the hilt | eren jaeger

t h i r t y o n e

[note: pacing may be off, a six month hiatus will do that to u LMAO]

It was spring now. 

Leaves on all the trees had grown back in full. Some had small blooms and tufts of flowers perched among their canopies. There was always a sweet scent to the air. Delicate. Pretty. This was a world that shined in its own darkness. 

The construction for the railroad was already far underway. It was practically completed at this point. Many laborious hours went into its creation. Sasha accidentally got hit by Connie's moving board a few times. Jean's first reaction always was to laugh, then he would slap Connie's arm, then he would help her. It would bring about laughter for hours. Sasha's head would have a bump on it for a few solid weeks. 

Now, all the scouts, or at least a very large portion, were back inside the walls at the base in Shiganshina. The town had been rebuilt, even for it being such a short time since it was reclaimed. The Reeves Company worked hard for that. 

And on this particular night, the sunset had been especially beautiful. Jo watched it out the window as she prepared dinner in the kitchen for all the Scouts. She refused to let her place be so easily taken from her. Eren was in there, helping her. More like, he would do whatever she told him to do and when he wasn't doing that, he was just looking at her in awe. Awe of her skills and just, well, her.  

The other members of the regiment would give their thanks to her as their food was served, and she would just do a small half smile in return. Having set aside her and Eren's portions at the beginning of distribution, they always ate after everyone else did on the nights like these.

The sun had gone down now, and the windows were shut. For as warm as the breeze was in the daytime, it was only chilling once the sun dipped below the horizon. 

The mess hall was empty. Only Jo and Eren were left, and they had practically finished their food already. Tonight, they had eaten in complete and utter silence. The only sound that filled those wooden walls was the clanking of metal on dishware, and the light drink of water every now and then.

It was well past the time when everyone else was awake. It always seemed to be that way now. Jo was chronically avoiding everyone the best she could, and Eren would just follow her everywhere. She took on more roles cooking in the kitchen, not wanting to be disturbed by the other people around. She only really ever saw Sasha before going to bed, but that was hit or miss. She only met with Hange or Levi when there were matters concerning the Marleyan Volunteers. 

She saw Armin the most after Eren, but even that was sparse. 

A lot was on her mind. Even when she was around her friends, her thoughts never correlated with whatever they were talking about. She would stand there physically, but would be millions of years away mentally. 

So as her and Eren ate in silence, she did not even recognize the silence. She was too far gone in her own thoughts to even acknowledge the things he would say, but he didn't really say much either. 

Her food was finished before she realized it. She got up in silence and brought it over to the dish area, washing it off, and setting it to dry.

Eren came up next to her and did the same. He looked at her with gloomy eyes. She did not even notice. He thought he'd draw her attention by a glance, the way he used to be able to, but not this time. It did not work this time.