Chap. 14: Arguments
They spent a few more hours out in the field, deciding to wait till it was almost sun down to head back. Tug and Rain helped Eren and Mikasa to find more sticks and twigs, while Will set himself up a nice training area, though he knew he'd not have enough time to train that day.
Heaving a sigh, Will finally looked at his training area in satisfaction. He had 20 different targets, all set around randomly, in varying sizes, and varying distances. They weren't exactly the best targets though, and he'd have to find out how to get some hay bails out here. As it was, they were the dead tree limbs he was able to cut down and drag over, but they were thick enough, and berried enough so that he wouldn't just knock them down the second an arrow or throwing knife hit.
Looking up at the darkening sky, Will called out, "Alright guys, I think it's time to head back now."
He looked over to find that Eren had apparently decided to lay down for a nap, and Mikasa walked over to wake him.
It appeared he was having a nightmare, as his eyes were scrunched together and his jaw set, and there was a glistening of tears at the corner of his eyes.
"Eren... Eren wake up." Mikasa said, prodding him. After a few more tries, Eren finally woke with a gasp, eyes wide with fright.
After a moment, he seemed to realized he'd been dreaming and calmed down. "Mikasa... Hey..." Eren mumbled.
"Will said we should get going."
It seemed Eren wasn't completely awake yet, as he seemed confused as to where they were, even asking as such.
"Looks like someone was enjoying a nap in the sun." Will commented handing Eren a water sack, "Here, sleeping in the sun feels great until you wake up dehydrated. This should help you wake up."
Eren nodded, noticing that he was rather parched and took a few swigs.
"Ready to go?" Mikasa asked.
"I guess... Sorry, it's just the dream I had. It was so real, and it seemed to be going on forever. But... I just can't remember what it was about..."
"Whatever it was, it seemed scary. You were even crying a little." Will said lightly. He too had had plenty of those dreams, especially since coming to this land.
They started heading back, and Eren seemed to become more aware. At one point, Will noticed him blushing in embarrassment.
"Do me a favor, will ya?"
"What's that?" Will asked.
"Don't... don't tell anyone I was crying, okay?" Eren said, trying not to look either of the two in the eye.
Mikasa rolled her eyes a little, exasperated. "Yeah, yeah, yeah..." She went into thought for a moment before speaking again. "Still though... You don't even remember why? Maybe have you're dad look into that?"
Now it was Eren's turn to be exasperated. "Yeah, right! Like tearing up is a medical issue."
"Aw, is somebody messing with ya?" one of the guards at the inner gate said, having overhead the conversation.
"Oh... Hey Mr. Hannes..." Eren said, neither excited nor displeased to see him.
"Or is it that you got on Mikasa's bad side?" Mr. Hannes said.
"No! What are you even talking about?! Ugh...! You smell like a tavern!"
Will could clearly see the flushed face of a man that had just enjoyed his drink, and was honestly a bit annoyed at that.
The other guards on the other side of the gate laughed. They too all appeared to be drunk, and were playing a game of cards. Around them on the ground and even in their hands were opened bottles of alcohol.
One of the men spoke up, still chuckling, "If only tears were cups of ale!"
Eren didn't look amused, and just muttered, "Of course..."
Hannes looked back at Eren, smiling. "You kids care for a swig?"
Eren looked annoyed and was about to speak when Will spoke up.
"I'd be happy to alive you of your drink. After all, aren't you on watch...?" Will said, and Hannes seemed to take notice of Will for the first time- he had his cloak on, and cowl up, so he blended in rather well in the dark archway of the gate, not to mention the man was so drunk, he probably couldn't have even seen Will if he tried to focus.
For a moment, Hannes was too shocked to say anything, confused as to how he missed him. But he managed to recover enough to laugh nervously, then put on a proud face.
"Yup! Watchin' the old gate, we are." He said proudly, putting his upturned fist to his heart, a salute Will had learned while traveling with the Survey Corps. "Thirsty work, playin' sentry. Pea knuckle only goes so far to chase off the boredom. Li'l nip now and then keeps us all in our courage for a spell. Perks of being a guard!"
The look Will gave the man seemed to have managed to have put enough fear in him he sobered up a little, but before Will could even say anything, Eren exploded.
"How do you expect to fight if you're so loose on your feet?!"
Blinking, still recovering from Will's death glare, and now dealing with an enraged Eren, Hannes stammered out in confusion, "Why would I have to fight...?"
"Why do you think?! If they break through the Walls, we'd be sitting ducks on your watch!"
Hannes winced, holding his head. "Eren, kid, please, use your inside voice..."
Another one of the guards men chuckled and got up, approaching. "Hehe, the kid sure has some fire in him." Looking down on Eren, he continued, "Listen, the only thing those bastards have done in the past 100 years is scratch at it. And I've a feeling if they get it in their big heads to do something else, we'll be more than ready for 'em."
"A feeling...?" Will said. His voice wasn't loud, but deep, and penetrating. A silence fell over the group as the two guards looked at him uneasy. "Tell me, what have you, any of you, actually done to prepare for them? Do you train each day?"
"Hey! Who are you to-"
"Do you make sure your gate isn't so rusted that it won't close when you need it too? How many people know the proper evacuation procedure? Have you ever even seen a Titan in person? Felt the fear? You actually have the weapons and means to protect yourself, but what of the people? They rely on you to be ready at a moments notice to help them. You'd be useless using that gear, drunk on your ass."
Before the two men realized it, Will was standing mere inches from them and swiping his leg under there feet, and they crashed down on top of one and other, groaning as their drunken, abused heads throbbed. The other guards got up, but one stumbled and took himself out as he too fell in his stupor.
The other two came at him, fists raised, and Will calmly stood and waited for them. He waited for the first one to punch out, but rather than catch it and hit back, he side stepped, allowing the mans momentum to cause him to stumble and fall, but before he did, Will grabbed him by the collar of his coat and pulled him forward, and sent him crashing into the other oncoming guard, where in the two fell in a heap next to Hannes and the other guard.
Without even bothering to help them up, Will walked over to their bottles and smashed them, though left one unbroken and pocketed it for himself.
"I think we're done here." Will said, and the kids hurried to catch up, Tug and Rain close behind- Rain even scuffed some dirt at the broken bottles, ruining any small bits of alcohol still pooled in the broken ends of the bottle.
They were walking in silence for a bit before Eren spoke up, voice shaking.
"Why would we have to fight?" he said, his knuckles white as he gripped the straps of the sticks rack. "We live in a cage. All we do is eat and sleep. That's it. End of story. We have the peace of mind of livestock."
Will was surprised to hear this coming from Eren. Not because he didn't think Eren would think like that, but because he wasn't aware just what Eren though about the whole situation of living behind the Walls.
He had a feeling that Levi would like his attitude.
"I thought the same, when entering the Walls..." Will said, and Eren looked at him in surprise.
"Really? I would have thought that, with you being forced to live outside the Walls, constantly in fear... I figured you be all for staying behind the Walls."
Will shook his head. "Not even. Perhaps I'm swayed in my overall view of what the world is like outside of this land, knowing that there are whole continents without Titan's, but I'd like to think that in general, I just don't see the point in cowering behind some tall Walls. What's the point? Population control becomes an issue eventually. It's inevitable. Plagues become near impossible to kill before most of the population is gone. Food shortages due to harsher seasons, dooming crops and live stock. It's hard enough to keep things together when your spared out through out an entire continent, but it's nearly impossible if you're all cooped up behind some Walls, no matter how far spared they are."
Eren nodded, looking back down at the road, and they continued walking in silence.
They were about five blocks from their houses when Mikasa meekly said, "Eren... you should let the Scout Regimen thing go..."
Both Will and Eren looked at her in surprise- Eren in annoyance, and Will in surprise, as he hadn't know Eren wanted to join. Though, given the earlier topic, it probably shouldn't have surprised him.
"Seriously?!" Eren exclaimed. "Why does everybody think they're a joke?!"
"What people think about them isn't really the issue..." Mikasa said.
"You're a bit young to be thinking about that, aren't you?" Will commented.
"What, you too?! After all you just sai-"
"Now don't jump the to assuming." Will said firmly. "I only said you were too young to think about that stuff. I can guarantee that out of all the people you know, I have the highest respect for the Scouts, and not just because they saved me. I admire the work and danger they put themselves in, to help secure land outside the Walls. But you're still a boy, and you should be more focused on enjoying your childhood while it lasts."
Eren seemed annoyed and just looked away, grumbling that he "wasn't just a boy..."
He was stopped from his grumbling when the city bells went off, and Eren got an excited look on his face and took off, shouting, "Perfect time! Come on, they're back!"
During the time he'd been living there, the Scouts had made another expedition out side the Walls. They'd been out for two weeks, and it appeared they'd finally come back. Following behind the excited boy, they made their way to the main road of the city, and watched as the men and women in the shot green cloaks trudged in. Will immediately noted there were fewer then when they left, and many injured. It was a grim sight for sure.
He saw Captain Erwin glance over, having seen Eren's excited face, his eyes drifted and managed to land on Will, and he gave the Captain a solemn nod, to which the Captain could barely return before looking down, shame written on his face.
They must not have been able to complete the mission.
Eren had taken notice of the injured finally, and looked horrified. Will wanted to shield his eyes, but knew Eren needed to see this. If he really wanted to join them, he had to know what he was going to be faced with.
Some of the gathered crowd started talking, and Will was able to pick up some of it.
"Sure taken a hit, haven't they...?"
"Yeah, rest of them got eaten."
"That's what happens when pride takes you outside the Walls."
Will frowned at them.
Just then though a women started calling out, terror in her voice. "Moses? Moses!?" she stepped out in front of the Scouts, blocking their path, and approached one for the men in the front. "Beg your pardon, were is my son. He should have been with you all! Oh please, tell me he made it!"
The man was silent, grim. Still in shock at their own situation. Finally he spoke, "I wish I had better news." looking to the Scout next to him, he nodded at the lady. "Give it to her." he commanded.
The Scout walked back to a wagon and removed something wrapped in cloth, no bigger than a baby, but too thin to actually be one.
Not wanting to believe it, the women just looked at the man she'd spoken to, until the weight of the object in her arms registered. Looking down, she was shocked to see the thin object wrapped in cloth and looked back up in horror, her eyes pleading that this wasn't happening. The man could only stare back in silence, unable to say anything.
Looking back down, she hastily peeled back the cloth, until finally she revealed the bruised, bloody, disembodied arm of her son. Unable to look for more than a glance, she tried covering it up again, but her hands were too shaky to wrap it. She began weeping cradling the arm to her chest.
"I'm sorry..." the man said, solemnly, "It's all that was left of him."
The women collapsed to her knees, holding the arm against her face, crying.
The man crouched down, wishing in some way to help the grieving mother.
She managed to speak through her tears, "H-he... he did g-good, yes? H-e was brave?"
The man, for the first time in the encounter, appeared shocked, his eyes wide.
"Tell me my son stood his ground to the bitter end." The women continued, "That is death meant something!" she shouted the last bit, looking the man in the eyes. "Tell me his sacrifice gave us a better chance!"
There was silence for a moment, as the man tried to search for words.
Finally, he spoke, desperate to stand up for the son of the women.
"He was brave!" the man shouted, but then looked down, shame faced, "But... his sacrifice meant nothing. So with all our loses... it's ever the same." The man's resolve was crumbling, as he finally shouted with all the grief he had tried to hold back. "The day was lost! We have... Nothing! Your son died because of me. I sent him to his death. I sent all of them to their death! And there's nothing to show for it! All of it amounts to nothing!"
Silence rained over the area, everyone either grief stricken, silent for those grieving, or clearly annoyed.
Voices rose up again after a few minutes, and once again, Will didn't like what he was hearing.
"Up lifting, huh?"
"Oh sure! nothing like seeing our hard earned go toward keeping those bastards fat and happy on human gristle."
Eren seethed, having over heard this, and pulled a stick from his collection. He made to hit the man in the head, but Will intercepted him, holding the stick back, and looking at Eren.
The man noticed the commotion and looked to find the stick still in mid swing, and got angered.
"Little punk!" he said, and Eren looked from Will to the man, the anger in his eyes growing. He tried to wrench the stick away from Will's grip, but it was no use. Will simply popped it out of his hands.
The man turned to Will and smirked, thinking Will was on his side.
"Heh... Little punks, think they know what being an adult is like. You get it though." he said snidely, glaring at Eren in contempt.
"You're mistaken. I didn't stop him from hitting you because I believe you're right. I simply couldn't allow him to pick fights with someone he won't be able to hold his own against. Honestly, to me, you're scum. If you think you're taxes are being wasted on maintaining your defenses from the Titan's, then go ahead and live outside the Walls, where you won't need to pay for taxes."
"Why you little-"
Will turned from the man and grabbed Eren by the back of his shirt, "Come on you two, your mother's probably wondering where you are."
Eren grumbled, not liking that he was being dragged, "W-what are you doing!? Let me go!"
"Yeah that's right! You better run!" the man called out, but yelped a moment later when Rain growled at him.
They were nearing the end of the road they'd turned on to when Eren grumbled out, "Alright, I get it! Stop already!"
Will pulled him to the front, and Eren lost his balance, falling back and knocking against a wall, causing his fire wood to scatter.
"Ah great! Fire wood everywhere! Perfect!" he said, trying to gather it all back up.
Mikasa watched him, and spoke. "So. Are you still bound and determined to become one of them? The Scouts?" It was one of the few times Will had heard any hint of anger in the girl's voice.
Eren looked up at her in shock, unable to speak for a moment, and the two looked each other in the eyes in silence, until Eren looked away, his shock at her question turning into frustration and confusion.
Instead of answering her, he grumbled, "Just... help me pick these up..."
Mikasa sniffed in annoyance, but decided to end the conversation for now. Changing the subject, she commented, "Like there was much to begin with..."
When they got to their houses, they split ways.
Will set to doing some cleaning. He was taking out some trash when he heard some raised voices from the Jaeger's, though he couldn't make out any words. A moment later the door opened, and he heard Ms. Jaeger should, "Please, scold the boy!"
Dr. Jaeger merely turned and commented something calmly, but it clearly wasn't to Ms. Jaeger's liking, if the look on her face was anything to go by.
He walked out and bid some good byes, before walking down the street. The others called back, wishing him a good trip. Seems the Doctor had another patient out of the city.
Ms. Jaeger turned to Eren, and commented, "I meant what I said."
Eren looked up at her confused. "What?"
"The whole idea is just irresponsible."
"Huh?! Irresponsible?!" Eren exclaimed. "So what? It's more grown up to settle living in fear behind some stupid wall your whole pointless life?!"
Turning around, Eren ran down the alley before she could respond.
Nonetheless, she called out, reaching out to him as if she could grab him, "Eren!"
Turning to Mikasa, she grabbed the girls shoulders. "Mikasa! The boy needs to be protected from himself. Promise me, whatever happens, I can count on you to have his back!"
Mikasa remained silent, but nodded her understanding.
She took off after Eren, and Will shook his head.
"Looks like they found out about Eren's secret." he muttered to Tug, who sniffed back.
"Kid's brave, I'll give him that. Makes me think of you when we first met."
AN: And another one done, and another one done, another one posted here.
YAY! So by now, you all probably know where it takes place within AoT. Hoping I do the next few chaps justus lol
Some things I figured I'd mention, and might go back to edit a few small things. Will has basically got their language down, but he does have a clear accent. When talking to Tug or Rain though, he speaks in his native language, which I will be going back to previous chaps to put them in bold, so Will speaking with bold words means he's speaking his language.
I did pull a lot of the dialog from the anime, but tried to tweak it here and there, but some of it was too nicely worded to completely change. Should be a thing too much after this chap though, as there will be a few different things happening now that Will is in the picture.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Till next chap ^_^