Next chapter is up! I know they probably seem really disjointed right now as things are getting set up, but things will start to smooth out as Sloan settles in to the Regiment... I hope the jumping around isn't too distracting.
I feel like this is one of the last "slow" chapters, and will pick up after this one. The story will loosely follow the Female Titan Arc and then branch off from there, so SPOILERS MAY OCCUR in later chapters. To reiterate: if you haven't finished the first season of the anime THERE WILL BE SPOILERS in later chapters.
Jazuchan2: That was definitely not their only meeting, just the very first one. We'll see some more of their back story in the next chapter and scattered throughout in flashbacks. Their first meeting was definitely one of my favorites. Picturing little 10-year-old Levi and Sloan just makes me so giddy inside!
Anyways, onto the story!
Sloan and Bryson burst from the Hermina gates early the next morning. The sun was just barely beginning to streak the sky. Sloan pulled on the reins of her horse, Apple, and settled into a comfortable gallop. It would be a few hours' ride to the training ground where Commander Erwin was stationed, waiting for the ceremony where the recruits would choose which branch of the military to join – Garrison or Scout Regiment, or for the lucky few, Military Police. There was no need to rush. She wasn't even sure if Erwin was aware of their pending arrival. Or Levi, for that matter. She felt her guts twist up. He hadn't seemed to recognize her; maybe he'd forgotten she ever existed. Or maybe he didn't care. After he'd disappeared from the underground all those years ago, Sloan had surrendered to the fact that he'd probably been killed in a fight or murdered; just another soul lost to the struggles down there. But he'd been alive – and had not come to find her. That was what really sickened her.
Was she wrong to transfer like this? It was true that the developments with Eren Yeager were intriguing, but was that the reason she was leaving? She had been feeling very stuck in a rut lately – Captain of Hermina District was a lofty title, but what next? As a woman in the military, she'd reached her cap, the top of the ladder. There would be no further promotion for her, no matter what Pixis had said in an attempt to make her stay. No, her talents were better suited to help with the direct fight against the Titans. And to fly on 3 dimensional maneuvering gear again; her heart soared with the thought of feeling the freedom fly through her hair. There was rarely need for such equipment as a member of the Garrison. Yes, all of these were reasons for leaving.
Definitely not for that Levi.
"I must say, when I spoke with Commander Pixis about needing more men, I didn't think he'd send me one of his most senior Captains and one of her own, hand-picked officers," Commander Erwin said as he stared out the window at the courtyard overlooking the new recruits. He turned to face Sloan and Bryson. "You may drop your salutes."
"I am here to serve the Survey Corps," Sloan said. "I feel that's where I will be best used at this time. I've spent many years in the Garrison, but I have so much more to offer –"
Erwin held up his hand. "You don't have to do this self-promotion. Pixis spoke highly of you, even before this. You were one of his top Captains. He raved about you, like you were his pride and joy. I'm surprised he let you go, but we could certainly use someone like you. It seems that our numbers grow smaller with each recruitment. Our main focus is expanding beyond the walls and discovering more about the Titans. We can't do that without Scouts and strong leaders. Yes, we could certainly find somewhere to put you and your squad leader – Bryson White, was it?"
"Yes, sir," Bryson responded with a nod.
"I've brought a gift for you," Sloan said and pulled a small, cloth wrapped tin from her bag. "As a token of our partnership. It's tea from the Capital."
Erwin gave a knowing smirk as he unwrapped the cloth to admire the tin. He turned it over in his hand, admiring the intricate designs of the metal. "When was the last time you used 3D Maneuvering Gear, Captain Sloan?"
"So I heard you were interested in Titan research?"
Sloan looked up from her belt where she was fitting herself with her 3D Maneuvering Gear to greet the woman approaching her. She was over a half foot taller than Sloan – though that wasn't unusual – with a bushy brown pony tail and glasses.
"Hange Zoe, Squad Leader," she said with a wave of her hand. "Captain Sloan Emery, Commander Erwin briefed us on your transfer. Anytime you would like to accompany me to see the research we are conducting on the Titans, I'd be happy to introduce you. In fact, we currently have two subjects, Sonny and Bean –"
"Give it a rest, Hange," this from a tall, blonde haired male nearly three times Sloan's size. He approached her and gave a sniff. "Mike Zacharias, Squad Leader. Welcome aboard. We've been told you will train to be one of our fellow Squad Leaders. We will, of course, still address you as Captain."
Commander Erwin had explained to Sloan that although she had the rank of Captain, since that position in the Corps was already filled by Levi, she would act as a Squad Leader after extensive training. They would still address her as Captain, however, out of respect for her service.
"You may call me Sloan, if you'd like. It's much faster to say, if in a hurry," She responded with a smile.
"I'm Ness, fellow Squad Leader." This man had brown hair barely sticking out of a white cloth he had wrapped around his head. They all wore the Scout Regiment uniform and were attaching their own 3D gear to their belts. They looked Sloan up and down, trying to be discreet, but sizing her up all at once. "You're a small little thing."
"Dynamite comes in small packages," she responded with a warm smile.
"And who is this?" They all looked back at Bryson, who was clumsily figuring out the gear. Garrison members didn't have much experience with the 3D equipment.
"This is Bryson White, my friend and one of my Squad Leaders from Hermina District. He was kind enough to agree to join the Corps with me."
"Welcome to both of you. Are we ready to ride out?" It was nearing sundown and they were going to ride out to a group of trees nearby and allow Sloan and Bryson to reacquaint themselves with the gear out of the prying eyes of the recruits. Nothing like being eaten by a Titan on your first venture outside the walls because you can't use the gear. And you're supposed to be a Captain.
The Squad Leaders and Sloan gathered up their horses and mounted, riding east for about half an hour. They were still safely inside the walls, but the Leaders were ever vigilant, eyes darting back and forth, always aware of their surroundings. A grouping of trees, not a forest, but with trees tall enough to open up the gear, came into view. Zacharias was the first to let his gear open, not even dismounting before his gear latched onto a tree and pulled him through the air. Hange was next, and Ness followed after.
Sloan felt the excitement building as she felt her own lines shoot forward and she flew behind, the wind blowing past her ears. This was the first time in years that she'd used the gear with a group. As a Captain in the Garrison, there was little need to ever use it. Sure, she would "borrow" it some nights to fly around the city – to keep her skills sharp, she would say if she was ever caught – but no one ever really saw her. Flying through the trees with her new comrades was almost a dream. She let herself go, flying from tree to tree with no cares. She looked behind to find Bryson and saw him bringing up the rear – he probably hadn't used the gear since recruit training. While looking behind she saw she'd passed Hange. Next was Ness, then Mike as she pushed herself forward faster, swifter, making herself cut through the air like an arrow. She didn't even notice when the other Leaders stopped to rest on a limb.
And she definitely didn't hear them whispering about how familiar her techniques seemed.
Levi stared into the fire. He sat in one of the chairs pulled over from the table, probably sitting too close, but he liked the way it burned. He knew Sloan was somewhere on the premises, but hadn't gone looking for her. He wasn't avoiding her, just not actively searching. Any other Captain would have sought out his new comrade, but he wasn't just any Captain. No one expected him to cheerfully welcome a new recruit. It just wasn't him, no matter who the new member was.
He sipped his tea. She was exactly the same as he remembered. Had she aged any at all? Of course she had. Instead of being a young, pretty, clueless teenager, she had grown into a confidant, beautiful woman. She was as tiny as ever – not an inch over five feet and probably less than 100 pounds. He lamented that he didn't get to see her hair as it was pulled tight into that stupid bun on top of her head, but he'd seen the way the light had reflected off of it – copper, with shades of red, blonde, and brown all blending together. Eyes still huge and blue. When he locked eyes with her outside of the courthouse he was transported back to the underground, like he was looking at her for the first time.
Since she'd risen to Captain of the Garrison, she'd obviously worked hard. And she couldn't have taken a husband or had children when she was working that hard. Levi pondered that thought for a moment before shaking it out of his mind. He had no business entertaining any thoughts of her love life.
He heard the thumping of boots coming down the hall accompanied by Hange Zoe's voice, talking some shit about those Titans she'd been studying. A rolling laugh that Levi identified as Ness's carried through the air as the door to the kitchen opened.
"I wonder what Bean is doing right now, actually," Hange's voice carried through the open door as the group walked in. "He is the night owl of the two – ah! Captain Levi! He can explain how interesting the research is!"
He answered her statement with a glare and examined the group. Mike, Ness, and Hange accompanied by Sloan and her lackey from Hermina. They all wore the 3D maneuvering gear.
"Captain, have you met our new recruit, Captain Sloan?" Ness asked.
He gave a slight incline of his head as he continued his cold glare over his teacup.
"This is the way Captain normally says 'hi'," Hange translated. It was true – he'd never been one for common courtesies or niceties, even years ago. Anyone else would probably be startled by how closed off he seemed – even his body language, with his legs crossed and his shoulders tense, the light from the fire creating frightening planes on his face, screaming not to come close; but this was how Sal remembered him: forever unapproachable, cold, downright rude at times.
Mike walked over to the cupboard and rooted through some things, pulling out a bottle of an amber liquid.
"Why not a drink to celebrate our new comrades?" He pulled out 6 small cups and began filling each one. "How about a drink for you, Captain?"
"No," Levi and Sloan answered simultaneously. Sloan felt a blush break over her cheeks.
"I'm sorry," she said. "Of course you meant him."
"I figured you would have a drink with us, Sloan. Captain hardly ever drinks," Mike clarified.
"Actually, I'm feeling quite tired. It's been a very eventful day, I think I would like to take my leave. It's probably nearly midnight…"
"Maybe another night then," Mike said, pouring himself a cup. "Everyone else still up for a drink?"
"Sure!" exclaimed Bryson.
"Count me in as well," Ness said.
"Just one drink, I need to check on Sonny and Bean before much longer."
Sal turned and walked out of the room without a second glance at Levi. The door swung shut behind her and she leaned against the wall catching her breath. She slowly started making her way up to the room she'd been shown earlier. Her room was almost directly over the kitchen, so she heard the laughter drifting up from between the baseboards. A small candle flickered on the dresser in her room. She let her hair out of the bun, brushed her hair and removed her jacket while waiting for the chatter to die down and the door to close, signaling they'd all retired for the evening.
But she knew Levi – she would bet her little finger that he would be up for at least a few hours more, just staring at the fire and sipping his damned tea. She placed her brush down and found her bag. Digging through its contents, she pulled out a tin identical to the one she'd given Commander Erwin earlier that day. The metal of the tin glinted in the candle light as she wrapped it in the cloth and walked back out of her room down to the kitchen.
She stopped with her hand on the door, trying to calm the fluttering of her heart. From inside she heard the floorboards creaking in a fashion that suggested he was pacing. Typical. She waited a moment longer, feeling the cool metal through the cloth as she debated waiting for him to sit back down. The creaking stopped momentarily and she opened the door before she lost her nerve.
His back was to her as he stared into the fire, his hands clasped behind his back, free from the teacup sitting on the mantle. His clothing was wrinkle free, as usual. He still had on his uniform pants and shirt, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up his forearms. She took a moment to admire the lines of the muscles of his forearms, long and lean. She didn't dally too long, however. She knew he was aware someone else was in the room and would turn soon. He never let anyone at his back for too long, even in a safe place such as this.
"Captain," she started, surprised at how even her voice was. He turned to face her, releasing his hands and letting them rest at his side. She took a few steps toward him and fumbled with the tin before extending it to him. "I brought something for you and the Commander. A goodwill gift, I guess you could say."
He closed the distance between them with a few steps. His face was so shadowed that she couldn't make out any expression he may have had – if any at all. He reached out and took the item from her palm without touching her skin. As he unwrapped the cloth from the tin Sloan felt oddly exposed. What would he do? She figured it depended on if he remembered her, which he'd given no indication that he did. Would he simply say "thank you" and turn back to the fire? Maybe he would lecture her for approaching a male officer so late in the evening. He could accuse her of soliciting him.
He popped the top off the tin and examined the contents. In the dark she wasn't sure what he could see.
"It's tea," she said, still tiptoeing on unsteady ground. "From the Capital. I heard you like your tea so I thought –" She was cut short when she saw his arm shaking. She hurriedly looked at his face, but the shadows still veiled him. She watched in horror as his hand tightened around the tin, the tendons and veins of his forearm bulging from the pressure. The sound of twisting metal seemed like an explosion in her ears.
"No, no, no," she said as the tea leaves started to spill out while the metal folded over itself. She desperately grasped at the tea leaves, but they seemed to slip right through her fingers. She looked at her hands and thought of how silly she must look, grappling at the tiny raining leaves. A drop of blood appeared in the palm of her hand and she looked in confusion at the tin. The metal had bent and sliced right through his palm.
"Oh, Captain," she said shakily. He stopped squeezing and turned to the fire. With a nonchalant twist, smooth as if throwing a ball, Sloan watched in slow motion as he tossed the tin into the fire and walked past her out of the kitchen.