”Your level of attunement to the pheromones in the air is mildly concerning, Mikasa.”
"It’s a given; the air practically reeks of pheromones, Armin.“
”… I wonder if Eren is alright…“
A bright smile formed on slightly chapped lips at the sound. It had been a long time since he’d seen Mikasa act so casual. It was nice. “I think he likes you,” Armin cooed, watching the tiny creature hop up onto oriental’s lap, padding at her legs as if asking for attention. A thought came to mind, then, that had Armin laughing softly. “I bet he’s hungry. If you feed him, I don’t think he’ll ever want to leave your side. That’s kind of cute, though..” Nevertheless, he wasn’t exactly sure a pet was advised (or allowed) within the scouting legion. “What are you going to do with him?”
Lips parted ever so slightly upon the mention of the little cat possibly taking a liking to her– and for a moment, she blinked down at the furred critter as it began making itself comfortable on her laps, before lifting a hand to stroke behind its ear once more. “Maybe.” Even as Armin’s light chuckling reached her ears, her eyes still lingered upon the stray cat; though a nod of her head showed acknowledgement of his suggestion. “I gave him some pieces of bread earlier, but he didn’t eat the rest. There wasn’t any meat left, so…”
His question brought her attention, however, as her eyes shifted to glance at him somewhat questioningly. Though she was more or less questioning herself. What was she going to do about the little stray? The likelihood of pets being withheld from wandering around the scouting legion’s headquarters was something she hadn’t taken into consideration, until Armin pointed it out– as a matter of fact, aside from the trained horses, there weren’t any other domesticated animals around at all. “… I’m not sure,” she lowered her gaze back to the purring creature, “But, for now– maybe I could ask miss Petra.”
”—and, why is there a kitten here?” He isn’t angry, merely surprised. He actually thinks it’s rather adorable that Mikasa is spending time with one. “Can I see it?”
"Ah…“ To be fair, even she wasn’t quite sure how the little feline ended up in these parts– though not exactly ‘little’ compared to other kittens, it wasn’t a fully-fledged adult either. So 'kitten’ seemed about right. ”… He came up to me while I was eating.“
A pause, and a quick glance down at the cat, she uncurled her fingers a bit and raised it slightly. A mewl bubbled up from its throat.
- adeptfighter
There was a warm sort of feeling in the air as evening rolled in and for the first time in days, Armin felt completely at ease, both mentally and emotionally. Things had been somewhat hectic until just recently for the blonde and, between going over some of Hanji’s notes, studying on his own, and getting over a cold, it was safe to say that he was in need of some precious relaxation time. At the present moment things seemed to be going pretty much as planned; he’d gotten into a couple of casual conversations as he wandered about the castle, but other than that he’d been left to his own devices, giving him time to breathe and mull over his thoughts without having to shove them away for the sake of someone else’s needs. Whether this nice evening would continue on for much longer or not was entirely up to fate, now.
Rounding a corner the reader, with book in hand, was shocked to find himself face to face with someone he hadn’t been expecting. Where he might have otherwise been upset by the sudden interruption of his alone time, this was a face he could never bring himself to regret coming across. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten a chance to see Mikasa, they were both so busy with their own respective training and duties. It wasn’t like back at the camp where they got to see each other (along with Eren) every day once training had ended; it really did feel like they only got to see each other at times like this, when the meeting was completely chance in nature.
”Mikasa,” he breathed out, smile breaking out on pale lips and he greeted the girl with a nod. “Good evening.”
It had been but a mere concept back then. She heard somewhere that living isn’t breathing– not in a literal sense, but rather in a more emblematic one; perhaps even a parable one, if she’d been a believer of such things. She wasn’t, however. Then again, wasn’t she the one to come up with that conclusion herself? She had deemed it to be a far-fetched idea at first and nigh dismissed it. But as the images of those disproportionate titans clawed at her mind, forever burned and etched deeply into her memory, the notion of it didn’t quite seemed as eccentric as it had initially sounded to her. It was something she had began to consider and ponder over after overhearing their squad leader’s conversations during dinner– though it hadn’t been the actual subject matter at the time, their verbal exchanges had struck a sense of deliberation within her.
Yes; breathing meant that her body was alive. That her lungs were functioning, capable of sucking in the air around her; that blood continued to flow in her veins, pumped by the beating of her heart. But the titans fared no better; they moved. They see. They seek out humans with the insatiable desire for nothing but carnage. But, they didn’t seem alive to her. And ‘sentient’ seemed like a flawed term to use. Taking everything she’d gathered into consideration, did it truly mean that her heart; her soul, was alive as well? What exactly does it mean to live? … Perhaps she already knew the answer, she deduced as her hand reached up to touch the scarf around her neck lightly. Those had been among the thoughts that reeled in her mind as she reflected back at the discussion that took place prior.
And yet, even as she had strained her ears to listen to their words, ignoring the slow throbbing that seemed to pulsate from the back of her head, the ambience of the dining area had felt rather… congested. Stifling. Though the area hadn’t been crowded at all– quite the opposite in actuality, yet the warm air felt like it had wrapped around her being, clinging stagnantly in her throat. As if it were suffocating her. The need to leave, to break away from the lingering tension she felt was overwhelming; enough for her to leave her half-eaten food on the table and slip away unnoticed. Her comrades were too busy engaging themselves with chatter; her seniors were still at it with other businesses she had little concern with; she assumed Armin needed all the free time he could get to focus on his studies lately, and Eren was just nowhere to be seen. Another twinge of pain seemed to prick at her temples at that.
Lost in her own thoughts, she wandered through the castle’s foyers.
Walking through these wide halls gave her a slight sense of tranquility, seeing as how quiet it was. Now that she was out of that stifling atmosphere, Mikasa felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest; though the dryness of her throat and the dull throbbing in her head still refused to ebb away. The air seemed crisper yet cooler than it ever had before, she’d noticed in her quiet strides down the path she took within the Scouting Legion’s headquarters. It was an odd feeling, but she found it a little welcoming.
As she walked straight ahead to the end of the spacious foyer, however, her offhanded gaze trailed up to meet oceanic blue eyes settled amiably upon her own dark irises. To say that she was expecting to see him at all tonight would’ve been a lie, but nevertheless, running into her friend by chance seemed to appease her nerves a bit more.
"Ah, Armin–… Good evening,“ she smoothly picked up her tone after how quiet her voice initially sounded. Eyes briefly shifting down to glance at the book the other held, she added, "You’re still studying, I see.”