I do not own AOT, all rights belong too Hajime Isayama.
Carla Waechter's hands are tied, figuratively. It has been a busy day at the bar and she hasn't had a moment's rest serving drinks. But it makes a decent living, even though the job requires her to dress in a bodice that reveals her cleavage and "doll" herself up. That alone has gotten her more than a few ass grabs from particularly drunk vendors.
Carla sees one of her regulars, Keith Shadis, entering the bar with another man. Shadis has tanned skin with brown hair. The man he is talking to has long dark hair and stubble on his chin. It isn't long before they have a seat and start talking. Though she isn't paying attention, she hears the words "economic inequality" as she serves a nearby table their drinks.
"At least you don't live in constant fear of the outside world," the man says to Shadis. "That's good."
Carla unconsciously nods. She agrees with this man. She is one of those people who prefer to enjoy life and believe that the rest of the world will just leave them alone. After all, it's been 100 years. The world's likely forgotten about them by now. More importantly, they are constantly surrounded by Titans that keep them safe and they have air defenses so there's nothing to worry. But, to Keith, that just means that those people are idiots.
Carla approaches two more of her regulars. Dave and Mathew are engrossed with each other and laughing
"What's so funny?" Carla asks.
"Oh, Carla. Dave just told me a joke," Mathew says.
"It's not for ladies," says Mathew.
"Try me."
"So man goes to a doctor," Dave says. "He says that he's been having headaches since he was twenty, and the doctor says that he can stop the headaches if they remove his junk. After a night of thinking it over the man agrees to get his junk removed to stop the headaches. One operation later, the man jumps with joy that his headaches are gone. He's so happy that he goes to a tailor. The tailor says that he can guess his clothes sizes."
Mathew giggles.
"So the tailor guesses each of the man's sizes correctly. His pants. His shirt. But on his underwear, he guesses that the man is a size 12. The man says 'No, I've been a size 9 since he was twenty.' The tailor then gasps and says: 'What!? You can't wear a size 9 underwear with your build! Your hunk will tighten and it will cause headaches!'."
Mathew burst into laughter again. Carla giggles as well. It was an immature joke, but funny.
Carla continues serving drinks to others, barely hearing the man and Keith talking. But one particular phrase from Keith catches her attention.
"You're the pride of the walls."
"Pride? We are?"
'Pride? Are you trying to make the scouts sound good, Keith?' Carla wonders.
She walks over to the table.
"Come on, Keith," Carla says, catching the man's attention. "Recruiting for the scouts again, are we?"
Keith is the commander of the Survey Corps, and she often catches him trying to find recruits in her customers. Something that she doesn't approve of and has told him a few times. The Survey Corps is the group that sends soldiers outside of the walls, to either the watch posts on the farthest edges of the island, or on reconnaissance missions in other countries (specifically Marley). Both are dangerous jobs. The first is because the areas that they go on lookout from are infested with Titans and the only way to move around after being dropped off (by blimp) is to maneuver around using ODM gear. A grappling hook and canister that propels you in the air. The second is because, in most places, being caught as someone who has the genetic condition "Titanism" is punished with death.
"Not this time, Carla," Keith says. "I'm just…"
"Oh no," says the man. "I'd never be suited for that kind of work."
Carla looks at the man curiously.
"Being a Scout takes someone special. You have to be a chosen one."
"Oh, is that right?" Carla asks as she walks away.
'Sigh, another foolish daredevil I see.'
After hours, Carla cleans the tables and Keith visits her for one last drink.
"So who was that guy you were with, Keith?" Carla asks. "If he wasn't there for the Scouts then who is he?"
"His name is Grisha Jaeger," Keith says. "I found him outside of the walls."
Carla stops cleaning and looks at Keith, shocked.
"Outside the walls? H-how did he get outside the walls? Was he left behind? Did he sneak out?"
"I don't know," says Keith. "He said he had amnesia and couldn't remember anything besides his name."
"Convenient," Carla says.
"I ran his prints and did his bloodwork. He's like us, but there's no record of him living anywhere in the walls."
"Wait, Keith, you don't think he's from…you know, out there?"
"What?" Keith asks. "No, Carla. There were no sightings of blimps or aircraft anywhere near Paradis. And outside the walls are infested with Titans. It's impossible for a human to get from the outer regions to the walls without an aircraft. Even a scout would perish without a way to refill their ODM canister. I'm sure there was just an error in the records or something."
"So where is he now?" Carla asks.
"He's got his own apartment downtown," Keith says. "He says he remembered something besides his name. That he used to be a doctor. I introduced him to a clinic and he seemed to know what he was doing. He was hired in no time."
"A doctor huh?" Carla giggles. "It's funny. My mom always tells me I should marry a doctor."
Keith tenses.
"Um, so listen Carla…I was wondering if…"
"Yes?"
"If…You wouldn't mind being extra nice to Grisha. We're having him attend therapy sessions to see if his memories come back but we want him to feel welcome. He's still readjusting to living in the walls. Poor guy can't even read right."
Carla smiles and resumes cleaning tables.
"Of course."
'You damn coward!' Keith mentally screams.
The truth is that he had been in love with Carla since the moment he laid eyes on her. She was beautiful. Granted, he knows other beautiful women but there was something about Carla. She is kind, and thoughtful, and loving. Her laugh always makes his heart flutter and she has an attitude and charm about her that he just loves. But it's been apparent since the day they met. When she objected to him recruiting a young man by the name of Erwin Smith into the scouts, that they have VERY different beliefs about life. While she is content living in the Walls and thinks it's foolish to venture outside, he yearns to work for their freedom and thinks otherwise is foolish. That's why he always backed out of telling her his feelings.
'Someday,' Keith thinks. 'Once I become a hero, a special chosen one like Grisha says, Carla will have to acknowledge me.'
Meanwhile, Grisha is in his new apartment, meditating. He heard that meditation was supposed to clear one's mind and help one get in touch with their inner self. In Grisha's case, he hopes that this will give him more visions like what he saw when he became a shifter. He only has thirteen years left, so he can't afford to waste a moment. Grisha focuses his thoughts on the blonde girl in the desert that he first saw. Nothing. Then he tries focusing on the Attack Titan he saw in his vision. Nothing. Then he focuses on the woman from the bar, Carla.
Grisha was surprised as soon as he saw her in the bar, though he did his best to hide it. She was the woman she saw in his vision, holding a baby. He knows that must mean that she and the child must be important so he focuses on her.
Grisha's eyes glow green and he can see.
He sees a vision of a plague ravaging Shiganshina. People are falling ill, becoming too weak to move. Among them is Carla, being carried by Keith into Grisha's clinic. He sees himself curing Carla, quickly followed by the two getting married.
Grisha breaks away from the vision, sweating.
'What? We're married? How could I get over Dina so quickly? And what about Zeke?…I have to see more.'
Grisha focuses back on the vision. He sees Carla giving birth to a baby boy. He is holding the child in his arms. The boy is then accompanied by a small Asian girl.
Grisha is surprised by that. He hadn't seen any Asians in the walls. He returns to his vision.
He sees the Colossal Titan's head peering over the walls. Then he sees the boy followed by a flash of the Attack Titan with the skull-like face he saw in his first vision and…Nothing after that. The visions stop.
Grisha tries to see further, but he can't.
'So, Marley will be sending their warriors in the near future. The boy looked to be about ten. He appears to be my successor…and my second son. Does that mean I pass my Titan to him? Even knowing about the curse? No, I wouldn't. Would I? Maybe the boy accepts the Titan willingly. In any case, I may have to ensure that he is born.'
Grisha walks over to his bed and he pulls out the journal he bought from the stop earlier that day. He had just written an entry briefly summarizing the death of his sister and his early days as a restorationist in Marley. He pulls out the picture of him with Dina and Zeke. He sits on his bed and sighs.
"I'm sorry, Dina. Zeke. For everything, really. But I have a job to do. Otherwise, the deaths of our comrades will have been for nothing. But I will never stop loving you. Zeke, I know I wasn't a good father to you. I regret that and I hold no ill will to you for what you did. It's a shame that we couldn't have been a real family. We had roles to play, and I have to believe what I'm doing is for the best of our people. I wish it didn't have to be this way."
Grisha sheds a single tear and places the picture back into his notebook.
"I need to start a bond with Carla," Grisha decides. "Become her friend. Then, when the plague hits and I cure her, we can become more. I will also need to determine what pandemic will hit and stalk up on the appropriate medicine for when that day comes."
I chose the name "Waechter" for Carla since it means "guardian" and "protector". I figured it would be a nice counter to the name "Jaeger" which means "hunter".
All comments are appreciated, thank you