So I've finally caught up with Attack on Titan and was pretty sad about Petra 's role being cut short. I'm not even sure if people even support Rivaille and her here, but I decided to give this a try.
- Disclaimer: Attack on Titan characters do not belong to me.
- Notice: May contain spoilers. Original characters may be added. Storyline may deviate from original anime/manga. Contains fantasy violence, mild language, alcohol reference, and suggested themes.
It was a day like any other, when Corporal Rivaille sat on a wooden chair contemplating on several thoughts. The sunrise had never felt so warm, so serene, as he was forced to do nothing for the day. Having broken his leg during their previous scouting mission, his orders were to remain in place and rest up until he had fully recovered.
His face broke into a scowl, sharp grey eyes trained on the palm of his hand as a flashback brought him back to better days.
"It seems like your last mission was successful." Commander Erwin Smith paced across the wooden floor, creaking every so often as Rivaille sat in his seat, hands held together while he propped his elbows onto the round table.
His short, straight black hair swayed from side to side as Erwin opened the window, gazing out at a town located within Wall Rose. Sitting in his seat, he dropped his head realizing how many deaths were needed to retake one town from the Titans.
"But it did come with a cost." Erwin looked up at the sea blue sky, focused on the townspeople below, then continued. "You are in need of a new team." He crossed his hands behind him, as a soldier would.
Rivaille closed his eyes and allowed the words to sink in. Silently, Erwin placed a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder with eyes that held a sense of pity for his loss. "I think today's a good day for finding ideal candidates."
As always, Rivaille obediently complied, answering with a silent nod as they both stood up and headed out.
Walking through the town was always a drag. Donning the dark green cape always came with a responsibility, one that the townspeople had grown up to look up to. In their eyes, the Scouting Legion were their heroes, whether it be taking back fallen towns or scouting beyond the walls. They always seemed to be doing more than the other groups, unlike that of the Military Police and Garrisons.
Rivaille felt their stares sear into his soul, some with looks of resentment for failing to bring back their loved ones, others that held great admiration for risking his life everyday. He trailed Erwin from behind walking up a steep, bricked path when a group of kids suddenly ran into him. They seemed to be playing a game of sorts, seeing as to how they had smiles on their faces. He found one of them, a little girl who he had knocked down despite his small frame.
"Oww..." She whined and attempted to stand up.
"..." He kept a serious look, but bent down to offer her his hand. "Are you okay?"
She looked up, her blue eyes sparkling before hesitantly taking his hand. "I-I'm fine." She dusted off her beige, simple dress to look more presentable. Recognizing the familiar green cape, her blonde hair rose up, eyes wild with excitement when she realized who it was.
"You're Corporal Rivaille!" One of the boys behind her pointed out. Before he knew it, the group surrounded him from all sides, asking an array questions about the monstrous Titans he had encountered.
He sighed and looked up to find an amused Erwin a few paces away. Holding his tongue, he listened to the girl whom he had encountered first.
"I want to be just like you when I grow up!" She held her hands together, a look of pure admiration in her eyes. He examined her small stature, understood the the resolve in her eyes, then looked away. How naive, for children as young as her to think that his job would be a worthwhile one. Especially since the chances of surviving the first mission alone would be slim to none.
As if on cue, Erwin walked up to Rivaille with a grin as he captured the children's attention. "Corporal Rivaille has some important matters to attend to." He spoke up as the boys and girls backed away, giving him enough room to walk along. Before departing, Rivaille turned around, made eye contact with the blonde girl, his sharp grey eyes softening for a split second. It was a mutual sign of admiration, a solemn one as he followed after Erwin's shadow shortly with nothing but the sound of their cries of joy and laughter from behind.
Rivaille summed up the soldiers standing before him, sharp eyes focused on their faces and height. They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but that was something the short statured corporal did every once in a while. More so since he was judged by his small frame standing at an unimpressive length, 5"3. He walked over to the row of men and women who varied with age, staring them down as he kept his cool aura, looking as intimidating as ever.
Commander Erwin had left him for the time being since he had other pressing matters to attend to. Standing along their bricked headquarters, he stopped when he caught sight of a particular man wearing the same white cravat Rivaille sported. He looked unamused, as if the man had dressed himself to match that of his own. "What's your name?" His words were cold, void of any friendliness that one would usually share.
"Auruo Bossard" He managed to avoid stuttering while Rivaille narrowed his eyes at him.
"How many kills have you had?"
"48 total: 39 solo, 9 in a team."
"..." Rivaille closed his eyes having realized that those were fairly high numbers.
Without another word, Rivaille moved on, taking him into consideration as he continued with the candidates. About an hour had passed when Rivaille had the seats for his squad were nearly filled with three elite soldiers. With the soldiers dispersed for the day, some remained within the quarters tending to the horses. After walking around, he paused, finding the fourth member to be someone...different.
"Perhaps your squad is in need of a woman's touch." Commander Erwin pulled up from behind Rivaille, surprising him briefly, having caught the same direction where his eyes lingered.
"You think so?" He finally spoke and
gazed ahead, his sight locked onto a single strawberry blonde girl with amber eyes.
"Yes." Commander Erwin had taken note of her record, it seemed that Rivaille had an eye for talent.
"Her name and her kills?"
"Petra Ral. 58 total: 10 solo, 48 in a team." Erwin watched Rivaille approach the girl within the next few seconds.
Confidently, he made his way to the girl capturing her undivided attention. She nearly dropped the brush in her hand while tending to her horse as Rivaille stood very close to exchanged greetings as Erwin watched from afar.
Petra's eyes widened at his offer. To be considered within an elite group was a golden opportunity, one that she wouldn't dare turn down. She smiled and happily accepted as he held out his right hand for her to shake. They were going to be working very closely together from now on.
The pain in his leg brought him back to reality as he shifted from his seat. Apparently, Rivaille had managed to fall asleep. He rubbed his eyes to ward off any drowsiness and steadied himself to stand. After a few clumsy stumbles and hops, he managed to work his way to the sofa. It was located at favorite spot of his since it remained dimly lit, as if it were a void into the darkness that loomed over his heart.
Within the years of serving the Scouting Legion, he had endured many battles, earning a great deal of losses rather than wins. The loss of one life was a great deal to him. He valued each of his soldier's lives, remembering their faces and the sacrifices they made to aid them against the battles with the Titans.
'Just how long will this war last?' He asked himself while slumping back against the soft, plush surface. He then closed his eyes in an effort to dull the pain from his leg.
Trees rustled as piston-shot grapple hooks stuck onto the forest's wooden barks, allowing the soldiers to propel themselves into the air. With hands spread across their sides, they spun around, swinging from tree to tree in an attempt to combat the Titans. It was a normal mission, an easy one as they did their weekly survey on their enemies.
Rivaille led his elite squad into the forest, hoping to study them from a safe distance. After an hour or so, he stood still at its entrance, hovering over the expansive field while Titans roamed around. Turning to his sides, he noticed that his group had done the same, observing any abnormalities.
Petra stood by his side with a smile on her face. He furrowed his eyebrows together thinking how she could possibly remain happy at a time like this. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Her voice was cheery, optimistic as she watched the green fields.
"Yes, it is." He kept a straight face as he too, marveled at the serene meadow cluttered with a few Titans.
"I think it would be twice as beautiful if there weren't any Titans though." Petra broke out into a light laugh at the thought of it. Of course, she knew it was nearly impossible at the moment.
"If only that were true." Rivaille gripped the bark by his right side.
"Right?" She mused and watched an aberrant run around from a distance. "Then there would be no need for numerous deaths, no war, no fear..."
Rivaille watched Petra drop her head. He can only imagine how many of her comrades had fallen to their seemingly hopeless cause. "I'm sorry..." The words slipped out of his mouth as he kept watch over her.
"Huh?" She snapped out of her depression and looked up at her leader. "Oh, I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to sound all sad all of a sudden." Petra attempted a nervous smile at him.
He brushed it aside, closing his eyes as the gentle breeze felt very pleasant.
From a distance, Günter, Auruo, and Erd watched Rivaille and Petra converse. They talked amongst themselves while the Titans roamed freely.
"I'm not completely sad about this war though." Petra studied her brown boots. "Because I probably would've never met you." She blushed very lightly for having said that.
Rivaille softened his expression at her, wondering what a silly thing for her to say. He felt her take a step closer against him, feeling their shoulders brush for a brief moment.
"Corporal Rivaille," they locked eyes as Petra formed a faint smile. "I'm glad I met you."
Rivaille nodded in agreement. He was enlightened to have wonderful company. He only hoped that they would share more moments like these. "I'm glad I met you too."
After supper, Rivaille retreated to the sofa, distraught that he should've been out there fighting alongside the Scouting Legion. He slumped back, watched the shining stars from outside the window, realizing the challenges he had to overcome with several missions.
"Let's take them down!" Auruo cried out to his teammates as they swung around the bricked buildings, jumping around as the wire snapped back, grappling onto the cemented walls.
Günter rushed from the right side as he and Auruo crisscrossed, successfully taking down a 14 meter Titan. Leaving the Titan, it fell to the ground with a loud thud while the two men regrouped at the top of a building. They nodded and continued onwards to regroup with Petra, Erd, and Rivaille.
Their mission: to rid the neighboring town of as many Titans as they could. Of course, in addition to Rivaille's squad, several other Scouting Legion soldiers accompanied them as they broke into groups. With their team consisting of the elite, they took the lead, killing as many of the Titans as they could.
"Took you two long enough." Petra mused as Günter and Auruo swung by her sides.
"What? We didn't even-" Blood sputtered out as Auruo bit his tongue.
"Eww, gross!" Petra winced. "You should really shut up, Auruo."
Erd and Günter broke into a smile as Rivaille kept his usual stoic-like demeanor. He looked ahead and found the area to be strangely clear, which could only mean one thing.
The next moment a five meter deviant jumped up from nowhere, its sight aimed at Rivaille's squad. Forced to break formation, they dispersed in time and the Titan landed on the ground below.
"That was close." Erd swallowed hard when another aberrant jumped in his direction. "What the fuck!" He cried out, but froze realizing that it was coming too fast.
Rushing at blinding speed, Rivaille managed to cut it down just in time before it came in contact with his second in command. Blood was strewn all over his blade, as he winced slightly. "Be careful." He reminded his men wisely. "It seems like there appear to be more deviants today than the usual."
Günter helped Erd regain his balance as they stood up. Without Rivaille's skill, they were sure to have been done for.
Studying the landscape, Rivaille thought it best to change plans. "We're splitting up. Auruo, Günter, Erd, clear out the left flank. Petra you're with me. Understood?"
They all nodded with agreement and broke away, heading out to help their other allies. Titans cluttered the streets as they ate the remains of fallen soldiers. Blood decorated the walls while the Scouting Legion did it's best to rid the Titans to the nest of their abilities.
"I'm running low on gas." Petra notified Rivaille. He checked his own, it seemed like he was running low on supplies too.
"They should be sending out the supplies by now." He sounded calm despite their situation. It was one of things Petra admired about the boy, it was reassuring to know that she worked under him, her idol.
It was starting to grow dark and every passing second was a countdown that affected their survival rate. Titans weren't usually active during the night, but they were still as deadly as they were in the daylight.
"We can't just wait around here. We'll have to move on as far as our tanks can take us." Rivaille ordered before breaking into a sprint.
Petra did the same as she trailed Rivaille. They had been within the same group for about a month and now she felt like her admiration towards the boy had grown to another level. She had written about him to her folks back home, sharing the stories of the brave and bold Corporal Rivaille.
Rivaille spun around and tried to cover as much ground as he could. With them at the heart of the town, their current goal was to reach the walls. Looking up at the blood orange sky, he sufficed it would be enough time for them to reach their desired destination.
A loud roar echoed from behind as a 15 meter Titan ran in their direction from behind. Rivaille was confident that they could outrun it, but he noticed that Petra's tank had reached its limit. She tumbled along the rooftop tiles, rolling around before Rivaille looked back. He grit his teeth, grounding his feet onto a building's wall and pushed off, heading in her direction. There was no way he would just leave her behind, especially since she was his responsibility. He focused on the Titan ahead, circled around it, and used his speed to his advantage while it kept running. Hooks clung onto its back as he jumped and severed its neck. It fell down onto the bricked floor with a loud crash, causing debris and dust to circle around it. Petra didn't seem to be injured as she stood on her feet and reached out to him from across.
He softened his sharp eyes at her before noticing the deviant behind Petra. She swallowed hard, turning back to find a large mouth hovering above her. Clenching his jaw, Rivaille ran forward as Petra stepped back, falling down onto the ground. He barely missed the Titan's clutches but falling from the height where she stood was sure to introduce a few broken bones.
Rivaille used the remainder of his gas tank to catch her in time and move to a safer distance. With Petra in his arms, he decided to retreat for the time being. While fleeing, he noticed she had passed out, perhaps from the overwhelming sight of nearly dying. He managed to break into an empty building, ramming his shoulder onto the wooden door. Luckily, nightfall was right around the corner and hopefully, the Titans movements would slow down.
There was the occasional roar and sound of heavy footsteps from outside, but they soon passed after a few minutes. They seemed to have stumbled upon a little inn, complete with a lobby and a bar. Rivaille sighed, at least he was sure there would be some food for them to feast on tonight.
Petra remained still on the sofa across from him, still unconscious from the events earlier today. He couldn't blame her, after all, at the end of he day they were still humans who harbored emotions, especially fear.
With the lights turned off, it was hard to make out her sleepy expression. He looked around the darkened room and decided to scout the area for food. It looked liked they were going to be here for a while.
"Mmnnn..." Petra groaned as she had woken from her unconscious state. She realized that her body was warm, a sign that reassured her she was not dead. Her hands felt a blanket covering her body while concentrating on the soft surface in her back. It was nearly pitch black when she reoriented herself to her surroundings. A second passed before she realized she was in a room.
"So you're awake." Rivaille walked over to her, his face unreadable as the windows had been barricaded for the night. They couldn't afford to be seen, especially by the Titans.
"Yes..." She still felt uneasy, lightheaded as she struggled to regain her energy. "Corporal Rivaille, what happened?"
With his eyes adjusting to the darkness, he took the seat by the couch next to her. "You fainted."
"Oh, I...I did?" Petra still had a difficult time remembering what exactly happened.
"..." Rivaille could tell that she was still recuperating by the sound of her voice. Holding out a canteen of water in one hand, he offered it to her generously. After all, it wasn't his. He would not lose a day of sleep if she drank from it, although, it would be an entirely different story if it was his. "Drink this, you'll be needing it to get back on your feet for tomorrow."
"Oh" She hesitantly took the canteen and wondered what was in it. After all that fighting earlier, it had drained her energy, making her a bit dehydrated. She drank from it, glad to know that it was water. "Thank you"
"You're welcome." Rivaille peeked through the small crevice by the window from afar. He assumed it was well into the early morning, probably around 3 a.m. Only a few more hours before they would go out and hopefully find some spare tanks along the way.
"Did you get any sleep?" Petra held the canteen in her hands, sitting upright for Rivaille to hear her words.
"No"'He replied rather coldly. "It wouldn't have been wise for me to do so when you were unconscious. I needed to keep watch...for the both of us."
"Oh, I see." Petra felt guilty that he wasn't able to get any rest because of her. "Well maybe now that I'm awake you could-"
"I'm fine." He stood from his seat, a stern look on his face as eye bags started to set in place.
"No, Captain." Petra held his hand. "I mean, Corporal Rivaille. You need your rest too."
"..." He only studied the warmth of her small hands in his, they were soft, gentle, just like her.
"Please, even just for a little while?"
"..." He remained quiet, still as he blinked at her in the darkness.
"Don't you trust me to keep watch?" Now Petra was starting to sound anxious from Rivaille's silence.
"I trust you." He slowly released her hold and rotated his wrist. "Just be careful. We leave in a few hours to rejoin the groups and climb the walls."
"Yes!" Petra sounded a little too excited, accidentally pulling herself very close to him. Their breaths lingered over each others lips, tempting each other to give in for that one, sweet kiss. She leaned forward, held her breath and swallowed hard.
It was a good thing the room was very dark because Rivaille felt his cheeks burn. Never before was he this intimate with a girl, much less with one of his team members. He turned away, realizing that Petra accidentally kissed his cheek. It was warm and her lips were very soft. He sat quietly, daring himself to hold his tongue.
She pulled away, disappointed that it was a miss. "I'm sorry..."
"It's...fine." He stood from his seat and wiped his cheek with his hand. "I'll see you in a few hours."
The only sounds left were Petra's quickened heart rate and the sounds of Rivaille's footsteps as he walked into a room, closing he door behind him. With his back against the wooden door, he felt his right cheek where Petra had kissed him. He did admit it was strangely pleasant while it lasted, but brushing away his feelings, he knew it was futile to harbor such emotions and attachments. Especially when that person could disappear within the next moment.
It was early in the morning, the sun was still in the process of rising when Rivaille and Petra stormed into the streets. Luckily, the route they had taken was occupied by very few Titans, some ranging between 4-5 meter at most. Along the path they had encountered a few, narrowly avoiding their sight and remaining stealthy. They used the buildings to their advantage, hiding between crevices and columns to conceal their presence. Arriving at the plaza, there were three Titans that remained idle, dispersed around the area where few of their fallen comrades lay still. Rivaille assumed they were dead when there was no sign of movement from their bodies and noticed the amount of blood spilled on the floor. Their gas tanks were still intact, still usable for Petra and him to collect.
"There's a few tanks we can use." He pointed to the closest corpse to them. "But it's going to be quite tricky distracting them."
"They don't look like deviants."
"They don't, but we can't assume that they aren't ." He studied the landscape, taking in the bricked floor and rubble filled plaza. Even if the tanks were fairly close, there was a high chance they would be spotted and killed on site. They needed a distraction.
"I'll do it." Petra seemed to read Rivaille's thoughts and volunteered for the job. He stared back at her with a stern look, unsure if she could actually hold her own.
"I'll be quick." He added and watched the closest Titan stray from the nearest corpse.
"Okay" Petra steadied herself, nervous that one wrong move would mean death.
"Be careful." Rivaille's voice was mono-toned, serious, but at the same time, concerned.
She nodded, her eyes softening at her leader before focusing on the path she would sprint for. When the coast was clear and all Titans looked away, she ran for the nearest building as Rivaille rushed to the corpse, hands moving quickly to remove the tank on the soldier's 3D maneuver gear. The man's face was beaten and bloodied beyond comprehension. He focused on the task at hand, unfastening the gear and releasing one tank.
The closest Titan within Petra closed in on the sound of shuffling feet, searching through the rubble of buildings. It was about 5 meters tall, with wide eyes and a toothy grin. She had to hold her breath and look back at Rivaille who was still working on the second tank.
He worked faster, fastening the strap onto his waist and hooked both tanks. Noticing the Titan closing in on Petra, he pulled the triggers, hooking onto the closest wall.
It turned to find Petra, happy to have found its prey for the day. She stepped back and broke into a sprint with it following behind. There was a quick flash above her head and the sound of a clean, swift cut as she turned back to find the Titan collapsed on the floor. Atop the tallest tower of the plaza stood Rivaille, unfazed as he wiped the trace of blood from his face. It was quite clear that by then, the battle was decided, they would manage to return to the wall with ease.
With the darkness that encased the solemn room, Rivaille peered through the glass window as a storm was brewing within the sky. Slowly, he brought himself up to sit, sheets shifting as his eyes gazed out at the grey, stormy atmosphere. His hand moved up to touch his cheek, he closed his eyes, and felt his heart sink because now all those memories were nothing but history.
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