Attack on Titan: Bloodline -- Version 2

• Chapter 2 •

"Jeez," Connie remarked, "I thought for sure Shadis was going to kill Potato Girl." Eren sighed, watching Sasha run as the sun sank lower into the sky, "Yeah, I know. What a first day, huh? It's kind of funny. Being told to run until the sun sets didn't seem to bother her quite as much as losing meal privileges for the next five days." Lorraine leaned on the support beam next to Armin and chuckled a little. Connie asked, "Didn't she say she's from Dauper? If I remember right, it's a small hunting village not too far from my own hometown." Lorraine said, her arms folded, "Yeah. Where did you say you're from again, Connie?" Connie explained, "Ragako Village. It's a fairly small place. Doubt you'd have heard of it." Eren interrupted their conversation, gesturing towards a wagon that was riding up a dirt road.

"What's that?"

Mina stepped forward and explained, "They're dropouts. They'd rather work in the fields than train for the military after all." Armin said, "But it's only the first day." Lorraine waved and said in a joking manner, "Tch. Bye, rejects." Connie snickered at her banter. Eren said nonchalantly, earning the stares of the other Cadets, "That's just how it is. If you can't handle the pressure, you've gotta leave. Why would anyone rather pull plants than fight?" Marco turned to Eren and said, "I know about some of us, but you never mentioned where you're from, Eren." Eren smiled. He walked over to Armin and Lorraine and said, throwing his arms around their shoulders, "Shiganshina. Same as Armin and Lorraine. Her sister, Mikasa, is also from there." Connie said in awe, "So, that means...you were there that day. You saw the Colossal Titan, didn't you?"

"The Colossal Titan...I have a feeling he was behind all of this...like some kind of general...."

Eren sighed, letting go of his friends, "Yeah. I did." Connie, despite Marco's objections, asked eagerly, "Can you tell us about it? What was it like?" Eren said calmly, "Sure. I'll tell you all over dinner." The group walked inside, chattering. Lorraine stood on the porch and sighed lightly.

"God, I envy his fearlessness. I was so scared of the Titans...I still am. I have to learn to fight them and get over my fear. Like...like Eren."

She took a deep breath and stepped inside. Upon entering the mess hall, she saw that Eren was surrounded by a crowd and Armin and Mikasa were nowhere to be seen. She sighed and looked around for a calm place to sit down. She found a table nearby that was totally empty, so she sat down and started eating the rather bland vegetable soup. She had just taken a bite of her small loaf of bread when Reiner spoke, standing in front of her with his two friends, Annie and the tall boy from orientation. She finally got a better look at the tall boy. He had short, scruffy-looking brown hair, shy, green eyes, and his skin looked pretty tan, as though he had spent significant time in the sun. His limbs were long and lanky and he looked to be almost six feet tall.

"Hey, Lorraine. Mind if we join you?"

Lorraine moved aside and said, "Sure. Go right ahead." Reiner shimmied into the seat next to her while his two friends sat across from them. Reiner said cheerily, "Oh, by the way, guys, this is the girl I told you about earlier. Lorraine, this is Annie Leonhardt." Lorraine shook her hand. Reiner continued, gesturing to his friend, "And this gentle giant here is Bertholdt." Bertholdt said formally, "Bertholdt Hoover. It's a pleasure to meet you, Lorraine." Lorraine shook his hand and said, "It's nice to officially meet both of you. I'm sure you already heard my name at orientation. Mikasa, somewhere around here, is my older sister." The chatter from the small crowd was growing louder as Cadets asked many questions.

"So, exactly how tall was he?"

"I heard he stepped over the wall!"

"Me, too!"