It was raining when they first met. Zofia remembered the sound clearly. It was like a great symphony; the rhythmic drumming of water against terracotta seemed to sync up perfectly with the melodic drips and drops that fell from the awning and into the drain. Zofia stared out into the courtyard through the window, dreading the moment that she would have to leave the warmth of the classroom and go home. She'd left her umbrella in her room, because of course she had. She brought that heavy old thing everywhere she went, and the one time she forgot it was during the heaviest rainfall of the year.
Zofia was daydreaming about the hot bath she would take after this when she first heard that strange sound. It was like a horse, galloping mad and free, but without the clopping of hooves. She looked up to see a girl sprinting on all fours, huge plumes of water behind her as she tore through the puddles. The way she moved made it seem like running this way was natural for her, maybe even more natural than walking upright. Zofia kept staring as the girl came bounding towards her, not stopping for even a second. Before Zofia could even react, the girl came crashing through the unlocked door, rolling and colliding into desks as she slid to halt.
Zofia just gawped, unable to say a word. The girl slowly got up, straightened the impacted tables, then turned.
"Oh, hello. Are you new here?"
There was a steady trail of water now snaking through the academy's tight corridors. Zofia carefully avoided all the little puddles as she followed this strange, sopping girl. She explained that her name was Pieck Finger, that she possessed the Cart Titan ability, and that she would be helping to instruct some of the new recruits here. Zofia in turn explained how this was her first day, how she'd stayed after class to do some reading and how she'd accidentally gotten caught up in one of the textbooks and lost track of time. That seemed to make Pieck smile. There was a few moments of quiet as they both walked, just the sound of wet shoes against wood, then suddenly Pieck spoke up.
"Oh, I forgot to ask! What's your name?"
"Zofia Reitsch, ma'am."
Pieck stopped walking for a moment, turning to face her.
"Zofia? With a 'Z'?"
"Yes ma'am, I know it's a weird spe-"
Before she could finish, Pieck chimed up. There was this tone of utter fascination in her voice, like this was some incredible peculiarity to her.
"Zofia! What a wonderfully unique name! I love it!"
Zofia tried not to blush. No-one had ever reacted this way to her name. Most people didn't even register the difference and just called her 'Sophia'. It felt nice to be complimented on it for once.
"I shall certainly remember a name like that~"
"Th-thank you, ma'am! Well, your name is also very pretty, if you don't mind me saying so."
She had meant to say 'unique' instead of 'pretty'. It was only until a few seconds after she'd said it that she realised her mistake. Now it was basically impossible to hide her blush. Pieck just smiled; a warm, wide smile that showed off her cute little dimples. Then she continued down the hallway and Zofia followed, her eyes glued to the floorboards in embarrassment.
Pieck reached her destination. She took out a set of keys and unlocked the door, stepping into the sparse tool cupboard. The academy was set up for Eldians, so of course most of the equipment was either broken or decades old. But both girls were used to this, so expected nothing less. Pieck rumaged around through the various brooms and dustpans until she found what she was looking for. With a smile, she turned around with two umbrellas in her hand.
"Here, for you."
Zofia took hold of the umbrella, thanked Pieck, then opened it. Pieck's smile faded. The umbrella was broken beyond repair; it's spokes were all twisted and warped and the fabric was full of huge tears and rips. Pieck then tested out the second umbrella, which seemed to be mostly intact. Without hesitation, she held out the working umbrella to Zofia.
"You take it."
"Oh, no ma'am, I couldn't."
Pieck laughed, still holding the umbrella out to Zofia.
"It's not like I can get any wetter. Your clothes are all still dry, you should take it."
"Oh but I don't have far to go, ma'am, you should take it. You might catch a cold otherwise"
Pieck gave a playful sigh. She grabbed the broken umbrella that Zofia was holding, tossing it back into the supply cupboard.
"Well then, there's only one other option, isn't there?"
Zofia had no idea why, but she got this fluttery feeling in her chest as she walked shoulder to shoulder with Pieck. The umbrella was rather small, so they had to press in close together in order to both fit. The streets were all empty, for the rain had only seemed to worsen, and so they were able to walk free without worrying about being stopped for random passport checks. The cobbles were wet and slippery, and it wasn't long before Zofia tripped over her own feet.
"AH! I'm so sorry, ma'am!"
Pieck managed to catch Zofia at the last second, preventing her from falling flat on her face. After she saw that the girl was okay, she let out another little laugh.
"It's quite alright. Here, lets do it like this instead."
Pieck repositioned herself so they were now walking arm in arm. It was such a casual thing, but for some reason it made the fluttering in Zofia's stomach even worse. She couldn't help but look up at Pieck as they walked, studying her features. Even though she was soaking wet and her hair was matted and unkempt, there was this strange beauty about her, a beauty that was hard for Zofia to truly pin down.
Pieck was beautiful in the way that an overgrown garden is beautiful: nothing is planned or organized, there are no pruned roses or blooming lilacs, the grass is filled with yellowed weeds and thistles, the wood is rotted and eaten by lichen, there are bugs and spiders and burrowed nests and broken bottles. It is pure, unbridled chaos. And yet, when the setting sun bathes it all in its hazy orange light, it's somehow more beautiful than any prize-winning flowerbed ever could be.
Zofia was so focused that she didn't realise that they'd actually passed the turn off for her house.
"Ah! Sorry, it's back there."
The pair made an awkward U-turn and head back, turning into the right alleyway this time. Pieck must have noticed that Zofia had been daydreaming, as she turned to her midway though the alley.
"What has you so distracted, hm?"
Pieck meant it as an innocent remark, but Zofia panicked and took it as an accusation. She worried that Pieck had noticed her staring and was about to reprimand her for it.
"Nothing, ma'am!"
Pieck's warm look faded a little.
"Are you nervous about starting training?"
Zofia tried to reply right away, but couldn't get the words out. The truth was that she was nervous, very nervous in-fact, but she didn't want to appear weak infront of someone that might be mentoring her soon.
"N-no, not at all ma'am!"
Pieck stopped walking. This time, it felt like she was the one studying Zofia's face. Her slate-grey eyes looked suddenly quite intense. Their dullness just seemed to add to that 'overgrown beauty' that Zofia had been thinking about before. They were like ancient boulders, worn down by millenia of wind and rain yet still standing strong. Without really knowing anything about this girl, Zofia could tell that she had seen a lot. After around 10 seconds of silence, both girls just staring into eachother's eyes, Pieck spoke.
"You're going for the position of the Armored Titan, aren't you?"
Zofia was taken aback. She hadn't told anyone about that, not even her parents.
"H-how did you know?"
Pieck just smiled.
"Because you remind me of him."
It took only a few more minutes to reach Zofia's apartment. By this time the sun had set and the dim- blue streetlamps had all flickered to life. Zofia hopped out from under the umbrella and into the doorway, turning before she went inside.
"Well, umm, thanks for walking me home, ma'am."
"You're welcome. And, you don't have to call me "ma'am", you know that right?"
Zofia began to feel incredibly embarrassed again. She could feel her cheeks start to burn up once more. She started stimming with her fingers out of nervousness, avoiding eye contact.
"Well, g-goodnight then, Pieck."
"Goodnight, Zofia~"