『Estalactita & Estalagmita』 |✘| 『lentusgratia』
『Stalactite and stalagmite, oh brothers who have been born on o p p o s i t e sides.
One towards “heaven”, one towards »hell«.
And, even so, you’re both STILL THESAME.』
It’s only when he manages to fall down his knees for what seemed to be the fifteenth time when he finally lets his body collapse in the ground, his chin hitting the dirty floor, feeling minuscule rocks nailing on his skin.
There is no one around him — he makes sure no one is near him whenever he sneaks out of the men’s barracks, azure gaze inspecting his surroundings as he directs his hurried steps towards the training ground, his feet quick but his trail soundless. It wouldn’t do any good, he knew, for anyone to know of his secret activities.
A cry escaped his lips, one of pain and frustration because damn, how many times has he repeated this routine every day, rising before anyone could in order to remain unseen as he runs laps by himself, hoping to one day become stronger, become faster, become a better soldier?
They have noticed, he knows, the way he seemed to return with new bruises every day, sometimes small enough to pass off unacknowledged, but more often than he would like they were big enough to make anyone wonder if the normal training was too harsh for him. They want to ask, he knows too, but the blond often found a way to outwit them. For how long, however?
He forced his body to rise, as he did every morning. He noticed with a biting of a lip that he had lost track of time when he had stopped to catch his breath, for he could see the lightest of oranges rising from between the otherwise dark and light blues, a combination of hues and shades coloring the sky of early mornings and late nights.
Sighing, he did his best to ignore the exhaustion covering every inch of his muscles, the rising of his hand much too difficult for his liking. He sat on the ground and rubbed at his injured chin, his teeth having bitten his tongue on the process and so the coppery liquid of blood was present on his mouth.
He couldn’t keep being so dependent on Eren and Mikasa. Bright soldiers, they were, but as any other trainee they had their own duties. Armin couldn’t add more worries to them, not when they were doing so great lately. Not him. He was still having trouble keeping up, even when he did his best.
For now, it was time to go back to bed for what little time he had left before everyone woke and left for breakfast.
Just as he managed to stand up, wobbly legs making it a difficult task, he felt something nailed on his back, something that made him freeze momentarily, his mind working a mile per hour. He had been caught — he cared little about anyone knowing about his secret schedule, but if it fell on Eren’s and Mikasa’s ears…
Armin turned around, lips parted open, but kept silent as he saw just who that person was. Azure eyes blinked, eyebrows raising.