Wings [Levi Daughter]

Chapter Five

Five Months Later

Sofia tried to ignore the sound of Leon hitting the ground, but his loud screech had her jump and look up from her book and to where Leon and Iris were practicing with a mock ODM Gear. She glared at the sight of the them, she hated it whenever Iris and Leon would practice with it, they would always leave her out of the picture since she had no interest in joining the cadets. Cadets. Another thing she hated that the two foster-siblings shared – their want on joining the cadets once they were old enough to join, which was not that long. And it meant for them to leave her alone in school once they join.

"AH! CRAP!"

Leon hung upside down. The harness that was attached to his belt kept his lugs up while his head hit the ground. It was his fifth try for that morning and he couldn't get the balance he needed to pass the Aptitude Test of the Cadets.

Iris chuckled. She went to Leon's side and undid the hooks that held him. The red-head fell on the ground with a hard thud – heard first.

"Gee, thanks." Leon grumbled.

Being a former Scout, Joseph Kirsch was able to salvage some old gear that the military was throwing away for defects. He brought them home when he retired and fixed it for his son, who wanted to be a Scout like his father, to practice the basics. He wasn't going to let Leon join the Cadets and look like a fool in front of the other recruits and the instructors, especially when he graduated top of his batch, and was flawless with ODM Gear and passed the Aptitude Test at his first try.

"What else am I doing wrong anyway?" Leon sighed.

You're training for something stupid, that's what. Sofia thought as she glanced up from her book and glared at her two friends.

"You look like a struggling baby trying to walk whenever you get off the ground." Iris said, bluntly.

"Wow, that really gave me a bit of encouragement." Leon sarcastically said. "Who taught you anyway? Was it your dad?"

Iris looked away, glaring at the mention of her father. Levi has not visited since his last visit months ago – and the purpose of that visit didn't have anything to do with her. She has not heard from him since, not a letter, or at least some kind of regards whenever a Scout would visit Joseph to meet for old time sake, even if it were just "Don't be a troublesome brat." His usual greetings to her. It was just like how their life was at the Underground, the only time she gets to see her father was when he would bring them extra food and money, when she visits him at his home, or whenever they would fly across the city with their 3DM Gear. A distant relationship.
But as she stayed with the Kirschs, she would see how her foster family acted, it was different from how her family was. They all lived in one home; Joseph and Sarah would always greet Leon with a smile, give him small compliments, joke with him, he would be scolded at times, but was just because of something stupid that he did; and Joseph and Sarah would always show their love with simple gestures, though he was one leg short, Joseph would always venture to the fields and pick flowers for his wife, while Sarah would always help her husband around the house and give him a kiss on the cheek whenever she would leave for the market.
She never saw that in her family. Unlike the Kirschs, she and her mother lived a bit far from her father's home; she rarely saw Levi and would only do when he would drop by to give them some extra money and food; and she never, not once, saw her parents show affection towards each other. And just by comparing her own family from the Kirschs, the doubts, the dark thoughts, and blames came into her mind, but she would always shake her head to rid of it.

"Hey! Iris! Hey, are you even alive?!" Leon waved his hand before Iris' face.

"Oh!" Iris snapped out of her reverie. "Yeah... sorry about that. What were we talking about?"