Several minutes passed until Silica's moment of solitude was quite rudely interrupted.
The door leading into her dorm burst open, prompting her head to turn swiftly, nearly causing the cigarette between her teeth to tumble out of her mouth.
Who stood in the doorway was an average height woman with messy auburn hair and glasses. She had a Roman nose and her skin was a shade lighter than her own. The lens' of her glasses glared over her hazel eyes before she straightened herself out, and once she had, a huge grin plastered across her face.
"My, my," she said, stepping in and shutting the door without an invitation. "Yet another mysterious recruit, eh?"
Silica's eyebrow twitched at her tone, but her silence alone wasn't enough to put off the clearly eccentric woman as she pulled up a chair.
"My name is Hange Zoë," the now known Hange introduced herself whilst adjusting the wooden clipboard she had brought with her. "I'm sure Erwin already told you, though."
"Yeah," Silica mumbled, taking the coffin nail out of her mouth to blow smoke out of her nose. She noticed how closely Hange was watching her. It made her hairs stand on end. "What do you want?"
"I'm here to conduct a physical, of course!" Hange exclaimed, being a little too openly excited about it.
"The hell for?"
"Oh, you know," Hange prattled on, pushing herself up from the wooden surface she sat upon. "To see what you're going to be capable of and what you won't be."
"I have good ears," Silica stated dismissively, turning back to the window as Hange inched closer. "There isn't a thing I can't do."
"Ah," Hange opened her mouth and plucked the cigarette out from between Silica's teeth. If looks could kill, the glare sent to Hange definitely would have executed her. "Are you sure? Cigarettes are dreadful for your lungs, you know."
"I don't care," Silica seethed, swiping it back from the woman with a scowl. "Why's it matter?"
"Plenty of reasons," Hange declared, yanking Silica away from the window by the arm. "Your lungs won't be able to handle as much since you smoke, so it'll be pretty bad to get winded so quickly outside the Walls."
Silica shrugged as if the matter was trivial and stepped on the butt of the cigarette once she had tossed it on the floor. Hange frowned at the action, but said nothing of the matter nonetheless.
"Anyway," she went on. "While we're on the subject, do you have any history with drugs or alcohol?"
"Yup," Silica deadpanned, leaning her weight to one side. "And it's never stopped me from doing anything before."
"Maybe," Hange said, an absent smile on her face as she scribbled something on her board. "But fighting Titans and fighting humans are two totally different things."
Silica wouldn't know, she only had experience with the latter.
The rest of the physical went on quickly, and for the most part silently — if you considered Hange's one-sided conversation silent, that is.
"I'm impressed," Hange mused, rereading what she had previously written. "For a drunkard, that is."
Hange's joke forced a warning look onto Silica's face, but the four-eyed woman merely laughed dryly at the sight and stood from her seat once more.
"Well," Hange continued, changing the subject. "It was... pleasant to meet you, Miss Silica Delaney. I wish you luck for the days to come; you're going to need it."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Silica questioned, naturally taking Hange's sentiment as a threat.
"Like I said, fighting Titans and going through the training to do so isn't easy," Hange smiled innocently. "And just in general, the people here can be insufferably dull!"
She let out another dry cackle and turned for the door. Silica kept her eyes transfixed on the back of the woman's ponytail.
"Well," Hange said after finally calming down. "I'll be back here first thing in the morning to take you to Commander Shadis!"
Silica still said nothing to the woman's uniqueness, and in turn, Hange disregarded the cold shoulder and turned out of the room; shutting the door behind her.
Silica let out a sigh of exhilarated relief before turning her attention back to the scenery outside. Despite the late hour, a few — presumably higher ranking — officers trekked the stone courtyard. Silica noticed that some carried rolls of paper under their arms, and others lifted crates across base.
She rose her brow at the sight and found herself curious as to what they were doing. Tapping her fingers against her bare arm, Silica finally came to the conclusion that she was going to give herself a tour instead of waiting for the next morning.
She left her room and strode outside with her hands in her pockets. A few wandering eyes made their way to her as she passed people, which made her think that everyone in that godforsaken place already knew who she was.
Levi, Silica felt a glare form on her face. That bastard.
Silica had never been the one to hold a grudge, and especially not one against her old friend, but betrayal was the one thing that irked her the most.
She sighed for the umpteenth time that night and upturned her gaze, locking it immediately with the stain-glass window plastered to the front of one of the towers in the center of the property. It looked to be an art of one of the Walls' goddesses. Rose, it looked like. Although Silica did spend her whole life underground, she was no stranger to the Wall cults or the Walls in general. Who could be?
Speaking of the underground, Silica couldn't help but think of all of those she was leaving behind as she roamed the grounds of the base. She flashed back to the life she was leaving behind, and felt a twinge of fear at what laid in store for her future. A life above ground was sure to be quite a great deal different than the one she partook in below it, and the additive of being thrown into the role of a soldier didn't ease her worried spirit.
She shook her head, determined to forget about the old her altogether as she continued her nighttime stroll. Maybe forgetting her completely would be a good thing.
Though, she wasn't sure what good the Expeditions would do for her. More death. More fear. She wondered then if she should have taken the jail route, but the mere thought of choosing the cowards way out made her sick to her stomach.
And like an unending cycle, Silica found herself at odds again.
"Delaney," a familiar voice prompted her to look up from the toes of her boots to see Erwin standing before her, a few reports in his hands. "What are you doing out here?"
"I could ask you the same thing." Silica retorted, sizing him up with her eyes.
"Working," Erwin deadpanned, frowning. "Cadets off duty should be in the dorms. It's passed curfew."
Silica scoffed at that. "I wasn't aware this was a prissy boarding school."
Erwin rolled his eyes, which seemed out of character for him. It was.
"You never answered my question," he decided to say. "What are you doing out here?"
"Giving myself a tour," Silica said bluntly, leaning her shoulders back gently. "I couldn't contain my excitement, y'see."
Sarcasm was evident in her voice, and for some reason it irked the captain. He could already tell that she was going to be insubordinate, to him and to every other high ranking officer on base.
"It'd do you good to adjust your attitude here, Delaney," Erwin warned, walking passed her and stopping. "Here, you are no ones leader."
Silica's shoulder blades tensed angrily at that and she looked over her shoulder, staring at the blond as he walked off toward an office building a few yards away.
She clicked her tongue at the sight of him and rolled her eyes away to proceed forward again. She didn't particularly know where she was or where she was going, but a pen that looked fit for animals seemed to be a good place to catch her breath.
Curiosity piqued her interest as she approached the rows and rows of horse pens. A few neighed and stirred as she walked passed them, eying others as they steadily watched her pass by them. She had never seen a horse up close before, and to be quite honest, she was intimidated by them.
They were huge animals, ones that even looked big with their heads being the only thing to be sticking out of the opening of the pen. She pursed her lips as she caught sight of a cow spotted beauty, and before her hesitation could stop her, her hand was already risen and rested on the strong creatures pink snout.
He snuffed at the contact of her warm hand, but didn't seem too bothered by the light strokes she was applying to the bridge between its eyes.
"His names Toffee," informed a foreign voice from behind her. She turned and scowled, seeing the same shitbag that kicked her a few hours prior. "I've never seen him let other people touch 'em, though."
"I didn't ask," Silica bit rudely, letting her hand fall from the horse so she could turn to face him. She nearly jumped out of her skin when Toffee rested his chin atop her shoulder. The sight in and of itself made the taller, dirty blond man nose-laugh. "What do you want?"
"Nothing from you," said the stranger, calming himself quickly. "I check on the horses before turning in."
"Another thing I didn't ask to know." Silica deadpanned.
"You're just a delight, aren't you?" Pressed the man. Silica only rolled her eyes.
"You kicked me in the face."
"You were talking about killing the king."
Fair point.
"Who even are you?" Silica questioned instead, looking at him pointedly.
"Mike," he replied nonchalantly. "Zacharias."
"A name fit for a douchebag," Silica observed, patting the snout of the animal still resting on her shoulder. "I shoulda guessed."
Mike snorted at her weak insult and reached a hand over to tousle Toffee's hair.
"So," he continued on and changed the subject whilst Silica pivoted to the side to lean her back against the wall of the pen. "A scammer underground, huh?"
"A failed scammer, apparently." Silica corrected bitterly, kicking a stone with the toe of her boot.
"Maybe," Mike agreed, not looking at her. "But still kickass."
"A solider praising a criminal for a treasonous crime," Silica was on the verge of chortling. "How ironic."
"I wouldn't say you're a criminal." Mike disagreed, prompting a gaze from the shorter woman.
"You clearly have no idea who I am, then." She deadpanned, prompting a lopsided smile to form on his face.
"I guess not," he shrugged his shoulders and absently sniffed the air. "But I don't think trying to give fair treatment to people is a bad thing, whatever you did before is vetoed in my book."
"How kind of you," Silica replied sarcastically, willing down an amused smile. "I'm quaking in my boots, I'm so moved."
Mike chortled again, prompting his broad shoulders to bop up and down in the process.
"Do you have a tavern or something around here or is everyone on this base like Captain Killjoy?" Silica changed the subject, looking around.
"Captain Killjoy?" Mike repeated.
"Smith." She clarified, glancing up at him.
A look of recollection crossed his face. "Oh, Erwin. He's not so bad."
"He's horrible," Silica complained monotonously, crossing her arms over her chest. "The most uptight man I've ever seen."
"It grows on you," Mike justified. "You'll understand once you get to know him."
"Has he always been like that?" Silica found herself cringing at the idea.
"For the most part," Mike confirmed. "He's a good soldier though; destined to become Commander one day. Everyone knows it."
"God," Silica groaned at the idea. "I hope I'm not around to see that."
Mike found himself laughing weakly at that before gesturing for Silica to follow him.
"You asked about a tavern," Mike clarified once Silica played a look of question on her face. "We don't have one, but I've got a couple booze hidden in my dorm."
The idea alone was alluring, but Silica wasn't sure how this guy was when he was intoxicated, and she knew all too well how she became when the wrong kind of alcohol fell into her grubby little hands. Drinking together in a social place was one thing, but drinking in an enclosed, private setting with a bed that screamed 'fuck in me' was another.
"Dunno," Silica shrugged her shoulders limply. "It's tempting, though."
"We don't have to hide away in there," Mike offered, pointing a thumb up to the roof that looked to be the dormitory building. "The roofs free, I think."
Silica again found herself conflicted.
"What 'cha got?" She prompted, referring to his stash.
"Whiskey," he replied simply. "I've got wine too, if you're into that."
"You had me a whiskey," Silica declared cooly, pushing herself off the wall to be at Mike's side. "But keep your hands to yourself."
Mike's eyebrows rose gently at her bluntness, but he nodded in agreement nonetheless and led the way.
The walk to and from Mike's dorm was curt and quiet, but the quiet wasn't awkward nor uncomfortable. It seemed to be that the pair's lax attitudes canceled each other out and prevented such a silly thing from happening. And that's just what it was to them: silly.
Mike led the charge and kicked open the door so Silica could stride out onto the surface of the rooftop. She immediately made a beeline toward the ridge and sat down with Mike closely following behind her, two glass bottles without labels in his hands.
He held one out to Silica, who gladly took it up in her hand in response.
"You think it's a good idea for you to get wasted the night before you're supposed to meet with Shadis?" Mike confirmed after the cork had been removed from his bottle.
Silica shrugged. "I've had plenty of hangovers; and it's not vodka, so I'll be fine."
She didn't know how to feel about Mike's attentiveness to her upcoming conference with the Commander and attempted to flush her thoughts away with the burning liquid she had taken a swig of.
After several minutes of silently sitting together, Mike cleared his throat.
"So," he began, resting his elbows on his bent knees to lean in a bit closer. "What's the Underground District like, anyway?"
"It's okay," Silica shrugged and then grimaced. "Dirty, filled with dead people. Y'know."
Mike blinked at her chillness, but decided not to question her about it.
"What about the surface?" Silica queried after a minute.
"It's either hot as hell or cold as shit," Mike deadpanned, prompting Silica to snort. "Spring is pretty cool, though. You just missed it."
"Ah, shit," Silica cursed lazily, taking another swig. "That's too bad."
"You'll experience it eventually." Mike assured, turning his gaze to the horizon line in the distance.
"If I don't die first." Silica pointed out.
"Yeah," Mike agreed bitterly, recalling that she was now expected to go on life threatening Expeditions. "If you don't die."
"What's that like, anyway?" Silica asked another question. "Outside the Walls, I mean."
"Pretty much the same as the Underground," Mike replied curtly, chugging from his bottle. "Full of dead people."
"Dope." Silica mused, not at all serious.
Mike saw that and decided not to delve into it. Instead, he turned back to Silica, noticing the intoxicated blush forming on her tan cheeks and the faint bruise on her lip.
"I should probably apologize for kicking you." Mike frowned once their eyes met.
"You should," Silica agreed. "But you don't have to."
"What makes you say that?"
"I'm not saying that I'm wrong," she clarified. "But I did threaten to kill your pigshit king."
Mike chuckled dryly at that and gazed down to the dimmed courtyard.
"Yeah. That was fucked up." Mike muttered.
"So is forcing an even bigger load of people underground," Silica shot back. "No sunlight literally kills."
Mike felt his shoulders sag at the sudden mood change. To distract himself, he shifted and laid down against the cold stone of the dormitory roof. Silica watched him skeptically, but soon she figured his idea was a good one and laid down beside him, whiskey bottle resting steadily on her stomach.
The two looked up to the stars splattered across the sky in silence, possibly thankful for the break in growingly tense conversation.
Silica wasn't particularly fond of heated talk, and she thought that she had her daily dose with Levi an hour or two prior. She was still completely peeved with that tiny asshole. Though, her intoxicated brain kept playing the phrase 'tiny asshole' in her head, which forced a stupid grin to break across her face.
Mike didn't seem to notice, but his thoughts weren't as amusing. He didn't think he'd end up on the roof with the ex-fugitive recruit, not to mention drinking with her. He didn't expect Silica to be so laid back, either. She even seemed gentle enough to where skittish Toffee would let her touch him without at least flinching a little bit. He didn't know why, but he liked her.
"What're you thinking about?" Silica asked him without taking her eyes off the sky.
Mike shrugged against the ground. "Whiskey."
"I didn't know whiskey made people look so serious." Silica spoke her thoughts aloud and finally turned her head to look at him.
"I didn't know you were so observant." Mike retaliated, marking down yet another surprising factor.
It was Silica's turn to shrug, though she sat up in the process, so it didn't really look like a shrug at all.
"I should probably go now," she said, setting her nearly empty bottle next to Mike's booted foot before standing up. "Gotta meet this Commander Shit guy in the morning."
"Shadis." Mike corrected.
"Right, right." Silica waved a hand on her way to the door.
"Look for me in the mess hall tomorrow," Mike called after her. "I'll take you to his office after breakfast."
Silica chanced a glance toward her new companion and nodded slowly. Their gazes held for merely a fraction of a moment, and the last thing Silica saw before shutting the door was Mike lifting his bottle up in a farewelling gesture.