route_1065 | There's a bunch of birds in the sky

There's a bunch of birds in the sky

Who: Reiner and Bertolt
Where: New Bark
When: Several hours after Reiner's arrival, 9/14-15
Summary: After a year, two friends are reunited
Rating: PG because attack on titan, attack on titan spoilers
Log:

After he had finished talking with Reiner several hours ago, Bertolt felt unstoppable - he packed up everything he could fit in his backpack from maps, food, and berries to a few pokemon (his Ninetales and Arcanine were definitely coming on this trip), and after a quick 'be back soon' to Walter, Bertolt took off from Cianwood. He felt like he was keeping Reiner the way it was, and even if reading the small text on his gear made him feel a little queasy in the air? He kept shooting the breeze with his best friend.

Once Bertolt hit Cherrygrove, he stopped to grab a few extra things from the tiny store he worked at nearly a year ago. Hamburgers were always a good intro food, right? And if they got cold, he could easily have his Ninetales warm them up a little. As he got closer and closer to New Bark, Bertolt clung to the saddle of his Salamence as tight as possible. This was it.

It was finally in view, and this meant he'd actually get to see Reiner. After a year, he was finally going to see his best friend in the flesh, not just in dreams. After talking about him so much to people like Walter and Alfred, he could finally, finally introduce them to him. He could finally stop worrying. He could finally have some sense of normalcy in this strange world.

Bertolt made sure to stop just at the treeline to call the Salamence back into her ball just to be on the safe side. He nearly had a heart attack when Walter showed him the Larvesta on his first day, so showing Reiner a damn dragon right off the bat would probably be just as bad. Maybe worse. They had plenty of things to catch up on anyway, right? Once everything was situated, he takes a deep breath, slings his bag over one shoulder, and makes his way into town. It's been ages since he was here, but finding Reiner shouldn't be too hard. On second thought, he should probably shoot him a quick text over the gear to let him know--

i'm here

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Quite frankly, it is a smart move that Bertolt recalled the dragon before heading into town. Today has been quite the day for Reiner with many different changes and new experiences and it all has left him slightly on edge. At least Bertolt is here. If it wasn't for him, he'd probably be more stressed out. As it is, this place might look peaceful enough, but his thoughts keep coming back to the same few question: how had they gotten him, how where the others doing and where were they, and how had Bertolt been here for a year when he had only just seen him?

He quite nearly jumps when his gear beeps to let him know he has an incoming message. Prodding a bit clumsily at the device, he tries to recall the lessons he had been given earlier this morning. He really doesn't understand the device very well yet, but it was obvious that a lot depended on him being able to properly use it, which made it all the more important to master it as soon as possible.

The message, when he finally manages to find it, gives him a bit of peace of mind. Good. Bertolt is here. Finally he will get some answers.

great. where are you? im at the pokecentrum.

Well, he was pretty sure that was what the lady had called this place at least. Pressing the send button, he waits, gear in hand, either for Bertolt's reply or for the guy to show up himself. Luckily Bert's tall. It'll make him easy to spot.

near the entrance
with all the trees and the signs
ill start coming to you but i thought we could take a walk before we leave

Plus it'd give them a little privacy from the townsfolk inside New Bark. He can't say they're nosy or that they'd understand what they'd be talking about, but it's the principle of the thing. To make it easier to be seen, Bertolt calls out his Ninetales and keeps him by his side. That'd be something easy to start with, right? At least foxes were familiar.

...Even if in this case said fox was white with nine tails and was at least twice the size of a normal one.

Just as Bertolt starts to type up something else, he spots him out of the corner of his eye. There.

"Reiner!"

Reiner's head shoots up at the call, and the familiar sight of Bertolt's tall form towering out above everybody else brings a grin to his face and a slight --very slight-- easing of the tension between his brows. Quickly slinging his pack over his shoulder, he jogs up to meet him in the middle, catching him by the shoulders once he is close enough.

"You found me." Obviously. Luckily, Reiner has further purpose here than just stating the obvious. He still doesn't understand how it could've happened, but if Bertolt says they have been separated for a year, he sees no reason to distrust his best friend's words. Which means Bertolt has been on his own for a year. Which, quite frankly, it far longer than they have ever been apart. If he is being honest, Reiner can't even remember the last time they've been apart for more than a day, let alone a year. Even during their rare fights, it is not like they could've completely avoided one another during their training.

"Let me look at you." Bertolt get the patented mama Braun once over, before Reiner is apparently satisfied with what he sees --not too skinny, which is what he had been most concerned about-- and he raises one hand to ruffle Bert's hair. "You got taller. You're gonna end up tall as a tree if you keep this up." Seriously, man, knock it off. Soon you'll even have Reiner feeling short.

Bertolt makes a small sound of protest - Reiner catches him just as he's about to throw his arms around Reiner's shoulders. It's been a year. A year of having nightmares and waking up to his pokemon smothering him instead of Reiner. A year of sleeping in a bed and waking up on the floor or god forbid halfway onto Walter's on the other side of the room instead of tangling himself up with his best friend. A year of finding something weird and calling for Reiner, only to look over to find him gone.

He can't even argue against Reiner fawning over him this time. It's only when Reiner starts to ruffle his hair that Bertolt finally closes the distance and drags Reiner into a tight hug. He's afraid if he lets go, Reiner will disappear on him. He's afraid, relieved, and mildly upset all at once - how many tree jokes has he heard? ...Well, this was one of the first if he's being completely honest.

"I-I would've stopped growing when I was your height if I could help it, Reiner." The way it is he's already as tall as Mike. Or at least as tall as Mike used to be. Bertolt adjusts his grip on Reiner a little so he could hold onto the back of his shirt better, his face immediately finding a spot in the crook of Reiner's neck. Just let him soak this in for a minute. "I missed you. I-I thought I'd never see you again, you know that?"

Reiner lets Bertolt draw him into a hug without protest, slinging one arm around the small of his back, his other hand finding the back of Bert's head. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm here now." He wishes that he could promise Bertolt that'd he'd always be there for him, that he'd always come for him, but that seems like a dangerous sort of promise to make in their line of work. Trost was still fresh in everybody's minds, and while it certainly was an honourable to die a soldier's death, he still did not want to make any promises to Bert that he could not fulfil.

Bertolt shakes his head a little and takes a deep breath. Do not cry. Do not make a scene in the middle of town. "I-I thought we were going to die, Reiner. T-That's the last time I saw you back home and even though people told me that time--" Another breath, "T-That time more or less froze for me back home, I... Y-You were still there. You were still in trouble and I couldn't do anything."

Between the Survey Corps and the titans and leaving Annie behind, Bertolt had felt like he failed. No, he knows he failed.

"I don't wanna lose you again."

Reiner's hand slides down until it rests over the nape of Bertolt's neck, covering his soft skin with his roughened palm. It's a gesture he's always found comforting, though he can't quite explain the rationale behind it. Maybe all the attention their training had paid to a titan's neck had somehow super-charged his attachment to that particular part of the body. Yeah. It was probably something like that.

He slightly awkwardly pats Bertolt on the back, trying to figure out something to say, to comfort him, but it is rather hard when he hasn't got the faintest clue what Bert is talking about to begin with. He had said it, that they weren't exactly from the same time, and it seems things have definitely gone south for them in the future. Well. His future, Bertolt's past.

"I think maybe it's time you filled me in on what has happened."

Maybe once he knows it'll be easier to comfort him.

Edited 2014-09-22 00:15 (UTC)

He nods a little, relaxing under the hand at his nape. It has been years since he had someone touch it like that... Hell, the last time anyone touched it had been when he asked Walter to cut his hair - if he couldn't, then his hair would've been close to his shoulders by now. "They know about us, Reiner. After Utgard-- after we were on lock-down." After that fiasco with the Female Titan. With their comrade.

Now came the part he was dreading.

"...You told Eren about us. You... Y-You weren't yourself and I tried to... I don't know."

Whatever reaction Bertolt might have been hoping for, it is likely not going to be the one he will be getting from Reiner. Because his only reaction to those words is for his hands to still against Bertolt's body as he frowns, trying to figure it out in his mind, before speaking up.

"I'm sorry, I don't get it. I told Eren what?"

"...You told him what we really were, Reiner."

Titans.

"I really haven't got the faintest clue what you are talking about."

What they really were? Farmboys from the south? Somehow he doubts Eren could be very offended by that. Reiner likes the kid, but even he has to admit, Eren can get fired up over some pretty ridiculous stuff. But even he couldn't get mad over that, right?

He deflates a little, grip loosening for a few moments.

"...You told him that we were warriors. You just--You flat out told him that you were the armored titan and I was the colossal, right on top of the walls--" And everyone else had been around to see it.

Bertolt's words feel like a punch in the gut and in a split second everything comes rushing back. Warriors. Right. Of course, they were. Then why had he-- It had to be whatever they had done to get him here. They might have knocked him out. And he was feeling a bit tired (not really) and tense (far more of that). That must be why.

"Right," he murmurs, almost absently. "right, warriors." Another second passes, before he suddenly snaps back to attention, and he sets to work pulling out of Bertolt's grip completely. They were not discussing this here. Even if there was no one nearby, there were not discussing it here.

Bertolt fliches, but he lets him move away. It's not how he planned this reunion to go, and just for a moment he forgets where he is until he feels his ninetales nudge at his hand with a quiet snort. Come back to him, Bert!

"...Yeah. I... Come on, out towards the trail."

He nods, turning to head out of town, towards the trail indicated by Bertolt. Anywhere will do, just as long as it is away from people. His head aches a little now, a faint pounding behind his brow, that he resolutely ignores as he heads away from town. He has completely forgotten about the little trapinch that he had been given upon arriving. Ah well. Clearly it can't get into too much trouble, right?

Reiner, you're clearly underestimating the power of a tiny little thing like that. Bertolt nearly forgets about the fact that he has a new companion too until he feels something headbutt the back of his ankle and when he turns around, he spots the poor thing toddling after Reiner as fast as its little legs can carry it.

...Arceus damn everything. He nudges his Ninetales forward a little to keep up with Reiner as he bends down to scoop the tiny thing up in his arms, then he's jogging after his best friend with a light frown. He's not sure what would happen if it got left behind, but he doesn't want to know. Just hang tight, little dude - your new best friend is just having some issues here.

"Reiner..."

Reiner is one big issue right now.

Reiner doggedly keeps walking until he feels they are far enough from town, heading off the path then where there is not too much undergrowth, so they can be certain they will be all alone. Reiner might not be familiar with this place, but even he can see that this trail is an often used one, beaten flat under the passage of many, many feet.

When Bertolt catches up with him, he'll find Reiner leaning against a tree, his arms crossed over his chest, and his brows drawn together. His eyes are on the strange, many-tailed fox, but he is not really looking at it, too lost in thought. He doesn't look up until Bertolt says his name, his eyes flicking down to trapinch for a moment, before looking back up at him. "Tell me everything that happened."

Bertolt sighs softly and moves to scratch the trapinch under its chin for a few moments. He's not even sure where to start, though he should've known that there was always the possibility of this happening.

"Starting from when we were on lockdown, or at Utgard?"

Because either way it's a long story.

"Lockdown. Like I said, I want to know everything that happened."

And then, maybe, he can figure out why he saw it fit to tell Eren of all people who they are.

"...Alright."

He reaches out with one hand to try and get Reiner to sit down with him, partially because if he's going to go over everything it'll be more comfortable, and because he's sure the little trapinch wants back in its trainer's arms. Once they're both down, Bertolt sighs and calls Berik over to him so he could rub the fox behind his ears. Just to be safe, Bertolt starts at what happened in Stohess - or the things he heard in Stohess, then lockdown... The supposed breach in the wall, Connie's village, Utgard...

He frowns when he gets to Utgard. The worst of it is explaining how Reiner kept acting like he was a soldier, even going as far as to risk his life for Connie and getting his arm broken in the process. He continues on, making sure to mention the ape-like titan and the deaths of Nanaba and the others, and then he finally stops for a moment. This was going to be even worse...

"...Ymir's also like us."

Reiner lets Bertolt pull him down, but if trapinch is hoping to be able to crawl into Reiner's arms, the poor little thing will be disappointed. Reiner keeps his arms crossed over his chest, though his lap is a prime pokemon snuggling spot.

He listens quietly to Bertolt's story, only occasionally interrupting him to ask for a clarification or a certain detail.

That last statement has him raising a brow though, staring at Bert. "What do you mean exactly?"

Though he's got a good idea here.

"When she saved us at Utgard that night... Reiner, none of us had our gear, remember?"

Though that could've also implied that she had found a way out to escape the titans. Bertolt hesitates. It's still hard to believe, but...

"She's the one from that day."

" When you say that day, do you mean..." He lets it trail off. He's got a good idea what day exactly Bertolt is talking about. There is only one that really fits the bill, and even as they talk about it, the old memories surface again. Though it has been years, he can still hear Berwick's howling screams, telling them to get away, to run, rising in panic until they had suddenly, with a sickening wet crunch , been cut off as the titan had bit him in two.

He breathes, slow and shuddering. "So it was her?"

Bertolt nods. He didn't have to confirm it verbally, but he wanted to--

"Yeah. She saved our lives though at the risk of herself. I... I still don't know why she did it, but she did." At least Bertolt can safely say he's grateful to her for that. If it hadn't been for her, he and Reiner would've been found out sooner. ...If they survived, that is.

He runs his fingers through his Ninetales' fur, sighing softly. He named him after their old friend simply because it gave him comfort and made it feel like he was here with him. He was brave, a little fiery (literally), but a close companion. It only seemed fitting to keep him alive in this world too. "The others showed up in the nick of time. The other titans, they practically tore her apart. She survived, but she wasn't in good shape when they brought us all back to the wall."

"Just as long as the back of her neck was fine, she should be able to heal." His comment is almost absent. It is a lot to digest that Ymir is the titan from that day. It is strange to feel that in this one conversation he has learned a lot more about her than all the previous three years. But then, if she carried a secret like this, it was no wonder that she had kept her walls up. Around everybody but Krista, that is. Oddly perhaps, he feels no ill will towards her. In the past when he had tried to imagine meeting the titan that killed Berwick, he had always imagined it with suitable heroics, with him getting revenge for Berwick, but he finds himself lacking in that feeling right. It wouldn't bring him back. And he knows what living like a titan can be like.

"What happened then? There is more, right?"

"I know. I mean... Physically she was fine, but I think she had her brains scrambled too." Why else would she agree to go with them? She could escape and move faster than they could. Any sane person would've bolted and took whoever they cared about with them

Bertolt sighs softly and continues, one hand reaching up to the side of his neck once he gets to the point where he goes into detail about their cover being blown. How Mikasa had attacked both of them - cut Reiner's hand off and then nearly cut Bertolt's own head off. If it hadn't been for Reiner slamming her off of the wall, Bertolt would've died that day. Worse, he had to explain the fight - both Reiner's and his own. How Eren and Reiner duked it out on the ground while he was fending off their former comrades...

Even eating one and 'eating' Ymir.

Explaining what had happened after that was difficult. Bertolt reached out to place his hand on Reiner's knee at one point, eyes never raising to meet his. Reiner had another one of his episodes in the trees, the Survey Corps caught up with them... Annie was being tortured according to Armin, and then they had lost Eren because he couldn't control his emotions. It was his fault the mission failed, wasn't it?

"...I screwed up."

When Bertolt describes the way Mikasa had (or will, from his point of view) attack them both, going as far as to injury Bertolt, Reiner narrows his eyes, instinctively raising a hand to splay his fingers out against the side of Bertolt's neck where her blade had bitten into his skin. Of course, there is no mark of it. They heal quickly, and he knows that for Bertolt all of this is a year in the past, but that doesn't stop him from moving as he does. He had already lost one friend through his own inactions, and he did not care to make it two.

Letting his fingers linger against Bertolt's skin, he listens to the rest of his story, his expression darkening when Bertolt mentions Annie's fate. Annie and him did not see eye to eye on the best days, but she was still one of them, a comrade, and the thought of her trapped behind those walls, in the hands of the MPs or the Survey Corps is one that sits heavy and uncomfortable in his stomach.

His hand slides down after Bertolt's final words, squeezing his shoulder for a moment. "I probably would've done the same thing. Shit, we both screwed up, didn't we?"

He reaches up to cover Reiner's hand with his own, his expression softening. They screwed up big time. "...Yeah. We did."

But they're alive. They're alive for now, and as long as they're here... As long as they're here, they're safe. They just need Annie here and then he can finally live in peace and sleep easy at night. Still, he's glad he has Reiner here with him now. That's one less person he has to worry about.

After a few moments, Bertolt takes Reiner's hand in both of his and squeezes it.

"...We're safe here though. There aren't any titans, no walls..." He knows it's not home-home, but it's close. "A-And you're alive. We're all alive."

"But it's not home."

Reiner shakes his head a little. He can understand it, Bertolt's want to make a home somewhere. But it wouldn't be their home, not the one they left behind when they were kids. And what to say of their duty back home. "Listen. I don't--" He doesn't know if they are doing the right thing anymore, maybe he never did, but is that something he needs to admit to Bertolt? He trusts him, that is not the issue, but he needs to be strong for him. It had always been his job to protect Bertolt. And he can't protect him when he doubts. "We've got a duty back home. We have to carry it out to the end. That's our job. "

He sighs softly, his eyes fixating on his Ninetales. He knows. Sometimes he wishes it was, but alas.

"...I know. It's just... When we go back, if I remember any of this... I've already fallen into the habit of having everything at my fingertips here. You wouldn't believe the things they've got--" Ah... And speaking of, Bertolt shrugs his bag off, digs around in it, and produces a paper bag full of something that smells like meat. And cheese, too. Here, Reiner. Take it. They're probably a little cold by now, but it's still food!

"Like this. The food here, there aren't any shortages. A-And it's all fresh."

"If we go back and remember any of this, I'll make sure we won't fail. I'll remember enough to prevent it then, right?" He still isn't certain what made him reveal them to Eren. Perhaps it is one of those things that make more sense when it actually happens. But even then, now that he knows what it will lead to, he can keep from doing that, no matter how sensible it might seem at the time. "Maybe we can talk to Ymir before she ends up revealing herself. Even if she is the titan from that day... she might still make a good ally."

Hard to talk about allies though when Bertolt is unpacking something from his bag that smells far better than anything had any right to smell. It makes him sit up a little more when Bertolt hands it to him. That's-- wow. It smells even better up close.

Unpacking it, he stares at the contents as if they were bars of gold. No. More valuable than that. You can't eat gold after all. "You know... I am pretty sure Sasha would murder for this."

Bertolt nods a little. She might, but... Hm. They could probably use her help to free Annie if they played their cards right. Hopefully. He didn't know, but all they can do is wait and see.

He can't help but grin a little at Reiner's reaction to the food though, and after he mentally pats himself on the back (for once), he nods again. "I know. But that's the best part, Reiner - she wouldn't have to. They have stuff like this everywhere. Try it!"

Do it Reiner, eat the food.

He will most definitely eat the food. But first he will break it in half, so Bertolt can share with him, much like they had always done. Handing the bigger of the two halves back over to Bertolt, he studies his meal for just a moment. It's not that he is picky, not when he remembers how much starvation had gnawed at his stomach during that first year after the wall had fallen. Rather, the food just looks too good to be true. The sort of stuff he'd imagine they'd eat in Sina.

Biting down, his eyes widen, and he chews quickly to clear his mouth, jerking his head up to stare at Bertolt. "This is really good. Holy fuck." Time to pig out.

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There's a bunch of birds in the sky

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