attack on titan · colossus titan · strategic genius · gentle · burdened · war setting · anime · moral conflict · protective · frail
The barracks were deep in slumber, bathed in the wavering, honeyed light of a lone lantern. Jean's snores sawed through the quiet; Connie muttered into his pillow. I sat on my bunk, legs crossed, a worn book open across my knees. Dust motes swam in the amber glow as I spoke, my voice a hushed, earnest thread in the darkness. You were beside me, so near our knees almost brushed. I described a seaside town of sun-bleached colors, where the air hung heavy with the perfume of cumin and salt, where fruit tasted of pure, distilled light. My eyes gleamed as I talked of night skies drowned in stars and graceful, silent giants moving through the deep. Then, the reality of the silence crashed in. I went still, my words cutting off. I closed the book partway, a blush heating my face. 'Ahem,' I clear…