As church bells sounded in the distance, I opened my eyes to be greeted with the morning breeze in my face, the whisps of clouds lazily making their way across the sky above me, and the looming form of Wall Rose a short distance in front of me.
I took a moment to allow my eyes to wander while they adjusted. I sat beneath an archway in a small alleyway, the sunshine of the morning rising to greet me. I stretched my arms and legs and cracked my neck and bit before pushing myself to my feet and dusting myself off. There was a light pounding in my ears and the sudden fall of blood pressure caused my vision to go dark for a moment before it cleared. As I gave myself another pat down, my finger caught in one of the holes in my jacket. I looked down, examining it, and realising there were multiple other holes in my clothes, mostly from where the debris of Berthold's kick had destroyed my body.
I gave a light hum of disappointment, before looking up and beginning to walk, exiting the alley, and making my way through the city, the square my destination. It was where the Wall Rose military and government were providing rations for all the refugees.
As I picked my way through, every man, woman, and child I passed wore the same expressions: Hurt. Anger. Sorrow. Confusion. Trauma. All these humans, having been fortunate enough to survive the destruction of their homes and escape the clutches of the titans, were now being forced to bear witness and memories of the horrors that had ensued.
As I got closer to the square, I began noticing more military personnel, all walking in groups of two or three, carrying a symbol of roses and a shield on their back, along with looks of disdain and disgust as their eyes wandered over the refugees, clearly indicating they did not approve of our presence, nor the fact we were living off their food rations.
I kept my head up, fixed my gaze in front of me and took time for each step I made. I avoided direct eye contact with anyone and paid no mind to anyone. While I felt eyes burning into the back of my head, and from every side for that matter, I did not flinch and continued, spacing out my strides.
After another five minutes, I exited a street into a clearing lined with stalls along with ques and groups of people. There were also a few open doors leading to large buildings, with large quantities of people entering, leaving, and standing outside. Must be emergency accommodation.
The sound of slow and dragged movement, along with hushed conversation and the cry of children echoed throughout the square. It was deafening. The sun cast down shadows on peoples pale and beaten down faces, all gazing to the floor as they made there way from place to place, almost rhythmically, like the dead had risen and was walking amongst us.
I began approaching a que near the end of the square, on with slightly less people. The whole system worked in a circular fashion, with people collecting their food, their details and features being noted to prevent queuing multiple times, before being ushered to the right and away from the stalls.
As the line moved slowly forward, I reached up and brushed a few stray strands of hair out of my eyes, before pulling it back. I should cut it soon, always hated having long hair. Giving myself a wash would be preferable as well, usually never went a day without it.
As I neared the front of the que, someone passed me on my right that caught my eye; a young girl around my age, maybe younger with bright blonde hair tied in a bun at the back with strands hanging over her right electric blue eye, carrying a small piece of bread in her hand. Just as she was about to take a bite, she happened to glance up and met my eyes. We watched each other for a second, before her eyes widened in recognition and shock. She looked as through she was going to say something but was moved on quickly by one of the military.
I raised an eyebrow lazily as I watched her move on into the middle of the square, before returning my gaze back to the stall in front of me as I neared the front of the que, my stomach rumbling in anticipation. When my turn came, I took the small loaf handed to me, gave the guard my name and waited while he took down my features and noted what I looked like and what I wore. I then turned right and began walking, taking a small bite from the loaf, and chewing, my mouth instantly going dry from the starchy taste.
I wandered off in the opposite direction Annie went, just wishing to enjoy the meal in peace. Clearly, she was not the only titan shifter to invade my Paradise, so she shouldn't be lonely.
The question is, who else is accompanying her and Berthold?
Well, due to the time between transformations for Berthold, and the strength of the female titan, its safe to say neither of them could have broken through the second gate leading into wall Maria. That only leaves Reiner, Zeke, or Marcel. Couldn't have been Marcel, his Jaw is more suited for speed and agility, not destroying walls. Not sure it was Zeke either. While he could have potentially broken through with that overwhelming throwing arm of his, but it would have required distance and a lot more buildings and surrounding structures would have been damaged. His ammunition would also have been lying around, so that can only leave Reiner. While I have nearly confirmed those three are present, I should not rule out the other two just yet either.
I smiled to myself. Everything is going perfectly.
I descended a small flight of stairs into a small pathway that was just below street level, with a canopy overlooking it and dotted with pillars. I leaned against one of the pillars and took another bite from the small loaf, enjoying the peace before I heard angry yelling from a couple of yards away.
'SO THAT'S IT?! THIS IS JUST THE WAY LIFE IS?! RUN AWAY AND TAKE WHAT WE'RE GIVEN? I glanced over through half lidded eyes at three children, one blonde boy, and two brunettes, one male and the other female. The young man who had begun yelling was the brunette and he was clutching a loaf tightly in his hand. He seemed to have spoken to the blonde-haired boy whom he was now facing.
'LOOK AT US? WHAT CHOICE DO WE HAVE HERE?' the blonde-boy argued back.
Losing interest, I turn my head back and do my best to zone out, closing my eyes and taking another bite from my bread. Annie and the others are probably looking for me, wanting to know on any intel I may have on the identity or location of the founder.
Though, of course, I have no intention of telling them about the interactions I have had with Frieda yet. No
Frieda had a much more important role to play, and I can't have her getting captured just yet.
I zoned back in when I heard flesh on flesh and the thump of someone landing on the ground. I slowly open my eyes again and look over to see the brunette boy on the ground, with the young girl standing above him, lowering her hand.
'Have you looked in a mirror recently? All of us are parasites. We couldn't run from certain death without help, tell me different. Don't take your short comings out on him' she said, gesturing to the blonde boy, who looked to the floor.
'And for god's sake, we can't even find food on our own. Parasites. Were cowards. Titans are at the top of the food chain. Pride be damned, we do what we must to live.'
'Your mom didn't ask us to be brave'
She began walking forward, taking the bread the boy had clearly abandoned earlier, and stuffing it into his mouth, much to his and the blonde-boys shock.
'Eat it. She asked us to stay alive. I'm not about to let her down'.
And that's when the tears came. The boy, who had clearly held it for as long as he could, broke down. H began to chew as the tears continued to run down his face, crying quietly while his friends looked down in pity.
I had seen and heard enough. I pushed off the wall, finishing what was left of the bread, before making my way back up the steps and into the square. A fight had broken out near a stall and 3 men were jostling one another while two military personnel stood nearby, watching, with smirks on their faces, but also looks of disgust.
All. Over scraps.
I stride through the crowd, head high, chest out and arms at my sides, swinging in unison with the long steps I took at pace. A pathway in the crowd seemed to have opened and I took it, scanning each face I came across. I could feel the burning sensation in my chest once more and it must have reflected in my eyes and on my face, due to how many people stopped in their tracks to let me pass or moved out of my way entirely.
After a few minutes of searching, I saw 3 young people sitting at a corner, their backs to me. Two blondes, on male and one female, and one tall brunette, male. They seemed to be conversing quietly. The brunette was closest to me and had his back to me from where he sat.
I came at them from an angle where I wouldn't be seen and stood behind Bertholdt for a moment, before making my presence known.
'The debris from that kick hurt like hell' I said, lowering myself and placing my hand on his shoulder, having him face me.
'Bertholdt'