[Huh. At this point, it would be reasonable to assume that Armin must have been mistaken, and that Mari hasn't run into Eren after all. He wouldn't expect her to have any reason to lie. Still, he can't quite shake the idea...]
Can you tell us more about the person who...bothered you? I'm not sure you actually mentioned what they did.
[Right… Mari glances to Aubrey again for a second, concerned anew. (Say, is she wearing a ring? Considering everything else, Mari didn’t catch that until now.) Aubrey might be young, but she’s not stupid; she must know Mari wasn’t talking hypothetically about troublesome people.
[Still, she’s anxious about Eren. Mari can see it in that furrowed brow, the self-comforting hand motions. And the last thing Mari wants to do is dredge up… whatever terrible situation Armin got her out of.]
[Mari turns to Armin again, shaking her head. Teenagers. It’s an affectionate, somewhat nostalgic exasparation. But surely Armin can tell she’s not keen to discuss this in front of Aubrey…?]
[Aubrey isn't a little kid. She's Armin's ally and Eren's...something. If the stakes were higher, he might play along and ask for forgiveness later. Not that the stakes aren't high - Mari still might know something about Eren - but as of right now, it feels safe enough to push just a little more...]
Mari, with...all due respect. [He politely inclines his head as he says this.]
This world can be a dangerous place, and...it's really best if we're all prepared for what might lay around the corner. You never know when you might end up alone. It's the ugly truth.
[Aubrey, for one, is very grateful for Armin’s backup. She doesn’t feel like getting mad at Mari… ever, really, but especially not today. He’ll get a grateful ‘thank you! fuck’s sake’ kind of look for that.]
[Mari doesn’t notice. She does not at all like that Armin is echoing that thing in the cel, right down to the warning about being alone. Maybe she should have regarded his defense more carefully.]
[Nonetheless, the frown is brief.] Of course. None taken, Armin; it is best to be informed.
Is there a particular reason you mentioned being alone, by the by?
“Just tell us who you saw.” [Aubrey butts in, potentially interrupting Armin.]
[Goodness. She’s never been one to hold her tongue, but something truly must have happened.] Aubrey. [There’s the slightest warning in Mari’s tone, not quite a scold but the promise of one.
[Immediately Aubrey turns away, folding her arms. Mari reminds herself to be patient. Whatever did turn her into this, never mind the usual teenage hormones, must be far more difficult to deal with than any temporary snippiness.]
[Back to Armin, then. Apologetic.] I believe the figure I saw wants to hurt Aubrey. Forgive me if I’m a bit hesitant with the details.
[Something isn't right. Armin can tell that Mari doesn't trust him; more so than that, he reminds himself that she has no real reason to trust him. Aubrey being friendly with him is the only thing he has working for him. He still can't shake the sensation that Eren has something to do with all this. When Mari says that she believes the figure wants to hurt Aubrey, it - for whatever reason - only reinforces that suspicion. Not because Armin thinks Eren would hurt Aubrey, but because he knows his friend can come off as quite...intense in regard to the people he cares about.
[Just what is going on here, exactly...?]
We've all been alone here at one time or another. We try our best to stick together, but we don't always have that choice.
[To his credit, he tries to keep his tone a bit more casual.]
When you say figure...[Maybe if he slips it in casually enough, she won't head for the hills about it.]
Was this thing you saw...not a human?
[An idea occurs to him quite suddenly. He straightens up in the booth and pats the ODM gear on his hip.]
If what you saw was a monster, it might be one I'm familiar with. I'm a soldier where I come from - a Commander, actually. Fighting monsters is all I know.
[Mari is quiet for a moment, to allow Aubrey a chance to speak again. She doesn’t.]
[In fact, Aubrey feels strangely wounded, and stays turned away from both. But she is, through her ever-gnawing concern for Eren, trying to listen. What’s Armin getting at now…?]
[Pause aside, Mari plays casual right back; and really, the surprise at Armin’s gear is no act.] A soldier! [If he truly is keeping Aubrey safe (and Aubrey did call him a friend), however much or little they’ve managed to stay together, it’s good to see Armin has the gear and know-how to back that up.
[It also, Mari notes, means he’s an even more dangerous threat if he’s allied with that monster.]
I couldn’t tell if the figure was human or not. [Slight concession, nonetheless. Mari knows she doesn’t a chance should Armin turn that gear on her. She grasps in the dark for any sort of advantage. What does he want, really…?]
It was hard to see anything clearly. All I knew was that it talked like a human man. [And whistled that song, hollow and dead.]
[Armin nods, a gesture of understanding. It doesn't confirm nor deny that the monster sounds familiar, and that's by design. He saw her surprise (and, perhaps, intimidation) at the ODM gear.]
And he said...
[Sorry, Aubrey. Armin can tell that she's put off, and he doesn't blame her, but...he wants to find Eren as badly as she does. He lowers his voice for Mari again, leaning in a bit for effect.]
[Aubrey, detecting only mind games that are flying by and large over her head, turns back to them both with a huff.]
If there’s something after us then why mess around? I’m not gonna be upset. [She sounds pretty damn upset.] If we knew where Eren was he’d take care of it anyway.
[She knew she should have had this conversation away from Aubrey. For the briefest moment, irritation flashes across Mari’s face—and settles to a baseline neutral.]
[Aubrey. Aubrey. Doesn’t Aubrey understand that Mari is being evasive for her? This interrogation, in any direction, brings Mari no joy. She would have been happy to trust Armin and Eren, and they could all band together in this terrifying empty limbo.]
[But Aubrey says nothing, only glaring at them both—and mostly, inexplicably, Mari.]
[ . . . ]
Armin. [There’s no attempt to keep it sweet.] We both have Aubrey’s best interests at heart, don’t we? I don’t understand this tension over Eren, when I’m truly not sure if—
Because Eren might be trapped. With a— whatever talked to you. [That dot, to Aubrey, remains unconnected.]
“Aubrey, I’m not lying to you—”
I never said you were! [Her voice wavers, furious and, strangely, somewhere close to heartbroken. Why? Why is she having this… conversation? argument? What is going on?!] Please, just… tell us what you saw. Everything.
[Aubrey, unhelpfully, is staring down at her hands again—at that ring, the finger of which is not lost on Mari. What, has she been brainwashed? She does look ready to cry again, which could go either way—
[—but it pulls at Mari, all the same. And even if Mari is correct, then escalating tensions with her… captors, or whoever Armin and Eren truly are, can only make the situation worse. It’s bad enough Armin knows Mari doesn’t trust him.]
[She’ll hear him out, she decides. Just to see. For context, information.
[But first…]
Aubrey… [Mari’s tone is, though not without an edge, mostly gentle.]
[It’s Eren. It has to be Eren. That’s what Armin was getting at. Just one eye?! Eren. Eren, hurting, caged.
[And all Aubrey can do is sit here, struggling to stay afloat, while the person who meant the most to her in the world—besides Eren, before Eren—talks down to her.]
[Meanwhile, Mari turns to Armin, sharp. But she says nothing. What, exactly, is the misunderstanding?]
[It seems that Aubrey understands now. Armin wishes she'd say more, that she'd assure her friend that Eren wouldn't hurt her, that this is a misunderstanding, that he isn't a monster, but...
[Well, Armin doesn't like to think of him that way. Right now, he can't afford to. He'll lie to himself as much as anyone about what Eren Is and Isn't.]
That figure you mention is our friend Eren. Whatever happened between you two, we can talk through it here and now.
[It won't be easy to explain the "rotting flesh", but...]
Eren isn't a bad man. [He's not sure he believes it anymore. Mari doesn't need to know the details.] And I don't believe that he said he wanted to hurt Aubrey. He's done everything in his power to protect her while we've been here.
[Armin is good with words. Too good. What he’s saying is the honest truth, from his perspective. He doesn’t know that Eren didn’t seem to care about her life until she almost lost it. He doesn’t know that Eren has hurt her, sometimes intentionally and just as often not; and Eren does want to protect her, now, all the same; and she’s not sure if Eren is a good person but fuck if she doesn’t want to protect him, too.]
[Whatever impression Mari got, of a monster in the dark… it can’t have been entirely wrong.
[Only Eren would say that Aubrey belongs to him.]
[She needs to explain this damn ring.
[Eren is in a prison, and he could very well be dying.]
Did he call for me? [Finally, Aubrey looks up, just as Mari was going to speak. It’s Mari who she looks at, and Mari who stares right back with abject concern.] Where was he? I need to find him.
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Can you tell us more about the person who...bothered you? I'm not sure you actually mentioned what they did.
1/3
[Right… Mari glances to Aubrey again for a second, concerned anew. (Say, is she wearing a ring? Considering everything else, Mari didn’t catch that until now.) Aubrey might be young, but she’s not stupid; she must know Mari wasn’t talking hypothetically about troublesome people.
[Still, she’s anxious about Eren. Mari can see it in that furrowed brow, the self-comforting hand motions. And the last thing Mari wants to do is dredge up… whatever terrible situation Armin got her out of.]
Armin, why don’t we talk outside—?
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No. I want to know, too.
[Aubrey stares forward, at nothing in particular, when that comes out. Now she’s definitely being kept in the dark. Why?]
“Aubrey, it’s not—”
[And now she’s annoyed.] I’m not twelve anymore. [She’s aware she sounds petulant, anyway.]
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[Mari turns to Armin again, shaking her head. Teenagers. It’s an affectionate, somewhat nostalgic exasparation. But surely Armin can tell she’s not keen to discuss this in front of Aubrey…?]
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Mari, with...all due respect. [He politely inclines his head as he says this.]
This world can be a dangerous place, and...it's really best if we're all prepared for what might lay around the corner. You never know when you might end up alone. It's the ugly truth.
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[Aubrey, for one, is very grateful for Armin’s backup. She doesn’t feel like getting mad at Mari… ever, really, but especially not today. He’ll get a grateful ‘thank you! fuck’s sake’ kind of look for that.]
[Mari doesn’t notice. She does not at all like that Armin is echoing that thing in the cel, right down to the warning about being alone. Maybe she should have regarded his defense more carefully.]
[Nonetheless, the frown is brief.] Of course. None taken, Armin; it is best to be informed.
Is there a particular reason you mentioned being alone, by the by?
“Just tell us who you saw.” [Aubrey butts in, potentially interrupting Armin.]
[Goodness. She’s never been one to hold her tongue, but something truly must have happened.] Aubrey. [There’s the slightest warning in Mari’s tone, not quite a scold but the promise of one.
[Immediately Aubrey turns away, folding her arms. Mari reminds herself to be patient. Whatever did turn her into this, never mind the usual teenage hormones, must be far more difficult to deal with than any temporary snippiness.]
[Back to Armin, then. Apologetic.] I believe the figure I saw wants to hurt Aubrey. Forgive me if I’m a bit hesitant with the details.
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[Just what is going on here, exactly...?]
We've all been alone here at one time or another. We try our best to stick together, but we don't always have that choice.
[To his credit, he tries to keep his tone a bit more casual.]
When you say figure...[Maybe if he slips it in casually enough, she won't head for the hills about it.]
Was this thing you saw...not a human?
[An idea occurs to him quite suddenly. He straightens up in the booth and pats the ODM gear on his hip.]
If what you saw was a monster, it might be one I'm familiar with. I'm a soldier where I come from - a Commander, actually. Fighting monsters is all I know.
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[Mari is quiet for a moment, to allow Aubrey a chance to speak again. She doesn’t.]
[In fact, Aubrey feels strangely wounded, and stays turned away from both. But she is, through her ever-gnawing concern for Eren, trying to listen. What’s Armin getting at now…?]
[Pause aside, Mari plays casual right back; and really, the surprise at Armin’s gear is no act.] A soldier! [If he truly is keeping Aubrey safe (and Aubrey did call him a friend), however much or little they’ve managed to stay together, it’s good to see Armin has the gear and know-how to back that up.
[It also, Mari notes, means he’s an even more dangerous threat if he’s allied with that monster.]
I couldn’t tell if the figure was human or not. [Slight concession, nonetheless. Mari knows she doesn’t a chance should Armin turn that gear on her. She grasps in the dark for any sort of advantage. What does he want, really…?]
It was hard to see anything clearly. All I knew was that it talked like a human man. [And whistled that song, hollow and dead.]
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And he said...
[Sorry, Aubrey. Armin can tell that she's put off, and he doesn't blame her, but...he wants to find Eren as badly as she does. He lowers his voice for Mari again, leaning in a bit for effect.]
...that he wanted to hurt Aubrey...? Really?
[At this, Armin looks genuinely disturbed - looks.]
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[The intensity is either legitimate or a herring. It’s not a play Mari can afford to misread.]
[“She belongs to me.” It’s all he said, in truth. But even a 16-year-old Aubrey wouldn’t have sworn herself to him… Would she?]
[Simply, mirroring Armin’s seeming disturbance, Mari nods.]
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Oh, for the love of—
[Aubrey, detecting only mind games that are flying by and large over her head, turns back to them both with a huff.]
If there’s something after us then why mess around? I’m not gonna be upset. [She sounds pretty damn upset.] If we knew where Eren was he’d take care of it anyway.
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[…Aubrey’s really worried about this Eren person, isn’t she?]
I’m sorry, Aubrey. [It’s not ingenuine.] Eren might be stuck with them, too.
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[She knew she should have had this conversation away from Aubrey. For the briefest moment, irritation flashes across Mari’s face—and settles to a baseline neutral.]
The figure was trapped.
There were multiple cells.
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Were they empty?
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I couldn’t tell.
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[Why is Mari lying?]
What else did the figure say to you?
If you think our friend might be there, then we need to know everything.
[At least Armin can lend real concern to his words. Whether Eren is the beast or another prisoner, they need to know.]
I think you might be right, Mari. I think Eren really might be trapped.
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[Aubrey. Aubrey. Doesn’t Aubrey understand that Mari is being evasive for her? This interrogation, in any direction, brings Mari no joy. She would have been happy to trust Armin and Eren, and they could all band together in this terrifying empty limbo.]
[But Aubrey says nothing, only glaring at them both—and mostly, inexplicably, Mari.]
[ . . . ]
Armin. [There’s no attempt to keep it sweet.] We both have Aubrey’s best interests at heart, don’t we? I don’t understand this tension over Eren, when I’m truly not sure if—
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Because Eren might be trapped. With a— whatever talked to you. [That dot, to Aubrey, remains unconnected.]
“Aubrey, I’m not lying to you—”
I never said you were! [Her voice wavers, furious and, strangely, somewhere close to heartbroken. Why? Why is she having this… conversation? argument? What is going on?!] Please, just… tell us what you saw. Everything.
3/3 imagine remembering title numbers
[Aubrey is going to get them both killed or worse.]
[Mari can’t lie to her.]
[She takes in a steady breath.]
It was some sort of prison.
All I saw was the lower half of a man, surrounded by rotting flesh, behind bars. There was one green eye in the darkness.
He said you belonged to him, Aubrey.
Does that make sense?
I lied I’m up
[Armin’s tone is very careful now.]
Mari…
I think there’s been…a misunderstanding.
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[Has there ever been.]
[Aubrey, unhelpfully, is staring down at her hands again—at that ring, the finger of which is not lost on Mari. What, has she been brainwashed? She does look ready to cry again, which could go either way—
[—but it pulls at Mari, all the same. And even if Mari is correct, then escalating tensions with her… captors, or whoever Armin and Eren truly are, can only make the situation worse. It’s bad enough Armin knows Mari doesn’t trust him.]
[She’ll hear him out, she decides. Just to see. For context, information.
[But first…]
Aubrey… [Mari’s tone is, though not without an edge, mostly gentle.]
Does what that figure told me make sense to you?
[There’s a pronounced delay.]
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[Aubrey nods, miserable.]
[It’s Eren. It has to be Eren. That’s what Armin was getting at. Just one eye?! Eren. Eren, hurting, caged.
[And all Aubrey can do is sit here, struggling to stay afloat, while the person who meant the most to her in the world—besides Eren, before Eren—talks down to her.]
[Meanwhile, Mari turns to Armin, sharp. But she says nothing. What, exactly, is the misunderstanding?]
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[Well, Armin doesn't like to think of him that way. Right now, he can't afford to. He'll lie to himself as much as anyone about what Eren Is and Isn't.]
That figure you mention is our friend Eren. Whatever happened between you two, we can talk through it here and now.
[It won't be easy to explain the "rotting flesh", but...]
Eren isn't a bad man. [He's not sure he believes it anymore. Mari doesn't need to know the details.] And I don't believe that he said he wanted to hurt Aubrey. He's done everything in his power to protect her while we've been here.
1/2
[Armin is good with words. Too good. What he’s saying is the honest truth, from his perspective. He doesn’t know that Eren didn’t seem to care about her life until she almost lost it. He doesn’t know that Eren has hurt her, sometimes intentionally and just as often not; and Eren does want to protect her, now, all the same; and she’s not sure if Eren is a good person but fuck if she doesn’t want to protect him, too.]
[Whatever impression Mari got, of a monster in the dark… it can’t have been entirely wrong.
[Only Eren would say that Aubrey belongs to him.]
[She needs to explain this damn ring.
[Eren is in a prison, and he could very well be dying.]
Did he call for me? [Finally, Aubrey looks up, just as Mari was going to speak. It’s Mari who she looks at, and Mari who stares right back with abject concern.] Where was he? I need to find him.
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introspection only tag for u
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