I pause with my pen

[ipausewith-mypen]

Onward and Outward ;; AOT RP

[ipausewith-mypen]

dminmx:

Eren went quiet for a moment before nodding. “I imagine that would be hard on anyone. ” his face had fell as he reflected on the situation and what Shena had just revealed to him.

Then he turned, and with a smile not quite as bright as before but just as reassuring, he continued. “But you’ll see it one day. And it’ll feel like there was never anything before hand. We all will. ”

___

She wrinkled her nose in amusement but nodded respectfully. “I see… I guess one man’s death wish is another’s escape.” Max realized how naive she sounded, but she found that there were some truth in that.

“I dunno about the horse aspect of it but I imagine I’d find something to occupy my time pretty easily. Doesn’t matter if it’s cleaning or running errands. It’s a place to be that’s not going anywhere unless I do. ” She chuckled light heartedly. “I just need a bed and a meal and I’ll be fine. I imagine my reasoning doesn’t make sense to you, but it doesn’t have to.” —————————————————————————————————–

Shena raised her head and looked over to him, noticing the look in his eyes as he proclaimed that they would see the outside world some day. She pursed her lips together, not certain how to reply at first before settling on something. “You’re really determined, aren’t you?” She gave a small smile. “I suppose I should be too. I’ve noticed that a lot of people just want to move more into the walls than out. But we didn’t have the walls a long time ago, right? So I just assume we’re meant to be out there…”

—

Levi furrowed his brow at that. “If you want a meal and a bed, you could join the Garrison. They seem to like to laze around a lot these days…” With the strange period of peace since Wall Maria fell, things seemed to be going back to normal with the exception of shortages everywhere. “The Scouting Legion will require a lot of hard work. We don’t rest even if the people think that we are wasting their money. I would be pissed too if I didn’t see any progress with something I am forking over money for and not seeing anything come from it.”

[dminmx]

Eren nodded some, agreeing with her. “Well, I think you have to be confident if your reasons allow it…” he breathed in deeply and then continued. “But moving everyone within the walls is a disaster waiting to happen. We wouldn’t just have titans to worry about. But I agree, we must have come from something greater. There’s to many stories told for us not to have come from outside of the walls.”

____

Max shook her head a but, smiling some. She had thought of the garrisons but that was to close to home to be comfortable. “It’s complicated. ” She responding, an attempt to change the subject. “But I’m use to hard work. As for the progress… progress is subjective, isn’t it? They’re looking for breakthroughs and they’re not going to find them. Not yet. But I think if they took away the scouts then they’d be left with a lot of issues that they can’t fix. That’s the thing with science, isn’t it? Breakthroughs happen slowly. ”

[ipausewith-mypen]

Shena listened to Eren’s words carefully, craning her neck to look at the walls in the distance. What he said was right even if she didn’t want to admit it. Turning back to him, she gave him a wavering smile. “You’re asking the wrong person if you mention having confidence in yourself. Maybe I am just being selfish. I wanted to see the outside world at least once before I died. And I didn’t want to sit rotting in here… Why would anyone?” — “I see.” Levi knew that answer was one to allude to not asking anymore questions so he went along with steering the conversation elsewhere. “I wouldn’t call it a science even though one of the Scouting members would disagree with me. It’s a fight that we can’t afford to give up on.” He looked around briefly at the recruits passing them by or working. They all still had a glow in their faces. “If they would lose their ignorance, we would be getting somewhere a lot faster. But you can’t make someone feel a certain way I suppose.” He straightened. “I don’t know what Erwin is doing. Maybe got stuck in the bathroom or something… man is taking his time…”

[y0ng0]

Eren chuckled some, enjoying the conversation. He wasn’t sure if it was the topic or Shena, but he felt as if he had just had a breath of fresh air “there are different kinds of confidence one can have.” He reassured her. “And I don’t believe that’s selfish. We’re not any different from any other animal. Eventually, being caged starts to take a tole.”

____

“No… but they’ll figure it out sooner or later. But we need some to believe and be unaware. It keeps the rest hopeful and driven. And it allows new eyes on the situation. ” She shrugged some, watching her feet as she walked. “I’ll have to take my leave, I think. The kitchen, unfortunately, calls my name.”

[ipausewith-mypen]

“I guess the analogy fits even if I don’t like it,” Shena replied, clasping her hands behind her back as she stopped walking, still looking up to the top of the wall. “I guess the Scouts would be our only hope if that is the case.I may not be the best soldier but I wanted to help in what ways that I could… and I didn’t think it meant staying inside or reading books about the outside when there was a way to actually go.” She gave a sideways smile, glancing over to him. — Levi gave a stiff shrug and side stepped in order to allow her the space needed to leave for the kitchens. “I guess so. But everyone finds the truth eventually. It’s whether or not you fight even after discovering the truth is what really matters.” He nodded to Max. “If you come to the Scouts, I guess I will be seeing you around. Push hard. Don’t get in trouble.”

[dminmx]

“Well… being a good soldier isn’t necessarily your ability in combat. Or I don’t believe so. ” he smiled some, almost embarrassed in himself. He felt as if he sounded like a child telling bedtime stories. “No matter what, I do believe that there’s something worth it all out there. And I believe there’s an answer to all our troubles. Maybe we’re even closer then we think.”

___

“That’s hopeful. ” She commented but didn’t go more in depth. She started towards the kitchen, giving a small nod of leave. She didn’t look back as she stomped across the yard in a half hurried manner. “And I don’t go looking for trouble! It finds me!”

[ipausewith-mypen]

Shena picked her head up a little at that, a bit perplexed by his words but she didn’t seem offended. “R-right,” she blinked her eyes before she realized it was getting late, the sun starting to set. “Ahh, I gotta go finish up with stocking the regiment store! Or else i will miss dinner.” She chuckled a little and waved a hand. “Sorry to keep you longer than i thought. But the chat was nice. Maybe I will see you around?” --- Levi feigned a roll of his eyes once before he turned and made sure the gate was locked up before stepping away. You met all sorts of people in the military, much more so the Scouting Legion. She certainly fit the bill, if he didn’t know any better. Now he needed to go and find Erwin... 

[ipausewith-mypen]

Onward and Outward ;; AOT RP

[ipausewith-mypen]

dminmx:

Eren went quiet for a moment before nodding. “I imagine that would be hard on anyone. ” his face had fell as he reflected on the situation and what Shena had just revealed to him.

Then he turned, and with a smile not quite as bright as before but just as reassuring, he continued. “But you’ll see it one day. And it’ll feel like there was never anything before hand. We all will. ”

___

She wrinkled her nose in amusement but nodded respectfully. “I see… I guess one man’s death wish is another’s escape.” Max realized how naive she sounded, but she found that there were some truth in that.

“I dunno about the horse aspect of it but I imagine I’d find something to occupy my time pretty easily. Doesn’t matter if it’s cleaning or running errands. It’s a place to be that’s not going anywhere unless I do. ” She chuckled light heartedly. “I just need a bed and a meal and I’ll be fine. I imagine my reasoning doesn’t make sense to you, but it doesn’t have to.” —————————————————————————————————–

Shena raised her head and looked over to him, noticing the look in his eyes as he proclaimed that they would see the outside world some day. She pursed her lips together, not certain how to reply at first before settling on something. “You’re really determined, aren’t you?” She gave a small smile. “I suppose I should be too. I’ve noticed that a lot of people just want to move more into the walls than out. But we didn’t have the walls a long time ago, right? So I just assume we’re meant to be out there…”

—

Levi furrowed his brow at that. “If you want a meal and a bed, you could join the Garrison. They seem to like to laze around a lot these days…” With the strange period of peace since Wall Maria fell, things seemed to be going back to normal with the exception of shortages everywhere. “The Scouting Legion will require a lot of hard work. We don’t rest even if the people think that we are wasting their money. I would be pissed too if I didn’t see any progress with something I am forking over money for and not seeing anything come from it.”

[dminmx]

Eren nodded some, agreeing with her. “Well, I think you have to be confident if your reasons allow it…” he breathed in deeply and then continued. “But moving everyone within the walls is a disaster waiting to happen. We wouldn’t just have titans to worry about. But I agree, we must have come from something greater. There’s to many stories told for us not to have come from outside of the walls.”

____

Max shook her head a but, smiling some. She had thought of the garrisons but that was to close to home to be comfortable. “It’s complicated. ” She responding, an attempt to change the subject. “But I’m use to hard work. As for the progress… progress is subjective, isn’t it? They’re looking for breakthroughs and they’re not going to find them. Not yet. But I think if they took away the scouts then they’d be left with a lot of issues that they can’t fix. That’s the thing with science, isn’t it? Breakthroughs happen slowly. ”

[ipausewith-mypen]

Shena listened to Eren’s words carefully, craning her neck to look at the walls in the distance. What he said was right even if she didn’t want to admit it. Turning back to him, she gave him a wavering smile. “You’re asking the wrong person if you mention having confidence in yourself. Maybe I am just being selfish. I wanted to see the outside world at least once before I died. And I didn’t want to sit rotting in here… Why would anyone?” — “I see.” Levi knew that answer was one to allude to not asking anymore questions so he went along with steering the conversation elsewhere. “I wouldn’t call it a science even though one of the Scouting members would disagree with me. It’s a fight that we can’t afford to give up on.” He looked around briefly at the recruits passing them by or working. They all still had a glow in their faces. “If they would lose their ignorance, we would be getting somewhere a lot faster. But you can’t make someone feel a certain way I suppose.” He straightened. “I don’t know what Erwin is doing. Maybe got stuck in the bathroom or something… man is taking his time…”

[y0ng0]

Eren chuckled some, enjoying the conversation. He wasn’t sure if it was the topic or Shena, but he felt as if he had just had a breath of fresh air “there are different kinds of confidence one can have.” He reassured her. “And I don’t believe that’s selfish. We’re not any different from any other animal. Eventually, being caged starts to take a tole.”

____

“No… but they’ll figure it out sooner or later. But we need some to believe and be unaware. It keeps the rest hopeful and driven. And it allows new eyes on the situation. ” She shrugged some, watching her feet as she walked. “I’ll have to take my leave, I think. The kitchen, unfortunately, calls my name.”

[ipausewith-mypen]

“I guess the analogy fits even if I don’t like it,” Shena replied, clasping her hands behind her back as she stopped walking, still looking up to the top of the wall. “I guess the Scouts would be our only hope if that is the case.I may not be the best soldier but I wanted to help in what ways that I could... and I didn’t think it meant staying inside or reading books about the outside when there was a way to actually go.” She gave a sideways smile, glancing over to him. --- Levi gave a stiff shrug and side stepped in order to allow her the space needed to leave for the kitchens. “I guess so. But everyone finds the truth eventually. It’s whether or not you fight even after discovering the truth is what really matters.” He nodded to Max. “If you come to the Scouts, I guess I will be seeing you around. Push hard. Don’t get in trouble.”

[ipausewith-mypen]

Onward and Outward ;; AOT RP

[ipausewith-mypen]

dminmx:

Eren went quiet for a moment before nodding. “I imagine that would be hard on anyone. ” his face had fell as he reflected on the situation and what Shena had just revealed to him.

Then he turned, and with a smile not quite as bright as before but just as reassuring, he continued. “But you’ll see it one day. And it’ll feel like there was never anything before hand. We all will. ”

___

She wrinkled her nose in amusement but nodded respectfully. “I see… I guess one man’s death wish is another’s escape.” Max realized how naive she sounded, but she found that there were some truth in that.

“I dunno about the horse aspect of it but I imagine I’d find something to occupy my time pretty easily. Doesn’t matter if it’s cleaning or running errands. It’s a place to be that’s not going anywhere unless I do. ” She chuckled light heartedly. “I just need a bed and a meal and I’ll be fine. I imagine my reasoning doesn’t make sense to you, but it doesn’t have to.” —————————————————————————————————–

Shena raised her head and looked over to him, noticing the look in his eyes as he proclaimed that they would see the outside world some day. She pursed her lips together, not certain how to reply at first before settling on something. “You’re really determined, aren’t you?” She gave a small smile. “I suppose I should be too. I’ve noticed that a lot of people just want to move more into the walls than out. But we didn’t have the walls a long time ago, right? So I just assume we’re meant to be out there…”

—

Levi furrowed his brow at that. “If you want a meal and a bed, you could join the Garrison. They seem to like to laze around a lot these days…” With the strange period of peace since Wall Maria fell, things seemed to be going back to normal with the exception of shortages everywhere. “The Scouting Legion will require a lot of hard work. We don’t rest even if the people think that we are wasting their money. I would be pissed too if I didn’t see any progress with something I am forking over money for and not seeing anything come from it.”

[dminmx]

Eren nodded some, agreeing with her. “Well, I think you have to be confident if your reasons allow it…” he breathed in deeply and then continued. “But moving everyone within the walls is a disaster waiting to happen. We wouldn’t just have titans to worry about. But I agree, we must have come from something greater. There’s to many stories told for us not to have come from outside of the walls.”

____

Max shook her head a but, smiling some. She had thought of the garrisons but that was to close to home to be comfortable. “It’s complicated. ” She responding, an attempt to change the subject. “But I’m use to hard work. As for the progress… progress is subjective, isn’t it? They’re looking for breakthroughs and they’re not going to find them. Not yet. But I think if they took away the scouts then they’d be left with a lot of issues that they can’t fix. That’s the thing with science, isn’t it? Breakthroughs happen slowly. ”

[ipausewith-mypen]

Shena listened to Eren’s words carefully, craning her neck to look at the walls in the distance. What he said was right even if she didn’t want to admit it. Turning back to him, she gave him a wavering smile. “You’re asking the wrong person if you mention having confidence in yourself. Maybe I am just being selfish. I wanted to see the outside world at least once before I died. And I didn’t want to sit rotting in here... Why would anyone?” --- “I see.” Levi knew that answer was one to allude to not asking anymore questions so he went along with steering the conversation elsewhere. “I wouldn’t call it a science even though one of the Scouting members would disagree with me. It’s a fight that we can’t afford to give up on.” He looked around briefly at the recruits passing them by or working. They all still had a glow in their faces. “If they would lose their ignorance, we would be getting somewhere a lot faster. But you can’t make someone feel a certain way I suppose.” He straightened. “I don’t know what Erwin is doing. Maybe got stuck in the bathroom or something... man is taking his time...”

[ipausewith-mypen]

Onward and Outward ;; AOT RP

[ipausewith-mypen]

dminmx:

Eren went quiet for a moment before nodding. “I imagine that would be hard on anyone. ” his face had fell as he reflected on the situation and what Shena had just revealed to him.

Then he turned, and with a smile not quite as bright as before but just as reassuring, he continued. “But you’ll see it one day. And it’ll feel like there was never anything before hand. We all will. ”

___

She wrinkled her nose in amusement but nodded respectfully. “I see… I guess one man’s death wish is another’s escape.” Max realized how naive she sounded, but she found that there were some truth in that.

“I dunno about the horse aspect of it but I imagine I’d find something to occupy my time pretty easily. Doesn’t matter if it’s cleaning or running errands. It’s a place to be that’s not going anywhere unless I do. ” She chuckled light heartedly. “I just need a bed and a meal and I’ll be fine. I imagine my reasoning doesn’t make sense to you, but it doesn’t have to.” -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shena raised her head and looked over to him, noticing the look in his eyes as he proclaimed that they would see the outside world some day. She pursed her lips together, not certain how to reply at first before settling on something. “You’re really determined, aren’t you?” She gave a small smile. “I suppose I should be too. I’ve noticed that a lot of people just want to move more into the walls than out. But we didn’t have the walls a long time ago, right? So I just assume we’re meant to be out there...”

---

Levi furrowed his brow at that. “If you want a meal and a bed, you could join the Garrison. They seem to like to laze around a lot these days...” With the strange period of peace since Wall Maria fell, things seemed to be going back to normal with the exception of shortages everywhere. “The Scouting Legion will require a lot of hard work. We don’t rest even if the people think that we are wasting their money. I would be pissed too if I didn’t see any progress with something I am forking over money for and not seeing anything come from it.”

[ipausewith-mypen]

Onward and Outward ;; AOT RP

[ipausewith-mypen]

dminmx:

Eren frowned slightly, though not at all in a mean way. “If you insist. ..” he trailed off, looking a little apologetic. “Let’s walk together then. Just in case me or you drop our loads again. ” his smile quickly returned.

Bending down, he picked up his own crate with something that almost looked like ease. He walked slowly ahead, looking back and hoping she would follow.

“I’m Eren Yeager, by the way. I recognize you but. .. I can’t seem to remember your name. ” Despite the sincerity in his voice, his introduction was laced with an unmistakable confidence. In fact, it was almost loud with pride.

____

Max let out a brief but very unamused laugh. She didn’t even turn to look at who had arrived upon the scene, glaring the animal down with intense irritation. “I wouldn’t quite say I’m letting him, but alright. ”

Her chest heaved in an uneasy breath and she let herself relax a moment, never taking her eyes off the animal. She didn’t trust it, in fact it would be out of the way to say she feared it a little. But if you would ask her, she’d just tell you she wasn’t fond of animals.

In an attempt to use the element of surprise, she rushed towards the animal, making a wild grab at the dragging lead rope. For a moment she had succeeded, hands firmly around the rope. The stallion reared up, bringing Max to her tiptoes, and she was met hooves and rage. Instantly she let go, falling backwards and rolling out of the way. She hugged the fence post, trying to catch her breath once more.

Shena blinked her eyes once, a bit surprised that he would go out of his way to make sure she was doing alright. It wasn’t as embarrassing as lightening her own load. “Ah. Thanks,” she told him as she strained once more to carry her crate over to the supplies station. Her face was covered with the crate again, the only signs of there being a person behind it being her hands, legs and the top edge of a bun she wore upon her head to keep it out of the way of their gear.  “Shena Kerrigan,” she responded as he asked for her name. They had thankfully arrived at the station without another hiccup and she slid her crate onto the counter so a logistician could sort out what needed to be put away from it. She rubbed her hands together to get the feeling back into her fingers before she looked over to Eren. “I remember you from our first night,” she commented lightly. It had been the evening where he had almost gotten into a fight with Jean and vowed to join the Scouting Legion. “I’m from Shiganshina too… My father was a member of the Garrison. I was hoping to join the Scouting Legion.” — Levi feigned a roll of his eyes, knowing that she wasn’t going to take his advice seriously at first. And so, he took a step back and watched as the horse reared back on her with its ears flat back against its skull. He looked down at the ground where Max had retreated to and stepped forward once the animal was back on all fours. “It’s energetic today, isn’t it?” He asked as he reached for the rope. Without hesitation, he grabbed hold of it and gave a bit of a yank. The horse shook its head and pounded its hooves on the ground, as if contemplating what to do at first before settling there at Levi’s side.  Levi reached over and gave the horse a single pat to its long nose. “See? Confidence.” He concluded before he stepped over to Max and reached his hand out to help her up. “You might want to dust your uniform off before Instructor Shadis sees you. He can be a pain in the ass. Especially when he gets to show his students off to the higher ups.” Or so he had perceived. He had been lucky enough to skip training but the man was a hardass. 

[dminmx]

Eren let out an embarrassed chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. It wasn’t so much that he was embarrassed of the fight, especially not his devotion. If he had to guess, his shyness probably came from her own call out.

He puffed out his chest a bit, in an attempt to recover. “Oh, yeah? Haha…well I think you’ll do great. No matter where you go…” he rushed through his sentence, a bit shocked at how eager he was to keep the conversation going. “Um.. well what are you about to do now?”

___

Max found herself stuck between glaring at him with annoyance and perplexity. And then she caught herself. Disregarding his hand, she stood up quickly, brushing herself off hurriedly. “Oh shit, shit, shit, I didn’t even realize that was today…”

“I’m not even finished… ” an air of stress followed her as she took the reins from Levi and hurriedly put the animal away, sloppily picking things up and trying to make it look clean. “I’m sorry… I didn’t catch your name..” She said, a bit breathless and she hurried this way and that.

[ipausewith-mypen]

This was a rather peculiar situation for the shy girl and at first she looked to Eren as if he had grown another head before quickly shaking hers to get a hold of herself and putting on her best friendly, albeit strained smile. No one paid her that many compliments and she knew that Eren didn’t really know her. To her, he was just being nice. “I was…” What was she going to do? She knew Shadis was meeting with Commander Erwin Smith. She had wanted to stay out of dodge before she could get herself into trouble with either of them. She pointed awkwardly towards the castle-like structure. “Going… to go read a book?” It sounded like the most boring thing on the planet probably but it was the truth. And she would much rather have her nose in a book rather than on the ground doing push ups.  — Levi took a step back to give her the space that she needed to get up. He wasn’t offended that he didn’t take her hand as many of these people always seemed to want to hold their own. He was among them. She seemed to be in a rush now but for what reason Levi didn’t know. Were they meeting some sot of stablehand today? No, that was a bad joke and one that didn’t leave his mind.  “You’re going to screw it up more if you keep rushing like that,” he simply stated again before he took a breath in. “And it’s Levi.” He wondered if she would know of him. It never mattered to him if anyone did or not. But most people at least had heard of him by now. Lifting an eyebrow, he let out a low ‘tch’ as he spotted a pale with discarded dust cloths inside. “They not teaching the brats to clean?”

[dminmx]

Eren nodded, finding himself himself a bit disappointed in the answer. But not at her of her. No, he was more disappointed that he couldn’t find a reason to accompany her. He made of mental note to remember her name. If not to keep up with Shena, then to check in on where she would end up. After all, some people were worth watching out for.

“Well, Shena,” he grinned. “I’ll see you later?” He didn’t really wait for a response, turning on his heel before she could give anything thing that would resemble and disappointing answer. Eren found himself oddly nervous, looking back over his shoulder just in case he missed something.

___

Perhaps it was the shared vocabulary of ‘Levi’ and ‘brats’ that pulled her towards the realization, but either way, Max found herself feeling more frustrated by the minute. Locking the stables and double checking they were secure, she pulled herself into a quick but tired salute, looking anywhere but her commanders face.

“Forgive me, sir, I didn’t realize who you were, sir.” She vaguely wondered whether this would only make her situation worse, but in the end she found that she couldn’t care either way. Her duties were far from over, and she suspected that they would be doubled if it was found out that she may have been ‘disrespectful.’

[ipausewith-mypen]

“O-” And he had his back turned to her before she could finish her “okay”. Shena frowned slightly, wondering if she had said something wrong. She wasn’t really used to making many friends and her hobbies usually consisted of something only one person would do. She paused, fishing in her mind for something to say, hoping that some how she could manage not to be so awkward.  “Hey, Eren!” She called out after him, throwing a hand up but paused as she caught him looking back at her. She slowly lowered her hand and mentally kicked herself. “…Let’s talk about going outside the walls sometime, huh?” She remembered all that he had said and she found herself actually agreeing with it. There weren’t that many people who actually seemed that passionate about leaving the walls.  — Levi knew by the tense action in her shoulders what was to come next. He didn’t return the salute but gave a dismissive flick of his wrist. “You don’t have to do that. Got no one to suck up to here,” he told her before looking down the rows of stalls that kept the horses. It sure stunk around there. “You probably would have had a concussion by now if I hadn’t noticed you were fighting your horse.”  He stepped toward the gate and unlatched it, pulling it open for the both of them to leave. He motioned for her to go first before following after. Fishing into the front breast pocket of his crop jacket, he managed to retrieve a handkerchief. It wasn’t much but it could at least help in wiping her face off of the dirt it had collected in her fight. He offered it to her. “So, this is how they keep the new recruits busy, huh. Guess they really assume that the Scouting Legion isn’t gonna be around much longer.” 

[dminmx]

Eren stopped, looking back when he heard his name. What was said next made him grin ear to ear, both in excitement and determination. He back tracked to her side, smiling the whole way. “I’ve got time now, if think your book might be less interesting…”

Eren wasn’t shy even if he didn’t have a lot of friend. It was his confidence that made him lonely most of the time. But it was also his confidence that drove many towards him as well. He hoped he didn’t seem rude and that eagerness came off more towards the flips of conversation they could have, and not so much of other things that may be misunderstood.

___

Max dropped the salute, mumbling a small “thank you,” in response. She sighed and let herself relax against the fence, half heartedly glaring at the locked building. Then she let out a laugh. “He’s not mine. This is just a chore. Usually they have a paid kid from the neighboring town do it but…” She clicked her tongue and shook her head.

She looked over at him, to the his outstretched hand, and took the square cloth graciously. Carefully following the outlines of her face, she removed some of the sweat and grime. “I can wash this and then return it for you…” She trailed off a but before continuing. “This is their form of punishment. Most of the other kids were left to inventory. I finished mine this morning. ” She let out a low whistle. “He knows I hate this one. ”

[ipausewith-mypen]

“Ah?” Shena noticed that almost immediately after having said that, he was backtracking towards her. His go-getter personality was a nice mold for her who had trouble carrying on conversations with other people that she wasn’t so comfortable with. Well, she had been looking for an excuse to kill time and stay out of the way of the higher-ups.  “Sure. I’ve read the book already anyway, so I know what happens,” she gave a shrug as she softly replied. “Should we take a walk?” She offered. She didn’t really know what else they could do unless there was a place they could go and sit down at. There wasn’t that many places go have a private conversation within the barracks. — Levi raised an eyebrow. “So that means that you got into trouble over something? What did you do?” He asked as he leaned against the gate a little after they had left the ring. Erwin probably wasn’t missing him as much right now while Sadis and him discussed more serious matters that probably didn’t even concern the captain. Given the clash of personality, Sadis probably wasn’t his biggest fan, either.  “Keep the handkerchief. You probably wouldn’t see me around that often unless you decide to join the Scout Regiment… Given any thought of what you were going for?” It was a common topic of conversation between recruits, Levi had noticed. Most wanted to go for the Garrison or strived to be top ten in their classes to become MPs. Whatever kept them safe within the walls. The Scouting Legion had less and less recruits by the class.

[y0ng0]

Eren let her go first, walking beside her as they continued on their way. “Sounds good to me.” He smiled at her and hummed a bit. “Hey, if you don’t mind me asking, what made you decide to join?”

He hoped he wasn’t pushing any limits and continued to look kindly towards her. He knew everyone had their own reasons. He also understood that not everyone was as willingly open with them as he was. Some things were better left alone.

___

She looked down, trying not to smile in amusement. The situation was still funny and fresh in my mind. “Let’s call it a clash of opinions… I imagine repeating it wouldn’t do so kindly on me. But if you’re curious, I’m sure Sadie would tell you. ”

She inhaled deeply but nodded a bit. “The Scouts were my number one. I wouldn’t last long with the MPS,” She continued. “I’d get bored with the garrisons. Scouts seemed like the best option… the way I see it. ”

[ipausewith-mypen]

Shena glanced back at him as they began to walk together. She took her time with it as they really didn’t have a destination in mind. They wouldn’t have much of anything else to do until their night training. “Well...” She wondered if it would sound insane or not hesitating before she began to speak the truth. “I have had an unlucky bill of health growing up which kept me in my room a lot. I got to read plenty of books and became fascinated with the idea of other things being out there that we haven’t seen yet. I didn’t want to leave my room just to be faced with another set of walls keeping me in...” She laced her fingers together behind her back. “And given what happened in Shiganshina... I wouldn’t want anyone else have to face something like that.” --- “Really?” He asked. It was the first time that his voice had tried showing any higher infliction of interest. He watched some soldiers passing by with a horse between them, talking cheerfully. They were probably newbies that didn’t know the way that the world really worked either. Levi looked down at the muddied grown below them and thought quietly for a moment.  “Well, so long as you learn how to control a horse, you might have a chance out there,” he turned his head and looked at her. “Most would call it a death wish right now. It’s boring with us too because we haven’t been able to push the titans back from Wall Maria yet.” 

[ipausewith-mypen]

Onward and Outward ;; AOT RP

[ipausewith-mypen]

dminmx:

Eren frowned slightly, though not at all in a mean way. “If you insist. ..” he trailed off, looking a little apologetic. “Let’s walk together then. Just in case me or you drop our loads again. ” his smile quickly returned.

Bending down, he picked up his own crate with something that almost looked like ease. He walked slowly ahead, looking back and hoping she would follow.

“I’m Eren Yeager, by the way. I recognize you but. .. I can’t seem to remember your name. ” Despite the sincerity in his voice, his introduction was laced with an unmistakable confidence. In fact, it was almost loud with pride.

____

Max let out a brief but very unamused laugh. She didn’t even turn to look at who had arrived upon the scene, glaring the animal down with intense irritation. “I wouldn’t quite say I’m letting him, but alright. ”

Her chest heaved in an uneasy breath and she let herself relax a moment, never taking her eyes off the animal. She didn’t trust it, in fact it would be out of the way to say she feared it a little. But if you would ask her, she’d just tell you she wasn’t fond of animals.

In an attempt to use the element of surprise, she rushed towards the animal, making a wild grab at the dragging lead rope. For a moment she had succeeded, hands firmly around the rope. The stallion reared up, bringing Max to her tiptoes, and she was met hooves and rage. Instantly she let go, falling backwards and rolling out of the way. She hugged the fence post, trying to catch her breath once more.

Shena blinked her eyes once, a bit surprised that he would go out of his way to make sure she was doing alright. It wasn’t as embarrassing as lightening her own load. “Ah. Thanks,” she told him as she strained once more to carry her crate over to the supplies station. Her face was covered with the crate again, the only signs of there being a person behind it being her hands, legs and the top edge of a bun she wore upon her head to keep it out of the way of their gear.  “Shena Kerrigan,” she responded as he asked for her name. They had thankfully arrived at the station without another hiccup and she slid her crate onto the counter so a logistician could sort out what needed to be put away from it. She rubbed her hands together to get the feeling back into her fingers before she looked over to Eren. “I remember you from our first night,” she commented lightly. It had been the evening where he had almost gotten into a fight with Jean and vowed to join the Scouting Legion. “I’m from Shiganshina too… My father was a member of the Garrison. I was hoping to join the Scouting Legion.” — Levi feigned a roll of his eyes, knowing that she wasn’t going to take his advice seriously at first. And so, he took a step back and watched as the horse reared back on her with its ears flat back against its skull. He looked down at the ground where Max had retreated to and stepped forward once the animal was back on all fours. “It’s energetic today, isn’t it?” He asked as he reached for the rope. Without hesitation, he grabbed hold of it and gave a bit of a yank. The horse shook its head and pounded its hooves on the ground, as if contemplating what to do at first before settling there at Levi’s side.  Levi reached over and gave the horse a single pat to its long nose. “See? Confidence.” He concluded before he stepped over to Max and reached his hand out to help her up. “You might want to dust your uniform off before Instructor Shadis sees you. He can be a pain in the ass. Especially when he gets to show his students off to the higher ups.” Or so he had perceived. He had been lucky enough to skip training but the man was a hardass. 

[dminmx]

Eren let out an embarrassed chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. It wasn’t so much that he was embarrassed of the fight, especially not his devotion. If he had to guess, his shyness probably came from her own call out.

He puffed out his chest a bit, in an attempt to recover. “Oh, yeah? Haha…well I think you’ll do great. No matter where you go…” he rushed through his sentence, a bit shocked at how eager he was to keep the conversation going. “Um.. well what are you about to do now?”

___

Max found herself stuck between glaring at him with annoyance and perplexity. And then she caught herself. Disregarding his hand, she stood up quickly, brushing herself off hurriedly. “Oh shit, shit, shit, I didn’t even realize that was today…”

“I’m not even finished… ” an air of stress followed her as she took the reins from Levi and hurriedly put the animal away, sloppily picking things up and trying to make it look clean. “I’m sorry… I didn’t catch your name..” She said, a bit breathless and she hurried this way and that.

[ipausewith-mypen]

This was a rather peculiar situation for the shy girl and at first she looked to Eren as if he had grown another head before quickly shaking hers to get a hold of herself and putting on her best friendly, albeit strained smile. No one paid her that many compliments and she knew that Eren didn’t really know her. To her, he was just being nice. “I was…” What was she going to do? She knew Shadis was meeting with Commander Erwin Smith. She had wanted to stay out of dodge before she could get herself into trouble with either of them. She pointed awkwardly towards the castle-like structure. “Going… to go read a book?” It sounded like the most boring thing on the planet probably but it was the truth. And she would much rather have her nose in a book rather than on the ground doing push ups.  — Levi took a step back to give her the space that she needed to get up. He wasn’t offended that he didn’t take her hand as many of these people always seemed to want to hold their own. He was among them. She seemed to be in a rush now but for what reason Levi didn’t know. Were they meeting some sot of stablehand today? No, that was a bad joke and one that didn’t leave his mind.  “You’re going to screw it up more if you keep rushing like that,” he simply stated again before he took a breath in. “And it’s Levi.” He wondered if she would know of him. It never mattered to him if anyone did or not. But most people at least had heard of him by now. Lifting an eyebrow, he let out a low ‘tch’ as he spotted a pale with discarded dust cloths inside. “They not teaching the brats to clean?”

[dminmx]

Eren nodded, finding himself himself a bit disappointed in the answer. But not at her of her. No, he was more disappointed that he couldn’t find a reason to accompany her. He made of mental note to remember her name. If not to keep up with Shena, then to check in on where she would end up. After all, some people were worth watching out for.

“Well, Shena,” he grinned. “I’ll see you later?” He didn’t really wait for a response, turning on his heel before she could give anything thing that would resemble and disappointing answer. Eren found himself oddly nervous, looking back over his shoulder just in case he missed something.

___

Perhaps it was the shared vocabulary of ‘Levi’ and ‘brats’ that pulled her towards the realization, but either way, Max found herself feeling more frustrated by the minute. Locking the stables and double checking they were secure, she pulled herself into a quick but tired salute, looking anywhere but her commanders face.

“Forgive me, sir, I didn’t realize who you were, sir.” She vaguely wondered whether this would only make her situation worse, but in the end she found that she couldn’t care either way. Her duties were far from over, and she suspected that they would be doubled if it was found out that she may have been ‘disrespectful.’

[ipausewith-mypen]

“O-” And he had his back turned to her before she could finish her “okay”. Shena frowned slightly, wondering if she had said something wrong. She wasn’t really used to making many friends and her hobbies usually consisted of something only one person would do. She paused, fishing in her mind for something to say, hoping that some how she could manage not to be so awkward.  “Hey, Eren!” She called out after him, throwing a hand up but paused as she caught him looking back at her. She slowly lowered her hand and mentally kicked herself. “…Let’s talk about going outside the walls sometime, huh?” She remembered all that he had said and she found herself actually agreeing with it. There weren’t that many people who actually seemed that passionate about leaving the walls.  — Levi knew by the tense action in her shoulders what was to come next. He didn’t return the salute but gave a dismissive flick of his wrist. “You don’t have to do that. Got no one to suck up to here,” he told her before looking down the rows of stalls that kept the horses. It sure stunk around there. “You probably would have had a concussion by now if I hadn’t noticed you were fighting your horse.”  He stepped toward the gate and unlatched it, pulling it open for the both of them to leave. He motioned for her to go first before following after. Fishing into the front breast pocket of his crop jacket, he managed to retrieve a handkerchief. It wasn’t much but it could at least help in wiping her face off of the dirt it had collected in her fight. He offered it to her. “So, this is how they keep the new recruits busy, huh. Guess they really assume that the Scouting Legion isn’t gonna be around much longer.” 

[dminmx]

Eren stopped, looking back when he heard his name. What was said next made him grin ear to ear, both in excitement and determination. He back tracked to her side, smiling the whole way. “I’ve got time now, if think your book might be less interesting…”

Eren wasn’t shy even if he didn’t have a lot of friend. It was his confidence that made him lonely most of the time. But it was also his confidence that drove many towards him as well. He hoped he didn’t seem rude and that eagerness came off more towards the flips of conversation they could have, and not so much of other things that may be misunderstood.

___

Max dropped the salute, mumbling a small “thank you,” in response. She sighed and let herself relax against the fence, half heartedly glaring at the locked building. Then she let out a laugh. “He’s not mine. This is just a chore. Usually they have a paid kid from the neighboring town do it but…” She clicked her tongue and shook her head.

She looked over at him, to the his outstretched hand, and took the square cloth graciously. Carefully following the outlines of her face, she removed some of the sweat and grime. “I can wash this and then return it for you…” She trailed off a but before continuing. “This is their form of punishment. Most of the other kids were left to inventory. I finished mine this morning. ” She let out a low whistle. “He knows I hate this one. ”

[ipausewith-mypen]

“Ah?” Shena noticed that almost immediately after having said that, he was backtracking towards her. His go-getter personality was a nice mold for her who had trouble carrying on conversations with other people that she wasn’t so comfortable with. Well, she had been looking for an excuse to kill time and stay out of the way of the higher-ups.  “Sure. I’ve read the book already anyway, so I know what happens,” she gave a shrug as she softly replied. “Should we take a walk?” She offered. She didn’t really know what else they could do unless there was a place they could go and sit down at. There wasn’t that many places go have a private conversation within the barracks. --- Levi raised an eyebrow. “So that means that you got into trouble over something? What did you do?” He asked as he leaned against the gate a little after they had left the ring. Erwin probably wasn’t missing him as much right now while Sadis and him discussed more serious matters that probably didn’t even concern the captain. Given the clash of personality, Sadis probably wasn’t his biggest fan, either.  “Keep the handkerchief. You probably wouldn’t see me around that often unless you decide to join the Scout Regiment... Given any thought of what you were going for?” It was a common topic of conversation between recruits, Levi had noticed. Most wanted to go for the Garrison or strived to be top ten in their classes to become MPs. Whatever kept them safe within the walls. The Scouting Legion had less and less recruits by the class.

[ipausewith-mypen]

Onward and Outward ;; AOT RP

[ipausewith-mypen]

dminmx:

Eren frowned slightly, though not at all in a mean way. “If you insist. ..” he trailed off, looking a little apologetic. “Let’s walk together then. Just in case me or you drop our loads again. ” his smile quickly returned.

Bending down, he picked up his own crate with something that almost looked like ease. He walked slowly ahead, looking back and hoping she would follow.

“I’m Eren Yeager, by the way. I recognize you but. .. I can’t seem to remember your name. ” Despite the sincerity in his voice, his introduction was laced with an unmistakable confidence. In fact, it was almost loud with pride.

____

Max let out a brief but very unamused laugh. She didn’t even turn to look at who had arrived upon the scene, glaring the animal down with intense irritation. “I wouldn’t quite say I’m letting him, but alright. ”

Her chest heaved in an uneasy breath and she let herself relax a moment, never taking her eyes off the animal. She didn’t trust it, in fact it would be out of the way to say she feared it a little. But if you would ask her, she’d just tell you she wasn’t fond of animals.

In an attempt to use the element of surprise, she rushed towards the animal, making a wild grab at the dragging lead rope. For a moment she had succeeded, hands firmly around the rope. The stallion reared up, bringing Max to her tiptoes, and she was met hooves and rage. Instantly she let go, falling backwards and rolling out of the way. She hugged the fence post, trying to catch her breath once more.

Shena blinked her eyes once, a bit surprised that he would go out of his way to make sure she was doing alright. It wasn’t as embarrassing as lightening her own load. “Ah. Thanks,” she told him as she strained once more to carry her crate over to the supplies station. Her face was covered with the crate again, the only signs of there being a person behind it being her hands, legs and the top edge of a bun she wore upon her head to keep it out of the way of their gear.  “Shena Kerrigan,” she responded as he asked for her name. They had thankfully arrived at the station without another hiccup and she slid her crate onto the counter so a logistician could sort out what needed to be put away from it. She rubbed her hands together to get the feeling back into her fingers before she looked over to Eren. “I remember you from our first night,” she commented lightly. It had been the evening where he had almost gotten into a fight with Jean and vowed to join the Scouting Legion. “I’m from Shiganshina too… My father was a member of the Garrison. I was hoping to join the Scouting Legion.” — Levi feigned a roll of his eyes, knowing that she wasn’t going to take his advice seriously at first. And so, he took a step back and watched as the horse reared back on her with its ears flat back against its skull. He looked down at the ground where Max had retreated to and stepped forward once the animal was back on all fours. “It’s energetic today, isn’t it?” He asked as he reached for the rope. Without hesitation, he grabbed hold of it and gave a bit of a yank. The horse shook its head and pounded its hooves on the ground, as if contemplating what to do at first before settling there at Levi’s side.  Levi reached over and gave the horse a single pat to its long nose. “See? Confidence.” He concluded before he stepped over to Max and reached his hand out to help her up. “You might want to dust your uniform off before Instructor Shadis sees you. He can be a pain in the ass. Especially when he gets to show his students off to the higher ups.” Or so he had perceived. He had been lucky enough to skip training but the man was a hardass. 

[dminmx]

Eren let out an embarrassed chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. It wasn’t so much that he was embarrassed of the fight, especially not his devotion. If he had to guess, his shyness probably came from her own call out.

He puffed out his chest a bit, in an attempt to recover. “Oh, yeah? Haha…well I think you’ll do great. No matter where you go…” he rushed through his sentence, a bit shocked at how eager he was to keep the conversation going. “Um.. well what are you about to do now?”

___

Max found herself stuck between glaring at him with annoyance and perplexity. And then she caught herself. Disregarding his hand, she stood up quickly, brushing herself off hurriedly. “Oh shit, shit, shit, I didn’t even realize that was today…”

“I’m not even finished… ” an air of stress followed her as she took the reins from Levi and hurriedly put the animal away, sloppily picking things up and trying to make it look clean. “I’m sorry… I didn’t catch your name..” She said, a bit breathless and she hurried this way and that.

[ipausewith-mypen]

This was a rather peculiar situation for the shy girl and at first she looked to Eren as if he had grown another head before quickly shaking hers to get a hold of herself and putting on her best friendly, albeit strained smile. No one paid her that many compliments and she knew that Eren didn’t really know her. To her, he was just being nice. “I was…” What was she going to do? She knew Shadis was meeting with Commander Erwin Smith. She had wanted to stay out of dodge before she could get herself into trouble with either of them. She pointed awkwardly towards the castle-like structure. “Going… to go read a book?” It sounded like the most boring thing on the planet probably but it was the truth. And she would much rather have her nose in a book rather than on the ground doing push ups.  — Levi took a step back to give her the space that she needed to get up. He wasn’t offended that he didn’t take her hand as many of these people always seemed to want to hold their own. He was among them. She seemed to be in a rush now but for what reason Levi didn’t know. Were they meeting some sot of stablehand today? No, that was a bad joke and one that didn’t leave his mind.  “You’re going to screw it up more if you keep rushing like that,” he simply stated again before he took a breath in. “And it’s Levi.” He wondered if she would know of him. It never mattered to him if anyone did or not. But most people at least had heard of him by now. Lifting an eyebrow, he let out a low ‘tch’ as he spotted a pale with discarded dust cloths inside. “They not teaching the brats to clean?”

[dminmx]

Eren nodded, finding himself himself a bit disappointed in the answer. But not at her of her. No, he was more disappointed that he couldn’t find a reason to accompany her. He made of mental note to remember her name. If not to keep up with Shena, then to check in on where she would end up. After all, some people were worth watching out for.

“Well, Shena,” he grinned. “I’ll see you later?” He didn’t really wait for a response, turning on his heel before she could give anything thing that would resemble and disappointing answer. Eren found himself oddly nervous, looking back over his shoulder just in case he missed something.

___

Perhaps it was the shared vocabulary of ‘Levi’ and 'brats’ that pulled her towards the realization, but either way, Max found herself feeling more frustrated by the minute. Locking the stables and double checking they were secure, she pulled herself into a quick but tired salute, looking anywhere but her commanders face.

“Forgive me, sir, I didn’t realize who you were, sir.” She vaguely wondered whether this would only make her situation worse, but in the end she found that she couldn’t care either way. Her duties were far from over, and she suspected that they would be doubled if it was found out that she may have been 'disrespectful.’

[ipausewith-mypen]

“O-” And he had his back turned to her before she could finish her “okay”. Shena frowned slightly, wondering if she had said something wrong. She wasn’t really used to making many friends and her hobbies usually consisted of something only one person would do. She paused, fishing in her mind for something to say, hoping that some how she could manage not to be so awkward.  “Hey, Eren!” She called out after him, throwing a hand up but paused as she caught him looking back at her. She slowly lowered her hand and mentally kicked herself. “...Let’s talk about going outside the walls sometime, huh?” She remembered all that he had said and she found herself actually agreeing with it. There weren’t that many people who actually seemed that passionate about leaving the walls.  --- Levi knew by the tense action in her shoulders what was to come next. He didn’t return the salute but gave a dismissive flick of his wrist. “You don’t have to do that. Got no one to suck up to here,” he told her before looking down the rows of stalls that kept the horses. It sure stunk around there. “You probably would have had a concussion by now if I hadn’t noticed you were fighting your horse.”  He stepped toward the gate and unlatched it, pulling it open for the both of them to leave. He motioned for her to go first before following after. Fishing into the front breast pocket of his crop jacket, he managed to retrieve a handkerchief. It wasn’t much but it could at least help in wiping her face off of the dirt it had collected in her fight. He offered it to her. “So, this is how they keep the new recruits busy, huh. Guess they really assume that the Scouting Legion isn’t gonna be around much longer.” 

[ipausewith-mypen]

Onward and Outward ;; AOT RP

[ipausewith-mypen]

dminmx:

Eren frowned slightly, though not at all in a mean way. “If you insist. ..” he trailed off, looking a little apologetic. “Let’s walk together then. Just in case me or you drop our loads again. ” his smile quickly returned.

Bending down, he picked up his own crate with something that almost looked like ease. He walked slowly ahead, looking back and hoping she would follow.

“I’m Eren Yeager, by the way. I recognize you but. .. I can’t seem to remember your name. ” Despite the sincerity in his voice, his introduction was laced with an unmistakable confidence. In fact, it was almost loud with pride.

____

Max let out a brief but very unamused laugh. She didn’t even turn to look at who had arrived upon the scene, glaring the animal down with intense irritation. “I wouldn’t quite say I’m letting him, but alright. ”

Her chest heaved in an uneasy breath and she let herself relax a moment, never taking her eyes off the animal. She didn’t trust it, in fact it would be out of the way to say she feared it a little. But if you would ask her, she’d just tell you she wasn’t fond of animals.

In an attempt to use the element of surprise, she rushed towards the animal, making a wild grab at the dragging lead rope. For a moment she had succeeded, hands firmly around the rope. The stallion reared up, bringing Max to her tiptoes, and she was met hooves and rage. Instantly she let go, falling backwards and rolling out of the way. She hugged the fence post, trying to catch her breath once more.

Shena blinked her eyes once, a bit surprised that he would go out of his way to make sure she was doing alright. It wasn’t as embarrassing as lightening her own load. “Ah. Thanks,” she told him as she strained once more to carry her crate over to the supplies station. Her face was covered with the crate again, the only signs of there being a person behind it being her hands, legs and the top edge of a bun she wore upon her head to keep it out of the way of their gear.  “Shena Kerrigan,” she responded as he asked for her name. They had thankfully arrived at the station without another hiccup and she slid her crate onto the counter so a logistician could sort out what needed to be put away from it. She rubbed her hands together to get the feeling back into her fingers before she looked over to Eren. “I remember you from our first night,” she commented lightly. It had been the evening where he had almost gotten into a fight with Jean and vowed to join the Scouting Legion. “I’m from Shiganshina too… My father was a member of the Garrison. I was hoping to join the Scouting Legion.” — Levi feigned a roll of his eyes, knowing that she wasn’t going to take his advice seriously at first. And so, he took a step back and watched as the horse reared back on her with its ears flat back against its skull. He looked down at the ground where Max had retreated to and stepped forward once the animal was back on all fours. “It’s energetic today, isn’t it?” He asked as he reached for the rope. Without hesitation, he grabbed hold of it and gave a bit of a yank. The horse shook its head and pounded its hooves on the ground, as if contemplating what to do at first before settling there at Levi’s side.  Levi reached over and gave the horse a single pat to its long nose. “See? Confidence.” He concluded before he stepped over to Max and reached his hand out to help her up. “You might want to dust your uniform off before Instructor Shadis sees you. He can be a pain in the ass. Especially when he gets to show his students off to the higher ups.” Or so he had perceived. He had been lucky enough to skip training but the man was a hardass. 

[dminmx]

Eren let out an embarrassed chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. It wasn’t so much that he was embarrassed of the fight, especially not his devotion. If he had to guess, his shyness probably came from her own call out.

He puffed out his chest a bit, in an attempt to recover. “Oh, yeah? Haha…well I think you’ll do great. No matter where you go…” he rushed through his sentence, a bit shocked at how eager he was to keep the conversation going. “Um.. well what are you about to do now?”

___

Max found herself stuck between glaring at him with annoyance and perplexity. And then she caught herself. Disregarding his hand, she stood up quickly, brushing herself off hurriedly. “Oh shit, shit, shit, I didn’t even realize that was today…”

“I’m not even finished… ” an air of stress followed her as she took the reins from Levi and hurriedly put the animal away, sloppily picking things up and trying to make it look clean. “I’m sorry… I didn’t catch your name..” She said, a bit breathless and she hurried this way and that.

[ipausewith-mypen]

This was a rather peculiar situation for the shy girl and at first she looked to Eren as if he had grown another head before quickly shaking hers to get a hold of herself and putting on her best friendly, albeit strained smile. No one paid her that many compliments and she knew that Eren didn’t really know her. To her, he was just being nice. “I was...” What was she going to do? She knew Shadis was meeting with Commander Erwin Smith. She had wanted to stay out of dodge before she could get herself into trouble with either of them. She pointed awkwardly towards the castle-like structure. “Going... to go read a book?” It sounded like the most boring thing on the planet probably but it was the truth. And she would much rather have her nose in a book rather than on the ground doing push ups.  --- Levi took a step back to give her the space that she needed to get up. He wasn’t offended that he didn’t take her hand as many of these people always seemed to want to hold their own. He was among them. She seemed to be in a rush now but for what reason Levi didn’t know. Were they meeting some sot of stablehand today? No, that was a bad joke and one that didn’t leave his mind.  “You’re going to screw it up more if you keep rushing like that,” he simply stated again before he took a breath in. “And it’s Levi.” He wondered if she would know of him. It never mattered to him if anyone did or not. But most people at least had heard of him by now. Lifting an eyebrow, he let out a low ‘tch’ as he spotted a pale with discarded dust cloths inside. “They not teaching the brats to clean?”

[ipausewith-mypen]

Onward and Outward ;; AOT RP

[ipausewith-mypen]

dminmx:

Eren frowned slightly, though not at all in a mean way. “If you insist. ..” he trailed off, looking a little apologetic. “Let’s walk together then. Just in case me or you drop our loads again. ” his smile quickly returned.

Bending down, he picked up his own crate with something that almost looked like ease. He walked slowly ahead, looking back and hoping she would follow.

“I’m Eren Yeager, by the way. I recognize you but. .. I can’t seem to remember your name. ” Despite the sincerity in his voice, his introduction was laced with an unmistakable confidence. In fact, it was almost loud with pride.

____

Max let out a brief but very unamused laugh. She didn’t even turn to look at who had arrived upon the scene, glaring the animal down with intense irritation. “I wouldn’t quite say I’m letting him, but alright. ”

Her chest heaved in an uneasy breath and she let herself relax a moment, never taking her eyes off the animal. She didn’t trust it, in fact it would be out of the way to say she feared it a little. But if you would ask her, she’d just tell you she wasn’t fond of animals.

In an attempt to use the element of surprise, she rushed towards the animal, making a wild grab at the dragging lead rope. For a moment she had succeeded, hands firmly around the rope. The stallion reared up, bringing Max to her tiptoes, and she was met hooves and rage. Instantly she let go, falling backwards and rolling out of the way. She hugged the fence post, trying to catch her breath once more.

Shena blinked her eyes once, a bit surprised that he would go out of his way to make sure she was doing alright. It wasn’t as embarrassing as lightening her own load. “Ah. Thanks,” she told him as she strained once more to carry her crate over to the supplies station. Her face was covered with the crate again, the only signs of there being a person behind it being her hands, legs and the top edge of a bun she wore upon her head to keep it out of the way of their gear.  “Shena Kerrigan,” she responded as he asked for her name. They had thankfully arrived at the station without another hiccup and she slid her crate onto the counter so a logistician could sort out what needed to be put away from it. She rubbed her hands together to get the feeling back into her fingers before she looked over to Eren. “I remember you from our first night,” she commented lightly. It had been the evening where he had almost gotten into a fight with Jean and vowed to join the Scouting Legion. “I’m from Shiganshina too... My father was a member of the Garrison. I was hoping to join the Scouting Legion.” --- Levi feigned a roll of his eyes, knowing that she wasn’t going to take his advice seriously at first. And so, he took a step back and watched as the horse reared back on her with its ears flat back against its skull. He looked down at the ground where Max had retreated to and stepped forward once the animal was back on all fours. “It’s energetic today, isn’t it?” He asked as he reached for the rope. Without hesitation, he grabbed hold of it and gave a bit of a yank. The horse shook its head and pounded its hooves on the ground, as if contemplating what to do at first before settling there at Levi’s side.  Levi reached over and gave the horse a single pat to its long nose. “See? Confidence.” He concluded before he stepped over to Max and reached his hand out to help her up. “You might want to dust your uniform off before Instructor Shadis sees you. He can be a pain in the ass. Especially when he gets to show his students off to the higher ups.” Or so he had perceived. He had been lucky enough to skip training but the man was a hardass. 

[ipausewith-mypen]

Onward and Outward ;; AOT RP

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dminmx:

(I didn’t know whether to reply or to Reblog but I felt this would be easier. ))

Eren Yeager was no stranger to bad luck. In fact, one could easily argue he was quite comfortable with the diety, as it seemed to follow him throughout most of his days. Perhaps that was why he stopped to help one of his fellow trainees when he noticed her heaping loads of steel back into its crate. Surely his kindness was helped along on the account of their rather important visitors.

Setting his own crate down beside him, rather carefully so as not to result in an additional spill, he smiled at the girl warmly as he began to hurriedly help her restack the pieces. “I can put some of them in my crate to lighten the load if you want.”

In the back of his mind, he was a bit worried that the girl may take this as him looking down on her, which wasn’t the case. He didn’t view her as weak in any means, and of course not as any lesser. To Eren, everyone had their strengths in weaknesses. God knows he had his.

He glanced at her as he finished helping her restack the load, gauging to see if he would take his offer. Her name was just at the ti o of Eren’s tongue and he furrowed his brows in an attempt to remember it, to make the connections click.

A bit farther away, in another location on the grounds, Max Nüwa found herself having a bit of her own struggles. She’d been assigned stable duty, much to her dismay. While cleaning up wasn’t really much of an issue, conditioning the animals tended to bring out the temper in her.

Max really did try to keep a level head, she really did. But it was times like this, where she found herself butting heads with the interests of others, that brought the devil out in her. The string of profanity that slipped through her mouth only proved this.

She found herself just out of reach of, in her opinion, a crazed beast. She’d been chasing the horse in circles for the past hour, lead rope in hand and pole in the other. Her once crisp uniform was now covered in filth, a few hoof prints standing out among the mud from where she’d found herself a bit to close. In pure frustration she chunked the stick, the long white pole bouncing off the ground with a sharp twang.

(I also hope this is up to your standards and I can change whatever need be if you want. )

The girl appeared a little stunned as Eren had leaned down to help her regather the mess she had made. Shena looked at him for awhile, wondering why he would risk getting in trouble as well. They had the Scouting Legion commander visiting their training grounds after all and she knew that she probably wasn’t putting on a good impression if there was the chance they came over here now… Though, her hands worked automatically to continue to refill her box and then he offered to help her out to which she squared her shoulders and stood up with her box, giving a small sound of strain as she carried the heavy weight again. “I don’t want to bug you anymore, though,” Shena told him sincerely as she glanced over to him again. She recognized him. He had a reputation for being a go-getter of sorts. Having big dreams about wanting to eliminate the titans… “And I don’t want to get you into trouble,” she quickly added with a small, apologetic smile appearing. “I just need to do more lifting, I think…” --- It was a commotion on the other side of the stables which Levi heard that drew him to go around the front and to see what was going on. At first, he had elected to ignore it as he knew some individuals could be passionate about raising their horses. They were personally paired up with their steeds when they came to the Scouts, at least in their branch of military. They had to grow a bond between them. But as the noise increased in volume, he didn’t have a good feeling about what could be going on across the way. HE walked inside and then out to the back where a ring was built to give horses brief exercise. HE saw a girl standing away from a horse there, looking frustrated as ever. “You’re probably not leading it with enough confidence,” Levi simply spoke up as he undid the latch to the fence door and stepped inside the ring, crossing his arms as he watched the horse give a contempt snort. “You’re letting it trample you,” he had noticed her dirtied uniform. That was a real shame. But first, they needed to take care of one problem before moving on to the other.

((All good! It was great!)) @y0ng0​

@dminmx​

[ipausewith-mypen]

Onward and Outward ;; AOT RP

Levi walked with Commander Erwin Smith as they walked with lead instructor Keith Shadis, watching as they passed by the training fields where rows of recruits consisting of the 104th training corps were doing exercises that were a part of their training. He never had the displeasure of going through basic training though from proving his worth, it was not needed as he had managed to soar through the ranks to the position of Captain and a squad leader. One might not even know that he had once been a lowly thief in the underground city… This sort of environment was not one that he believed he would ever get used to. He didn’t say much of anything as Erwin and Keith continued to speak about how the exercises were going. They were visiting the training grounds in order to discuss how they should incorporate the updated surveying exercises that were used for those interested in joining the Scouting Legion. There were bits and pieces of each branch taught to the new cadets in order to better prepare them to make a sound decision as to which branch they would join. Erwin always tried to better their processes to prevent loss of life. Levi had accompanied him as well as Levi saw much of the action during their expeditions but he hadn’t thought that it was needed as much. So, as the two to her men spoke to each other, Levi looked out at all of the faces. He wondered how many of them would actually join the Scouting Legion… they weren’t necessarily all that popular anymore as there had been no progress made to reclaim Wall Maria. Levi found himself thinking about this quiet often as he never liked the idea of losing comrades over something with no pay off. It was exactly what had been happening. “I’ll catch up with you,” he told Erwin as Erwin asked if he’d like to go inside to set up an appropriate study lesson for the cadets. Levi didn’t think he was needed for it and so he decided he’d just spend his time watching what the cadets went through. They parted ways and Levi walked over to a bench outside next to the training field and took a seat. Despite the Hell that raged outside of the walls, it was almost too peaceful here. He sat his back against the back of the bench and watched as some soldiers ran by. How many of them actually knew the truth of how their own world was? --- “Almost there… you can do it…” A strained, soft voice muttered as cadet Shena Kerrigan carried a large wooden crate full of stacks of iron which was used to make new materials or reinforce the ones they had. It was boring work but work that the cadets were charged with if they weren’t on patrol or doing their exercises. Shena was fine with doing it as she had always wished to help as much as she could despite her smaller stature. Standing at 4’11”, the crate managed to obscure her vision as she carried it towards the supplies building where the logisticians could work on the equipment. Slow and steady was her pace, inching along carefully so that the crate wouldn’t go toppling over. The iron was very heavy and the strain burned up from her hands through her arms. If she had to be honest, some things were still overwhelming despite the intense training they all went through. Try as she might, heavy lifting wasn’t her strong suit. She was trying to encourage herself to keep hold of the crate as she walked along. She just wanted to get the task done but a higher incline of the ground decided it had other plans for her and as she missteps, she lost grasp of the crate and yelped as with a loud clatter, the box fell over to the ground and the supplies barreled out into a fray as well. “Ah! No, no!” She held out her hands but didn’t manage to catch anything. Thankfully, Instructor Shadis was busy with Commander Erwin and so the mess up had gone unnoticed for now. Falling to her knees, she quickly went to regathering the supplies back into the crate, giving a frustrated sigh. She didn’t want her parents to be right in thinking she couldn’t be in the military. She could feel some of the other cadets looking over from the sound of the crate falling. She tried to hurry herself so she could flee the scene, now thoroughly embarrassed of herself. “Damn…”

@y0ng0

@dminmx

[what-lies-within-us]

ipausewith-mypen:

Loki nodded his head slowly as she assured him in her trust. He dipped his head low and rest his mouth against the top of her head, planting a small kiss there before picking her up bridal style. “How about you tell me of some of the things that you enjoy from Midgard? Songs? Films?” He had heard of a few movies. Just passing conversation with Thor during their adventures, as annoying as he was. For now, he wished to distract Rachel in the time it would take for them to reach the Rainbow Bridge where he hoped to help her escape momentarily to a place of nothingness. He would be there with her, of course.

“With You.” She finally spoke in a soft voice. “Its from a musical. The man she loves is dead and the woman sings how he has taken her dreams, her will to live with him when he died.” Rachel would never admit to anyone but she had a soft spot for songs about heartbreak and loved ones lost. Especially the latter. The sadder the song the more she seemed to enjoy it. Perhaps it was the bittersweet pain that rose in her, something that was completely her own and not a pain someone else felt that was manifested into her because of her powers. Like it was being done right now. As he carried her pain seemed to shoot through her after every second and though she tried her best to not whimper, pursing her lips to stop from doing so, the pitiful sound did slip out and she would curl herself further into Loki’s chest.

[ipausewith-mypen]

Loki hadn’t intended to cause her anymore pain but now he didn’t know what to actually talk about without tying some sort of emotion to the subject. “There, there,” he told her, though it was more a poor attempt to comfort her as he couldn’t turn off the way she felt others feelings. It just wouldn’t stop and he couldn’t turn off the world. “Take a deep breath for me,” he instructed and as he watched her inhale, he swept them both away. The world seemed to spin in one place. It was like they were falling and all of a sudden were on the solid ground. He pressed a hand over her face gently in order to try to get her to focus in hopes of not making her feel dizzy in addition to what she was already experiencing. The land they were in was cold and gray, hostile but still not many living creatures were around, at least not in seeing distance. “Will this suffice for now...?”

@what-lies-within-us

[ipausewith-mypen]

When Bored // Loki and Rachel

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ipausewith-mypen:

Loki was watching the child closely the whole time that Rachel spoke to him, knowing that they could be quiet devious and he didn’t wish to be caught on the tail end of some stupid joke. But as their gaze met, hers didn’t wave and instead she reached up to him. The lower lids of his eyes raised in an unsure squint and he made a sound as he supposed it would cause a scene if he rejected the little girl.  “Alright. But don’t start crying as soon as you’re on my lap,” he relented slowly as he picked her up, holding her onto her sides before she was settled onto one of his legs. He looked, and felt, like he didn’t quite know what to do with her at the time. He just kept her there, secured with his hands on her sides so that she wouldn’t slip off on accident. “Someone trusted you with their child?” He quipped, looking over to Rachel finally. 

As soon as Rosie had made the gestured to be lifted up at Loki, Rachel had been prepared for a tantrum from the child. There was no way he would pick her up. Though she had never asked, and he had never told her, Rachel had assumed Loki wouldn’t be fond of children. But then he surprised her by picking up the toddler and though he fumbled a little bit, he did manage to settle her on his lap, where she proceeded to fiddle with the tiny buttons at the front of her dress.

His quip though had her pursing her lips in annoyance. “If you must know I am the most trustworthy person for anyone to leave their child with.” How many times had she helped Midgardian children find their way home when they got lost. Saved them from a bully or even a potential kidnapper. Not enough in her opinion. In the dark world that they lived in children were the only pure ray of hope and light for the world. In her opinion at least. “She seems to like you.” Rachel commented, and sure enough Rosie had turned her little body towards Loki and was now running her chubby hands along his face, patting his cheeks lightly every now and then.

[ipausewith-mypen]

Loki feigned a roll of his eyes. “Didn’t catch the joking manner, hm?” He asked, though the small girl seemed content to just be close to him which was... a strange notion. If anything, he would have believed that he would have been a nightmare to anyone young although Loki had done his best to turn that image around under the disguise of Odin for that long stretch before he accepted facing Asgard as himself and alive. “Well, I suppose that is something good. So long as you feel alright with being here,” he told Rachel. He had a feeling that in such a crowded place, she would feel awful. But it seemed this wasn’t the case, at least not for now. “Here. Look at something more amusing than your buttons,” he told the little girl. He outstretched the palm of his hand, upturned in front of the girl. He reached with opposite hand inside one of his arm bands and withdrew a black cloth. He slipped it over his hand and it began to take shape of what looked like a little bird, moving its silken wings and head. It was one of his many illusions, a simple one, but he was certain someone so young could appreciate it. “See? It is trying to fly.”

@what-lies-within-us

[what-lies-within-us]

ipausewith-mypen:

Loki knitted his eyebrows together, looking over her in concern. “Now, you know that you are reading into it far too much. I was merely saying the act of feeling sorry for yourself is annoying. And I suppose that would make me just as well.” He wouldn’t deny the fact that in the past he had been self-serving and vengeful. Perhaps he still needed to work on it. They were both works in porgress. He opened his hand as she took the dagger back, not wanting to cause any harm to themselves by fighting her on it. “Now, what has made you begin to believe that?” He asked quietly. If anything, he could lend a listening ear and help her reason out her own feelings. He never had that when he needed it. He knew how lonely it could be. 

“What annoying you? Can’t even imagine that happening Loki.” Though the distress and sadness remained in her eyes and demeanor, the small smile and the light teasing helped divert her attention a little. But only for a brief second. His question however had her sighing deeply, and running a hand through her black hair, a few stray strands falling against her cheek but she ignored them. “I was abandoned at an orphanage Loki. And from what I’ve seen and heard, stories where a child is abandoned is never a happy one.” Alright so maybe she had read too many books pertaining to abandoned children but it was the only way she made herself feel like she wasn’t the only one to be abandoned. That almost daily babies and children, even adults were being abandoned.

[ipausewith-mypen]

“I suppose we are in agreement over that one.” Though Loki was unsure if he would count what happened to him as utter abandonment. “I was found along the treacherous plains of the bifrost. Odin came across me, concealed who and what I truly was.” And that was what had infuriated him the most. Being lied to. Being uncertain of everything and his place in this world. He supposed in somewhat of a way, they could share that feeling but for now he didn’t think that his secondhand emotions would help her place. He pressed his hands to the sides of her face to have her focus on him and tried to give her a small smile. “Try to see your own value. Even the smallest of details can change the world. If you are capable of that much, you will matter.”

@what-lies-within-us

[what-lies-within-us]

Mischief and Mayhem||Rachel & Loki

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ipausewith-mypen:

Loki watched her carefully, seeing the serious expression on her face. Her voice didn’t waver. It appeared that she was all in at this point to find whatever she was looking for and that amused him to no end. So, she was a human-something willing to throw away everything she was, eh? That was new to Loki but he didn’t mind being thrown off guard like that every once in awhile. “And you are more questions than you are answers,” he told her nonchalantly as he returned to the throne to grab the staff that Odin once possessed and then turned back to her before taking his supposed father figure’s form once more. “As for your questions, let us just say that Heimdal is able to see beyond the surface and does not like the idea that I am here in Odin’s place.” He walked toward her and joined her side. “And as for where Odin really is, he is out of the way. Lingering with other old fools where you came from. Now, are we going to waste more time here or do you want to find Nott?” 

She smirked. “Would you call me an enigma then? A mystery?” Her tone was teasing as she looked at him, arms crossed over her chest as was customary for her and one eyebrow raised. “Its a good thing I suppose. Or else you would’ve lost interest in me if I were an open book.” And she needed his attention. He was the only person who could help her now. And Rachel was not about to walk away after all the work and effort she had put in getting here.

“We are finding Nott.” Rachel spoke in a tone that showed nothing but her conviction for the task at hand. For the first time in a long while she felt a glimmer of hope in her otherwise dark soul. This was it. Her chance to find the truth. For so long she had convinced herself that she didn’t need it that accepting the fact that she did need it had been hard. Almost painfully hard.

[ipausewith-mypen]

Loki briefly looked to her with a frown on his face. “Please don’t mistake my agreeing nature to help you to be interest. You would have sabotaged my stay here otherwise.” And he was quite comfortable ruling over all of Asgard while his so-called brother was acting the fool, blissfully ignorant to what was truly going on. He walked to the large double doors and opened one. The guards stationed outside stood at attention, watching them closely as it was peculiar that Odin had a visitor they did not agree to allow inside.  “My cohort is coming on a journey. I will not be long, hopefully,” he assured slowly as he waited for Rachel to join his side before they left together. It was going to take a long time but the guards never seemed to know how long the old fool was gone. They couldn’t even tell if it was really him. “If we are to find Heimdall,” he began as they left out of earshot from the guards, “We must look where others would not dare tread. He is a man who knows his place and knows he has powers that could keep the other Gods at bay...” and they left the palace to tread through the streets and out into the wilderness.

@what-lies-within-us

[what-lies-within-us]

ipausewith-mypen:

“Ha! I suppose I will be picking out all of the furniture then. Just for that, I’m going to get a big ugly green couch,” Lue closed one eye in a playful wink, though she had never known the joys of trying to shop for a home. “But for now, a blank slate and empty rooms is just fine…” She looked all around the empty living area, unable to stop smiling. “You really did sneak one under me. Outsmarting a detective, how dare you,” she gave a shove to his chest and chuckled before settling back down into his embrace. “…But it will be fun. Having our own place, yeah?” She added quietly.  @what-lies-within-us

He was completely content with listening to her ramble on. There was just something about how she talked that made Bruce want to listen to her. Perhaps it was the way she talked. Always with an air of excitement. Or any feeling really. But he especially liked to see her ramble when she got excited. It was cute. “It will be fun.” He agreed with her, gently kissing her forehead.

[ipausewith-mypen]

When he had agreed, Lue could think of nothing better but to crane her neck and leave a kiss to his jawline in all of her appreciation and happiness. The home was just the bare roots and they had nothing inside fo it but it was already feeling like home to her. “I am literally considering just going to the store and buying an air mattress so I can crash here immediately. And maybe some just starter stuff... what do you think? After we regain motivation?” Lue chuckled.

@what-lies-within-us

[what-lies-within-us]

ipausewith-mypen:

Lue hoisted her bag over one of her shoulders and nodded to him with a light smile as she joined his side, ready to leave to spend… their first night together at one of their places? Not that they had spent the night together officially yet. Lue’s thoughts were also running away from her. But they had fallen asleep in the lab talking over theories of various things and trying to solve issues that came up that had been assigned to them. That was hardly on the level as feeling concern for someone and asking them to stay with you because of it. “Well, what has you so concerned that you want me to stay, really?” She asked as they walked together toward her car. “And I need directions.”  @what-lies-within-us

Paranoia. The only word that would explain everything to her. But Bruce wasn’t about to admit it. But the truth was Pepper had been targeted recently because she was Tony’s girlfriend. And though Lue wasn’t his girlfriend, Bruce couldn’t help but think that he did care for her. She was his friend. Who he also happened to like. And if their enemies could target Pepper, who was to say they wouldn’t target Lue. “Just go with it.” He told her with a shrug as they walked to her car. “You do know I stay at the Avenger’s Tower? How hard is it to find a building with the name on it?” He asked with a teasing smile.

[ipausewith-mypen]

“Yes, I am very well aware that you live in the shining beacon of narcissism. I was merely trying a play at normalcy, here,” Lue told him nonchalantly and then gave him a fleeting smile before unlocking the car and slipping into the driver’s seat. The radio turned on to an instrumental track from a movie soundtrack that Lue often listened to, being a fan of the genre and finding it easy listening while driving. The engine had turned over and she waited until Bruce was in before they rolled off toward their destination. “And don’t mind it if worrying seems like an issue... I worry about others that I know as well. It is why I asked to be kept off the registry for as long as possible. I believed whoever killed my adoptive parents had wished to find me for some reason. My sister is still left and I want her to be safe so... I kind of appreciate it if that is how you feel.”

@what-lies-within-us