video; un: reiner

[hometown]

[ The video shows an (unfairly) well-built young man who looks like he may have missed a night's sleep. Despite the fatigue, Reiner flashes a quick smile—it looks good on him; he knows it—and gets down to business, deep voice steady. ]

Hey, I'm Reiner Braun. I have some extra things that I don't need. They're pretty neat, so I'm offering them to anyone who wants some.

[ He turns the camera to a table covered in various trinkets and amulets made of wood or metal. They've each been shaped by magic, manipulated into twists, whorls, and pleasing shapes. ]

The larger ones are decorative, [ Reiner continues off-camera. ] The smaller ones have very basic protective magic worked into them. The spells vary. They're mostly minor resistances to specific elements—stuff like that. Nothing fancy.

[ Once Reiner finishes panning over the assorted items, he turns the camera back to himself. ]

Let me know if you're interested. You'd be doing me a favor. [ He puts on a half-smile. ] I've got too many of these and no room to make more. Thanks.

Comments

voice; un: marco.bott

[sunspotted]

[ He doesn't like texting if he doesn't have to, so he decides to reply in voice. ]

Wow, those look really good! The spiral looking one at the bottom left - does that have some protective magic on it? What kind?

[ It's one of the trinkets, not attached to anything yet. ]

Galliard and I were thinking about taking on a quest, so we could use them.

voice forever

[hometown]

[ Reiner is grateful that Marco chooses audio, not video. It's easier for Reiner to control his voice than his expression. This way, no one sees the flurry of emotions that pass across his face.

(Will he ever stop hearing an echo of a scream? Maybe someday. Not today.) ]

That one protects against slashing damage. Think knives or swords. It's very basic, so it won't hold up against a full swing. But it'll guard you from grazes.

Galliard—

[ Reiner pauses, catching himself before he explains that Galliard shouldn't carry that one. It's true; if Galliard has to cut himself and transform, it might interfere. But Reiner has no idea how Galliard feels about sharing his status as a Titan. He doesn't want to take away the option of relative anonymity. ]

—he would probably benefit from something like ice or wind resistance. It depends on how much control he has over his fire.

[sunspotted]

[ Marco tries not to think about the friendly voice calling him a devil, either. But he did want to try, and you can't try without putting yourself out there.

He nods even though Reiner can't see it when he mentions slashing damage against knives or swords. Before he can confirm he understood, however, Reiner suggests ice or wind resistance over slashing damage. That's significant, in his brain, but he doesn't press on the reason.

Instead he hums his verbal understanding this time. ]

Okay, I think I understand. Then I'd want one of the slashing resistance ones and... is there something that looks similar, or that you think he'd like, for ice resistance? Since he's a Summer and all.

[hometown]

[ Reiner scans the table, eyes coming to a halt on one of the ice resistance amulets. It's a little bolder and more jagged than its fellows—a little more like teeth.

He smiles; it permeates his voice when he speaks again. ]

Yeah, I've got one I think he'll like.

[sunspotted]

[ Ohhh, Reiner's smiling. Despite himself, that gets Marco grinning a little bit, though he keeps the knowledge of it private. ]

That sounds great! I'll get something to put them on - maybe some leather for a necklace? I still remember Sasha teaching us how to braid strips of leather together for accessories.

[ A good use for thin scraps of leather, she'd said. She'd taught other people how to weave glass beads into them, for good luck, but Marco never had success with that. ]

[hometown]

[ Reiner had nearly forgotten those lessons. He looks down at his fingers, trying to recall the last time he braided anything. Maybe he should try braiding Eren's hair or something. ]

That would work. I don't have any strips of leather handy. But if you track some down, I can make them stronger and able to withstand more wear.

[sunspotted]

[ For Marco, they're still fresh in his mind. The offer to make the leather withstand more is a good suggestion, and ... his brain alights on an idea.

Good luck charms, Sasha had called them. Reiner has a little cousin. Reiner probably doesn't have that many items from home, either.

Maybe he will finally figure out how to weave beads into the leather braids. ]

Mm, yeah, I'll take a look around! I really appreciate you helping out. I'll make sure Galliard doesn't get into too much trouble when we're out in the segments.

[ His tone is... cheeky. ]

[hometown]

Right. You two keep an eye on each other.

[ Reiner's tone isn't cheeky at all. Instead, it immediately adopts the strong, steady cadence with which he instructs others and issues orders. In other words, he's fallen straight into "big brother" mode.

(Is it "big brother" mode when Galliard is older than him? Well, whatever.) ]

Consider what you need for your mission [ quest ] and ensure you're well supplied. Edible plants vary between Segments; don't count on foraging unless you've studied. If you've figured out Seismic Sense, use it regularly to check your surroundings. And if you two run into trouble, don't hesitate to call for backup. Some things out there are nasty.

[sunspotted]

[ Marco is absolutely familiar with that big brother tone. He's heard it far too many times during training, when Reiner would remind people to be careful during survival training, or during ODM repair, when one missed tight screw could lead to a jam, or death.

So it makes him perk up, a little bit, an ache in his chest about how familiar it is. ]

I haven't quite got the hang of Seismic Sense, yet, so I'll try to get in some more practice over the next few days.

[ It's as good a thing to focus on as any, since he can already form rocks within his hands with ease at this point. ]

I've yet to research on foraging, but we haven't picked a segment to visit yet, so I'm waiting until I can focus on a specific location. Oversupplied is probably a better choice, but I think we're planning on sticking close to the city and taking on a smaller mission.

[ They're not gonna launch themselves into anything especially dangerous, though (hopefully) Reiner knows Marco will treat it as seriously as if they are. ]

[hometown]

That's a good way to start. It'll help you get a feel for them.

[ And allow Marco and Galliard to see how well they work together on a mission. But he doesn't mention that bit.

Then: ]

Have you checked out the shop "Better, Stronger, Cheaper"? They sell an item called an Unlimited Cookie Jar. It'll give you an unlimited supply of whatever food you put into it. Cookies, ration bars, fresh fruit—you name it. Plus, it'll add raisins.

[sunspotted]

[ Marco takes the subject change with ease, tilting his head a little. ]

I've heard of it, but I avoided it; it looked a little shady. An item like that does sound useful. As long as it goes well with raisins... Oh! I could keep it in my bag!

[hometown]

The items from that shop do tend to come with … unexpected features. But adding raisins isn't a bad one. I take my jar with me whenever I go into a Segment, just in case food is scarce. Keeping it in your bag is a good idea.

[sunspotted]

I'll keep that in mind when I pick something up from it. Mmm, there were some nutrition bars in the store I saw that might be a good item to toss in there.

Oh! I'll swing by tomorrow with the leather, if all goes well?

[hometown]

Sure. I'll see you then.