𝑾𝑨𝑹𝑯𝑨𝑴𝑴𝑬𝑹 | a. arlert

009 | the masquerade's end

"let go of me!" you yelled, thrashing around in hange's grasp as you attempted to free your arms.

their grip on you remained strong, and after awhile you gave up, tiring yourself out. reiner stared across at you blankly, currently being consoled by bertholdt who was attempting to wipe the dried blood from his face with a patch of dirty cloth.

you could hear shuffling from behind you, and hange's hold on you shifted solely to your right arm. your left arm dropped to your side, seemingly forgetting how to function. it was tingling where your blood circulation had been slowed, and your fingers twitched as you flexed them, trying to get rid of the unpleasant sensation.

"care to explain what that was all about, and what the hell you're doing out here?" hange asked, their new position allowing them to stand beside you.

"it's really nothing, just some old unfinished business." you answered, wiping the last of the blood that was dripping from your nose with your free hand.

hange sighed, grip on your arm tightening, and you could tell they were beginning to get fed up.

"as for why i'm here, i don't really have an answer for you." you continued. "i just wanted to come along since it's near the village i'm from, thought there was a chance i could run into someone, y'know?"

the short man you had seen with hange earlier clicked his tongue, standing nearby currently preoccupied with polishing one of his long blades. "i doubt any of the villagers are alive, not with the amount of titans that we found out here." he said monotonously, not even sounding interested in what he was saying.

"don't start levi." hange replied sternly, staring off in the opposite direction of where he was standing, and you followed their gaze, soon realising they were looking at the boy you presumed must be connie.

his mood seemed to have deflated now; he stood alone staring down at the muddy ground. by the looks of it, someone must have told him about his village, and you couldn't help but feel awfully sorry for him.

hange letting go of your arm captured your attention, and you turned, blinking in confusion.

the idea of running away popped into your head again, but you quickly dismissed it, realising it would be fruitless - you'd just end up lost and without the answers you so desperately needed.

for now you'd just have to forget about your anger and go along with whatever the scouts were doing, waiting for a chance to find out more about what had happened to annie.

"hey, armin!" hange shouted, waving their arms in the air in an attempt to call him over. you watched as his face disfigured into an expression of both confusion and dread, and he began to walk towards you, long hair being blown in-front of his face by the wind.

"yes?" he asked, stopping a couple of meters from where hange stood.

"i want you to look after our guest here for the foreseeable future." they said, pulling you by the arm towards him. "make sure she doesn't try and run off anywhere, alright?"

even through a sarcasm-laced tone, you could tell that hange was annoyed, and partially blamed armin for you managing to tag along on the expedition.

"don't blame armin for me being here, it honestly isn't his fault at all." you blurted out, trying to get him off the hook the only way you knew how - passing the blame onto yourself.

-

not too long after your conversation with hange, everyone left castle urtgard, heading towards the second wall.

you were sat behind armin on his horse, spacing out as you looked at your surroundings as you passed them. the scenery in paradis was all quite similar - especially in the more rural areas. still, to you, the view of boundless grass and greenery was far better than the beige, concrete land that was marley.