It's an overwhelming thought. Something Reiner would dismiss as an impossibility were it not Annie saying it with such urgency, her hands still pressed to his face, fingertips digging in enough to keep him present. He couldn't dismiss her if he tried. And the truth is, he doesn't want to. Because no more Titans means no more "devils," no abbreviated lifespans, no fear of "heaven," no children sacrificed to Marley's war machine. No more Titans means that they would all be… ]
Human.
[ He repeats it, awed. Trying to wrap his mind around a world in which Eldians are just that: human. Not ticking time bombs cloistered away, but human beings.
Annie … is human.
For the first time, Reiner notices it: the slight difference in their skin temperatures. Reiner runs hotter than normal, as do Bertholdt and Eren—evidence of the Titans in their blood. Annie, on the other hand, doesn't feel Titan-warm. Is it entirely psychological on Reiner's end, or has she really cooled down to average?
Either way, he doesn't doubt her. Eren may have been ignorant of his Titan for years, but Annie never was. They never talked about it, but Reiner is certain she could feel it, just as he can feel his own—that lightning power coiled inside, ready to unleash itself at the slightest drop of blood. She had to learn to control it, just as he did. (Just as Bertholdt didn't, having perfect control from the start.) If she says it's gone, then it's gone.
no subject
It's an overwhelming thought. Something Reiner would dismiss as an impossibility were it not Annie saying it with such urgency, her hands still pressed to his face, fingertips digging in enough to keep him present. He couldn't dismiss her if he tried. And the truth is, he doesn't want to. Because no more Titans means no more "devils," no abbreviated lifespans, no fear of "heaven," no children sacrificed to Marley's war machine. No more Titans means that they would all be… ]
Human.
[ He repeats it, awed. Trying to wrap his mind around a world in which Eldians are just that: human. Not ticking time bombs cloistered away, but human beings.
Annie … is human.
For the first time, Reiner notices it: the slight difference in their skin temperatures. Reiner runs hotter than normal, as do Bertholdt and Eren—evidence of the Titans in their blood. Annie, on the other hand, doesn't feel Titan-warm. Is it entirely psychological on Reiner's end, or has she really cooled down to average?
Either way, he doesn't doubt her. Eren may have been ignorant of his Titan for years, but Annie never was. They never talked about it, but Reiner is certain she could feel it, just as he can feel his own—that lightning power coiled inside, ready to unleash itself at the slightest drop of blood. She had to learn to control it, just as he did. (Just as Bertholdt didn't, having perfect control from the start.) If she says it's gone, then it's gone.
He swallows. ]
Eren wanted this?