Disclaimer: Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin belongs to its rightful owners. I own nothing.
Author's Note: Alright, well, I was going to post one big old string of drabbles, but I decided to break it up. Primarily because I was so excited after everyone's response to Brave and Kind :)
This first set was inspired by a scene in the second episode. If you notice that at around 15 minutes, 33.05 seconds, you can notice Annie waiting in the breadline. ((If you don't believe me, PM me and I'll show you the picture.))
The first time Annie Leonhardt sees him, she forgets him instantly. There's no use in trying to create stories for every hollow-eyed child she sees. As the blond slowly hobbles off the ship accompanied by two other children and an older man, she turns her head.
In a few years, he'll be dead anyway, she tells herself. His soft hands and watery eyes are not strong enough to survive. She banishes the blond hair and blue eyes from her memory. There's no use in remembering the dead.
.
The second time, she only notices the blond as an afterthought. Her initial focus is first distracted by the boy's loud friend whose mouth stirred up more trouble than Annie particularly likes. She doesn't notice the wide eyed blond until the latter emerges from the hazy background and speaks in a quivering tone, urging the brunet to forget it and leave.
Still barely a child, Annie feels her own personal experience is justified enough to condemn the boy to an early death. Again, she drives the boy from her memory. He's too weak to survive.
.
The third time that she sees the boy, he is smiling. The action surprises and frightens her. Then it angers her.
Who does this boy thinks he is? Why he can smile when they've all suffered through so much? The same brunet laughs next to him and another girl, a waiflike, ebony-haired creature, smiles slightly. The two extremes of childish joy, yet it is the mild blond boy in the center who frustrates her the most. When his bright gaze roves blindly across the crowd, it feels as if his blue eyes purposely rake across her face. She takes a shuddering breath and steps back as if he had made direct contact with her, yet he doesn't notice her scowl or her tensing shoulders. His eyes continue to roam across the faces and she half-wonders what he's looking for.
Annie hates this boy, who sits like an angel between two mortals, and forcefully purges the memory from her mind.
She hopes he dies soon. There is nothing to smile about here. Death will teach him.
.
Naturally, he's a coward, although she isn't particularly surprised to note that his brunet friend is also an idiot. The blond boy's groveling and pleading disgusts her. His earnest pleas fool the soldiers and the boy's pretty phrasing even tricks his friends into feeling gratitude. His words don't fool her.
As the blond turns away from the brunet's grudging thanks, his expression changes for a fleeting second. Self-loathing. Doubt. Embarrassment.
He may have fooled the others, but Annie can see that the boy still hasn't managed to fool himself. He still sees himself as useless.
Annie silently agrees.
.
He never takes off that old hat. Worn and faded, it always rests on his head no matter the weather or time of day. When the boy seems upset or frightened, Annie notices that his trembling fingers reach for the brim when he thinks no one else is watching. She doesn't know why he always wears that stupid hat, but she's slightly jealous that he has something that makes him feel strong and secure.
She has nothing, but she reminds herself that she's strong enough without some ridiculous old hat to make her stronger. Why would she ever want such a useless possession?
.
The hat belonged to his grandfather. He never wears it anymore. She doesn't know where it went.
He is no longer smiling. Annie has won, but she feels far from victorious.
.
When they ask him for his family's name, his lip does not tremble when he announces to the world that he is an orphan and has nowhere to call home. She feels no pity for him. Everyone has lost someone or something to the titans; this boy is nothing special.
Once the enlistment solider moves on to the next child, the boy visibly changes. Gone is the fire and gone is the passion. Annie can see in his blank crystalline orbs that he possesses no real spirit of his own. The rash brunet beside him is the only reason the blond boy enlists.
Humanity doesn't need weak, ceding willow branches—she needs soldiers. He's only going to get in the way.
I'm following the anime/manga in order, so the next set will be about their experiences at training.
Hope you enjoy! Feel free to leave certain prompts that you may want to see in the reviews! I know I still have to work on my drabble writing skills.