Chapter III: Moonwind Unicorn
"The true me lies still asleep within the sky and somewhere beyond the clouds"
Priscilla sat propped up against the wall of her "usual" alleyway with her legs drawn up against her chest, her chin resting on her knees. It was dark and rather dank, but this was the closest thing to a home she had at that point. At the very end of the alley was a torn and stained blanket that she would sleep on, convinced that it was better than nothing at all. On the colder nights she used it as a blanket to cover her even though it didn't provide much warmth. Again, it was better than nothing. She looked towards the open street as if she were expecting something, or someone. After staring for a moment, she looked straight forward at the wall again and sighed.
"Yo." A familiar voice said. It was Reiner.
Priscilla hopped to her feet and dusted herself off, she didn't even hear him approach, but she was glad to see him all the same.
"Hi!" She greeted as she skipped over to him. She noticed he was carrying something, but it wasn't the usual farm goods he came into town to sell.
"Got some stuff for ya..." He said, "I managed to take some of Annie's old clothes that she doesn't wear anymore for you. Shoes too."
He held out the lump of fabric and the shoes for Priscilla, whose eyes glittered with wonder and amazement. The dress he brought was clearly in much better shape than the poor rag she wore, and ANY shoes were better than having none at all.
"...Really? For me?" She asked, hesitating to take the offering. Reiner nodded and pushed the clothing at her more. Why would he pull such a sick prank? Priscilla timidly took the items and examined them. The dress was light brown and in pretty good condition, the only thing "wrong" with it that she could see was a small dark stain on the chest area.
"The shoes are a bit beat up, but it's something, right?"
"Wow..." Priscilla marveled, now gawking at the dark brown boots. She clutched the items close to her chest as she felt tears well up in her eyes, "Thank you, thank you so much!"
"Ehh it's nothing really..." Reiner replied dismissively, "That dress of yours wasn't gonna last much longer."
Priscilla laughed softly and placed the shoes down on the ground, holding the dress up to her body. It definitely looked like it would fit, but there was only one way to find out.
"Turn around, please." She requested.
"Huh?" Reiner asked stupidly.
"I need to get changed!" She exclaimed, "Don't look!"
"Oh, OH! Shit, sorry." Reiner apologized and quickly turned around to give her some privacy.
Behind him Reiner could hear cloth shuffling as Priscilla stripped off her old dress and tossed it aside. She quickly wriggled into the 'new' one and smoothed it out, then swiftly slipped her tiny feet into the brown boots. She looked down at herself quite satisfied, they both fit perfectly.
"You can look now." She informed him, a bit bashful sounding.
Reiner spun around and saw Priscilla smiling like a doofus, clearly quite pleased with the gifts he had brought her. She rocked back and forth on her heels with her hands behind her back, staring at Reiner with her big green eyes.
"Weeeeeeellll?" She said.
"What?" Reiner responded.
"How do I look you big dummy?!" She shouted playfully.
"Oh! Well you look great, of course." He answered. Priscilla laughed, causing Reiner to feel a bit embarrassed, "Sorry..."
"It's okay." She assured him, "I'm just teasing."
Now that she had coyly fished the compliment from him, she sauntered over to Reiner. In a bold move, she sprang up onto her toes and kissed him on the cheek.
"W-What?! What was that for?!" Reiner exclaimed.
"The hero deserves a kiss from the princess, don'tcha think?" She grinned, "At least, that's how I think the fairy tales go."
"Ah, so you're a princess, are you?" He said with a smug grin. Priscilla giggled and looked away.
"A girl can dream, can't she? Being a princess beats being a smelly hobo..." She murmured.
Priscilla awoke in a cold sweat, abruptly sitting up and breathing heavily. It was still dark, surely only a couple hours had gone by since she laid down in the female barracks to sleep. She wiped the sweat from her brow and shuddered.
Those nightmares again
For a long time she had been able to sleep peacefully, but as of late she found that nightmares that used to torment her were rearing their ugly head again. All she could recall was that they were horribly terrifying: The image of her parents leaving her behind, a gargantuan pale creature that burned the world to the ground, leaving it in ruins. The details would escape her as soon as she awoke, but the feeling of unease still remained. Priscilla breathed deeply to try and calm herself down but her heart continued to race even after her breathing stabilized.
"Maybe a walk will do me good..." She whispered to herself, careful not to be too loud and risk disturbing the other girls.
She shuffled out of bed and pulled her boots on quietly. Surely nobody else would be prowling around outside at this hour so she didn't bother to get properly dressed and just stayed in her sleeping clothes. She slipped out of the barracks like a shadow and stepped out into the moonlight. She breathed in deeply – the fresh night air filled her with a euphoric delight that soothed her soul. After breathing deep, Priscilla began her walk – going at a pleasantly steady pace, in no way in any rush. In that moment she hadn't a care in the world...
Much better. She thought.
After not having walked very far, she came to a stop. The lovely moon was perfectly visible in a cloudless sky, flanked by twinkling stars on all sides. A feeling of otherworldly calmness washed over the pale girl, whose hair glimmered like a perfectly cut diamond under the moonbeams that bathed her. Her mouth dropped open as she yawned loudly, stretching her arms above her head as she did so. Her arms dropped back down to her sides limply, leading her into a full-on slouch. From the slouch she ended up sinking down to her knees and plopping into a sitting position.
"I'm getting sleepy again already..." She breathed, "I think I'll just... relax out here a bit though..."
She fell over with a soft "thunk" and curled up tightly. Again she vaguely recalled the lullabies that her mother used to sing, which ushered her back into the realm of slumber...
Priscilla stood proudly after slipping into her Cadet jacket, she thought she looked pretty cool with the crossed swords emblem on her back. The rest of the uniform all went together nicely as well – a white button down with matching white pants, which had a brown "skirt" around her hips. Long brown boots came up just above her knees and she sported various straps across her thighs. Swelling with satisfaction, she took in a deep breath before assuming a wide stand and bending over to reach for her toes. She straightened back out and repeated this action, eager to limber up before her first day of training.
"Heh, not a bad view..."
Priscilla shot back up when she heard the voice behind her and quickly spun around, ready to attack whoever had sneaked up on her. She had been conditioned to always be on the defensive when it came to her backside being exposed where any threat could approach her from behind. However, her aggression melted away upon seeing who it was. It was someone she hadn't seen in quite some time, he looked more mature than the last time they met, but she knew exactly who it was.
"Reiner?!" She asked breathlessly, "What are you doing here?"
"What do you think? I enlisted." He stated, "Same with Annie and our buddy Bertolt."
"Ah... I see, that's great!"
Priscilla was more excited than she should have been. Joining up with the military was a wonderful enough opportunity, but now her hero was there too. What could be better? Her mind began playing out all sorts of shenanigans that they might get into, like helping each other train and even killing Titans together. Although, that last idea could only work if they were both Scouts. Priscilla was intent on joining the Scouts, but she had no idea if that was Reiner's plan. She could only hope it was.
As she fantasized about what kind of adventures they could have, she began to focus on how he had changed since she last saw him. He was taller now with a more chiseled face, he had also put on some muscle. A blush crept across her pale face, imagining how strong he must be. She was sure he could easily pick her up and toss her around like a doll if he wanted to, which she wouldn't mind at all.
"Hey, you in there?"
Reiner snapped his fingers in front of Priscilla's face, effectively pulling her out of her fantasy.
"What? Yeah, sure, I'm here! Totally! No doubt!" She responded awkwardly, punctuating her statement with an equally as awkward laugh.
"If you zone out like that on the battlefield you'll be food for Titans in no time." He joked.
"Err, guess you're right about that..." She agreed sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head, "I'll keep my wits about me, don't you worry."
"Good..." He smiled, leaning in closer, "Would be a damn shame to lose a cutie like you."
Oh FUCK She screamed internally Not only is he handsome as all hell but he's smooth as shit too... I need to get a grip.
But I don't think I can help myself...