army dreamers

1 - the remaining

'So, is it true?'

Zeke pushed himself away from the concrete wall he was leaning against.

'What?'

'That you're the one to inherit it.'

The streets of the inner district got filled with busy adults, hurrying home from work. The two blonde boys slowly made their way through the crows, leaving the training center behind them. The setting sun painted an orange glow on the old, shiny stones and bricks.

'Oh,' Zeke sighed. 'Yeah. But keep quiet!'

'Quiet?' Rowan exclaimed with sparkling eyes. 'But this is awesome, you can finally be an honorary marleyan! You're gonna be rich or some shit! Who knows about it?'

'Those who need to know about it.'

Rowan walked next to him in silence, as he examined the stores they were passing by. Women with thicker arms than some warriors were carrying wooden boxes back from the street, cleaned the blackboards. He didn't really understand why they had to clean them, after all, the same thing was advertised on them every day: potatoes and flour. Maybe because the price got higher and higher.

He thought about what his sister and mother did while he was away at training and then the interrogation. He doubted if Ma even got dressed.

'Do you want to come over for dinner?' asked Rowan. 'You could tell Cornelia the big news!'

'I was there yesterday...'

'And?'

They turned at the corner but didn't stop at Zeke's house.

'Do you think I have a bigger chance now to get the armored? I mean, you could say some nice things about me every now and then!'

'Yeah, I'll tell them about you. What nice things could I say to them, though? You are already on thin ice, that would just end up me also being punished.'

Rowan rolled his eyes but didn't respond.

'You're being punished, right?' Zeke inquired.

'Well, yes, technically, no. They kept talking about all the things they can thank my family, and how it won't protect me forever, and...'

'They're right, you know.'

'I know,' Rowan sighed. 'Also, interrupt me again and you're not getting dinner. As I was saying... they sort of agreed with me. Or I was just hallucinating out of stress.'

'I highly doubt that's a thing' Zeke shook his head. 'What on Earth did you say to them that they agreed?'

'Well, they first shouted at me that I need to stop acting up, they can't deal with me anymore in these times. You know, they're about to plan the mission to retrieve the Founding... but they don't even have proper candidates yet, they're just stupid fuckers who never learned how to deal with pressure...'

'Rowan, quiet!'

'Shit, okay, got it!' the younger frowned. 'It was quite the speech they gave, though. About the titan experiments my ancestors did, and those... families. That the shifters they will have to send to Paradis will not only have to deal with those devils, but entire clans of genetically manipulated guard dogs, and they really don't have the time to discipline me every time I'm too nosy. So, it got me thinking, and I just blurted it out, that they should get rid of the families first, then comes the hunt for the founding titan...'

Zeke raised a brow, his eyes locked on Rowan. He knew him too much, that tall monkey was already thinking, planning, or just revising ideas. His train of thought was interrupted by the sight of two soldiers, patrolling the narrow street.