AN:
Early update cause I'm anxious to get the chapter out and it's shorter than the last.
Forgot to say last time that my OC won't be that OP, he'll have his strengths and weaknesses but he won't always win, at least not without a scratch.
Chapter 2: The Breach
Three Years Later
"An evacuation of the population in Wall Maria and her districts is underway!" A Garrison soldier is seen speaking on a platform above the mass of pedestrians surrounding him in the city plaza. "Wall Maria has fallen!" gasps and murmurs are heard moving through the crowd, "But fear not!" he speaks above the voices, "It's a soldier's duty to protect mankind and we will do so! So please! Take as little-"
While the crowd remains frozen, listening with rapt attention to the soldier's announcement, a small shadow flits through the crowd with none seemingly noticing. Looking closer, the shadow is in the shape of a young boy wearing dirty clothes. As everyone's attention is fixed above, no one notices the boy quickly slipping his hand within their pockets or pouches, pulling out a few coins as silently as he can before moving further along the crowd.
Going from one end to the other the boy silently slips into an alley, moving as far as he can from the now dispersing crowd, travelling the dark and dirty passageways like the back of his hand.
Silently gliding until he's out of sight, he reaches some steps, sitting down the boy's now unobstructed features are revealed. A mop of brown hair resting on his head with dull blue eyes is seen. His shirt shifts slightly, showing a necklace piece with a stylized S in the center. Naturally, the now older boy is Eirlet who is currently counting the coins he snatched from the pedestrians.
'-8, 10, 11, 12. 12 copper coins, enough for one meal, four if I only buy bread.' he calculates.
Checking again and nodding to himself he grabs the pouch on his waist, hidden by his shirt, dropping the coins inside. Getting up he steps down the steps until-
"Hey -hic- kid!" a drunken male voice calls out to him.
Quickly turning around he sees two men, both with red faces, heading in his direction. As soon as he sees them, Eirlet turns back and runs, getting only a few steps before another, bigger man turns the corner grinning at him from the bottom of the steps. Seeing himself cornered with no alleyways to go into, the boy rushes towards the burly man, seemingly wanting to get past him.
Not surprised the burly man ready's himself to catch where the brat tries to go, not concerned that a kid can escape him. Within a few steps of the bigger man, the boy angles himself to go to his left, wanting to go around the adult who notices where he's aiming to go. Smirking to himself, he moves his body to nab the brat but grabs nothing but air! With a dumbfounded look, he turns around and sees the brat getting up from a roll. What the man missed was that Eirlet stopped a step away from being grabbed and jumped towards his open right, rolling on the ground and away to safety.
With all three shocked at how he escaped, by the time they recovered Eirlet was already turning the corner and heading down the street at his fastest pace.
"Fuck!" "Get him!" the three start chasing after the kid.
Running through the maze of alleyways and streets, a game of cat and mouse commences. Being sober, smaller and faster the mouse gains a steady lead over them, using the streets and alleys to his advantage. Turning the corner of an alleyway a few minutes later, Eirlet -barely winded- grins to himself as he hears the sound of his two pursuers-
"Get -huff- back here brat!" "We're -huff- gonna -huff- git -huff- you!"
-fading away, running in another direction. Slowing down and catching his breath, still grinning, he doesn't see the fist coming to his face until it's too late.
BAM
Eirlet falls face-first to the floor, stars in his vision and a pair of boots stepping in front of him. "Ya 'now -hic- kid you're a real piece of work," he slurs as he kicks the downed kid in the gut.
"Arghh!" he grunts in pain, spitting on the ground.
Reaching down and ripping the pouch from his waist he hefts it, grinning at the weight and sound. Getting up and giving one last punt he starts wobbling away, humming a happy tune from acquiring new drinking money.
Laying on the ground, the boy holds his abdomen in pain but gets on his feet and quietly jogs away once the man turns the corner. Moving down alleyways and crossing streets, the boy looks as if he didn't just get chased across the city and attacked by some drunk thugs. Walking for ten minutes, Eirlet comes across a house no different from the others, looking around he quickly ducks into an alley once affirming no one's around and reaches a small ground-level window, quickly opening it and shimmying himself in, a dusty room is revealed.
Various pieces of furniture with white cloth can be seen stacked around the rather large basement covered in dust, the place looking like no one had been around for months. Closing the window, Eirlet moves to his right and lifts a piece of cloth, revealing a small separate space made by the furniture strewn around.
The 'room' is sparse with a side covered with cloth and a bag at the end, acting as a bed and pillow. Sighing to himself he grimaces when he feels pain flaring around his face and abdomen. Slowly sitting on his bed Eirlet takes off his boots, flipping one over a pouch drops -Jingle- with the sound of coins clattering.
'Good thing for my paranoia,' he muses to himself.
Indeed, Eirlet did not lose his 'hard-earned' money, when he sat down to look over his spoils he had, out of sight, slipped a majority of his gains into a pouch hidden in his boot. Once the man opens the pouch all he'll see is a few bronze coins with scraps of metal filling the pouch, a far cry from how much he was expecting.
He frowns to himself as he remembers the man, how he sneaked up on him when he thought it was safe.
'Stupid, you're never safe. Should've paid better attention,' he grimaces. Continuing to review the incident and berating himself for his negligence he starts accessing the injuries he's taken. Putting the pouch into his bag he takes off his shirt, if anyone were to see what was underneath they would surely wonder what the boy went through. With his body revealed, many scars can be seen littered across his frame, ranging from small scrapes to a long and thin line running across his neck, too light to notice normally but certainly there.
Looking down to his stomach, he frowns as he can tell a bruise is starting to form, most likely one on his face as well, both were surely going to hurt later. Annoyed he huffs, putting the shirt back on before grabbing a loaf of bread from the side, taking hard bites of the stale bread. Nothing can be heard in the basement beside him munching on bread and the flurry of footsteps and voices of the house's habitants moving above him. 'Can't believe I haven't been found after a year. Must be a new record.' he thinks, amused by how long he's stayed unnoticed.
Above him the family of four unknowingly gave shelter to a homeless boy of 11 for a whole year, simply by being lazy and not entering their basement. Although with his astute senses -when he actually pays attention- he would be able to escape the family before they notice that anyone ever lived below them rent-free.
Finishing his dinner by washing the bread down with a canteen of water, with the sun nearly setting Eirlet can barely see in front of him.
'It's best to sleep now so I can head out early tomorrow. Everyone will be leaving right now so it'll be a fuck load of time to even get past the gate, heading out at dawn should leave me with the stragglers. Shiganshina is far enough that it'll give me enough time to get to Wall Rose without running into any titans, even then there are probably some soldiers who'll leave last as an escort,' he thinks to himself as he lays down to sleep for the night.
Closing his eyes he goes into a deep slumber, trusting his inner clock to wake him at dawn.
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"Eirlet wake up!" "Eirlet!" "EIRLET!"
SMACK
"Agh!" The boy with his name being called cries out in pain, with blurry eyes from waking up and tears of pain from the slap he looks at the large figure beside his bed.
Wiping his eyes and holding his cheek he stutters, "Da- Dad? What are you-"
"No time son," he interrupts with a grim look on his face, "Hurry up and change then go to your mother alright?" He gets a quick, hesitant, nod in response.
"Good, be quick!" Standing up Eirlet can see his dad wearing hunting clothes similar to his own with a bow and quiver on his back and a long hunting knife in a sheath on his leg. Ranulf gives his son a long look before quietly rushing out of the room.
Confused but understanding his father's urgency, he wipes the sleep from his face before running around his room. Changing his clothes to his fresh hunting clothes, he hesitates before grabbing his bow and quiver as well, he turns to leave the room, wanting to find and question his mother.
In the main room, the fireplace is extinguished with only a small amount of moonlight shining through the windows, showing there's still quite a few hours before dawn. Anke is the only person he can see, looking through the window with a worried look on her face and a rifle slung over her shoulder. Turning to look at her son when he steps into the room she flashes him a tight smile, beckoning him over.
"Mom? What's happening? Where's Kaide and Dad?" He questions with a worried tone.
Kneeling down and putting her hands on her son's shoulders Anke hesitates before saying, "Eirlet, right now some bad men are trying to get to us, hurt our family. Your brother and father are out there protecting us from them." He gapes, processing what his mother said.
"But… they'll be fine right?" He finally utters, gaining a hopeful look, one that dims with his mother's next sentence.
"I'm not going to lie to you Eirlet I don't know," she replies with a grim look in her eyes, "But you know how strong those two are right?" He nods nervously, "Then remember that and that they'll do their best to come back." She finishes with a kiss on his forehead before standing up and looking outside once again.
Eirlet stays quiet, still processing what his mother said as he sits down beside her, fiddling with his bow. The two stay in their positions for the better part of an hour, hearing nothing but the silence of the night while they stay out of sight. That is until Anke tenses, moving her face away from the window and unslinging her rifle, the movement catching Eirlet's attention who, although still nervous, trusts his family to do what they said and stay safe. Before he can utter a word Anke turns to him and speaks in a quick stream of words.
"Eirlet, the bad people are here now, so listen to me and listen very closely, okay?" He nods fearfully. "If they're here then that means they got your brother and father." He gains a shocked expression.
"I'm going to stay here and distract them while you head towards the log over the stream and escape into the forest, don't look back and head towards the forest with the large trees alright?"
Hearing that she wants him to leave he gains a fearful expression, "But what about you, what about Dad and Kaide, I don't want to leave you guys! Why do you have to stay! Why can't I stay!" He speaks with tears brimming his eyes.
Smiling softly she brings him into a hug, "They know who we are and where we live, these people are strong enough to stop us from leaving if we don't have a distraction. They only know about us three, not you so they won't look for you once they notice me. The best thing for our family to continue is for you to escape. You've learned enough from us that you can survive out there, then tomorrow head to Verask, the bad people are going to look around here for a while so you have to get as far as you can quickly, alright? If we get out of this I promise one of us will come looking for you."
Removing herself from the hug she pushes him forcefully towards the back of the house, "Now go! When you hear a gunshot, stay hidden and run, run until you're safe." With tears pouring from his eyes Eirlet slowly moves to the back, out of sight after a final look at his mother.
Wiping a tear herself, Anke gains a determined expression, peeking back out she can see a group of shadowy figures coming from the right, moving quietly towards the house, or so they think. Bringing the rifle to her shoulder she lines the crosshair to the closest figure, steadying herself she takes a deep breath, 'Breath in, breathe out, breathe in, breath out and…
Fire.'
CRACK
"Aghhh!"
A window shatters as one of the shadows in the group falls. Everything freezes, none moving until-
CRACK
Thud
This one didn't even have time to even utter a sound before half their head was blown out.
"Get down!" "Fan out!"
The figures cry out, trying to dodge the oncoming bullets as they creep closer to the house, attempting to return fire with their own guns even as more of them start to fall.
BANG BANG
Anke can be seen taking cover behind the now turned-over dining table as bullets fly through the windows, reloading her gun with fresh bullets to take out the invaders.
'Eirlet. Run, run and don't look back. The three of us can't run anymore but you can. Please… survive.' She thinks to herself before getting up and taking down another figure.
The firefight continues, with the group of now a dozen slowly pushing forward under the hail of bullets from the house, half a dozen bodies can be seen sprayed around the ground behind them but a few minutes later one of them shoots, and then no more bullets come from the house.
Moving cautiously towards the entrance -the door open and riddled with holes- guns drawn and primed, one passes through the door and-
CRACK
-gets her head blown out, blood spraying on the wall with her body falling to the ground. The group wastes no time before riddling the area the shot came from with bullets. Two who were looping around the side, peek through a window and all they can see is a woman leaning against a turned-over table. A rifle beside her bloody body, eyes half-lidded…
Not moving.
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Five Minutes Earlier
CRACK
Eirlet jerks in surprise as he hears the sound of a gunshot ring out from the front of the house and the many more that follow it. Knowing this was his signal to leave he looks through the window beside the back door, checking for any surprises before quietly leaving the house and entering the forest a short distance away. Gaining cover he immediately sticks low to the ground, nervously looking through the shadows of the forest, hoping for a clean escape.
Determining himself safe he goes deeper into the forest before wrapping around his house, away from the gunfire and towards the hill. He gets a third of the way there before he comes across a boot, laying on the ground with its owner nowhere in sight. Cautiously looking around for any movement he finds none, so he wraps around the area, keeping an eye on his surroundings and using the trees and bushes as cover he moves quickly, right before he stumbles.
Panicking, he quickly gets up and gets ready to run from the area, that is, until he sees that what he tripped on was a person, one on the ground not moving with his face turned towards him. All Eirlet sees is a blank face with lifeless eyes and an open neck, blood dripping on the grass. With a pale face, he quickly hides once again.
'Ohshitshitshitshit. He's dead, he's dead, ok he's dead,' he rapidly thinks to himself, 'Calm down, just, calm down. That wasn't Dad or Kaide it was just one of the bad people ok? Just another bad guy they hunted… yeah… hunted… they hunted just like they normally do, just like that time with the wolves.' He tries to compose himself.
Once he temporarily comes to terms with seeing his first dead body, Eirlet immediately skirts around the area, taking care to not look at its face again. He continues to come across more bodies, either again with slit throats or more noticeably with arrows, either sticking from their chest or piercing through their head.
'Ok, if they're dead then the two of them are safe, if they're safe they can win, if they win we can head back home.'
Starting to lose his composure Eirlet starts to pick up speed while keeping himself decently hidden, trying to get to the hill as fast as he can. Reaching the base of the hill he gets ready to climb until he notices a faint light shining behind him, he quickly hides behind a tree and peeks his head out to look for the source. Locking his eyes on the source of light, his jaw drops as he falls to his knees. Eyes roll out tears which gaze upon the bonfire which was his home, where his mother was shooting at the bad men, where they currently surround, the fire stretching their features in shadows.
He lets out a strangled squeak as he continues to look upon what he called home, where his mother cooked dinner for them, where his brother played with him, where his father taught him lessons. All his memories, his life, all burnt for the inferno. Continuing to watch and take in the sight of his home -and potentially his family- disappearing, he remembers his mother's words.
'Run, run until you're safe!'
Getting up on shaky legs as he wipes his tears he starts slowly walking up the hill. As he goes up he starts gaining speed, his shaky breathing growing steadier, eyes no longer pouring tears, flying through the forest silently like a ghost he reaches the top in no time. Looking back at his still burning house for the final time Eirlet has only one thought on his mind. 'I'll kill them. I'll kill them all. For Mom. For Dad. For Kaide,' his knuckles whiten from the pressure he exerts on his bow.
Looking at the arrow he grabs from his quiver he remembers his life, his father teaching him how to shoot, Kaide and him playing hide and seek, his mother helping him make arrows. Remembering his family he stabs the arrow onto the tallest tree, a seal to his oath, a reminder that this is- was his home, that none of it will be forgotten. Arrow planted, he looks back at what was his home for the final time, burning the image to his mind.
The trek down the face of the cliff is an agonizing one for the boy, his home gone, not knowing his family's fate. Heart heavy but filled with simmering anger he reaches the bottom and hears the raging stream running a few meters below him. As he's crossing the log he knows that once he reaches the other side he won't have any time to rest, he'll need to use his knowledge to survive and run away from here until he can come back and avenge his family.
That is if he ever reaches the other side.
"Knew there was another kid." Eirlet freezes as he unexpectedly hears a gravelly voice speaking behind him. That reaction turns into a mistake as he feels a familiar feeling of cold metal on his skin but instead on his fingertips he feels it on his neck, cutting clean through his throat.
"GArrGH!" He gargles incoherently, falling sideways he desperately holds his neck, trying to stop the bleeding with tears in his eyes.
"Ahh damn. Sorry kid but your Dad did good work on me so you'll have to deal with it," Eirlet through his tears can only see the shadow of a bowler hat on the new person, "Well no matter, you'll be dead either way." The voice says as they kick Eirlet off the log.
Eirlet with his dimming conscious hears himself getting closer to the rushing water.
'I'm sorry.'
SPLASH
'I couldn't run.' Eyes heavy he closes them, letting the cold darkness consume him.
