Sita wakes like a girl in a book. Pupils dilating for the light to sink in. Mouth slightly open, arms cross over her stomach and hair neat.

She sits up, yawns and washes up.

Walking around her current campground she wears her casual clothing of a loose fitting shirt and her uniform pants.

She sits down with Mike at breakfast.

He nods at her.

"Didn't Erwin give you to day off?"

"Yes, but I wish not for company today." She says, looking down at her food. "I feel safer here than I do walking around in town, is what I meant."

Mike hums an agreement and both of them eat in the small sounds of chatter in the breakfast hall.

The bell rings and Mike stands.

"Come with me?" He asks. Sita shrugs and nods, walking with the man and throwing her extras out as she slides her dishes back in the giant metal container.

Mike walks around briskly.

"I am sure you have seen me during training." He says. "I supervise. Erwin said that's what I do best."

His nose twitches and he blinks slowly.

Sita smells like an old book. An old book about the outside and Mike is intoxicated.

"Yes," her silver voice snaps him out of it, "I have, you are very quiet."

Mike nods.

"Being loud is not something that tells you apart anymore. Everyone wants to be loud."

"Big and loud, huh?"

They walk in silence for a few minutes, Mike looks around and sniffs the air.

"I was a big fan of you when I was younger." Sita says. "Humanities Strongest and all."

Mike shrugs.

"That is no longer my title. Levi stole it from me the day Erwin heard of The City Underground. He is faster than me anyway."

Sita wants to comfort him and say no but she cannot force herself to speak.

"He is younger than me anyway," Mike goes on, "has more youth in his bones than me."

Sita smiles softly.

"Mike, you fought hard. No one can ever take your place. Even if Levi is wildly popular, I will still remember your glory. Anastasia as well. Erwin, and Hanji will too."

Mike nods and they both stop in front of the forest.

"I think a lot when I lay down for sleep," Sita says as a soft, warm wind blows from the forest, "that maybe when I perish, I will not be remembered."

Sita spills the truth. Although, Mike has no clue as to why she says this, he nods.

"My squad will not die before me," Mike brush his bangs back with one hand, "I am sure of it. They are strong people, having been trained by me and Erwin. They are lives worth saving."

"And their are some that are not?" Sita is intrigued.

"People who are cruel. Who abuse their power as a member of the Core to do horrible things."

"Like what?"

"Things people wish not to speak of. Things that can get a man killed."

Sita understands and they continue walking.

At lunch, Mike and her sit outside, eating their food on a bench that is made of wood and steel. Something Sita longs to sit on forever.

"Levi, once meeting him, is a very up-tight man. He can come off as rude and vulgar if spoken to." Mike says. He takes a bit of his bread. "When I met him, I tackled him through a stone wall and shoved him into a puddle of water."

Sita is not fazed and she sips her water. "Why?"

"He was a very strong man. Two years ago, however, he was even stronger. He had his friends. A boy and a young girl. Farlan Church and Isabel Mangolia, if I remember correctly.

"They where strong as well, they flew quickly on their gear and had strong hearts. Living in the CU does that to people.

"The Core trained Levi for six months, the shortest we allowed anyone to be trained before going on an expedition. Levi was disciplined. So were Farlan and Isabel.

"So, the expedition started and when everyone returned, their trio when down to a one man show. Farlan was eaten. Isabel was crushed. Levi was never the same."

Sita had stopped eating to listen to the story, Mike sips his drink and takes a mouthful of his broth.

"Levi -- was he happy when he was with the two?"

Mike shrugs. "Who knows? Who can tell anyway. He always wears that face that makes him seem angry all the time." Mike makes the face, squinting and frowning. Sita gives him a smile. "Hanji knows. They always seem to understand his ways of talking. His reasons. His actions and his past. The girls are always jealous of Hanji."

"Do people really want to marry him?"

"Many. In fact it's annoying. The letters that are sent to him rank up in the hundreds per day." Mike finishes his lunch and wipes his facial hair down with his napkin despite it being completely clean.

"How has Levi reacted to them?" Sita does not finish her meal, only eating her bread and setting everything else aside.

"He burns them with the bodies of the dead."

Sita sets her fork down.

"Ah,"

"Mostly, he just starts a small fire off in the woods and burns one at a time while scanning them to see if he can get anything out of it."

"How do you know so much about him?"

The Lunch bell rings but neither move. Mike shrugs.

"Levi has a dark past. In his relapses of them he gets violent. He speaks excessively and pushes his body to the limit. In times when he's so tired I sit with him and he tells me things that I don't even have to ask about. We relate with each other."

Sita nods and sips her drink.

People pour from the Lunch Room and out into the open fields for training.

Mike stands.

"Let's go."

They put their lunches back and continue walking.

"My sister and I, we come from a very different setting. We grew up in Zinganshina and had a nice home. We never had to struggle with money or food. My father and mother always made sure we where happy. I was happy. Anastasia was happy."

Sita pauses and looks down.

"When the wall broke my mother was killed. My father dragged us onto the boat that took us to Wall Rose and we began working in the fields. I saw first hand the distruction of the Walls and now I know that fighting to live is not something that you do; it's an instinct."

Mike walks along the sparring grounds. People are grunting, swearing, sweating, talking, bleeding. He can smell their thoughts and their past.

"When we get sick our body fights for us. When we hurt ourselves, our body fights for us." Sita shrugs and rubs her arm. "My father fought for me. He went outside of the walls and fought the Titans without the training I am getting now. I fought for him and I will fight for him."

"Your sister, who does she fight for?"

Sita looks up at Mike.

"My sister...?" She puts a hand to her chin and looks down, and slightly to the left. "She fights for herself. Or, she fights for humanity. Her friends in training, she says they are troubled. She fights for their freedom, I guess."

Mike nods.

"She fights just as hard as you do, I believe. Both are very good causes."

^ ^

Sita meets Anastasia in the hallway. She has a bright smile on her face and her golden hair is up in a tail.

"You stayed?" She asks Sita.

Sita nods. "I spoke much with Squad Leader Mike. He gets along very well with Levi."

Anastasia opens the door to her room.

"Sit with me. Tell me more about him."

Anastasia leads Sita in, who shuts the door behind them and slips off her shoes.

"Mike says, that, Levi is a very emotional man. Yet, he is too strong to show it."

"I have noticed."

"How?"

"Anger is his easiest emotion. He carries that without weight on his shoulders."

Sita nods. "Ravaille, is his full name."

Anastasia plays with the hem of the bedding and she sighs as Sita sits with her.

"He is very human, to say the least."

"He breathes through his mouth when he runs." Anastasia says abruptly. "I have noticed. When he is angry his breathes slow and he pushes through his nose."

"Must you pay attention to detail?"

Anastasia chuckles. Nodding, she stops and turns to Sita.

"Bertolt and Reiner kissed me today." She says. "Both of them know it. I feel like..." Anastasia blushes. "I feel like I'm in love. It is very much like when you said."

Sita gives a small smile.

"Rest up, sister. Tomorrow we have training."

^ ^

Sita wakes more like a normal girl that morning. Hair tousled, mouth dry, sheets tangled.

She groans softly, turns out of bed and washes up. She dresses, walks out and meets Anastasia in the hall way.

"We never see him around, do we?" Sita asks. Anastasia shakes her head.

"Him and I have been sparring with each other. I get the feeling he hates me."

They walk down the hallway to breakfast as a small sneeze is hear behind Levi's door.

^ ^

Three weeks pass and Erwin is so happy with the progress that Sita and Anastasia have, that he brings them into his office on a cheery spring morning.

"You girls have exceeded everything I have ever had thought. Yet, I wish to keep your talent a secret. Most of the core knows nothing of how you both are intelligent, strong, and very good willed. I would love it more if you go out and pick a squad today."

"Really?" Anastasia says hopefully. She smiles like the sun.

"Yes, but for you, I want you both in the same squad. Two squad leaders wouldn't be a problem. Go out and pick two people each. I hope you choose well."

"Yes, sir!"

Anastasia runs out and tells Rene, who jumps with her and laughs. Anastasia grabs Carmen by the shoulder and he nearly faints when he is chosen.

"No way!" He says with his hands on his hips. "You out of all the cadets --"

"Look, I'm picking you so be grateful." Anastasia plays.

Carmen turns around and crosses his arms. "I guess I should accept."

Anastasia laughs and says her farewells.

Sita stands quietly outside of Erwin's office.

Mike finds her.

"Where you told?"

"New squad?"

"Yes, I was hoping you'd find good people."

Sita is silent. So silent that Mike swears she stops breathing.

"I have no friends."

Mike pats her head softly.

"Find someone. Walk around. Study them quickly. Don't be so down."

Sita nods and thanks him, going around to look at the sparring cadets.

She finds a special one in the forest, sitting on a branch, lips thin, hair blonde like the sun.

He had blue eyes, skin tanned and body thin and small.

She stares up at him from the ground, his blue eyes meet her silver ones.

"Come down here." Sita calls to him. "I must speak with you."

He drops down from branch to branch till he drops in front of her.

"What is your name?"

He is silent. Standing four inches taller than Sita, his face in softly rounded, noes curved and eyes large and watchful. His hair is shaggy and rough to the touch.

"Mani." He says softly.

"Mani what?"

Mani shrugs.

"Do you know my name?" Sita is awful talkative today, but she doesn't mind it. Mani is a beautiful boy. Straight out of a book.

He nods.

"Do you understand why I am here."

He shakes his head.

Sita sighs.

"I saw you watch them. The cadets. I am looking to make a squad. I wish for you to be in it."

His entire body lurches forward in shock. Mani does not like people. Sita just being here makes him nervous. He looks away.

"Squad...?"

"Do you accept?"

He thinks about this. Going outside the walls without a squad was dangerous. Going outside with a squad was dangerous. Going outside the walls was dangerous to begin with. His mind shifts and gears click in. Sita is a good person, he muses to himself. I see her around. She does not speak much.

Mani nods.

Sita gives a rare smile.

"Continue training, then."

Anastasia comes back and finds Sita with two people. Mani and another girl.

"I have picked mine. Let us introduce ourselves."

Anastasia introduces Carmen and Lanise -- a girl of four-eleven height with brown hair, brown skin and eyes that match. She's thin and incredibly flexible.

Lanise smiles and says hello as Carmen waves.

"This is Mani." Sita says. "He does not talk much."

Mani nods at them, letting his eyes drop.

"This is Flint --"

"My name is Flint Step. Nice to meat you!" It's a girl with crazy red hair tied back in a tail, freckles splashed on her face and green eyes like lightning. She holds out a pale nimble hand and Anastasia shakes it happily.

"Nice to meet you, Flint. It'll be nice working with you."

^ ^

Erwin lines up the entire camp after dinner, hands behind his muscular back. Hanji, Mike, Levi, and the rest of the squad leaders stand a few steps behind him.

He gives a speech on the military training and then calls Anastasia and Sita to step forward. Both do.

"Today, a squad was chose. They will be labeled Squad S.A.. The next names that I call out will be there members."

He calls out Mani, Flint Step, Carmen Rei, and Lanise Jenson. They step up.

"These young cadets will be training with your Squad Leaders like any other day. Stick with them. Stick with your team. Trust each other. No use in have secrets as well."

Anastasia and Sita both tighten their grip behind their backs.

Erwin finished up and the crowd roars. Mani flinches, Sita moving to stand slightly in front of him and Flint jumps up in happiness as people crowd around her.

Anastasia smiles as Carmen stands next to her, chattering with his friends. Lanise stands with her group, girls surround her and one very tall one has her arm around Lenise's waist.

The girl is tall, skinny, and has almond shaped eyes. Hair long and dark with skin like soft bronze.

Leaning down, the two meet each other with their lips. Anastasia blushes whilst Sita could care less. Love is love, she thinks, Lenise is lucky she found that special someone.

They are dismissed.

^ ^

Sita sleeps well that night. Yet, she wakes to small footsteps in the hallway.

Getting up, she walks over to the door and opens it.

Levi stands in the hallway next to Anastasia's door.

"Your sister," he says softly, "what is her name?"

Sita is surprised. Levi had sparred with her, trained with her and had trusted each other. Yet, he hadn't even known her name.

"Anastasia." Sita whispers.

"Anastasia left."

"She goes every night."

"Where?" Levi stares at Sita, the whites of his eyes glowing. His body is muscular. Incredibly so. His shirt loose and pants reaching his ankles.

"The Camp. Not this one but our old one."

"She has someone there?"

Sita finds that, in the night, Levi is more prone to honesty. He sleeps a maximum three hours each day.

"Why are you not asleep?" She asks instead of answering.

Levi shrugs and then turns and shuts his door softly.

Sita finds that, in the night, Levi feels as if he is alone.