wipesfaith | 02 [action/voice]

[For all his trouble, Jean got a horse. Which is great, because he's curious to explore what lies far beyond the village and he ain't walking all that way. (What can he say? Some losers from back home have gotten into him a little bit.) First, though, he needs to find a saddle and bridle - apparently, he should have made out with a few more people if he wanted riding gear too. But his pride is worth more to him than that anyway, so he doesn't mind searching through the Item Shop for what he needs.

By the afternoon, he can be found at the stables on the east side of the village. He has spent the past few days visiting Benoit, letting the horse grow accustomed to him as he cares for him. Now that he has something more sophisticated than a rope lead, he's willing to take the horse out farther than the immediate vicinity of the stables. It was already obvious to him that Benoit lacked training. Before he can think about riding him anywhere, he'll have to muster up some serious patience and start from scratch. After fitting him with the sadle and bridle, so he can start getting used to the way it feels, Jean will lead him out to a decent-sized clearing in the forest to get down to business.

Toward the evening, after returning Benoit to the stables, he makes his way back to Flame Building. Residents may have noticed a recent addition outside the building, in the form of a small pen that now houses a little lamb. He'll stop by to check on it for Marco - make sure it's not dead, not that he'd be terribly broken up if it were, because he's never indulged in lambchops before - before finally heading in.

Later, he'll flip open his journal to voice a message.]

[Voice]

Hey. I guess I'm still pretty new here, so I'm just wondering...what's worth seeing beyond this village? I've seen a map, but a map can only tell you so much. There's an...ocean out there, right? [He gets the feeling that some might find his next question a little stupid, and he swears he's sane; he just comes from an insane world.] Is there seriously salt in it?

It's weird... This whole place could probably fit inside Wall Rose - that's what's left of human territory back home - but it still seems like so much...more.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Sounds like it's pretty ordinary for where you're from. Does it really cover most of the world?

Yes, it does. And every river and lake is connected to it somehow. Although in my world the ocean is divided in two, the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. One can be considered more western while the other is more eastern.

So it's split into two, with all the land in the middle. And every river leads to it...I always just assumed they eventually flowed into a lake somewhere.

The military can even fight battles on the ocean, right? With ships?

There are actually two large continents divided on either side by each ocean. And of course there are some islands here and there. [He pauses.] This would make more sense if I had a map to show you.

That's right.

I think I have a pretty good idea...

Have you ever fought in that kind of battle?

Me? No, that was the Navy's area of expertise. They're trained for battle at sea. I was officially a part of the army. We mostly deal in ground battles.

[Two familiar terms right there - he flips back a page to make sure.]

Are you from the United States, then? [And from the way he says the name, it's obvious that it's a wildly foreign place to him.] Someone else mentioned those military branches earlier.

Yes, I am. That's not so unusual. The military branches have for the most part stayed the same, or very similar, for a long time. It might be that way even in other worlds.

Well, we obviously don't have a Navy where I'm from. [A dry, brusque sort of chuckle.] And the Army... [Hmm...] The closest thing might be the Garrison. "Protecting resources and security," right?

Yeah. So the Garrison, is that what you're a part of?

Nope. I was one of the few bastards crazy enough to throw myself into the Survey Corps. "For the glory of humanity."

[His tone is wry, but it's not out of any disdain for the career path he chose - more like he sometimes still has trouble believing he chose it at all.]

What's so crazy about the Survey Corps? What did you do?

We leave the walls. Go out into the titans' territory, see what we can find.

The titan's territory? Sounds dangerous.

Yeah... The casualty rates sure as hell ain't pretty. [But this isn't a topic he'd like to linger on.]

Hope things are better where you're from.

Is it ever? [He notices the switch in topic and goes with it. He understands not wanting to talk about certain things.]

I guess that depends on what you mean.

I guess I'm not sure what I mean...I don't even know what kind of war you're fighting there.

Well, last time I was there I had to fight an army of aliens led by a conceited Norse god bent on taking over humanity.

[He understood maybe half of that. A what god? Aliens?]

...Sounds like you had your work cut out for you.

[He chuckles.]

You could say that. It all worked out though.

A victory is something at least.

[Those...aren't too common, back home.]

Yeah, I guess so. But I would be kidding myself if I thought that's the end of it. There will be other incidents eventually.

Ain't that the truth. It would be nice if it wasn't, though.

It keeps things interesting at least? [He smiles grimly.]

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