Ymir was right.

I was ashamed when she told me that I should stop hiding my accent. I could not help it. With all the gorgeous people around me, I really want to fit in. I know I'm cute even though I really love to eat, but I just want to show them that I am also cool.

So, I speak politely all the time, and hid my accent. But only Ymir was annoyed with my politeness and had seen right through me. 

However, one instance taught me that I should let go of my pretenses and be myself.

You see, I grew up in Dauper, a remote place in the mountains in the southern part of Wall Rose. All we did day in and day out was to hunt. However, with the influx of refugees after the fall of Wall Maria, there were too many mouths to feed, and most people in my hometown threw away our hunting lifestyle to adapt to farming.

My Dad also wanted to give up that lifestyle, but I couldn't. Hunting had very much been a part of me, and I hated how he could just forgo it just because of the food that we may lack. I went against my father's wishes of sharing the land to those in need, and entered the military.

I met many friends there, but my ultimate friend was food. I trained with my friends everyday, but some of them would often bribe me with food should they need my help. I had my fair share of the horror that is fighting the Titans, and I myself would have been eaten if not for my classmate Mikasa Ackerman.

My instincts as a hunter never left me, and it was useful whenever the need arises. One time, during drills as cadets, we were made to travel in what mostly looked like a desert. On that occasion, Eren Jaeger and Jean Kirschtein, my classmates who are mostly not in good terms, quarreled again. When we saw the huge lizard, I told them that the lizard is delicious, but both were in an altercation again, so no one was able to catch the lizard. Too bad, I was too hungry at that time! When Krista Lenz was kidnapped that night, we worked together to rescue her, and I taught them all about surviving in the mountains. In another occasion, a roar in the forest during the 57th expedition sounded so terrifying that I told Mikasa that going there needs extra precaution. It means that the roar is a roar of distress, and hence, hunters should look out for themselves when approaching a prey. It means that something's gonna happen to that prey--or to us, should we interfere.

One incident led me to go back to who I really am. We did not have our gear at that time, and they said that Wall Rose was breached. I went on north during the mission under orders. We were instructed to warn the people regarding the appearance of the Titans. I worriedly worked my way through home to check if everyone was safe. There were no people by the time I arrived there, but I saw a Titan. When I entered a certain hut, I saw a 3-meter class eating a woman by the leg, and a little child watching nearby. The child was sitting crouched on the floor, haunted by what she saw. I entered and rescued the child, and ran as we could before the Titan could even eat us alive.

Before I could run out of wits, I told the girl to run to find help, while I tackle the Titan head-on. I saw a bow and some arrows, and shot the Titan with the arrows. My skills, plus the light off the Titan's eyes, plus its slippery blood gave me time to escape.

I think I could say that some decisions we made in the past could actually be useful in the present. I persisted with my decision to be in the military, so I was able to use it to rescue people even without my gear. My father persisted in raising horses to make a living, and he had used that to help people to escape. During the run, I met my father, who was on horseback with other refugees.

I miss my father so much. I miss him, really. I was sorry for going against him, but I was happy because he finally appreciated what I have become. My father could not believe it that it was I who saved the child from that 3-meter class. And he became proud of me. I am proud to do my duty as his daughter.

I am just glad that I made my father proud. I will continue to make him proud of me.

~~

I had that thought as I was reading Sasha's story in the "Clash of the Titans arc.

Up next, Eren's POV on Mikasa.

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