Author's Note: ~Hey, Dreamers. *tired* So while I'm loving all of the hours my new part time job are giving me, they're working me almost full time. The only days off are my school days, and the other five I have seven to ten hour shifts! I may have to have a word with them and have them ease up on me a little. I barely have any time for my school work, or sleep, and even less time to write now. I know they're desperate for people right now, and while I'm loving the income, it's getting real old real fast.
Well, in this world's economy, I suppose I should just shut up and deal with it, and be grateful I have a job and hours to complain about in the first place. I did only just start (my first day was September first), so perhaps I simply need to get used to it?
Whatever the case, I'm glad I finally get to post a new chapter for you ~Dreamers, and I'm terribly sorry for the delay.
I won nothing!
Enjoy what is sure to be a chapter full of embarrassing typos, ~Dreamers!
Petra had not been left alone all day, as Levi doubted she could fight anyone off should their hideout come under attack, as the Corps gang had many enemies throughout the city of Stohess.
He had appointed Eren, Mikasa, and a blond boy named Armin to stay behind, to hold down the fort while everyone else had been gone all day, and the four of them took this time to get to know one another.
Eren and Armin dreamed of traveling the world, and Eren was thoroughly annoyed that mankind was now confined to the expanse of Walled districts, some so small they could barely even be called cities, the majority of their populations wiped clean of people, and now crawling with Titans.
Armin appeared almost feeble to Petra, but he seemed smarter than he let on, and she knew that having someone who could be counted on to use their head and think outside the box every now and then could always be useful.
It was obvious to Petra that Mikasa had a thing for Eren, the way she snuck glances at him under her thick lashes, and the slight, constant blush in her cheeks telling a tail of their own. Petra wondered briefly why someone as beautiful as Mikasa hadn't outright confessed to Eren already, sensing that the two were not together based on their casual body language.
What insecurities could someone as gorgeous as that possibly have?
But once Petra caught wind that they were basically siblings, though not by blood, Petra's heart went out to the girl, now knowing what was holding her back. Whatever they had, Eren and Mikasa were definitely close, and Petra assumed the girl was afraid of ruining that bond with the awkwardness of such a confession, should he fail to return her feelings, thinking of her only as a sister.
When asked about her hometown, an eventually her family, Petra's breath caught in her throat. She paused for a moment, and found it difficult to speak.
However, despite their reassurances that she didn't have to tell them if she didn't want to, Petra did anyway, knowing they had no doubt told her things they would have much rather forgotten, and it was only fair that she do the same.
All of them were amazed that she had come from a neighborhood as wealthy as Karanese, as each of them had grown up in the poorer half of Shiganshina. The three gave Petra their condolences when they learned her mother had been a doctor in the very hospital where the outbreak had begun, and knew as well as Petra the chances of her mother surviving were near impossible.
She told them how she never found her father, as he had likely not made it back into the country after the pandemic forced its borders to close indefinitely, and she prayed he was safe, out there somewhere.
Petra told them of her dream to become an artist, to sell her works in art shows, and make portraits for families a little cash on the side, even that she had never told her parents of her aspirations, fearing they would deem her talent as little more than a fleeting hobby. She regretted this now, knowing that a small argument would have been well worth the breath, as she would probably never see either of her parents again.
Eren confessed how he had always been a bit of a brat, arguing needlessly with his mother, and picking fights with any kid in town who so much as looked at him the wrong way, no matter what size they were. In the end, he and Mikasa were unable to save his mother, Carla, who had been injured and rendered unable to walk as she became surrounded by a pack of Titans. The two were ultimately forced to abandon her as their neighbor, Hannes, forcibly dragged them to safety.
They were lucky enough to run into Armin in town amiss the chaos, but their luck was short lived.
In the course of two years, while the government got it together, many died of famine, sickness, or violence, if you were fortunate enough to avoid the wrath of the Titans. Armin's uncle, along with many of the sick and elderly, were sent on an excursion beyond the Walls of their district, telling the public that the groups were only being moved to a district with greater access to the medical care they needed.
But this was only a strategic measure by the government to lessen the effects of famine on the remaining survivors in the interior.
Petra was surprised to learn the three had been in Trost district at the same time she had been, all those months ago, though she had left the city long before it had fallen, and had not realized the extent to which conditions had deteriorated before the district's abandonment.
She wondered if she had passed them in the streets, being none the wiser and not bothering to give the trio a second glance, once deeming that they weren't an immediate threat to her own life.
Petra felt her chest tighten painfully at her selfishness, feeling guilty for losing sight of a large portion of her humanity when she was alone and starving all those months ago, just struggling to survive.
"So how did you guys meet Levi?" Petra asked curiously after a few moments of conversation, wondering how the three had become members of the Corps gang.
"It was during the fall of Trost, six months ago," Amin began, his face grim. "Eren had been injured, and the three of us had been cornered by a huge pack of Titans, just outside of the Wall. We only had a few blades to fend them off."
"Honestly, I thought we were done for," Eren admitted, his face as dark as Armin's at the memory.
Mikasa said nothing, and she shied a little closer to Eren, burying her nose in the red scarf around her neck, her expression speaking volumes, and it was obvious to Petra that she was grateful to him for saving them, and taking them in, the same way Levi had taken her in.
"But just when we thought it was all over, there they were. The Corps gang," Eren continued. "Levi took out most of them, while the other members held the rest of the Titans back. Then…well, I'm still a little fuzzy on the details, but they just sort of took us in. They taught us all how to fight, and how to shoot, how to hunt for food, everything."
'Sounds like him,' Petra thought, smiling a little to herself.
Petra was taken slightly aback, knowing that this was more or less the way she had been recruited by the Corps gang. But here they all were, safe and sound, with food in their stomachs, a roof over their head, and warm by the fire in the living room, thanks to the gang.
Thanks to Levi.
All of their experiences, though of varying levels of trauma, left each of them with a new outlook on life.
No matter what the future may hold, each silently swore to live for today, because you never knew which sunset would be your last, nor which of your friends could die tomorrow.
The other members returned after a few hours, the last group returning well before sunset, having rushed through their work and completed their given errands quickly, wanting to hurry back and see Isabel and Petra get their tattoos.
In the end, Isabel had not cared who exactly did her tattoo, all she knew was that she wanted to get it as soon as possible. Levi elected Eren for the task, knowing he needed the practice anyway, but that he was sure to do a good job.
When asked who she wanted to do her tattoo, Petra chose Levi, blushing when she answered a tad too quickly, and shouted his name a bit too loudly.
Levi knew that she was nervous, and honestly hadn't expected her to choose him over any of the others.
He guided the girls over to the couch in the living room on the bottom floor of the building, disappearing for a few moments with Eren as the two left to retrieve the necessary materials. Eren carted in a small, gas powered generator, while Levi got to work preparing the inks and tattoo guns, hooking them up to the generator.
"Everyone ready?" Levi asked the room as he pulled out a rag and some alcohol, though his question was directed to Eren, and the girls. More specifically, to Petra, who was so tense it looked like she was bracing herself to get hit by something.
Eren hummed in affirmation, as the two artists seated themselves in wooden chairs dragged into the room, and Isabel whined for them to get on with it already.
Petra said nothing, but managed a nod, eying the tattoo guns warily, just as she had eyed Hanji as she had prepared to remove the bullet from her shoulder three weeks ago. She pulled the neck of her shirt down helpfully, granting Levi access to her collarbone. Leaning over her, Levi disinfected her skin with alcohol. The coolness of the liquid made Petra flinch a little away from him, as she became increasingly jumpy, her fear starting to take over her.
Levi placed on hand on her forearm, careful to avoid her wound, in hopes of comforting her.
Despite the subtleness of the action, Petra smiled up at him, appreciating his gentleness. He produced an erasable marker, and skillfully etched the winged tattoo onto her skin to use as a guide for when he actually tattooed her.
After a minute of silence, or what seemed to be silence as Petra's hammering heartbeat managed to drown out all of the ruckus in the room, Levi capped the marker, and Eren did the same with Isabel.
"I'm starting now, kid," Levi warned her as he prepped the needle for the tattoo gun, but he looked her directly in the eyes as he told her this.
Petra nodded, and he nodded once in acknowledgment that she was ready.
His free hand again found her flesh, and he placed his fingers on the skin of her collarbone. Once he was satisfied with the placement of his drawing, he brought the tattoo gun up to her skin. He could feel Petra's muscles through her skin as they seized up, tense with fearful anticipation. Levi had fully expected her to pull away as soon as he began to drag the buzzing needle across her skin, but she didn't move an inch.
He glanced down at her, the chair he sat in just a bit higher than the couch where she did. Her eyes were shut tightly, and it was clear to him that Petra was clenching her teeth, and doing her best not to cry out. Levi doubted this compared to being shot, and assumed her mind was no doubt wandering, trying to escape reality in a desperate attempt to calm her nerves.
"Is it really that bad?" Levi asked, temporarily pulling the needle from her skin to wipe away the excess ink with a cool, wet rag, hoping to soothe her pain, if only for a moment.
"~No!" Petra squeaked unconvincingly. "Please just hurry and get this done."
Nodding again, Levi continued, making an attempt to be even gentler than he already was, this time deciding to work a little faster than before.
About twenty minutes later, both Isabel and Petra's tattoos were finished, and each proudly showed them off to their comrades, though Isabel was significantly more boastful than Petra.
The others had cheered and hollered wildly, excited the two new members were now official members of the Corps gang.
Once everyone had turned in for the night, apart from the people Levi assigned to keep watch for the night, Petra finally had a moment to herself. She lit a candle, and found herself staring into the mirror in the bathroom of the apartment she had decided to share with Ymir and Historia, out of use due to the lack of plumbing and electricity.
But Petra only needed the mirror.
Pulling the neck of her new shirt, having had to change due to the bullets she had sweat while getting her tattoo only hours ago, she peeled back the white, gauze bandage at her collarbone. An elegant set of overlapping wings greeted her, one a navy blue, the other as white as her gauze.
The individual feathers that made up the symbol were lined thinly in black, further defining the logo. Her skin was red and raised around the tattoo, and shiny due to the salve Levi had rubbed onto it. He had given her the tube, telling her to share it with Isabel, and to apply it a few times a day until the burning itch and redness finally subsided.
Petra applied more of this now, before replacing the bandage to her skin. Her hand lingered there for a while, as she thought of her parents, knowing that they were firmly against tattoos of any kind.
"I guess I'm a little overdue for a rebellious phase," she reminisced, smiling sadly to herself. Petra's thoughts then drifted to Levi.
He had been so gentle with her. Well, as gentle as one could be dragging a needle across someone's skin. He had been watchful, attentive to every hint she gave off, moving to other areas when the pain in one proved too much for her to bear all at once. She remembered his steely eyes, their stormy, blue-grey color that absolutely captivated her.
It was when she started to try and remember his smell that Petra drew the line, stopping herself abruptly in her tracks.
Just when had she fallen so hard for him?
She had only known Levi for all of about three weeks now, and despite the fact that she knew so little about him, and virtually nothing about his past apart from taking in some of the other members, Petra decided that she didn't much care.
Well, sure, she wanted to discover more about him as time went on, little by little, but as a person, Petra felt she already sort of…knew him. His mannerisms and his brash behavior, how he looked so protectively watchful when regarding any of the other members, and how gentle she knew he could be told Petra everything she needed to know about who he was as a person.
But would she have the courage to tell him? And when would be the right time, assuming she'd be able to stutter out a confession in the first place?
Surely the others would never let her hear the end of it, whether or not he returned her feelings.
Was this even love, though?
Having had only a few boyfriends in the past, and breaking up with them as soon as she found they only wanted one thing from her, Petra wasn't sure what to make of the pounding of her heart, as it danced in her chest, or the butterflies in her stomach.
He was a good eight years older than her, at least. If some twelve or thirteen year old confessed to her, Petra sincerely doubted she could ever return their feelings.
Would Levi feel the same way about her?
Would he see her as a young woman, or just a brat that didn't know any better about what she believed she wanted? He had called her a kid, and more than once before.
Petra remembered her parents, and that they had been about seven years apart. Was this really any different?
Then Petra reminded herself of the world they lived in now. Was it really alright to fall in love anymore? For all she knew, getting attached to someone could prove to be too much for her, should she loose them to illness, gang fire, or even something as unthinkable as a Titan? Would her confession make things awkward between them, just as Petra was finally starting to become more comfortable with Levi and the others?
But then Petra remembered again that in the Hell that was their present, it was better to just live for today, and to worry about tomorrow if and when it came, should she survive to see it.
Returning to her bed in the room she shared with Ymir and Historia, Petra tried to quiet her mind, and get some well needed sleep. She hadn't done much today, but the stresses weighing on her thoughts were enough to make anyone tired.