Aerynx: Thank you for your review! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far, and yes, we will get to see more Hange-matchmaking moments ;)

vivian141991: Your review made my day. I'm so happy to hear Galene is realistic and you like her that much!


Only victors are allowed to live. This world is merciless like that.❞ ㅡ Mikasa Ackerman

CHAPTER SEVEN:

OUTSIDE WORLD

The sun shone bright in a blue sky, shedding light to the world that spread at its feet. Some clouds roamed about, like sentinels keeping watch on those poor souls that lived within the Walls.

A bird chirped nearby, and Galene turned her head sideways to catch a glimpse of its yellowish shape before it disappeared in between the leaves of the trees. A pang of jealousy tugged at her heart as she let her eyes wander around the area, only for them to narrow as they landed on another flying animal.

Jealous of birds that's weird, even for you, she thought to herself.

"Snap out of it, brat."

A glare was sent his way, before Galene clicked her tongue in irritation and flicked him off.

Averting her gaze from his expectant one, she mounted the horse that had been assigned to her and pursed her lips. Seconds later, footsteps approached her, and she didn't need to look to know who was now standing on her right.

"We need to talk," Isabel stated.

Biting back an exasperated sigh, the oldest of the Magnolia sisters wanted nothing more than to turn around and leave. However, she was not allowed to return to the warmth of her bed just yet.

It was Expedition Day; which meant every soldier had to empty the building to fight for humanity in the outside world. As she had agreed on previously, Galene was one of those warriors — she had always been so, to be fair.

So instead of running off to some place where no one could bother her, the woman forced herself to stand her ground and face her sister. "Later."

Fortunately, Isabel seemed satisfied with her reply, for she nodded once and went off to stand next to Farlan's horse. The woman watched as they got immersed in a conversation, laughing every now and then and smiling like nothing was worth their worry — maybe life was simpler than she thought.

"You're staring," a voice she knew too well accused.

Glancing at him out from the corner of her eye, she arched an eyebrow and smirked ever so subtly. "And you're stalking."

His grey gaze met hers as he kept his horse still next to hers.

"That woman decided to place us together, for whatever reason." His deep voice held a hint of annoyance, like it usually did.

Galene drifted her attention to said person as she stood right in front of Farlan and Isabel. And as if on cue, Hange tilted her head to look back at her and grinned.

She is something else, that's for sure. The redhead frowned. "Don't act as if you aren't pleased," she ended up commenting, mischievous smirk on as she winked at Levi.

"Tch."

Soon enough, they started to move forward. Some encouraging words were shouted from the first line, but they fell to deaf ears; the soldiers were serious, focused, but also discouraged. Many had witnessed friends dying in their attempt to escape the ruthless titans, and even though they would keep fighting, their moods were sour; as if they knew their tragic destiny had already been sealed and had accepted it.

It would be but a matter of time until they joined the fallen warriors in the afterlife.

Nevertheless, Galene was different, and she was certain her three friends were, as well.

"No titan is going to get its disgusting hands on me," she had promised the night before.

As they neared the last Wall that separated safety from danger, citizens from different parts of the city turned up in the streets. They watched from both sides as the Survey Corps rode by, sad expressions of their faces; as if they, too, had accepted most of them wouldn't return.

White flowers floated in front of the soldiers, as a symbol of sympathy and reverence. One of them was suddenly thrown to her face, but before it could touch her, a hand snatched it. Levi twirled the flower between his fingers and observed it with thoughtful eyes, as if something was bothering him. Then, his gaze fell upon her, almost throwing Galene off her horse.

One would say she was used to it by now, but he had never looked at her so... intently. And part of her held on to the warm sensation that was spreading through her body; the other part, however...

"Stop staring at me like that, Levi. You're creeping me out."

He arched a brow, but eventually looked away from her and let the flower drop to the ground to join the rest of them. "Just don't die, brat."

Galene clicked her tongue, quickly composing herself. "Same goes to you, jerk."

And as knowing smirks stretched on their lips, the last gate opened and their horses galloped away... into the dangerous, outside world.

-#-

For the first time in her life, Galene Magnolia was at a complete loss of words. Never before had such innocent expression illuminated her face, but as she looked up and her eyes got lost into the bright colour with which the sky glowed, she lost any control she had over her muscles.

Her mouth fell agape, her eyes widened in awe, and the smallest of gasp left her parted lips.

Orange, pink, blue...; she had never witnessed so many colours melting one another in the same place. As they rode towards the horizon; she saw mountains and forests, rivers and animals she couldn't put a name to.

It was pure, infinite; and she was absolutely marvelled by it.

She was snapped out of her trance when the loud voice of Hange ordered them to follow her, and as they had previously agreed, the four former robbers complied. For some unknown reason, they had been placed under her command; as much as it irked Galene, she could only bit her tongue and do what she was told to.

No word was spoken as they rode into the forest. There, everything was quiet; way too quiet. No birds chirped, no animals could be seen in the surroundings; just huge trees that were so tall that sunlight was captured by their leaves and not allowed underneath.

But then, the unexpected happened.

A cry escaped Isabel as she lost control of her horse, which had been scared off by something, and both animal and girl propelled forward.

"What the—"

Hange, who had been assigned as their provisional captain, had been taken by surprise, like the rest of them. Except for someone. Quicker than their reflexes, Galene's had gotten rid of the shock and pushed her to spur her horse on to aid the girl.

"Galene, wait!" Hange cursed under her breath when the young woman ignored her.

She heard them trying to catch up, but her attention was focused on her sister, who was getting away and kept screaming for help. She had been so fixed on aiding her that she had somehow forgotten where she was... and what dwelled within.

"Galene, watch out!"

A giant hand repentantly blocked her path, causing her horse to come to a sudden halt. Surprising everyone who was watching, she calmly arched her body and used the gear attached to her body to propel herself up and over the thick fingers of the titan.

Her feet touched the trunk of a tree lightly, giving her enough time to round on her heels and take a quick look at its ugly face, which was staring at its chopped off fingers; as if trying to understand why they were on the ground now. Galene didn't give it the opportunity to look up at her; she swiftly crossed the air and flew over its slouched form before launching herself at its neck.

Blood splattered on the tree and ground as the disgusting being dropped dead on top of her horse, causing Galene to curse aloud.

"She's amazing with that gear," Farlan blurted out as both men watched the woman twirl and descend to stand next to Hange.

But Levi already knew how good she was; they had spent many days flying across the Underground City, racing each other, and he had always admired her for it. This time, however, his features contorted into an irked expression, and he walked his horse over to them.

"That was impressive, Galene," Hange was saying. "But never run off like that again. You're under my command and must follow me, not the other way around."

"You were too slow."

A kick was delivered to the back of her head, eliciting a yelp from her, before Galene turned around to glare at him.

"The hell was that for, Levi?" she growled.

"Being a reckless idiot."

There was a hint of something else she couldn't put a finger on, but noticing how the man was avoiding looking at her, the sketch of a smile drew on her lips. She mentally shook her head, though — they still needed to find her sister.

Just as she was about to speak, however, said girl came back from when she had disappeared to.

"Thanks for helping, guys—Oh!" she exclaimed in surprise as the boiling, dead titan crossed her sight. "They are scarier than they appeared to be in Captain Mike's drawings."

A heavy sigh left Hange's mouth as the girl babbled on about her friend's bad drawings, and the other three joined in like nothing had happened.

Albeit relieved for having Isabel, no scratch whatsoever on her body, back, Hange was exhausted; she had not expected for the four former robbers to be so difficult to control. Thus, she cut in by clapping her hands — it was time to return to safety.

"My horse is dead," Galene subtly reminded them, then.

Her sister smiled sheepishly. "You can ride with me, don't..."

A hand was offered to her, and Galene looked up to see him staring down at her with his usual, impassive eyes. Ignoring how the rest had halted and were now watching in utter stupor, the woman wrapped her fingers around his wrist and let the man pull her up.

"...worry," finished Isabel as she blinked her shock away. "Or you can ride with Levi — that's fine, too."

Hange smirked, suddenly beyond excited. "Right, that should settle it."

As the three turned around to start their way back, Levi glanced at Galene over his shoulder. "Hold on tight if you don't want to fall off, brat."

Before she could talk back, he had spurred his horse on. Her arms quickly wrapped around his torso, and her tights tensed around the animal as it galloped away.

"Thanks for the head start, jerk!"

A smirk grazed his lips when he tilted his head to look at her, which caused her to arch an eyebrow in expectance. "What?"

"Don't act as if you're not enjoying this," he mocked, the same way she had some hours before — when Hange had sent him to stand next to her.

Pursing her lips in irritation, Galene narrowed her eyes as the man turned back to stare straight ahead.

However, as annoyed as she was, she couldn't deny his words. Pressed up against him as they rode on, Galene felt at ease, comfortable. Her hands unclenched to clasp around his chest, and she relished in the movement of his muscles as he pushed his horse to go faster.

Levi said nothing; perhaps, too busy to notice — or maybe, too pleased with the way her body pressed up against his.

"Thanks for the ride back, I guess," Galene muttered when they made it back.

Gracefully, she hoped off the horse. As she jogged off to escape Hange before the latter could get her, Levi clicked his tongue and muttered, "Brat."

"Are you coming, Levi?" Farlan called out, effectively catching his attention. "Apparently, we have new rooms now that we're officially soldiers," he informed as both led their horses back to the barn.

"Is that so?"

Farlan nodded. "You and I are still going to be sharing, but the girls have been given another one."

Levi inwardly sighed in relief; he was pleased with the idea of not having to sleep in the same room as Isabel, who for some strange reason, managed to fall off her bed every night and wake everyone up.

"You think they'll be ok?" Farlan inquired.

"We'll find out tomorrow."

Cue the sweatdrop.

"That doesn't sound too convincing."

But Levi remained silent, and the conversation died there. With Galene, anything can happen. His lips twitched. And that's what makes her so interesting.