estoria | « 001 ⇢ OVERFLOW.EXE »

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.

If Armin is surprised that someone who isn't very big themselves can pick him up so easily it doesn't show. Then again, his squad captain is in fact three cm shorter and considered to officially be Humanity's Strongest weapon. It's not so difficult to believe that someone powerful like this man might be similar in that way.

It is still embarrassing, however. Armin grips hold of what fabric he can get hold of and closes his eyes, a little dizzy. So, vampires can also run very quickly...

"Is it usually far?"

Similar, yet still on a different level entirely--Mika's not even moving as quickly as he could, but it's still a pace a human would have difficulty matching. For that matter, while Mika is a cut above the average run of the mill vampire, his power pales in comparison to that of the nobles'.

"How should I know?" Mika's just as new to this as Armin is, after all.

That's true, it's a stupid question. Armin isn't in the habit of asking stupid questions, so it shuts him up quickly to have it pointed out to him. He'd gotten so used to being in over his head, but this is a whole different...reality, and sometimes lack thereof.

He quiets down, deciding he'll learn best if he stops interrupting.

Mika doesn't mind the break from talking, it lets him focus a bit more on watching where he's going. Even with keener senses than a human, navigating a swamp is tricky business, especially moving as quickly as he is now. That, and it lets him ignore the question of just why he decided to help this guy he only just met and isn't even sure yet whether he can trust him.

Or maybe that's just it in and of itself; as far as Mika can tell, Armin is just an ordinary human, with no access to the kinds of demonic weapons and devices the Imperial Demon Army uses. Certainly he'd looked plenty helpless when in that monster's grasp, not to mention terrified when he learned what Mika is. Which, as Mika's thoughts drift in that direction despite himself...

"... Normally, I only need a small amount of blood at a time," he says, answering an unspoken question from earlier. It doesn't mean he couldn't easily drink someone dry, of course, and many vampires routinely did just that, but Mika isn't inclined to just wantonly kill people.

That admission is a surprise, but... reassuring. Armin tucks that knowledge away and also the volunteering of it for later. It seems almost like a kind gesture, again. What the man says doesn't always match up with his actions. There must be a reason for that. Perhaps where he's from vampires aren't very well received. That hardly takes a stretch of the imagination. Armin puzzles it over for a while before he breaks the silence again.

"So, hunting isn't always necessary?"

Hunting. That's an interesting way to put it, and not something Mika's cared to think about before. Though now that it's been brought up, however, it makes an unfortunate amount of sense. Before the virus wiped out most of mankind and the vampires made the remaining human children into their 'livestock', they probably did hunt in some way or another.

Which doesn't do anything to reduce the strangeness of thinking of those terms applied to himself, of course.

"It's not," he says.

Being considered prey is nothing new to Armin, so it's the natural way to identify the situation. He's unaware, upside down and backward as he happens to be at the moment that he's said something so disconcerting to Mika.

Rather, he's relieved to hear the response. It's more of a confirmation than surprise at this point, honestly. If Mika happens to be a monster, then that's how it is, a happenstance. Certainly, it isn't because that's the essence of Mika himself. If it is, Armin has seen absolutely nothing to suggest it so far.

He finds himself relaxing, even in a situation like this and during such an awful conversation. "Then I'm sorry about before."

Mika notices that, of course, it would be hard not to when he's carrying Armin like that. He's not certain what he should think of it; is it really a good thing to let a stranger get the impression that Mika's safe to be around, or would it just make Mika seem weak?

Regardless, Armin's apology surprises him.

"For what?"

"Looking at you that way."

It comes out a lot more bitter sounding than he means for it to, but hopefully that won't obscure the intent behind it.

"..."

Mika doesn't know what to say to that. It's not like he'd thought Armin had been wrong to react that way in the first place.

"... Why?" he asks after a moment, honestly unsure what to think.

As far as reactions go it is reasonable. Fear itself is often a very reasonable emotion. It isn't particularly useful though. And, when it's given a wrong direction the results can be terrible. It's important to weigh fear just as carefully as trust.

"You ascribed humanity to me."

That's an oversimplification of course. Mika had helped him, had chosen not to leave him to be eaten by the strange creature, had fought for him, deny it though he might. Simply, he'd been given a certain amount of trust and importance right away, simply as a fellow being in trouble, with no need to prove anything in that moment.

A reaction like that? It was very human. Perhaps saying it like that would insult someone who was a vampire, perhaps it was akin to calling men content to be caged cattle. To Armin, though, the term isn't meant in a negative way. He shrugs, silly as the unseen gesture is, given the situation. "I could have done the same for you, but I was afraid."

Again, Mika really isn't sure how to respond. Really, he's not certain how he feels about it in the first place. As far as he's concerned, vampires are something to be feared and hated, and that attitude has changed little since unwillingly becoming one himself.

"Don't be stupid," he says carelessly. Though it's not that he doesn't care, exactly, just... he isn't sure what to think of it himself.

Hmm. Maybe it is considered an insult after all. Or maybe that don't be stupid means don't be so trusting. Either way, Armin quiets down again and mulls it over. He doesn't know enough about the situation to take a guess. He's only just met the man after all.

No, the vampire. He'll have to keep that in mind.

The lapse in conversation is fine by Mika, even if he does find his mind wandering back down familiar paths. What's Yu-chan doing right now? Is he here somewhere? If what that presentation said was true... Well, Mika doesn't like to think of some of the worst possibilities.

Besides, he has more than enough to pay attention to just here in this swamp. Especially when what looked like a mostly solid piece of ground proves to be just a thin veneer of mud and moss covering the liquid below. Fortunately, a vampire's enhanced abilities means Mika manages to avoid taking a headlong spill into the swamp; unfortunately, doing this requires a fair amount of twisting direction here and kicking off a floating log there and general high speed midair acrobatics before he finally lands on a reliably solid surface. (A low but sturdy tree branch, as it happens.) At which point Mika pauses for a moment, wanting to glance around the area before taking off again.

Likewise the lapse in movement is fine by Armin. He can't complain when it's part of being rescued from a swamp creature, but the ride is rough on him. He draws in some long, slow breaths and tries to calm his still flipping head and stomach while Mika looks their surroundings over.

"Do you see something yet?"

Ugh, that sounds a little weak. He doesn't want to give the impression that he's feeling impatient, so he amends it a little, hoping he sounds less woozy on the second try. "Besides the swamp lands?"

"Nothing different from before."

If Mika sounds a little frustrated, it isn't directed at Armin, at least. He just has no idea what to do at this point.

« 001 ⇢ OVERFLOW.EXE »

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

He's trying!

It's great! I've always thought he had good leadership potential, just needs experience and such...

yeah if he lives to adulthood he'll be doing something interesting for sure!

Definitely. He's such a great character all-around really (not that I'm biased at all..... XD)

I haven't noticed! ha

I somehow knew I'd like him from the moment I heard the kid screaming "heretic!" at him..... XD

it's always the quiet ones

quiet and unassuming and potentially the deadliest character in the series, yep

just stay on his good side you'll be fine

haha yes be nice to the quiet kid lest he plot against you >D

it's for your own safety

I can only imagine how much trouble he can cause with access to Cerealia's tech now..... :D

eh don't worry... http://cerealia.dreamwidth.org/113878.html?thread=19226582#cmt19226582

HAHAHA poor Armin...

change is hard

I'm sure he'll learn.... XD

give him some time he'll be a whiz. maybe.

He's clever he'll figure it out I'm sure. also only a few more days to new chapter!! :D

yep!

which will probably mean subjecting my friend to more ramblings as usual oops

what a good sport

I apparently am REALLY BAD about shutting up about series I like

see previous sentiment

insert long-winded essay on various characters' development (or lack thereof) here

fandom is work

yes. but FUN work. that's the important part :|b

fact

...also these two are so hilariously fail yet adorable it makes me wanna keep them stuck longer :D;

the swamp monster eats them both ig

that would be pretty traumatic for Armin huh