[It is the last thing Armin expects to see as he rounds the bend in the road. Despite having been here for two years, the recognition is near instant. There is just something in her stance, the way she holds her shoulders and spine, that has been imprinted on his mind. Annie. Once he would have called her, if not exactly a friend, then at least someone he felt he could depend on. Someone who, though taciturn and solitary, was a good person.
And then the mission outside the wall had happened.]
A-Annie-- [There is a hitch in his voice, a nervous tick as his eyes flick over her then flick away and he plasters a smile on his face, a second too late, a shade too tense to be genuine. He was never as good as her at guarding his expression, and two years here have not changed that.] It's been a while. It's good to see you.
[Calm down, he reminds himself, trying to breathe through the way his throat has gone dry and his heart kicks in his chest like that of a startled hare. He might be completely mistaken. She might not be a traitor. They might be another explanation for all of this. That might not have been Marco's gear.
(Though even if it wasn't, why did she have it? Why did she present it and not her own?)
And even if he is right, she has no reason to suspect that he knows. He hadn't even been able to report any of his suspicions to the Commander after the mission. And he had shared them with no one else, uncertain about who he could trust.]
no subject
And then the mission outside the wall had happened.]
A-Annie-- [There is a hitch in his voice, a nervous tick as his eyes flick over her then flick away and he plasters a smile on his face, a second too late, a shade too tense to be genuine. He was never as good as her at guarding his expression, and two years here have not changed that.] It's been a while. It's good to see you.
[Calm down, he reminds himself, trying to breathe through the way his throat has gone dry and his heart kicks in his chest like that of a startled hare. He might be completely mistaken. She might not be a traitor. They might be another explanation for all of this. That might not have been Marco's gear.
(Though even if it wasn't, why did she have it? Why did she present it and not her own?)
And even if he is right, she has no reason to suspect that he knows. He hadn't even been able to report any of his suspicions to the Commander after the mission. And he had shared them with no one else, uncertain about who he could trust.]