#that my aimless wandering just put me on the right path accidentally

[the-punforgiven]

God the Ancient Ruins of Rauh are so fucking pretty

Genuinely in terms of raw aesthetic it is one of my favourite areas in the whole game but god, it just feels so small

[ohgodwhy151]

Eren x Annie Week 2018 Day 2

Day 2 - Hades and Persephone: Opposites attract (Fire and Ice)

Their very existence causes the other pain. The burning rage of fire and unrelenting cold of ice, they should never meet lest they destroy each other.

Eren Jaeger's heart and body burned with a fire that consumed him whole. His people were those whose passion and emotions roared over their skin with orange flames that would incinerate themselves and those around them should they get to close.

Annie Leonhardt’s skin glistened and cracked in the morning sun, she sighed to herself as she retreated into the cool shade cursing the ice that adorned her body. Her kind was reclusive, living in the far north their bodies reflecting the cold, crippling loneliness of their environment and their souls.

Normally they would never have crossed paths.

Their meeting could only have been described as an accident, after a charged argument with his family Eren left home in the middle of the night, vowing the explore the world by himself if no one would come with him. He had been warned by his people that their bodies were dangerous, their emotions too strong to exist in the human world but his unyielding curiosity only fueled his fire.

Thanks to his families views on themselves and the world Eren knew nothing of the world, including where he was and so for many months he wandered alone. Never stopping for directions or rest, it didn’t matter where he ended up, only that he was moving. The flames that scorned his body flared a scorching blue whenever he rounded a corner or reached the top of a hill. The wonder that surrounded him only galvanized him on his journey to see everything the world had to offer.  

Eventually his aimless wandering lead him north, the first time he saw snow it fascinated him and he spent weeks following until he reached the mountains. Sneaking into towns and cities Eren learned that he was on the edge of what humans called the ‘Arctic circle’. Such a grand title caused a smile to spread across his cheeks as he continued to venture forward.

The morning she met him was like any other, she woke before sunrise and watched from her shelter as it’s harsh warmth crept over her land, forcing those in it’s path to seek shelter or be reduced to nothing. But Annie was clever, her eyes darted between the shadows cast by the trees and she smiled. The only sound to be heard that morning was the soft crunching of snow under Annie’s feet as she dashed between the shadows of the trees, when she reached the edge of the forest she was forced to come to a stop.

There she sat against the tree where she watched the sunrise, occasionally she’d let her hand out into the light and watch as her icy skin glistened before it would begin to melt. This continued for a while until Annie noticed something worrying. The shadow she was sitting in was beginning to move, not with the sun, she was careful to make sure she had plenty of time to run home in the shade. This was something else.

The shadow was moving erratically, twitching side to side as if something incredibly bright was coming towards her. Scared that she would be exposed to the sun Annie stood up and followed the shadows while watching to see what was approaching.

She didn’t have to wait long.

Upon reaching the top of the hill Eren stopped and smiled at what he saw. The land ahead of him was a rolling forest of snow covered trees that shone in the morning sun, but there was something else, something that blinded him.

Squinting his eyes he could see someone standing in the shadow cast by a large tree. Once again curiosity got the better of him, with narrowed eyes he began walking towards the mysterious figure.

As he got closer and closer the light reflecting off their body got bright and brighter until Eren had to shield his eyes.

“Who’s there?” He called out.

“Stay back!” Replied a panicked voice. “Don’t come closer!”

Eren stopped in his tracks. “Are you okay?”

“Whoever you are just stay away!”

Insulted by the harshness of her voice Eren stepped back. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re going to kill me.” The voice answered.

“I’m nowhere near you!” Before Annie responded she looked up and sighed in relief, clouds had covered the sky, allowing her to hide on the other side of the tree, out of the light cast by Eren’s body. Once she was safe she heard the boys voice again. “Are you okay over there?” She could hear him getting closer.

“Yeah. I’m fine now.” She said quietly.

“What was wrong with you?” He asked approaching the tree.

Frustrated, Annie took a deep breath. “You were going to melt me.”

“Melt you?” Eren gawked. “How would I do that?” Growing even more annoyed Annie put her arm out to the side so he could see it. “You’re made of ice!”

Annie’s eyes widened when he mirrored her and put his arm around the tree. “Fire.” She gasped recalling at the orange flames.

“If I had known you were made of ice I’d have stayed away,” Eren explained as he sat down in the now melted snow. “I didn’t even know people like you even existed.”

“Well I’ve never seen someone covered in fire either,” Annie pointed out. “What are you even doing out here?”

Eren hummed deeply and smiled. “I’m an explorer.”

“Right, of course, you are.” Annie cooed.

Ignoring her sarcasm Eren peered around the tree trunk. “Would you really melt if I touched you?”

Annie threw a handful of snow at his face and retreated. “I’d melt if you and your flames even looked at me! Can’t you just leave?”

“But I just got here!” Eren protested. “If I promise not to melt you can I stay?”

“How can you promise that?”

Once again Eren hummed. “If I calm down my flames do the same.”

“So judging by your fire now I’m going to guess you're what? Excited?”  

The flames that previously licked the tree trunk dulled slightly from a billowing red to a glowing orange.  “Well… You are the first person I’ve talked to in months,” Eren said. “And you’re made of ice, that’s pretty amazing.”

“Amazing?” Annie scoffed. “There’s not a lot about it that’s amazing, although I imagine it’s not great being covered in fire either.”

The fire around Eren’s body flared as he laughed. “It does have its… problems it’s not all bad. It makes talking to people easy if you can see how their feeling,” Annie hummed her curiosity. “Red means excited, orange means calm, blue means passion.”

“Being so upfront must cause a lot of arguments.”

“It does, but it means we can get past our problems really quickly, don’t you?”

Annie held her hand up to the in sky and watched it sparkle in the light. “No. We don’t talk, we hold our problems to ourselves. Better to bottle it up than risk making it worse. It’s why we’re like this. Our people are afraid of opening up, so we became cold.”

A heavy silence fell over the two of them, the only sound being the light crackling of fire against wood. Eventually, Eren found his voice. “Are you afraid?”

“Of what?”

“Of being judged.”

Annie was stunned silent. Slowly she leant to the side and looked around the tree and gasped. The unbridled flames that had threatened to melt her were now a calmed and mellow blue. “They’re blue.” She gasped.

Eren smiled. “You can be passionate and keep your cool. Now answer my question.”

Annie felt her chest tighten slightly. “I guess people like me are. It’s why we’re so quiet. I don’t like it but it’s what I’m like.”

“Well talk to me.”

“What? Why?”

“I’m not going to be quiet about it, I can’t help it,” Eren said gesturing to the flames on his arms. “So tell me how you feel.”

Annie brought her knees up to her chest. “I-I wish I could be treated like a human. I don’t know if I could stop being like this but when I sneak out and see the humans at night I’m almost jealous.”

“Ah, I know what you mean,” Eren hummed. “They can get so close to each other without burning each other.”

“But they can talk to each other so easily. It’s so frustrating.”  Annie grumbled.

“Maybe we cancel each other out then,” Eren scoffed. “I’m overflowing with emotion and you’re holding all yours back. Put us together and you might get a functioning human being.” He chuckled.

Once again Annie looked around the tree, Eren’s flames were gently lapping over his skin, like an orange ocean. “W-where are you planning on going next?”

Eren hummed and his flames grew slightly more intense and his thoughts turned to the world ahead of him. “Well, I’ve reached the Arctic. Maybe I should go south next.”

“You talk about travelling to the other end of the world so flippantly,” Annie giggled. “Anyway, you can’t leave just yet, there’s something you’ll want to see.”

“Huh?” Eren’s body flared a momentary blue. “What is it?”

“A surprise, but you have to promise not to burn the forest down when you see it.”

“How can I promise something like that when you offering a surprise?”

Annie hummed. “Well, when you see it just don’t accidentally melt me.”

“Can’t you just tell me what it is?” Eren pouted as the flames sputtered with frustration.

“It’s a surprise,” Annie said. “You’ll just have to wait until night.”

The two of them spent the day under that tree, they would talk, they would look over the forest ahead of them and they enjoyed each other’s company. For Eren it was the calmest and quietest he had ever been, it gave him the opportunity to relax and admire his surrounding, as well as the girl on the other side of the tree.

Annie, on the other hand, felt her blood grow warm as she spoke with the stranger. She could feel heat rising under her skin as he explained the many wonders he had seen on his travels, she wasn’t particularly astounded by the stories themselves but instead found her heart pounding at his voice. Such unwavering passion and unyielding drive.

Eventually, the sun begins to set and the clouds slowly clear.

“So can you tell me yet?” Eren asked.

Annie cupped her chin and hummed. “I can give you a clue. Look up.”

“Annie, I get it’s a pretty sunset but I was expecting something… different.”

Rolling her eyes Annie pushed away from the tree and rested her hands on her side. “Just give it a little time. It’ll be worth the wait.”

“I’ve been waiting for hours now-” Eren was cut off as his eyes widened. High above him, walls of glowing green light lowered from the sky, they seemingly wave-like curtains in an open window. “W-what’s happening?”

Annie smirked at his shock. “I’ve been watching them for years now.”

“They’re amazing,” He gawked as his flames sparked against the tree. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Annie’s smirk grew into a warm smile. “You know, if you stay you could see them every night.”

“Stay?” Eren chuckled. “Even though I could melt you? I don’t want to risk that. Although, I might come back every now and again. I like it here.” He said as he stood up.

“Where will we meet?”

Eren hummed and looked around him, eventually his gaze settled on the charred tree he was resting against. “How about here? Half of this tree is burned, the other isn’t. It can’t be missed,” He shrugged. “I could even bring you souvenirs.”

“To make up for the fact I’ll be waiting by this tree?”

“When you put it like that it sounds horrible, but yes.” Eren scoffed.

Sighing to herself Annie looked up at the Aurora. “They better be some good souvenirs.”

Eren took a deep breath and calmed himself before resting his hand on top of Annie’s. “I’ll bring you some good stories as well.”

Annie gasped at the sudden contact and immediately considered pulling her hand away but when the burning she expected never came Annie relaxed. “You better. It’s going to be really boring without you around… and quiet.”

From that day on Eren would always make sure to visit the secluded woods far in the north and every time he would bring a token of his travels. Over the years Annie’s shelves began to overflow with strange rocks from the stars and trinkets from all over the world.

For years to come Eren and Annie would meet under that same tree, where raging fire would cool into calmed passion and freezing ice would warm into hopeful smiles. Under that tree fire and ice would meet, without destroying each other.