Ein Riese, der Fliegen Wollte

Behind High Walls

The gondola pulls to a halt in one of the trade villages just inside Wall Rose. The refugees begin to disembark from it hesitantly, and Mikasa pulls her jacket closer around her as she waits. The chill of an early winter doesn't bode well for them. She looks over to Armin, who is currently nestled comfortably against the other side of the strange olive-skinned boy who had saved them in Shiganshina. Armin had begun to shiver violently on the way over, both of them lacking adequate cold-weather clothes, but fortunately for them the boy ran hot as a furnace and didn't seem to mind the breach of personal space.

Armin had tried to engage the boy in conversation during the journey, but any time he was prompted to speak, he would just frown with a confused look on his face. Mikasa finds him...odd.

"Mikasa." She looks over at Armin, who is gesturing at the empty gangplank. She nods and helps him stand, but before she can do anything else, the odd boy hauls Armin up into his arms again-this time bridal style.

He grunts at her, and Mikasa wonders what exactly she's supposed to take from the sound, but before she can question him he's already making his way to shore. "Be careful with him." She warns, following closely and watching his movements cautiously. The boy just grunts again, and she scowls.

The ration line is long, and the mutterings of the guards only make the wait feel more daunting. What if there really isn't enough to go around? What if the guards decide to take the food for themselves? What if they don't find a place to live? She looks to Armin, and the grim expression on his face betrays the same worrisome thoughts. Knowing Armin, he's probably already puzzled out every way this could go horribly, painfully wrong.

She looks to the odd boy to see how he's fairing, and finds him absolutely fascinated by a white moth that was perched on one of the empty crates next to them.

"How can you be so relaxed about this!?" She snaps, anger spiking only to be immediately replaced by regret when the boy turns to look at her with those wide, innocent eyes. He tilts his head in confusion and frowns before glancing around questioningly, as if wondering if it was actually him she was talking to.

"I'm starting to think he really has no idea what we're saying." Armin says softly, still wrapped up in the boy's hold. Armin had tried to convince him to let him down once they were in line, even trying to physically climb out of the embrace, but the boy just looked pointedly at his bruised and bloody legs and held him tighter. Mikasa wonders how long it will take for his arms to get tired.

"You think he's simple?" It sure seemed like it at times.

"He could be." Armin frowns "Or maybe he hit his head during all of the commotion. Do you remember when old man Johnson fell out of that window?"

Mikasa nods slowly, recalling the incident. "He didn't remember his own name for a week." The whole village had come out to help him, which unfortunately only confused and agitated the man more. She wonders briefly if he made it out of Shiganshina.

"When we find a place to sit down, we should look him over just to be sure. He could be seriously injured." He looks up at the boy worriedly.

Just then the moth that had captivated the boy moments earlier takes to the air and with a chaotic fluttering of wings, finds a new resting spot right between two mesmerized blue-green eyes. A lopsided smile splits the tanned face and he looks to Mikasa like it's the most fascinating thing that has ever happened to him.