Petrichor

Chapter 8 - Adalynn (The Fall of Shiganshina)

A/N: This is a really lengthy, somewhat gory chapter :,) We made this pretty long to encapsulate everything that happens during the fall

"Dog Days are Over" by Florence and The Machine

Summer was my favorite. The feeling of the sun warming my skin makes me feel alive. It was a new feeling that I've learned to love. The underground was cold and wet, I hated it. But now, my life is better. And warm. The serenity I felt, walking with Aurora in the beaming light of the sun, to our home, was something I thought I would never be graced by the gods with. Maybe I will become a scout. I don't think I could truly imagine my life being any different than now.

Our tranquil walk was interrupted by the quarrel of children. Huh, it's the Jaeger kid and his friends in a fight. Whatever.

"Adalynn, that's Jaeger's kid." Rory said almost impatiently.

"Yeah, I remember you telling me." I said as if it was obvious.

"So, go do something!" What. Why? They're kids, they'll learn. It's fine. I continued to walk past, but Rory shoved me towards the altercation.

"Ror what the hell? Fine." Having had enough of her nagging and the obnoxious yelling of the kids, I decided maybe I should do something. Walking forward I called out.

"Hey what the hell is going on?!"

"Stay out of this blondie!" One of the older, tormenting kids exclaimed. Absolutely not. At this point I'm speeding up my pace, making it over to the kids. I am nearly stepping in the middle of everything as I tell them to stop.

"Who's gonna make us?" God, I hate kids. He put his hands on me to move me aside. Can I punch a kid? Probably not. Oh well, Rory can scold me later. My fist flies to his gut, making me bend over in pain. They all scurry away from the three kids.

"Hey we've got this!" The little firecracker Jaeger yelled.

"Mhm, the marks on you speaks for itself." I look at the dark haired girl, Mikasa. She looked like she could hold her own, but Eren was too rash and Armin too nervous. Armin takes initiative to thank me.

"Thank you miss...?"

"Adalynn." I replied.

"Are you a scout?" Eren asked. How did he get that from me stopping a fight?

"God, no." I say, refuting the idea. I begin walking back to Rory, but before we could continue our trip to the house, the children call out a cheerful goodbye. Maybe not all kids are so bad.

"Why did I have to be the one to do that? You know the kids," I griped, turning to Rory as we continued.

Rory simpered. "It's good for you to have practice being..." She seemed at a loss for words and made a desperate gesture with her hands. "You know."

"I don't, actually." What was that even supposed to mean?

Rory exhaled slowly, her smile faltering. "Just have some more practice with being a good samaritan. It'll do good for you."

Seriously? I was perfectly fine, I didn't need to be any better of a samaritan. "I am a fine samaritan, thank you. I don't need to be any better."

Rory's hands twitched as she reached for the belts on her legs to adjust them as she walked. She looked stupid doing it, nearly stumbling over to the ground more than once. "Fine isn't good. It doesn't matter, I just think it's nice for you to have some experience with sticking up for someone. Especially if they're a firecracker for a kid." She smiled at me, nearly apologetically.

"I'll try." Was the only response I gave her. It seemed to be enough for Rory.
When we got back to the house, Rory went to open the door, but her hand lingered on the knob. I leaned against the side of the house, waiting for her to open the door, but she stayed put. After a moment of waiting, I spoke. "You alright?"