"Shove off imp. You're not getting through. Stop trying to kill yourself!" Snarled the soldier, bringing down the short pole in front of the scruffy haired urchin before him.

The Hunter hissed as he was shoved back by another guard to the ground, a small puff of dirt encircling him as he quickly scuffled off the loose earth and glared heatedly at the two men.

He had hoped that in the daytime their attentions would be directed more towards those which tried to enter from the other side but his hopes had quickly been dashed, much like the dirt beneath his feet.

Perhaps the cusp of morning would be a better bet but he was starting to be recognised by these people and he could not afford that.

Confidence had been slowly filling his actions as he moved around the many humans, as he finally accepted that his face was not seen as deformed, nor any sign of his true nature immediately obvious to any of those around him.

That did not stop him from being wary, however, as he skirted a distance from the many Garrison and Military members that patrolled the walls. This wariness was what finally drove him away from the two humans as they continued their pointless guard.

The small growth of confidence was not all that fuelled his motions however. A strange twitching had started to overcome his every movement as he slowly, painfully slowly, tried to adapt to the peculiar incarceration he, and the humans he travelled with, had found themselves in.

An odd jumping feeling filled his very bones as he was forced into inactiveness by the high walls and flashing Titan blades that seemed to surround him from every angle.

Oh how he wanted to run, wanted to jump, to breathe free, to fly.

But instead his body still felt weak, over a month later and he still could not lift quite as much as he was used to, his movements were faintly sluggish to his mind and he found everything around him a source of exhaustion and anger.

Everything except for them, he thought as he entered the court yard and saw his two humans lining up with the others, distinctive now for more than the red scarf and yellow hair.

Their faces were now engraved on the Hunter's mind.

Sparkling blue and Black iridescent eyes, thin and soft lips, small noses and soft small hands, hair the colour of the gentle sun loving flowers he used to see sometimes, and hair a warm shade of midnight.

-And the way they still looked at him, the Hunter still didn't know what it meant but only one other living thing he had ever met had ever held such an expression for him.

No. They didn't anger him. Not at all.

His lips twitched faintly as their eyes fell on his.

"Eren," called Armin, waving his arm.

Oh and that was another thing he was getting used to. Humans had more than one name. It confused him initially when Mikasa became Mikasa Ackerman and Armin became Armin Arlert. But when he thought about it, it made a kind of sense. Humans turned out to be far more complex than the rambling dim eyed acquaintances he had before. Armin wasn't quite a soldier like his name suggested but he had the determination of one at times and Arlert sounded quite similar to Arnelrdt- to rule.

He had quickly decided that if Armin were to be in charge, his quick wit and friendly manner would have been the saving of many. Unfortunately he hadn't seen it the same way when the Hunter tried to explain his name.

Perhaps he had yet to grow into his name like the Hunter had when he was first given his.

Mikasa he wasn't certain of. He didn't know what her first name meant and her second name just didn't seem to fit. A field man?

Sure, they were told to work on the fields but that didn't make any difference to who she was.

She was more of a protector, determinately looking after him and Armin whether they liked it or not.

She also had a quiet secret smile that she hid from many but would often bequeath to him and Armin. Again he was a bit unsure about why but he found he couldn't question it.

And so he had secretly taken to calling her Mikasa Adelina in his head.

Teal eyes focused on her now as he saw what she held in her arms, trying not to frown at the sight of The Bread.

They were going to try to get him to eat again...

He huffed out a tired breath and sauntered over to them, trying his best to look well fed and happy. His little Adelina wasn't having any of it.

"Eat," Mikasa ordered, pushing the bread into his arms.

"Eat a-red-ey. No need bread," he lied with a casual shrug of his shoulders.

"Eren you need to eat," said Armin in his quite worried voice.

The Hunter grimaced as his 'human' name was used against him in that tone. The name sort of sounded like his word for honour, but not quite. He wasn't quite sure why they decided to call him that but he supposed it was better than Hunter at the moment.

He couldn't live up to his old name right here and now.

"What's your first name Jäger?" Armin asked as they left the boats, holding the Hunter's arm firmly over his shoulder to support him as they moved.

He simply looked at him with confusion as an old man that Armin seemed to be familiar with -like family herds, the Hunter thought- helped support Mikasa to walk by their side.

"What did your father an- or your mother call you?" Armin tried again.

"Farder? Mofer?"

Mikasa and Armin exchanged a quick worried look. Armin's wrinkled kin watched with a troubled crinkle in his brow.

"...the people who looked after you when you were young, who gave birth to you,"

He hadn't been quite sure of all of these words but he found his lips moving before he could stop himself.

"No, did not. Karlula named little Hunter; is that name? Little?"

Mikasa shook her head.

"We'll find you a name, you need one for registering,"

This 'registering' proved to be a mistake however. All it did was make the humans aware he was there and try to make him eat things.

The Hunter, or Eren as he was trying to now call himself, did not like eating.

He had resisted for as long as he could, finding the whole practice disturbing to watch, but the scared looks on his Adelina's and sunny flower's faces made his insides twist up and had him finally give in and put the strange brown lump in his mouth.

He knew it had been a mistake the instant the Thing touched his tongue.

The soft, mushy stuff had squelched and broke beneath his teeth, bringing up nauseating parallels as he struggled to swallow it down. Then the food sat heavy inside him, an unfamiliar weight that made his whole body itch at he tried to acclimatise to it.

What happened several hours later only made the whole experience ten times as worse.

Needless to say he had been trying to avoid it ever since but that proved difficult with the fact that humans ate three times a day and he was, in appearance at least, a human -and he was starting to seriously worry the 'other' two humans.

With a pained grimace he took the bread, ripping off a small third of it before passing it back to a satisfyingly surprised Armin.

They quietly sat down together against a nearby wall, companionably eating the bread.

While the other two looked at their own food the Hunter-

No, Eren

- Eren ripped his bread in half, stowing it away in his pocket in a flash and quickly moving his jaws as if he was eating.

He smiled companionably with Armin who returned a watery version before returning to stare down at his meagre rations.

The hun- Eren's fake chewing slowed as he watched Armin stare down at his food with shining eyes. A faint spasm in his lips was suddenly covered up as he wolfed down his bread, his blond brow deeply furrowed.

Armin's smiles had become few and far between for the last few days after that crease- faced man had told them he would be leaving.

Eren had been confused about the whole thing- where was the man going? Why did everyone look so sad about it? Why did they smell of fear? - but he didn't want to push his saddened human into explaining.

In the end he didn't need to.

That day after Armin came back from the gate, face glistening with tears and a familiar straw hat in his hands, that was the day everything changed.

Eren had been walking by the walls when he saw the many hundreds of people walking past to the gates.

Where are they going? Are they leaving?

Perhaps this was his chance. He could slip in and hide himself among the humans as they made their way through.

But then his eyes caught a familiar golden bob of hair and he saw Armin's face as the crease skinned man gently placed his hat on the blond crown of hair and walked out into the Titan's territory with the others.

Eren felt himself freeze in place as a cold suspicion crept over him and he saw the shaking fearful faces of the humans who pushed past him.

Then suddenly Armin was there, bumping blindly into him as the little boy made his way to escape away from the reality of what was happening before him.

Armin looked up, blue eyes wider than Eren had ever seen them and skin paler than milk, and Eren took him into his arms.

He hadn't ever done it before, holding a person in such a way to give comfort but he knew that was what Armin needed as his hitching, breaking sobs shook Eren's body.

It took a long time but eventually, once Armin's breath evened and the wet feeling on his chest faded, Eren drew back to meet faded blue eyes with determined ocean green.

Slowly but surely Armin came back into himself, nodding faintly when Eren took his small hand with a soft questioning look, leading them back to where Mikasa was.

Mikasa, who took one look at Armin before enveloping him in her arms as tears sprung anew.

"Good riddance," said a snide voice not too far away.

Eren looked up to where the two Military soldiers stood, staring at those who walked by.

"We'll finally have enough food now that those freeloaders are fucking off back where they came from,"

Eren's wide eyes froze as understanding of these words washed through his mind. His eyes found Armin who had frozen in an alarmed Mikasa's tight grip.

"Should've thrown these fuckers back where they belong ages ago, why should we hafta give our food to those lousy outsiders? Fuckin Titans better eat them all properly this time"

-And Eren was moving. He was moving before he even knew it, his fist slamming into the wall beside the "human"s face, fracturing the stone in his sheer rage.

"You not human. You worse Titan," he snarled, vivid wild eyes wide and canines flashing before he was bodily pulled back into Mikasa's arms.

"Sorry sir, that will not happen again," she stated as she pulled back the boy from the shocked soldier before he could regain what little wits he had and seek retribution.

Eren threw himself out of her grip as they rounded the corner and fell to the earth.

"Why?" He asked, voice low with a hint of growl as he tried to rein himself in around the human.

"Think about it Eren. They deserve many bad things for talking like that but what would happen if you fought them?"

Eren looked blankly at her.

"Would win, make not want talk bad,"

"But what would happen to you?" She asked.

Eren fell silent then Armin spoke up.

"Thank you Eren for doing that but... I don't want to you to fight my battles. I don't want you to get in trouble,"

Eren felt an influx of thoughts at this, none of them pleasant.

"Not only your battle, every human. ALL! How can?! Not talk such like that!" He threw his hand to the earth, faintly feeling a light bruising pain sweeping over them as he glared up at the two humans.

There was a beat of silence.

"Pick your battles Eren, or you will never win any of them," snarled Mikasa before taking Armin's hand and leading him away.

Eren sat in silence, staring down at the blood filled bruise sweeping over his fingers.

Pick your battles...

He hadn't been doing that at all.

He simply reacted. He fought when he felt it was right and it had been...

Well no. It hadn't been quite right, they said it wasn't right.

At this his thoughts calmed and he remembered the hurt look on Armin's face as he shouted out his own pain, not thinking of his.

He thought of before, back to the day of the breach, of how he sent the humans to draw in those Titans, allowing him time to save his humans. He thought of how he was able to quickly dispatch the Titans by choosing where and how he would fight.

His Adelina was right, the only choice he made before and since then was to blindly attack.

It didn't stop the bubbling rage inside however as he slammed his fist down on stone once more.

Fine. If he was to pick his battles he would choose one right now. He would go fight! Go out through the walls! He would- he would-

Armin's broken face came back to his mind and Mikasa's deadened voice.

Eren felt his breath hitch in his throat and he stood up, turning to follow his humans only to find them still there, staring at him from several meters away as he slowly came forward and faced them.

"Sor," he whispered.

Mikasa looked at Armin then sighed, pulling the scruffy haired brat before her into a hug.

"If you hadn't done it first. I probably would have," she admitted.

Armin smiled weakly at the two before he was pulled in to their tight hug as well.

It was early the next morning and Eren had made his decision.

Quietly he made his way through the streets, bare feet soft against the cobbles, making no sound. But then two familiar smells wafted over with a gentle breeze, smelling of sweet earth and mellow herbs.

He wasn't alone.

"Where are you going Eren?" Asked Mikasa quietly.

"No-thing, move and see," replied Eren, feeling his ears warm as he looked out into the fading dark, feeling his humans drawing close to his side.

He felt the dark eyed stare piercing into him as he tried to avoid her pointed look.

"You were trying to get past the wall again weren't you?" she breathed.

Eren looked round in surprise at this. She knew of his attempts? Armin gasped up in horror. Obviously he hadn't.

"What?" He asked in a wavering voice.

"How uh- see?" He asked in their language.

"I followed you the other night, I saw you try to sneak past the guards,"

Eren felt his hands clench into fists.

"Can not stay. Name is less. I-"

"-you want to fight. You want to kill the Titans," stated Mikasa in a blank voice.

Eren nodded and suddenly found himself sprawled on the ground, face distantly burning with the fierce punch Mikasa delivered.

He hadn't expected that.

"You will just leave us then? After all we have lost, we're going to lose you too?" She hissed.

"M-Mikasa!" Armin's voice wavered as he tried to pull her back.

"No! Eren I don't want you to go. You are an amazing fighter but you are too young. You can't just give up your life."

Eren slowly closed his eyes and when he opened them the Hunter stood up. He stared down at his human, the faint trace of pain forgotten as he looked at her.

"This giving away life, no freeness" he stated, sweeping his arms around as the sounds of children crying and two men fighting over food like feral dogs filled the sudden silence of the dusky morning.

"Human need more." He continued, voice low but carrying "Not cage. No ever cage. Need run and fly. I need f-fight for all. I can do it. Need to. What- what you do if one with strength do not fight for you?" He asked, voice breaking and eyes itching.

Mikasa and Armin froze, staring at him with wide eyes.

"...You really want to do this don't you?" Armin eventually whispered, hands still tight on his friend's arms.

"Need fly, need help" he nodded.

"Then I'm coming with you," said Mikasa.

The Hunter faded away and Eren came back, large eyes wide with surprise.

"No, you no know!" He said, horror at the idea taking over his voice.

"You saved our lives Eren. I'm not leaving you," she said with a determined flash in her eyes.

Armin looked nervously up to both of them, his own eyes filled with fear and determination.

"Me- me neither," he wavered, gaze steady on Eren's "I will come with you,"

Eren stared at the two of them with palatable fear. It was both strange and not strange how quickly he had grown attached to these two humans; how he sought out their soft mellow scents, the small smiles on their lips, the warmth in Mikasa's arms and the heat in Armin's words.

He could not let this happen. They would be eaten the moment he let his eyes off them.

Vivid images filled his head to the brim and the weight of it all pushed him roughly to his knees.

But they wouldn't just let him go, they would follow him. He could see it as he looked in their faces.

"Why?" He asked, voice small and confused, looking up at them with pleading eyes.

Mikasa's hands wrapped around her scarf and Armin stared nonplussed at Eren.

"You're our friend," said Armin simply.

... Friend...

I know that wor- oh. Right- well... oka- Huh? What?

"Ours fre-nd," he repeated blankly.

"Our friend," Armin corrected, faint twitches turning the corner of his mouth.

Eren found himself mimicking the half smile, a strange sound echoing through his chest as Armin corrected his bad speech once again, even now as they decided to throw in their lot with him against the horror outside their caged haven.

And that was the truth. They had decided and like earth he was going to let them get killed for him.

"Yes... Have rule our friend." He said, standing up and taking both of their hands in a strange surge of confidence.

"What is it?" They asked.

"Go when one ready. Now I teach." Eren smiled, wide and toothy.