Chapter 12 – Armin (Arc 3)
He honestly didn't know what to expect when he got there, so he just hired a small dingy from a local man he had known when he was younger and took it out to the waters, feeling the sand shift as he pushed off and the nostalgic ocean breeze wash over him. Putting down his oars and resting when he had gotten far enough away that the dragons could be found, he sat and waited, watching the clouds, letting his thoughts shift. He knew that he wouldn't be able to handle bigger dragons, the thought of him riding a Submarriper made him laugh out loud, so much so that it must have caught attention as when his laughter softened, he looked down in the water to find the swirling patterns of a dragon's form beneath the surface.
Quickly grabbing his grandfather's book, he frantically searched through it to find the dragon that he saw. It was only when it's emerald head broke the surface that Armin could see that it was a Scauldron, it's serpentine eyes flickering over his boat, deciding whether or not he was a threat.
Remembering his notes from the classroom, Armin quickly averted his eyes and raised his hand softly in the dragon's direction. He felt the dragon's wet snout press against his hand but not in an accepting nor a hostile way, his eyes flickering up in confusion, he saw the softness in the Scauldron's eyes but he also saw that whilst it saw saw as a good person, it didn't see him as right for it.
Armin was flooded with thoughts of inadequacy and failure, sinking to the hull of his vessel and feeling the salty tears fall from his eyes as he began to cry once more, slamming his hands, now curled in fists against the mast.
"Why am I not good enough?! What did I do wrong?! Why can't I do it?! What's wrong with me?!"
His head flooded with anxious and panicked thoughts as the tears poured down his now reddened cheeks until he felt the firm presence of the Scauldron pressing against the top of his back, nudging him to get his attention.
Lifting his head to the dragon, puffy red eyes just making out the shape, he felt that it was turning his ship towards the mainland, its arched neck pointed to the forest. Whilst at first bewildered, once Armin realised what the dragon meant, he sunk back to the floor of the ship, but this time, with only one knee as he bowed in respect and thanks to the dragon. It too arched its head downwards, before swiftly returning to the ocean floor, leaving Armin to pick up the splintery oars and pull his way back to shore.
As Armin stepped back onto the solid land, he began the trek up to the forest, concluding that he just wasn't right for a tidal dragon and that he should just explore and the right one will find him eventually. Annie's words resonated in his memory as he looked down at the ground and grinned, now knowing that she was right.
Returning back to the present around him, he kept focus on the path ahead of him, set to reach the forest soon. Well. That was the plan until his grandfather saw him wandering up the beaten path and called him into the house, making him eat the homemade soup and sleep in a proper bed. Both of which made Armin feeling as if he was in Valhalla. When the morning sun came, he got up, returning the book to his father and explaining that Tidal dragons were not for him.
With a smile of acceptance and knowing, his grandfather said what Armin was thinking
"You want to explore don't you?" he softly stated
And Armin gave a firm nod of his head. Opening the door for the boy when he was packed up, Armin's Grandfather waved him off as he walked up the forest covered mountain.
He spent countless hours exploring the forests and studying the terrain making note of all the different wildlife he saw, including the occasional terrible terror. Eventually he decided he felt weariness creep up on him.
Placing his notebook into his pocket, he eventually settled by a small pine tree and allowed his thoughts to wander, eventually reaching those he had left back at the camp, Eren, Mikasa, Annie. He wondered how they're getting on. These thoughts eventually leading his mind down the path to sleep.
As he awoke from his slumber, he felt an unusual presence near him, he wasn't sure what it was but he knew that he was being watched. As he looked around, eyes flitting from the branches to the shrubs cautiously, he could feel in the air that it wasn't a hostile situation but rather one of curiosity. He slowly packed away his books into his carry sack, softly picking himself up and looking for these eyes that watched him.
Whilst at first he didn't see anything, it was when he saw the small rustle of movement to his right that he knew something was there; Quickly engaging his Dragon Fire Gear, he raised himself to one of the higher branches, eyes scouring the treeline to find that presence, not out of want to question them or anything of the sort, simply to know what or rather probably, who it was.
Feeling his balance waver as his feet rested upon the delicate branch, he swiftly unlatched the spear from his back's harness, removing the fatal spearhead and putting it in his pouch to use to balance himself. As closed the flap of his pouch, he saw again, out the corner of his eye; A ruffle of movement, so he fired a wire into a nearer tree to try and get a better look at it.