In Favor of The Dreamers |Bertholdt Hoover

Funny business

Bertholdt had distanced himself a bit from Poinsettia ever since the night Reiner had pried them apart. He had barely noticed that while listening to her story of the maiden that was stolen from her land, Poinsettia had leaned up against him as if to share warmth. That sweet scent sent from her hair had lulled him into comfort. It meant nothing. Just two comrades sitting close. But he was certain Reiner hadn't seen it that way.

''She's charming,''

Reiner commented after training one evening. It was easy to distance oneself from a person when they were never alone for one, and training just dragged on and on. It was the week before they were set to make their descent to Trost to carry out some chores. So Shadis (And some of the older cadets) had taken the advantage to double down their loads on some of the newer recruits. Again, Reiner tip toed of what he said versus what he did and meant; he'd developed a mild obsession over the girl as of late. Ever since he'd first mentioned not knowing people like her lived on the island. Bertholdt's eyes slid across the training field to land on the girl in question briefly.

''That's dangerous.''

And charming she was. Some of the bigger cadets would hesitate in sparring with the smaller ones like Krista, Armin or Poinsettia. But she liked to goad them and tease them until they gave in. Her favorite target lately being Samuel. Even when people like Jean would charge at her, using little to no effort to flip her and carry her over their shoulder, she stayed in the mindset of a good sportsman.

Reiner was right. There was a downright devilish and inviting charm to her. Bertholdt noticed that she did not play about her comrades, either. Through class exercises she proved to be resourceful, offering effective advice and opinions during class and taking critique during training exercises. And she was sweet. The kind of genuine sweet that was sprinkled on top of donuts. Not enough to overpower and just enough to tingle the buds. Did Samuel appreciate the way she would bring him, Connie and Jean water after training? Did Annie notice the adulation in her eyes that mirrored his own during ODM training. Sasha even went red once when she'd brushed some dirt off of the sleeve of her jacket though she'd tried to play it off with the heat.

And to Bertholdt's surprise she was really damn funny. If he were in a different position, he would listen to Sasha and her bicker with Jean all day. He'd never been surrounded by such laughter before.

The day before they were set to leave for Trost, Sasha who was always ever hungry was giving advice on how to bond with your horse. Of course she had suggested food was the main way. This had prompted Poinsettia to fetch a carrot and turn to offer to none other than Jean. he'd gone red with irritation and snatched it from her with a scowl.

''Oh, I'm sorry!'' she feigned surprise while slipping a hand over her mouth to cover her mirth. ''From far away you look like Whiskey.'' she said referring to her stallion. Then she offered with fake innocence, ''I'm just trying to keep you from catching hay fever.'' Connie and Sasha had broken out into giggles behind them.

''I know you're not talking with all that fluff on your head!'' Jean had shot back. ''Baa Baa Black sheep.'' he sang. ''Have YOU any wool?'' no one said anything for a while. But then chortles of laughter filled the stable. Loud enough to cause other cadets who were tacking up their own horses to look over. Some even commented that it was too early for such nonsense.

Bertholdt hid his laugh with a cough, not wanting to be called out for yet again eavesdropping. However, Poinsettia had sought him out again. She popped up like a daisy and slapped her hands on the sides of the stall doors excitedly. Both Bertholdt and his now very alert mare raised their heads to look at her.

''Bertholdt!'' she called as if she'd been searching for him. Which she did often these days. Whether to shoot the shit with him or just share a thought.