[Eren, you absolute knobhead. Why. That only makes her cheeks flush more, head ducking to avoid him more. Cheeks puffing for a moment. Her catching the retort before if can escape. Then a huff, the words just turning into literal hot air.]
...I needed something to tie my hair up. They don't sell anything plainer. Besides...
[It was just a plain ribbon. The most exotic thing about it was the bright shiny red. That was some dye they'd used.] Why are you dressed up?
[ must be some sort of— oh, eren didn’t know. he usually blew all the visible signs off like nothing, because that’s probably what flushing was, you know, nothing. satisfied enough with the answer, eren now brings his attention to the fruit stalls mikasa was waiting by, slipping a hand into the pocket of his trousers and musing, without looking at her a second time: ]
Why aren’t you?
[ like . . . she should be. except instead of pants, she’d dawned a formal skirt. unless she means why he hasn’t bought new clothes yet, and that itself has a very simple answer. ]
[With the small moment past, her shoulders relaxed. Her head inclining at the question.]
Why would I be? [They'd been working just before she'd arrived. And even with the locals giving them clothes on the cheap, she'd rather get the cheaper basic things. Something shady seemed to be going on here. Like those messages that she's taken to ignoring.
But here Eren was, wearing a full suit. It was even more than when they'd attended meetings with the higher-ups.] They've not told us to go anywhere... [Then she blinks, looking at him again. Face falling a little as she thought of those ignored messages.] Have they?
[ . . . this was making as less sense as armin was. different timelines— eren gestures for them to start walking if they weren’t going to do anything of importance here. ]
Depends on the last thing you remember doing with us. What was it?
[That gets a scowl, thanks for ignoring her question. She didn't budge other than to get out the way a little more. Grabbing that strange device from her skirt pocket to check if this embassy had messaged them for something.
Give her a moment... She's only checking the current days. Any later and she'd have already missed it. Sighing when she found nothing but a few messages on Manna 'look at all the neat things could buy'... Maybe she was onto something with her thoughts on why they were persistent. But no matter, she started walking. Head tilting to glace at him out the corner of her eye as they walked. Unsure of where he was leading them.
Then squinting at the question.]
We were working on the railway... [Eren... You were there, that was a pretty hard thing to forget. Though-] Did you have a headache when you got here as well?
[She'd had one. Along with stomach ache, body ache.]
[ well, that answers everything. a turbulent mesh of emotion hits him then, enough that he drops into his own distant, spiraling world— how the memory made him both happy as it tore him new shreds in his chest. the ruby gem at his jugular space prods his skin when his swallow comes thicker and the world around him, mikasa . . . feels that much farther away.
he doesn’t want to answer his own end of the question. it wouldn’t change a thing. so that’s what he does, what both of his friends have always done: close their eyes to a hardship they’re not yet ready to face (until it’s too late to). ]
. . . Yeah.
[ he doesn’t even know where he’s walking, but it, minutes later occurring to him, was made aware that they needed housing arrangements that were being handed out unless they’d like to stay on the street. eren actually doesn’t mind that either, but you know. something to do that wasn’t tell her about a future he was once again, ten steps ahead of her from.
he’s so out of it that the confounded buzzing in his pocket goes completely ignored. ]
[Mikasa... Mikasa wasn't feeling much of anything. There was a lot of little things like confusion at all the strange things. Slight worry about how to get home. Nerves, at being unsure of her status here. Would they be attacked if someone realised they were Eldian? She wanted to think they wouldn't, that they'd give them a chance. After all, they'd let them go this long. That had to account for something, didn't it?
At his mention of illness, she lifted her hand. Sleeve pulling as her arm reached up to attempt a reassuring pat on his back, as though he'd just thrown up. The emerald embedded in her forearm realising it's self. Her brow furrowing in concern.]
Yeah... I nearly did. [Did choking back the bile count as 'nearly' she wasn't sure.]
That crystal that grew... [She drifted off. Unsure of how to explain it, how to ask if his recovery had been as annoying as her's. Or his thoughts on this Manna thing.] Have you seen anyone else? I saw a girl in uniform on the- uh... [A shrug. What was that floating building they'd been in called again?]
[ on the . . . whatever. eren was less inclined to finish her sentence, but he did understand it. it earned a deeply droned "uh huh" as they kept their paces clipped and in line. the weight on his back— he slowed for only a moment, the ruby gem lodged into his jugular space sends a superficial tickle down his spine, frail and fleeting before stifling. the crimson light goes out just as soon as it flashes. a tiny bit of mana, but naturally suppressed from getting any deeper. ]
Where's yours?
[ he pulls down the fold of his tie to loosen his collar— and there was his. ]
[Eren... Her eyes bored into his face, eyebrows lowering in a frown. He- Something seemed off. They'd all been laughing and rowdy before. Maybe he really was still tired from the wasteland-
Then her attention was diverted. Her head tilting as she lifted her left arm at a light tingle. Her head jerking up again to blink at his question.]
My-? [Then her mouth stayed open in realisation. Not even bothering to finish the question. She didn't give a verbal answer. Instead, she just rolled the sleeve of her blouse up to show the emerald embedded in the back of her left forearm. Exactly where her tattoo was on her right.]
[ well— she showed him her’s, he’ll show her his, yes? ]
Green . . . [ or “emerald”, as they called it. after a second’s notice, eren begins to loosen the knot of his tie, unbuttoning the first line of his shirt, and there, on his navicular space was a ruby the size of a ping pong ball. ] You didn’t try to take it off, did you?
[Well... That earned him a snort. Mikasa's hand unconsciously scratching at the gem and the skin embedded in it. Nothing. Her nails left no mark. ]
Yeah. Before the people in that... Infirmary, told me this bit would stay. I tried to pry it loose but the skin turned into rock as soon as I tried. [She'd thought she might have been able to pull it off like a scab. Though it may have bled a lot, she figured she could have bandaged it. Only for the whole surrounding area started to harden to crystal and she'd needed healing up again. ] We're stuck with them. [A shrug. ] What do you think if this place? They're trying to give us a lot... [Dully, she wasn't that enthusiastic about it. Too used to having to earn everything. ]
[ that's exactly where it gets him; eren only adjusts his tie and collar folds to the way they used to be. not so much presentable as it was just keeping things in order— it's a start to organizing his own thoughts if he could organize himself. ]
I'm not worried about the stones. [ gems, but stone is just as much of a synonym as rock. ] I don't trust them. No one tries to give you something expecting nothing in return.
[ they're giving houses, stipend, devices, everything you need to survive without causing some sort of collapse? they're rich. but they're not only rich. ]
It's got something to do with Manna and Malachite.
[ and lord, he's heard some (wrong) things about malachite. ]
[Mikasa waited a moment. Letting him look at the gemstone on her arm, then unrolled her sleeve again. It was more so that she didn't scratch at than anything. Hide it's presence even though she could feel it.
Why did he ask about the stones then? Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she did give him a nod. She'd been thinking the same there.]
I figured it was the Manna, if it's toxic outside like they said... [And that the Manna healed the damage of being crystallized. As for Malachite. Mikasa had nothing, the locals hadn't given anything there.]
No one wants to talk about this Malachite...but their attitudes changed because of this person. [That didn't mean they were safe though. Just that they were the person benefiting off their presence.]
[ no real reason beyond personal curiosity— what they were in for (vines, on mikasa’s part, water for armin . . . and fire for him. how god damn fitting), but maybe he’ll get to that. not immediately, once he considers what to say or not in relation to the new god.
. . . there were things he knew he could count on and things he couldn’t. after some mulling silently once they’re closer to the apartment buildings, he stops by the entryway and pulls them into an empty pocket made for admiring neon artificial gardening decor. ]
I might’ve gotten something. You just can’t say anything to anyone else until we know more.
[ the “okay?” is implied with his expectant, needy gaze to find a way out of this. ]
[In her time here, Mikasa hadn't yet used these powers that she'd been granted. She couldn't complain about them if they worked, controlling dirt, making plants grow, all good things. Though she didn't know about the others in detail yet. She'd rather get on her feet before she dwelled on that.
Mikasa gazed back for a moment. Giving a shape nod. Business as usual for them then.]
I won't, if people are scared of them already then talking would get us in trouble.
[Like this person was some kind of gang leader. Only they had no knowledge and no real way of putting up a fight if they pissed the wrong person off. ]
[ good, that’s all he needs. now for the “fun” part: ]
We should get inside.
[ he holds a card key up that had been taken from his pockets, right between his fingers before flipping it into his palm. the logo looked like the one the next building over was fanning around at its front to welcome their new arrivals. he did ask for plenty of directions and luckily, mikasa had been close by the landmarks. ]
[The key card gets a blink. She nearly reached for but then he's showing her anyway.]
...You have a room? [She didn't. If that wasn't obvious by her question as she looked at the entrance of the building. Mikasa was still staying in temporary accommodation. Though she was being urged to find a place to call her own she just... didn't know what to look for. Even if she wasn't picky, there was so much here, it all seemed too complicated.
Then was the matter of paying. She was still trying to find if there was a catch to their housing. A bed in a hostel seemed a lot cheaper to pay back than a whole house. But with that, she shuffled, turning to head over.]
[ eren shrugs, though the rest of it is a bit of a slow, almost lost sort of walk once they get into the building and have to find their way around. ]
That embassy insisted on giving one, [ so— card number is to apartment number? there’re too many numbers lmao. he clicks his tongue and keeps scrolling. ] I just took the card.
[ like he paid enough attention to remember the finer details— he just wanted out, but it was better (and safer) than sleeping on the streets. ]
[A soft hum as she looked around the lobby. They'd really been insistent on a lot of things. Mikasa was still getting the messages telling her about Manna and how easy it'd be for her to be able to get so many things. Along with reminders about her current lack of home.
...Yeah. She was just ignoring the device she'd been given now.]
They want me to take one... [She'd been too disorientated at the time. Only blinking when one of the embassy's workers had told her that she could have a dishwasher. Mikasa didn't need a whole-ass person to wash her dishes for her. She had hands... Maybe Eren had the right idea. Just grab the first thing they threw at him.
But after another moment of looking she paused, glancing up at him.]
Do you think they're putting us all together? [Like at the barracks back home.]
I'm not sure, some of the ones they showed me had three rooms at least. That was in a different building... [And had been bigger than the cabin she'd grown up. Though Mikasa was counting dining rooms and living rooms as places to sleep. She'd not wanted that, it seemed like too much. Way too much.
She followed him though the halls. It was his place they were going to right? So he'd know where it was, except...nothing happens. Mikasa just stared at him for a moment. Wondering what he was doing.
[ but slide where? where was this card slideable? upon further inspection, eren decides that its in the tight door frame's spacing. nothing. it doesn't even go in right. where else? under the door? "slide it in". makes sense.
so he crouches, slides the card underneath the door and into the apartment itself.
[Mikasa is really fucking helpful here. She just stands there, tilting to head to watch him kneel and slide the card under.
...She didn't have any better ideas. If they said slide it in then that was it. Right?
Except once again, nothing happens. After a few seconds of expectant silence, she reached trying the handle. Nope, nothing, nada. Just two absolute 100% bumpkins stood in the middle of a hallway by a door.
Mikasa slowly looked to Eren again. Then the door. Was it the right one? Uhh... She's just going to try knocking??? Which yet again, achieved nothing. So she looked back to Eren again as the silence dragged.]
[ well. that sucks. even trying to look under the thin space of the door doesn't garner much of a response or an answer. the silence grows and so does his frown, curving down his face and reaching for the inside of his pocket. ]
[Mikasa waited. Patiently, unsure, in her own lane. Because really, she was fine just being here. Though it was kind of awkward that Eren couldn't get into what was supposed to be 'his' place.]
Yeah. We went to the embassy place together... [Then were separated because reasons.] I'm not sure where he is though.
[And unlike Eren. She didn't think to go to the strange device.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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...I needed something to tie my hair up. They don't sell anything plainer. Besides...
[It was just a plain ribbon. The most exotic thing about it was the bright shiny red. That was some dye they'd used.] Why are you dressed up?
[Eren was truly a kettle.]
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Why aren’t you?
[ like . . . she should be. except instead of pants, she’d dawned a formal skirt. unless she means why he hasn’t bought new clothes yet, and that itself has a very simple answer. ]
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Why would I be? [They'd been working just before she'd arrived. And even with the locals giving them clothes on the cheap, she'd rather get the cheaper basic things. Something shady seemed to be going on here. Like those messages that she's taken to ignoring.
But here Eren was, wearing a full suit. It was even more than when they'd attended meetings with the higher-ups.] They've not told us to go anywhere... [Then she blinks, looking at him again. Face falling a little as she thought of those ignored messages.] Have they?
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Depends on the last thing you remember doing with us. What was it?
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Give her a moment... She's only checking the current days. Any later and she'd have already missed it. Sighing when she found nothing but a few messages on Manna 'look at all the neat things could buy'... Maybe she was onto something with her thoughts on why they were persistent. But no matter, she started walking. Head tilting to glace at him out the corner of her eye as they walked. Unsure of where he was leading them.
Then squinting at the question.]
We were working on the railway... [Eren... You were there, that was a pretty hard thing to forget. Though-] Did you have a headache when you got here as well?
[She'd had one. Along with stomach ache, body ache.]
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he doesn’t want to answer his own end of the question. it wouldn’t change a thing. so that’s what he does, what both of his friends have always done: close their eyes to a hardship they’re not yet ready to face (until it’s too late to). ]
. . . Yeah.
[ he doesn’t even know where he’s walking, but it, minutes later occurring to him, was made aware that they needed housing arrangements that were being handed out unless they’d like to stay on the street. eren actually doesn’t mind that either, but you know. something to do that wasn’t tell her about a future he was once again, ten steps ahead of her from.
he’s so out of it that the confounded buzzing in his pocket goes completely ignored. ]
I almost threw up.
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At his mention of illness, she lifted her hand. Sleeve pulling as her arm reached up to attempt a reassuring pat on his back, as though he'd just thrown up. The emerald embedded in her forearm realising it's self. Her brow furrowing in concern.]
Yeah... I nearly did. [Did choking back the bile count as 'nearly' she wasn't sure.]
That crystal that grew... [She drifted off. Unsure of how to explain it, how to ask if his recovery had been as annoying as her's. Or his thoughts on this Manna thing.] Have you seen anyone else? I saw a girl in uniform on the- uh... [A shrug. What was that floating building they'd been in called again?]
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Where's yours?
[ he pulls down the fold of his tie to loosen his collar— and there was his. ]
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Then her attention was diverted. Her head tilting as she lifted her left arm at a light tingle. Her head jerking up again to blink at his question.]
My-? [Then her mouth stayed open in realisation. Not even bothering to finish the question. She didn't give a verbal answer. Instead, she just rolled the sleeve of her blouse up to show the emerald embedded in the back of her left forearm. Exactly where her tattoo was on her right.]
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Green . . . [ or “emerald”, as they called it. after a second’s notice, eren begins to loosen the knot of his tie, unbuttoning the first line of his shirt, and there, on his navicular space was a ruby the size of a ping pong ball. ] You didn’t try to take it off, did you?
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Yeah. Before the people in that... Infirmary, told me this bit would stay. I tried to pry it loose but the skin turned into rock as soon as I tried. [She'd thought she might have been able to pull it off like a scab. Though it may have bled a lot, she figured she could have bandaged it. Only for the whole surrounding area started to harden to crystal and she'd needed healing up again. ] We're stuck with them. [A shrug. ] What do you think if this place? They're trying to give us a lot... [Dully, she wasn't that enthusiastic about it. Too used to having to earn everything. ]
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I'm not worried about the stones. [ gems, but stone is just as much of a synonym as rock. ] I don't trust them. No one tries to give you something expecting nothing in return.
[ they're giving houses, stipend, devices, everything you need to survive without causing some sort of collapse? they're rich. but they're not only rich. ]
It's got something to do with Manna and Malachite.
[ and lord, he's heard some (wrong) things about malachite. ]
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Why did he ask about the stones then? Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she did give him a nod. She'd been thinking the same there.]
I figured it was the Manna, if it's toxic outside like they said... [And that the Manna healed the damage of being crystallized. As for Malachite. Mikasa had nothing, the locals hadn't given anything there.]
No one wants to talk about this Malachite...but their attitudes changed because of this person. [That didn't mean they were safe though. Just that they were the person benefiting off their presence.]
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. . . there were things he knew he could count on and things he couldn’t. after some mulling silently once they’re closer to the apartment buildings, he stops by the entryway and pulls them into an empty pocket made for admiring neon artificial gardening decor. ]
I might’ve gotten something. You just can’t say anything to anyone else until we know more.
[ the “okay?” is implied with his expectant, needy gaze to find a way out of this. ]
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Mikasa gazed back for a moment. Giving a shape nod. Business as usual for them then.]
I won't, if people are scared of them already then talking would get us in trouble.
[Like this person was some kind of gang leader. Only they had no knowledge and no real way of putting up a fight if they pissed the wrong person off. ]
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We should get inside.
[ he holds a card key up that had been taken from his pockets, right between his fingers before flipping it into his palm. the logo looked like the one the next building over was fanning around at its front to welcome their new arrivals. he did ask for plenty of directions and luckily, mikasa had been close by the landmarks. ]
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...You have a room? [She didn't. If that wasn't obvious by her question as she looked at the entrance of the building. Mikasa was still staying in temporary accommodation. Though she was being urged to find a place to call her own she just... didn't know what to look for. Even if she wasn't picky, there was so much here, it all seemed too complicated.
Then was the matter of paying. She was still trying to find if there was a catch to their housing. A bed in a hostel seemed a lot cheaper to pay back than a whole house. But with that, she shuffled, turning to head over.]
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That embassy insisted on giving one, [ so— card number is to apartment number? there’re too many numbers lmao. he clicks his tongue and keeps scrolling. ] I just took the card.
[ like he paid enough attention to remember the finer details— he just wanted out, but it was better (and safer) than sleeping on the streets. ]
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...Yeah. She was just ignoring the device she'd been given now.]
They want me to take one... [She'd been too disorientated at the time. Only blinking when one of the embassy's workers had told her that she could have a dishwasher. Mikasa didn't need a whole-ass person to wash her dishes for her. She had hands... Maybe Eren had the right idea. Just grab the first thing they threw at him.
But after another moment of looking she paused, glancing up at him.]
Do you think they're putting us all together? [Like at the barracks back home.]
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[ much like barracks? that too, was what eren was thinking when they’d said rooms. he’s just not expecting an entire complex with separate rooms.
anyway, the number matches the card here. now, uh.
eren’s just going to hold out the card, and nothing happens. ]
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She followed him though the halls. It was his place they were going to right? So he'd know where it was, except...nothing happens. Mikasa just stared at him for a moment. Wondering what he was doing.
Waiting a bit longer.]
...Is it like the voucher?
[Did he have to exchange it for a key?]
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They said to slide it in.
[ but slide where? where was this card slideable? upon further inspection, eren decides that its in the tight door frame's spacing. nothing. it doesn't even go in right. where else? under the door? "slide it in". makes sense.
so he crouches, slides the card underneath the door and into the apartment itself.
he waits expectantly, but nothing happens. ]
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...She didn't have any better ideas. If they said slide it in then that was it. Right?
Except once again, nothing happens. After a few seconds of expectant silence, she reached trying the handle. Nope, nothing, nada. Just two absolute 100% bumpkins stood in the middle of a hallway by a door.
Mikasa slowly looked to Eren again. Then the door. Was it the right one? Uhh... She's just going to try knocking??? Which yet again, achieved nothing. So she looked back to Eren again as the silence dragged.]
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Did you see Armin around?
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Yeah. We went to the embassy place together... [Then were separated because reasons.] I'm not sure where he is though.
[And unlike Eren. She didn't think to go to the strange device.]
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