𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 | eren jaeger

01

; 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐡𝐮𝐠 𝐦𝐞.

A few months after the final remnants of rogue titans had been purged from the island of Paradis, a young woman named [Name] Cordtz lay in the cool, comforting shade of a large oak tree.

For the first time in over a hundred years, humankind had finally been able to open their gates and spread out into the surrounding lands outside of their constricting walls. While this newfound freedom had come at the price of almost the entire Survey Corps branch, this freedom was the exact victory that those soldiers had given up their lives for.

It was by sheer luck that [Name], a Survey Corps member herself, had survived the Battle of Shiganshina District. Her survival had only been for one reason— she hadn't been dispatched in the first place. A serious accident right before departure had resulted in the Cordtz breaking both of her legs, both of which had only recently healed completely.

Although she was grateful to be alive, after seeing only nine of her fellow soldiers return safely to the city, [Name] had felt a tremendous sense of guilt and wondered whether or not her presence on the battlefield could have saved at least one extra life.

"Mmm... I wonder what's for dinner..."

As [Name] lay with her arms behind her head and her eyes closed, she tried to guess what tonight's meal would be. Like many other soldiers, this period of newfound peace was beginning to make her battle-oriented mind more and more idle. Now that she didn't have to worry about dying a vicious death at the hands of a titan, she found herself thinking more and more about the joys of food.

Mmm... bread... potato stew... pumpkin soup... I wonder when we'll have meat next? I could do with a fat slab of meat right now...

"... well, if there were still titans running around, it would be you."

[Name]'s eyes shot open as she heard a male voice respond, only to see a hooded figure perched high up in the branches of the tree above her. He remained unmoving as [Name] flailed around wildly, completely taken by surprise.

"ARGH! YOU SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF ME! HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN THERE?!"

Glaring at the unrecognisable man, [Name] scowled and sat up so that she wasn't looking at him from a low angle anymore. Recomposing herself, she dusted herself off as the man replied, "I've been waiting for you to leave so I could leave too, but you haven't budged an inch for five hours."

[Name] gasped in shock.

"Have I really been out here for that long?!"

"Yeah. Day off?"

Sighing and accepting that she had just wasted five hours of her day off daydreaming under a tree, [Name] relaxed and lay down once more. It is what it is.

"... yeah. Gotta make the most of it while I can, right?"

Silence befell the pair, and [Name] closed her eyes once more.

The sound of the wind softly breezing past was music to her ears, and a melody that she otherwise would have never been able to hear within the crowded, bustling confines of the city walls. In the wall, it was nothing but people shouting, busy footsteps, heavy machinery— a disastrous cacophony that was wholly unpleasant to the ear.

But out here... [Name] could hear nature as it was intended to be.

Faint birdsong, insects buzzing in the air, leaves rustling above her, the grass crunching beneath her— it was a combination of sounds that eased [Name]'s mind and soul, granting her a temporary reprieve from the commotion of her tumultuous everyday life.