This is the land of Death, my child.
Fear for them, the unholy ones. They have been dammed to Hell on earth.
Pity those who cower behind the walls, my dear, for misery and pain comes their way.
Fate is inescapable, my darling, and destiny wishes for the torture of their souls.
Death is looming, my love, and soon we shall all be devoured.
The end is here.
It was, for once, quiet. Almost serene. The sun slowly sank behind the looming Wall Rose, causing the warmth of the day to slowly slip away. On top of one of the partly demolished houses in the Trost District, Connie Springer leans forward, resting his chin on his hand as his legs lazily dangle off the side of the roof. He sighs, watching as dark and heavy storm clouds roll in from the West, bringing with them a slight chill. "I can't remember the last time it rained.." he trails off, watching with mild interest as the stormfront seemed to be chasing the setting sun.
"Connie?" inquires an all too familiar voice from behind him. He doesn't turn for he is too engrossed in the picturesque scene before him.
"Connie?" they call again, the soft noise of heeled boots clicking against the rooftop disturbing the once impenetrable silence. "It's time to go. Come on."
A hand rests atop of the young man's shoulder, brining him out of his daze. He looks up, meeting the quizzical gaze of the arguably mad scientist. A knowing smirk contorts the scientist's face as she leans downward, making the light reflect menacingly off of her glasses.
"What 'cha thinkin' about, Springer? Hm? Something deep and profound?" She cocks her head to the side, her smirk growing as the adolescent rolls his eyes.
"I was thinking that it's going to rain," he corrects her, returning his gaze to the troubling storm clouds.
"Well, aren't you perceptive?" she jabs at him, poking his shoulder several times with her finger. "That's why we have to go, Springer. You don't want to be sitting out in the rain; someone may think that you're trying to be poetic."
"Who? Me? Ha!" he says, pushing away the scientist as he stands. "The only one here who should be poetic is you, Hange. You know, when you're talking to Capain Levi- Ow! What the hell was that for?!" he wailed, cradling his now throbbing arm as he stares at the mad scientist who glares at him.
"Don't tell lies, brat. As they say, snitches get stitches." She suddenly begins howling with laughter, holding her sides as if she was the funniest fucking person in the whole fucking world. "Oh, come on! Lighten up, Springer. Hm? Fine, keep that dumb, pained look on your face for all I care, we need to get back to headquarters."
Without further discussion, the two sprung off of the building, leaping into the oncoming night as the three dimensional maneuvering gear shot out tendrils of rope, helping propelling the two along. Soon the two arrived at the newly acquired headquarters for the Special Survey Corps. The scientist barged through the door, singing (out of key, of course) that she was home. Levi, who was on his hands and knees, scrubbing the hard floored room scoffed loudly, glaring at the two.
"Take off your shoes of else I will boil them and forced them down your throats," he threatened in a low voice, removing the cloth from around his mouth. Hange just wagged her finger at him and skipped off to her room while Connie was more than willing to comply. He scurried off towards his room, too, but not before hearing Levi mutter beneath his breath. "Idiots.. Messing up my floor… Dirty boots... Murder…."
Dinner came just as the first few droplets of rain began pattering against the headquarter's rooftop. Many happily discussed the coming rain while others, like Sasha, hungrily dug into the dreadfully plain food. Hange was vividly discussing something with a rather impassive looking Levi at the head of the table while Eren and Armin discussed the coming storm. Excitement was evident in the room as the intensity of the rain picked up. The soldiers, new and old alike, chortled and spoke with an almost renewed form of excitement while Hange paused in her monologue, a frown tugging at her lips.
Connie furrowed his brows, noticing the frown out of the corner of his eyes. He glanced over toward the two, giving Sasha, who sat in between him and Mikasa, a chance to steal his bread for herself. He took no mind, not caring for her gluttony. He was, though, interested in the intensity of Hange's speech. It was hushed and urgent, only meant for Levi's ears.
"Storm… Bad feeling.. Never this bad… Fear… Something is coming…"
"Something is coming?" Connie asked aloud, causing the wandering eyes of Mikasa to rest on him.
The normally quiet young woman leaned over Sasha. Connie couldn't help but notice as her hand rested against the brunette's thigh, causing the huntress to blush darkly as she hesitated in devouring the bread. "What did you say?"
Her voice, so calm and leveled, caused several others to look over as Connie leaned away from the two. "W-what?" he asked dumbly, taken aback from her talking to him. She rarely ever spoke. And when she did, it was usually to Eren. And, well, Sasha in the last few days. Which, if he admitted, made him think that maybe-
"I said: 'What did you say'."
"Oh, nothing. I just heard.. nothing. I heard nothing."
"Connie," she said, her voice still the calm, impassiveness that sent chills rolling down his spine. "You said something was coming. What do you mean?"
"I- uh, nothing! I was just-"
"Just eavesdropping," Levi concluded, folding his hands together atop of the table, leaning towards the others. His very voice commanded the attention of all in the room. "He was listening in to a conversation between Hange and myself. It was, if you must know, a conversation for our ears and our ears along. Didn't anyone ever tell you that it was rude to-"
"Levi, it's fine," Hange interjected, her gaze lingering on the window opposite of where she sat at the end of the long table.
"Why you-" he began to snarl before Hange gave him a warning glare. One that made everyone in the room shrink away.
"What I was saying to Levi is that the storm doesn't seem like a normal storm. It's making me uneasy. We haven't had a storm for a great many years. Hell, all I can remember from the last one is that several districts flooded while others suffered damage from lightening and fire caused from that.
"What I'm trying to say is that storms aren't good. Though rain seems to be an interesting prospect, the consequences of the storm that surely comes along with it isn't good. And this seems to be… Worse, almost. It's been so long since the last one that-"
"That this one will sure be a hell of a storm," Levi finished as light flashed in through the windows and thunder rumbled across the sky.