"Can you blame me?" Eren almost sounded serious as he asked this. "I'm used to all the blood and guts that come with war, but show up to the job with a bad hairdo and you're bound to get laughed at. Least I get a pity pass for the most part. I think I've got my priorities straight enough."

That said, there was a deeper reasoning for trying to find something mundane to laugh about -- there was nothing else to laugh about. If he even dipped his toe into the dreadful reality that, thankfully, was hidden by cover of darkness, he would have to dismount and retch upon seeing the battlefield. Better to take what goodness he could find seriously than to be serious about feeling bad.

"Thinking about it, once this is all over, I might have to get it all cut. With a proper pair of scissors. Don't wanna botch it here and make myself into the company's laughingstock." He paused and swallowed his indecision before speaking up about the most confusing topic of late. "Say, what's your take on this whole deal? It's not every day you're torn from your home, told to fight without much other context than the enemy simply being there. ...Actually, that's not too far off -- but you get what I mean, right? What's the deal with COST or...whatever else there might be to it?"