Attack on Titan / Interactive Story

89

"I met Ballard on a Friday," Winona began, "in the winter, it was freezing."

You both walked down the path, looking around at the houses and their colors.

"It felt like I had known him before in some other life." She light-heartedly laughed, a sight and sound odd to you. She was embarrassed by her own words.

The day was warm and bright, and you just happened to get Winona to initiate conversation. It was work, time to collect taxes or disperse land or just do surveillance. Ballard had wanted to visit his family, so you had gotten stuck with Winona - not that you minded. She had found it fun to talk to you, which was probably equally surprising to the both of you.

"You like him?"

"No, definitely not." She tugged at the belts that pressed against the sides of her shirt. Her uniform jacket almost looked too snug around her arms. "We're just friends."

"What is his family like?"

"Very sweet. Almost too sweet. Guess they feel they need to be, after all they've done." She wipes her forehead of forming sweat. "Despite that, they're still kind."

"'After all they've done'?"

Winona's eyes got caught by children running down the street, playing with friends, picking yellow-petal flowers. "They're a Military Police family. Everyone here has some sort of dirt on them."

You stayed quiet, not really catching on to what that could mean for the Jesperson family. Winona notices your confusion.

"Ballard's dad, Barris, he's a retired Military Police soldier, y'know? Ballard's family moved away from our village into a nicer house, inside Wall Sina. You don't just get that money from anywhere."

"Are you suggesting that Ballard's dad took tax money during his career?"

"I'm not suggesting, I'm saying."

Winona pulled back her bottom lip with her teeth. Her long braid drifted gently with the breeze, echoing the movements of the trees. The clouds began to jumple, making the streets darker. The children were called in by their mothers, the air gaining moisture. Winona points out the obvious, mentioning how it's going to storm.

"Want to take cover?"

Take Cover (Chapter 94)
Head Back (Chapter 95)