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Army Dogs
It was unusual for Mike to miss morning practice. Erwin noticed his absence immediately. Their beds were placed next to each other, and when he woke up, he found Mike's empty. At breakfast, he wasn't anywhere to be found in the mess hall. Erwin searched as much of the training grounds as he could, surreptitiously. As the hour of training approached, he risked becoming late himself, but to no avail. Mike wasn't in any of the places he checked.
"Where's Zacharius?" snapped the head instructor, glaring out at the gathered trainees as the metaphorical storm clouds gathered over her head. Discipline was strictly enforced. Lax behavior wasn't tolerated.
"Sick," said Erwin quickly. "He couldn't get out of bed."
She gave Erwin a hard look, but she had no reason to doubt him. Erwin was an ideal student. He'd never been reprimanded. Mike, although his record wasn't quite so sterling, was the highest scorer among all the recruits. They weren't troublemakers. Who would suspect them of wrongdoing? Erwin's expression was studiedly sincere. The instructor gave a quick nod, and practice commenced.
Erwin put Mike out of his mind during training, as distracting himself wouldn't help Mike, but as soon as he had a free moment, he recommenced his search.
He almost didn't check the stables. There was no reason for Mike to be there, and recruits weren't technically allowed there except during horsemanship classes, or if they'd been assigned stable duties, which usually meant mucking stalls for hours. As such duties were usually assigned as punishment, Erwin and Mike had spent limited amounts of time there. Yet Erwin was running out of places to look. There were only so many places one could go while remaining on the grounds. Erwin hoped that Mike was still present--he knew Mike wouldn't desert, but the danger of being charged with desertion was real.
"Mike? Are you in here?"
"Erwin?" A faint voice came from the last stall on the row, and Erwin, relieved, headed toward it. Most of the stalls were occupied by horses who watched Erwin pass, but not this one.
"Mike, what are you--" As he swung open the stall door, he froze. There was Mike, sitting in the corner, with hay in his hair and a forlorn look on his face, but he wasn't alone. He was surrounded by puppies. They were squirming so excitedly that it took Erwin a moment or two to realize that there were four of them: all floppy ears and wet noses and gigantic paws.
"Hi, Erwin. I knew you'd find me."
"What are you doing?"
"Uh." Mike looked sheepish. "Playing?"
"I can see that." Erwin wasn't immune to the puppies. He closed the stall door behind him and knelt down, as two of the puppies scampered over to him. He petted their heads and scratched them behind the ears as they struck him with their feet and licked at his hands. They were gray and brown, and as tiny as they were now, those outsized paws indicated that that wouldn't always be the case. "But Mike, we're not supposed to have pets."
"I know."
"What happened? You didn't have any puppies last time I saw you. Not that I was aware of."
"Well..." Mike trailed off. He appeared to be deciding what to say, and Erwin waited. Mike wasn't the greatest talker, but he usually said what he needed to, if given the time. "I woke up early and went out in the woods this morning. To smell things, you know."
Erwin nodded. Sneaking out into the woods wasn't a transgression that was taken too seriously, as long as you were careful about it and didn't miss anything important. Most trainees did it now and again, for various reasons, some more illicit than others. Mike's reason was less illicit than most. He liked to sniff the flowers and let his nose breathe far from the sweat and suffering of the training ground. He could set his nose free, for a little while. Erwin couldn't empathize, but he knew why Mike did it. "And then?"
"There was a guy at the river, and--"
Erwin continued to wait.
Mike looked at the puppies. "He was going to drown them, Erwin."
"I see." It was hardly unheard of. Erwin understood why people did these things. There wasn't enough food, and you had to feed dogs. If you let them free, they went feral and formed packs. They were dangerous, but it wasn't right. It wasn't the dogs' fault they'd been born. They didn't deserve to be treated that way. Was there a solution to the problem? Of course there was. Freedom. With enough space and enough food, things would be different. But that was a distant and difficult solution.
"So, I hit him." Mike took one of the puppies in his arms, holding it protectively as its tail wagged.
"You hit him?"
"Hard," Mike clarified.
"Mike."
"I got mad."
Erwin was frowning now. This wasn't the first time Mike had had a flare of temper that had led to violence. The first time Erwin had seen it happen had been when some of the older trainees were picking on a new recruit. All at once, he'd just moved. For someone of his size, he could be astonishingly quick, and within moments, the tormentors had been on the ground. Mike was generally quiet and mild-tempered, but he couldn't stand to see someone smaller or weaker being abused. Erwin, who knew him well, was aware of what he could do. Mike was large and well-trained, and capable of deadly, efficient violence. "You know we're not supposed to attack civilians."
"I know."
"Our superiors are not going to see the liberation of puppies as a justification for assault."
"Nope," said Mike miserably. "I don't know what to do, Erwin."
This was troubling. Mike could be punished for both the assault and for the possession of contraband. He was asking for Erwin's help. Erwin couldn't let him down. "We're going to have to go to the chief instructor about this."
"But they'll take them away."
"That's true, of course..." Erwin had already realized that this solution, although the practical and proper one, wasn't going to work. If they took the dogs away, it was quite possible they would do just what the man by the river had been planning to do. No one needed more mouths to feed.
"I like dogs," said Mike.
Erwin did, too. He'd had a dog, when he was a child. They'd been great friends. He had been considered a strange child, even unsettling, and he'd had trouble relating to others, but his dog had accepted him, without criticism, without complaint. By his side unfailingly. They'd had great adventures together. They'd saved the world. He looked into one of the puppies' big, dark eyes as he scratched its head.
"What are you two up to?"
Mike and Erwin started, then turned to the stall door, which was suddenly standing open. "Dogs? What the hell?" Nile was standing there, staring down perplexedly, while the puppies ran up to investigate the new visitor.
They should have been more careful. Erwin had been so focused on solving the problem that he'd missed hearing Nile's approach. "Close the door, Nile, they're going to get out."
"Fine, but I just--" Nile scowled, but shut the door as requested. He tried to keep scowling at the puppies, but it only took a few seconds before his face softened and he crouched down along with Erwin and Mike, petting the puppies. "I was looking for you two idiots, and now you're starting a farm together, or something. Mike, you look like an asshole with that hay in your hair."
"Thank you for the commentary, Nile," said Erwin levelly. This wasn't helping matters. He explained the situation to Nile, briefly.
"Good job hitting that bastard, Mike," Nile approved.
"Thanks, Nile." Mike was a little cheered up by this.
Erwin hated to be the voice of reason and the negater of cheer, but this wasn't the way to solve the problem. They had to face facts. "No, it wasn't a good idea," said Erwin. It was relatively easy to be patient with Mike, but less simple to deal with Nile. "Or did you forget our regulations?"
Nile ran a hand through his dark hair with a shrug, still petting a puppy. "They're not gonna kick Mike out, he's the best."
"You're missing the point." Erwin felt a headache coming on. There were rules, even for top scoring trainees. Leaving the camp without permission and attacking a civilian without acknowledged justification: that was a serious breach of protocol. Even if Mike was let off with a minor punishment, the same couldn't be said of the dogs. Looking at Mike's face, he knew that he had to save the dogs, as well as him.
The three of them tensed as they heard footsteps moving through the stables, along the rows of stalls. Horses stomped their feet and whickered softly. "Go see who it is, Nile," Erwin whispered.
"Why me?" Nile hissed.
"Because I said so. If it's not someone we can trust, do what you have to to get them to leave." Informing Nile of his intentions calmly and openly usually worked with him. He didn't hesitate to ask things of him. When depended upon, he could rise to the challenge, although Erwin often sensed him fighting back. He was stubborn.
"But--" Nile seemed about to protest more, but he shook his head instead and slipped out of the stall. He was only gone a moment before he shouted back, "It's fine! Just the weirdo."
Erwin didn't need to ask who Nile meant. He was familiar with all his nicknames, not that they were particularly varied. He was familiar with the voice that spoke next, too. "Oh, and what are we doing?" As Nile held the stall door open, Hange leaned in, blinking. She took in the puppies, pursing her lips, as Erwin wondered what he had done to deserve gathering this growing entourage. "Collecting specimens? It's a funny time for it." She lingered in the doorway, continuing to lean forward, surveying the scene, so Nile pulled her in impatiently, shutting the stall door behind her.
"We're discussing what to do with Mike's new charges," Erwin explained. "Unfortunately, there's been an incident." For a second time, he relayed the explanation Mike had given him.
Hange nodded, but she showed no signs of having heard what Erwin had said, focusing her attention on Mike instead. "Mike, here." She thrust something into his face. It was a small, cloth-wrapped bundle. "Quick, what's this?" she asked him. This was not an uncommon scene. Hange was performing "research" on Mike, having taken an interest in his sense of smell. It had been going on for months.
Mike was so distracted by his worries that he did nothing but blink at first, but then he obediently sniffed at her offering, wide eyed. "Dirt and... gold? Hange, where'd you get--"
"It's just a few gold flakes! I sifted them from the sediment in the river. But that's excellent, you were able to identify them at once. And where is the soil from, please?"
"Just south of camp, near the road."
"Excellent!" She clasped her hands together.
"Hange," said Erwin tiredly, "stop experimenting on Mike."
"Never," she said. She smiled. Nile scowled. Mike sighed. They weren't getting anywhere. "However," said Hange, "since you mention it, I could expand my work into canines. Compare and contrast their abilities with Mike's. You realize, the senses of a dog must be entirely different from our own. I imagine they perceive the world in a way that would be incomprehensible to us if we could experience it, owing to their dissimilar senses. Do you think dogs see the same colors we do?"
"I don't know," said Mike, who was taking a moment to consider this question seriously, in spite of the difficult situation he was in. Erwin tried not to find this endearing, because it wasn't the time.
"This is getting us nowhere," said Nile, echoing Erwin's own previous thoughts.
Hange plopped herself down in the hay and picked up a puppy. "I wouldn't be too certain. Utilizing the senses of other animals can make up for our own deficiencies!" She leaned in to touch her nose to the puppy's, and it licked it.
"And what's going to make up for your deficiencies?" asked Nile, a remark that was fairly weak as insults went. Hange laughed. Nile was annoyed.
"No," said Erwin. "She's right."
Everyone turned to him.
What Hange had said had given him an idea. He knew what to do. It had become clear. "Nile, I want you to stay with Mike. I need you to move the puppies to the secondary supply shed. We're too exposed here. It won't be long before we're discovered. If you move them one by one, working together, you'll be able to transfer them undetected. We need more time to work. Hange, come with me."
Nile's lip curled. He might have wanted to balk, but he didn't. "Erwin. I hope you know what you're doing."
"I do, but I need you to cover for us, Nile. I'm counting on you."
"Fine." He rose. There was hay in his hair now, but he didn't notice.
Unlike Nile, Hange had jumped to her feet immediately. There was no resistance in her. On the contrary, she looked excited by the prospect of a new task. She saluted.
Mike looked at Erwin. Mike smiled at him, and it occurred to Erwin that Mike trusted him completely. He was depending on Erwin. He had asked for his help. So, Erwin couldn't let him down. Mike was important to him.
***
The commander eyed Erwin and Hange warily, clearly unsure of what to make of these two recruits standing side by side at attention, Hange with an armful of papers. He had the air of a man who didn't want to be where he was, and who didn't know why he was there. But he was. "I have a limited amount of time for nonsense, so this had better be worthwhile. Out with it."
It was Erwin who spoke first. "We've taken the liberty of writing up a proposal for the utilization of neglected resources for the benefit of the various branches of the military, but I think it will be of particular interest to the Survey Corps."
"Is that so?" Commander Shadis looked from Erwin to Hange, who was all but quivering with anticipation.
Erwin let Hange take over. He knew when to delegate. She burst into speech at once and with great passion, explaining her plan for using trained dogs as an auxiliary enhancement for the Survey Corps, stressing the usefulness of their senses of smell and hearing in detecting advancing Titans. She emphasized the importance of beginning the training with young subjects, as young as possible, so it would be essential to obtain juvenile dogs. The piece had been written in a very short time, but it was an elaborate and enthusiastic proposal. Erwin didn't doubt that Hange meant every word of it, which made it all the more convincing.
Shadis listened to this in silence, and it was difficult to guess from the look in his eyes what he thought. There were deep shadows under his eyes, and deep lines radiated from them. He didn't look like a man who got much sleep. When he spoke, he completely ignored the subject of Hange's proposal, at first. "You're aware, aren't you, that a complaint has been filed against one of your fellow cadets? Apparently, he attacked a civilian unprovoked."
Erwin was unsurprised. "I thought that might be the case, Commander."
"And what do you suggest that the military do about it?"
"Considering our proposal, the man in question was interfering with military property," said Erwin evenly. He held the commander's gaze. "I don't see what the problem is."
The commander made a thoughtful noise. "No, you don't, do you?"
Erwin shook his head. "Cadet Zacharius has always comported himself honorably. His record is clean, and then there's the matter of his undeniable talent, which I'm sure you're aware of. Don't you think someone who can fight for all humanity is more important than a single human?" No one would have bothered mentioning Mike to the commander of the Survey Corps if he hadn't attracted their attention. Mike was exceptional. Nile had been right about that: he was the best, but the idea needed to be reinforced.
The commander didn't answer his question, but it had made him thoughtful. The lines of his face deepened. "And are you planning to join the Survey Corps, Cadet--Smith, is it?"
Erwin nodded. "Yes, I am, sir."
"So am I, sir!" Hange announced, with a salute.
"What kind of recruits are we getting these days...? I don't know if I should be glad or worried." He hesitated. "I'll consider your proposal. It's actually not the worst idea." He reached out for Hange's proposal, and she handed it over willingly. "Dogs." He let out a sigh. "Just what this army needs. More dogs. Why not? I prefer the kind that walk on four legs." Erwin sensed that no reply was called for from him, and he gave none.
***
"I miss the puppies," said Mike.
"You might see them again someday."
"They'll be okay. That's what matters."
"Quiet!" Nile hissed from his nearby bed. "I'm trying to sleep, you guys."
"I was thinking," Erwin said to Mike, ignoring him, "we could propose you as a trainer. I think you'd be eminently qualified, considering your talents--"
Nile sighed dramatically, rolling over in bed and pressing a pillow to his head.
In the darkness, Mike squeezed Erwin's hand.