Before you read: I'm sorry this one is so short and so long overdue. I've grappled with this one for weeks, I had trouble putting it together because I wasn't happy with where I took the last chapter. So I went back and changed it around and refined what I left intact. So it will be to your benefit to reread Ch10 before you start this one. For the most part, things are back on track, but I have come to the conclusion that I need to go back and refine the entire story. I have a 4 day weekend and will be working on it throughout, my quality has been suffering and I hope I can get this story back to the level that I expect from myself. Most heavily I'll be working on chapter 1, only 1 in 4 people continue to chapter 2.

That brings me to this: I'm looking for anyone interested in beta-reading chapters before I post them. This whole project is proving a bit ambitious for my novice creative writing skills. Any help will be properly credited :)

Lastly, I found an artist for the cover photo! I'm not sure when she will be done, but for now I've posted my initial sketch as the cover art to give an idea of what the finished product will be. Thanks for waiting and, with your continued patience, things should be picking up from here :D

"Reiner… are they alright?"

Through the downpour, Berthold watched as the narrow set of eyes met his.

"Yeah, they're doing that trance-dream shit again." Reiner replied, clearly annoyed.

"Oh." Berthold said as he returned his sight to the other two. Eren remained lying on his side, head atop Annie's lap while she slumped forward in her state. Reiner had perched himself close by in case either of them were to fall into the growing puddles around them.

Minutes of mutual silence passed before Berthold spoke again. "I'm sorry."

Reiner once again met the young man's gaze; the two wore their pain on their sleeves, if only for a moment.

"Don't be," Reiner replied. "She's the last person I could have fooled."

A bolt of lightning saturated the sky, followed closely by the monstrous sound it had left behind. The two boys looked up to the bleeding clouds, in their own ways wishing the rain would dilute their thoughts. Nothing remained unsaid, they shared a nod as they began their wait.

"Harder!"

A muffled 'Thump' echoed throughout the trees, several birds took flight in response. Rays of sunlight trickled through the forest canopy, illuminating the two figures Eren watched from afar.

"Not good enough! Harder!"

Accompanying the encore of the sound came a cry: "HA!"

"Shut your mouth! Silence is your best weapon! Now, harder!"

Mouth agape, Eren felt a heat building in his gut.

'Seven… maybe eight years old… she's barely up to his waist.' He thought

"Harder!"

*Thump*

"Your form is slipping! Wake up!"

*Thump*

"Harder, dammit Annie!"

*Thump*

"HARDER"

*Thump*

A different, far more chilling sound filled the air, what followed was pure silence. Just like that, breathing ceased, his eyes widened, and his heart lulled. Only one sense continued to serve him, but Eren wished it hadn't. All too clearly, his eyes followed the child's flight path before she met the earth once again. Time moved with no urgency, clarifying the ripples that made their way across her face as it met the ground. Although barely a full meter, he felt as if she would never stop sliding. But it was her face that brought him to his knees.

Eyes wide, but fixated on no particular object. It was a look of near complete mental absence, but Eren could see pain in her eyes. The girl, while in complete shock, could still feel every ounce of pain.

As he lost his composure and found his feet moving beneath him, her voice cleanly cut his intentions apart:

"This was the morning after my mother passed away."

The boy stopped, caught between her words and the sight before him. His heart felt as if it couldn't survive more emotional pain, personal or otherwise. Tears began to find their way across his face.

"It was business as usual… he told me the night before and then locked me in my room. This was his idea of mourning, he told me to use bad feelings to my advantage. He taught me how to bottle and use it as fuel, but I never learned how to just… feel."

Eren turned to face her as the figments before him vanished, she stared distantly with a certain focused appearance. No emotion showed through her face or words, yet he could feel it all somewhere inside her, locked away.

"Annie, I.."

"Do you know why I was first drawn to you, Eren?" She interrupted, meeting his gaze.

"Uh, I don't think so."

"The truth is; I envy you. You're the embodiment of what I wish I could be; you not only feel strong emotions, but you are driven by them. My feelings are nothing but a fuel source, but yours are your purpose. I don't have a purpose beyond bringing you home, Eren. Once that's done… I don't know how to live without a purpose."

The girl paused a moment to take a breath, her eyes changed as she kept them on Eren.

"But when I'm around you I get small tastes of what emotions feel like when they are unbound, I can suddenly let them play out instead of burying it all. I get these flashes of what it's like to fear, to lose, to love… I don't want it to stop, Eren, you're slowly showing me how to feel again…" She sobbed and wiped a tear from her eye as Eren approached her. "What I'm trying to say is: I know it hurts, but don't take this pain for granted, you have no idea what it's like to feel noth..."

Her words were cut short as air was forced from her lungs, it was almost painful. Eren held her tighter than she had ever been embraced. She felt him shudder as he broke down, her arms found their way to his back. They both stood alone in the empty, dark void, she was still learning how to build dreamscapes and let her forest slip away amidst the turmoil. But none of that mattered, she actually understood what he was feeling. A few tears left her own eyes as she noted her own two shared a silence, they shared their pain.

Annie knew that her objective was to comfort Eren, but she found herself lost in herself. The concept of up and down seemed to vanish. It was as if she could float away if she were to let go of the boy, yet she didn't really feel dizzy. Her feet still supported her weight but somehow there was no gravity at all.

Eren did his best to limit his tears as he squeezed the small girl, but it proved difficult as he replayed the events again and again. The glimpse of Annie's upbringing didn't exactly bring him peace either. He needed to distract himself, and he had plenty to say:

"Nothing is one-sided, Annie" He whispered in her ear as he throttled back his sobs. "You envy what I want to change about myself, but it's a two-way street. I do feel everything, but I'm at the mercy of it. I'm not falling for you because you're charming, It's because you offer me balance, you compliment where I fall short. You may not need anyone, you may not need me, but I'm glad that you are getting something from me."

Annie was overwhelmed. Falling for her… She didn't know what she could say, she wasn't sure how she felt at all. She needed an out.

"Eren, we need to wake up…" She almost stumbled over her words. Annie felt regret flood her entire body as soon as she said it.

She felt his arms loosen and release her, and reluctantly, she did so as well. He stepped back, but still faced her. She was afraid to see his face, what kind of disappointment would she find in his eyes. Slowly, she built her resolve and looked up from his shirt: Fear. He was terrified, why? She studied him closely, trying to string together her next words. But it was Eren who spoke first:

"I…" His voice broke. "Annie, I miss my sister…"

He fell to his knees as the words cleared his lips, his face did not change at all. His gaze bore right through Annie, it was terrifying, what awaited him when he woke up? Eren felt like he would rather spend the rest of his life there, hiding. He felt his hand being lifted from his lap, his eyes freed themselves from their trance to find pools of blue looking down at him. Her face was blank as ever, yet it somehow offered comfort.

"You should tell her."