A/N: Here you ago, Canon starts here!
Blood in the Air
Chapter One:
Shiganshina's Fall
Three Weeks Before the Fall…
Blood like rose petals, scattering in the wind…
"Promise me! Promise me that you'll live!"
A smiling Titan, blond hair dancing in the wind, gentile expression even with blood spattering down her chest.
Mama pinned beneath their house, a giant boulder crushing her there.
Eren's cries as they're carried away.
Dina, Dina, Dina, Dina, Dina—
A massive hand clamping down on the top of the wall as the Colossal peers down into their cage like a cat looking at a pail of mice.
Blood like rose petals scattering in the wind and screams like bird song whistling through the streets.
Abruptly, Aria's eyes opened, familiar tremors running through her body and flickering shadows on the edges of her vision. Staring up at the ceiling of her room, moonlight still shining, Aria rolled slowly onto her side, staring across the room to where Eren and Mikasa slept in their own beds. It had taken her a long time to learn how to wake up without screaming. Sometimes, sometimes she couldn't help it. But during those times, she didn't care.
Sitting up slowly, Aria turned her head to stare to the south, her bedroom wall blocking her view of the Wall.
"…Something is coming," she murmured softly. "…I need to tell someone." Staring at the wooden, familiar walls of her room, the shadows that constantly flickered and swayed across her vision swirled into view in front of her, spiraling in shapeless forms for several moments before they coalesced into the shape that threaded dread through her body.
"…Dina… Fritz…" she breathed as she gazed on the genteelly smiling Titan. The phantom taste of blood in her throat had Aria swallowing heavily, eyes flicking away from the shadowy form as phantom screams echoed in her ears.
Looking down at her lap, Aria fisted her fingers into the blanket beneath her, unable to sleep under the confining cloth when it made her think she was going to be suffocated in her sleep. Now, it gave her something to hold onto, something to ground her scattered, frightened thoughts.
She was an old hand at this by now.
"…I'll tell someone tomorrow," she murmured, staring down at her lap bleakly. "Even though they won't believe me… I'll tell them tomorrow…" Nodding slowly, Aria carefully climbed out of bed, silent even as she flinched instinctively away from a sharp-moving shadow, ghostly fingers trailing across her cheek in what felt like a final goodbye. Aria stood still, eyes closing as she breathed out a slow, shaky breath, before her eyes opened and locked ahead of her, ignoring the shadows as usual.
The house was quiet but for the nonexistent screams and weeping of the shadows, as it usually was at this time of night. Aria passed slowly through despite that, fingers nervously tapping against her thighs as she moved. It was her usual routine, a slow patrol through the house, checking on the real people in her life. It was how she could tell if something she saw or heard was there at times, watching everyone else's reactions. The number of times she heard the door open or someone cry out in pain, her flickering eyes would dart to those nearest her, double checking to see if they had heard or seen it.
Daddy was the only one who had figured it out, she knew, and he'd told Mama, Eren, and Mikasa. Eren and Mikasa were the only two to actively respond, however, Eren calling her a dumbass or a scaredy-cat if there was nothing there, and Mikasa just holding her eyes and either shaking her head or nodding. Mama would startle, sometimes, when she caught Aria staring, before smiling and asking what was wrong. Daddy would verbally respond after glancing around.
Aria… Aria loved her family.
—Blood like rose petals, scattered on the winds—
Shuddering sharply, Aria paused to reach up and grab her short hair tightly, fisting her hands in it and closing her eyes tightly as the shadows turned to severed limbs and begging sobs of anguish filled her ears. Rocking slowly back and forth, Aria silently mouthed the words to Rise Up as she did so, squeezing her hands rhythmically so that the small sparks of pain were in the beat of the song. After a few minutes (hours, days, s) the screaming wails of the dying or tortured fell away as the low, sad tune of the usually happy song filled the empty spaces. Carefully, she opened her eyes and glanced around the room, slowly releasing her hair and peering around warily.
…The shadows were quiet and back to small flickers at the corners of her awareness.
Letting out a shaky breath, scalp pricking with dull, throbbing pain, Aria moved forward and peeked into her parents room. Her Mama was fast asleep, curled up beneath the blanket and snoring just slightly, a trait Eren had picked up. Aria felt her lips twitch faintly, before her eyes darted around the room.
…Daddy wasn't there. And, and he didn't have any patients or they all would have been woken and informed. And there was no sounds from the dark bathroom besides the faint, wordless whispers of the shadows, which meant…
…There was only one place Daddy went when he wasn't in bed at night.
Quietly, Aria turned and padded back to her room.
If Daddy was in the basement, she wouldn't see him again until morning. He'd offered to bring her down there once, while Eren and Mama were out, but she refused. It made the Shadows restless, made them curse and cry, made the visions of the Marley's and Titans and death so much clearer in the waking world.
And it made daddy so very, very sad…
…Aria climbed into her bed, sitting with her back to the wall and her arms around her knees, staring out the window to await dawn. The Shadows sighed and murmured around her, pulling forward to craft the beginning outlines of whatever monsters they wanted, untilshe was slowly rocking once more, purposefully cut-short nails digging into her forearms. She kept her eyes on the sky, ignoring her constant companions and the stories they tried to tell.
She would tell someone tomorrow about the Bad Thing that was coming.
She would tell them even if they didn't believe her.
No one but Daddy had ever believed her, after all.
But…
But—
A massive hand grasping the top of the Wall as the Colossal stared down at them all.
Screams echoing in the streets and blood in the air like rose petals.
"Promise me! Promise me that you'll live!"
()()()()()()()
Two Weeks Before the Fall…
"Hey look, it's Crazy-Jaeger!" A young voice called as Aria quietly wandered away from a stall, cradling a small basket of fruit to her chest. Aria paused, turning her head enough to see past the Shadows who began to growl and jeer and cry quietly in her ears. It was the group of boys that usually picked on Armin and Eren, she noted, eying them blankly as they ran towards her. In a moment, she was surrounded, the boys staying well out of her reach after one too many instances of her visions being triggered violently by them grabbing her. There wasn't quite anything like coming out of a vision to find herself being coaxed off a roof by Hannes and his squad and finding out she'd given two of the bullies a concussion and cracked the jaw of the third.
Even idiots can learn, she thought, and the shadows hissed in agreement.
"What y' got there, Crazy-Jaeger?" the blond boy asked, his gray-haired friend bouncing on his toes as their large friend cracked his knuckles.
"…Apples," she replied simply, honestly, staring at him with dead, still eyes. The shadows at his feet were writhing, twisting into reaching hands shaped like it own, desperate, terrified cries echoing in her ears. His sneering smile faultered, nervous sweat beading his face.
"S-stop staring at me like that, you, you freak!" He snarled, lunging down to scoop up a rock and flinging it at her face. Aria ducked her head slightly, one eye closing as sharp pain lit up her temple. The rock hit the ground at her feet, bouncing ominously as she slowly looked down at it. Blinking once, she watched as blood dropped from her head, spattering against the ground. Her eyes went wide, stunned, as the shadows screeched, and—
Blood like rose petals, dancing on the wind.
Screaming in the streets as thundering footsteps made the walls shiver and shake.
A gentile smile dripping with blood.
"Promise me!"
The Colossal Titan, peering like a malevolent cat over the wall to—
"—The South," she breathed, coming back to herself to find herself rocking slowly back and forth, face coated in blood and Hannes, drink-flushed but serious, kneeling in front of her. Her eyes darted down to the ground nervously, away from his slightly-hazy but concerned eyes. Her apples lay spread out in front of her, her basket overturned. The bloody rock sat innocently at her feet, the ground around it spattered even more now.
"You back with us, kiddo?" Hannes asked her, Aria dragged here gaze from the blood-spattered ground, staring at the Garrison member, before turning her head.
"Something bad is coming," she stated simply, voice quiet but clear. "It'll come from the South…"
"Huh?" Hannes murmured, following her gaze to squint uncertainly to the South, lifting a hand to shield his eyes. "Well, I sure don't see anything, kid… You sure it'll be from the South?" Aria froze, eyes latching onto the soldier, stunned. He...
She, she told him and…
(One Week Previous:
"Oh sure, kid!" The Garrison soldier laughed as his friends sneered at her. "Oh 'something baaaad is gonna happen!' Pull the other leg why dontcha!" he laughed, they all laughed, jeering and mocking her as she stood, eyes locked on the ground and hands in fists at her side.
One of them dumped what was left of his booze over her head, jeeringly stating that at least now she smelled like she had a reason to act crazy. The others laughed harder and Aria turned away slowly to walk home.
She told them but…
(Now)
"But…" She breathed, making Hannes look back to her with a slow blink. "No one, no one e-ever believes me?" She managed, tears slipping from her eyes as she stared at him, eyes wide, and Hannes eyes went wide as well, before gentling. He let out a little huff and reached over to her, just as slow and obvious as her parents, and set a careful hand on her head. It covered her whole head, heavy and real. It made her wounded temple sting and bleed some more, but…
"I may be an alcoholic asshole, kid," he told her easily, gently petting her head. "But I ain't that much of an asshole. Somethin' scares you that bad, makes you freeze in place like a rabbit when a hawk fly's by? That's real enough for me." Aria stared up at him, eyes wide as tears continued to slowly fall, and the blond man huffed. "Come on quit it with the waterworks," he complained, standing up and rolling his eyes, taking his hand from her head.
Moving before she can think, Aria latches onto his hand, clinging to his large, calloused fingers, making the man twitch in surprise, blinking down at her.
"Fourteen days," she told him desperately, her whole-body trembling. Hannes, stared, wide-eyed, stunned as he stared down at that small, bloody face that stared at him with such genuine fear…
"In fourteen days, something horrible will happen," she told him desperately. "It'll, a lotta, p-people, they, their gonna die," she choked, her shaking getting worse. She swayed in place. "F-from th-the South, it, it'll come from the South Wall, you gotta, you gotta believe me," she wept, and Hannes cursed as her eyes started to roll in her head. "P-please b-believe… Me…"
"Hey, hey kid!" Hannes cried, catching her as she fell and cursing as she slumped, unconscious in his arms. Grumbling, he scooped the kid up, grimacing at how light she was. "Christ you're lucky you're cute, kid," he grumbled, absently scooping as many of her apples back into her basket as he could. It took him a bit of maneuvering, but soon enough he had her sprawled against his back, a small frown curling his lips at how hot she felt. "A fever?" He muttered, spitting to the side. "Last damn thing you need, brat," he sighed, shaking his head and making his way toward the Jaeger household. As he walked, he found himself looking off to the South.
"…Fourteen days, huh?" he murmured consideringly, before sighing heavily and continuing forward. "Damn it, I need a drink…"
()()()()()()
One Week Before the Fall…
"Sweetheart, what are you doing awake?" Grisha asked, finding Aria standing in the middle of the kitchen in the middle of the night. He pulled off his glasses to rub at his eyes. "Did you have another nightmare?" Aria stood there, completely still as she stared out the window. It struck Grisha, then, exactly how still she was. He'd grown used to her constant fidgeting, her steady rocking and twitching, her darting eyes. Now, she was like a statue, barely breathing as she stared out towards the South Wall, as she had been for weeks now at every chance. Watching her for a moment, he sighed and walked over to her, making sure his footsteps were clearly heard. Slowly, he knelt next to her, using the pale moonlight to peer into her face. He stilled as he found silvery-blue eyes locked on something unseen, half-lidded but unusually focused.
"…Aria," he said quietly, firmly, staring at her face. "What do you see?" She remained quiet, unmoving, softly breathing, for long enough that Grisha almost sighed again, thinking that she wouldn't answer. Sometimes she didn't, sometimes she couldn't.
"Seven days left," she whispered, soft and scared. "Seven days until… There's… There's so much blood and screaming… So many bodies…" Slowly, she turned her head, staring at her Daddy, silvery-blue eyes suddenly wide. Slowly, she reached for his face, fingertips brushing his bearded cheeks. "Promise me," she breathed, staring intently at him. "Promise me that you'll live…" Grisha's eyes went wide as he stared at her, before tentatively taking her small hands in his.
"I promise," he told her, watching the silver color fade back to the green-gold he preferred to see her with. Aria's shoulders slumped, her lids suddenly heavy. The dark circles beneath her eyes grew darker every year as her visions robbed her of more and more sleep. Gently, he pulled her into his embrace, carefully lifting her up. "Let's get you back to bed, sweetheart."
"Daddy…" she murmured, slumping against his neck as he cradled her close. Grisha made a low sound to show he was listening. "Who… Who's Dina?" Grisha froze, heart stuttering in his chest, eyes wide. Slowly, he turned his head just enough to see his daughters face, only to find her eyes still green-gold and already unfocused with sleep. Swallowing harshly, eyes burning he stroked a gentle hand through her hair.
"Dina was… Was someone I knew," he murmured hoarsely. "Someone I knew a, a long, long time ago… Don't worry about it, Aria," he murmured. "Don't worry about it… Daddy's here, and I promise you don't have to worry about anything, alright? I'm here," he whispered achingly; Aria hummed softly, face against his neck as she faded away into sleep.
Later, laying next to his sleeping wife, Grisha would stare up at the ceiling before lifting an arm to shield his eyes, teeth gritted as he fought back tears.
Dina… he thought, unable not to. Dina…!
Laying on her side, back to her husband, Carla closed her eyes as the sound of her husband crying made her heart ache, his muffled sobs sounding so much louder in their quiet bedroom. And she knew that, whatever their daughter had told him, whispering in the kitchen in the middle of the night, was something she didn't want to know. Rare were the times she'd seen Grisha emotional, and each time it hit like a hammer. Keeping up her feigned sleep, Carla let herself roll over and curl against her husband, who's breath stuttered before he slowly wrapped his arms around her.
That night, neither of them got much sleep.
They rarely did on the nights that Aria shared something with them.
()()()()()()
The Day of the Fall
Aria quietly wandered the street, head bowed, and eyes locked on her feet. It was today, it was today, it was today. The shadows were utterly silent, forming grasping hands and wide-opened maws around every corned, lunging at her after every blink. Eren was out with Mikasa, gathering wood, and the usual bullies were out an about on the other side of Shiganshina, no doubt looking for Armin. She liked the blond boy, he was stronger than he thought. She could see his future self, just a little, and the things he would eventually do…
He was far stronger than anyone gave him credit for.
"The Scouts are back!" A voice called out suddenly, and the people all around her seemed to fall to the wayside, and Aria was swept into the crowd, quickly finding herself standing at the front, watching listlessly as the decimated Scouts wandered through, some horribly injured, some unscathed—Physically, at least. She watched as a woman ran to the scouts, begging for her son. Aria watched as she was given just an arm, as she begged to know that he son didn't fall in vain.
The moment the soldier fell to his knee, screaming about their failure, Aria felt her fears vanish for the first time since she was five. Slowly, she stepped forward, towards the weeping, shaking man. One step, then another, until she was suddenly running forward. The man looked up, the soldiers who had been moving towards him looking up too, just in time for Aria to throw her arms around the man's neck.
"It's okay," she told him, voice soft but clear, squeezing him tightly. "It's okay that you're scared. It's okay that you're scared, that you don't want to fight, that you want the nightmares to not be real. It's okay," she stated, pulling back and leaving her hands on the man's shoulders. She didn't smile, just looked him in the eyes and, for the first time in years, she knew her eyes weren't frightened, weren't skittering or darting, but focused. The soldier, his tear-filled eyes wide, stared back, and Aria let a tear fall as she stepped back from him. In a sharp movement, she locked one fist behind her back, and slammed the other over her heart.
"Despite your fear, despite the anguish and hardship and loss you and your fellow Scouts have gone through, you have continued to serve and work for the best for humanity," she stated clearly, standing tall and steady as she saluted him, holding his eyes as they stared, stunned. "We thank you for your sacrifice!" Aria dropped forward into a bow, holding it under the stunned focus of the soldier, the grieving mother, the other Scouts and the civilians nearby.
"W-what," the soldier managed; Aria straightened.
"Thank you," she stated simply, clearly, before she glanced to the side, just in time to see Mikasa drag Eren into an alley. "Ah," she murmured, "I have to go, my little brother is being an idiot…" Turning, she looked at the wide-eyed, crying woman, and set her hand against the woman's shoulder as she cradled her son's hand. "I'm sorry for your loss," she told the woman simply, quietly. "But thank you, for raising such a brave son." The woman choked, hand covering her mouth as she clutched her son's limb tightly to her chest, fresh tears falling as she bowed her head and wept. Glancing over the Scouts who were still staring, Aria offered them all a short nod before turning and running towards the alley her brother and Mikasa left through.
It's happening today, she thought as she ran down the alley.
The blood and the screams and the death… All of it is happening today… Aria closed her eyes, coming to a stop, panting, already almost home.
And yet, she thought, hands clenching into tight fists at her sides. Hre head lifted, looking up at the sky, eyes wide as a tear slipped down her cheek, watching the birds fly past over head.
And yet, she thought again, green-gold eyes wide and focused even as tears continued to fall and a small smile curled her lips.
This is the most alive I've felt, ever…
()()()()()()
Aria watched as Mikasa chased after Eren again, Mama fretting worriedly at her side.
"Aria, I need you to tell me something," she finally said, kneeling down to grab Aria's shoulders, turning her to look at her, her gold-brown eyes wide and worried; Aria blinked up at her. "I need you to tell me… Tell me you both live, you, your brother, Mikasa, all of you, please, please just tell me you all live, years and years from now…" Aria froze, eyes going wide as she stared up at her Mother.
"I..." She started, staring into those gold-brown eyes, so bright and worried and loving—
(Blood like rose petals on the wind.)
—Ba-thump. Ba-thump.
My heart, Aria thought, staring into her mother's eyes, her hands shivering at her sides. Why… Why does my heart hurt?
"I… I promise," she whispered hoarsely, staring in Mama's eyes. "We, we live for, for years and years… I promise." Carla closed her eyes, letting out a shuddery sigh of relief.
"Thank God," the woman breathed. "Go, Aria. Go try and talk some sense into your brother," she sighed, exhaustedly relieved. "And be careful, please," she whispered; Aria gave a shaky nod, stumbling forward one step before beginning to run. As she ran, she looked over her shoulder, back at her house. For one second, between heartbeats, the scene changed, and Aria felt terror claw at her throat as the vision of a massive boulder crushing their home briefly over-shadowed the warm home she'd been raised in.
Mama… she thought, facing forward with tears in her eyes as she ran. Mama, why… Why does my heart hurt so much?
The shadows dove at her suddenly, massive grasping hands and hissing, smiling mouths that no one else could see. And, even though she could tell they weren't real, Aria found herself dodging them, fleeing from imaginary monsters. It lead her in circles, gasping for breath and soaked through with terrified sweat.
Finally, finally, the shadows retreated, and Aria staggered to a stop, bending over with her hands on her knees as she gasped desperately for air.
"Whoa there, kid," Hannes's voice called, surprised from his seat at a nearby card table. "What the hell have you been runnin' from, huh?"
"Probably some imaginary creature," one of his fellows mocked, gaining a snicker from their third player; Hannes grunted, glaring at them briefly before heaving himself to his feet.
"Shut up, assholes," he grumbled, ambling over to Aria with a slight stagger. "You okay, kid?" He asked; Aria heaved one last big breath and straightened up to answer.
"I'm fi—"
NOW, NOW, NOW, NOW, NOW the shadows screamed, and Aria choked, freezing, staring up at Hannes with huge eyes.
"It's here," she breathed; the blond man blinked.
"What is?" He asked; Aria stared up at him. She lifted a hand slowly, pointing off to the side behind her, trembling faintly. She didn't look, didn't need to look. She already knew what was going to be there.
The Colossal Titan, staring down at them all like a malevolent cat…
The look on Hannes face, as he followed her finger, was all the reaction she needed.
"I told you," she managed to whisper, dragging Hannes's eyes right back to her. She continued to point towards the Colossal, the Shadows silent and still around her, the whole world seeming to hold its breath. "I told you something bad would happen today…"
Now… The shadows sighed; Aria let her hand slowly fall, limp and still at her side and, at the same time, the Colossal Titan kicked down the gate. Shiganshina had been breached.
(Her eyes glow silver-blue for just a moment, just one split second, long enough to give Hannes a frigid chill down his spine, sobering him faster than seeing the massive Titan did)
"I. Told. You," she stated softly, simply. The screams started in the distances, the dangerous shapes of Titans emerging from the dust clouds.
And still, little Aria Jaeger stood staring up at Hannes, for the first time in his memory not looking afraid at all. Just… Solemn. Knowing.
Holy shit, he thought as he stared down at her, terror clutching his chest as he stared down at this little girl. Holy shit! How the fuck did she know?! The Garrison soldier thought, frozen in place, unable to move. And… And…! Staring into those eyes, those sad, old eyes in a little kids face, sweat beaded down his forehead.
What else can she know?!
And then…
There was no time to continue wondering. The Titans were there. And Hell had truly descended.
()()()()()()
A/N: Hope you like it! I tried to keep it in character with a young kid who knows too much, cant actually articulate exactly how horrible the things she sees is to others, and has already experienced a bit of Cassandra Symptoms where no matter how many times she tells the truth, 99% of the world thinks she's lying.
Anyways, tell me what you think!