PLEASE NOTE: This story contains immediate spoilers as it not only contains Original Characters, but Canon Characters as well. If you are a super fan and already caught up with the manga (or couldn't wait and explored the Wikia page like me ) nothing should surprise you. If you simply don't care, read on my friend!
Author Note: Please be sure to check back on a tri-weekly basis. The next chapter will be posted on Friday, May 4th I bid you adieu!
Chapter 1: Arrival
Words: 3121
The waves of the sea were monstrous this morning. They refused to give way to the massive piece of steel that groaned from the constant rise and fall. One inhabitant of the E.I.N. Zagros felt a kinship forming as both rejected the unruly waves. Once again, a fierce whitecap surfaced around the formidable steel that refused the onward advances. Counting to two, a head leaned over the rails and bid farewell to the contents of her stomach. This became a ritual for her; eat breakfast then make a mad sprint to the deck. At first, the crew of the E.I.N. Zagros offered numerous suggestions on controlling sea-sickness, but with the bearing of her teeth and a wicked smile spreading across her lips they thought otherwise. By the fourth day routine fell into place as the crew-members simply shook their head in resignation to her apparent weakness. Today, intrigue rose once again as another woman quietly approached the other.
"We still have two hours before arrival. Would this help?" a voice nearly carried away by the wind squeaked out, by the approaching one. The woman against the railing pulled back from it while simultaneously uttering curses of seeing their destination sooner rather than later.
"No. It's all the same in the end when we are this never ending hell ride." She turned slightly to see the girl behind her.
The younger woman retracted a plastic container that laid in her outstretched hand. She tucked it underneath the other arm and redrew focus on her shifting boots beneath. The woman near the railing realized this was probably a peace offering for the argument from the night before. Though, she was not sure why Fauna Briarhart was attempting to make amends while she, herself, had clearly been in the wrong, it would have been wrong to deny the notion of reconciliation.
She attempted a smile, "Thanks Fauna, I do appreciate it, but I'll feel better once we are on land or I'm in the sky… whatever comes first."
Fauna nodded, now intently focused on her boots, "What do you think it's like, Laure?" An awkward silence lingered between the two as Laure gathered her thoughts. She knew to what Fauna was referencing, but thought it was an odd question considering "what it was like" had already been discussed. Nonetheless she did not want to dismiss Fauna's question for this would be her attempt at a peace offering.
"Do you remember when they sent the emissary? It can't be that much different…they were pretty much the same as us."
Fauna appeared emotionless, but did not say anything upon hearing the answer. To Laure's trained eyes she could see the small down turn of Fauna's lips showing disappointment in the answer. Though Laure was still holding a small grudge from the events of the previous night, giving even more vague answers would only hurt their relationship. Again, a peace offering.
"The Commander said their country is a little unstable. The people there are not very aware of the rest of the world. We only made contact within the past few months and…" Laure stopped, taking a breath in. "I'm sorry, I'm not really answering your question… It's hard to form an assumption or opinion about a place you've never been or if you been to many places they all start to blend together." Laure glanced to her side, leaning back on the railing "All I know is that they speak our main language and they also had some interesting technology, none that we've seen before. It can only help us going forward."
Laure now focused her attention on Fauna, waiting for a response. It did not come quickly so Laure reflected; first, at if she satiated the question and second, to the fact that Fauna Briarhart had never traveled outside their home country. Laure now remembered that Fauna had been away for training. So naturally she would be curious and not catching a glimpse of the emissary meetings. Now a tinge of guilt rose in her stomach. The previous night Laure had become irritated during the debriefing. She pointed her finger at Fauna and questioned why they were bringing along such an inexperienced, fresh recruit. It was not until Gabriel, a friend and fellow soldier of Eresh, had mentioned to Laure that her question essentially demeaned Fauna's existence. At a later time, Gabriel reprimanded Laure stating "Whatever you were thinking in your mind back there was worse when recited out loud."
"I understand. I haven't been many places" Fauna spoke breaking into Laure's line of thoughts and confirming them. She continued, "The Captain wants us all to be in our dress uniforms in twenty minutes."
"Oh?"
Fauna said nothing in response, leaving Laure to silently question why dress uniforms were necessary upon arrival. According to the debriefings, once landing in the Botte District it would take about several days of travel to the interior. Not answering the undefined question, Fauna turned on her heels to be early for the final briefing, and walked quickly towards the atrium that led to the decks below.
"Twenty minutes" Laure stated out loud. As much as she felt the need to linger over the railing once more, her stomach was rounding the corner. Laure glanced over the railing one more time to see the waves had started to calm. This was a good thing for she had nothing left to give the ocean, except for curses lost to the salted wind.
Only an hour later, nearly all of the E.I.N. Zagros's crew were on the ship deck, their mouths wide open with binoculars glued to their eyes. Everyone, for the first time was laying eyes upon the island of Paradise. It was no different than the landing spot of their home country except for a few minor differences. The first, being able to differentiate the bark and leaves of the trees in the distance. This could only mean the foliage that grew on this island was abnormal, leaving Laure to wonder what other abnormalities would be encountered. The second, a few boats, presumably used for fishing, were neatly staggered in close alignment to the island. One far bigger than the rest was currently under construction. The metal framework poking into the sky gave room to suggest that it would be completed within the next two years. As everyone continued to make observations a sailor mentioned the ship under construction must be 150 meters long, rivaling the Zagros. Without any hesitation, the rest of the sailors began arguing on the exact length, letting the docking preparations fly in the wind.
Laure had moved from the railing upon the onslaught of soldiers who congregated to behold the unforeseen spectacle. She directed herself towards a familiar face, one that was pleasant even when her uncouth irritations arose.
"A ship. They are mystified by a hunk of metal." she elbowed the arm of her comrade, Gabriel.
"Well to be fair, this wasn't exactly in the briefing. There isn't much out there on Paradise, especially the size of their growing naval fleet." He removed the binoculars from his eyes that left white rings just above his cheeks. He flashed a grin at Laure, "How long do you think that new one is?"
"I would say your guess it better than mine, but I can get an exact measurement if you would like" Laure raised her right hand to her chest. As her fingers touched a glass vial that hung on a leather cord, a breath upon her ear and the voice that came with it sent a shock up her spine.
"That is unauthorized Laure."
Laure jumped a few feet clutching her stomach as it rebelled in the sudden movement. She breathed in then exhaled out a small nervous laugh, "Captain."
The Captain straightened himself now fixated on Paradise. "Any transformation must be authorized by the Commander or myself. We are not in the position to make more enemies."
Laure gave an exacerbated sigh, but felt it was no use in arguing with him for she usually lost. She watched him as he continued to gaze upon the shipyard and the distant wall, hands wrapped behind his back. Captain Elliot Quinn, known for his ability of leadership and pure, raw strength. Most of the women back in Eresh also felt his square jaw line, kempt hair both head and facial, along with his height made him even more of a power to reckon with. Laure did respect his leadership and even more so the power he held, especially in his other form. For this, she usually dulled her tongue, saving any rude comments for a different member of her team.
Taking this thought into consideration she noticed the other soldiers and her personal squad members were on the deck, but the final member en-route to Paradise was no-where to be seen.
"Where is Cleare?" she asked, not directing the question to one specific person, but as she did expect, Gabriel answered.
"Ah, I think he was in the Commander's cabin about twenty minutes ago. Not sure if he's still there."
"Isn't this the type of thing that interests him?" Laure waved her hand, motioning in the direction of the wall.
"It is." For the second time a shock went down Laure's spine as she quickly turned around.
"Gods, what is wrong with you all?!"
Cleare, first name Aiden, blinked and brought his fingers up to his nose, gently pushing back the wire rimmed glasses. "Captain, maybe we should have reconsidered bringing Laure she is agitated more than usual."
Laure cracked her knuckles one joint at a time, but before her refute to Aiden's sentiment took place, attention turned directly onto another individual. A man appearing to be in his late forties, appeared from the atrium with Fauna and another man in tow. He was dressed impeccably in the dark grays and sapphire blue of Eresh, their home country.
"Good, I'm glad you are all here to enjoy the sights before arrival to our new home for the next few weeks. Ah and I see you have all changed into your uniforms, we must make a good impression upon arrival."
Laure, Gabriel, and Aiden stood at attention. Their spines snapping rigid and their hands clasped together resting in the small of their back. Quinn, as the second in command, had a mutual understanding with the owner of the voice, therefore he did not salute in proper stance.
Quinn spoke, "Commander Doori, we will dock at approximately Oh Thirty Zero. I have received reports a welcoming party of exactly 19 persons will be escorting us to the interior. One of which will be Zoe Hange."
"Thank you, Quinn. You may all stand down, quite rigid today." Laure noticed a small upturn at the corner of the Commander's lips. "If you will please join the crew to enjoy the sights, there is nothing quite like a guessing game to see who will win bragging rights."
"Yes sir." All except Quinn saluted the Commander. As Laure, Gabriel, and Aiden were turning away to follow the Commander's direction he spoke once again. "Miss Laure, if I may have a word with you."
Laure stopped her body halfway turned around. She dares not let out a groan even though Gabriel shot her a reminding look to dull her tongue before speaking.
"Yes Sir." She moved towards the Commander, planting her feet firmly and snapping her back straight. Laure thought the Commander was kind enough to dismiss Fauna and wait until the others moved far enough away to not hear the conversation.
"Have you had success with the sample we provided you with?"
"Yes, Commander. I have desensitized myself to the smell, though I hope there is no plan for a large quantity to appear."
The Commander laughed loud enough to draw the attention of a few arguing crew members who then dissipated back to their duties. "There should be no need for that, not for this visit at least." He paused, "But, your honesty is drawing a conclusion. A request for more samples would not be unusual. Marcus! Upon arrival at Paradise, remind me to request more of the samples for Laure."
"Yes sir!" Marcus opened a notebook jotting down the reminder.
"Laure you are dismissed. Quinn! we have a few more things to discuss. Please follow me."
"Thank you Commander!" Laure waited to relax until the Commander, Quinn, and Marcus turned a corner of the ship deck presumably to the front. Whether the Commander knew it or not, Laure had not intended to be honest when confronted with his question. As fate had it when the question was asked a sensation of a hundred pricking needles stung into her skin. It was a baiting technique that had been performed on her and for this trip it happened more often than not. Laure turned her head slightly to see Aiden staring back and with a nonchalant raise of the eyebrow focused his attention back to the island of Paradise.
As Captain Quinn had predicted, the Zagros had come to a slow crawl thirty minutes later. Sailors jumped from the ship deck propelling on ropes and began the docking. The loud ship engines that usually carried every shout was now cut off, giving way to the excitement brewing on land. Laure rushed to the docking side of the ship making sure to be as close to the gangway as possible. Once it dropped she had plans to rush down and kiss the ground beneath her. This plan would have succeeded, but Quinn true to his nature, yelled at her to get in line behind the Commander. As she stomped away she could hear the final comment that she would certainly not be the first impression implanted into the people of Paradise.
As protocol had it, Laure was to be last member of the special unit off the ship. She took her place behind Aiden and in front of Gabriel, deciding it was better to follow this protocol. Laure stepped slightly out of line to see when the gangway would be released. Almost instantons the metal plank shifted downwards, settling on the concrete ground beneath. In front of her Aiden began to move, so she followed.
The small party moved in tune off the gangway and onto the dock. Since Laure was behind Aiden she could not see too far in front of her, but it was enough to feel the breeze just coming off the ocean wiping into her hair. Although the same sensation had been felt on Zagros, or even on the beaches of her own home country, a relieved notice that her stomach was no longer upset was welcoming.
The short walk came to a close with Commander Doori stopping. Quinn moved to Doori's right, while Laure and her additional comrades stood behind. Upon the Commander's first words all soldiers, including the additional ones behind Laure all stood at attention.
"On behalf of the country of Eresh, myself, and Commandeer Lansule, we thank you for the warm welcome. We hope this is the beginning of a new and enduring friendship."
On his last word and now having a direct line of sight, Laure saw a familiar face though it seemed to be lost in mix of nearly forty soldiers. They were all dressed in the same brown leather jackets and faded white undergarments. Straps and buckles laced around their legs following the lines of their figures. Laure and her group's uniform held some similarity in the design of the undergarments, but nearly all material was silver. The knee length overcoats to the dark gray boots that for the women clad just above their ankles while the men wore their leather beyond the knees. Stripes of sapphire ran across the opening of the overcoat up through the collar. The people of Paradise were intently focused on these new foreigners they just welcomed into their country. As Laure swept the opposing crowd an aura seemed to gather on top of them. A small part of uncertainty and apprehension clouded the opposing soldiers as they refused to meet her gaze. The more obvious ones who were looking specifically at her or at her comrades would cough or even the most unappetizing one silently spit onto the ground, though he had some spittle remaining.
Again this did not surprise Laure. The uniforms of Eresh were also built to reflect the appearances of the Pride. The same silver and dark gray was also the color of her comrades' hair and the inexpressible mixture of brown and gray their irises' held. The shock of sapphire, however, was for the colors of Eresh, that now flew on tapestry paying homage to its founder.
"Commander, we welcome you to Paradise!" the familiar face Laure had made note of before viewing the rest of the party, now stepped forward giving the Paradise military salute. All soldiers followed in suit.
"Hange, already has her list of experiments for you." Aiden whispered low enough so that only Laure, to his right, could hear.
Laure did not change her facial expression "This time I will kill her."
Gabriel over hearing Laure's comment nudged her elbow "That is unauthorized, Laure."
Laure's face contorted in attempt to hold back the laughter from Gabriel's mocking comment of Captain Quinn. She succeeded for the most part letting a small sound slip escape her throat. Commander Doori coughed in response, holding his hand up to his mouth, while Laure could see a red flush on the back of Quinn's neck.
Fortunately for Laure, Commander Doori broke in, "Commander Hange and the gracious citizens of Paradise, please allow me to introduce to you our Pride…Captain."
At Doori's behest, Quinn stepped forward now giving the salute of Paradise. "Captain Elliot Quinn." The captain bowed his head.
"Fauna Briarhart." She stepped forward in line with the Captain.
"Aiden Cleare."
"And…" Laure's left eyebrow rose, at the Commander's pause. None the less she took two steps forward as Fauna had done to close the gap. It seemed in one swift moment a dead silence came across the crowd. In her line of sight, she could see Commander Zoe Hange lower her glasses a direct ray of sunlight glaring off.
A shudder wreaked through Laure's body for it was not only Hange who made her nervous, but the man standing next to Paradise's Commander. He had an equally menacing expression plastered his face. To hopefully continue the proceeding and escape her inevitable early death, she inhaled. A slam of her right fist onto her chest, Laure exclaimed, "My name is Evangeline Laure." She paused, as a section of dark red hair moved away from her ear.
"I am the Blood Titan."