[In spite of everything, Eren Jaeger is still a human being with a pulse in his wrists. His heartbeat, slightly elevated, drums against Aubrey's fingers. Her hands are clammy and cold.]
There you go...
[He speaks softly now, but he doesn't sound entirely unlike himself; his voice still doesn't betray any emotion, but it isn't cold either. Calm. Even. But not cold. Right now, he's a soldier out in the field, caring for a fallen comrade. In the urgency of the moment, this echo of compassion feels as easy as breathing...]
You'll be alright. Just keep breathing.
[The blood still hasn't soaked through his shirt yet...She hasn't succumbed to shock either, as far as he can tell. This could be working...
[There's a short breath, very nearly a laugh, but not at all like the others she's heard from him.]
It hurts like a bitch, I know.
[It's only a shadow of what he might have sounded like were he really sixteen, fighting alongside the other Scouts in the pursuit of freedom. But the sentiment is the same - soldier to soldier, commiserating as they ward off death together; another way of saying, "You'll be okay. We can laugh about this."]
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There you go...
[He speaks softly now, but he doesn't sound entirely unlike himself; his voice still doesn't betray any emotion, but it isn't cold either. Calm. Even. But not cold. Right now, he's a soldier out in the field, caring for a fallen comrade. In the urgency of the moment, this echo of compassion feels as easy as breathing...]
You'll be alright. Just keep breathing.
[The blood still hasn't soaked through his shirt yet...She hasn't succumbed to shock either, as far as he can tell. This could be working...
[There's a short breath, very nearly a laugh, but not at all like the others she's heard from him.]
It hurts like a bitch, I know.
[It's only a shadow of what he might have sounded like were he really sixteen, fighting alongside the other Scouts in the pursuit of freedom. But the sentiment is the same - soldier to soldier, commiserating as they ward off death together; another way of saying, "You'll be okay. We can laugh about this."]