Trying to get in control. To keep control. Reiner inclines his head, the vague response still resonating. He's been trying to keep control for months, clinging to the shattered shards of himself, slicing his psyche on jagged edges even as he tries to hold himself together. Without Bertolt, he would've failed long ago. Without Bertolt, Reiner would probably still believe he was a soldier, a citizen of the Walls, an ordinary human.

But Bertolt isn't here right now. How long before Reiner finds him? It can't be much longer, right?

"I know what you mean," Reiner says, finding it easy to say so. Talking to Cal is easy, just as existing in this endless forest is easy. "I wasn't meditating before, but I've been trying to keep control for a while. It's hard when it's your own mind that you're fighting."