Eren was most assuredly not great at it. 'It' encompassing pretty much everything.

But that came a little later.

First was the somewhat awkward chit-chat with Jean as Marco ran off to find Hanji. The two of them were friends of course, but not really friends friends, if that made any sense. Eren shook his head. No, that didn't make any sense at all. Still, the fact remained that without the purpose of getting Eren up to Irwin's office or Marco's calming presence between them… they just sort of ended up standing there.

That is, until Eren put his foot in it.

"So why are you with Marco?" he asked and Jean's eyes immediately narrowed.

"The hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing! It's just…"

It's not like he needed to say it. Truthfully, most of it had already been said by the workers bustling around them; their words taunting and laced with disgust. Eren got that relationships weren't based on looks. It was just… It was just that Jean, despite lanky limbs and a face like a horse's ass, was a damn beauty queen next to Marco. The contrast was shocking.

Jean read all of that on Eren's face. His own eyes flickered quickly from potent rage to a tired resignation. Eventually he sighed and scooted closer.

"I'm with him because I love him." His cheeks went tomato red at the admission. "And if you repeat that I'm hanging you up by your thumbs."

Eren nodded, then smirked a little. He was finding that 'fighting' with Jean was a whole lot easier than trying to make small talk with him. More fun too.

"I'd like to see you try, grandpa," he taunted.

"Uh huh," But to his surprise Jean didn't even acknowledge the insult. He just kept staring at the door across the enormous room, the one Marco had left through.

"You ever been in love, kid?" He asked, then snorted. "What am I saying. You're, like, five."

"I'm ten, you dick!"

"Uh huh," he said again. "Well when you do fall in love you'll realize that it's the most god-awful of all awful things. Yep, you heard me right. Screws with your head in ways I would have run screaming from before dying and meeting Marco." Jean shrugged. "It's just… him. He's important. To me, that is. And no, not that self-sacrificing romantic crap of 'oh the love of my life is everything and I am nothing compared to him.' Screw that. Fucking burn it with fire. What I'm saying is that Marco's important: his humor, and his mother henning, and the fact that he likes to put chips in his sandwiches. Weirdo. So yeah, he's important. Not his… I don't know, his components? That's not it… well, what I'm getting at is his looks sure aren't the deal-breaker. Though I'll admit he does have a fantastic ass."

"Oh c'mon!"

Despite his protest Eren couldn't help but be impressed and a little envious too. Dimly he wondered if anyone would describe him like that. So… fondly. His mom probably and maybe Mikasa, if she cared about expressing things in words that much.

And his dad. Despite the scowl it brought to his lips Eren had to concede that. His dad could be a dick sometimes and he was still mad about the move and it was totally his fault that Eren was stuck here… but he did love him.

And… Corporal.

Would Corporal speak fondly of him…?

"You know he chose this." Eren jumped, looking back up at Jean. "He chose that," he repeated, gesturing to his own right side. "What? You think everyone dies young and beautiful?" His hand now moved to flap at everyone around them—the humans looking like they were cruising through their twenties, the rodents with bright, bushy tails peeking out of their uniforms. Eren had to admit that even the frogs looked 'handsome,' if such a thing were possible. Their skin was a healthy lime green and their warts had yet to shrivel. Eren hummed that he saw it.

"Well," Jean said. "That's intentional. I'm 99.9% certain that kitten over there was hit by a truck."

"Ew." She certainly didn't look like road kill now…

"Right? Bodily control isn't easy here but stay long enough and everyone gets the hang of it eventually. There are rules of course, you can only look like how you did before—an age you passed through for example, can't go looking like you're eighty if you never reached eighty, but yuck who would want to—so people generally try to look their best; the best they looked in life anyway." Jean's gaze returned to that door. "Not Marco though. That's what the landmine did to him."

Eren sucked in a sharp breath.

"Yeah. Real pretty huh? Sometimes I think about…" Jean swallowed hard. "You know. Being alone out there… bleeding…" He gave an uncomfortable twitch and laughed. "I was in an accident and as far as I was aware, it was instant. Nothing like what he went through. Hell, our deaths weren't anything alike but our lives were polar opposites too. Marco at least died doing something. I… Well, I didn't amount to much."

"You're something now." It took Eren a second to realize he was the one who'd said that.

"You think so?"

"Yeah, I guess… Maybe."

Jean snorted. "Thanks for the confidence, but no. Marco's the only reason I'm 'something' as you put it. I walked in here, tried to sail by just like I did in life… you can imagine how that went over with… you know." His eyes drifted to the ceiling, towards the upstairs.

The rest of Jean's body curled in on itself and his right arm rose to rub at his left. He noticed Eren starring.

"Broke it once. Well, I didn't—he's just… been known to… to get physical."

Eren grit his teeth. He hadn't seen Corporal's team up in that tree but he could picture them pretty clear. Now he could picture Jean too.

"Why do you think I didn't want a pip-squeak like you facing off against him?" Jean groused. "Anyway, he was dissatisfied with my work. He then tried 'rehabilitating' me, which worked out about as well as you'd expect. Marco swooped in like some adorable wannabe guardian angel, trying to 'save' me, and I said hell no to that shit… but we got talking, started dating…" Jean smiled.

"I'm a good worker," he said, something like pride sweeping over his face. "One of the managers now, you know. I coordinate all the different teams—cooking, washing, greeting the guests— but I work because I want to. At first, yeah, it was just to make Marco happy but now it's for me too. Irwin's got fuck all to do with it."

"Good," Eren said.

"Ha. Dark, depressing backstory not too much for you?"

"No." Despite the truth behind that Eren found himself rubbing sweaty palms over his pant legs. His meeting with Irwin could have gone very, very differently. He'd gotten off easy, hadn't he? And he was only just beginning to realize that.

"Sometimes I think that's why he does it," Jean said.

Eren was still lost in yesterday's possibilities. "Huh?"

"Marco. Why he chooses to look like that—keeping the injuries he died from. Sometimes I think it's a message. Irwin's not the only strong one around here."

"Irwin's not what?"

Both of them jumped at Marco's voice directly behind them. Jean had just opened his mouth—to say who only knew what—when he was half plowed over by a very frantic Hanji.

"Jean! Where, where's—there you are!"

Eren was swept into her arms, squawking at the indignity of it all. He tried signing for help but Marco just laughed at him. Jean looked like he was still trying to get his breath back.

Luckily she dropped him back on his feet. Then the shaking began.

"Where have you been?! I woke up and you weren't there and I thought, 'oh no, maybe the human had a bad dream and wandered off, or maybe the human is sleep walking! You guys do that sometimes, don't you? I've read about it. Did you sleep walk,… uh… erm… what's your name again?"

"Shifter," Eren gasped.

"Oh," Hanji frowned. "That's right. I still liked your other name better though. Don't remember what it was but it had to be better than 'Shifter,' you were right about that. Where you sleep walking, Shifter?"

"No!"

"Awww, really? I was kind of hoping you were. That would have been so cool. Humans do sleepwalk though, right? Do you think you could maybe make yourself sleepwalk? I'd love to see what it's like. I won't let you walk off a cliff or anything."

Jean and Marco snickered but Eren pointed a stern finger in Hanji's face. He'd seen his mom do it plenty of times before and, miraculously, it got Hanji to shut up too.

"No," he said again. "No, no, no. And why do you want to see something like that anyway? Hanji, you were human! You know this stuff. Just how long ago did you die?"

Eren thought he was being clever—he understood this place now, she couldn't keep up the 'oh humans are mysterious and miraculous' act anymore—but to his surprise Hanji just stared at him.

"Human," she said slowly. "I was never a human." Hanji suddenly grinned at his baffled expression. "Aww, how presumptuous! Just because I've got a human body now doesn't mean I was human; and not all spirits that look human identify as human in their past life! Really now, haven't you ever heard the phrase? If you assume something it makes an ass out of u and me." She grabbed his hand, tugging him sharply. "Now, we've wasted enough time on your silly presumptions. The work period started twenty minutes ago!"

Eren was dragged away, Marco and Jean cheekily waving him goodbye. Somehow, knowing that he was being kidnapped by a spirit-cum-something was even worse than just plain Hanji.

"And while we work you can explain human sleep patterns! Is it true you all drool?"

Okay. Maybe Hanji was worse.

"So what were you before?" Eren asked, puffing to keep up.

"Nah, nah I'm not telling."

"C'mon, please!" Outside of the dinner table Eren rarely used the 'p' word. All it did though was get Hanji to turn around and stick her tongue out at him.

"Tell you what, do good work today and maaaaaybe I'll tell you."

"Promise?"

"Never."

With a scowl Eren gave her hand a vicious squeeze, to which Hanji only laughed. However, despite the banter his stomach was starting to knot itself up again.

He'd done work around the house but not work like this, and Jean's comments were still tripping in the back of his mind, and Eren really wished that he could at least see Corporal because he knew he was supposed to be doing something, something to help Mom and Dad and Mikasa, but he didn't know what—yes he was making friends—but that wasn't enough, that was stupid, and—

Eren took a deep breath.

"You okay?" Hanji asked. She looked down at their linked hands. No doubt she could feel him shaking; just a little.

"I…"

'don't know' was the honest answer but Eren's throat closed up.

Hanji smiled reassuringly. "You'll be great," she said, unconsciously echoing Marco's words. "Now cheer up! I've got a surprise for you."

"Surprise?" But Hanji just pulled him along and soon the mob of workers—shouting and yawning and bitching already—drowned the both of them out. Eren decided to focus on not getting trampled.

They picked up buckets, rags, and breakfast for Hanji along the way. Entering a cavernous room Hanji easily flipped a tag with her name on it, indicating that she was starting her workday. Mouth open, Eren realized that there was already another tag with "Shifter" on it… but it had been placed on the top of eight rows. Was Irwin petty enough, childish enough, to do that on purpose? Probably. Either way he couldn't reach it and after struggling a second too long Eren was unceremoniously pushed aside.

"Move it, human!"

Nice.

There was little time to worry about it though. Eren didn't have to go far. He and Hanji hung out on the side of the room while all the other workers tramped through. There were hundreds of them, all signing in and forking off to different areas of the bathhouse. It was only when the last straggler had sprinted through that Eren glanced up at Hanji. The silence after all those spirits was a little deafening.

"Now what?" He asked.

She held up her bucket. "Now we scrub," and she gestured to the filthy floor.

"… Great." Eren actually got a look at how huge the room was. "Fuck. Just the two of us?"

"Oh no—Krista?" A tiny blond suddenly appeared, poking her head out of a side door. She smiled as Hanji shook her empty bucket. "Water?"

"Sure thing. Ymir, help me with these, yeah? And we nee—Bertolt!" A huge crash suddenly sounded, making Eren jump. From through the side door Krista's tiny voice rose in volume. "Can you not?! How many times have I told you to watch where you're walking when you're—oh no, Bertolt, don't you dare, no no no no eeeeeee!"

Krista came barreling back in, followed closely by the tallest man Eren had ever seen. The bottom half of his uniform was drenched, his own empty bucket slung over one wrist, and he was running after Krista, attempting to hug her even as his shy smile belayed the confident action. They were both followed closely by two others: a fierce looking, dark skinned girl and a grinning man who appeared as strong as Bertolt was tall.

Krista shrieked as Bertolt succeeded in smearing a wet hand across her shoulders. "Reiner!" She yelled. "Get ahold of your boyfriend."

"Only if you protect me from your girlfriend," the guy said, side-eyeing the other girl. She simply raised an eyebrow, to which Reiner raised his hands. Eren was so engrossed in their drama that he hardly noticed when Hanji crouched to speak against his ear.

"We often work together," she said, gesturing to the five of them combined. "I specifically asked that they help me with the scrubbing today. You know, just to have some… friends around." Eren went still. "That's Bertolt, Reiner, Ymir is the cranky looking one, and that over there is Krista…" Hanji's lips barely moved. "Previously named Historia."

Eren jumped, spun, but by then Hanji had already straightened, looking entirely innocent except for the finger that flew briefly to her lips. She winked.

But what…? Historia. Formerly Historia… now named it be that there were others here who'd had their names stolen, just like him?

Eren stared at the group. The four of them were still poking and prodding one another playfully. Of course there were others. Hadn't Corporal himself said that Irwin did this to those he truly considered a threat? That it was a way of ensuring they could never really leave? What better way to control someone than by keeping them close by?

Feeling slightly numb Eren watched as Krista danced backwards from Bertolt, her smile huge and her ponytail bouncing. So… her then? Really? What had this teeny tiny blond done to earn the wrath of a powerful sorcerer? Had she overloaded him with her cute?

And how had she gotten her name back? Why hadn't she left? Maybe, Eren figured, she was here for the same sort of reason he was.

Family.

"All right, you lot, listen up!" Hanji yelled. She slammed her own bucket against Eren's chest, making him stumble. "Introductions and so forth—this is Shifter." Her voice suddenly dropped from authoritative to cooing. "Isn't he just precious?"

The other girl, Ymir, snorted. "Precious. Right."

"Oh I think he is." Krista slipped forward, her bare feet silent against the wood floors. When they were head to head Eren was able to see that even Corporal had a good fifteen centimeters on her; she was tiny, delicate too, with wrists and ankles that looked as if they could be snapped like dry twigs.

And yet… when her gaze met his it was anything but timid. Just the opposite. It was fierce, like a wild animal only a fool would consider defenseless. Krista settled her feet and opened her eyelids wide, and Eren knew that, despite her smiles, she expected him to look away first. He did, sadly right at the massive Reiner. He too smiled.

"It's lovely to meet you, Shifter." Krista said. Eren flinched as Hanji scuttled forward.

"Ah, maybe try to avoid using his… 'name'?" She said, fiddling with her shirt. "No real reason to of course, just… well what can I say? Humans are funny, huh? Absolutely funny."

Krista nodded. There was real understanding there, the kind Eren had only found so far from Corporal. "Understood. Then in that case it's simply nice to meet you." She held out a hand.

"Oh," Eren said. He scrambled to take hold. "You too, Historia."