Soldiers aren't allowed to mourn. There is no time for saying good-bye, or visiting a grave.
Levi hadn't felt the pain of losing someone close in a long time. But now he had a mission to focus on, and so did his squad. He didn't need to worry about them. When people were that skilled in the Scouting Legion, you never worried about their lives or how they'd die. They were too good to die the gruesome deaths.
Levi whirred through the trees skillfully, almost silent. The leaves and branches blurred by. One thing stood out to him. Gunther Schultz. He hung lifeless and languid from the branch of a tree. One single line from his Maneuver Gear held him. Blood fell from Gunther's side onto the grass. Levi felt his heart drop a little but he didn't stop nor grieve, even though he wanted to. He kept going through the forest.
He would have missed it if he didn't look down when he did. Eld Jinn, his second in command, lay on the forest floor; body in pieces. His tight shogun-style bun was undone and splattered with blood. Levi only looked down at him with the same stoic expression, now solemn with grief. Hie heart sank as he realized the fate of how his comrades had met their end.
Olou Bossard lay nearby. His Maneuver Gear was scattered in various pieces across the grass. What was once a highly respected officer was now reduced to simply another body. Even at his speeds Levi faintly saw a line of blood running from the corner of Olou's mouth. That little thread didn't atone for the pool under him. Even though he never stopped, or slowed down, Levi noticed. Every. Small. Detail.
Levi leaned into the turn and circled around the trunk of a large tree. Lying bent against an adjacent trunk was Petra Ral. He stopped hard and eased down to meet her lifeless gaze. A smear of blood intertwined with her golden hair. He felt his heart fall through him. She had loved him, and he had loved her to. But she was gone now. Her voice would never call out to him again in that sweet tone she carried around with her like a badge of honor. Petra's green eyes twinkled with the light that filtered through the trees...but not like they did before. When they had a life behind them.
Soldiers aren't allowed to mourn. There is no time for saying good-bye, or visiting a grave.
