Turns out, I need to gobble them down as I go, "Grice remarked.

"Gross," Levi said without missing a beat. "Give a shout if anything happens before sunrise."

"Same to you, for whatever that's worth," Grice nodded back before Levi ascended Wall Rose to return to his team.

After that, the next few days went smoothly until......

"Levi!"

The Levi team pulled their horses to a skidding stop, looking back to see Grice on top of Wall Rose.

"Get your asses back here! I have something!"

"That idiot is going to give everyone a heart attack doing that!" Olou said with a cowl, wondering how many villages and towns saw and heard that.

"He probably has a good reason," Eld said, and that thought made him visibly concerned as Grice went back to the outer side of Rose.

"Gunther, Petra, you're both with me. You two, watch the horses," Levi said as they got off their mounts, using the nearby trees as points to launch off, bringing them to the wall.

They crested over the top, landing on the edge of the other side to look down.

Grice wasn't fighting anything, but there were clearly titans around him. Titans that weren't moving and weren't disappearing.

"That's not ominous at all," Gunther said in concern.

"Be careful you two," Levi said as they scaled down the wall with their gear. "Grice, what is it?"

"Look for yourselves," Grice said, gesturing to the Titans.

Levi wasn't sure what he was looking at. The Titans were immobile, with large parts of their bodies missing. The troubling thing wasn't just that they weren't regenerating or evaporating, but their wounds appeared to be scorched. As if something had burned away the giant foes.

"I found them like this," Grice informed., placing a food on one of them.

Gunther and Petra instantly drew their blades as the Titans twitched but couldn't get up or even try to attack them, Levi narrowing his eyes. "They're still alive."

"Yeah," Grice said with a growling hum of thought. "I think...they're in pain too."

"What? I thought Titans couldn't feel pain from their titan forms?" Petra asked in confusion. "Is that what that Ymir girl told us?"

Yeah, that's what concerns me," Grice said with an uncomfortable tone. "If they're feeling pain, that means the human they once were is also in pain."

The human trio looked at the bodies again, only now realizing that the faces were contorted in pain. They were so used to the strange expressions of Titan faces, they hadn't paid them any mind. But each of these looked almost like they were.....

"Are they....crying?" Petra asked slowly.

"No way," Gunther said, more in surprise than denial as he saw the liquid coming from the eyes of a titan. 'I didn't...know they could do that."

Levi stared at the creature. Some might feel vindictive pleasure at seeing a creature like the Titans suffering. But knowing it was just a person forcibly trapped in an unending hell of being a mindless titan, most would be hard-pressed to take delight with that context in their mind.

"I'm going to....put them out of their misery if that's fine with you," Grice said awkwardly.

"Wait a minute," Levi said. "Look them over first, so if they have anything else to show for it. Claw marks, bite marks, something to tell us what got them?"

Grice nodded and rolled the bodies around awkwardly. One lurched to him. He hissed as the Titan bit his arm, drawing blood but doing little more than that. With a snap of his chaws, he ripped the nape out and ate the flesh before it vanished. "Don't suppose any of you saw anything worth mentioning?" Grice grunted as he moved to kill and eat the rest of them.

"Just the obvious," Levi mused. "The only thing I've known to cause Titans to feel pain is the golden brat."

Grice looked away in thought. "Could Grisha do that too? It's hard to recall, but.....I remember Titans dying more easily against him," he said, trying to remember events hazed by hunger and primal madness.

"What's so special about that golden dragon form then?" Gunther asked.

Grice looked to the side and chose his words carefully. 'I don't know. Just that.....when I get close to going feral, from the hunger? I start to get scared of it too."

"It," Levi noted. "Not him?"

Grice nodded. "I don't think it's Eren himself that triggers it as...whatever his form is, or represents The others that went feral avoided Grisha a lot. Not entirely, but it was like they thought he was more dangerous than the rest of us."

"Well, objectively he is," Petra remarked.

"Trust me, it takes a lot to scare a starving creature more than dying from an empty stomach," Levi said in a dark, knowing voice. "Grice, let us know if you find more like this. I don't care how much it slows us down. If it's just more of this, we'll continue on, but if it's something different?"

"Got it," Grice said, looking to the skies. "Keep an eye out yourselves, okay? If this is connected to...wherever we're going, then that means it can fly."

And it was a cloudy day, Levi noted to himself Not raining, but if something could soar above those grey clouds, no one would see it.

The only saving grace in Levi's mind was that whatever struck here, if it could fly? It only went after the Titans. That was a good sign, hopefully.

Meanwhile

"Okay. It's official. He is definitely getting bigger."

No one argued with Sasha's observation as Eren stalked around the area near the boulder, the biggest open space in Trost. The golden dragon had stared at the boulder strangely before walking over it.

[[She's right. We're definitely bigger.]]

[Getting outside might be hard if this keeps up.]

[[[Maybe we can dig the bottom deeper?]]]

[[Really?]]

[With what hands!?]

Drei glared as Einz and Zwei gave him annoyed looks.

"What do you think he's talking about?" Connie asked curiously.

"Probably something about killing titans, you know how Eren is," Sasha remarked with a shrug to Connie.

All three heads looked at her in annoyance.

[[[[I want to be annoyed.]]]]

"Still, why is he getting bigger?" Sasha mused out loud as they watched Eren stalk away from the boulder.

"Maybe he's still growing up?" Connie mused. "Didn't we hear that  Eren's old man only had two heads? Maybe he's still growing into it."

"You think Eren's dad only had one head once? Maybe even one tail?" Sasha wondered out loud.

"You know, I keep forgetting that he has two tails," Connie admitted, looking at said appendages.

"How do you forget that he has two giant spiky clubs he swings around?"Sasha asked skeptically.

"Look, they move in sync so much, I almost feel like I'm just looking at one tail while crossed-eyed or something to see double," Connie defended with his arms crossed.

The three heads tilted their heads. Their tails moved in sync subconsciously? They didn't know that. Then again, they didn't think too much about their tails when not using them for something.

"Hey, Eren?!" Sasha spoke up, getting his attention. "What's going to be your first meal when you're human again?"

[[....What...?]]

[[[Why are you even surprised?]]]

"Where did that come from?" Connie asked in bewilderment.

"Well, we know that Eren's dad turned back, so that means Eren can too," Sasha reasoned with a smile. "And I can't help thinking, what would be the first meal I'd want after all that time in that form?"

[[Yes, but why is she asking?]]

[They can't even understand us.]

[[[Wait for it.]]]

"Why are you asking though? Krista- Er, Historia isn't here to translate, and we're not Armin or Mikasa who can just guess what this guy is thinking half the time," Connie pointed out, giving Sasha a look that questioned her intelligence.

"Yeah, but we can practice!" Sasha recommended brightly. "Eren can come up with an answer and we can try to figure it out!"

[[[[Ahh.]]]]

[I hate this idea.]

[[Seconded.]]

[[[Yeah, this isn't going to work with these two.]]]

"....Well, not like we have anything better to do," Connie decided.

Eren contemplated walking away and wasn't sure why he didn't.

"Is it meat!?" Sasha called out.

Eren shook his heads.

"WHAT?!" Sasha cried out in outrage.

"Sasha, the guy is biting through Titans all the time. If he can taste that? I don't blame him for wanting something else on his plate. Even you like a good potato," Connie teased with a grin.

"I guess that's true...." Sasha accepted, practically pouting. "...Is it a potato?"

Another triple shake of the heads.

"Is it soup?" Connie tried.

[[[[....Wait, is a stew a soup?]]]]

Sasha blinked as she saw Eren's heads all look at each other. "That's not a no?" 

"What are you idiots doing?" Jean asked as he arrived with a yawn. "Also, did the bastard get bigger again?"

[Trust me, we're not ecstatic about it either!]

"Hey, Jean," Connie answered. "Sasha wants to guess what Eren's first meal will be when he figures out how to turn human again."

"We've ruled out meat and potatoes, but he kind of seems unsure about soup?" Sasha explained.

"You idiots. Obviously, the first thing he's going to want to eat is something special, like some family recipe only he or Mikasa knows," Jean said lately.

Eren stiffened, looking at Jean in surprise.

"Huh, I think you got it," Connie remarked.

"What? It's the only sensible answer! You'd want something that reminds you of home. Don't you both have some family thing like that?" Jean asked in annoyance.

[[[We have more in common with Jean than we like to admit.]]]

[Shut your trap!]

[[You're not wrong, but yes, shut it.]]

Einz rolled his eyes good-naturedly while the other heads looked annoyed.

Elsewhere, Hannes was having a drink.

Normally, he didn't touch much alcohol anymore, sans special occasions.

Being offered some by the Commander of the Garrison seemed like a good occasion, lest he offend the man.

Still, he kept his drinks on the conservative side.

"Tell me, what do you think of your new position, Captain?" Pixis asked idly as they stood on top of Wall Rose.

"It's a little confusing, everything," Hannes admitted thoughtfully as he looked down and watched Boris stretching and testing his now-healed wings. "I mean, I get it. You need someone to keep an eye on these big bastards. Eren was the first, so you had his classmates keeping watch over him."

"Yes, keeping everything tight-lipped at the time was rather important, with how little we knew and understood," Pixis agreed.

"Not just that," Hannes said knowingly. "You were all trying to appease Eren in a way."

Pixis remained silent, glancing at the man with a single raised eyebrow.

"You found out a cadet just out of training was turned into a giant monster and has no idea how to turn back. You didn't want him to freak out over his situation with a bunch of strangers just trying to control him. You didn't want him trying to bust out of this cage if it felt too stifling,' Hannes said knowingly, and without judgment. "Probably the smartest move. Eren's a good kid, but I can't imagine how hard this would be for him without his friends. Which is why you need me, to be the adult of the group. Even if a few of them are more mature than me," he finished with a chuckle.

Pixis shared a laugh as well. "A fair point I suppose. But I don't see what you are confused by then?"

Hannes rubbed the back of his head. "On paper, only two kinds of people would actively want in this group, if they really thought about it. Opportunists who want to get ahead in this new part of the military, and people just wanting to avoid any chance of fighting the Titans. This job ultimately doesn't involve much other than keeping an eye on these guys, and they're very well-behaved so far."

At that exact moment, Boris flew up from down below, soaring over the wall and making the two men nearly fall backward in surprise.

"So far, indeed," Pixissaid as he looked up to see the flying giant turning to soar around the edge of Trost.

"You can blame that Zoe woman," Hannes said with a head shake. "Commander? What is the end goal of this Riesenwache? Are we just a temporary thing, until our large friends figure out how to turn human again? Are we going to be traveling and fighting alongside them when they head outside the walls?"

Pixis hummed. "Good questions. Ones I'm sure the Cadets have had themselves. That Artlert boy is certainly keen enough to wonder as much. But they likely assume we adults have a plan."

"A bold presumption sometimes," Hannes said with a sigh.

"I will admit that the future of this division is in flux, Captain. It is officially an extension of the Scouts, with some aid and oversight from the Garrison. If, say, the Giants could now transform at will? The Riesenwache would likely be folded back into Scouts, with all members given their formal choice of where to go.  But things are changing, more so than you might know. It might be only a matter of time before the functions and capabilities of the Reisenwache are expanded."

Hannes grunted in thought. "So, I just need to keep the boat from tipping over."

"I suppose that is one way to see it," Pxiis remarked. "And what do you think of these young soldiers of yours?"

"All I know is, I'm happy Eren got this power and not someone else. All that boy ever wanted was for us to take back the world outside the walls from the Titans. Someone else might have been too cowardly to use it, or too greedy to not take advantage of it. Eren though?"

Pixis frowned suddenly. "Captain Hannes? Do you think it might be possible that Eren Yeager can change form but simply doesn't want to?"

Hannes furrowed his brow. "No, why would....." Hannes trialed off in sudden thought.

Pixis waited for his answer.

"Well, not unless he thought he could never turn back into this scaly form," Hannes stipulated, looking down to where Eren was watching Boris fly. "Kid is stubborn enough that he'd hold onto it for as long as he could. But is there a reason to think he can't change back if he does take human form again?"

"You're probably asking the wrong man for that," Pixis said with a chuckle. "From everything we've heard, Grisha was able to take on that form at least twice. What happened after that...."

Hannes frowned. "Judging from what I've heard about the shifters, transferring powers like this  might mean that...."

Pixis nodded. "We have to assume that Grisha Yeager is dead, yes."

Hannes tried not to dwell on that. Did that mean that Eren had been forced to eat his father? How? Did Grisha turn Eren into a Titan, did it even work like that for these creatures? "I'm used to not knowing a lot," Hannes admitted with a frown. "I just miss the days when I didn't care that much about that."

Pixis chucked in sympathy as the pair shared another drink.

Meanwhile

The days went on for the Levi squadron. Every evening, they would stop and check on Grice before turning in, to make sure they were still in the same area as each other and to see if Grice had seen any more unusual sightings.

And most nights, it was nothing but a few titans.

"Something sticky?" Eld asked, standing on the side of the wall, next to Levi.

"Gross," Levi deadpanned.

A soldier with a cleaning obsession. Grice felt there was something cruel about that, but didn't voice it to the captain.

"I hate to ask, but could it be possible some of your comrades have gone full animal and are...." Eld trailed off meaningfully. "Mating?"

Grice shook his head at that thought. Despite all this time, he still had no desire to figure out how Crawlers reproduced. "Not that kind of sticky. I couldn't see it well in the dark, but it was thick and solid, not...gooey like that," Grice explained uncertainty as he looked out at the amethyst sky, the last of the light vanishing over the horizon.

"We'll be there tomorrow, "Levi informed with a frown. "Don't suppose this is reminding you of anything? Like a giant spider or something?"

Grice shook his head. "Surprisingly, no. There was something...shaped kind of like that, but there was no webbing or anything."

Levi nodded. "Get some sleep and any snacks you need. You may have to make a public appearance tomorrow."

"Wonderful. I'll try not to cause any heart attacks," Grice remarked, fully expecting a lot of panicking and screaming. He couldn't blame people really, but there wasn't much he could do to minimize it either.

The two soldiers headed back to the top of the wall. Levi was about to head back down to rejoin the others when he noticed Eld pausing. "What is it?" he asked calmly.

"Sorry, Captain, it's just...." Eld paused, glancing back down to the edge they just came over. "Is it just me or is Grice getting bigger?"

"You noticed too,," Levi mused. "It's not just the golden brat anymore. They're probably all getting bigger."

"But why? Have they been growing for all these years?" Eld asked with a frown.

"No," Levi said, closing his eyes. "Hange asked Grice if they ever had any notable growth parts. To his knowledge, they've always been about the same height. But now they're getting bigger."

So, what changed?

The question rang silently over them, unasked and unneeded.

The answer was obvious, after all, to Levi at least.

Eren.

How, he didn't know. But Hange and the higher-ups already knew that the most likely catalyst was either Eren himself or otherwise connected to him. It was easy to see there was something different, more to that form compared to the other creatures.

Grice’s claim that his instincts, the more primal part of his monstrous form was scared of Eren’s own form? That only solidified it in Levi’s mind.

Still, there was nothing they could do. He was sure everyone was keeping something to themselves, but he was sure of one thing.

They were all on the same side. Eren, Grice, the Scouts, and even the Queen. All of them were invested in protecting the People of the Walls.

He just had to hope it stayed that way, while they all dealt with things as they came up.