From Across the Sea (Attack on Titan/OC) [ON HOLD]

Chapter 1

She felt like she had been walking for days. And maybe she had, she had no way of telling how long she'd been on her own. Her mouth was dry, lips chapped and bleeding from how many times she tried to hydrate them with her tongue. Her skull pounded with the worst headache, and she'd be shocked if her feet didn't have blisters from the constant rubbing of her boots.

The landscape had since changed from sand dunes to rolling hills of green and grassy fields. Trees became a common sighting, and she marveled at how each one seemed to stretch further towards the sky. She was no longer in control of her own body. Just keep going. I'll find something...eventually. But what she found was not quite what she expected.

On the horizon was a giant concrete structure. As she moved closer and closer, she could now make it out to be a wall of some sort. It seemed to stretch up further and further until she was straining her neck to continue looking towards the top. How tall is this thing?

Looking left and then right, she came to an impasse. Completely unsure of what to do next, she didn't hear the hoof beats coming from behind her. the whinny of the horse startled her, and she abruptly turned and tripped backwards, falling to the ground. Looking up at the rider, she noticed he was wearing a dark green cloak, and she could see the outline of the bulky gear he carried suspended at his hips. Large box-like containers with some sort of metal canisters sat on top. What are those?

"What are you doing outside the walls?!" The man shouted at her. Huh? Her mouth opened but no words came out. "Well?" He prodded again. Think of something, dammit!

"I'm not...quite sure." She said. "I don't remember." She slowly stood, legs shaking, and looked at the older man before her.

"What do you mean you don't remember?" The man asked her. He was still sitting on his horse looking down at her, his face now twisted in disbelief. His balding head was slick with sweat from the heat of the sun. It had to be at least midday, with the sun high in the bright blue sky. Clouds rolled by, but not enough to give any sort of relief in the form of shade.

Think! Think! Think!

"I think I hit my head." She lied some more. "I don't remember much of today." She bit her lip, hoping to look as harmless as possible.

Commander Keith Shadis looked at the blonde woman before him. He reached into his saddlebag and handed her his water canteen. She took it from his hesitantly before she opened it and took a few greedy swallows, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "Are you from Shiganshina?" He wondered if she was from the district where the Scouts usually exited from.

No, I'm from Marley. Liberio. She thought. I'm from across the sea.

"Yes." She lied again. She went to hand him back his canteen, but he simply waved at he to hold onto it. He looked at her again. Her grey shirt was slightly ripped at the bottom, as if she had been pulling at it endlessly. Her black pants seemed too big, and her boots had definitely seen better days.

Shadis turned from the small woman before him and scanned the horizon, looking for any sign of titans headed their way. With no immediate threat in sight, he turned his horse and gestured for her to follow him.

"C'mon." He called over his shoulder. "Let's get you home."

She startled for a moment before jogging to keep up with him. As the wall began to curve before her, she was in awe of the large wooden entrance gate to Wall Maria. The man hopped down from his horse and began to walk alongside his steed, leading it by the reigns as he navigated through the dark tunnel. As they emerged into one of the bustling marketplaces of Shiganshina she only had one thought on her mind.

This isn't home.