Where Feathers Fall (AoT Isekai)

For a moment, it's quiet. And then, it's the trumpet's cry, the sharp inhales of the scouts, the onlooker's shuffling footsteps giving way to the dusty trail stretching outwards, peeking out from the mechanical plodding of the heavy metal gates. Dust sprinkles down to the rough ground, letting the view beyond the gates seem like a theatrical opening behind glooming curtains. 

All for what lay beyond — a green yard of a dilapidated town. 

The elites have lured the closest titans away. 

It's time.

Hooves thump against the Earth in unison, leaving behind dust trails, perhaps their last in human settlement. Their pessimistic audience jumps away. Soon to return to their lives without a beat, shaking their head in pre-conceived defeat. 

Like yin and yang, the scouts leave Karanes District with a different outlook. Where the citizens accept their fate and role of the prey, the scouts hunt the hunters. Where humanity's weakest wills cower inside the walls, the strongest charge out. Despite their shaking hands and tightened muscles, there's hope.

Every expedition, there's hope.

And the starkest of hopes rings louder than the heavy footsteps of the titans heading their way, louder than the gates falling behind them, coming from the bellow of the commander.

"Advance!"

The air is clearer outside the walls. 

That's the first thought that hits y/n as soon as their party cuts through the fresh breeze, carrying hints of earthy scents across the abandoned town. 

Nature has a beautiful way of taking over.

And the aberrants roaming the aisles stick out like a sore thumb.

A distance behind her, she hears a smaller mass of flesh and limbs hot on their trail. A shout of 'staying on track' keeps them grounded. Wires fire into the air, and with a sickening slice, the ground shakes with the fall of the titan. Y/n doesn't look back. 

In her heart, an eerie feeling arises. In Trost, they had the shelter of buildings and rubble. As the town begins to fade out, and the plain grounds take over, a gut-wrenching realization settles in — it's the titans territory from here on out. There's no shelter, barely any trees to hide behind if her horse falls short. 

It's been something the trainers have been drilling into their head, of course. But, it makes all the more sense now. 

Without a horse, you're nothing but food here. 

Her mare heaves out heavy breaths. A shadow passes by her, and then two more. The experienced scouts form a triangle to her right, eyes locked on the commander in wait. 

The order comes before she could fully process the world outside. 

"Assume long-range scouting formation!" 

She swerves the reins right. The spare horse she's in charge of follows behind until it becomes her only companion for a distance. Familiar figures become tiny green spots in every direction. Ahead, to her left, Jean's silhouette hides behind thick foliage. A distance from him, Reiner should be situated. Armin is in front of him, the closest relay to the upper right flank. 

Everything is in place. 

Good.

All that's left is for them to reach the titan forest, and then make the recall. 

After that. .  well. . 

She just hopes Reiner doesn't do something impulsive and throw everything off script. There's no way of knowing if Annie told them she wouldn't go through with the plan, or if she's kept her quiet.