Iɴʙᴏx ✉ Vɪᴄᴛᴏʀʏ Rᴏᴀᴅ

[bertall]

Um... This is Bertolt, and if you're hearing this I'm probably busy. You can leave a message here or call back later if you want? ...Can I start over?

Comments

[schachmeister]

[Armin's jaw tightens and tics for a moment before he nods. His throat feels tight but there is no harm in telling Bertolt this. Not there.]

Yes. We had to run so there was no time to go back for this.

[He shifts slightly, uncurling his arms so Bertolt can see the book he was clutching to his chest.]

It's... a book. One of my grandfather's books. It's about the outside world.

[Heritical forbidden knowledge.]

[bertall]

_{[Bertolt studies him for a few moments, then tightens the blanket again just long enough to slide himself down to the floor and drag himself closer to the tree and Armin.]}

Could I...?

_{[He'd be careful with it, of course.]}

[schachmeister]

Of course.

[And yet, for how easy it had always been to share the book with Eren and Mikasa when he had been a kid, how difficult it was now to hand it over to Bert. Not that he thinks Bertolt would damage it or be disrespectful of it, it's just... been so long since he has been able to hold it.

He manages though, his fingers a little stiff as he hands the book over to Bertolt.

The golden lettering and illustrations on the brown cover are faded, and the back of the book has hints of damage -- the sort that comes from being toted around by young kids who aren't always very careful. When he opens it, Bertolt might notice the named 'Amadeus' penned inside of the cover, and then it is just pages and pages of flora and fauna. Nothing about Marley or any of the other countries out there. Not even the smallest mention of people, really. It's just all about natural phenomena.]

[bertall]

<sub>[It's old - he can smell it when he carefully opens it to a random page and Bertolt's brows furrow a little. If it's from outside the walls... Did it come from Marley? Or some other part of the world before all of that...? He can't find a publisher or anything of the like on any of the pages either which makes his brows furrow even more.

Maybe it was torn out, too. This had belonged to his grandfather, but what about the person before him? Or maybe... Gods, there were so many unanswered questions about this already.

Fortunately he can't find anything that would raise too many eyebrows though. Oceans certainly existed back home and poor Bertolt's stomach churns a little at the thought of that boat. Deserts... He doesn't like to think about that trek after getting off of the boat either. It's not that it was a bad trip, but the sand. Gods, the sand.]</sub>

...Do you know where he got it from?

[schachmeister]

No.

[Armin shakes his head a bit.]

He's never told me. Nearest he ever said is that he always had it. It might have been something he got from my great-grandfather, but I don't really know more than that. It's not as if we could really speak openly about something like this.

[It's very well possible that this book is something someone smuggled long when King Fritz brought his subjects to Paradise and created the walls. It is certainly old enough for that.]