Child of two nations.

The world zipped past him at breakneck speed as he swung from one tree to another, the Wings of Freedom fluttering on the green fabric of his cloak. A Scout.

Sometimes he could pretend everything was normal, fine, and just reach his hand out towards the clouds. Other times, he couldn't. Pain, sharp and unexpected, shot through Reiner's chest as he clumsily landed on a branch, grabbing the bark for support, body wracked with bloody coughs.

The roots tickling his insides seemed to wrap around his lungs tighter and tighter with every passing day, petals clogging his throat until he couldn't hide the coughs anymore. Damn this disease. Damn his mission. Damn you and damn him. Why did he have to fall for you? An Eldian, a soldier, a Scout. Every time he got close, you seemed to slip through his fingers, free like a bird, slippery like a snake. Snake.

No, not a snake. He was the snake, Reiner was certain of it. A traitor, a liar, a Marleyan, a Warrior. Madly in love with someone he would soon have to betray, slowly killed by a sickness of the heart. And oh, if only he would take the surgery... But he was scared. So, so scared. Scared to lose you. Scared to lose you, a part of himself.