Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin or any of its characters. I do, however, own the rights to my OC.

Happy Reading~

With a sigh the young woman, carrying a fresh pale of water, watched as the guard opened the cell door, it was a routine the two had become accustomed to. "Here to clean another one up, are we, Natina?" He asked with his usual grin. The man wasn't unappealing, he was tall and muscular with muddy brown hair, however he was arrogant and vile. He'd made many passes at Natina, some made her shiver from the memories, especially when he'd been drunk… But none had been successful.

"Indeed," she replied simply as the prison opened and allowed her to enter, she did so swiftly, keeping her head down as the guards began their usual banter. Natina loathed her job, but in order to support herself she had to endure it. Now that her parents and siblings were gone, it was her only means of survival in the world. A poor girl from the Trost District had no other choice.

When she came to the man she had been ordered to care for, she knelt down and examined him carefully. Clearly he'd been beaten beyond recognition but somehow, in the dim light, Natina could tell he was once handsome. His hair, though thick with dust and dirt, was a recognisable blonde despite its short cut and his eyes were a determined yet icy blue. "H-hello," she said with a smile. "My name is Natina, Natina Acy, I was sent to… Help." The man didn't seem to care for her presence but he wasn't mean like some. "It hurts, doesn't it? They always take it too far… Here, I brought pain killers, I'm not supposed to so please don't tell anyone and get me in trouble." The girl, too kind for her own good, took a small packet from her pocket and produced a small needle filled with a clear liquid.

"How do I know it's not poison?" The man asked in a flat tone.

Natina thought for a moment, she tried her best to think for a way to prove that it wasn't but she could think of none without wasting the substance. "You don't," was the conclusion she came to. "But it would seem pointless to kill you before you're sent to the noose."

"Hah, I supposed you are correct. You're convinced I'm destined for the noose?" He asked, seemingly unfazed by her words.

Her eyes fell, their blackness seemingly fading to grey. "I-I'm sorry… But the nobles are pretty set on it and it takes a lot to change their minds… If that is even possible."

The man nodded slowly, his bruised eye falling to a close. "You're probably right," he sighed. "Please, continue with your treatment."

Acy nodded and reached out for his right arm, but her hand felt nothing but cloth. Her eyes widened as she realized that there was no arm to be found. "I-I'm sorry!" she said in embarrassment. With the lack of light within the dungeon it was hard to see him much, but to have missed such a thing… She felt nothing but shame.

"It's fine," he replied as he shifted his weight, cringing at the pain that accompanied it. "A Titan got my arm not long ago, I'm still growing accustomed to its absence myself." He spoke so calmly, as if losing a limb were no big deal. Natina could hardly believe her ears, how detached had this man become?

Without consulting him further, the woman grasped his left arm and rolled up his sleeve. His skin was covered in bruises so she tried to be as gentle as possible as she felt for a vein. Her eyes settled on the chain that clasped his ankle for a moment as her thumb massaged his skin, but she didn't allow herself the time to ponder it much for fear she might do something reckless. When she found one, she pressed the needle to his skin and injected the pain killers. Taking a small bandage from her pocket, Natina pressed it to the skin where blood had begun to bead, and folded his arm. "Hold it up like that for a moment, until the bleeding stops." She spoke with knowledge and authority, so much that the man did not question her. Once she'd completed the injection, she quickly stored the needle in her garments so there was no evidence of her kindness.

Standing up, Acy walked back towards the bars that contained the prisoner. "Excuse me," she called over to the guard. "Could you pass me a torch, I can't see what I'm doing down there."

"Sure," he replied. "Just give us a kiss first." The guards laughed, as if this were the funniest thing ever. Perhaps it was to such sadists.

"I don't think so," Natina replied. "Please, I require light to tend to this man."

The guard scoffed before raising his rump from his seat and strolling over to the torch suspended on the wall. "Fine, fine, don't get your bloomers in a twist." Natina didn't retort, and simply thanked him as he passed it through the bars. Without wasting further time, she headed back towards the beaten man.

"Sorry about that," she said with a smile as she fixed the torch to the wall, illuminating the dim space. The blonde man winched at the new light source but his eyes quickly adjusted. Returning to his side, Natina lifted a cup from her bucket and raised it to his lips. "Here, drink. You need it." The man didn't argue and simply consumed the water. He was grateful for her display of care and for her smile, it brought some hope to his bleak world. "Now, isn't that better." She beamed as she wiped a few droplets from his chin. "Might I ask your name? Prisoner 42 doesn't suit you much."

The man contemplated it for a moment, would knowing his name bring this woman any troubles? He didn't think so… "It's Erwin Smith."

She didn't react like he thought she would, most people became stiff when they learnt his name. Not wishing to disrespect the head of the Survey Corps. However, Natina seemed to grow more relaxed and her smile somehow grew brighter. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Erwin Smith." She then leaned over and began unbuttoning his shirt. "I'm going to wash you down, okay?"

"Okay," he nodded his consent, suddenly very aware of his grimy appearance. "Acy-san, was it?"

"Please, call me Natina."

"Natina… Why do you do this?" Erwin asked as he leaned forward, allowing her to remove his shirt from his shoulders.

She didn't answer for a moment as she tied up her black locks, her features seemed to turn grim as she recalled her past. "My family died when the Titans broke into the Trost district. My parents were crushed and my siblings eaten, but I was saved by a member of the 104th Trainee Squad, she was a beautiful girl, probably no older than fifteen. But you see, after I lost everything, I had nothing. I'm not particularly skilled or smart," she continued to speak as she began gently washing down Erwin's chest, her voice seemed to sooth him along with the cool cloth. "So, when we were evacuated I made a decision not to go back. I needed a job and a place to go, so I asked about for work but nobody would hire me.

"However, just when I was about to give up on everything, I was found by a man called Darius Zackly. He brought me to the Castle and found me a job, I haven't seen him since, but I'll always be grateful to him." She gave the cloth a rinse before returning to her task. "So, now I clean prisoners up before they go on trial. I also make your meals, so I apologize for my mediocre cooking. Perhaps it's a pointless job, but it's all I can do. I thought about becoming a soldier but I'm probably too old and not nearly strong enough, physically or mentally..." Her smile had grown painful, filled with sadness and regret, but somehow it didn't seem forced, simply captivating her true emotions perfectly. "And what about you? Why are you in this place? You don't come across as a murderer or something so vile, so what reasoning could the MPs have for beating you so gravely?"

"Ha," Erwin scoffed, forgetting himself. "Do they really need a reason?"

Natina felt only sympathy for him, she too had experienced the Military Police's whims. "Considering your condition, I'd like to think so... I don't want to believe that they would go to such lengths for amusement."

"You are innocent to the way this world works," the commander sighed. He envied her, really. What must it be like not to have a care for politics or fear for the sanity of the system? That, to him, was as close to freedom as he could imagine. "Tell me, what is it you concern yourself with? The fate of humanity?"

"Oh no!" Natina chuckled. "Nothing so grand or serious. That's a difficult question though... What do I concern myself with?... Animals, I'm fond of animals. On my days off I help care for the horses, I found a dog not too long ago and have since taken him in - I concern myself with him. I often gaze up at the sky and feed the birds and when I can I travel between the walls to help in any way I can on the farms."

"What a simple way of life," commented Smith. Her rambling speach both calmed and worried him. Was there really such people with such little care for the outside world?

"I know what you must be thinking..." Natina said as she dunked the dirty cloth into the water and wrung it through. "'She doesn't seem to care about the Titans at all, what's wrong with her?' I do care that we live in a cage, I don't like being confined because of the Titans... They took everything away from me, how could I ignore their existance?" She gave a humourless laugh before returning to her task. "But I can't change the position I'm in, I'm weak and useless, unable to fight the Titans... It's not like I can change our human ways either, so I try not to concern myself with it. What good would it do getting worked up or depressed? It's much better that I just go about my life in the best way I know how."

The prison fell silent as Erwin contemplated her words, finally he replied saying, "I've never thought in such a way... I've been blessed with a strong body and mind, or... I was."

"You think me weak?" Natina asked, curious about the man's opinion.

"Yes," he replied bluntly before softening the blow, "but also no. I don't believe you can say anyone is truly weak or strong, you have chosen to be strong and live with your past where others might escape it. Your making the best of things could also be seen as strength... endurance... However, to I, it is a frail way to live. Why endure something that you could fight to change?"

Natina's smile returned as she said, "They are words spoken by a man with the power of change." Erwin understood her words but found himself questioning their full meaning, though he didn't find himself asking.

The two continued to converse as the cleaning session continued, though Natina was to thank for that. Whenever their exchanges would falture she would either find a new topic are fill the silence with her own thoughts, somehow Erwin found it relaxing. Acy was open with her mind just as she was her mouth and seemed to truly respect his point of view where others might belittle it.

Their topics ranged from their hopes for the future to silly stories from their past - though Natina had more of the latter while Erwin more so for the prior. The words seemed to flow effortlessly, with ease but also with a certain amount of care. They found out a lot about each other in the few hours they spent together, but it wasn't enough. Too soon Erwin was cleaned to the best of Acy's ability and dressed in a fresh shirt. Natina found herself wanting to know more about this mysterious and intriguing man, while Erwin found himself drawn to the woman's simple yet oddly complex mind, how he wished to question her further...

However, their facination was interupted by reality. "I have to go..." Natina said, her expression betraying her lack of enthusiasm. "If I'm not back to cook evening meals I'll be yelled at. It was lovely to meet you, Erwin Smith. I hope they don't decide to kill you, it would be humanity's loss if they did."

"Thank you, Natina Acy, I am glad to have met you, too. Please do not concern yourself with my wellbeing, I will be fine."

"You seem rather confident of that," Natina stated curiously.

Erwin smiled. "Do I?"

They exchanged no more words, instead Natina leaned over and gently laid a kiss upon Erwin's forehead. A bold act but she found herself unable to stop the sudden impulse. And then, just as suddenly as she had appeared, the young black haired woman faded into the distance with her torch and bucket, now filled with dirty water.

The End.