[darth vader]

myths we don't outgrow

This district is peaceful enough. The only noise besides the sound of her boots on the cobblestone is filler and static: mothers calling out of windows to their children, the men at their stalls bartering with customers over the price of an apple, a meat pasty. Thalia's destination is equally nondescript, a place she might have easily passed without second thought. She knocks on the front door and folds her arms across her chest, shifting her weight to her back foot. She's not uneasy, but she isn't exactly pleased to be here either. The detail of the report she read, the commander's distant tone relaying her task; these are the things she carries with her. The bandage wrapped around her torso, concealed by her shirt and hidden by her ramrod straight stance, is pulled a hair too tight. This is the cost of injuries. Being relegated to tasks like this to avoid further stress and “accelerate the healing process.” Your voice carries weight, he'd told her. Whether you like it or not. But in this scenic corner behind Wall Rose, when she's out of uniform she slips down the street like a ghost. Unrecognized. These people have smaller worries on their minds. That's what she fights to assure. She's not sure if she hates them for it or not.

LAIKA OF GS!

[redox-kun]

[attr="class","stt"]

the commander was considerate enough to avoid the workweek when he had sent thalia, so sophia was actually home when the soldier had arrived. dressed in a cotton bathrobe, maybe, but she wasn't actually sent a letter prior to the messenger's arrival. the commander was always a smart man. now that she's out of the military, he'd need every advantage when dealing with sophia rosenburg.

she's quick to open the door, at least. sophia takes a good look at her guest and realizes that the commander had conferred to her the dubious honor of entertaining the maverick of the scouting legion. now there's one gift that sophia won't be sending a thank-you card for later. for now, she can only hope that the woman will give up quickly. sophia is a subscriber to the rose newspaper, so she thinks that she has a fair idea of what this is about. regardless, sophia steps aside from the doorframe, holding the door open for her guest.

"...feel free to take a seat, miss de luca" hospitality has always been highly valued by the rosenburgs, and thalia de luca isn't nearly special enough for sophia to make an exception. "is there anything that i can get you?"

PARADISE

[attr="class","addr"]darth vader

LAIKA OF GS!

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[darth vader]

myths we don't outgrow

Thalia had no real expectations of what Sophia Rosenburg would look like, so she fails to live up to any of them. She's pale-skinned and pale-eyed, taller than Thalia (but who isn't) and fine boned. Thalia had no expectations, but at once she can't imagine the woman who so gracefully risked everything look like anyone else. She takes the offered seat and crosses her legs. "No need to trouble yourself. We both know why I'm here, I suspect, and I hope it won't be very long. The Survey Corps wants you back. Will you return?"

LAIKA OF GS!

[redox-kun]

[attr="class","stt"]

sophia had no reason to tense in her own home, but her sitting posture is the only thing that gives away her career in the survey corps. everything else, she tried to wash her hands of. not that it was difficult for a woman in her position. they hadn't even allowed her to keep the scouting legion uniform. maybe it would be given to her successor, maybe incinerated, she doesn't know. either way, there was way too much titan blood dyed into the fabric for it to be anyone's but hers.

she is grateful to the man at the tribunal who had allowed her to rinse it all clean. the steeled look in her eyes has not disappeared, but nobody's perfect.

"surely the commander informed you of my dishonorable discharge?" sophia hears the pot of tea whistling on the nearby stove and gets up from her chair. "excuse me"

she can never be perfect (whole) again.

PARADISE

[attr="class","addr"]darth vader

LAIKA OF GS!

[newclass=.addr:hover]width:106px;height:66px;background-color:#C1C1C1;color: #000;margin-top:-106px;padding-top:40px;font-size:10px;opacity:1;-webkit-transition: all .7s ease-in-out;[/newclass][newclass=.addr]width:106px;height:66px;background-color:#C1C1C1;color: #000;margin-top:-106px;padding-top:40px;font-size:10px;opacity:0;-webkit-transition: all .7s ease-in-out;[/newclass]

[darth vader]

myths we don't outgrow

"I read the reports when they were given to me," Thalia says as the woman moves to her tea kettle. Her voice is low but pitched to carry; her only competition is the kettle whistle, anyway. "I disagreed with the manner of your punishment, however. It was wasteful. And the commander gave me an opportunity to right what I considered a wrong when I found myself relieved from the front lines temporarily.  "You wouldn't start at your former position of course, but with your talent I imagine you'd easily rise through the ranks once again. Even if you didn't, fighting again must be a more pleasing alternative than squandering your gifts behind the walls."

LAIKA OF GS!

[redox-kun]

[attr="class","stt"]

"...i think that i would have recieved a letter if the military commander revised his ruling" sophia pours two cups of tea from the kettle. "unless this is something that the legion's commander decided for itself?" thalia represents the hope of the survey legion, not the military police. a soldier in a unicorn coat would have seemed more appropriate. 

sophia sets a cup in front of thalia, not caring whether she touched the tea or let it grow cold. "i want to see papers before you even begin to suggest that i should bear arms as a woman with a crimminal record"

squandering your gifts. the scouting legion has always been the maverick branch with the ego to match that of the military police's. not that she could blame them, considering their fatality rates. at the same time, their inability to see significant consequence inside of the walls was rather problematic whenever they returned. no matter her reputation, thalia de luca had no right to make such unfounded presumptions inside sophia's own home. sophia wonders if she sees her surroundings at all, or if her eyes were only ever focused towards the lands beyond. are the people of wall rose only sheep to her?

she's not sure if she cares enough to find out.

PARADISE

[attr="class","addr"]darth vader

LAIKA OF GS!

[newclass=.addr:hover]width:106px;height:66px;background-color:#C1C1C1;color: #000;margin-top:-106px;padding-top:40px;font-size:10px;opacity:1;-webkit-transition: all .7s ease-in-out;[/newclass][newclass=.addr]width:106px;height:66px;background-color:#C1C1C1;color: #000;margin-top:-106px;padding-top:40px;font-size:10px;opacity:0;-webkit-transition: all .7s ease-in-out;[/newclass]

[darth vader]

myths we don't outgrow

"I am your letter," Thalia says. "The Survey Corps was the only branch interested in revising your punishment when the matter was brought up. The Military Police and the Garrison aren't quite so desperate as we are."  She doesn't mention that there had been concerns among the upper ranks that a letter might send her to flight. It's none of Thalia's concern. She does, however, concede and pull a sheaf of folded parchment out of her coat pocket, placing it on the table and sliding it toward Sophia.  "The permissions from the Survey Corps Commander for you to accompany me to HQ and be reinstated as a soldier. " Thalia picks up the tea mug and holds in her hands. It's nearly too hot against her palms. The feeling is grounding.

LAIKA OF GS!

[redox-kun]

[attr="class","stt"]

sophia supposes that was why such a case such as herself was recommended for the scouting legion despite her dishonorable discharge. here, she could risk wall rose once again. the old men from the capital were probably saving their good wine for when sophia's corpse was brought back to the walls. she's been to enough of their publicity parties to know how they work, even if daniel had hoped that she didn't.

the paper seems legitimate. god, what a headache. she wonders if she would be left alone if she refused the summons. maybe now would be the chance to ask. "how much choice do i have in this matter?" she's seen men and women "deployed" during times of food shortage. sophia doubts that the military would have qualms about sending away a case like her.

she wonders if a golden child like de luca is even the right person to ask.

PARADISE

[attr="class","addr"]darth vader

LAIKA OF GS!

[newclass=.addr:hover]width:106px;height:66px;background-color:#C1C1C1;color: #000;margin-top:-106px;padding-top:40px;font-size:10px;opacity:1;-webkit-transition: all .7s ease-in-out;[/newclass][newclass=.addr]width:106px;height:66px;background-color:#C1C1C1;color: #000;margin-top:-106px;padding-top:40px;font-size:10px;opacity:0;-webkit-transition: all .7s ease-in-out;[/newclass]

[darth vader]

myths we don't outgrow

"You have as much choice as any of us have," Thalia answers after taking a deliberate sip of her tea. "Which isn't much at all. These are the orders I've been told to convey to you."

LAIKA OF GS!

[redox-kun]

[attr="class","stt"]

sophia wonders when she started to fail daniel so horribly. he had always reassured her that she was good enough for him. she wonders if he would say the same today. no matter what she's done or what her intentions were, the choice is out of her hands now.

leaving the world entirely was never on the table. she's always given her best, and she always will. even if she has to cut more men out of the grip of a titan, even if she has to lead a rescue on a quarter tank of gas, she'd rather face the titans again than a cyanide pill. she could never belittle her comrades' sacrifices or betray daniel's love like that.

all those years ago, she vowed to live regardless of whether she had to pick up the pen or the sword.

the ticking of the wall clock is the only thing that punctuates her silence. sophia laces her fingers together and counts down to the inevitable.

"...are these immediate summons?"

PARADISE

[attr="class","addr"]darth vader

LAIKA OF GS!

[newclass=.addr:hover]width:106px;height:66px;background-color:#C1C1C1;color: #000;margin-top:-106px;padding-top:40px;font-size:10px;opacity:1;-webkit-transition: all .7s ease-in-out;[/newclass][newclass=.addr]width:106px;height:66px;background-color:#C1C1C1;color: #000;margin-top:-106px;padding-top:40px;font-size:10px;opacity:0;-webkit-transition: all .7s ease-in-out;[/newclass]

[darth vader]

myths we don't outgrow

"In theory, yes."  She's not heartless, though. Not entirely. "If you have business to take care of around here we can delay our departure for a day, two days at most."

LAIKA OF GS!

[redox-kun]

[attr="class","stt"]

"i would appreciate that" the words come tumbling out of her mouth, but her mind is elsewhere. sophia starts compartamentalizing her concerns, if only because it will make the facts easier to process. she's going to have to apologize to the little boy with the crooked teeth, the one who waited at the shop for her every thursday. she's going to have to apologize to her boss, who so graciously took her in. she's going to have to apologize to her landlady, who's going to have to find a new tenant on such short notice. the list goes on. she never intended for things to end up like this, and they deserve words of apology, at least.

these are small luxuries. one day, she won't have the time or the care to say a word to them.

"i'll be here tomorrow at noon" sophia stands up and walks towards her wardrobe. her hands weave through the outfits inside, picking the pale dark blue sundress that the people seemed to like the most. she has to start today. her time here is already starting to run out.

PARADISE

[attr="class","addr"]darth vader

LAIKA OF GS!

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