Gabi practically jumps back as Annie just hauls off and kicks Reiner right in the chin. Blood immediately goes spraying out of his mouth and Gabi is pretty sure part of his jaw is broken now. She expects to fall backwards onto the grass but instead she bumps into someone behind her. She turns her head and her eyes immediately get bigger.
"R...Rein--"
She's interrupted and turns her head back as Annie continues ranting and -- oh. That sound is her proceeding to stomp Reiner's face in. She tries to turn away as she screams and curses at him and tells him to take the responsibility and give his life for his failure. It's worse than when she saw Jean jump across a campfire to grab Reiner and pummel him. It's way worse. At least Gabi could do something about that by diving on top of him, but she's snapped out of whatever reverie she was in enough to know there's nothing she can do to affect this.
It doesn't make it any less unnerving, still hearing the sounds of his bloody gurgling as she stomps and kicks and screams behind her. Hearing that behind her and seeing the man it happened to right in front of her...her cousin. It takes her little time to place his face. He's not the man who she last saw when she wished him good luck to as he got on a ship back to this very island to try and advocate for peace. She remembers...the first time she'd seen him since she was a baby, after he'd spent five years away, fighting for them, returning to Liberio in abject disgrace for only the briefest of moments before he was to be shipped off to several more years of battle. She remembers exactly what she said to him at that moment.
"I'm a Warrior candidate now, too...! So...I promise, I'll join you on the front lines, soon! We'll both fight for the Eldians together!"
Somewhere in her mind, it strikes her, that he heard what she said about not breaking the wall, and he's not happy about it. But she can't put those facts together enough to explain herself, just yet. She looks up at him. She turns her head back, she sees Annie and Bertolt, both in tears as the memory of Reiner just rolls around on the ground in a bloody pulp. Then she turns back to the Reiner in front of her, and she does the same thing she did just recently when she saw him off on his journey as a peacemaker. She does the same thing she did when she wanted to encouraged him for the upcoming battles he would have to fight, beating down her own fears that he would die in battle or be stripped of the Armored Titan. She does what she really, really, really wishes she could do to the bloody, beaten 12-year old on the ground right behind her.
She steps into him and throws her arms around him.
She has no idea if he'll accept it. It hasn't fully clicked for her that he doesn't recognize her. For all she knows, he'll think she's some kind of...island devil sympathizer. She hasn't noticed the memory of Reiner standing up behind her -- for all she knows, she and Annie could be in very similar situations in the next five seconds. None of that is going through her mind at this moment. She's just doing what she wants to do.
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Gabi practically jumps back as Annie just hauls off and kicks Reiner right in the chin. Blood immediately goes spraying out of his mouth and Gabi is pretty sure part of his jaw is broken now. She expects to fall backwards onto the grass but instead she bumps into someone behind her. She turns her head and her eyes immediately get bigger.
"R...Rein--"
She's interrupted and turns her head back as Annie continues ranting and -- oh. That sound is her proceeding to stomp Reiner's face in. She tries to turn away as she screams and curses at him and tells him to take the responsibility and give his life for his failure. It's worse than when she saw Jean jump across a campfire to grab Reiner and pummel him. It's way worse. At least Gabi could do something about that by diving on top of him, but she's snapped out of whatever reverie she was in enough to know there's nothing she can do to affect this.
It doesn't make it any less unnerving, still hearing the sounds of his bloody gurgling as she stomps and kicks and screams behind her. Hearing that behind her and seeing the man it happened to right in front of her...her cousin. It takes her little time to place his face. He's not the man who she last saw when she wished him good luck to as he got on a ship back to this very island to try and advocate for peace. She remembers...the first time she'd seen him since she was a baby, after he'd spent five years away, fighting for them, returning to Liberio in abject disgrace for only the briefest of moments before he was to be shipped off to several more years of battle. She remembers exactly what she said to him at that moment.
"I'm a Warrior candidate now, too...! So...I promise, I'll join you on the front lines, soon! We'll both fight for the Eldians together!"
Somewhere in her mind, it strikes her, that he heard what she said about not breaking the wall, and he's not happy about it. But she can't put those facts together enough to explain herself, just yet. She looks up at him. She turns her head back, she sees Annie and Bertolt, both in tears as the memory of Reiner just rolls around on the ground in a bloody pulp. Then she turns back to the Reiner in front of her, and she does the same thing she did just recently when she saw him off on his journey as a peacemaker. She does the same thing she did when she wanted to encouraged him for the upcoming battles he would have to fight, beating down her own fears that he would die in battle or be stripped of the Armored Titan. She does what she really, really, really wishes she could do to the bloody, beaten 12-year old on the ground right behind her.
She steps into him and throws her arms around him.
She has no idea if he'll accept it. It hasn't fully clicked for her that he doesn't recognize her. For all she knows, he'll think she's some kind of...island devil sympathizer. She hasn't noticed the memory of Reiner standing up behind her -- for all she knows, she and Annie could be in very similar situations in the next five seconds. None of that is going through her mind at this moment. She's just doing what she wants to do.