Within the Wall || An Attack on Titan OC Fan-Fiction

Chapter Five

     Days passed without me daring to go outside.  Arnica was concerned when I brought back only a few strawberries, wondering why on earth I had screamed so many times before finally staggering into the cave. I told her I was fine and said nothing else, questioning my sanity.

     Anyway, it started raining yesterday morning and hasn't let up since. Every few minutes, the rumble of thunder interrupts the deafening patter of rain.

     "It's good that it's raining," Valerian interrupts the silence, not looking up from him leather work. "Now our potatoes will get nice and big, right Arnica?"

     She beams at him, her chubby, rosy cheeks illuminated by our crackling little fire. "Yes, our potatoes will grow bigger than ever! I bet the strawberries are getting lots to drink too!"

     Marie and her snuggle up to either side of Valerian as they huddle against the cave wall. I bite my lip, wondering if I should both to join. My fingers fell numb at the tips, and my poor cheeks feel like they're going to fall off.

     I shake my head slightly, continuing my sewing for a few minutes before looking outside the crack at the dark clouds. "You think I should go switch out the water pails?" I ask, a million things running through my mind.

     "I was just about to go do that," Marie smiles softly. "If you want to, you can."

     I nod, setting my cloth and needle aside and standing up. After a languid stretch, I peer out of the crack at the wall of rain. I squeeze through, my dress and hair getting immediately soaked.

     Picking my way through the haze, I find my way to the plateau where we keep several buckets to gather water whenever it rains.

     I freeze for a second, staring at the huge form lying in the middle of the meadow. Its unblinking gaze shifts towards me, shaky breaths escaping its slightly parted lips.

    "Sweet Pea," I say calmingly, my muscles tensing as I grip tightly to my dress. Rain patters against my skin like bullets showering down on a cornered, escaped prisoner.

     There's no answer, save for a slow blink of his heavy-lidded eyes. Mud covers almost every inch of him, clumped in his hair and caked on his skin. If I thought he was dirty before, he was filthy now.

     "You...shouldn't be up here," I say, inching closer and peering into the buckets. Not even all the way full yet.

     The eyes close all the way as he takes an especially deep breath. He doesn't reply.

     My instincts tell me go get my backside back in the cave, but my curiosity compels me to stay. I stand up straight, letting go of my dress and letting my hands fall to my side. I take a big step forward then stop to watch for any indication of danger.

     There is none, so I take another step. I'm now less than ten meters from the huge Titan that still lays curled in the fetal position. "You okay?" I ask, swaying from side to side.

     He opens his eyes and groans slightly. "No...sun....light."

     My head tilts, allowing the rain to patter on my cheeks. "Sunlight? You need sunlight?"

      There's an affirmative grunt as he weakly nods his head a few feet. He seems to relapse into utter exhaustion as his breaths become even more shallow and his eyes close halfway.

     "Well, I can't control the weather..." I tap my chin, biting my lip. My arms cross, but they quickly start gathering water so I uncross them and let them fall to my side.

     A flash of lightning and sudden peal of deafening thunder from behind makes me nearly jump out of my skin. Heaving a sigh of relief, I clutch my heart. "Hmm," I say, tightening my lips and shaking my head. "I don't know how to help you. You're pretty muddy though, you should probably go take a swim in the lake when the rain stops."

     There's no reply, save for another slow blink and shaky breath.

      "No offense, I guess," I say after it occurs to me that I shouldn't say that to a creature that could eat me in one bite. "Well, I'm going back inside. I like getting a quick rain bath, but I don't want to catch cold!"

      "Waaaiiiiit," he groans softly, and my head lifts up.

     "What is it?" I squint.

     There's a pause as he inhales. "Cooomeeee."

      I hesitate, glaring at him with my eyebrows lowered. "Um, I don't think so. You nearly ate me last week and I still haven't forgiven you for that yet. Just because you can talk for some hopefully not horrifying reason doesn't mean that I'm going to all of a sudden be like 'Sure, I'll jump into your mouth! Why don't I season myself in pepper, too!'"

     His eyes close and his breathing stops for so long that I get a bit concerned that he'd died. "Okay," he whispers, as if it's draining the little bit of life left in him.

      My lips tighten as I begin to feel a bit bad about saying that. "Sorry," I say, trying to amend, "It's just...well. This is...kind of really unnatural and I feel like I'm nowhere near as scared as I should be. "

     There's no response worth mentioning, since all he does yet again is breathe and blink.

     "Yeah, so..." I peer into the buckets, hoping that when I look into them they'll magically be filled. "Did you want something or can I go inside?"

     "I want...to talk. Tomorrow. The...lake." He says in a strained voice, rain pouring down his muddy face in little streams.

     I take a deep breath, wanting to groan. "I'll think about it. Don't be offended if I decline, though. And even if I do come, I'm not going alone."

     He nods slightly, then appears to go unconscious completely. What little tension there was in the muscles relaxes, and his breaths are so seldom and shallow that he might as well not breathe at all.

    "Okay then," I say under my breath, trying to keep myself calm. "That happened."

     The buckets finally fill up, and my rain bath comes to a close as I drag them in pairs back to the cave.

      "What took you so long?" Valerian asks me teasingly, smirking at my soaking wet self.

     "Uh, I just had to wait for them to fill up. I like the rain, so it was fun." I lie, setting down the last pair of buckets and ringing out my long, ginger hair. "So, Valerian...wanna go to the lake for some fishing tomorrow?"