My new obsession. I read all of the manga chapter is, like, two days. I need more.
I was inspired by some of the other lovely SnK stories on here. And by my own need to throw a(some) character(s) into this world and have them grow up in it and deal with it.

I do not own SnK.

Laisser-aller

Alazne was a precocious child.

She had an inexplicable need to know things, which had showed very early on in her development. Her 'why' phase morphed into a 'who, what, when, where, and why' phase that only lessened over the years, but still remained very much intact at her current age of ten. It was this intense sense of curiosity that was the source of many of her bruises and scratches, especially as she tried to mimic the odd rope-walking technique her brother had been attempting for a month now.

"Why are you doing this?" The small, tan brunette questioned, "What's the point of trying to walk on the rope?"

The fourteen-year-old cursed lightly as he slipped off to the ground, ignoring the subsequent giggles from his sister, "It's for balance, Laz! Nothing compared to the actual 3DMG maneuvering, but balance is balance."

Before stepping back on the rope spanning five feet from skinny tree to skinny tree, the boy paused and pointed at his sister –

"And don't you dare repeat any bad words to mom and dad."

Alazne grinned, latched her hands behind her back, and rocked onto her heels; the perfect picture of devious innocence.

"I won't…maybe. If you let me rope-walk too, and teach me some of that fighting stuff, Emilio."

She was also a cunning child, Alazne.

Emilio groaned, "Laz, come on. The rope-walking is fine, but fighting?"

"Fine, don't," Alazne crinkled her nose, "But next time I see mom the first thing I'm going to say is 'Guess what new word Emilio taught me? It's fu-'"

"Alright! Fine, you win!"

Alazne cackled, clapping her hands together happily before scurrying over to pull herself up onto the rope. Her brother's mumblings about balance were nothing but muffled, unintelligible words to her ears – she was far too focused on stepping one foot in front of the other on the wobbly rope. Her legs shook somewhat violently before she slipped, tumbling to the dirt with a dusty puff following her landing.

"Oof," Alazne's lips smacked together and her nose scrunched at the taste of dirt.

Emilio laughed, "I figured that'd happen!"

His younger sister glared indolently, "I don't fall when I climb trees."

"Trees are different," her brother snickered, his arms splayed out as he wavered on the rope, "They have more solidity."

The small girl grumbled, her cheeks puffing as her brother stumbled off the rope and teetered back up – apparently letting her 'try rope-walking' meant one shot this time around. But she still had the chance to do it when he wasn't around, and there was the fact that he's promised –

"You have to teach me that fighting stuff too!"

Emilio stumbled and jumped off the rope, scowling at his sister, "Yeah, I know! Tomorrow morning, okay? After we finish our chores."

Seemingly appeased, the ten-year-old's puffed cheeks deflated. Though that didn't mean she wasn't still put off that she wasn't going to get another shot at rope-walking anytime soon. Alazne shot her wobbling brother one last look before moving to shimmy up one of the trees, her eyes locked determinedly on the lowest branch – ten feet away from the ground.

She was a small, limber girl with a surprising strength that came from her tree climbing habits over the last few years – it had started when she saw a bird nest nestled in a high branch when she was seven. Her curiosity had her spend nearly an hour trying to climb up until she made it, and even now she considered the jelly-like feel she'd had in her arms and legs that next day worth it. Even if she'd nearly fallen out of the tree thanks to an angry mama bird.

"One day," Emilio huffed from below, "You're going to fall and beak something, and mom'll blame me for it."

"I'm not going to fall!" Alazne's cheeks puffed out for a second time that day, "I never have!"

Her brother grunted and swiped a hand across his brow, "Yeah, well, there's a first for everything, you know."

Suddenly, the light thumping of another child's footsteps caught the siblings' attention – it was Walsh Macintyre, the nine year old son of one of their neighbors.

"A-Alazne! E-Emilio!" Walsh's breath came out in loud whooshes, his ginger hair in disarray, "There're some Scouts passin' though!"

That was all it took to get Emilio off the rope and Alazne shimmying down the tree; soldiers weren't uncommon around Shiganshina, but they were mostly part of the Garrison sector. Scouts came through a couple of times a year to venture out past the walls and was something most of the younger generations crowded the streets to see.

If they were like Alazne they took count of how many there were leaving and compared the numbers to their return – the results of this were often morbid, but the small child kept it up none-the-less. She would always end up somewhat saddened as she realized the losses, and part of her wondered if there was someone – anyone – who could one day make a difference.

"Hey, Emilio," she puffed once they came to a stop to watch the soldiers marching towards them down the streets, "Which sector are you going to join?"

"The Garrisons, maybe the scouts," Emilio eyed the scouts, "But the scouts kinda seem too intimidating; dangerous."

Walsh sucked in a big breath, "Yeah, and the Garrisons mean you might still be stationed around Shiganshina, right?"

"Yeah," Emilio grinned, "I wish I didn't have to wait another year though; I'm old enough to enter now, but mom and dad are so adamant about me waiting 'till I'm fifteen."

Alazne stood beside her brother, slightly thankful that her parents had made such a decision; it meant she got to spend more time with her big brother. Her wide green eyes trailed from her brother to watch the now passing soldiers, most of them with solemn faces. One just so happened to turn to look at them and Alazne found herself beaming up at him, her eyes crinkling with the size of it.

Alazne was proud to say that the young man's own lips quirked up at the sight of her smile, a more happy gleam in his eyes – even if it was only for a moment.

Her brother made a grunting noise from beside her as he watched them move on towards the gates – the man had turned forward at this point – and for a moment Alazne herself wondered what it would really be like to join the forces.

It was a thought that had flittered through her mind on occasion – mostly when her brother rattled on or when she was caught up in watching the men and women up on the walls.

'It's scary to think about,' Alazne skipped along behind her brother, his and Walsh's voices only half making sense as she considered things, 'All the bad things that could happen if I joined. My big brother is so brave!'

"Hey, Alazne!" Walsh gripped her wrist and her brother scurried back towards his rope in their back yard, "I was gonna go find Alaina and Bertram – you wanna come?"

The little brunette nodded her head buoyantly at the ginger boy, "Mmhmm, sure!"

The nine and ten year olds strutted off, waving to Alazne's mother as they went – only pausing when she demanded that Alazne be home in an hour for dinner. They skittered through crowds, chatting about what they'd been doing lately – apparently Walsh was going to be a big brother. It was only after a short five minutes that they found the two they were looking for – ten-year-old Bertram Phelps and his twin sister Alaina.

"Bertram, Lainey!" Walsh stumbled as he rushed forward, nearly tripping over a loose rock in the path, "Did'ja see the Scouts troop come through?"

Bertram wrinkled his nose at Walsh's excitement, "Yeah, I dunno who didn't, what with everyone crowding the sides of the street."

"C'mon Bertie!" Alaina pulled on his arm, earning a weak glare for using the nickname, "They're cool, aren't they? The Scouts? That's what I wanna be!"

"No way, Lainey!" Bertram snapped before eyeing Walsh and Alazne, "The scouts are dangerous. How many of 'em do you think are gonna come back alive?"

Walsh quieted and kicked at the dirt while Alaina just stuck up her nose, leaving Alazne as the one to respond verbally –

"Are you scared, Bertie?"

Alazne giggled, her grin widening as Bertram stiffened at the nickname.

"My brother said he might join the scouts, you know. He's brave, wanting to go out and protect people and all."

Bertram glowered, still off-put by the fact that someone other than his sister called him 'Bertie', and angered by Alazne's blatant insult. He puffed up slightly in his anger, practically towering over the three others with his unusual for his age height. Alaina patted her brother on the arm –

"C'mon Bertie, I think you're brave! Besides, you know Laz likes to tease people."

The boy simmered down a little at his sister's words, though he was still sending Alazne a sour look, "Tease? You mean insult. Laz the Spaz just needs to go back up into the trees she loves so much."

Alazne laughed, not really offended by Bertram's sour attitude. It was like her mother always said: People who are pointlessly spiteful and mean want nothing more than attention; be the better person and turn the other cheek.

Walsh wavered off to the side, not quite taking a side in the little war between Bertram and Alazne – though it did seem to stress him out, even if he wasn't directly involved. Alazne just rocked back on her heels, a grin still on her face as Bertram glowered. As soon as it seemed like one of the two was about to say something, Alaina cut in.

"Hey, Laz," Alaina stepped in front of her twin, the top of her head barely reaching his chin, "What exactly is it that you like about trees? You do seem to climb them a lot."

"I feel freer, I guess." Alazne tilted her head to the side, her green eyes sparkling in contemplation, "I can see a lot more up there. Being up so high is pretty fun too."

"I think the watching is the best part though," Alazne continued, her hands clasping behind her back as she rocked on her feet, "Most people don't notice you up there, so I see a lot of stuff."

Walsh stepped forward, his tone curious, "Like what?"

Her green eyes twinkled as she snickered, "Mister Farrow has a mirror on the little barn in his backyard and he talks to himself in it, and Jena Murfree kissed three different guys last week alone."

Alaina laughed while Walsh hid a smile and some snickers behind a hand, and even Bertram cracked a bit of a smile at the new information. As the amusement died down a sudden game of tag broke out – Alazne might have prodded someone one too many times – that had the four skipping and running around the grassy areas in between buildings until the four dogpiled on a once again fuming Bertram.

Alazne shuffled back from the pile, laughing and breathing more heavily than before, "I gotta go guys – dinner is soon. See you all later!"

The female of the blond twins waved and called out a cheerful goodbye with Bertram standing grumpily by her side and Walsh waved before freezing and realizing that he too needed to get home. With a worried yelp the ginger boy called hasty goodbyes to the twins, stumbling after his brunette neighbor.

"L-Laz!" Walsh stumbled to her side, "W-wait up!"

Alazne slowed her pace some, waiting for the younger neighbor boy to catch up, still puffing from running around earlier.

"You're not very athletic, are you Walsh?"

Walsh reddened, "Y-yeah, I guess not…"

"Hey!" The brunette perked up and spun to walk backwards in front of Walsh, "I can teach you to climb trees and stuff, I think that's what helped me!"

Walsh's brown eyes widened slightly as he looked at the still backwards walking Alazne, "Really? T-that might be fun."

"Mmkay!" Alazne spun forward to begin skipping, "How 'bout tomorrow after lunch sometime? I'll come find you!"

The ginger boy nodded happily and the two exchanged their last goodbyes, as they'd reached their respective homes. Upon entering her own home, Alazne was rushed to the bathroom by her mother to hurry and wash her hands. Her brother complained behind her, as the rule was that no one got food until everyone was at the table.

"Hurry up, Laz," Emilio groaned, then winced as his mother wacked his hand with a spoon.

"Sorry, sorry," Alazne settled into her seat, not seeming the least bit sorry, "Oh, momma, daddy! We saw the Scouts today!"

Her mother tensed slightly, not that the child really noticed, "Oh? And what did you think?"

"They're, like, really brave, aren't they?" Alazne chewed on some bread, her eyes glimmering as she thought back to earlier, "I dunno if I could be that brave though."

"You don't have to be! There's no need for any –"

"Marisol!" He placed a hand on his wife's shoulder, "Now is not the time or place."

Marisol frowned, focusing back on her small portion of food. Alazne shrunk into herself and her brother stabbed at his food with a solemn look on his face.

'She doesn't even want big brother to go, does she?' Alazne nibbled some more on her food, 'But why? Big brother is brave, he's gonna be a hero!'

Laisser-aller

Btw, I'm somewhat confused as to why there's ANOTHER category on here for SnK under it's English translation. Is it supposed to be more anime based stories? Eh, who knows. Hope you enjoyed!

Also: I will be updating this around next weekend. I can say this because I actually have the next chapter written and a basic outline for the third. Go me!