Nydia slowly kicked her heels against the stone wall, her legs dangling hundreds of feet above the ground. Below her was the landscape of a city going about its early morning routine, the people rushing to and from like so many trails of ants. Trost district was waking, the smoke from chimneys climbing into the sky and making the summer air heavy with its scent.
This was one of Nydia’s favorite places: far above the district that protruded from wall Rose, the horizon distant and faintly glowing with the rising sun. Here it was quiet but for the soft sounds that carried up on the wind, and the calculated tap of booted feet doing their morning rounds. She could close her eyes and listen to it all, feel the warmth on her skin and the stone beneath her legs and breathe.
There were precious few times like this in Nydia’s life. Most were filled with fear and adrenaline and worry, her chest tight and stomach in knots as she braved the world beyond wall Rose. Titan’s were her reality, as they were to everyone within the walls. For her though, a tested member of the Survey Corps, they were much more.
For four years now she had been on mission after mission into the titan infested world beyond wall Rose. She had watched her friends, some close enough she considered her family, fall prey to the titans, their bodies mangled and swallowed. Her life had been in a near constant state of danger, her body pushed to its absolute limits as she fought back for humanities sake.
Breaks like this were a welcome distraction. Her squad had returned to Trost district to resupply and await orders from Commander Erwin, who at the moment was on his way back here with Squad Levi. Until then, Nydia had all the free time she could want.
The sound of footfalls growing closer pulled her out of her reverie and she turned, searching for the source. When she spotted it she smiled, the warmth of it lighting up her face.
“Emery,” she called, voice cutting through the faint noise of life below and around them.
The stern face of her companion was unmistakable; lips set in a near perpetual frown, eyes narrowed and scanning everything they could, the cold aura that seemed to radiate from the lines of his jaw and cheeks. He was fit to be a squad leader, or a captan, Nydia had always known that. His presence alone was enough to instill loyalty and obedience, with perhaps a bit of fear.
She liked it best when he didn’t need to, though. Like now, as he walked with measured paces over to her. Emery had always been more to her than just a leader or a squadmate. He was her friend.
“Sit with me?” She asked when he was near enough. From her side she pulled out two small plums, dark purple and soft. “Here, one of the military police guys gave me these. We can share.”
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