"So I'm just supposed to rub them together and it gives me some special ability?" Jean questioned, weighing the two swords in his hands as he followed Sasha out of her shed.

"Or tapping, it's really up to whatever feels right when the time comes," Sasha explained, locking the shed before taking the short path that led to her back porch where Mikasa was waiting for them. "As for your ability...well, you'll have to figure that out yourself too."

Jean could tell that there was a bigger picture to everything than what everyone seemed to be letting on so far. Even in his own dreams, he seemed to be walking on eggshells since his accident and he hated feeling left in the dark, but something told him to wait until he was alone with Sasha again to ask her about it. Something about her seemed so familiar yet he's never seen her in his dreams before

"Dual-wielding swords? You really think that's the best choice for him?" Eren pointed at the weapons in question, an eyebrow raised.

Sasha shrugged. "He didn't seem like the knight type to me."

"Hey, I can be knightly if I wanted to!" Jean retorted, causing Sasha to stick her tongue out at him as if she were blowing a raspberry.

"I'm sure Sasha knows what she's doing, Eren," Reiner spoke, standing from his spot at the dining room table. "We should take this moment to put him into action and see where he goes from here."

Silence settled over the group as everyone filed out of Sasha's house. Jean thought it must've looked weird to outsiders that they were all heavily armed but came to realize that all of the houses they passed by had all of their windows closed. The more he looked, the more it felt like the people of the village didn't want to be seen.

"This place looks...deserted." Jean's head turned as they passed a particular house, the blinds in the windows still moving as if they had just been shut. "Is it always like this?"

Everyone seemed to exchange looks with one another, occasionally looking at him before returning their focus back on the path they had been following into the woods. Some of them wore nervous looks while others seemed to sport looks of concern.

"What? Was it something I said?" Jean said, slightly annoyed that no one was bothering to give him any answers.

"Well, it's just that not a lot of people are fond of what we do because of how risky it is," Armin spoke, breaking the tension. "I don't blame them for feeling that way, but I just can't help but think that there's more to all of this than cowering in a corner."

Jean nodded along, trying to absorb the weight of the blond's confession but feeling as if he were just falling short of truly understanding. "I'm guessing I'll find out soon just why this is all risky, huh?"

Just then, Sasha's head jerked to the side, her whole body immediately becoming tense. "Guys, footsteps!" She whispered to the group, her right arm reaching back as if she were grabbing at something. When her arm came down, an arrow shimmered into existence in her hand, a full quiver now strapped across her body and glowing a soft purple. Soon after, everyone scrambled to hide behind trees and bushes to conceal themselves and Jean found himself being pulled behind a tree by Eren and Sasha.

Jean was so stunned to see the rest of Sasha's weapon appear practically out of thin air that he almost missed the heavy booming that was headed in their direction, a low growling sound vibrating through the air. "What the-" A hand cut him off, muffling the rest of his sentence as the booming sounds came closer. Sasha's eyes were wide as she pulled her hand away from his face, though he couldn't tell if it was out of fear or worry.

"Quiet, we don't need them being alerted right away," Sasha whispered. "It's already bad enough that they terrorize us as often as they do."

"So what are we supposed to do then?" He whispered back.

"We use our strengths to take them down," Eren chimed in, his now gloved hand gripping onto his shoulder. "Look, I know this is all very strange to you but you're just going to have to learn along the way." He looked across to where Mikasa was hiding behind a nearby bush and exchanged a glance with her, earning himself a nod from her as if to confirm what he had just said.

Jean was about ready to tell Eren that he had no idea what he was talking about until another boom could be heard much closer to where their group was hiding, causing them all to tense briefly. The closer the footsteps were, the more he felt as if his bones were rattling inside his body, a sensation he didn't exactly appreciate.

Sasha leaned forward until her lips were close enough to his ear to hear her whispering to him. "I know you're getting tired of us not explaining, but trust me when I say it's gonna come to you...naturally." She pulled away just enough to flash a smile that seemed to radiate despite the intensity of whatever was making the footsteps boom in their forest.

Jean watched as Sasha was the first one to run into the clearing, stopping just as she raised her bow that was already notched with an arrow. Her brown ponytail whipped as she looked back at the rest of the group, a look of defiance in her eyes. "What are you guys waiting for?" She yelled back before returning attention what lay ahead of her.

"You heard her, let's go!" Marco shouted.

Everyone yelled as they charged from their hiding spots, Jean following suit as he gripped his swords tighter as he ran. He still had so many questions that tugged at the back of his mind that he was bound to ask Eren or Mikasa afterwards, but nearly all of them left his thoughts as he looked up at them. Suddenly, everything made a little more sense, like why the villagers had shut their windows as tightly as they had.

Standing just as tall as the trees that they had previously been hiding behind were these tall beings, their skin stretched out yet fleshy in the sense that they almost seemed human. Titans, he thought, though he wasn't sure where that had come from or where he must have heard it from.

"We can't let the titans get close to the village!" Reiner exclaimed while hefting his axe in the air, snapping Jean back to the present.

This whole dream confused him.

I know I keep breaking up this first part of the story into a lot of different parts but I swear it's because I have something planned that's gonna help to establish the story a little more. I also know it's been AGES since I last updated this, but wish the manga ending in less than a week, I figured an update was the best route to go. I'm so nervous to see where where manga ends ngl