Ein Riese, der Fliegen Wollte

The Strength of an Army

It's been a long time since Eren's been in a crowd.

He doesn't like it any better now than he did then. His humans are with him, their makeshift family huddled against the throng, and Maria squirming in the cage of his arms. The city is unfamiliar to him, and the strange smells and sounds irritate his senses and make his hackles rise. They had traveled two days to get here, and the congestion of people reminds him all too vividly of the port-city they'd found themselves in after the Fall.

Armin pulls them through, murmuring apologies to everyone person he pushes aside, and eventually they get to the main office. There is a long line of people spilling out of it into the street, and it takes them an hour or so to finally make it to the front. There are signs and flyers with bright colors calling attention to the Effort to Reclaim Wall Maria, as well as recruitment information - 'propaganda', Armin calls it' - for the military.

Finally, they reach the desk at the front and a slender, harried human turns to Hannes with an exhausted expression. "Military or Wall Maria?"

"Military." Hannes says, the word spilling from him with the same amount of irritation as it always has.

The human gestures to a door through the back before turning its attention to the humans behind them. The door leads to a courtyard where another human - this one stocky and broad - stands with a clipboard and a stern expression.

"I need names and ages." It barks at them. "Today!"

Armin quickly gives his information, and the human jots it down on the paper before gesturing towards a waiting wagon. It already has a few people in it looking just as nervous as them. He scurries over to it, but doesn't climb inside yet, waiting for the rest of them. Mikasa does the same, and Carla lifts Maria out of Eren's hands so that he can do so as well.

But when he speaks, the human doesn't write anything.

Instead, it looks at him suspiciously. "Say that again." It orders.

"I-I am Eren. I am fifteen year old." He repeats, looking nervously at his humans, not understanding what he said wrong.

"Thought as much." The human snorts and points back at the door they came through. "Get out of here, kid. Military doesn't take simple folk."

As much as he wants to bristle at the term, he recognizes the problem this causes. If he can't get into the military, he will be sent to die outside the Walls, and though he knows he would survive out there, his humans wouldn't let him go alone.

He sees Armin throw a hand out to stop a furious Mikasa. "Sir!" Ah, so the human is male. It's so very hard to tell. They smell the same, so Eren doesn't know how humans manage to tell them apart. "Please. He's not simple. It's just a speech impediment. The military has no rules against that."

The human's face shows no change. "I know simple when I see it." He turns back to Eren, "Either get out, or I'll toss you out, boy."

Eren looks back to Armin with a pleading expression. Armin could probably talk his way out of cannon fire, so he should be able to convince this human to let him go with them.

"Please, sir. Trust me. The military will want him." He glances at Eren, and then back at the man. He has his thinking face on. "He's strong. I mean really strong. The military needs that, right?"