estoria | « 001 ⇢ OVERFLOW.EXE »

"What do you mean?"

Mika honestly isn't sure what Armin meant. Did he mean laws? There were few enough of those, and they varied depending on the vampire in charge of an area, anyway.

It isn't clear, is it? It's a bit tough to concentrate on two things at once, so Armin stops his attempts at walking normally for a moment to clarify. It's rude, of course, but important. They're better off to just get it out of the way, aren't they? Then it won't be hanging in the air between them.

"I'm a human, so I'd like to know. If you're not interested in eating me...well, I appreciate that. But what about others? What should I expect?"

That question gets Mika to stop, too, and turn back to glance at Armin. The only answer he can give is a shrug, however.

"If there's other vampires here, they'll do what they want. Unless a higher-ranking noble than them has forbidden it."

And even then, it would be a matter of getting caught breaking such a rule.

"I see."

He'd been afraid it might be something like that. Armin runs past again with another groan, and collapses in defeat in a nearby puddle of swampwater. It's revolting, but he's far too exhausted to care at this point.

"Have you been forbidden?"

That's not what Mika has said before, after all. He'd said Armin would be dead if he wanted, not if he were allowed. Maybe Mika himself has a high ranking? He certainly doesn't seem to be afraid of much in this strange, new environment.

"No."

A simple answer to a simple question.

"It's against the rules to drink blood directly from a human in Sanguinem, but outside no one enforces it. And this isn't Japan, either." Which means it's outside of Krul's control, anyway. It could be another vampire's territory, of course, but Mika has no way of knowing that either way.

And it's not like even within Sanguinem the rules were always strictly observed, either.

It isn't the response that trips Armin up this time, but something entirely different. He gapes openly for a long moment before he remembers how to close his mouth.

"You're- vampire are Japanese?"

Mika would've assumed that it was realizing there's nothing but his own personal choice stopping him from drinking Armin's blood that caused that reaction... but then Armin goes and asks that, instead.

"There's vampires all over the world," he says flatly, as if that should have been obvious.

"I'm from Japan," he adds a moment later, as an afterthought.

"I see."

Except it seems that he doesn't. Armin takes a step blindly and slips onto his backside again in another muddy spot. This time he hardly reacts, just stares down at the mud for a long moment.

He shouldn't ask, of course, but he can't help it. It just comes out.

"When you say all over the world... where else?"

"Everywhere," Mika replies indifferently. "Wherever they want." Though usually near populations of humans, if nothing else, for what should be rather obvious reasons.

He'd been hoping for the names of more countries, but he's not sure that he should admit that. This man doesn't seem very interested in him, but what if that was enough to make him curious enough to ask why Armin wouldn't know the countries for himself? It's best not to try and explain.

Armin is quiet for a moment while he pulls himself up out of the mud. His legs are shaking, so there is a long moment of peace. It doesn't last, though.

"Is it difficult not to?"

"Not to what?"

Suffice it to say Mika isn't really sparing much thought for considering what parts of the conversation Armin might still be wondering about.

"Partake."

In human flesh, that is. Armin's curiosity has always gotten him in trouble.

"..."

It takes a moment or two for Mika to realize what exactly Armin's asking, and another to decide whether he even wants to answer.

"Not right now," he says at last. It's a half-answer in that it doesn't explain why... but maybe Armin can figure that out for himself.

"I see."

He doesn't, not exactly, but that response gives him an idea. Armin puzzles over it for a moment. Does that mean Mika might be dangerous to know in the future? Will Armin want to be cautious? That's what he'd like to know. He glances over curiously, trying to think of the best way to ask.

"For a while?"

Mika really doesn't know how to answer this. He shouldn't have said anything in the first place. And does he really owe Armin an explanation, anyway? But since he already did bring it up...

"How hard is it for you to go without eating?"

Not that Mika particularly likes to think of it that way himself... Except it really is exactly the case. If he went without blood for long enough, his ability to ignore that craving would diminish to the point of being nearly impossible to control.

"It depends."

That's not a particularly good response, but it's the truth. It becomes easier with practice, and Armin has had plenty. It also becomes more difficult when expending a lot of energy. Whether or not vampire metabolism works the same was a s a human's, the point is made. The man will need to eat at some point. The silence is uncomfortable this time, the pause is heavier than the last one.

"I've never done it intentionally."

That, he suspects, must be far more challenging. Being denied is hard enough, but to have the food at hand and will himself not to eat it? It seems like that would require a lot of willpower.

To perhaps make matters worse, almost as if to make up for their lack of desires for other things, a vampire's craving for blood is considerably more intense. It's not remotely uncommon for even a vampire who's fully sated to be unable to stop himself from drinking his next victim dry. Mika himself has far more self-control than most, but even he's come dangerously close in the past to losing that control.

Not that he particularly likes to think about that, of course.

He just gives a slight nod to Armin's response without saying anything more, however, instead turning to continue walking and looking for a way out of this place.

Armin himself continues to fail at walking normally. He huffs in frustration on his next attempt. He's so exhausted, and this is ridiculous. It's making the conversation a lot more effort to keep up with as well.

"There are creatures... at home... who eat...humans. They aren't...conscious...like you are."

There's more to the statement, more to be discussed. Instead Armin doubles up and hopes it isn't possible to throw up in a virtual environment. If he can just stop running, they can have an actual discussion.

Mika pauses to glance at Armin at that. What he's describing reminds him of the horsemen, but those monsters just kill humans, rather than eating them.

Not that Mika sees how it's any of his business to care, anyway.

"If you'd rather go at your own pace than try to keep up with me, that's fine."

Or in other words, Mika's not going to be particularly bothered by splitting up. But neither does he see any good reason why he should stick around and wait for Armin to rest or figure out how to control his running.

Ugh, is that all? It probably is. Who wants to converse with someone who can't even catch their breath?

"I would rather, but-"

Armin wipes some sweat from his face and holds his aching sides. "It doesn't seem to be working."

He's irritated now, on top of being exhausted. There's nothing to be done about it, but this particular failure is really unpleasant. He can't exactly blame the man for wanting to leave him behind, but he's not keen to allow it to happen either.

Armin groans quietly and starts back after him again, wondering exactly how far they have left to go. At this rate, he might just pass out here. What will happen to him then? He just doesn't know enough about the situation to guess.

"Please, wait?"

He should just ignore it and keep going. Mika has no idea whether to believe any of what he was told during that weird presentation, but if there's any chance at all that Yu might be somewhere here, too, he needs to find him. Which means not wasting time here.

But he stops and looks back anyway.

"What for?"

"Even if it isn't real-"

Can he really expect a stranger to understand? Especially a powerful stranger like this. Armin stares down at his boots, frustrated and ashamed.

He doesn't want to 'die' here alone. Only, what can he offer in return? There's nothing. Even the clothes on his back are mostly gone. He sighs.

"Are you in a hurry?"

"..."

Mika's admittedly a little curious what Armin was about to say, though he doesn't ask as he walks over. He has other things to think about, after all. Like the fact that while as a rule he doesn't trust and generally assumes the worst case scenario of everyone, Armin hasn't given him any reason to believe he's an enemy. And that much as Mika prefers to keep his distance from people, the idea of leaving someone relatively defenseless (even if it seems Armin isn't as much of a kid as he initially thought, maybe) to fend for himself simply doesn't sit well with him.

"Something like that," he says, and without further comment or warning reaches out to grab hold of the front of Armin's shirt. Even though he's actually only a few inches taller, himself, he can still hoist him into the air and onto his shoulder seemingly effortlessly.

Being small for his age and light, even fellow humans often find it easier to lift Armin up and bodily move him around when he's lagging behind. It's far from the first time that he's been thrown unceremoniously across someone's shoulder when they grew impatient with his lack of athleticism.

It's still humiliating, and doubly so coming from a stranger like this, but aside from a surprised (and slightly indignant) squeak Armin doesn't object. This isn't what he had in mind at all, but...well, i does beat being left behind.

"Hey!"

Mika's not all that much heavier, having a fairly slim frame himself, but he's also a vampire. Which means having several times the strength an ordinary human would.

In any case, he ignores Armin's indignant protest and starts off again. Though now that he doesn't have to let a human try to keep pace he can move much more quickly, easily leaping from one (hopefully) solid piece of ground to the next with strides faster than most humans could run.

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...this thread keeps reminding me I need to catch up on AoT manga XD

it is pretty intense lately! well it always was but It Got Worse.

Yeah I think I just got tired of how drawn out the plot arc I was on at the time was getting...

it's probably past that part now!

It's been almost a year so I'm sure it is, haha

oh wow then you have so many things to discover yep

Yeah the last chapter I read was like the cavern Eren was being held in was gonna collapse I think?

That's around 66, I think! Armin is from 10 chapters after that

WELL it turned out I had a 30% off coupon for the site I get my Japanese ebooks from so... :D

awesome!

Now I'll just have to remember to STAY caught up... XD

You can do it! I believe in you

I will try!!! Also I was pleased to see Armin put in charge of something FINALLY :D

Right? And he only pissed himself a little bit!

I know! I'm glad to see he's finally getting that development, IT WAS A LONG TIME COMING haha