Dances and Ruin// Reiner Braun x OC

Chapter Eleven

It all happened in an instant. The urgent warning to turn around and get the word out to everyone else, the trying desperately to get the horse to speed up, the feeling of the ground trembling beneath them as they neared everyone else, and the horde of titans spearheaded by a female titan. The moment Peri saw her it was almost as if ice had been shot through her veins, she couldn't recall a time she'd ever seen anything like it. Even in Trost, the titans only trickled in through the gates. There was no stampede. Had it not been for the veteran riding by her side, Peri's not sure she would've ever sprung into action. The sight before her was as intriguing as it was petrifying. Like something you don't want to watch but can't look away from. She can still see herself moving from one set of shoulders to the next, slicing nape after nape, and feeling like it was going nowhere until she was sent off on horseback to find the commander and tell him what was going on.

A hand rests itself on her arm, and Peri jumps, snatching herself away from the gentle touch. She knows that the hand and the person it's attached to mean no harm, even so, the contact is unwelcome. Peri looks up through her lashes to see a pained Reiner gently pulling his hand back and resting it at his side. He squats down and carefully finds a seat in front of her. Peri can still feel Reiner's arms wrapped around her as they ride horseback to the forest they're currently located in. The ride itself feels like a blur. Truth be told, everything up to now is either a fuzzy memory or doesn't feel real, to begin with. Even the current moment feels distant somehow. One thing she knows for sure though is that no matter how distant the moment feels, she knows Reiner is close.

Her eyes move from Reiner's seated figure and down to the clenched fists in her lap. For the first time in a little while, she's beginning to become conscious of her surroundings and more importantly herself. Her breathing feels a bit more erratic than usual, and her hands are shaking more than they were when they left Calaneth District. It's easy enough to understand why, but the realization makes her feel sick nonetheless. Her eyes dart back toward Reiner to only catch a glimpse of a concerned Jean and Armin for the first time. "What happened? Why are we here? And where is Commander Erwin?" she asks, finally verbalizing the thoughts that have been lingering near the back of her mind.

Jean clears his throat and nods to the area beneath the branch they're perched upon. Peri looks over her side and down below. Beneath them waits an assembly of titans. The mere sight of those beasts causes a new wave of nausea to wash over her, causing her head to go light and start spinning. A hand wraps itself firmly around her arm and pulls her up again. Reiner is stretched forward, holding her in place. "What Jean was implying is that we're stuck here, but you're safe. If they could climb they would've done it by now," Reiner explains. "You should lean back against the tree. Can't risk you falling over, ya know?"

Peri nods and leans back as Armin frowns. "They may not know how to climb, but that's not stopping them from learning. Look." His hand motions to a pair of strong-willed titans trying their hand at tree-scaling.

Reiner sighs in response, "We'll just keep an eye on them for now. If they seem to get any better at their newfound skill we'll find a new branch to call home."

Peri tilts her head back and closes her eyes, trying to get a grip on what's going on around her. Her head is pounding, the pain feels like it's causing her head to split in two. She groans, It must be the adrenaline from earlier wearing off. What I wouldn't give to have that last a little while longer. At least long enough to find... "The commander. Where is he? I have to let him know that the right-wing spotters--"

"Have been wiped out," Jean interrupts. "I'm sure he's figured it out by now."

"Wiped out?" Peri asks. "What do you mean by wiped out?" Armin seemingly tenses up as does Reiner, whereas Jean seems to deflate immediately at the realization of what he's just said. "Wiped out? You have to be misunderstanding or something. Maybe you just don't have the whole story. Everybody was fighting. We were okay. Char--She--I was only down and out for--"