Sack of raisins
– How's the girl? – asked short man named Rivaille. He was the corporal and apparently the leader of the team.
Having ridden towards the agreed point of meeting, they caught up with another part of a team that had been waiting for them not so far away hiding on the trees. They had equipment, fresh water and food.
– She's sleeping peacefully. Such an angel... – responded Kina in hushed voice.
– Yes, that one too. But I asked about the woman, – he got out of the unpleasant situation. Not that he didn't care about the child's state, it's just he noticed how pale and thin the redhead actually was.
– Don't worry, Rivaille heichou, she's tied up to the tree, – answered that one Leo.
– Good, – mumbled shorty, – I need answers, – he said pulling the gloves on.
When he stepped closer to the detained, he could see how her cheekbones were standing out a bit as much as the dark circles under icy eyes. Girl's face was indeed very pale, especially in the glow of a bonfire. A good smell of boiling food made it even worse giving away how hungry she was.
– Let's start with a name, – he said like he was about to start a torture under everyone's intense gazes.
– Marian... – mumbled girl barely heard. She fought sleepy state at the same time and tried not to lose it.
– I can't hear you; – corporal grabbed her by the front hair and pulled up closer to his own face that expressed nothing than indifference.
– It's Marian, – she responded out loud without any sign of pain. Normal person would have wrinkled one's face after being grabbed by hair so suddenly.
– I'm not doing it to torture you, Marian, – some kind of softness had been heard in fierce man's voice.
– I must know where you got those clothes, – he added.
– Untie me and give me something to eat. Then I'll talk, – stated Marian and Rivaille ordered to untie her immediately.
– Well? – asked he not taking his cold eyes off the girl who was munching a hot boiled potato near the bonfire. Having swallowed the food she began answering the questions.
– I was searching for a safe place where I could hide from those humanoids you call titans. On my way through forest I encountered two scared to death horses. They led me to the massacre place... – she said, glancing at the people around her with caution.
She could feel how their hearts dropped into the ground after hearing the word 'massacre'. They all turned as pale as she was. All except Rivaille. Glow of bonfire produced weird shadows on his face that made man look creepy.
– How many people were killed? – Continued corporal.
– I don't know. Couldn't make out. It was quite a mess... About twenty, perhaps, – oh yes, she did that on purpose in order to see what happens to the comrades of those who had passed away by describing the bloody scene.
– Legs and hands all over the place. Don't know how you can put up with spilled brains and ripped out guts... – now she was interrupted by a terrified squeak from one of the women and Rivaille ordered Marian to shut up.
– Anyway, I borrowed those from the dead. My clothes wouldn't have stood the cold and I went all this way barefooted or in sandals. Not a pleasant thing you know, – Marian reached for another potato.
– Why? – asked guy named Leo.
– What 'why'? – She didn't understand.
– You said barefooted. Were you attacked by bandits? – Everyone sharpened their ears.
– No, it's just... Funny story and you won't believe me anyway.
– I believe that you didn't kill our comrades back there, – added corporal coldly, correcting the burning wood in the bonfire.
– Even if I say that I come from the sea?
That phrase astonished the soldiers who had not been asleep and listening to the conversation.
– That's impossible! Sea is too far away from the kingdom! No-one has seen it or at least come back! – shouted Hay angrily. Perhaps she was too outraged by the fact that Marian had seen the sea itself and she hasn't. It was something that they couldn't even dream about. Even Rivaille's face changed, but not on the outside, Marian could feel the changing emotions by some kind of atmosphere around him. Girl would have called it aura...
– Told you, you won't believe me! But perhaps, I may describe it a little, – and she started her 'song' about everything she had sensed when lying on the shore: the endless blue water filling the horizon, the white foam left on the sand from the crashing waves, the greenish-blue turquoise color because of the high concentrations of lime near the steep cliffs, white fine sand with countless seashells rustling under her bare feet, the smell of salt and rotting seaweed between the rocks and flock of white seagulls crying in the sky and from time to time disappearing in the waves.
It seemed that every single soul around her fell into dream state trying to imagine the width of blue water reaching into nowhere. She would have gone on, but sudden piercing pain struck her right temple. Marian screeched through her teeth out of pain. That felt really unusual since she shouldn't feel pain at all – that's how she managed to walk non-stop through different landscapes without feeling the awful dull pain in her limbs and feet that were covered with blood-blisters and meaty areas under the peeled off skin on her toes. Pleasant memory had been replaced with something painful and disgusting while others enjoyed the false created memory. Her memory.
– Snap out of it, everyone: we're heading out before the sunrise, – said corporal loudly like ordering his team to go to sleep. Marian was surprised of how they respected the short man and carried out his orders without any hesitation or resistance. She just watched him pointing at the 3DMG equipment left on the ground wanting the owners to pick it up and hide somewhere that it wouldn't get under someone's feet during the night time. Sleep was something they needed so hopelessly.
– You! – He turned to Marian who didn't even think about moving away from the warming fire.
– If you'll try anything "funny", I won't hesitate to kill you; – mumbled corporal in grumpy and threatening way, but Marian totally ignored him by asking whether she could keep the clothes until they reach the walls.
– That will be fine, – responded shorty and having picked up a shovel started digging the ground, throwing the dirt into the burning campfire to produce as less smoke as possible.
– May I...? – Marian wanted to ask something important, but Rivaille interrupted her and girl got the short and tired response:
– Do whatever you want, – and he went away to get some sleep, checking whether the night-watch man was sleeping or not.
Marian couldn't get any sleep that night because of Rivaille's huge snoring comrade under the tree. She was only one wide awake and hungry again when sun was about to rise on the horizon.
Starry sky turned from dark-blue and purplish to slightly yellow near the point where sun was about to show itself. Marian could see the disappearing tiny stars from between the dark leaves of a tree on which branch she was lying on. Her grumbling stomach wasn't lonely as she heard someone's belly-frog also croaking.
Oh, what came up next surprised her quite a lot.
Being unaware that Marian found the temporary residence on the nearest tree for the night, man named Keith raised the alarm by yelling and shouting when noticed that the detained had escaped from them during the night.
– Keith! What the hell?! – Groaned sleepy Kina rubbing her eyes, - The child is still sleeping!
– The other one is gone! – He explained and woke up everyone else. They were about to spread the panic until it reached Rivaille who had been quietly cleaning his blades, sitting near the one of the small barrels with water loaded on carriage.
– Calm down, – he said collectedly.
– But that girl could have led us to the missing team! – Keith was upset about how calm and ignorant corporal could sometimes be.
Man sighed, got down from the carriage and stepped towards the thickest tree. Heavy 'knock-knock' on the tree stem with a fist, still looking at his confused comrades with an indifferent face, and the rustling of leaves could be heard from the top of the tree.
– Good morning, – responded Marian to the silent call hanging upside down on the tree branch that had been carrying her light body weight all this night.
– No need to worry, I wouldn't have gone anywhere, because you are too nice to strangers and you have food and a map, – stated girl and got down from the tree.
– Simple? Now let's start packing. Sun will rise in twenty minutes! We're moving out in ten! – ordered Rivaille and as teammates began packing as quick as possible, he called Marian to come with him.
Rivaille opened the map of distant land on the barrels and fixed its corners with two rocks and a blade. Despite the poor light coming from the oil lamp, because it was still dark enough, drawn edges could be seen without any effort.
– Look here carefully, woman, – he drew her attention away from the 3DMG lying nearby on the ground by grabbing her dirtied cheeks between his fingers and turned her head towards the map.
– We have a long journey to this point here, where the previous team couldn't make it... – he pointed at the drawn 'hut'-like spot with his bony yet strong finger as Marian had already felt it on her skin, – ... and then back to the kingdom, – he slid it towards the flower-shaped circles that represented the walls of humankind's kingdom, the only safe place there could still be found.
– Do you recognize the area? – He asked peeking at her. Not that he wanted to hide his curious gaze; he was just drawn to the odd combination of auburn almost red hair and rare eye-color. Redheads usually have eyes with different green and brown, sometimes blue, tones, but not this girl...
– Yeah, I can mark the place where I found the bodies... – she took a coal from Rivaille's hand and marked the place in the next forest-spot with a thick 'X'. Then Marian measured the map and the landscape she had passed yesterday on horse and on foot and put the coal aside by stating that it is useless to go any further.
– I get that you're the respected leader of the team making the important decisions here and stuff... – she mumbled and continued to explain what she had on her mind so far before corporal says a word:
– ... but going further is not a good option. You don't have to trust me, but I passed this route before I encountered those two titans you've killed... – she slid her finger through a map from the distant Survey Corps' hideout to the 'X', – ... and all I can say is that the previous team had reached the hideout you've mentioned before, – Marian tapped on the 'X' twice.
– What makes you so sure of it? – asked Rivaille not wanting to accept the things Marian just told him, because he cannot forsaken the mission when a complete stranger says so.
– There were small sacks with raisins spilled in front of the hidden door in a shape of a small cave. Some people are using it as a sign of presence, – she replied confidently, wanting corporal to believe her. Not only that - Marian wanted to get to the kingdom as soon as possible since she had no other place to go to.
Judging by man's empty look on his face, he was rethinking the plan they had with a team so far. Besides, the mention of the raisins that Survey Corps' soldiers beloved so much, was enough good proof of that the woman wasn't lying and trying to help them by saving them time, equipment such as gas tanks and food supplies. After she had even shown him the empty linen sack with a winged SC emblem on it, his mind cleared up.
– Listen up! – he called to his teammates that already had done the preparations by packing everything up and loading on horses and carriage while he and Marian were discussing issues with the map and routes.
– We have a change of plans. We're going home! – stated man and watched how his subordinates' faces changed from troubled to joyful. Everyone wanted to leave the god's forsaken place behind the walls where the titans always crawl around.
While Marian went to see a little girl she had saved last night, Valdo – the one who was responsible for the night-watch – came to Rivaille with a question: why such sudden change of plans? Weren't they going after the missing team even though they were found dead?
– I know this is frustrating and Erwin will definitely kill me for this unexpected decision, but I'll take the whole responsibility for my actions, – responded Rivaille calmly as always, glancing with a strident gaze at the woman who had suggested the plan and now was playing a clapping game with a child.