Where Feathers Fall (AoT Isekai)

"Soldiers! Your task is to protect him from the other titans while he's carrying the rock!!" Garrison Commander Pixis's bellow surges over the soldiers under Wall Rose.

". . .lift that enormous stone..? Is that possible?" A man from the crowd whispers in disbelief.

"It's a lie!!" A cadet screams out, "You expect me to give up my life for some nonsense like that?! What do you take us for?! We're. . . not disposable blades!!"

Besides y/n, her friends stare dumbfounded at Eren on the wall. The boy in question stands with a dedicated salute to his chest, determination shining in his olive eyes.

"They. . . want us to go out there again?" A hushed whisper comes from Sasha. Her scarlet hair sticks to her nape from sweat, still.

Connie is muttering to himself, "This is stupid. Does Eren even know how to control it?"

"An experiment," Jean scoffs, crossing his arms, "Oh, well, they ended up using him. Told you, didn't I?" He says, side-eyeing y/n.

She's watching the objections from the soldiers. Fear, after all, is the greatest motivator to stand up against authority. Some begin to leave, ignoring the officers' yells.

"This is. . . just crazy." Sasha's wavering, high pitched voice cuts through.

The stirring from the crowd becomes louder, and it's then the commander shouts out from above, "Up on my order! Anyone who leaves right now will go unpunished!!"

Y/n glances at the expressions of her comrades — Connie and Sasha are the only ones showing their hesitance outwardly. Jean's hands clutch his arms tight, as if forcing himself to stay. Marco's gaze switches from the retreating soldiers to Eren, to Jean, to her.

He asks without speaking then, 'Are you going?'

She has no choice.

❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅

"So, we lure the titans away from Eren's group? We don't need to fight?" Connie sighs in relief, "That's not so bad."

"Distraction team!! Head out!"

Y/n finds Marco in the troops. He pauses on the edge of the Wall, fingers lingering on the trigger as he looks at her with furrowed eyebrows, "Are you alright? You've been really quiet since. ."

"Yes," She lies, "You?"

Marco gives her an uneasy smile, gazing at the titan-tormented city below, "I don't think it's as easy as they say. It's still risky down there but. . ." he exhales, "I really hope this works out."

She nods, finding Eren's group in the distance, running across the Wall, "Me too."

Marco jumps off the ledge, and she follows.

Wind hits her face like a bullet, making her squint her eyes until the earth comes close enough for her to shoot her anchor into a wall, swinging past the bricked chestnut houses. She keeps Marco in sight as they follow their squad to the titan condensed areas.

Reiner, Bertolt and Annie are in different squads than theirs. She can't let down her guard, though. Eventually, everyone separates from their squads in the heat of the moment.

Marco zips through the streets, more drowsy— not as agile as he was during the evacuation. It's not just him. Everyone is tired. Her own muscles ache as she pulls against her cables, soreness slowing her down.

She's glad he understands how the situation is still dire, and not engaging doesn't mean they're all safe from the wandering limbs of titans. There's still a lot of things that could go wrong.