Jaw

Chapter 12

Silena was late– so desperately late– to training.

She stumbled out of bed, bleary, with barely enough sense in her to dog-ear the book Porco had given her and put it on her night table. She quickly washed up and put on clothes, running out of the house with barely a word to her mother in the kitchen. Not that they had much to say to each other now that her birthday was over.

She flew down the street, pushing past pedestrians and not apologizing as she went. How had she managed to sleep so late? The sun was already high in the sky, and she hadn't stayed up that late reading.

The lot where she and Zeke trained was a good distance from her house; Silena was huffing for air by the time she reached it.

It was nothing special: walled in on three sides with treacherous, cracking concrete. She didn't know why Zeke had chosen it, really, considering that they could use any of the various military facilities scattered around the city.

As she came to reach the edge of the lot, Silena realized that he wasn't alone.

He stood, arms crossed, while the figure next to him crouched. Even at a distance, the hunched shoulders and shock of strawberry blond hair was recognizable as Porco. What was he doing here? Porco had never overseen her training before.

Silena slowed. It was a known fact that Zeke hated waiting, and while she hated being chewed out by him on a normal day, it became so much worse when there was someone else watching. Especially if that someone else was Porco Galliard. But she couldn't stop now. Silena jogged the rest of the way over to them.

Zeke's arms were crossed; he made an imposing figure, even in his round glasses. "You're late," he remarked with a glare to cut glass, but that seemed to be all. He'd spared her.

"I'm getting a goddamn sunburn," Porco grumbled at her as he got to his feet. It was true: there were light patches of pink under his eyes and across his nose.

"It was your book that kept me up all night," Silena hissed, keeping her voice low in the hopes that Zeke wouldn't hear. He seemed preoccupied going through the bag that she'd brought, but there was no telling with Zeke. She added, "What are you doing here, anyways?"

Porco wasn't able to answer, because Zeke had stood up, clearly done with his examination. He didn't look impressed. He said, "Shoddy work, Lehmann, I've seen you do better."

"Sorry," Silena said, hanging her head.

"Don't be sorry, just be better," Zeke replied.

"Wait," Porco interjected. He'd moved over to the bag and was prodding it with a foot; he looked even more confused when a thick piece of wood fell out. "What is this?"

"The Warhammer Titan makes weapons out of its hardened skin, so it makes sense that a Holder should have at least a perfunctory grasp of weapons making. Nothing complicated—" Zeke gave the bag full of shoddy handmade weapon parts a once-over. "Just enough to understand basic structure."

"Now, if you don't have any more questions, Galliard, we should get started," Zeke continued. "I'm expecting a messenger soon—"

He cut himself off as he spotted someone behind them. Porco and Silena turned to see a man– presumably the messenger Zeke had been talking about. With a quiet and very creative expletive, Zeke stormed off to the messenger.

Zeke's yells could be heard from across the lot; the man looked absolutely terrified. Silena cringed away as she tried to tune out the warchief's raving about overzealous early messengers. Porco's fists were clenched at his sides.

Eventually, Zeke stormed back over to them, running a hand through his hair so furiously that he seemed to be attempting to rip it out. By the time he stood before them, he was panting, but he put on a facade of calm that was difficult to believe.

"I've got to leave for a few months, at least," he said. "So sorry, but do you think that you can handle your own training? I would've given you some things to go over if you'd just been on fucking time—" Silena very nearly flinched at the venom in his voice, but Zeke was composed again. "Do you know where Pieck is? She's coming with."

"At her house," Silena replied. In all the panic of the moment, it took her a few beats to realize that she wouldn't see her friend for a few months, at least. She hadn't even gotten to say goodbye.

"Fantastic. She'd better be goddamn ready," said Zeke to himself, a little breathlessly. He addressed the cadets, "I trust you two fully. You'll do great– you'd better."

With those slightly-threatening words, Zeke turned around and left them. Silena could have called after him– and said anything– but she didn't. Porco stayed quiet as well. Then Zeke and the messenger left and they were all alone in an empty lot, a bag full of scraps all they had between them.

"Let's end early today," Porco suggested after a thunderous sigh. "I don't feel like doing anything."

"This is your first time here," Silena replied, though she felt the same way he did. The task before her seemed a whole lot bigger than it had when she'd gone to bed last night.

Porco snorted. "Yeah, and it was shit."

Nodding, Silena led the way out of the lot. She took her bag but dumped out all of the weapon parts in the nearest plot of grass. They sat there, pathetically, nothing more than scraps of aluminum and wood.

"You like the book?" Porco asked when she rejoined them. He was taking them in the direction of home, which Silena was grateful for. She'd been out of the house for less than half an hour and was all ready to go back.

It was strange that he'd ask her, because he usually didn't ask her opinion on things. But, then again, he had been the one to buy it for her.

"I am," Silena replied. It was a romance, which was awkward, but Porco had known that when he bought it for her. At least– she didn't think he knew.

She tested the waters. "Have you read it?"

"No," he replied easily. "It was what Marcel was reading, like I said."

She couldn't tell if she was relieved by that or not. "Oh. Well, he's got good taste."

"Can I borrow it when you're finished?" Porco asked.

Now that was very strange. He'd never asked to borrow anything from her before– let alone a book. Let alone a romance book. "I don't think you'd like it. Too– what was the word you used? Flowery. But I can pick some stuff out that I think you'd prefer." She wasn't planning to ask, but— "Can you even read?"

He glared daggers at her. "Of fucking course I can read! You know what, never mind."

Silena stifled a laugh. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry!" She raised her hands in surrender. "I'll give you some stuff, don't worry. But– should I stay away from small print, or will that not be an issue?"

"Silena, I swear—!"

She laughed at the way he flustered, flushed up to his ears, and tried to ignore the part of her that really liked when he called her by her first name. It was a silly thing to be pleased about.