I read manga chapter 59 lately. Let's say this takes place sometime around then but since its a divergent story the overall flow has changed.

Arc 1: The Wager's Fool

Episode 4: The Toils of Survival

~000~

Annie had damn near killed herself once already during the climb in the predawn morning.

It nearly happened again not long after she set out and started to walk alongside the river in order to find a bridge across. It was bad enough that she couldn't transform without there being some repercussions that involved her being immobilized afterward. Being an energy savvy shifter still had its limits since she had no nourishment in the last few days. On top of that, Annie was never a morning person anyway; her mind was constantly drugged with a lingering drowsiness and her body shivered in the early cold. One could say she was most vulnerable at this time of day.

On another hand, an out of the blue attack was sure to wake her up.

7-meter Titans may not be the smallest, but they can be fast on their feet and hide almost as well as their 3 or 5-meter counterparts. It managed to conceal itself relatively well until Annie chose at that time to pass by and look the other way. She had no means of combating the beast except to manage a partial transformation, but that would ultimately leave her too dehydrated to attempt another one if there was an greater threat. Out-running it was clearly suicide but tricking it wasn't entirely out of the question. It was all she can do until she can procure the supplies.

Fucking Titans. Its a no-brainer why Jaeger wants to kill every single last one of them. Dunno what I despise more: Reiner's jokes, Armin's smartass ways, that emotionless bitch Mikasa or those stupid Titans.

...Probably all of them on that note.

Annie managed to keep a decent lead but the scowling pursuer was practically leaping over the miniscule distance separating them. She had to glance back once to guage the Titan's speed, but her blood ran cold at both his quicker pace and closer proximity. She caught the glint of his ivory teeth with horrid clarity; smaller than the Titan norm but with twice as many in his unhinged mouth. The mandibles on the creature contained the elasticity of rubber, yawning open like a snake about to swallow an over-sized prize. It would've looked almost comical from afar, but for understandable reasons Annie found nothing about this funny. He was gaining and only a few horse-lengths behind, lashing out his ridiculous jaws with each step.

FUCK THIS.

Relocating her eyes onto her path, she noted the bank of trees bordering the river and the drop-off next to them. An idea swam into mind just then, the girl now twirling her harness in a one-chance bid towards the thickest of branches. A split second later she was up and over and gone before the blundering Titan even knew where she was leading it to.

Climbing into the air, a stomach-flipping snap sounded where her torso had just been, an earth shaking crunch following. It announced the Titan's descent onto the ground and then he was sliding the rest of way towards his death over the ledge. The dim-witted brute was devoured by the whipping rapids below with a merciless abandon that Annie was now somewhat thankful for. Thank god for clever wits for humans and stupid brains for their enemies she mentally added

Hanging loosely some yards off the ground, she let out a collective sigh and recollected her common sense before trying to lower herself. She was doing well until another less threatening crack resounded, suddenly on her feet far more quickly than anticipated. Annie buckled over and groaned as the limb toppled down and smashed to splinters on and around her. Blinking away stars she mumbled an expletive, taking in what's around her. She frowned when she saw it; realizing grimly that she escaped only because she snagged the one dead branch that was doomed to break if it had to support any large weight greater than its own.

It was a wonder it held her at all.

Shaking off her chilling unease, she was successful in finding the bridge and the town it lead too several meters from where the Titan fell; but it seemed her luck had grown short after her run-in with the 7-meter: The bridge was broken beyond repair, but it held no obvious signs of rot or weathering. If anything, the passage had been well maintained until the evacuation. Annie presumed a Titan must have fell on it or tried to step across it, but the wood can never hope to hold anything larger than a 5 meter or more.

Just my luck.

She weighed her options and shook her head. If she was really desperate and wished to hurry along, she would have to jump it and pray the harness did what it did with her earlier encounter; but that option seemed liable to fail. The tool was frayed and worn from her improper use of it; climbing outcroppings and latching onto trees only adding to its wear. It was never meant for this kind of abuse, Armin having almost worn his own set down to nothing alone. She could switch the belts seeing how hers was in better shape, but that would take too long to do and the sun was now speeding up its ascent. Daylight was being burned up every second and the longer Armin was left alone, the greater the odds of his withering and dying while she was absent.

Annie frowned at the dilemma, but she knew better than to try to tempt fate again after her recent brush with death in the past few days. There was no way in hell that she could come up lucky again after all this; such a thing never lasted in this stinking reality. She peeled herself from the site and scoped the area, trying to reel in ideas and hoping to find something she can use to help her across. She added as a brighter after-thought that this could possibly be a one-time obstacle; given that there is maneuvering gear hidden in one of the houses.

Or perhaps stuck to a corpse, probably.

Whatever the case, the gear would be indispensable in their journey south, and even possessing a single functioning set of one or even two would be a fantastic asset. Using harnesses and knives can never suffice in a land teeming with over-sized threats and possibilities. Gathering food and water flasks seemed so worthless in terms of value in comparison.

Annie had to stop her thoughts there; she noted the road that led formally away from the village had ominous and old stains in the dirt. Bending over, she traced her fingertips over the path gingerly, ghosting over the trodden area with careful reflection. She quickly surmised that the rust color plastered to the soil was old blood; likely originated from an injured townie trying to escape the hell that the land has become. If anything, the conclusion was more than probable and it led her to the idea that the person may have died not long after.

Huffing, Annie rose to her feet and followed the ruts of the wagons and the prints of the denizenry in an attempt to find anything that could guide her towards a useful alternative to her situation. This time however, she was more than cautious of the surrounding verdure and brush and the fact that the trees may conceal yet another unwanted pair of frothing jaws and teeth. Its not like she had any means to defend herself but she needed the split-second head-start if she was in trouble.

She stayed within sight of the forlorn settlement, but it was a fairly long walk away from the bridge before she decided she should give up. She found no bodies or horse-drawn vehicles with precious and useful items anywhere close by. Annie let her normally well-composed poker face disappear into a sigh of resignation and frustration as she retraced her steps back towards the bridge. She was going to have to be smart and use the woods around the area if she ever hoped to get across. Maybe a toppled tree could be rolled into the area can help close the gap.

Come to think of it, I could use the fallen trees the Titan fell on. Getting them to the bridge and fastening it though...

It was the only idea she had to go with. Annie moved along towards the area where she dropped the drooling menace and let her mind wonder, her thoughts hovering over to what a certain soldier may be doing to bide his time before she returned.

~000~

Armin was beyond bored.

He knew being abandoned in the battlefield was a necessary evil these days, but he never weighed in this kind of outrageous scenario: He anticipated that one day, in this Titan-infested world ever since he joined the scouts, that he could possibly end up stranded somewhere beyond the protection of the walls; but this was just downright unbearable. To be held captive by a Titan-shifting master and not have any provisions or means of communication was just adding to his impatience. Ever since Eren's first transformations, he should've weighed in the possibility of being captured by an intelligent menace like the colossal or armored shifters, but he hadn't thought nothing of it.

But he should have dammit all.

Nothing is impossible, so not considering this probability was folly my part.

Internal rants aside, Armin had tried in Annie's absence to sleep off the lull but his wounds woke him each time he laid on a tender or sore spot. He rolled onto his arm once, and now he was in wretched agony because of it even hours afterward. He gave up on rest after that, trying to entertain himself with puzzle games he came up with by scribbling into the dirt instead. Still, it just wasn't as fun without his fellow trainees leaning over past his shoulders trying to guess what he had concocted. Armin then gave up the games in favor of picking at his grimy nails in a miserable attempt to clean himself up, thinking of his only friends in the world making his heart ache like the rest of him.

Staring absently at his short and cracked nails, he tried to shake off the somber sensations that dragged at the little bit of clarity in his mind. His twisting guts knotted up with hunger and the saddening realization that he was alone in this unforgiving place. Annie was no friend of his; she was using him for her own benefit. His comrades were far enough away to be beyond all hope of returning to alive and are god-forbid dead and gone. He felt his slight strength with each passing day flicker in and out of existence as if threatening to finish him. Despite this, a weaker, smaller part of him hoped the unfeeling void would just hurry up and consume him in all its spectral entirety.

It was a morbid thought.

The continuous drone of the churning rapids outside palpably shook the rock-face and filled his bones with its tremulous reverberations. It was in a mind-numbing way an earthly reminder that he was still alive at least, anchoring his fleeting consciousness to its quaking rumble so to keep him alert but relaxed. Doing so succeeded in keeping his tension to a minimal so far; perhaps it can continue to do so until Annie returns.

Annie.

The girl was a green one he had to admit; she wasn't a true liar at heart but she was never really honest. Annie was still dangerous and hard to understand at times; but in an intrusive way that Armin had to berate himself for adding, she was kinda beautiful to look at. Not exotic or abnormally unique like Mikasa, but pretty no less. He could be held captive an ugly and sadistic fucker for all he knew, but for luck's sake he ended up with a kidnapper that cared enough to keep him from suffering too much while still being easy on the eyes whenever she wasn't glaring him down. The girl put herself on the line for them, her kindness showing through at the best of times, but how far was she willing to go? Annie was as emotional as she is apathetic, making her complicated to predict.

Marco's death clearly bothered her, so perhaps she did care more than originally figured.

Armin thought for sure she would go after Eren while the inner walls were in such a state of disquiet, but Annie had in fact done something else almost entirely unexpected: Proceeding to flee the scene while bringing a weakling like him along for the ride wasn't really considered. If she had something to gain out of this, he had to admit that he hadn't the slightest idea what. She was someone who was a walking mass of opposites and it was that trait that drew the attention to herself she never wanted.

He shook his head; he was thinking too much again and it was bringing another migraine with it. Armin had begun to fidget too but stopped himself just as he had started; his grandfather having told him that it was a bad habit. Still, he just had to do something with himself in this state of lazy enervation, otherwise he would drive himself absolutely crazy from sheer boredom.

Slowly, he rose grudgingly to his shaking feet and walked around the tiny cavern, relieving himself out its aperture. After which, he proceeded to pace around as his mind went once again into that same buzzing trance that normally took over whenever he had too much time to himself. His eye took on a hazy and unseeing shimmer, his working arm rising steadily to his chin in consternation.

A part of Armin has hardened into an numb acceptance of his war-torn reality, but his youth continued to yank the strings tied to his suffocating heart. His sentiment placed itself into a mixed and confusing form of concern for the female warrior slash Titan shifter. His worry though was not needed however; Annie was almost every bit as intelligent as himself and he had to tell himself this many times in the past few days he'd been out here. His pacing picked up as he tried to anticipate future events in the long run, but the rhyme and reason of Annie's actions eluded him. His fasting has done nothing good for his thinking however; his nerves now raw and rattled and his temperament shorter and more violent than expected.

He closed his eye and felt himself stagger, nearly fainting again. His clammy hand went to his dribbling forehead and swiped away the sweat build-up there, his legs feeling like they vanished from beneath him. His breath was short and stale and his heart's usual rythem fluttered: All these symptoms simply announcing that he needed to sit down again and relax.

Flattening himself against the cool cave wall, he felt the sweat on his back start to disappear, his mind struggling to grasp sobriety. His pain had persisted ever since his duel with the Beast Titan and it has done nothing but hinder him. His docile nature had cracked enough to let his anger at his impending helplessness at the whole ordeal shine through wonderously. His teeth gnashed as another throb radiated from his waist next.

Gods be damned. I hate being a burden even to people like Annie. I wish she left me for dead. Why was I born to be so stupidly weak and fragile?

On the bright side, his delicate frame had constituted for the regular check-ups from the infamous Dr. Jaeger, which in turn led him to meet his life-time friend Eren and eventually Mikasa. That was where all the perks had ended though; his body was "as dainty as a dandelion and as easily crushed as a shell-less insect"; something his past drill instructor Shadis had roared at him while he was a trainee. It was silly to chastise himself for something he couldn't help, but he did anyway. Being raised in Shiganshina made him strong enough to survive the next harrowing years as a homeless refugee and eventually a trainee in Rose's confines at least, but this new strength wasn't enough.

Armin felt his breath catch in his throat at the mention of his former home. His eye popped open at the the idea dawning on him.

...Shiganshina. Wait a tic; that couldn't be-?

The inner ramblings had brought the boy to the very conclusion he hoped to reach: The thought had escaped him for the time spent after Annie's freedom, sweeping him up into her arms onto this ridiculous adventure; but here it was, as glaring to him as a 15-meter standing before him in the noon sun.

We're following the river not just because it's an intelligent means of survival; it's really because it is the most sure-fire way of getting to Shiganshina. We're probably going there to see what's in Eren's basement!

Technically, a shifter did not need a huge bronze key like Eren's if they needed entry inside; all they really required was the use of their sheer strength to wrench the door open if they were seriously careful. Annie easily had the most nimble and articulate digits between her and her fellow shifters, so getting a huge door like that open should not be any harder than one would think. Years of weathering in an abandoned town like that could mean the door was possibly weak enough to barge into.

Maybe this is why she needs me-? To help her find Eren's house...

It made gruesome sense; it was most likely one of the only reasons she had struggled to keep him alive so far.

Armin had to admit; Annie was thinking leaps and bounds ahead this time around. It was intimidating in a sense. Truth be told, he somewhat looked forward to the idea of getting to see what Mr. Jaeger felt was so precious to conceal for either deluded or righteous reasons, even if humanity desperately needed said information. To actually get there and obtain something so powerful and delicate gave the boy a misplaced thrill that reinvigorated him for only a second before his condition left him mollified.

Its pretty dumb in a way, but the idea of being the first there... I wonder if Dr. Jaeger would mind if I saw it?

...I don't think he'd care much if it was me. At this point somebody needs to get to it before our enemies do. At least depending on the information inside someone like me can smartly use it to save us all from the horrifying outcome of this fight.

Its either that or the other gruesome alternative...

Armin felt his brow knit as his thoughts fell onto his nearly-forgotten interloper of a companion. His earlier excitement melted away as he worried at his lower lip.

Depending on what's inside... Is it possible that an experienced master like Annie could use that kind of information to her advantage? Or am I assuming too much?

He gulped, his throat suddenly tight as his heart fell somewhere lost into his guts. The method to the madness of Annie's past actions were making the boy shiver involuntarily. He never wanted to play accomplice to what unmentionable horrors were waiting to take place.

This will become a spectacular disaster if she uses that in a way that it is purely selfishness on her part. I don't think she'd do it personally, but one never knows the outcome of circumstantial conjecture. Maybe she might hand that information to whoever's doing this. Our fight with the Titans will be viewed, if we are not extinct in the years to come, as a divine tragedy no matter how you look at it.

Its too bad the gods have already laughed it up.

~000~

Annie felt childishly pleased with herself.

Thanks to what her rigorous training had imparted to her regarding the necessities of survival, she was finally able to move on. She looked over her handiwork from the bridge's entry, trying to detect any faults with her make-shift repair. As far as she can see, it seemed to be sound and the new bridge was indeed usable. It had taken a broken tree the Titan had snapped at its base when it had tripped earlier to do the job, but hell it worked. Rolling it and pushing it into position was the hardest and most time-consuming part but that was now literally-speaking water under the bridge.

Annie had walked on and off of it a few times already, using the branches to latch onto the splintered segments of the wood as false hooks. Nodding in confirmation of the safety measures of her work, she began the treacherous walk across the chasm of ripping wild water. The tree threatened to roll but the sap-sticky and scented branches at least proved to be a means of saving her life if such a thing happened. Her footing was sure and as precise as a cat's, her sense of balance guiding her the rest of the way across without so much as even another creak.

Upon touching ground on the other side, she felt her pent-up breath escape her. Now she can move on to the next phase of their trip without wasting much more time. She was still watching for any other recent signs of Titan activity but there wasn't any that she could see. All the smaller buildings and stone roads had impressive craters in them, but it must have occurred when the attack happened; or maybe some passing Titan decided to look around. In a sense, nothing was truly amiss.

Annie guardedly traipsed across the trodden-on path into the town, her eyes wider than saucers as she weighed in the damage and sights. There was disgustingly enough some eaten corpses and pieces of them lying haphazardly across the vicinity, but they were undoubtedly a couple of days or so old; the stench told her that. Annie spotted some passing crows and feral pets running in and out of sight making a meal of the mess. It was a scene she had witnessed in Trost's aftermath not long before, and Shiganshina even before that when she first infiltrated.

She watched as a medium-sized dog picked at a certain body with a wolf-like hunger that made her own gut squirm like it was crawling with parasites. The mutt had eyed her for only a flickering second before it vanished. The atmosphere here was tainted with a sickness that could double over anyone except for veteran soldiers and shifters like herself. The scent of decay was a thick veil that had engulfed the town, a smog-like barrier to ward off the mortal and unwary.

Armin was right about mankind's fall; and to think this happened so far into walls as Rose's inner sanctum. I know I shouldn't care but...

I do.

Her battle with Eren in Stohess should have hardened her, but she had in fact become the opposite deep within her core. She could never really tell herself that she was an emotionless war automaton, but her job required a professional killer with no sense of humanity that she'd never amount to be. She couldn't beat a novice like Eren because of her fear, and she couldn't achieve her goal due to her irresolute nature. On top of that, she failed to kill Armin Arlert out of respect or some other human nonsense: She just wasn't the warrior she tried to amount to being. Having to look at this destruction was making her feel more than distressed, even though it was expected to happen.

Annie tried to quell the ever mounting self-loathing but it was futile. Although she had almost next-to-nothing to do with recent events save for a couple of occasions long past, she still felt like she was utterly at fault. Thinking too much of the mission she abandoned was making her ill, but she couldn't help the remorse she had tried to alienate many times before. She was human too, wasn't she? She was allowed to feel remorse for these poor souls that have been trodden on and devoured in the recent years.

As Annie began her long and tedious search of the houses, she tried as the daylight burned overhead to ignore the empathetic sensations that clung to her heart. The job at hand was steadily removing the guilt but she knew she would have to grit her teeth and bear it the rest of the way. When she managed to locate the water canisters the sorrow began to throb away like a progressively aging wound. She'd been trained for a task that involved no human hospitality but she had failed that the instant she affiliated herself with people like Mina and Eren, whenever he attempted to practice with her. A weakness of this caliber allowed for her to be caught by Armin in the end.

Acting like a normal human was never really her forte to begin with it seemed.

...Its way too late for this. I need to concentrate on getting to Shiganshina.

She continued to strain her ears to pick up on the earth-rumbling noise a Titan's steps normally creates, flickering her eyes onto both the enemies' movements and her own ongoing search. She found the brain-dead brutes but they were ghosting the furthest outskirts on the opposite side of the town. They were very much the same recognizable figures responsible for chasing her just the other day. However, the Titans that stood above 10-meters or more were the only ones she could see; so she was not so sure of the current location of any of the other smaller creatures. The Titans that were anything smaller than 7-meters could be haunting the immediate area just yards from her for all she knew.

Annie was in luck when she moved into the next house: she was nearly smiling when she found a full set of arrows, a bow, and a quiver with the bundle. The home may have belonged to a hunter who was negligent enough to leave such a viable weapon behind. It was either that or he favored a stronger tool since there was a few spaces where hunting equipment should have been placed.

Not that I'm complaining. Some weapon is better than nothing.

After taking that, she located a traveling burlap sack in the kitchen with food stuffs carelessly (or hastily she was pretty sure) tossed inside; confirming the haste of the former residents. It was likely the hunter had attempted to take the sack with him but gave up on it in a last bid to escape. She attached the water flasks to her hips and rummaged through the kitchen for anything else portable. She was almost humming because of her find.

Smelling the items and deteriorating food in the kitchen made her stomach holler at her to eat anything within sight, but she ignored the it largely. She only allowed herself to an a apple in a fruit bowl close by in order to combat the mind-numbing pangs of her gut, just so she could focus a bit more. She glided over to the sink with the apple in her mouth, inspecting the plebeian water pump that was used as a faucet. Placing the flasks on the counter, she ran her fingers along the wooden length before putting them at rest on the handle, trying to make the lever budge. Unfortunately, it exhibited no profound movement the first attempt. She had to work the pump for a small span of minutes before something finally dribbled from the spicket.

Glad for some more progress, she managed to get a trickling stream going and refreshed herself in the sink before going on to consume what she could have swore was quarts of precious liquid. The water gave her the hydration she desperately needed after her awakening days ago. She was surprised she'd even managed to last this long without it; it was a necessity for Titan shifters since their bodies spend so much energy and water in their bodies just by holding the transformation, let alone transforming. Trying to go without it would be too costly for her and Armin now.

After finding the last of their new provisions (including a spare change of clothes for Armin), she threw the sack over her shoulder and went to leave, being careful to search the vicinity for the Titans. She continued to observe the larger beasts in the background while searching dedicatedly for the smaller variant. None were found immediately, so she slipped right out and headed towards the path leading back to the bridge. Walking with a bulky bag and kitchen utensils as weapons was not an intelligent way to handle their situation, but Annie knew they didn't have a choice in the matter.

She still hasn't located any 3-DM gear: This fact irked her but this terraced town seemed to be of rural habitation that didn't need to employ the use of soldiers and protection, considering where it was in Humanity's territory. It was far enough away be believed to be safe from a Titan invasion, and the buildings were far too small to effectively use the gear in anyhow. Its isolated placement affirmed that it might have been a hunting/gathering community like Sasha's home town; the arrows were proof enough. Annie would have to make due with items she found here and bring them to Armin so they can properly recuperate.

All she could do now is hope that her trek back would be easy.

~000~

The sun was sinking by the time Annie finally managed to make it back.

When she returned during that late evening hour, she could have swore that the crumpled piled of clothes in the nearby corner was nothing but a long-dead corpse. She felt silly for her concern at first, but that feeling was kicked in favor of sudden panic driving her nerves into overdrive. She dropped her baggage and threw herself into that corner, stooping over to see what she dreaded was true. She was fully able to take that surprise attack she got from the pair of 5-meters on her way back, but not the shock of what was going on in her head.

Armin was facing away from the entrance, laying on his good arm with his mouth part-way open. The bandage looped around his head was askew and his skin was chilled to the touch, not to mention pale. His brow was an odd mixture of pained frowning and total relaxation. What left Annie to assume the worst was the fact that his chest wasn't even moving. If he was really dead, then she lost her only way back into her home-town without there being trouble.

Mina's death had been hard enough.

She started with hesitation, her voice low. "...Armin?"

Resting her hand on his thin shoulder, she watched for any animation to take place on his facade, but none was witnessed. Upon seeing no response, she found herself shaking him slightly next, her nerves spiking.

"Armin! Get up!"

Her voice started to increase in volume, her already frayed nerves turning icy. Annie's grip tightened on the lad's sore shoulder, her fear bleeding into her voice. As soon as she ground out the next call for him to wake, he did more so than stir:

He jolted awake so fast that Annie didn't have any time to move away from his oncoming cranium. The resonating clonk jumped across the cave audibly; creating a fresh welt onto the girl's forehead. Annie then fell backwards onto her rump and yelped in perfect unison with the boy, trying to blink away the flashes dancing in front of her eyes. Suddenly, another similar noise rose up from somewhere beyond her vision, another groan suddenly made audible. Annie looked up past her fringe to take in Armin's dazed expression, his good eye unseeing and his hand raised to his skull was lost amidst the growing carmine splotching his dirty blond hair. He looked absolutely senseless to say the least.

Did he hit his head again after he slammed into me? ...At least he's alive, but he's bleeding again.

The two were rubbing their heads for a full minute before Annie recovered first. She went to move from her sitting position and walked over to where she had last deposited their provisions. She took out the medical supply kit she has been fortunate enough to find and went over to patch up the disoriented boy. It worried her to see that he didn't react to her touch when she removed the patch covering his ruined eye and head. However, to say that she felt dizzily glad to see him awake (to an extent) and breathing was an understatement. Her mind sent curses at him for feigning death so realistically before letting a calmer set of thoughts thread their way into being.

Funnily enough, she found herself asking unimportant questions after the mild scare, but she still couldn't shake the worry from her nerves from Armin's lack of response. His glazed, good eye seemed to have belonged to a dead man for all the visual good it was doing for him. Annie still worked to aid in his recovery despite his low chance of survival, fighting her memories of their training when Armin was sent to the infirmary for many various reasons; all involving his physical limitations.

She hoped he would make it to Shiganshina.

~000~

A pair of strong hands glided effortlessly in and around his blurry sight, his head gently rocked forward and back each crawling minute and motion.

Wrapping a white tendril endlessly around his scalp, he thought he recognized this bleary moment from a past he had long put behind him, where some relationships were still unsullied by blood and betrayal. It was something that could never be forgotten, due to the gritty nature of a life and death situation always vividly imprinting itself into one's memory without fail.

Except for the grim darkness clouding his eyes, Armin honestly believed he was sitting in front of a worried Reiner, whose hands where known to be strong enough to break a bull's neck without effort. Strangely the touch was delicate and sure, his corded arms working around the injury with a care only a friend could have. For some silly and unreasonable minute, Armin didn't care if he was the Armored Titan; all he knew was that the man sitting behind him was someone kind enough to put forward his concern for the welfare of others. He was someone who was the most trusted and loyal; the big brother many never knew the experience of having. Reiner Braun was a soldier with an ulterior motive, but his feelings of camaraderie were genuine and true.

In a bizarre twist of fate, he was friend and enemy to all. To think that the man was just barely any older than he and Eren if only by a couple of years. It would mean that he was a child himself when he leveled Maria's lands in the wake of the Titan invasion. Why would mankind's enemy be so frustratingly gentle?

He helped Eren pass and encouraged Armin to train harder for the trials ahead. When Trost happened, he may have been responsible for it alongside Bertholdt, but he really meant to keep his friends alive. He tried to enlighten the cruel animosity of the world with a crude humor that stemmed from his strength. He applied care to the injury of his allies, and even if his smiles may not be as contagious as Connie's, they still possessed a more inspiring air.

Armin felt ridiculously safe; Reiner had no true reason to kill him anyway, right?

The indistinct hands began to tighten a knot and overlapped it with around the patchwork, indicating an end to the application. Next, they went to his waist as if to inspect something else that needed attention. The old bandages were lightly cut away and some disinfecting aid was applied.

The pain that resurfaced was enough to make Armin heave.

It shocked him to near external awareness but his mushy mind was slipping more like a wasted drunkard's reality. Shapes were only known by brightness and color rather than detailed and recognizable contours. The only thing that was clear was the needle-sharp agony that stung his side and the hands working to cover the red tinting the corner of his pathetic sight. A new wrapping process made itself known before long and it was a welcome relief to the pain that continued to tear into his tired nerves.

"Tomorrow will be fine," He imagined a deep but reassuring voice from years past say. It carried confidence and encouragement within it and it seemed to blanket any and all obstacle. It coaxed some of the pain out of him as well, as if promising that Reiner would continue to keep him safe no matter what the adversity.

To...tomorrow...?

Armin opened his eye and stared into a dark but hard floor, his vision trying hard to right itself. Words bubbled from an place that he couldn't identify, their meaning holding no value initially. As the hands worked themselves over and around his head and trunk, his eye began to make sense of what was going on around him: He lifted his head a little and blinked, watching the gauze and what it was trying to cover for only a few seconds before losing interest.

He squinted a bit; he noticed the arms were thinner than originally perceived. Was it not his teammate that was tending to his wounds? Who did these hands belong too?

A girl?

The fluttering thud of his heart became audible, its meager struggle to support him suddenly beginning to make itself known. Every other sound that hadn't been in his head before beheld no distinction or familiarity, but now that muggy sensation was starting to clear up. He could now identify the rumble of the river outside, recognizing the gloomy cavern he currently sat in. Armin took in a breath and craned his skull back, the ceiling more visual but the lines and cracks still invisible to him. Reality became more and more stable as his world stopped spinning and trembling.

Armin was now capable of realizing that he was alive and conscience, but he momentarily forgot about the one who was dressing his wounds. His every other remembrance of holding a friendship with one of humanity's enemies started to sour and dry as sobriety returned, the lad damning himself for nearly letting death have its way him while he had nodded off. He leaned back, expecting to prop himself onto his hands but forgetting that he had a broken arm to deal with; the limb could never hope to support him. What else he neglected to keep in mind until it was too late was that there was a person sitting right behind him: A really small, feminine and dreadfully familiar person.

It was definitely a girl.

~000~

Well... Fuck.

Of all things that could wake him up back to the horrors of this life, it just had to be Annie of all people. If it wasn't for the unbelievable amount of pain swimming up his arm right now he would've blamed his blushing on his awkward stupidity. He felt like he within inches of death less than a few minutes ago, but now he was fully cognizant of what was going on now.

He was lying on Annie Leonhardt's lap.

For the moment, her deadpan expression was still glued furiously to her face, but Armin wondered how long it will take before that was wiped clean in favor of a more suitable and unwanted reaction. He could tell that she was trying her utmost to keep her calm gaze from faltering. Since he was just waking from a near-death experience, he might as well play this by ear and see how it goes.

"Uh... Annie?"

"-Armin, what are you doing?"

He paused. Armin felt his innards start to twist but Annie cut across his contorted thinking with an expected response.

"You better be feeling like shit right now, otherwise I'll be putting you back to sleep," the vehemence in her monotone rivaled Mikasa's unbridled fury she normally aimed towards the mention of their lovable captain Levi. He knew he'd illicit a threat from her but it still chilled Armin to the very bitter marrow in his bones.

I can't say that I'm lying about feeling like shit at least. But seriously she and Mikasa are both terrifying.

"Annie," he began again. "I thought... You were..."

Her frosty eyes released some of that seering anger as her thin mouth began to work itself against her clenched mandible, "I came back and finished redressing your wounds. Can you get off now or do I have to do that myself?"

He moved.

He managed to sit himself up but the act was wobbly and left him light-headed. He had to rest the majority of his weight on one arm while trying to correct his vision, his sight dancing precariously between blackness and what was in front of him. His weariness was still dragging him down considerably and he didn't have a lot of energy, so he swooned again at that second.

Just as he tilted backwards, Annie caught him and muttered, "I said get off. I know I said you had guts, but I meant it when I said you were weak too."

I am tired of the half-assed comments I get from everybody.

Armin's brow furrowed and his lower lip jutted out more as he returned in kind, "You're pretty weak yourself, with you lacking in resolve."

Annie's eyes narrowed in answer, but Armin didn't see it.

She leaned Armin against the wall behind her and went to make them their dinner, her face plastering on that typical bored expression she favored. She pulled out a few logs and sat by the entrance, trying to light a fire. He decided to watch her for a few minutes before losing interest and turning to size up their inventory. He felt his dread return when he saw no maneuvering gear, but that changed to intrigue when he eyed the bow and quiver.

"...No luck?"

"In what?" She snapped, clearly still abashed by his earlier accident.

Armin took in a slow breath, "In finding any gear."

Annie sat straighter in her seat in front of the puny flame she just barely managed to create, her face still holding that stubborn blankness. "No," she replied emotionlessly. "-But I would think the bow will help somewhat. The town was a hunting-dependent community, so it didn't need soldiers."

-And therefore no maneuvering gear. Great.

Armin nodded to that, reminded briefly of Sasha and her understanding of such a way of life. The girl had told them that Dauper was an independent settlement that relied on their weapons and farming tools for defense, never truly needing the assistance of the military when push came to shove. Ragako wasn't that far off either, although the citizens there weren't quite as resilient as the Dauper people.

After that, Armin shut his eye again and tried to focus on chasing off the lingering head-ache. He must have been making some weird faces without realizing it because Annie had come over to inspect him once. She offered a mediocre and inexpensive pain killer that was clearly bartered from a faraway place that would have to suffice until their food was ready.

After which, quiet had become a frequent companion between them, its hush impenetrable. Armin struggled to keep himself awake, wise to the risk of falling asleep again while Annie was keeping to herself, cooking the small portions of food she'd gathered. The night hurried its arrival outside, but the day held on persistently with an afterglow of golden light blanketing their world outside.

Their dinner was done by the time twilight was at its apex. It may have sounded rude in the fact that it meant that he'd have to watch her eat first, but Armin insisted on Annie to dine before he. Annie protested and then threatened to shove it down his throat in answer, but Armin still was the winner in that fight; needing her to help him eat in a few minutes anyway. He couldn't one-hand it with a broken arm on one side and a painful finger on the other.

Armin also refrained from commenting on Annie's gross and unusual appetite, her rate of consumption rivaling the a fore-mentioned trainee. It seemed Annie's gone on for days without food, never really having much to consume ever since her awakening. Truth be told, Armin wished he didn't have to observe her wolfing down her food since his shrunken stomach was doing its best to give him a hard time during, but he said nothing of it.

Annie finished and made him a beggar's meal, but it would have to do since he was recovering. Armin acknowledged this humbly because he knew he'd throw up real food at this current moment in time, accepting Annie's aid in good graces. With the regrettable act of playing helpless (although it wasn't really playing in question), he slowly ate what he could, letting his mind wander as the minutes ticked by. Only half of the liquid broth was gone before it was refused and Annie went to save the rest. Armin then settled against the cavern wall and contemplated a few things, all the while his female companion busied herself with the maintenance of their provisions.

Hours into the night, Armin nodded off once but didn't repeat it when he awoke to Annie's touch, her eyes clouded with mixed but undiscernable emotion. The only feeling he was able to pick out of that was annoyance sadly. He shrugged that off and shook his head at her implied question of dressing his injuries again, but he did ask for a spare set of clothes. Annie batted an eye as if mentally indicating she was cursing at herself for forgetting his need for the articles, going to fetch them from their bag. A shirt slightly larger than expected was fitted over him, but at least the brisk night air was immediately thwarted. Armin was suddenly groggily warm and tired but still felt somewhat queasy. Of course, he never put voice to this; for he felt he had no right to complain.

As what was sure to be midnight drawing near, Annie finally broke their mute vigil.

"...We're going back out there tomorrow."

Armin opened his eye again and arrested his not-so blurry stare on her.

She continued with no particular inflection, her gaze resting on nothing in particular. "We've been here a couple of days you know. I know we should rest more, but-"

"I understand."

It was her turn to look up at him.

Armin's intense orb shone faintly in the fire's light, his voice surprisingly level. He shifted his shoulder a little as he said, "My weakness won't compromise the objective anymore. Its intolerable in any mission or expedition, and consequently ends with the injured being left to die."

Annie blinked as a response.

"This is something we both know," he continued. "Since I'm supposed to be your prisoner, you can do whatever you deem is necessary in this journey of ours. However, what I don't understand though is why you still continue to put up with my infirmities since they are great enough to affirm that I meet such a fate. Is the destination really worth the effort is what I am asking."

It seemed to be an innocent question that was deserving of an answer, but Annie knew Armin; he was trying to leak information from her again.

"It is," She matter-of-factly put. "-But I don't feel obliged to telling you where and what it is."

Are we always doomed to play this game Annie? It's tiresome and frivolous to employ it even in typical conversation.

"You're free to tell me what it is or withhold it," he looked at the fire again. "But to be honest, the selection of where is it that we can go is a little slim, don't you think?"

She said nothing to that. She just poked the guttering fire and tried to fan the building plume of smoke out the cave exit.

Armin took that as an indicator to proceed, "I had plenty of time to think while you were gone today. I mean, there isn't really many places we could go is there?"

Annie brushed some of hair out of her face, as if remembering that she needed a hair tie. "What about it?"

"...I'll get to the point; I know you claimed that I'm only still here because you wish to dispose of me on your terms in the future, but that seemed a bit out of the way." Annie gave him a cold stare on that but he met her intimidating eyes no less, "The only thing I can see that would be worth the toils in this endeavor is the off-chance that I may know where Eren's house is. So, we're going to Shiganshina, aren't we?"

The Female Titan shifter's cold and indifferent aura suddenly turned to boiling rage.

I knew it. I can still outwit you even just a bit, huh Annie?

"Get that stupid smirk off your insufferable face or else you'll be tasting hot ash in a second. That's a promise."

Armin didn't even know that he was smiling until she pointed it out. He stopped it and shrank back to his little corner and picked his nails as she went to putting out the fire.

"We'll leave at first light," she had to force herself not to spit. "If I hear you spout any more smart-ass commentary I'll drown you in that river outside."

"Just how are we going to-"

"Good night Arlert."

Her tone put the conversation at permanent rest. The boy knew he had worked at Annie's patience but she was being difficult on purpose when there was no need for it. However, this useless fight will soon be long forgotten in the following hours, their intentions aimed more or less at trying to leave being the fore-most important objective. For now, Armin had to settle for looking out into the thundering ravine outside, keeping at bay both his urge to sleep and the haunting sensation of knowing where is it that Annie was intending to go. He had to find some way of stopping her misuse of the information hidden within Dr. Jaeger's basement, or else he'd have to die trying. As bad as it sounds, it seemed as if the ladder was a far more likely; given that if he had any hope in stopping either Annie or the Titans while keeping mankind's hope alive.

Annie, I just hope you're not as bad a person as I'm making you sound. Surely you don't want to hurt humanity anymore than you already have; do you?