They eventually made their way back to the bridge. Legs tired, they dangled their feet over the water below, Eren removing his sneakers lest they tumble away. Corporal had assured him that with Irwin away on business it would remain day for some time and everyone would continue to sleep. Only when he returned would night fall again and the bathhouse would reopen.

"Business?" Eren asked. Corporal waved his hand dismissively.

"Don't ask, brat, because I don't know. Something nefarious, no doubt."

"… Nefarious?"

"Means evil."

"Right."

Between them, balanced against one of the bridge's supports, was a goopy mess of rice and meat. Eren's tumbling hasn't exactly left the food he'd gotten unscathed. It was only when he'd finally calmed down a bit that he'd realized there were grains dribbling out from the underside of his shirt. Now the most they could do was pick out bits that weren't ruined by sweat or grass. Corporal popped a piece of salmon in his mouth and grimaced.

"This is fucking disgusting." He said. "Unhygienic..."

Normally Eren would have cared less, he'd eaten his dad's attempts at cooking after all, but even he pushed the mush aside with distaste. It wasn't like he was actually hungry because yeah, he got the whole evil—nefarious—thing. Nefarious was stealing your family away, turning them into monsters, and then leaving the youngest child picking at food he'd hoped to give to his sister. There was still a sliver of ice down in Eren's stomach, a remnant of being in the same room as that prick. Next to it, smaller but no less potent, was a flare of heat similar to disappointment. This wasn't how stories were supposed to work. Irwin was the bad guy. Duh. So didn't that mean there was supposed to be someone good too? Really good—like a hero? Eren side-eyed the Corporal. Turned out things were a little more complicated than that.

Eren grabbed a whole handful of their meal and tossed it into the river. They watched it crumble in the water and float away.

"This is bullshit," he muttered.

"You're telling me, brat."

Only the one support beam separated them. Eren wound his arms around the wood until his hand brushed Corporal's sleeve. He seemed surprised by that deliberate contact.

"Not scared of me?" Corporal asked.

"Not really." Eren shrugged as well as he could. For all the sleep he'd gotten he was feeling pretty exhausted now. Staying angry took more energy than he had to spare. "You did what you needed to do. I guess."

Corporal nodded.

"Sooooo… I'm, you know. Right?" It wasn't much of a question but Corporal understood. His name. Eren. It had been slipping from him ever since he'd tried telling it to Hanji, hours before, but the more he thought it now, the more familiar it felt to him again. Like a sweater you thought too small but really, it just fit a little snug now, close and surprisingly comfortable. Eren wrapped his name around him in a similar manner. It felt good, having a connection back to his old life, even if he still couldn't say it out loud.

Everything else was gone… at least for now. Well, everything but his name and a pair of ratty, stained sneakers. Eren knocked them together petulantly.

"I can't believe I forgot my own name," he muttered.

"I told you, kid. You didn't forget it."

"Whatever."

They lapsed into silence again. It wasn't awkward exactly but a lot had been said and now small-talk just seemed kind of… small. Eventually Corporal cursed and scrubbed a hand over his eyes. Eren noted that the left the arm that was touching him stayed where it was.

"Just don't go spreading it around, kid." Corporal said. "Even if you find a way to. Keep your name close, fucking guard it okay? But don't let that bastard know you've remembered. He'll just take it away again, stronger this time, and then you'll need even more help when you're heading home. It's not worth it."

'When.' Corporal may not have done everything right but at least that was reassuring. Still, Eren didn't have to like the rest of the shit that came out of his mouth. He grimaced.

"You mean I gotta go by 'Shifter' still?"

"Yep."

"But it's so stupid!"

Corporal snorted into his arm. "Fucking really? Wow, and here I thought it was the name of the century…"

"Go fuck yourself."

"What a mouth on you. I'm almost proud. Really, kid. You gonna try threatening me now? That'll be embarrassing for the both of us. Entertaining though."

"You know," Eren growled. "For a guy preaching about friendship like a Wallmart card, you're not too great at making friends yourself."

"Shut it."

"Seriously though, maybe if you smiled a bit or, you know, grew an inch—" Eren shrieked as a handful of rice was smashed against the side of his face. He retaliated with a bit of pork and before he knew it they were having an intense—if small—food fight, their arms weaving in and out of the bridge's supports. When all was said and done Eren had far more food in his hair than he'd bothered to eat. Corporal immediately took out his handkerchief and began brushing ineffectively at his clothes.

"Thanks for that, brat. Now I need to bathe. Disgusting."

"You need to bathe? I haven't showered since the morning I got here."

Corporal adopted an expression of horror. "For fuck's sake. You live in a bathhouse."

"And when have I had time to take a bath? Huh?"

Corporal let out a pained noise that wasn't exactly agreement, but it was close enough. He continued to pick food out of the creases in his shirt, tossing them down into the water below. Eren watched them fall. Of course, looking down he couldn't help but notice how much farther his legs stretched than a certain spirit's, which set him to snickering again. Corporal's eyes narrowed.

"Go ahead, brat. Laugh it up. But if you start calling me 'Shorty' again I'll shove you straight into the river."

Instinctually, Eren glanced down again, at the water below, only this time he wasn't laughing. The current wasn't strong by any means but there was still enough strength that a small boy might be swept away. Through the clear eddies Eren could see a bed of rocks, looking deceptively soft under layers of moss. Sun or no sun, the entire picture looked cold. And yes, the space between the bridge's supports was more than large enough that Eren could fall through, if pushed. He tightened his arm around the beam and scooted his butt back.

"…please don't." He said.

"Right. Fuck." Corporal raised both hands in surrender. "I didn't mean..."

The fear was already receding so Eren bit down on the, "It's okay" and instead hid his smile against the back of his wrist. It was a little satisfying, wasn't it? Watching Corporal squirm.

"We're not so great at this, huh?" He admitted softly, nibbling at a bit of skin. "I don't really have friends at home. Just Hannes and Mikasa. 'Course, I don't think I'll get to see Hannes much now that we've moved, and Mikasa…" Eren trailed off. It's not like he needed to say it. Corporal nodded anyway.

"Petra's better at this stuff," he grumbled. He gestured between them.

"Petra?"

"Pretty blond spirit up in Irwin's office. You must have seen—"

"Yes!" Eren gasped and pulled himself up, moving to squeeze in directly next to Corporal. It was a tight fit, with Eren's left thigh overlapping with Corporal's right, but neither seemed to mind terribly. He grasped at Corporal's sleeve, tugging impatiently.

"I can't believe… I—I just forgot, okay? But listen. She was there. Along with a bunch of other guys…"

"Gunther," Corporal agreed. "Erd, Mike, and Oluo. They're my—"

"Team," Eren finished. He grinned, widely and true, for the first time since seeing his family again. "I know! Petra said…" Eren glanced upwards, half expecting Irwin to come flying back, swooping down upon them like some sort of vengeful bird. When the sky remained clear of anything but clouds he whispered, "She said she's loyal, Corporal. They all are. To you. Always, she said. Always."

Eren cleared his throat thickly. For all his teasing about mushy friendship stuff it was pretty cool that Corporal had not just one but five people upstairs pulling for him. What did that take? To be Irwin's 'personal assistants' day after day and not just… give up? A hell of a lot, probably. If he was being completely honest with himself, it probably took more courage than Eren was entirely sure he had. He wondered, feeling partly sick and mostly hopeful, if Hanji would do something like that for him: brave a sorcerer's wrath to get a message to him. Though then again… hadn't she already? Her obsession aside, she'd still hidden Eren long before he'd gotten an official job. She'd taken him right back again too. Surely that counted for something.

"She must like you," Corporal said. At first Eren thought he'd read his mind—stranger things had happened around here—but then he continued, "Petra's the damn smartest spirit here. She wouldn't have given you that message if she didn't trust you." Corporal bumped his shoulder. "Must have done something right in that meeting, fuck up."

"Thanks. I think."

"Oi, I'm being serious here, brat. Everyone's a fuck up, okay? Myself included. You know that now but you really think you're the first person I've let down?" He said it so casually, like they were discussing boring, everyday events. Eren swallowed. "You were right about one thing though. Me, Petra, Erd… all of us were a team. Close. A little too fucking close it turned out." Corporal's hands tightened against the wood. "We didn't have anything planned of course. You can't just walk out of this shit hole, not without your name, but Irwin's a paranoid bastard if ever there was one. He decided to make a right fucking example of us."

"How?" Eren asked. It came out a squeak. And no wonder, his throat was bone dry.

In answer Corporal pointed to a grove of trees down by the bathhouse's main entrance, just a little to the left. He didn't actually look at it though. It hit Eren then that no matter what Irwin had done there he'd chosen a place where it would be seen by workers and clients alike.

"They just disappeared one day, for a couple of hours. Eventually I followed the chaos out here and found them. Fucking broken, kid."

"Were they dead?" Wait. What a stupid question. They were already spirits. They couldn't die. … Could they?

Eren shivered. What would happen if you tried to kill a spirit? Strangled one like Irwin had threatened to strangle him?

"No." Corporal said, interrupting his thoughts. "They were broken though, like I said. Fucking literally. Gunther was hanging in the tree. Petra was thrown up against its trunk. Oluo, Mike, and Erd were all on the ground, contorted." Corporal's lips twisted in a reminiscent manner. "There was blood all over the place. A few teeth too. Took weeks for them to heal, kid. Not a pretty sight let me tell you. Fuck no."

Irwin was tall and had looked strong—there were definitely muscles hidden under that shirt—but to take on five other spirits at once…

"How did he…?"

"Magic." Corporal twirled his hand mockingly. "I fucking hate the stuff. Unnatural if you ask me. Well," he amended. His eyes drifted around them, from the too vibrant flowers to the extended day. Most of it was beautiful. "It's unnatural for one person to have so much. Especially when they're a dipshit."

"But didn't you perform magic?" Eren blurted. He withered a bit under the sharp glare. "I mean, when we met. The second time. You got that… thing off my legs."

Corporal nodded, his shoulders relaxing. "Binding spell. Removing enchantments is a bit different from casting them though."

"And the bridge…?"

"That spell was already in place. I just took advantage."

"Right. I understand."

"No you don't." Eren's hip was nudged good-naturedly as Corporal stood. "Besides, if I could cast spells I would have used one to make that slop you served me edible. C'mon now. Enough chit and fucking chat. I don't know when Irwin's returning and if he spots us out here we're toast. That is, burned to a crisp and made into someone's breakfast. Move your ass, brat."

Eren thought briefly about asking if he had to… but he already knew he did. So it was with a heavy sigh that he hoisted himself to his feet, kicking the remaining food into the water. They made their way across the bridge and Eren was proud to say that he only faltered once, pausing to look back. He couldn't see the barn from here but he knew it was there; he could feel the weight of Mikasa's gaze.

"Do they know what's happening? What's been done to them?" He asked.

"No, kid. All they know is instinct."

"You're sure?"

Corporal slowed until they were side by side. "Whatever you think you saw, you didn't. They'd eat you in a heartbeat. No regret. They don't even understand regret, kid. Your mom, your dad, your sis—"

"Yeah, yeah. I got it."

They walked on, Eren hesitating about what to say next. "You said before… about my name. I'm going to need it to leave?"

"Yep."

"Well I've got it now."

The word 'Eren' kept skimming the surface of his mind, tripping along like something foreign. There was an odd pull between the natural feeling that came with his name—as well as all the memories attached to it—and the residue of Irwin's magic, telling him that it was wrong, wrong, wrong. Eren scratched at his hair. If he focused on it too much his head began to hurt; a dull ache that spread upwards from the base of his spine. It seemed best to just let the word rest there, somewhere far behind his eyes. Because it did seem far. Just shuffling along Eren had the sense that he didn't know his name, but he also knew that it wasn't fucking 'Shifter.' He couldn't see it, it didn't trip easily off his tongue, and all those memories where his mom was calling him in for dinner or Mikasa was chastising him after another fight… their voices were silenced as soon as his name came up. Still, if he reached, just a little, it was there. Hiding snug between simmering anger and endless worry. That hidden bit of knowledge was power. Not a lot—not compared to a sorcerer—but it was more than he'd had this morning.

"I could leave," Eren finished.

"…Maybe." Corporal agreed. "You'd never have your name again, not fully, and Irwin would sure as hell find you… but simply leave? You probably could. But you won't."

No he wouldn't.

Never, ever.

They'd reached the main entrance and still there was no one else in sight. Eren looked briefly for his new friend with the markings, thinking he could introduce him to Corporal, but even he had disappeared. However, despite the silence Corporal tilted his head, like a dog catching a scent.

"I need to go," he said.

"Irwin?"

"No. Not yet. But other shit needs doing... You okay?"

"Not really," Eren answered honestly. "It's fine."

"Not it's not, but it might be. Just don't fuck things up."

"Gee. Thanks."

"Welcome." Eren wasn't entirely sure if Corporal was being sarcastic or not. With a nod he bent his knees, preparing to flit away once more. Feeling remarkably calm Eren stretched out a hand and rested it on Corporal's arm before he could disappear.

"What's your name?" he asked.

The muscles beneath his fingers stiffened into iron. It wasn't anger or even evasion, just… sadness. Engrained deep beneath the skin. Eren suddenly knew exactly what the answer was going to be.

"Fuck if I know. See you, kid."

Corporal leapt, coming down to hover a few inches off the ground, and then he sped off, heading back towards that horrible barn. Eren watched him go until he disappeared over the rise.

It was stupid, wasn't it? In the back of his mind, occupying the same space as the word 'Eren,' he would swear that there was the thinnest remains of a memory, one telling him that he'd once known the Corporal's name, years before. Which was stupid, stupid. They'd only just met and Eren would have sworn, despite having lost his own, that he'd have remembered Corporal's name. He just would have. Magic or no magic.

So obviously he'd never known the Corporal's name… right? Still, Eren half wanted to call him back, if only so that they might try and remember together.

Instead he turned to trudge back inside but something, an awareness between the two of them perhaps, encouraged Eren to look back at the last moment. He almost called out anyway—Irwin would still be gone for a while longer, surely he could help Corporal with whatever job he had—but Eren's voice withered and died in his throat. It was replaced with a slow, silent gasp.

There was something flying up in the sky. It wasn't a bird and he was pretty sure that planes would never come this way. Although, Eren had never actually seen a plane. He'd come across plenty of pictures in books but the majority of the real ones had been used in the war and were now either destroyed or decommissioned. So it could be a plane… it was silver like metal, staggeringly large, and was moving at an impressive pace. Maybe…

But no. As it got closer Eren could see how it moved. That wasn't a machine; it was definitely alive and whatever it was had teeth.

Eren backed up a step, only to change his mind and rush forward the second he identified what it was.

"That's a dragon!" Eren cried.

Long and thin, it twisted through the air with the agility of a snake through water. Eren watched it twirl, mesmerized by the flash of sunlight across its scales. He felt like he knew their texture; could feel them skimming over the pads of his fingers, satisfyingly rough. Beneath their warmth from the sun they would be cool and thrumming with energy, the tactile version of guzzling soda on a hot summer day. Eren wanted to touch, so badly that he blinked and found himself actually reaching upwards until reality set in. The desire turned into a need though when the dragon darted and Eren finally saw its face. He recognized those eyes.

"Corporal!"

He flew towards the bridge, the end of his tail lashing through the air and turning him sharply. For a moment Eren thought that he'd actually get his wish; that he'd get to touch something so amazing, verify that it was real. Maybe Corporal would even give him a ride. Just a quick one. Forget airplanes! What would it feel like to race along the sky with only a dragon beneath him? Far better than any sprint, that was for sure. Corporal was so close now and Eren was already anticipating the rush of wind around them, the breathless moment as they rose through the clouds and then plummeted down… but at the last second Corporal dove—without him—plunging beneath the water. He came up on the other side of the bridge—along with a cloud of water so large it drenched Eren and everything else nearby.

"Hey!"

Coughing he wrung out his shirt indignantly. This was not the kind of bath he'd been talking about. Corporal shook his head at Eren and sped away. If dragons could laugh—and if Corporal's did too—he'd probably would have been cackling.

"You could have at least told me you were a dragon, you dick!"

Thrumming with cold and energy, Eren screamed obscenities until said dragon was just another speck of light in the distance.

Eren laid down on the bridge for a while, trying to dry out in the sun. He sort of hoped that No-Face would show up again but the only one who bothered coming by was a croaking toad. Not one of the anthropomorphic kind though. Eren spent a good ten minutes eyeing the thing, even throwing out a few insults—"Did you inherit those warts from your mother?"—until he determined that, yes, it was actually just a normal toad. Weird.

After that Eren only continued to lie there. It wasn't that he wanted to act like a useless lump, it was more that there were too many things he wanted to do. His left arm pointed towards where Corporal had flown off, wanting to follow. His right leg stretched towards the barn, where Eren knew he shouldn't, couldn't, return to. The rest of him shivered with anxious energy, the desire to do something, but not having a clue what to do.

Do your job, Corporal had said. Make allies. Make friends…

Yeah. Easier said than done, especially when everyone else was still asleep.

Eren thought briefly about drifting back off himself… but not here. Despite the bridge's width he shook at the thought of rolling over in his sleep, slipping through the rungs, waking up a second before he hit the water.

"Hell no," Eren muttered and rolled to his feet.

The main entrance was right there, but Eren didn't much feel like braving the bathhouse's labyrinth upper stories. After everything, a more familiar space was called for. Boiler room it was then. Maybe he could 'accidentally' knock something over, wake up Sasha and Connie, and the three of them could do something that didn't involve threats or curses.

Eat, hopefully. Eren scowled as his stomach thundered. Bits of creamed rice just didn't cut it and if anyone in this place had food to spare it would be those two. Decision made, he started leisurely strolling back towards his friends.

Eren was unaware of another spirit already following him, its marked mouth pulled back in a smile.