Eren realized what he'd said four syllables too late. The moment Krista's real name spilled from his lips four pairs of eyes went wide. Hanji clamped a hand over his mouth and in an instant Ymir was between him and Krista, raising her brush like a weapon. The two boys also edged closer defensively, though they appeared more hesitant to outright threaten him. Only Krista remained still. She didn't even blink.

For a long moment there was no movement in the room… except for a statue of a lynx over on the far table that slowly turn its head. Its marbled ears perked up like it had caught the scent of prey and a growl emerged from deep within its throat. Eren shivered. The sound wasn't anything like what a living cat would make; like shards of broken glass rubbing together. The lynx didn't seem capable of leaving the table though. It prowled from end to end a few times, it's ceramic feet tip-tap, tip-tapping, but eventually its ears relaxed again and it laid down. Head upon its paws the lynx stared at them with its gemmed eyes. Only when those eyes went dim did the six of them dare to speak.

"You told him?" Krista said calmly. Her voice was barely a whisper. Eren could feel Hanji nodding in response, her huge hand still plastered over his lips and chin. The rest of him was no better, given that they'd formed a tight ball where Bertolt stood high enough to look menacingly down on his head while Ymir's brush was just an inch from his throat. Eren wasn't sure whether she intended it that way or not.

"Haven't you been keeping up?" Hanji asked in turn. "He needs to know."

"Needs?" Ymir hissed, but Krista silenced her with a look.

"Yeah, 'needs.'" Hanji's voice dropped even lower, her speech picking up speed. "From what I understand it was an accident, yeah, human? His family fell into one of Irwin's traps. For the love of—he's not even dead. He doesn't belong here and neither do his folks; he's got a younger sister too if that helps build some sympathy." Hanji glared at Ymir. The darker girl was slowly lowering her brush. "If that's not enough for you, you should also know that he was picked up personally by Corporal. Are you going to start questioning his judgment too? Listen, things are… changing around here." Hanji said 'changing' like it was a word to be feared. And yes, everyone went still when they heard it. "I really think we need to tell him about—"

"Hey, why aren't you lot working?"

Learn about what? Too late to find out. At the sound of that voice their little ball sprang apart and all of them scrambled to look innocent. At first Eren didn't know who'd shouted at him… until he looked down. It was that frog, the tiny one that had startled him on the bridge. He put his green hands on his hips even as Reiner pushed forward to calmly explain.

"Now, Moblit, we were just…"

"Shove off, pond scum."

It was Ymir. She moved her brush from Eren's face to Moblit's skinny green arms and snagged his empty bucket right off his wrist. Eren moved aside to let her. Ymir had a certain cuteness to her just like Krista, with a button nose and a scattering of freckles across her cheeks, but he never again wanted her wrath aimed his way. Moblit seemed to be of the same mind because he began hopping backwards, his hands wrung out in front of him like rags.

"You can't speak to me that way." He had a squeaky, nervous voice.

"Can't I?" With little ceremony Ymir dropped the bucket on top of Moblit, from which issued a long wail and froggy squawk. She raised her bare foot to give it a good kick but Eren instinctually lunged forward, throwing himself on top of her arm to stop her. She glared down at his hand and Eren forced himself to tighten his fingers rather than backing off.

"Does he really deserve that?" He asked.

Ymir tugged her arm away and crossed both firmly over her chest. Moblit started beating against the bucket's side, though all it did was create a faint vibration. Faintly, Eren could feel the others behind him, staring, but he kept his eyes locked with Ymir's.

"Yeah," she drawled. "Probably does."

"Really? You're absolutely sure? Because... because…"

Eren didn't want to say 'Irwin,' not out loud, especially not when that lynx was still there, no doubt biding its time to catch a mistake; some word that would trip the magic and make it come alive again. Instead, he simply gestured upwards as he'd seen Marco do. Ymir raised an eyebrow and Eren huffed. She really didn't get it.

"He's a bully," Eren emphasized. His eyes jumped to the statue. "He's hurting everyone because he's stronger than us and he can." Eren pointed at the bucket. "Are you any better?"

"No," she said easily, but Krista moved forward to tug at her sleeve.

"Yes you are. We all are, or at least we strive to be. Shifter," Krista nodded in apology for using the name. "He's right. Besides, I can personally vouch for Moblit. He's… neutral."

"Neutral is dangerous."

"Nevertheless."

It was as if a decree had been issued. Everyone backed off a step, even Ymir, though she did so with a frustrated roll of her eyes. She tried to push past but Krista snagged her waist, refusing to move. Finally, after another eye roll that held an entirely different emotion, Ymir bent to kiss her. Reiner and Bertolt snickered.

"As if you two are any better," Krista said easily. She moved to grasp the top of the bucket. Frantic cries were still issuing from within and she hesitated right before raising it.

Krista turned to Hanji. "I agree," she said. "To a certain extent. Maybe he should know." Krista's gaze jumped to Eren and she lifted her chin, her expression tightening into something sharp. "But we're not discussing it here, Hanji; not now. You know better than that."

To Eren's surprise Hanji only shrugged, her own expression drained of all its usual happiness. She didn't say a word to argue or apologize, only moved to tighten an arm protectively around Eren's shoulders. He blinked up at her.

"As for you…"

Eren turned back towards Krista. "I won't say it again," he murmured and she nodded.

"Good."

She flipped the bucket over and Moblit came flying out. He hopped frantically in a circle before finally skidding to a stop after tripping over his own feet. His robe was a mess.

"You… you…"

"Now, Moblit." Krista's voice had gone sweet as honey. "We're so sorry about that. It was an accident. We apologize for not getting to work sooner too. Now that we've got the water we'll get started right away." Reiner held up the full buckets he'd brought, triumphantly. "In fact, here." Krista dipped her own shirt into the water, coming back to gently scrub at Moblit's face. He gulped, shaking a bit beneath her hands. "Better, right?"

Moblit's face had taken on three extra shades of green. Sensing her advantage, Krista bent to kiss his forehead. He croaked pathetically.

"You'll let us work now, yeah?"

He nodded and with a few dazed looks back he scurried off. If Eren had ever wanted to know what a frog's hopping looked like while drunk, this was it.

"Nicely done," Reiner purred.

Ymir gagged. "I'm not kissing you anymore."

"Liar. C'mon, let's just get some work done before… before anything else happens."

All of them moved as one. Reiner started dividing his water into the other buckets while Bertolt handed out more rags. Krista and Ymir moved to the opposite side of the room, their heads bent in conversation. They weren't exactly subtle and Eren felt a sudden, irrational surge of anger.

They were keeping something else from him now, Hanji too. That wasn't surprising of course. Oh no, not at all. They had every reason to keep their secrets. It was only Eren's family on the line. Two silent weirdos, a crazy lady, and a girl who strut around like she was a queen; they were obviously oh so more important than any lowly humans—

Hanji's fingers brushed against his neck. She smiled a little sadly.

"That… could have gone better," she admitted. "Sorry, I just… they'll like you, okay? I hoped they'd be willing to help. Sooner. I jumped in too soon."

Remembering Krista's name and how he'd so casually tossed it out was like a punch to the gut. Eren ducked his head.

"… Maybe they still will."

"That's the spirit!"

Getting Hanji back to her usual, bubbly self was certainly no hardship and soon enough the six of them were hard at work, smiles carefully plastered on all their faces. Well, Eren might have frowned out of frustration once or twice. Apparently scrubbing a floor the size of a ballroom was easier said than done.

"Haven't you ever worked before?" Bertolt asked as he ran by. The speed at which he passed meant he missed the scowl Eren threw his way.

The truth was he had worked before… but nothing like this. Chopping veggies in the kitchen, folding laundry, catching that one spider that managed to scare Mom half to death; all of those things were pretty much solo tasks. Once Mikasa had arrived she helped too but the labor was always divided equally between the two of them, with no real need for communication. Here, however, teamwork was key.

"On your right!" Krista called and Eren dodged to let her pass. Really, at this point it was best if he just stayed put. They'd started out spaced evenly across the room, with each spirit—or human—responsible for roughly one sixth of the floor. Rags against the ground and butts in the air (Hanji kept smacking his behind and chortling), they ran in an awkward crouch that only managed to slow Eren down and made him trip over his own feet. Not to mention that an unpleasant ache was developing in his calves. Ideally, everyone moved in sync vertically across the floor, cleaning the space between them and their partner, moving steadily to the right; stopping only to replenish their water and take the occasional breath. In reality everyone moved together except for Eren who, after Krista flew by, simply walked off, chucking his rag in a bucket for good measure. It hardly took them another fifteen minutes to finish and by then Eren was convinced that the first half had only taken twenty minutes because of him.

Ymir whipped him with her rag.

"Ow! Stop it."

"You're useless."

"I'm not so sure." Reiner grinned at him, slinging his own rag around his neck. "You sucked yeah, but you were better towards the end. Not many pick that up too quick. One of the reasons we always do the floor as a team."

"Great time to chat too," Hanji said. She deliberately kept her head tilted towards the ground, careful not to look at any of them.

"Maybe," was all Krista would say to that. She suddenly clapped her hands once, sharply. "Ymir and I are in the kitchens now, cleaning the ovens. We could use some help. Bertolt?"

He shook his head. "I'm on crowd control. It's basically clean up duty," he explained to Eren. "A lot of guests are coming in straight from the storm so they leave the entryway a real mess. I try to keep it as mud-free as possible." He gave a tiny smile. "I don't mind."

"Weirdo. Reiner?"

"Nah, sorry. Need to meet up with Jean. He mentioned some heavy lifting that needed doing." He playfully flexed his muscles.

Krista's eyes slid to Eren and Hanji, almost as if she was afraid to ask. "Alright. Can you—?"

"Hanji!"

The call was recognizably squeaky and this time Eren knew to look down. Moblit stood before them, arms crossed and foot tapping. His eyes flickered briefly at Krista where he went green (a nice green, a flustered froggy green) and then determinedly straightened his back. He coughed once into a tiny fist.

"You and the human are on the big tub," he announced and that was it, nothing else for a long, awkward beat. If Hanji's expression and Moblit's smug smirk were anything to go buy though, they told Eren that he'd seriously missed something.

"You did that on purpose!" Hanji wailed.

"What? I'd never do a thing like that." Moblit actually looked offended. Did frogs have eyebrows? They should, because his were scrunched in genuine confusion. "Don't blame me, Hanji. Orders from the top," and with an affronted huff he hopped off.

Krista sighed. "Moblit's probably telling the truth. He wants to see you fail."

No one needed to confirm who the 'He' was. Or the 'you.'

Eren scrubbed a hand over his nose. He took in Hanji's devastation and the team's sympathetic look. Big tub? How big was big? After all this Irwin couldn't possibly think that he'd give up after a little bit of hard work, could he? Because he wouldn't. Not even if it was really, really hard. Super hard. He'd done dishes for a month after kicking Liam in the groin. Nothing could be worse than that.

Still.

"I've got an idea about who we should kick." Eren muttered. His eyes rose up.

A hard hand landed on his scalp. Ymir started using him as an armrest, a grin peaking through. "Maybe there's potential for you yet," she said.

"Get off me!"

"Nope. Think I'm fine right here."

"Come on, Ymir." Krista dragged her away, her eyes a little warmer now as they took in Eren's disheveled hair and pout. "Later," she said to Hanji who once more lit up like a Christmas tree. Something like hope was working its way across her features.

"Yeah?"

"Yes."

"Great."

"Hey, kid. Do us a favor and dump these, will yeah?" Reiner set two full buckets at Eren's feet, their water now brown and smelly. Eren wrinkled his nose.

"I'm not a kid."

"Jeez. Not kid, not Shifter. The hell are we supposed to call you?"

"Oh didn't you know?" Hanji said, throwing an arm across Eren's shoulders. "He's all kinds of important in human culture. Like royalty; like a king! Humanity's Hope." Her hand brushed across the air, picturing a banner with Eren's name. "Catchy, right?"

"You're insane." But Reiner was grinning now, throwing a thumbs up as he headed for a side exit. "Krista, Ymir— you coming? I'll walk you to the kitchens. Bertolt," he stood slightly on tiptoe to kiss Bertolt on the cheek, but the other backed away at the last moment, casting an uncomfortable glance at Eren and Hanji. Reiner looked briefly annoyed but shrugged.

"You gotta get over the nerves, man." He groused. "I'm allowed to kiss my boyfriend, aren't I? No, never mind. I'll catch you later, okay?" Reiner gave Bertolt's hand a quick squeeze instead. Before Eren knew it they were both gone and all he caught of Ymir and Krista were the backs of their aprons.

"Big tub, big tub, can't believe he went and gave us the big tub. Stupid, Moblit. You should have let Ymir squash him underfoot. Can't believe he used to be my partner." Hanji blew air until her cheeks were puffed like a chipmunk. Then she let if all out in a rush. "At least Krista is willing to… you know."

The exaggerated stare wasn't really necessary but they did move quickly out of the room, away from the prowling lynx statue and, Eren had just noticed, the portrait of a dog with wandering eyes. Spies everywhere. No wonder they only dared to speak in that particular room; it was just big enough for a hidden conversation. It was either that or the currently unattainable outside. So yeah. Now more talking. Not now.

Instead water sloshed over Eren's wrists as he dragged the buckets behind him. As he and Hanji headed back into the hall he could just hear the sound of continued, torrential rain over the workers' chatter. Maybe when Krista was ready to talk she'd sneak them back out into the fields like Corporal had done.

Corporal.

Next to Irwin he certainly seemed like the one in charge around here, and yet…

"Do you always do what Krista says?" Eren asked. He timed his question to coincide with a cat passing, her armful of small, wooden tubs creating a helpful racket.

"There's reason too," Hanji said and once more put her finger to her lips. Right. Patience.

Eren was never very good at being patience.

Still, he swallowed the frustration until it was only simmering and asked instead, "Where am I supposed to dump these?"

Pretty damn far it turned out. Hanji directed him down two levels and towards a side door that let out into the courtyard. Apparently you couldn't get rid of water where the guests might accidentally see, despite the fact that the outside was currently nothing but water and the guests themselves had come to a bathhouse. But Eren went, trying desperately not to spill the foul liquid while inching down the stairs. Along the way every toad, cat, and human-looking spirit seemed determined to trip him up—literally. After the third biped trod on his foot Eren simply lashed out at the crowd, grinning when his kick landed against something soft and a high-pitched squeal sounded. Kicking itty-bitty frogs was one thing; these assholes were another matter entirely.

"Okay there, not-kid?" Someone called. Eren's head jerked up and he could just see Jean pushing against the current on the opposite end of the room.

Maybe he could reach him… Eren tried to lift the buckets over his head but they were too heavy. One ended up smacking against the leg of a passing girl in pigtails, wetting her pants. She didn't even notice, just hurried on, and Eren was left with a wet patch of floor to nearly slip on. He eventually sighed, giving up and setting a bucket down so he could raise a hand to Jean.

"Fine!" he called back. "Reiner's looking for you, by the way."

"Look at you catching on." Jean made some sort of complicated hand gesture in lieu of a goodbye and disappeared up another set of stairs. Eren trudged on.

"Finally." The downstairs exit to the courtyard had a hell of a lot more than one door so Eren chose one at random. The storm was still raging and the moment he slid the door open a disgusting combination of wind and rain poured in. With a growl Eren twisted his head away, chucked the buckets… and it was only when he looked back that he realized his thrown had actually hit something.

Or someone.

"Shit!"

It was No-Face, his new friend—sort of. Admittedly it was odd seeing him away from the bridge. Eren had pretty much convinced himself that he was somehow bound to the structure; it certainly wouldn't have been the strangest thing he'd experienced here. Well is was obvious now that he could leave but he didn't seem terribly self-sufficient. No-Face was just standing out there, his black clothes (or black body?) blending into the shrubbery. Only his blond hair and white face stood out but even through the rain Eren would have sworn he could see a stoop to the spirit's shoulders. He couldn't actually tell if the downpour or the bucket water was actually getting him wet but either way, No-Face looked kind of miserable.

"Sorry about that," Eren called over the wind. Despite the sideways rain he opened the door a little further, hoping he'd get the message. When No-Face didn't move Eren stuck his head out under the porch.

"Hey, what's your name?"

Silence.

"C'mon, what is it? I can't go around calling you—" Eren grimaced. Well, he couldn't even admit to calling him 'No-Face.' How embarrassing. He'd probably be really insulted too. "I can't go calling you 'Nothing' or something. Jean, do you know Jean? He just called me 'not-kid' and it's pretty stupid, right? But Jean's kind of stupid himself. I mean, my name here is Shifter, that's even worse, but of course that's not my real name."

Maybe he shouldn't have said that but Eren's words were immediately carried off by the wind, gone for good, and No-Face had started to uncurl a little bit.

"Seriously," Eren continued. "My real name is awesome. Way cooler than anything you've heard before, I betcha. I'd definitely tell you what it is if I could. In fact, I will sometime, so until then why don't you tell me yours?"

No-Face started to take a step forward, then stopped. He ducked his head again.

"Don't you trust me?" Eren teased. "C'mon, you should. I promise to take care of it and I always keep my promises. You know that. Didn't I promise we'd see each other again and," Eren spread his arms, "Here we are!"

Truthfully, Eren suspected that No-Face had followed him to the bathhouse but his words still had the desired effect. No-Face smiled for real this time and from his body he produced a book, a larger one than what he'd been reading out on the bridge. It was massive actually, nearly twice the size of Eren's head, and all the pages were uneven in a way he'd only seen on the really old books back home. No-Face extended the volume and Eren realized that the cover was still dry despite the rain that battered it. He opened it up to produce a series of blank pages and then…

"Whoa," Eren said and leaned even further.

The rain was hitting the book but the droplets were being absorbed. Not normal absorbed where they got everything wet but like, falling into another dimension and never returning Sci Fi shit kind of absorbed. These droplets then did return, freaky as it was. Eren watched as a collection rose back up to the surface of the page and then rearranged themselves to form a single word.

Armin.