kindnessandcruelty:

_{The scrape of metal as she detaches the dulled blades is jarring in the semi silence, Annie is quick to reattach new ones before sheathing them, pacing the length of the roof.}

_{She narrows her eyes in concentration, casting her gaze far once more.
True to Mikasa’s words, there were still civilians trailing out. The crowd is dwindling, but they were evacuating too slowly. There were still a large portion that have not been filtered out.}

_{The blonde is silent for a moment as she shifts to gauge the distance of the titans from the civilians, she takes in their gaping mouths, slick with drool and lethargic eyes. Their unnatural gait. Distorted slurring noises. There were still too many of them left. Staying would be an increasingly dangerous idea, given how close they have already advanced.}

_{But it is not in any of Annie’s place to advise anyone else, they can make their own decisions for themselves and reap their own consequences.}

_{“How much gas are you left with?”}

_{However, a normal human being bound by emotions like Jean and the rest, would stay despite their trepidation. They would feel compelled to help save the civilians, latch on to that one sense of purpose which would deter them from giving in to the fear completely. A normal foolish human being would do it. Even someone as weak as Armin would.}

_{And so she remains.} 

_{Her obsidian grey irises remained firm upon the other soldier’s form as she had swept her gaze towards the concentration of people in the distance, and then to the disfigured titans ahead– and after a fleeting moment’s passing of observing the other’s countenance, Mikasa’s eyes soon followed suit.}

_{… And yet, not a thing has changed about them, in her perspective. Morbid. Loathsome. A mere glance at these abominations would send any other person into a bloodcurdling fit of screams. Indeed, the titans were as abhorrent and macabre-looking as ever.}

_{But all be damned if she had to turn tail from where she stood. Even if they were commands from the higher-ups to retreat, she saw no justified reasoning behind having to abandon her duty of keeping the titans at bay for the civilians to escape in favor of withdrawing back to safer grounds.}

_{She was well aware of the danger surrounding these grounds. But that alone would not deter her rationale– she had a job to do; a promise to uphold. She’d already staked her life on the line for that promise, and she was more than willing to bring down anything that stood in her way.}

_{Without a moment’s hesitation, her thumbs glided over the handles of her swords hilts– a click resounded, followed by a cutting hiss, and the dulled blades fell from position, toppling off the rooftops and clattering to the ground below.}

_{Her hands then moved to re-equip the hilts– but Annie’s words that filtered into her hearing caught her off guard, stopping her short.}

_{Lips pursed, she paused.}

_{“… Enough to keep going,” was all she could say.}

_{And yet she hadn’t been keeping close track of how much she had left, losing count of it after encountering the first aberrant titan she’d slain. As she spoke, her mind quickly reeled back to recall her prior maneuvers around the city, estimating the time and effort she’s used up so far.}

_{And she’d come to the conclusion that indeed, she did have enough gas left to keep moving onward– that is to say if she carefully chooses the points to stop at while on the move. Any further than that would exhaust her supply. With that in mind, Mikasa gave the blonde a sideways glance, a seemingly critical glint to her eye.}

_{“… But not enough to return.”}