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

Chapter Six

     "So what's with this sudden fascination with fishing?" Valerian asks, looking at me funny. "Hey, I'm not complaining. At least you're finally out of the cave."

     "Uh huh," I say with my gaze pinned on the overhanging branches. Occasionally, a droplet of water slides off them and plummets to the damp ground below. "Listen, I..."

     He tilts his head, listening intently.

     "I...may have asked you down here for reasons other than fishing," I mumble and try not to make eye contact.

     "I knew it! What other reasons? Did you want to have a chat, or perhaps stuff your face with blueberries while I do all the work?" He says with a smile, ducking under an overhead branch that almost collided with his head.

     "Uh, sorta?" I shrug, watching a fluffy, light-grey cloud intently. The thunderstorm stopped, but it still drizzles on and off. "Look. Remember that Titan you showed us? The one in the pit?"

     He nods, squinting at me. "Of course. Did you see it roaming free or something?"

      I bite my lip. "Uhm...just have your Titan sword thing ready and don't freak."

     "Willow, tell me now," he says urgently, his joking tone dropped. "Is or is not that Titan out of the pit?"

     My eyes widen in panic. "H-he is! But don't kill him! At least, not unless he's harmful! I..."

     "Of course it's harmful, Willow. It's a Titan," he scoffs. "But thank you for telling me to be aware. Where did you last see it?"

     I rub my hand on my forehead, trying to muster up the words to tell him what went on. To be honest, it still feels wrong and strange. I half don't believe it myself. "Valerian, I know this is going to sound crazy, but please let me speak without interrupting," I say quickly, grabbing the rough, white sleeve of his shirt. "That Titan...it speaks. Okay? I went out to pick strawberries by myself, and there was this other Titan that was gonna eat me. He killed it, Valerian! Then he followed me up to the cave and grabbed me, but he didn't eat me! He talked to me. And, and...he was up in the meadow when I was getting water yesterday. I don't know what kind of freak of nature resulted in a talking Titan, but he asked me to come here today. That's why I asked to come here."

      There's a moment of silence as he searches my face with his cautious green eyes. "Willow...I really hope you're joking, but I can't tell if you are."

     "I'm not!" I plead, then sigh. My teeth glaze over my bottom lip--a nervous habit. "You'll see, I guess. Just don't kill him the second you see him."

     He gives me a look as if I've lost my mind, which I'm beginning to think I have. "Sure..." His hands clutch the fishing poles as we make a last turn and arrive on the rocky shore of the lake. The reflection of clouds drift on the blue water, leaves float like little boats atop the glassy surface of the water, and a soft breeze ruffles my soft, dry skirt. It's amazingly peaceful, and for a second I relish in the fact that we're the only ones here to witness its beauty.

     However, those thoughts are quickly soured. We're the only ones here to see it. The people who came here to fish in years past likely will never see it again. Our eyes are the only ones to watch the squirrels playfully leaping from branch to green branch. Our ears are the only ones around to hear the happy singing of birds, or the soft rustle of leaves against each other.

     I wipe away a tear that starts to form, blinking my glassy eyes.

      "Well, did you come here to fish or didn't you?" Valerian leads us over to a boulder on the edge of the lake, dusting off crisp leaves and chuckling as a startled frog hops into the water.

     I pick up a fishing pole silently, baiting the hook with a worm from the pail he'd brought. I actually hadn't, but I might have to.

     Every few seconds, I glance over my shoulder and scan in every direction. The green mountains tower around us, not a single Titan in sight. That's good news, but I'm starting to get antsy.

    "You're...not very focused on fishing," Valerian says, reeling in his line slightly.

     I shake my head. "Sorry."

      A rustle of branches further down the bank makes me lift my head up and straighten my posture. Slowly, a head covered in black hair emerges from the green embrace of the trees. Crawling on all fours, the huge Titan makes his way to the bank and crouches, watching us curiously.

    Valerian stands instantly, almost dragging me to my feet.

     I grunt, rubbing my legs because they got scraped against the rock. My hand raises in the air and I wave it. "Hey, Sweet Pea!" I shout.

      Valerian grabs my wrist, stopping it mid-wave and gives me a death glare  that I've never seen from him before. "What on earth are you doing?" His tone makes me want to shrink down to nothing.

     The Titan's gaze goes from us to his reflection in the water. He seems to study it, his lips tightening into a solemn look that I never thought possible of his kind. It almost seems as if he's pained to look at what's staring back at him.

     "Hello," he says, his deep, soft voice carrying across the water. "I'm g-glad that you ca-came."

     Valerian's grip on my wrist instantly relaxes, and his hand drops to his side as I rub my wrist. "Willow...I--"

     "Yes?" I ask, a smile dancing on the edge of my lips, though I can't for the life of me explain why.

     He doesn't answer, but instead stays silent as he studies the Titan in shock without dropping his offensive stance.

     "I suppose I should...should wash, like you sug-suggested," Sweet Pea says, rubbing his hand up and down his muddy bicep. He scoops his hands in the water and splashes it on his face before going 'Hmm' and just sliding all the way into the lake.

     His hands scrub his hair after he surfaces, and muddy water streams down his body. If I didn't know better, it would look like he was just human. Come to think of it, he was the most human-like Titan I'd ever seen. And I'd seen quite a few.

     They all seemed to have deformities of some kind. Short, stubby legs, a torso that's a little too long, a head that's a bit too small or big, even just a pair or abnormally large eyes.

     Not him, though. He seemed eerily human. Even down to the wide range of facial expressions I'd seen him make.

     He shakes the water off his hair, turning towards us and smiling softly. "You d-don't mind if, if I come ashore, do y-you?"

     Valerian blinks, his eyebrows still lowered. "Come ashore," he shouts, to my surprise. "But stay at least twenty meters from us at all times!"

     Sweet Pea nods, and starts walking on two legs to the shore. He only regains his four-legged gait when the water no longer goes to his knees. "Al-alright," he says in an ironically gentle voice, lying down on his side on the rocky shore. "Now we can...can talk."