cat's cradle

i'm lost, trying to find a place where i belong.

"Hey, didya hear? We got a New-Type today!"

"Finally! They seem to be popping up everywhere recently."

It's one of the first things that Sakuya, Lindow, and Soma hear when they come back to the Den, though it's not surprising that word travels fast within the building, especially if there really isn't anything important going on. Sakuya gives the man next to her a questioning look, as Lindow simply whistles as his own form of interest towards the news - he's probably more preoccupied with thinking about the last can of rationed beer in her room. Soma keeps looking ahead with his hoodie over his head, he can feel them looking at him and whispering about anything they can, not that he really cares.

"I heard she's pretty cute! Maybe, we can talk to her later."

Soma decides to doesn't care about ever meeting this New-Type girl.

"Join Fenrir! Protect your home against the Gods!"

It's that type of cheap, half-assed propaganda that lead men to their early graves. You weren't aware of that though, you were just looking for your next meal and the recruiter had told you that God Eaters were given room, board, and a pretty stipend for their services to the greater good - well, in exchanges for their bodies and lives. Yet, at 16 and freshly out of the orphanage with no real other prospects, you did what any other person might have done - you signed up. A couple of days full of exams and the researchers seemed at a buzz with your results - New Type, is all you hear them murmur as they prod you with pins and needles. The next day a women with a stern but beautiful face hands you what seems to be a standard Fenrir uniform and moves you to a place she calls the Den.

"You will be taking your test through the next door," is all you remember her telling you, as the door closes behind and a large voice begins booming through the rather empty room. It's all metal and the smell of rust, except for the thing standing in the center. A chill runs through your spine because this the culmination of what you signed up for, but you aren't quite so sure anymore - if only for a split second.

When you're ready...stand in the center of the room, is all you can really make out from the male's voice as you clench and unclench your hand. Steady after unsteady step and you are finally in front of the red behemoth of a machine and you place your hand in the center of it.

AHHH!

There is fire and burning onto your flesh that makes you drop to your knees. An inject somewhere in-between as something connects itself to your wrist - your body, your soul. Through all the screaming, you almost feel like someone is whispering your name, shyly almost like a toddler, into your ear but the cooling metal of the bracelet now on your wrist makes you quickly forget all that. It takes you a moment to understand what has happened, but in all that weariness you can't really make out the black goo that seems to come out of the sword and connects to your bracelet.

The voice speaks again and welcomes you back to reality, tells you to head to the next room to wait for a medical check-up. All you do is pick-up your sword and move out of the metallic room, feeling a bit heavier than before but they have ihigh hopes/i for you - so it all can't be that bad, right? A few more explanations and you are back in the Den again, however this time there is a boy sitting where you once were. Yellow and orange outfit, red hair and you catch his attention the moment you sit down.

"I'm Kota Fujiki," he is going on about a piece of gum - probably to help with the nerves. You smile and state your own name. His voice seems to calm down the nervous better than any piece of gum could. His comment about being your new senior would have made you laughed, if it wasn't for the return of the stern-faced woman commanding you to stand up.

Tsubaki Amamiya is her name, as she gives the schedule for the rest of the day. It's a lot, probably more than anything you had done in a day up to the point, besides taking care of the other smaller children when the caretaker was too busy with everything else. She looks at you and you give her the most serious face you can muster - she tells you to go meet Dr. Sakaki and tour the rest of the facility when you're done.

"Welcome to your new home..."

That one single sentence catches your off-guard, but it makes all the sense in the world that the Den would be your new home; the large red bracelet is proof of all that. The nervous are quickly replaced by giddiness and that smile on your face makes Tsubaki stop her speech for just a nanosecond, because she isn't sure if she should be worried especially when she just told you not to be a fool and make careless mistakes. But, she let it slide for now.

"Yes, ma'am!"

You follow Kota's example before the two of your head to the upper parts of the Den. The former God Eater turns to look at you for a second, as Kota tries talking to you more about his interests and asking what yours are. For a moment, that smile belongs to someone else and she isn't quite sure if she is ready to handle another one of those.

it was decided from the very beginning.