Disclaimer – I don't own Shingeki no Kyojin.

Curiosity

Chapter 1

The world is beautiful. The rolling hills of lush grass and brightly colored flowers, mountains that reach to the sky, winding rivers that stretch across the land, vast lakes that sparkle in the morning sun, and, his favorite, the never ending waters of the sea that can only be swayed by the moon and wind. Yes the world was beautiful but strangely empty.

Scattered throughout the land are these… things. They are formations made of stone and trees. Most of them were in ruin because of others like him having destroyed them. Some only come up to about his knee, while others came up to above his shoulder. They stand in clusters with the odd one alone here and there. They have holes in them that are covered with this clear thing that lets you look inside them and it breaks very easily. Inside there are more strange smaller objects that look really old. He could only imagine what they are and what purpose they have in this world.

He likes looking inside these things to see if anything captures his curiosity. The one thing that he likes the most are these small cube shape objects that open and close. They are made of what smells like animal skin and tree bark. The inside is made of many layers and has these strange markings on them. But what he likes most about these things is that some of the markings look like things he knows. Some of them look like the forest and the ocean those he knows very well. But sometimes they look like animals, some of which he has never seen. Like this one, it looks like it walks on four long legs and has a very long neck. They are fascinating.

He had a burning desire to know what these things are, where they came from, and what they were used for. He desperately wished to know but he could not go and ask the others like himself. All they do is mumble about how hungry they are and how they 'want to sink their teeth into the flesh of humans', whatever that is.

Currently he was wandering around a large forest. He has never ventured pass this forest before, preferring to stay in the nearby mountains and their valleys. He knows every crack and crevasse from this forest to the ocean and has begun to crave new surroundings. He wandered if he would see anything like what is in the cube shape objects. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice that he wandered out of the forest and into the foot hills that lay just beyond. When he reached the top of the hill he let out a fast breath at what he saw.

In front of him was a field of tall grass with forests dotting the land. But what really took his breath away was a large thing a couple miles away. It had to be many times taller than him and it appeared to be made of stone. It stretched for miles in either direction. He wondered if this was made by the same thing that made the formations of stone and wood from his mountains.

Wanting to get a closer look he set off at a jog towards the new thing. As he came closer he noticed that some of his kind was off by the base of the formation. Not sure why they would be interested in something like this (they were never interested in anything) he picked up his pace. Maybe they would have some answers to his questions. As he came closer he noticed that they were clawing at the thing like they were trying to get over it. This caused him to slow to a stop and inspect it closer. It was smooth and went straight up like a cliff. There was no way they were getting over that.

He started walking towards them and when he came into ear shot he heard them muttering 'Must eat humans. Must get the humans.' What are these humans that they keep bringing up? Are they a plant? That's what animals eat so humans must be a plant, right? He wanted to know what these 'humans' are. Thinking that maybe they were on the other side of this thing he decided to see if he could find a way in.

Turning right, he walked along the formation, looking for any footholds or holes he could use to get in. But there was nothing. It was smooth all the way to the top and didn't even have any cracks. He walked until sunset, not finding anyway to get over or around this thing. Becoming really tired and wanting some coverage, he walked into a nearby forest to find a place to sleep. He never liked the idea of something sneaking up on him in the middle of the night when he was defenseless.

Finding a large clearing, he went down with a thunderous boom onto his hands and knees. The sun had set and the stars have appeared and he was drained from his travels. He laid down on his back to look up at the clear night sky and folded his hands behind his neck. Breathing out a contented sigh, he drifted off to sleep.

~C~

He awoke to the song of birds and warm morning sun breaking through the trees. Letting out a rumbling yawn, he stretched his still sleepy limbs into wakefulness. He sat up and looked around, mind still clouded with sleep. When yesterday's events came back to him, he stood up to continue his self-declared mission of finding a way around that large formation. Walking back to it, he started to head in the direction he was going in yesterday. He would occasionally pass by others like him clawing at it, trying to get to the 'humans' on the other side but to no avail. It has no cracks, holes or even changes in its direction. It just keeps going on and on with no end in sight.

The sun was starting its descent when he was losing hope of ever finding out what was on the other side, when he finally found something different. In the distance he could see the formation jet off sharply to the side. It jets out for some ways and abruptly stops. Thinking that maybe this is where it ended he took off at a jog, each foot step shaking the earth as he went. He was finally going to have some of his questions answered.

As he ran, he examined the formation. It looked just the same as the rest of it. Though as he got closer something caught his eye, something was moving on the very top of it. The closer he came, the better he could make it out. They were shaped like his kind and walked on two legs as well. They were much smaller than him and they had something strange sticking out of both their legs. It shined in the light and when the thing turned to the side they jetted out behind them. These new things looked like it had something over its skin. He remembers seeing something like it a long time ago in the small formations in his mountains. When he came close enough he could see that their faces looked similar to some of his kinds'. He never knew that these creatures existed.

He was so focused on these new things that he did not see his kind until they were right next to him. When he did notice them he saw that they were completely fixated on the small creatures on top of the formation.

'Humans. Must eat the humans. So close.' They were muttering. Were these small creatures humans? Why would they want to eat them? He himself never had the urge to eat like the four legged creatures did, so why do they want to eat them? It seems he just got even more questions than he did answers.

They didn't do much other than walk back and forth on top of the formation, watching them. One of them that had no hair on his head and sun colored eyes locked eyes with him. The human's face gained a strange look. He found it laughable and intriguing at the same time. He has only seen one expression on his kind's faces' and this was nothing like it. Its mouth was curved downward, eyes narrowed and brow furrowed. Wondering if he could change his face as well he tried. He could narrow his eyes and he thinks he could furrow his brow right but his mouth felt almost stuck. He felt the corners move slightly downwards but he doesn't think he got it right.

The human changed his expression again. Its brow was still furrowed but its mouth was gaping and eyes wide. He was pretty sure he could copy this face and he did his best. Opening his mouth and widening his eyes, he let out a small chuckle when the human stumbled backwards. He found these humans very amusing.

~C~

He couldn't believe his eyes. Just now he could have sworn he saw a titan trying to mimic his facial expressions. But that can't be. It's impossible! Sure he has only seen titans for the last few months but never in humanity's observation of titans, have one of them ever done anything like that. Maybe he's been working on the wall too long. It is almost the end of his shift.

"Hey Polka Dot! What's got you shitting your pants? You looked too long at the titans didn't ya? What've we've told you about that?" hollered his squad mate.

Turning his gaze to the rest of his squad, he swallowed thickly and said "Yeah… right. Just looked too long."

"Man, you okay? You look like you saw a ghost." Another of his squad mates asked concerned.

"Yeah… I'm fine." He said slowly, not that sure himself.

"Okay… well our shift is over. So let's all go get some drinks!" shouted the first one enthusiastically, throwing his arms up in the air.

He looked back at the world beyond the wall one more time before shaking his head and jogging after his squad mates. He really needed a drink.

~C~