Tracitus: Thank you :)

amerdism: I try my best. And that would be telling.

rajinfairy: I will do my best.

It was dark. It had been dark for a very long time. They couldn't move and their breathing was slight. Not only that, but it seemed as though the space they were in was slowly but surely shrinking around them until they could barely move.

They wondered if this was hell and that Being X had lied- they wouldn't put it past him after their conversation.

Then, they saw a light. Desperate, they reached to it and tried to lift themselves out, but they didn't have the strength or room to move. When hands reached in and pulled them out, their first reaction was to feel relief- and then panic because a giant was carrying them!

They tried to cry out for help but all that came out was a garbled mess. The hands wrapped them in something soft and warm and gave them to new hands, softer and gentler ones. Someone with black hair and soft, kind gray eyes that made some of the panic recede as they murmured comfortingly to them.

He- or rather, she, knew why humans couldn't form long-term memory until at least four years old. But because she wasn't four years old, mind and soul-wise, she remembered everything from being taken from the womb. The first four years of her new life were the most frustrating of either of her existences- she couldn't walk, get her own food, she couldn't relieve herself without making a mess!

She forced herself to learn to accomplish these things, even when it amounted to several bruises. Her mother kept gently chastising her for hurting herself but helped her learn- or rather, relearn, how to walk and take care of herself. She knew she must have worried her mother immensely but showed that she wouldn't get into trouble at least.

"Tanya, come here!" her mother called her gently and she toddled over to the woman, allowing her to pick her up and balance her on her lap. "I have something to show you."

She took out a hand-drawn portrait from a book and let Tanya touch it- it was of her mother and a man with wavy hair tied back in a ponytail and both were dressed formally. "That's your father- it was drawn on our wedding day," her mother explained.

This was an interesting discovery, she mused as she looked at the picture. While she resembled her mother facially, her hair was blond and wavy and her eyes bright blue and from the drawing before her, it was clear that she had gotten her coloring from her father. Ever since she had been able to get around the house, Tanya had never seen anyone around their small house save for her mother. So either her father had left them or he had died- she wasn't sure which one seeing how her mother clearly had fondness for him as she showed Tanya the picture. She could easily be deluding herself that he would come back to them.

"Where is father?" she asked aloud.

Her mother smiled sadly but explained gently, "He died. That means he was taken away- far, far away from us. But he loves us both and is always watching over us." Her hand gently ruffled Tanya's hair and she kissed it.

Tanya frowned as warmth curled in her stomach- her mother in her previous life had been in a nursing home that she had moved her into when it became clear she couldn't take care of herself anymore. The feeling of a mother's love and warmth had been so long absent from her previous life that to feel it again provoked a stronger response than she expected.

This could prove to be a problem, she thought.

They lived in the mountains in a small village near the outskirts. Her mother managed a small farm with a few chickens, two goats and a solid gray horse, Mercury- the horse had once belonged to her father. On the side, she worked as a seamstress and helped repair some people's clothes when they couldn't. She often watched her mother work and once she had proper motor control, asked to be taught in order to help.

It was clear that her new surroundings lacked much of the technology and comfort she was used to, but she was nothing if not versatile and hard-working. As she grew older, Tanya helped her mother out around the farm and even took to cutting wood in her place when she got tired and eventually learned to ride Mercury even with her small size. It took a great deal of effort to become used to the work and riding- with her smaller body, less developed muscles and the fact that she hadn't worked that hard in either life, left Tanya aching and bruised and tired as she crawled into bed each night.

But she was nothing if not persistent and kept herself repeating the motions until they became second-nature to her. She built her reputation in their small village as a responsible and hard-working girl and often heard praise from the villagers to her mother for raising such a good daughter. She was held in contempt by the other children for being no fun, creepy and a mommy's girl. Tanya couldn't care less what a bunch of snot-nosed brats had to say about her and continued to work hard.

Of course, not everything was perfect.

Soldiers would often come in the winter to visit- their families were so proud of them for their accomplishments, they were treated like celebrities. Tanya had been rather embarrassed that her first interaction with the soldiers had been to gawk at their uniforms and the memory of a BDSM magazine she had once confiscated continued to surface as she tried to apologize.

They had all taken it in stride and laughed along with her. There, Tanya found that the soldiers were a treasure trove of information and she even had an excuse to egg them on for answers as her father had been in the military. From them, she learned of the three military divisions- the Garrison, Survey Corps and Military Police- as well as the walls surrounding them- Maria, where she and her mother lived in the mountains, Rose, the more urban where several factories and military academies were stationed and Sina, home of the elite, privileged and the royal family, the Fritzes.

Many of the soldiers visiting belonged to the Garrison, the soldiers who watched over the walls and the cities within Wall Maria and Wall Rose. But a precious few belonged to the Survey Corps, the division that her father- Aren Degurachaff- had been apart of. Through them, she learned the titans- naked, man-eating giants who had pushed humanity to the blink of extinction before they had built the three walls to keep them out.

So, she thought, laying in bed long after dark, there are naked man-eating giants that have the remnants of the human race cornered on all sides. And my father was eaten by one. This at least explains why mother doesn't speak of him much- I'd like to see any parent explain that kind of fate to their child.

Tanya didn't know if she was having a delayed reaction or if she had become so scared she had looped right back around to calm again. Tanya didn't know if she should be grateful she could actually straighten her priorities out now but her first and foremost goal was to get the hell out of Wall Maria and into Wall Sina however possible. She could handle the corruption of humans well enough- naked man-eating giants were a whole other bag of marbles.

Of course, doing so would be easier said than done. Luckily, she found out that there was a way through the military- just become one of the top ten graduates and she would be allowed to join the Military Police and enter Wall Sina. She was rather incredulous that the minimum age to enter the military was a mere twelve years old, but it also meant she could start working earlier than expected.

It makes sense they'd want as many soldiers as possible, given the death toll even the Garrison and Military Police have next to the Survey Corps, she mused and children are certainly malleable enough to mold into ideal soldiers.

"Mother, would you be mad if I became a soldier like father?" she asked.

Her mother looked surprised but quickly shook her head. "Of course not! Your father was a brave and kind man and he did everything he could to protect us," she said rather shakily. "I couldn't be more proud that you would follow his example."

"I'm not gonna join the Survey Corps, I'm going into the Military Police," Tanya said adamantly.

Her mother only smoothed her hair out and kissed her head. "I'll be proud whatever path you choose, Tanya," she murmured.

The warmth curled in her stomach and every instinct was screaming at her that letting this bond continue would only cause her trouble. But for once, Tanya ignored them and let her eyes close against her mother, remembering one of the tidbits of information regarding the Military Police- should one get to a high enough rank, they could even bring family inside to live with them.