Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
BEING ATOP THE WALL WASN'T NEARLY AS FRIGHTENING AS MICAH THOUGHT IT WOULD BE. He'd never had trouble with heights in the past, but there was something so intimidating about standing at the base of Wall Sina and staring upwards at its loftiness. He was familiar with it━━of course, he was━━but it'd been years. The closest glimpse he could get of it was over the roof of the MP's headquarters when he was dragged into the courtyard. Other than that, the closest Micah had ever been to the wall was when he was passing under it.
He figured it must have been different for Eugene, seeing as it'd been over ten years since the last time he had set foot on ground that wasn't marred by his own blood. But the man was acting as indifferent as can be, his arm weighing over Elliot's shoulders and his gaze pinned forward. Despite Micah's protests, Eugene also had a grasp on the sleeve of his shirt. (He claimed it was for extra support that he had a hold on Micah, but Micah figured it was because Eugene thought he'd trip and fall over something in their path. Already he had maneuvered him around debris and rubble).
Elliot was trying her best to explain, but every time her mouth opened she fought down the urge to retch at the smell that invaded her nose. From the second they'd walked through the outer gate of the headquarters, she was nearly knocked back by the stench. Though he couldn't see it, Micah had pulled his shirt over his nose, ignoring the ache in his face that had dulled slightly now that the bone was back in place. Elliot followed suit by pinching her nose between two fingers, her other arm wrapped around Eugene's waist to keep him balanced. Eugene was the only one saved from the smell of the carnage since a particularly brutal illness as a child took away his sense of smell. It didn't, however, exempt him from the violent image that painted itself on the outside. He didn't flinch at the death like Elliot, but he refused to look for longer than necessary.
In a weird voice, Elliot told them the basics. About the particular Titans that took down Wall Maria, and the very same that made attempts with Wall Rose. The boy she'd mentioned to the Military Police officer in the dungeons who possessed the ability to shift into a Titan himself. Eren Jaeger. The girl they captured not even ten minutes beforehand who withheld the same ability. Annie Leonhart. All concepts Micah vaguely recognized yet still couldn't wrap his head around.
Over the last month, after the previous people were replaced, the two rookie MPs that brought their meals in the mornings and evenings were their constant source of information. Micah suspected the two boys were kept separate for the most part of the day, so when it came down to their feeding duties they took the time to gossip like mothers meeting at the market. Every time there was something new, though, the boys would never mention anyone involved by name. Who Micah now knew to be Eren Jaeger was consistently referred to as a monster. And, if it were possible, treated him as though he were worse than the very prisoners they spat in the food of.
