Recruiting

Her muffled groan resounded throughout empty quarters. Heat from the sun making its way into her space onto tinted glass burning rows of lines into the wooden plankings. They were frayed and worn down after she learned the immaculate castle did not have anyone living there for a fair amount of time. Months or years, Alena couldn’t tell after Hange recruited her to work beside the Scouts. Cerulean hues greeting the morning, Alena’s nimble pale arms begin stretching to remove the sleep from her body that felt weighted down. 

Sleeping in a new environment did have its rough moments. Stacks of envelopes Alena laid on amber desks with a charcoal inked quill and books that she took from the library with pages on the titan’s history. A sigh penetrating soft lips after the water heated, her shower done in a couple minutes to conserve energy before washing her body of the soap. ‘I wonder what she’s going to have me do today.’ Glancing at her Scouting uniform on her chair, taking in the hues of tan, blue, and white. 

Her choice was right. She wouldn’t question it, not after trying to prove to her father she didn’t like to take on their family business. A man whose temper flared and erupted in a moment’s notice, left Alena on high alert of  perceived threats even into her adulthood. She did this for her mother, who was full of life and love, but had an illness that snuffed it out like a candle if medication was not available. 

Placing her thoughts to the back of her mind, she makes her way down to the refectory, hair tied into a ponytail. Vacant of soldiers; Alena didn’t mind being early, giving a greeting to the cooks; picking out a couple items before her ravenous comrades demolished everything in sight. Oats with milk, a brewing hot cup of tea, and fruit. Gripping onto an apple from a local farmer’s crate, azure optics examine it for traces of mold. She didn’t find any, proceeding to empty tables where flickering candles illuminated a dark space for soldiers and captains alike. 

She ate in contemplation, trying not to pay attention to the sounds of Eren and the others who entered making a ruckus. Alena had no question that Jean and Eren would begin their bickering contest. Maybe she found it amusing, or not. Cranium turning back towards her friends, Alena gave them a simple “good morning” and returned to her hot rations. Her nice morning is interrupted by Hange’s feet stampeding into the dining halls like horses on a trail. 

“There you are, I have been trying to find you.” She couldn’t help but exude her excitement during the day. Although after the last couple weeks, Alena learned that Hange couldn’t sleep at night staying up to perform her experiments. ‘She’s this loud in the morning.’ The crunch of the apple resounded, leaving a trail of water and juice on Alena’s lips, a sweet crisp flavor. Wiping them with a napkin, she went off her chairs giving Hange a proper salute.

 “Commander, I haven’t finished my rations. Must you be this loud so early?” Her cerulean eyes lowered where her lips formed a line onto her skin indicating she was less cooperative when Hange interrupted her morning routine for her theories after the brunette stayed up to hear them last night. “Right, sorry about that Fischer. I’d like you to come to my lab after you’re done.” 

          Alena raised her brows “What for?” Hange leapt off the chairs and hurried back to her lab. “I’ll tell you when you’re there.” Returning to her breakfast, she finished it in haste. ‘Would have liked a nice morning without all the loud excitement.’ Handing her dishes to the chefs, Alena exited the refectory towards Hange’s lab down the aisles, where she stayed. It gave Alena the creeps. 

Doors creaked, with a chalkboard of illegible writing, glass tubes for solutions. Knocks raptured on Hange’s doors but she opened them before Alena could finish. 

“Great. I have some items I’d like you to pick up.” Handing her a sheet of parchment, some of them were the usual tools Hange liked. The last item though, sounded different. “Commander. Where are we going to find this?” Turning it back towards Hange, her dexterity pointed at her commander’s list. Hange gave her assistant a sly grin. “The Capital’s underground.” 

Alena’s hands loosened, the parchment sinking onto the bricks that stabilized her feet. “Commander, there’s no way we can go there. I don’t have experience in the capital’s underground.” Her heart racing onto her skeleton, the water forming on pale skin dripping down as panic settled in her abdomen. 

Hange gripped Alena’s arm, “You’ll be fine you have the training, you’re intelligent, and quick witted. I’m having Levi go with you because I am not able to.” She turned and gaped towards Hange. The captain’s going with her on this assignment? Fischer heard about Levi’s life prior to joining the military, the stories Hange told her but it didn’t calm her anxiety about working beside him. After watching the commander leave, she prepared a hot brew of black tea thinking it might be a way to develop trust between the two. Alena respected him, but he was a frightening person at times, using quips to make talks less awkward. Hoping to not drop the hot trays, Alena knocks on the raven’s quarters. 

“Captain Levi. Good morning sir. It’s Alena Fischer. Commander Hange sent me to discuss our assignment for the day.” She waited with trepidation for him to give her the okay to enter.