Disclaimer – I don't own Shingeki no Kyojin.

Curiosity

Chapter 10

The first thing Armin noticed when he came to was the heat radiating from underneath him and the cool air that stroked his face. His mind was groggy and slow to wake up. It was warm and he wanted to go back to sleep. When he shifted to get into a more comfortable position he felt a sharp pain from his ankle. He cringed and laid still waiting for the pain to pass. The warmth from under him seeped into his throbbing ankle and soothed the pain. Once the pain had passed, he took a slow, deep breath and tried to get his sluggish mind to recall how he had hurt himself.

Memories of heat, pain, ash and fire rushed back to him. He remembered the large skinless Titan looking over the wall. He remembered running with his Grandpa. He remembered a crumbling wall of fire. He remembered a sticky coppery liquid coating his hands and the teeth of a Titan getting closer and closer.

His eyes flew open, his thoughts jumbled and frantic. What happened, where is he? How is he still alive? Did a Garrison soldier save him? What was going to happen now? All these questions and thousands more race to his mind. His vision was still fuzzy and he couldn't make out what was around him. Blinking rapidly he made out the starry sky above him partially obscured by the thick branches of the trees that surrounded him. As his gaze traveled down he froze.

There, hovering no more than 5 meters away was the face of a Titan. It was a large Titan. It was larger than the Titan he saw in the city. It had leathery skin pulled tightly over its face showing its sharp bone structure. Its shaggy brown locks fell into its face hiding most of its features but he could still see its grossly deformed mouth. Its rose of large teeth exposed to the world do to the Titan's lack of lips.

He thought for a second that if he didn't move than the Titan wouldn't notice that he woke up. But as he stared at the Titan's face he noticed that its eyes were closed. Maybe, just maybe it was asleep. If it was then he could get away. He wasn't sure why the Titan didn't eat him before but he decided to not look a gifted horse in the mouth and take his chance to run.

Slowly rolling onto his stomach he carefully pushed himself up onto his hands and knees trying not to put any pressure on to his injured ankle. He noticed that he was in the cupped palms of the Titan and slowly made his way to the edge of its hand and glanced over. To his dismay he was quite a ways up from the ground with no clear path that he could use to get down. If he was to jump he would surely break his legs or his neck but with the luck he been having he would either bleed out or wait for the Titan to wake up and eat him. He was looking for any nearby branches he could possibly use when he heard a sharp and heavy intake of breath from behind him. He froze at the sound.

Slowly, very slowly he turned his head to glance over his shoulder only to see large, half lidded glowing green eyes staring back at him.

It woke up… What am I going to do?

They stared at each other for a moment, neither one of the moving until the Titan slowly lifted its head towards the sky. It gazed at the slowly dimming stars, as if trying to gage what time it was, before letting out a heavy, exhausted sounding breath. When its gaze fell back down to him, Armin's body reacted reflexively, expecting the worst. He jerked back trying to get as far away from its face, or rather its teeth, as possible. He forgot where he was and regretted his reaction the moment he did it. He lost his balance on the edge of the Titans palm and fell off. Letting out a cry of surprise he closed his eyes as the ground began to rush towards him. Instead of hitting the ground he hit something warm and somewhat squishy.

Opening his eyes he gazed up with dismay at the Titan above him. It had caught him with its other hand just a few feet from where he fell. It seemed that the Titan wouldn't let him get away that easily. Tears started to flow from his eyes once more as he waited for the inevitable. He didn't want to die, especially if he was to be eaten by a Titan. He much rather have broken his neck in the fall. At least it would have been quick. But now he can only hope that the Titan would decapitate him instead of swallowing him whole.

He gazed up at the night sky hoping that that would be the last thing that he would see. He closed his and waited and waited and waited but nothing happened. Why hasn't the Titan eaten him yet? What was going on? He opened his eyes and saw the Titan just gazing at him head cocked slightly to one side.

What…

He stared back at it confused. He's always been told that no matter what, Titans will eat humans as soon as they have them. So why hasn't it eaten him yet?

When the Titan shifted suddenly, he jerked into a sitting position and tried to back away but the pain shooting from his ankle made him stop. He cringed and wrapped his hands around his ankle. He applied pressure to try to relieve the pain and to straighten it as much as possible. He cringed as he waited for the pain to pass; when it did he slowly moved his leg out so it was lying flat. When a large leathery appendage came into his field of vision he tensed thinking that the Titan was finally going to eat him. This was it he was going to die.

But instead of grabbing him the Titan very gently nudged his leg. Armin glanced up at the Titan in shock and saw a flash of worry and concern in the Titan's eyes. He must be going crazy he thought to himself. A Titan can't feel concerned for its prey. But as the Titan continued to stare at him and glanced at his leg and back at him he just couldn't help feeling that there was something different about this Titan.

He closed his eyes tightly and shook his head rapidly, trying to rid himself of those thoughts. "Pull it together, Armin. A Titan is a Titan. Mankind's enemy." He whispered to himself.

He didn't notice the Titan stop his prodding and give him a sad look. But he did notice the raspy almost growl that came from the Titan. He stared at it in horror; thinking that it was finally going to eat him. It paused, its jaw and neck muscles tense and its brow furrowed in what appeared to be concentration. It made the noise again and again, expanding it and changing it slightly. As it continued, Armin couldn't believe his ears.

"A-"

What…

"-nin"

was it…

"A-nin"

Was it trying to talk…

"Ar-nin"

And was that…

"Ar-nin"

His name?

~C~

Pixis walked down the dimly lit hall of the Garrison Headquarters. He had just gotten out of the 'meeting' that he was called for. The term meeting being applied loosely, it was more of a shouting match of nobles and officers that only cared about their own interest. They were getting nowhere fast and it was giving them all headaches. To make it worse, they seemed to have no idea what this situation even meant. All they were concerned about was how this is going to affect their way of life and their profits. They are only looking at the here and now and not the future. So unable to come up with a course of action they decided to call it a night.

Pixis knows that no matter what they choose innocent people are going to die. If they let too many people take shelter behind Wall Rose they would have too much of a food shortage and many people will starve. And when winter comes even more people will die from exposure for they would not have enough clothing or shelter for all of them. At some point people would start to get desperate and would fight amongst each other and may even kill each other for food and supplies. It would be slow and for many painful but at least they would have a chance.

Alternatively, they could regulate how many people are allowed to enter the wall. If they keep the numbers down, life on the inside of the walls will continue as if nothing happened. So many people would die, devoured by the Titans that now roam the land between Wall Maria and Wall Rose. This choice may seem very cruel to most and it would be. They would be taking away their chance at life, that glimmering hope that they could continue on in this world. But at the same time it would be merciful. For being devoured by a Titan would almost certainly be an instant death with far less pain than what could be waiting for many of them.

If he was able to make this decision, he would give every last person a chance at life, taking in as many people as possible and sheltering them behind the walls. But ultimately the decision lies with the King's Counsel and advisers. He is only there for informational input. Oh how he hated playing niceties with spoiled little children.

"Pixis, how are you doing this early morning?" Came a voice from beside him. Sometime during his musings he stopped and stared out the window at the night sky, lost deep in thought. And at some point Commander Shadis had join him at the window.

"Quite well. And you?" He replied in a relaxed and untroubled tone.

"I could use a drink to help get rid of the headache, but other than that I'm doing well." He replied back in a polite tone. He looked weary and tired, evident from the darker than normal bags that circled his eyes.

"A drink sounds wonderful, mind if I join you?" He asked, alcohol sounded like a good idea at the moment. Give them the chance to forget, if just for a little while, the happenings of this tiny little world.

"Not at all. We can discuss the current happenings." Shadis replied.

~C~

They went to Shadis' temporary office in his quarters. It was a small little room with a desk pushed up against the window with shelves full of books lining the walls and a few comfortable, worn chairs set around a small table. Next to the bookcase in the corner was a small liquor cabinet that was provided to all officers in the army. Sadly the only drink they provided was wine. Too weak for his taste but it would have to do. They sat down in chairs opposite of each other, sipping on the glass in their hands with the bottle sitting on the table between them.

"So… what are your thoughts of this situation?" Pixis asked Shadis. He was obviously stressed but who wasn't.

"Everything is going to hell." Shadis replied "That is the only way to describe what is going to happen. And who's to say that the Titans won't be able to break through again. We very well could be in humanity's last few years."

"True, but it is not in our nature to go down without a fight." Pixis replied back. They both know what is going to happen in the coming years and they can only hope for the best and prepare for the worst. "What are you planning on doing?"

Shadis gave a sigh of exasperation, his shoulders sagging as he leaned back into the chair. He took a long gulp from his glass of wine before replying in a weary tone, "I think after things calm down in a few months I'm going to retire from the Scouting Legion. I've been at this for too long."

"Oh? And what are you going to do after you retire?" Pixis asked.

"I think I'm going to be a drill sergeant. I may be retiring from active duty but that doesn't mean that I can't do my part to help humanity." He replied in a thoughtful tone. "And the only thing I have to do is recommend a successor."

"And who do you think would be the best choice?" Pixis inquired curious. He has a vague idea of who Shadis was thinking of and if he guessed right than Pixis would wholeheartedly vouch for him.

"Well, to be honest I have been grooming a successor for the past few years." Shadis answered with an almost prideful glint in his eyes. "I'm going to recommend Erwin Smith as the new Commander of the Scouting Legion."

"I was hoping you were going to say that." Pixis said, pleased with his answer. "Well, I can assure you that this decision has my full support." Pixis downed the rest of his glass and reached for the bottle to pour himself another.

"Have you heard about his recent exploits?" Shadis inquired. Pixis always did seem to know things that he really shouldn't so it was always safe to ask.

"Which one? The group of thugs that he recruited or that new formation that he developed?" Pixis returned taking another sip from his wine. "Or perhaps the little rumor running around about the blackmail he has on that noble?"

"Where do you get all this information?" Shadis asked briefly before continuing, not expecting an answer. "I was referring to the group of thugs. Though, after that storm we went through only one remain completely intact. He's a strong one. You should see him in combat. I've never seen anybody move faster than him."

"Interesting. It seems your young protégé made a wise decision on recruiting him." Pixis took another long sip from his glass looking at Shadis thoughtfully over the rim. "Do you believe that this generation can change anything?"

"…Yes, I think they can. "

~C ~

A/N: So, here is the next chapter. Really the last half was kind of filler but I wanted to explain a bit of what was going on the inside of the walls. So school started this week it looks like one of my classes is going to be a pain when it comes to homework. So if the chapters are late, my apologies but school comes first. And I was planning on updating this on Monday but I didn't get as much done as I thought I would before Rose City Comic Con and I wanted to update on my birthday, so I pushed it back a few days. But anyways, what do you all think of what's happening with Armin? I actually just came up with the idea of the Titan trying to talk to Armin and I almost squealed when I thought of it. I hope you guys like it too.

So the next chapter is going to be mainly Armin's and the Titan's point of view. And I've already started planning it so keep your fingers crossed that I can get it out really quickly. If not you guys are welcome to badger me all you want by PMing me.

Reviews

Kiomori: Armin snapped out of it. But he's going to be really confused the next few chapters. He is a smart kid but you got to remember that his whole life he's been told that Titans are mindless beast. So I think that even if he comes to trust this Titan there will be times where he is wary around it. And as for Eren turning into a human if that does happen then it won't be for quite a while. Thanks for the review!

Mr. Blu- All Will Be Well: Is that a good interesting are bad interesting? What do you think of the rest of the story? Thanks for the review.

KeketTheDestroyer: I know what you mean. It's so hard to choose just one. Personally my favorite character is Armin because I can relate to him the most. I tend to be one of those people that likes to stay in my own little world and I sometimes think that I can't do something when I can. I like Eren to but sometimes he has his lovable idiot moments that makes me just want to slap him. But yeah I like all the characters in SNK. Thanks for the support it means a lot to me. :)

Fish On stick: I'm sorry to confuse you. I write the chapters based off of the characters' point of view so they don't notice everything or they may not see something as important to mention. So some things are left a little ambiguous. But the small child was Armin, he's hanging out with the Titan and Armin will be meeting Mikasa soon. In like the next few chapters. If there's anything that you're confused about just ask. Thank you for the continuous reviews. :)

Guest #1: Did you hit the wrong button? LOL

Guest #2: I'll try to update as fast as I can but school always comes first. Thanks for the review!

Basia Orci: Thanks! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Grz: Thanks for saying so! And yes Armin and Mikasa are going to be friends in the story. It's kind of hard for me to not see them as friends. :)

Guest #3: Yeah, there's a reason for that and that I won't say why because that will be spoilers. Hope you like this chapter!

Guest #4: The story shall continue! Onward to new chapters! Thanks for the review. :)

Wow! Look at all those reviews… so many. A big thank you to everybody who reviewed/followed/favorite!

Until next time!

Key