iii. video.

[thanatophobias]

[Say hi, Cole. Guess what day it was yesterday.]

My mom's stuck back home. [She's the one who's stuck, in his perception. Not him. He likes it here, despite all these recent disasters.] She's the only family I have.

[First there was the death of his grandmother, then his father left. The rest of the family never gave much of a damn, and neither did he.

There's silence in his lack of an expression. If anything, it's only possible to tell that he's deep in some thought. Maybe he's already had more than enough chances to cry about his mother being far away, for having been unable to see her for almost six months now. He's growing up and the only thing keeping him from calling this place home is the fact that she's not here.

After the pause is over, he continues in the very same emotionless tone.]

Lucifer hasn't stopped. People are still dying because of him.

[He should know - they keep showing up at his doorstep.

The feed clicks off.]

Comments

[thanatophobias]

[Well, that makes him curious, at least.]

Who are you going to talk to?

[isaytheeneigh]

My superiors.

[Superior.

Damn, if only Eren was here, which he hates to think.]

[thanatophobias]

Who are your superiors?

[isaytheeneigh]

Commander Erwin Smith and Captain Levi.

[thanatophobias]

I don't know any of them.

[isaytheeneigh]

It's funny, nearly everyone knows who they are back home.

[For better or worse.]

They can get the job done.

[thanatophobias]

What do they do?

[isaytheeneigh]

They're in charge of the Survey Corps. We head out to save humanity from the titans.

[thanatophobias]

[ah.]

Who are the titans?

[isaytheeneigh]

They're giant monstrous individuals from our world that eat people. They're very difficult to fight because they have one, very small weak spot.

[thanatophobias]

[whoa.]

That doesn't sound like it's real.

[cole who are you to talk]

[isaytheeneigh]

Wouldn't it be better if that was true?

[thanatophobias]

I don't know.

[isaytheeneigh]

People—

[Die all the time. But it's a kid, and Jean doesn't want to crush any of his naivety. Hell, if he'd been allowed that ...]

—forget it. Just take my word for it.

[thanatophobias]

There aren't any here.

[isaytheeneigh]

[He debates saying something, but decides against it.]

There sure aren't.

[thanatophobias]

[a pause.]

Do you fight them?

[isaytheeneigh]

When we're able to, that's what we do.

[thanatophobias]

So you're gonna fight here, too.

[isaytheeneigh]

Depends upon the orders from my captain and commander.

[thanatophobias]

What about the people that brought us here?

[isaytheeneigh]

I have no reason to prioritize their orders.

[thanatophobias]

... I guess not.

[isaytheeneigh]

So that's that.