Age of Titans Chapter 15 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Age of Titans! The Survey Corps have been awaked to their Eldian heritage, Titan Shifting, the birthright of the Eldian people. Now they have just under a month to train and learn how to make full use of this new power before they’re off on the next expedition to reclaim Wall Maria. During said training, they also have to actually plan out the expedition to take into account the power of Titan Shifters and try to reduce casualties as much as possible. Krista also has something to share with her lovers.

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 15 – Shifter Training and Expedition Planning

It had been three days since the Survey Corps had fully been awakened to their Eldian heritage and become Lesser Shifters. Some notable members of the former 104th Cadet Training squad were now Shifters of various Types.

Jean was an Attack Type standing at Fifteen Meters. Marco was a Cart Type that stood at Ten Meters, but like all Cart Types, preferred a quadrupedal stance. Connie was a Jaw Type, hitting Five Meters just like Armin and most of the other Jaw Types. Thomas had also turned out to be an Attack Type, standing at Fourteen Meters. Samuel had awakened as a Beast Type, with a height of Fourteen Meters, though his Titan form had the head of a lynx, a body that was almost fully covered in silver fur-like hair, and the hands and feet were a bit larger than they would be on a human, the Titan seemed perfectly comfortable in either bipedal or quadrupedal stances as opposed to the Wolf Titan and the Bear Titan they already had. Mina’s awakening had been a surprise, the girl becoming an Armor Titan that stood at Thirteen Meters. Hannah had awakened as a Female Titan, standing at Fourteen Meters.

While Eren was happy with the diversity of Titan Types, the one that worried everyone, and the reason for them to have to move to a further remote area, was Franz. A Colossal Type, and the Prime Colossal Titan at that, would decimate everything around it when it formed. So, they were currently in a valley almost two kilometers from the current headquarters for the Survey Corps to give Franz some practice with his Titan form.

“Eren, Krista, are you both ready?” Erwin questioned the two loudly.

“Yes…” Krista’s Titan spoke after a second.

Eren, unable to speak in Titan form, just nodded once.

They were both already transformed so that they could access the full power of their Founding Type abilities on the chance that Franz lost control. The last thing anyone needed was the Prime Colossal Titan rampaging.

“Give the signal.” Erwin ordered as he, Hange, Levi, and the rest of the Squad Leaders watched on from behind a thick, bunker-like, wall that had been made just for these tests.

Hange eagerly raised a green flag and waved it in the air, giving Franz the go ahead to transform. The Titan researcher had sparkles in her brown eyes as she put the flag back down and quickly had her notebook back in her hands to record everything.

Down in the valley, Franz saw the green flag and took a steadying breath. This would be his first conscious transformation, and he really hoped that he didn’t run wild during it. The tall man swiftly slied his palm with the standard issue knife for soldiers and watched the blood flow for a second. Yellow sparks appeared around his hand, arcing up his arm, before a spark touched his blood.

BOOM

The lightning that appeared to crash down on Fraz was immense. But the following blast drowned it out almost instantly. The shockwave raced through the valley, uprooting trees and flattening everything else. A massive cloud of smoke and steam followed as intense heat filled the area, setting fire to nearly everything. The entire skeleton was already formed the second the shockwave had crossed the valley. The muscles had wrapped around the bones as the steam and smoke cloud covered the area. By the time everything was on fire, the towering form of a Sixty Meter Colossal Titan stood in the valley.

“It’s the Colossal!” Hange exclaimed in jubilation, having never gotten to see it before. The shockwave hit the bunker-like wall and nearly staggered the Squad Leaders, but all of them managed to keep their feet. The fact that the shockwave was lessened from the distance and the uphill slope didn’t hurt either.

The largest Titan simply stood still amidst the chaos and devastation that it had caused just from forming. The dark brown eyes of Franz looked out from the new perspective on the world and just stared. Thoughts were slow and his body felt heavy, but he was still in control.

‘Are you still with us, Franz?’ Eren’s voice appeared in Franz’s head, helping him become a bit more cognitive.

“I’m here, Eren.” Franz spoke physically, though his Titan’s mouth barely moved in response and no sound was produced by the immense body.

‘That’s good, Franz. Well done.’ Eren praised his friend, inwardly glad that Franz wasn’t going berserk. ‘Commander Erwin wants you to try walking the length of the valley. Do you think you’re up to it?’

“I’ll try.” Franz replied as he felt out his Titan body and figured out how long it would take to move his right leg a step forward. Everything was so massive and heavy compared to his normal body that it was throwing off his sense of motor function.

Eren and Krista watched as the Colossal Titan slowly took its first step. The placing of its foot on the burning ground made an audible rumble, but it proved that Franz was capable of controlling the immense Titan form. The second step had Hange nearly squealing in excitement as she watched and recorded her observations. Erwin and Levi watched the Colossal Titan walk slowly down the length of the valley; its mere movement capable of leaving devastation in it wake. The Squad Leaders all gaped at the sheer size a single Titan could possess and the destruction that it could cause.

“I’d say we leave this for either a last resort, or meticulously plan for its deployment in advance.” Levi commented as Franz made it halfway down the valley. The steam rising off the hot flesh was leaving a cloud trailing behind the Colossal Titan.

Erwin nodded firmly. “Agreed. Such power could easily harm our own soldiers and position if it was unleashed carelessly.”

Hange beamed at Erwin and Levi. “This is amazing! Look at how big it is! Its heat output is incredible!” She was writing down everything into her notebook at furious speed. The fact that a chunk of the valley below was now a charred wasteland just from a single transformation didn’t seem to bother Hange much, which made the other Squad Leaders look at her like she was nuts.

But, honestly, that was pretty common for most people when it came to Hange.

-Survey Corps Temporary Shifter Training Area-

A good distance away from the headquarters, in an expansive plain behind the old castle, was a sight that no one within the Walls would ever have expected to see.

Titans training in hand-to-hand combat.

Attack Types, Female Types, and Armor Types were going through their regular close quarter combat drills that they normally did while human. Annie had insisted upon it as the fastest way to get the new Lesser Shifters acclimated to their Titan forms. It also made them much more effective in the field as assets to the Survey Corps if they could use proper techniques against the hordes of Pure Titans that infested Paradis Island.

The Warhammer Types were learning from Sasha about how to activate and mold their advanced Hardening ability into various weapons. It was a bit slow going, given that they were so new, but the small group of Warhammer Titans were starting to get the hang of it, creating simple weapons like spears and swords…or Titan-sized versions of them at any rate.

All of the Jaw Titans had been put under Ymir’s instruction and taken to the nearby forest for training on their mobility. The Prime Jaw Titan showed them how to leap, latch onto, and then swing from one tree to the next at high speed. The claws that could shred through even the strongest of hardening were also ridiculously good at attaching a Jaw Titan to a solid object, letting them hang from them almost like spiders. There had been several falls from the trees already, but to the surprise of several, Connie was quickly getting the hang of the mobility his Titan form offered.

The small group of Beast Titans were currently getting used to their changed senses. As their forms had animal attributes, their sense were sharper than normal. Sounds were easier to hear, scents could be picked up, and the ability to process this into useful information had to be trained. That wasn’t to say that they weren’t training their combat though. Any time they weren’t learning to acclimate to their senses, the Beast Types were sparring amongst each other, putting their bestial aspects to the best use in combat. Claws, fangs, weight, anything and everything was used as an advantage.

Cart Titans were training to get used to quadrupedal movement and working on their speed and endurance. Whereas most of the new Lesser Shifters had to come out of their Titans after roughly two hours, all of the Cart Types were perfectly fine even after ten hours. The Type excelled in stamina and strength, able to maintain their transformations much longer than everyone else, even as beginners. At the moment, the training was for formation maneuvers with Oluo leading the pack. All of the other Cart Titans followed him and moved as he instructed with short orders of ‘right’, ‘left’, ‘faster’, ‘slower’, and ‘halt’ used to change anything about the formation at any time to simulate the chaotic nature of actual travel through Titan-infested lands.

The Survey Corps only had a bit under a month to fully integrate their new Shifter abilities into their tactics before the expedition to try and retake Wall Maria began. It was a deadline that hung over them all like the blade of a guillotine, but not a single one of them backed down in the slightest. They were all dedicated to succeeding and taking back their land within the Walls!

-Evening ~ One Week into Training-

Krista sat on her bed in the basement quarters that the original group of Shifters had been assigned. She clenched her hands into the blankets below her as her blue eyes were filled with worry and concern. Emotions warred within her, reason and logic made it obvious that she needed to share her secret with her family at the very least, but her desire for them to not be dragged into her past made it hard for her to tell them the truth.

“Shh…” Ymir sat beside Krista and gently pulled her into a side-hug, holding the short blonde and gently rocking her to ease her worries. “It’s fine, Krista, take your time.” She kissed the top of Krista’s head softly.

Around Krista and Ymir; sat Eren, Mikasa, Sasha, and Annie. All of them waiting for Krista to gather herself and tell them what she felt like she needed to tell them. None of them rushed her in the slightest. They only gave her support and comfort with their gazes as Krista warred with her own feelings.

“You can tell us anything, Krista.” Sasha smiled at the shortest among their ‘family’. Her kind and warm personality always brought smiles to the faces of others and Krista felt her emotions settle a little as she gave Sasha a small smile in return.

Eren softly took her hand and ran his thumb over the back, gently caressing her soft skin. “Whatever it is, Krista, we’ll be here for you. Nothing will ever change how we feel about you.”

That was precisely what Krista was worried about and had become a major block to her telling them about who she really was. “You promise?” She looked into his eyes and blue met green as her fear of rejection became almost palpable.

“Promise.” Annie, Eren, Mikasa, Ymir, and Sasha all said at the same time, getting closer and surrounding Krista in a group hug, burying her within the love and affection that they all had for her.

Krista immersed herself in this love and warmth, doing her best to let go of her fear as she enjoyed it. ‘Hopefully not for the last time.’ The thought appeared in her head but she shook it away. Once she was freed from the group hug, Krista took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. “I’ve been lying to all of you about who I am.” She admitted that first and foremost.

“What do you mean?” Annie asked, looking perplexed.

“Krista Lenz is a fake name that I was given when I was cast out of my family as a ‘mistake’ that shouldn’t have been born.” Krista shook a little at the memories of that night and the murder of her mother, even if the woman had never once looked at her like her own child. The hurtful words that she’d said before her death had left a mark on the little girl’s heart that had only started to heal when she found the wonderful people that loved her now. With eyes filled to the brim with emotion, she looked straight at Eren and told him the truth. “My real name is Historia Reiss, the illegitimate child of Rod Reiss, the hidden King of the Walls.”

Dead silence.

There was no sound at all in the basement after Krista…Historia’s confession.

Everyone was stunned into silence, eyes wide in surprise. Even Annie and Mikasa, both of whom rarely showed much of their emotions on their faces, couldn’t stop the shock from covering their expressions.

Historia nearly shrank in on herself reflexively as she saw the looks on everyone’s faces. The only thing that stopped her was her hand, still held in Eren’s, being gently squeezed. She slowly looked back up into his green eyes and her heart nearly skipped a beat as she saw the warmth and love still in Eren’s eyes.

“We don’t choose the family that we’re born into, Historia.” Eren used her real name for the first time and Historia nearly broke down right then and there. “We choose how we live our lives and who we live them with.” He gently pulled her into his arms and Historia buried her face into his chest. “This doesn’t change how I feel about you in the slightest.” He kissed the top of her head as Historia’s tears soaked his shirt.

“Krista or Historia, it doesn’t matter to me.” Ymir agreed as she wrapped her arms around Historia as best as she could.

Sasha joined the hug next. “Nice to meet you, Historia!” She giggled and snuggled into the growing group hug.

“It’s fine.” Mikasa had a small smile on her lips as she joined the hug too. “You’re still the same person that we love.”

Annie couldn’t stop the small grin that crossed her lips. “We’ll worry about whatever this means later.” She leaned in and placed a soft kiss atop Historia’s head. “For now, you need comfort.”

Left unsaid was how much strength in took for Historia to tell them the truth like this. There was a real and genuine fear of rejection that could’ve come to pass as far as Historia was aware, after all. Being the daughter, even illegitimate, of the Reiss Family that were the hidden rulers of the Walls put a large target on Historia’s back, especially to those like them that planned to tear the current regime down.

“Sh-Shouldn’t we tell Commander Erwin?” Historia managed to contain her tears of relief for a moment to ask.

“Later.” Eren hugged her a little closer. “We’ll tell them tomorrow. Tonight, we sleep.” He gently picked Historia up and carried her to his bed. Historia nearly clung to him as they removed their clothes and slipped into bed together in nothing but their underwear, and a thin undershirt in Historia’s case. Eren wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, letting Historia snuggle into his chest.

Had the bed not been a military-issue, and therefore only really meant for a single person, Ymir would’ve been spooning Historia’s back. Unfortunately, there just wasn’t enough space in the small bed.

Everyone headed for bed a little early that night, much to the surprise of Armin, Hannah, and Franz as they came down the stairs into the basement a bit before lights out and saw everyone already in bed. Not questioning it, the three of them prepared for bed as well and turned out the last lantern a short time later.

-Erwin’s Office ~ Next Morning-

“I see.” Erwin looked to be in deep thought after hearing about Historia’s real name and her connection to the Reiss Family. The Commander of the Survey Corps was silent for several long moments before he spoke again. “I’ll keep this information to myself for now.” He decided on what he believed would be the best course of action. “After we reclaim Wall Maria, both the Survey Corps and Eren will have the majority of the support of the people. However, there will be holdouts amongst the civilian population that’re loyal to the Monarchy. I’m not sure how exactly Zackly, Nile, and Pixis will want to handle this revelation in relation to that; but I do know that having the last member of the Reiss Family, the true rulers of the Walls, supporting Eren’s ascension to the throne can only help us when it comes to getting the support of those holdouts.”

“Thank you, Commander.” Eren thanked Erwin for his acceptance and prudence on the matter.

“With the support of the people, we can even depose the current aristocracy when the time comes. The one thing we must prevent at all costs is a civil war within the Walls. That will be the death knell for Eldia and everyone that lives on Paradis Island.” Erwin laid out the truth as he saw it for the group in front of him, his face absolutely serious.

“Yes, sir.” Eren, Mikasa, Sasha, Historia, Ymir, and Annie agreed, giving Erwin a salute.

“Dismissed. Join the training for formation riding this morning with the rest of the Survey Corps. Shifter training will take place in the afternoon.” Erwin ordered as he sent the six off to join the rest of the soldiers.

As the six were heading down the stairs towards the ground floor, Eren spoke up once he was sure that no one was around to hear. “We’ll tell Armin about Historia’s secret tonight. We need to keep him up to date since his intelligence will help us keep ahead of some things that could go awry.”

That was unanimously agreed to. Armin was very intelligent, and when he put his mind to things, he often figured out problems quickly and with an efficient solution. While politics wasn’t something that Armin was versed in, having his opinion on how to handle Historia’s connection to the Reiss family could only help.

-Survey Corp Riding Formation Course-

“You new recruits need to memorize this formation forwards and backwards by the time the expedition begins!” Squad Leader Ness told the new recruits as he tapped the board in front of the room that had been turned into an impromptu classroom. “This long-range scouting formation was developed by Commander Erwin himself! It’s drastically increased our survival rate by allowing the entire Survey Corps to avoid as many Titans as possible!”

As the course went on, the new recruits learned how the formation was planned out with multiple columns and rows, each assigned a set function, and all of them communicating through the use of colored smoke flares. Red for when a Titan was spotted. Green for when the formation was changing direction. Black for when an abnormal was spotted that ignored the outer forces and entered the formation itself.

“This formation is critical to our survival.” Ness continued while making sure that everyone was on the same page. “An updated version incorporating our new Shifter abilities is being worked out among us Squad Leaders with Commander Erwin as well, and once you’ve memorized and mastered this formation, then we’ll be practicing the new version.” The ability of Titan Shifting was the greatest boon to the Survey Corps ever, that was simply a fact. However, the soldiers knew that there were limits to how long a Titan form could be maintained, and therefore training for ODM Gear, horse riding, and formations were still absolutely vital for all of them. “We won’t make it all the way to Wall Maria safely without this formation, so put your all into learning it!”

“Yes, sir!” The new recruits said in unison.

-Erwin and Levi-

Watching over the formation riding training, the top two of the Survey Corps had a discussion with no one else around.

“What do you think, Levi?” Erwin asked as they watched the formation drill.

Levi didn’t speak for a moment as he watched the new recruits on the horses. “They’re making mistakes, but they’re correcting them promptly with the instructors’ guidance. If they get the formation riding correct before the expedition we might have a chance.”

Erwin nodded once. “I agree. However, I was asking about your opinion on the Titan formation.”

“It’s passable.” Levi’s opinion was short and simple. “The length of time that the soldiers can maintain their transformation is the limiting factor. They’re not good for much of anything for a while after they hit their limit. Even if we switch back to the standard formation, they’ll be noticeably slower to react should we encounter Titans.” It wasn’t hard to see the weakness of shifting to a transformation heavy strategy.

“True enough,” Erwin had to agree on that point. “But the soldiers are already showing improvements in their overall times. By the end of the month, we may reliably have a fifty percent increase in overall transformation endurance.” As career military men, both Erwin and Levi had been quick to adapt to the new paradigm of incorporating Titan Shifters into their formations and tactics. “Switching a portion of the supplies from wagons to the Cart Titans will allow us to maintain swift movement and give us empty wagons for soldiers that have hit their limits to rest in rotations.”

Levi knew Erwin wanted to maintain the endurance of the soldiers to engage in battle if absolutely necessary. It just made sense with the power that Titan Shifting granted them. The long-range scouting formation had been infiltrated by Abnormals before and the casualties had been significant when it happened. If they maintained a force of fighting-ready Titans, even Abnormals wouldn’t be able to threaten the formation much. Without the formation being disrupted the Survey Corps would be able to cover much more ground in far less time and with even fewer casualties.

Even still, Levi had to speak up. “Have the Attack Titans managed to communicate through these ‘Paths’ yet?”

“Not yet.” Erwin said, not taking his eyes off the formation riding. The communication between the Attack Titans would be the greatest military and exploratory benefit when it came time to clear Wall Maria of Pure Titans and even more so as they expanded beyond the Walls as well. But, so far, none of the new Attack Types had managed to connect to each other through these ‘Paths’. “There’s still time though.”

“Time isn’t on our side.” Levi commented neutrally. “If they can’t communicate, then we’ll have to go with a less reliable formation.” Levi worked with what he had when out in the field, but as a soldier he most definitely preferred to have the absolute best if possible. Anything that could keep his subordinates alive would be put to use, but faulty gear, bad leadership, and a host of other things had seen hundreds of good soldiers lost on these expeditions in the past. A suboptimal formation was just another risk that Levi would have to account for if it came down to it.

“I’ll trust in my soldiers.” Erwin stated, still watching the formation riding drills. “They’re giving it everything they have and we’ve been blessed to have a new power come into our possession. This time… This time we’ll retake Wall Maria.”

Levi watched as the new recruits fixed an error in their formation before it was pointed out by one of the instructors. “We’ll see.”

-Dinner ~ Evening-

“And so, I’d like to go over hypotheses about how the Beast Types’ forms are influenced and why each of them is different!” Hange beamed at Eren, Annie, Ymir, and Armin.

Ymir rubbed her temples. “Do you know how long you were just talking?” It had been rather impressive…given that Hange only took a breath when she became unable to speak.

Armin stared at Hange, clearly overwhelmed by the Titan fanatic’s seemingly endless curiosity.

“Take a moment to calm down, Hange.” Eren couldn’t help but chuckle at the overly excited woman. “We can talk about it.”

It’s not like Eren knew why the Beast Types all had different features either. He’d started to delve into some of the memories within the Paths that connected all Eldians, looking for what answers he could about the past, but it was slow going given the sheer length of time that Titans had been on earth. Every memory of every Titan Shifter was stored within the Paths, and it was so many lifetimes to parse through to try and find the answers that were relevant to certain questions. That didn’t count his lessons with the other Attack Types either, trying to help them connect to the Paths so that they could communicate with each other no matter the distance. As the Prime Attack Titan holder, Eren was uniquely suited to trying to teach the Lesser Shifters this skill, though they didn’t have anything to show for it yet.

Thankfully, Annie spoke up to save her lover from being the sole focus of Hange’s attention. “There have been many theories in the history of Eldia as to why each Beast Titan is different. Among all of the animals of this world, why have the features of only certain beasts appeared? That questioned has never been answered.”

Hange nodded, writing it down in her notebook eagerly. “But are there any leading theories or ideas?” She had a bright smile on her face at getting to talk about Titans with the closest person there was to an expert given the Leonhardt Clan had successfully managed to pass down their knowledge through the generations in secret.

“Hah…” Annie sighed, once more contemplating how to get Hange to calm down her ‘Titan craze’ as some called it. “The best theory that I know of is that the form of the Beast Titan has some significance to the person. Maybe it was their favorite animal as a child, or it has some connection to the strongest interest or passion a person has. Some have believed that the form that a Beast Titan takes reflects the innermost nature of the person.”

“I see, I see!” Hange’s pen was moving rapidly across the pages of her notebook. “Is that why there aren’t any marine species among the Beast Titans? Or would that be because Titans come from humans, and we are a land-based species?”

“That’s a good question…” Eren was now thinking about the idea in a different light. “You’d think one of the Beast Titans throughout history would’ve dreamed of flying through the skies like a bird. I know I wondered what it would be like when I was a kid.”

“Flying Titans…” Armin looked terrified for a moment before his mind kicked in and the gears began turning. “Flying Titans.” If such a thing was possible…it would completely change everything! Warfare, exploration, perhaps even shipping and personnel movement. Flight, the domain of the small and winged, granted to humanity, would be almost as big of a paradigm shift as Titan Shifting was for the Eldians.

Hange appeared to have sparkles around her as she imagined flying Titans. “Could there possibly be a way to get such a thing to manifest?!” She asked as she hopped up from the bench.

Ymir put her hand atop Hange’s head and pushed her back down into her seat. “Seriously, do you ever run out of energy?” She questioned with a blank stare. Seeing Hange shrug, Ymir sat back down herself. “Honestly, I think you’d have better luck with semi-aquatic animals than flying ones or marine animals.”

“That would make some sense, I suppose.” Annie mused, thinking about some of the semi-aquatic species that she knew of from the outside world. Beast Titans based on crocodilians would be at least functional on land, but would show their greatest strengths in water. Creatures like beavers, especially the size of Titans, would be a nightmare for ships that weren’t completely iron and steel hulled. “These ideas and theories were all merely conjecture, though. The only way to confirm anything would be to educate the Eldians within the Walls about the outside world and show them books, pictures, and even live specimens of creatures that they’ve never seen before, and then see if one of them became a Beast Titan based off said new knowledge.”

“Collect information…specimens…” Hange mumbled as she wrote down the idea.

Eren couldn’t help but snort out a laugh while Annie pinched the bridge of her nose.

Still, the idea persisted in the back of Eren’s mind. Some of the memories he’d found within the Paths (which he really needed to get better at controlling) showed him things about the outside world that didn’t yet exist on Paradis Island. Large airships, huge metal ships, and various other things, some of which he didn’t understand. But of his attempts so far, he’d mostly just been bouncing around through dozens of different random memories that only vaguely related to things that he was trying to find answers to.

‘Naval warfare to protect Paradis Island and aerial warfare to protect us from above.” Eren knew that both would be vital to securing the safety of Paradis and the future of Eldia. If the Power of Titans could develop to be effective in the sea and the sky…then Eldia would be able to continue on, even against a world that had advanced far more than they had in terms of technology after the last century of isolation.

As a King, one needed to do everything possible to protect their people. Eren planned on being the opposite of the Reiss family that had stolen their people’s memories and hidden away behind the Walls. He wouldn’t let his people just wait around for Marley or some other nation to come along and slaughter them like penned animals. He and his companions would prepare and they would be free to live their lives. The world would see the rise of a new Eldia, one that was strong, but also willing to offer peace and amiability to those that offered the same.

“Mm.” Mikasa scooted closer to Eren as she saw Hange eyeing him again. The other woman was clearly interested in Eren. Mikasa didn’t know how to feel about that (beyond annoyed) since she and Eren had been able to make a family of their own after the horrible day when Shiganshina fell because of Reiner and Bertholt. If Hange desired to become part of their family, then she needed to understand how things worked. No one amongst them wanted anything to do with flings or one-night stands.

“Are you gonna eat that?” Sasha pointed at Hange’s food that was still on her plate.

Hange looked down at her plate and then slid it over to Sasha with a smile. “Nope. Have at it.”

Sasha gleefully took the plate and stabbed her fork into one of the remaining potato pieces. “We should keep her!” She was easily won over by food.

“Pffft!” Armin choked on his drink at the what Sasha had just said.

“Oh?” Hange smiled at Sasha. “Is that how it works?!” She grinned at Eren with bright eyes. “I don’t mind! Should I get a collar and some rope?”

“Eep!” Historia squeaked at the absolutely lewd image that had just popped into her head.

Ymir shot a grimace at Hange as she pulled Historia into a warm embrace, as if to protect her ‘innocent angel’. “Don’t worry, Krista! I won’t let her weird ideas touch you!”

Mikasa glanced at her silverware, debating on throwing her knife, fork, or spoon at Hange for her words. “No.”

“What the hell…” Annie facepalmed at Hange.

Eren blinked, and wouldn’t admit to the image that his mind had conjured up, as he looked at Hange. “Uh…we don’t do that…”

“We could try it out if you want?” Hange offered with a grin.

Armin was now wondering if he could just leave and take his plate and silverware up to the wash area without looking like he was running from this conversation.

“My bed is big enough for two…three if we got really close.” Hange held her chin with her hand, looking thoughtful about the dimensions of her bed.

Armin stood up and took his plate and silverware, not caring if anyone thought he was running away. He was and he wasn’t ashamed to admit it.

Mikasa picked up her spoon, deciding to go with the non-lethal option.

“Do you need relief that badly?” Annie deadpanned at Hange. That had to be it, right? The woman hadn’t been ‘taken care of’ in so long that she’d gone a bit mad.

“I’ll go with her and Eren if you all don’t want to.” Sasha licked her fork clean of the last morsels of food.

Mikasa’s spoon bounced off Sasha’s forehead.

“Mikasa… That was mean!” Sasha rubbed where she’d been hit, even if it hadn’t even left a mark.

Eren placed his hand over Mikasa’s to give her comfort…and to prevent her from throwing any more silverware. The fork and knife weren’t as blunt as the spoon, after all. “Explaining how our relationship works isn’t something any of us plan on doing in the mess hall, Hange. If you’re genuine about your feelings, then there’s a lengthy discussion that all of us need to have.”

“I see.” Hange nodded after looking at the other five women. “I’m free tonight after dinner.” She offered them all a small smile.

“You know what? Fine…” Ymir let out a long exhale. “We’ll talk.”

Mikasa locked eyes with Hange. “No touching Eren while we talk. It’s just a talk.” She wasn’t against Hange becoming part of their little family…but she felt that Hange needed to understand things before any real bonding could occur.

“Sure thing.” Hange agreed with a nod. She could restrain herself. ‘Or Eren could restrain me…that would be just fine~’ Annie wasn’t wrong, it had been a long time since she’d had any interest in a man that was enough to become physically intimate.

“Are you sure that you have real feelings for Eren?” Historia asked, knowing that it had taken a bit of time to understand her own feelings for Eren. “I know that feelings can be confusing sometimes.” She was given a side-hug by Ymir.

“It’s been a while since I felt anything like this for a man.” Hange admitted to the group. “But we can talk more in my room.”

Annie looked at Hange with a flat expression. “Aren’t there strict rules against fraternization with your subordinates?”

Hange shrugged with a grin. “Those aren’t enforced if no one knows about anything.”

Eren stood up, taking Mikasa’s hand in his. “We should move this conversation.”

The six of them followed after Hange, heading upstairs towards her room to have a talk.

The next three weeks before the expedition to reclaim Wall Maria would pass faster than most would believe.

-End Chapter-

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The Survey Corps has been fully awakened as Lesser Shifters! Woohoo!

That’s already a powerful force, and they’re only going to get stronger as they get used to their Titan forms and increase the duration of maintaining their transformations!

Historia tells her real family her secret. They take it much better than she ever dared to hope and their love and affection for her doesn’t change in the slightest.

Erwin is told, but will keep it to himself until after they retake Wall Maria and get the majority of the people backing the Survey Corps and Eren. The Commander isn’t wrong, having the last of the old monarchy supporting the new King’s ascension to the throne will be a great boon to get the last of the civilian loyalist holdouts to support Eren.

With training in all aspects going on in earnest, will the Survey Corps be able to claim Wall Maria in one shot on their upcoming expedition?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!