[He's expecting Alexei to cast (which is stupid, there's no way he can finish an incantation before Yeager can hit him), but then suddenly the sky is breaking and Yeager's left wondering what the goddamn hell this is. He's certainly never heard of any arte like this, and he's never seen Alexei use it before, and what the hell is that thing up there—
He's not even aware of the fear at first; the initial spike of wariness is normal enough under the circumstances, given that he has no idea what's out there or if he'll have to fight that too, but it quickly gives way to fear - actual fear, not the faked version he displayed as Regaey so frequently, and not the mild version he experienced with Alexei's threats. No, this is genuine and overpowering and not his. He's distinctly aware that it isn't his, because he'd be more curious than afraid, and even that would be so dulled now, it would only last for a little while.
It's unpleasant, and it brings back memories he'd rather stay hidden and locked away. The Entelexeia, what happened to Casey's soldiers, Casey fleeing and the brief momentary hope that she'd escape, even if it meant the rest of them would die—
No. No, he's not going to think about that. He's going to focus on whatever the hell this is and whatever is causing the fear, and he's going to put a stop to it.
It takes him a lot longer than he'd care to admit, but eventually his grip tightens on his weapon, and he forces his free hand from the blastia. He has no idea what's causing the fear, and it's almost overwhelming after ten years of feeling next to nothing, but he's got a moment to shoot Alexei, and he's going to take it. He fires off multiple shots from the rifle, and it's a good thing he does, because the fear and the way his hands are shaking causes several of them to go wide. He'd probably be mildly annoyed at that if he was able to actually focus, but as it stands the only thing Yeager cares about more than whatever the hell is up there and causing the fear is Alexei, and maybe killing Alexei will make it stop. If he's learned anything in the past decade, it's that he'd rather feel nothing at all than anything as intense as this.]
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He's not even aware of the fear at first; the initial spike of wariness is normal enough under the circumstances, given that he has no idea what's out there or if he'll have to fight that too, but it quickly gives way to fear - actual fear, not the faked version he displayed as Regaey so frequently, and not the mild version he experienced with Alexei's threats. No, this is genuine and overpowering and not his. He's distinctly aware that it isn't his, because he'd be more curious than afraid, and even that would be so dulled now, it would only last for a little while.
It's unpleasant, and it brings back memories he'd rather stay hidden and locked away. The Entelexeia, what happened to Casey's soldiers, Casey fleeing and the brief momentary hope that she'd escape, even if it meant the rest of them would die—
No. No, he's not going to think about that. He's going to focus on whatever the hell this is and whatever is causing the fear, and he's going to put a stop to it.
It takes him a lot longer than he'd care to admit, but eventually his grip tightens on his weapon, and he forces his free hand from the blastia. He has no idea what's causing the fear, and it's almost overwhelming after ten years of feeling next to nothing, but he's got a moment to shoot Alexei, and he's going to take it. He fires off multiple shots from the rifle, and it's a good thing he does, because the fear and the way his hands are shaking causes several of them to go wide. He'd probably be mildly annoyed at that if he was able to actually focus, but as it stands the only thing Yeager cares about more than whatever the hell is up there and causing the fear is Alexei, and maybe killing Alexei will make it stop. If he's learned anything in the past decade, it's that he'd rather feel nothing at all than anything as intense as this.]