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Reiner had been chosen to be a sacrifice since he was a child, his mother Karina had always been proud of Reiner for that reason, so he didn’t feel the despair consuming his body in this situation before his death.
He is lying tied to the altar, looking up at the starry sky while the sound of nature keeps him company, the rope passes on his entire body to prevent him from escaping which was nonsense in Reiner’s point of view, being a sacrifice was a great honor, he would be serving as a way of protection against the huge creatures that prowls the territory of his nation; he has no reason to fight.
Minister Nick, followed by his soldiers, had left Reiner on the sacred mountain minutes ago; there was no doubt about the success of the sacrifice, no one ever came back.
Suddenly the earth began to shake, the sound of fleeing birds taking over the place. Reiner feels his heart, trembling at the thundering footsteps of the titan, the one who protected the humanity, his bones vibrating at the stone altar, the tight rope tearing through his skin.
He feels at peace with his future; the nothingness that would soon become his existence.
Though when the titan fills his vision with its enormity, Reiner has quite the difficulty in concealing his fears in the back of his mind, to have a titan of that size staring at him like nothing more than a prey was somewhat terrifying.
Reiner’s eyes are wide open, he is breathing to the point where he feels the burning of his lungs, as if he had run for miles without any rest.
The time stretches on and the titan does nothing but stare at Reiner, which only makes him even more nervous, he just wants it all to be over for good, it was agonizing to feel death lurking around.
Then, the titan moves slowly, sitting cross legged while facing the altar where Reiner was lying and tied up. Reiner doesn't take his eyes off the giant for a second, watching the way it is careful to not destroy everything around it with his massive body.
The titan continues to stare at Reiner, giving no sign of its intentions, or even that it would consume Reiner at the moment. He wonders if he is going to be rejected by the titan—Reiner didn’t even want to think about what he would have to say to Minister Nick if that happened.
After what seems like hours the titan takes one of his hands to Reiner’s body, causing him to close his eyes, he would die with great honor, for his mother.
The titan’s first contact is careful, a light pressure over Reiner’s chest, if the restraints on his body gave him enough space to tense his limbs, Reiner would surely have jumped out of his skin by now, but the touch remains light, the titan seems to want Reiner to get used to it, which doesn’t make any sense.
It runs its finger along the length of his body, carefully cutting with its sharp fingernails the ropes that held him down.
When everything is done Reiner hears a loud noise and is flooded with the sensation of hot steam against his skin. He feels suffocated in every way, too afraid to act.
“Hey, cutie,” Reiner hears right at the foot of his ear, causing him to fall to the ground from the scare. The person that spoke just walks around the altar so they could face Reiner directly.
“Who are you?” Reiner asks strenuously, his brain not keeping up with the events. “What happened with the titan? I am the sacrifice, I have to be eaten, I can’t—”
“Take it easy, pretty boy,” the person speaks, crouching down to stand at Reiner’s height who has just propped himself up on his elbows, the smokes is dissipating quickly and Reiner is able to observe the stranger better.
He stares at Reiner with a serious look, emotionless even, as he runs one of his hands through his long hair. “I am the titan.”
“Impossible,” Reiner says incredulously.
“Agree to disagree,” he replies. “It’s not at all feasible to stay in titan form all the time, you humans would bugger me every damn minute.”
Reiner doesn’t say anything, when the other points to the side he can see a large carcass that appears to be in some sort of fast decomposition, he didn’t quite understand it, though that was the affirmation that that being in front of him is indeed the titan.
“I’ve never been handed someone like you.”
“Someone like what?” Reiner asks, without alternatives.
“So hot.”
That answer really makes Reiner feel like a piece of meat about to be devoured, his expression intense and to make matters even worse that person who claims to be the titan runs his eyes all over Reiner’s body.
“Then eat me and get it over with, it’s my duty as a sacrifice—”
“I would really like to know who started this whole sacrifice thing,” he says, interrupting Reiner without difficulty. “I usually only release the humans who are left here on this rock.”
He stops and smiles, Reiner knows very well what that means, the titan has a malicious expression, Reiner’s death would soon happen, definitely, as it should.
“However, I will be very happy if you keep me company,” the titan says, surprising Reiner.
“Yours?”
“Yes, or would you prefer to return to your village?”
“I would be a disgrace to my family if that happened,” Reiner says, apprehensible.
“Then that would be beneficial for both of us,” he says, a smile still on his face accompanied by cold eyes. “My name is Eren.”
He is somewhat flattered to receive this information; the protector of his nation has a name.
“Reiner,” he concedes, with a certain chill in his stomach. “So I won’t be eaten?”
That makes Eren laugh briefly; the look that has been once just malicious is now mischievous, making the implications very clear and Reiner’s face burns insistently. “Well, Reiner, I’m not going to feed myself with you, but ravish you? Until you beg for mercy.”