AN:
Bumped this out in a few days. We'll see when the next is :)
Chapter 17: The Pain
Crack
His foot breaks clean through the branch, echoing in the forest as he pushes on, ignoring the shadows moving in the dark.
Thump
His heart pounds in his ears as he pushes himself, ears picking them up getting closer.
Thump
His feet stomp on branches, leaping over fallen trees and dashing through branches blocking his path recklessly even as they scratch at his face.
Go now.
Thump Thump
Trees get consumed by the darkness as he senses the shadows get closer, close enough that he can feel their icy breath on his neck.
Thump Thump
He hears the clash of steel, the sound of blades slicing through wood, slicing through flesh.
His neck.
Thump Thump Thump
The beating consumes his hearing, darkness encroaches his vision.
They're here.
He keeps running, running, and running. The cold breath wrapping around his face, getting thicker until it clogs his mouth and nose.
Can't breathe.
Thump Thump Thump Thump
He can feel his body getting colder, struggling all the while.
The hand on his mouth tightens as he feels something colder than he ever felt press against his neck and it drags-
Eirlet opens his eyes. Heart beating rapidly, he greedily sucks in a breath as he stares at the blurry ceiling. He does his best to slow his breathing, the illusionary pressure on his neck slowly fades, focusing his mind.
With a final deep breath, he lethargically sits up, taking a second to just stare at the wall across from him before shaking his head and standing.
Stretching, he puts the nightmare out of his mind, too much to do and not enough time he starts dressing himself. Already wearing a shirt and his extremely durable pants, he latches on the leather vambraces he acquired a few weeks after his return from Yarckel along with a leather cuirass.
The vambraces are simple in make, made of boiled leather and padded enough to diminish a portion of blunt hits. These are in short perfect for him, offering a moderate degree of protection against any sort of attack but flexible enough to not interfere with his movement nor add too much weight.
The cuirass is similar in terms of protection but designed to look like a plain vest, if more padded than the norm. Finally, he slips on a thin dark brown jacket that reaches to his waist, one looking more worn than the rest of his ensemble but doing its job in hiding his vambraces and most of his chest piece except the front.
'No need to worry much about small hits accumulating enough to slow me down.'
Slinging his small pack of supplies over his back and his bow, he heads out to the inn's bar, "Over here!"
He looks over to where Isla is waving, a plate with half-eaten food in front of her with a full one right beside her.
Walking over to his partner he smiles in greeting before sitting and devouring the plate. He lets his eyes roam around the room, recognizing familiar people, those that haven't stopped going out for looting even when nearly all locations within a safe distance of the wall are picked clean. He also notices a few new faces, each wearing a uniform set of cuirasses but lacking any visible weapon.
One of them briefly locks eyes with Eirlet, something flickering in their gaze they turn back to their compatriots. He stares a little longer at that but doesn't notice anything off nor does he see the others with him react in any way as they quietly talk.
Returning his attention to Isla, he raises an eyebrow at the empty bag beside Isla, one larger than both of their supply bags put together.
"Hehe~ you know I don't wanna go back empty-handed." She responds with a small chuckle which he just huffs to.
Finished scraping the food off their plates, they leave their payment and head on out to the stables where Lowry munches on his own breakfast left by the stable boy. He pats the steed on his neck as he neighs in greeting, heading to the side to latch his saddle on, Isla offers him an apple which he eats out of her hand.
Once he finishes saddling Lowry and attaching Isla's extra bag, they saddle up onto the horse before trotting out, passing by the horses of others heading out with them.
Passing by without issue from the few attending to their own horses, they head out to the wall in the distance, passing the time he half-heartedly listens to Isla talk about banal gossip she randomly hears with him injecting his own from time to time.
Reaching the Wall, they don't need to wait long before the elevator heads down to pick up the first group. He nods his head at both the soldiers once again on the elevator with Isla waving happily at them, getting a nod from one and an amused huff of smoke from the squad leader.
It takes but a few minutes to land on the other side of the wall, the area wore down flat from people exploring in all directions.
"Lucky us, no titans to slow us down." He nods in agreement as those around them quickly filter out, all packing light along with their weaponry, few deciding to bring out anything cumbersome when out in titan territory. They've learnt their lesson.
'Let's get going then.' With a light snap of his reins their off, going at a pace that would leave other horses panting within a few kilometers, but one which Lowry could hold for hours.
Following the familiar path they had taken nearly a year ago, it takes barely ten minutes before they pass their first encounter with titans, ignoring the bones on the ground they continue on. Once they reach the barn, rather than pushing on into the town proper they go around it, 'Too many hiding spots for too many titans.'
Slowly they start to notice more and more of previously human-occupied areas fading away into nature, packed dirt roads now filled with grass and small villages on their path having one or two more houses collapsing in on themselves than the last time they visited.
Thud Thud Thud
Eirlet frowns as he hears the familiar sound of a titan running abruptly starting somewhere behind him, very close.
"We got an abnormal on our tail! It was hiding in the trees. It ain't much probably only a few meters so we're good." Isla conveys loudly by his ear over the sound of Lowry's hooves stomping the ground.
He relaxes as he hears that, 'Lowry can easily outpace a short one, we'll be fine.'
And indeed, it doesn't take long for them to pull ahead and for the titan to lose interest, from what Isla could see it looked to be heading back where it came from.
'We'll have to take another way back, don't feel like getting ambushed out of nowhere no matter how small.' He conveys the same to Isla who agrees.
"I asked around for this place after the last time, apparently it was a Duke's summer mansion which he and his family were in when the Wall broke. They got out but with no one caring about it anymore, I got a map of the place easily. There's a hunter's trail that's isolated enough for us to get out safely, it's a long way but merges with the path we took after that titan."
He mulls about it for a second before agreeing, from what he saw last time there weren't any people when the titans came around so none of them hung around.
It takes a good three hours longer to reach the mansion grounds, the forest encroaching onto the road making them slow to a trot many times but they soon reach the gates of the mansion. Both are at least 4 meters tall and made of metal bars and surrounded by an equally large fence of brick and metal. It would have been impossible to go through but fortunately for them, the previous owners forgot to lock it on their way out.
"Doesn't look like anyone's been here since."
Indeed, looking around, he doesn't see anything different, grass, trees, and flowers everywhere, the large fountain as the centerpiece of the grounds cracked with a small puddle of water left. Somehow the large mansion they've come to search looks near pristine, windows whole and doors shut, beyond the excess of vines and plants growing from its walls it looks ready to be lived in once again.
They trot around to the back of the mansion where they hide Lowry in the shade of a tree near another, smaller entrance to the grounds, making sure to leave food for the night as the two make their way to the back porch. Stepping across the cobbled ground Eirlet approaches a window and with a shove pushes it open, one he unlocked from their last visit.
Stepping inside the living space, he waves the dust away as he looks around the opulent room, everything in sight looking expensive from the furniture to the wallpaper. Letting Isla enter they both head out of the room and to the main ballroom, filled with trash, objects, furniture and many things that were seemingly meant to be taken but left behind.
"Guess we can start here, we already cleaned out the rooms so most of the good stuff should be here."
It doesn't take long before Eirlet starts getting annoyed, 'Half of this is worthless, too big, or both.' He sighs in frustration as he shuts the chest full of makeup closed.
He's only gotten a single decorative dagger, jewels encrusted on the hilt. Looking over to Isla it doesn't seem she found anything worth much either as she slams a drawer shut.
"C'mon! They couldn't have taken everything!" She moans in frustration, moving onto a crate sitting on top of an antique-looking table.
"Aha!" She exclaims triumphantly, her hands rustling through the hay padding before pulling out two chalices, both covered in gold and jewels.
He whistles as she happily packs the two into her bag, diving back in to retrieve other expensive-looking pieces of tableware.
Now motivated after her find, Eirlet looks through the remaining crates and chests, finding small pieces of jewelry mixed in with boxes of clothes.
'Why would they even have this?' He wonders as he spins a palm-sized, jewel-encrusted egg around but shrugs and drops it into his small bag.
'That should be enough, not much but I should get more than enough for the few I got.' Turning around he sees that Isla's bag is filled to the brim with tableware from just that one crate.
"Done?" He signs to her.
Wiping sweat off her brow she gives a thumbs up as she heaves the bag over her shoulder, "Yep! Got more than I expected so we're good to go."
"No, it is too late to leave. We will go tomorrow." He points to the windows beside the double door main entrance, golden light from the sunset filtering in.
"Hmm that's true, welp let's find a good place to sleep then." She turns around and heads up the massive staircase leading up to the second floor.
Following behind her they head to the master bedroom where she drops her bag and flops onto the massive bed. He passes by her and heads to the doors leading to the balcony and peaks out, looking around he sees nothing popping out from the sea of trees beyond the mansion walls nor anything in the massive hedges within.
Closing the door, he ignores the snores coming from behind him and drags a chair, once again ready for the boredom of night watch as the last rays of the sun finally recede.
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Morning:
Pulling himself out of his dreamless sleep, he sighs as he keeps his eyes shut, enjoying the softness of the bed beneath him. But what he hears clears his sleepy haze. Snapping his eyes open, he sits up steadily, shifting himself to stand as he grabs his bow leaning beside the bed.
"Morning sleepy head. Seems you've had a-", he cuts her off as he closes in and slams a hand to her mouth. Raising a finger to his lips, he waits until her wide eyes register his gesture before he removes it and points to his ears.
It takes her a moment to understand, but when she does her surprise drains from her face as she strains her ears. He doesn't move as they both listen.
A soft creak echoes through the silence, not out of the ordinary from an old building, but the multiple ones that follow make her eyes harden. They meet each other's eyes for a moment and he jerks his head over to the balcony as he moves to an angle towards the door and raises his bow, arrow nocked but not pulled back yet.
He splits his attention as she peeks through a corner of the window, eyes intently combing the grounds, 'A few more minutes before sunrise,' he notes as he can already see rays of sunshine filtering through the cloudy sky.
The creaking stops, but he can now hear soft steps coming from the hall. He gives her a nod when she looks back at him. Approaching the door, she swings her bag of gold over her shoulders, packed with hay it doesn't make a sound as she moves and slowly pushes outward, letting in a cold breeze before slipping out.
He focuses his eyes back on the door as he follows her, stepping out into the cool air as he hears the soft sound of a door opening somewhere in the hall. Once Isla's stepped over the railing, he slips the bow over his back before swinging over the railing and slowly clambers down until he's hanging from the edge of the platform, and he drops.
He lands with a soft grunt as he tries to keep his landing quiet, Isla follows a moment later but unfortunately not as experienced as him, he winces as she lands with a -thump- before her legs give out.
Stepping to her as he stays low, he offers a hand and pulls her up, getting a thankful-
Bang bang bang
She tackles him with her full weight to the ground with a grunt as bullets whiz above them. Tilting his head back, his eyes narrow at the trio that rounded the corner of the mansion, 'Those cuirasses…'
He's forced to cut off his thoughts as his eyes widen at the second pair of muskets they point at their downed forms, the first ones tossed to the side. He hugs Isla above him and rolls to the side as they,
Bang Bang Bang
pepper the ground they were lying on with bullets. Rolling through the overgrown grass and hedges, they come to a stop a short distance away.
Getting off Isla beneath him, he gets to his knees and swings his bow over, releasing an arrow straight at the balcony -thunk- where it snaps back the head of a man wearing the same cuirass, dumping his body and musket over the edge of the railing.
He ignores the -thump- body as he notices that Isla's still lying on her back, as she grits her teeth in pain. He soon notices why when his eyes drop to where she's pressing down on her abdomen, red slowly leaking and staining her shirt.
Time slows as he stares in shock, watching as blood seeps past the crack between her fingers and down her hand. Reality snaps back into place as adrenaline starts pumping through him, forcing his body to move as fast as he can he slips his knife out and swiftly cuts through the straps holding her bag in place. Sheathing the sharp blade, he grips the back of her shirt tight before frantically dragging her over the grass and flowers in his way and through the overgrown garden.
He does his best to ignore her whimpers of pain as he pushes his all into his legs, apologizing all the while in his head as he pulls her over roots and gravel. Hearing the shouts starting and those after him foregoing stealth as they sprint toward him, he drops Isla as the original trio burst onto the path he took.
Thunk
His first arrow pierces a man straight through his eyeball.
Thunk
His second pierces a hole through the man's neck.
Shssst
His third glances off the last's cuirass as he finally registers what's happening and dodges the arrow heading for his heart.
Thunk
But he doesn't dodge the follow-up that pierces through his ear and out the other.
Reaching down, he starts dragging her again, quickly picking up the pace as he sees a small stream of red being left in their wake.
He hears a door being smashed open from where they came, followed by a thunderous stampede of feet stomping into the ground. "Find them! We got them right where we want them!" He hears a nasal voice yell, receiving a roar in agreement as bodies surge through the massive hedges as they commence their hunt.
At that moment, they reach a spacious clearing with a massive fountain sitting in the middle, an exact replica of the one out front. Leaning her behind the cover of the fountain he drops to his knees beside her and places his bow on the ground.
Delving into his pack he brings out a clean roll of cloth and lightly moves Isla's hands which lightly press against her wound he lifts her soggy shirt and places it around her abdomen, the cloth instantly starting to soak the blood. Dropping her shirt, he moves her hands back into place for her and looks at her, her eyes shut in pain as hair sticks to her sweaty forehead.
Squeezing her hand in reassurance he swipes his bow and nocks an arrow, releasing and -thunk- puncturing straight into the chest of a man turning a corner of a hedge from where they came, their armour doing nothing to stop a direct hit from his bow. Hearing the yell of surprise from the hedge as the body drops, he pulls back another arrow and releases it through the hedge, the arrow disappearing in the foliage but hitting true as a scream of agony pierces the garden.
He drops behind the fountain as two men burst through the hedges on either side of the fountain, their muskets trained towards him and -Bang Bang- passing over his cover. Popping out, he lets out an arrow to his left, piercing the man's neck and dropping him to the ground but he's forced to duck back down as -Bang- another man shoots over the body of the first person he shot.
"Aaaah!" He drops the arrow he was about to nock and swings his bow to the side, deflecting the swing from the man to his right that decided to rush him with a blade.
Adjusting his stance, he goes for a horizontal strike, aiming to cleave Eirlet in two. But rather than blocking it, he ducks to the ground, narrowly avoiding the blade as it cuts through the air above him. Seizing his chance, he spins around low swiping a leg out that slams into the man's shins, the miss from his swing and subsequent kick is enough for him to lose his footing and drop to the ground.
Before he can even let out a grunt of pain Eirlet dives to him and -Schlick- slams the arrow he dropped straight through his wide eye.
Dropping his bow, he grabs onto the shoulder of the body with his other hand and heaves backwards, letting it take the brunt of -Bang- a shot. Blood splatters onto his face as he loses his breath from the force of the bullet hitting his chest.
He doesn't get a chance to check on it as the man that shot him rushes straight at him with a yell, a bayonet attached to the end of his musket. Still trying to catch his breath back, he can't move the body to shield himself as the man spears his rifle down at him.
Schilck
Eirlet yells in pain as the blade pierces through his forearm but he keeps enough of his wits to twist his arm to the side, the blade slamming into the ground with his forearm. He blinks through the tears welling up in his eyes before he rolls his body to the side and forcefully tears the rifle from the man's grasp.
He gasps as the blade pulls itself out, cutting through more flesh before dropping to the ground. Eirlet slowly rises to a crouch, letting his injured arm hang uselessly as blood streams down his fingers.
Taking a shaky breath, he reaches back and pulls his knife free and charges the unarmed man. The man tries to grab the arm holding the knife, keeping back with his longer reach but Eirlet swings the knife recklessly, slicing the man's arm who reels back with a hiss before Eirlet slams shoulder first into his gut.
Schlick
He stabs into his gut once, the man letting out a wheeze before Eirlet pulls back out and stabs it back in, he does it again, again, and again. The man's legs give out beneath him and Eirlet follows him to the ground.
He yelps in pain as his bleeding arm hits the ground. Taking a moment to breathe Eirlet pushes down on the knife still stuck in the man who weakly tries to grab onto him but fails as he continues to bleed out from his punctured organs.
With a grunt he pulls the knife out as he goes to his feet, reaching up to his chest, he exhales heavily as his fingers pull out a ball of metal from his chest piece, the bullet covered in blood and small pieces of flesh.
'Must've dulled the force enough for my vest to take it.'
Dropping the ball, he shuffles over to Isla as the man takes his last breath. Sweating as he scoops up his bow, he drops to a crouch beside her.
'She's losing too much blood,' he grimly observes the blood-soaked bandage and her pale face.
Pulling out another roll, his final one, a hand stops his arm, "Don't, don't," She weakly whispers, "You need it more than me."
Furrowing his brow, Eirlet's eyes convey his protest, but Isla meets him with her own glare, "They're regrouping. Only have a minute before they all come after us, you won't be able to make it with me."
Both match each other's glare; he looks away first. With a rueful smile, she pushes his arm back and drops her hand, leaving a bloody handprint on his sleeve. Slowly and agonizingly, he wraps his forearm with the bandage, tightening it enough to push his sliced flesh back together before tying it up.
He places his hand on hers, gazing up into the cloud-filled sky as a raindrop falls onto his cheek.
Her voice trembling, she musters her strength to speak once more, "Don't waste what you have right now Eirlet. I know you're after someone but be patient. Your strong, driven, the time will come when everything comes to a head but don't waste it fighting for others. Fight for yourself."
Rain platters around them as he takes her words in, holding back the grief that he's all too familiar with as he memorizes her face.
Thud Thud Thud
Eirlet snaps his head to the side as he hears a titan approaching, 'No, more than one and they're not far.' He can also hear yells erupt from those chasing them.
Isla's come to that conclusion as well as she sits up, "That's your cue, now go, and leave me with a Wall-damned gun."
Sluggishly carrying out her demand he places a fresh musket in her arms which she grips tightly. She offers him a tight smile as he rises to his feet, rain starting to pick up as the stampede of feet gets closer.
With water dripping from his face, he turns and limps into a jog just as the first titan -Crash- fells a tree bordering the garden.
The large titan stands as tall as the mansion, needing only two steps before its lumbering body collides with the fence wall guarding the property. Metal screeches under its weight as it slowly starts to yield under the force, but the brick serving as its foundation topples first, not made to defend against the monstrosities.
Bang Bang
A cacophony of gunshots rings out, hitting the titan dead on but it remains unfazed, a smile etched on its face as it peers down at its next feast.
He can hear more stomps coming from the titan's wake, signalling the arrival of its brethren drawn to the large gathering of humans. However, that's all he can see above the hedges before the titan leans down, and that's when the screaming starts.
Bursting through the garden, he breathes a sigh of relief at spotting Lowry still where he left him, shifting on his hooves nervously. Approaching the nearby gate, he leans his good arm against it and pushes, straining as the heavily rusted gate reluctantly creeps open.
Shirt soaked with sweat, he huffs as he moves over to his horse, pulling free his tether and painfully slowly getting himself on the saddle with only a single arm. Gritting his teeth, he looks back on where he came and his eyes widen at the sight of the large titan stepping through the hedges, a bloody smile plastered on its face as its gaze locks itself ahead of it, where he left Isla.
His heart aches as the titan steps closer, where he knows it's essentially on top of her.
Bang
His mind freezes at the lone gunshot echoing through the rain, the titan slowly dragging its gaze from where she was, had been, up to him, meeting his shocked eyes. Frozen in that moment he watches as the titan takes its first step, going beyond the fountain and towards him.
He doesn't register anything until Lowry snorts beneath him, and his body moves. Snapping the reins, his horse takes off, galloping away from the titan, from the mansion, from Isla. Her final words playing on a loop in his mind.
And he knows why she said that.
Bang
He knows what to do.
AN:
Kinda don't like how I planned out Isla, that is to say, I planned nothing in terms of character development or stuff like that. I did have it planned for her to die at this point, but I can see that there wasn't much shown of her to be much of an impactful character. Won't change it now but I'll try to keep in mind for other characters.
