Chapter 2
Companion

Silence became their companion for the night. The flames from the pit illuminated the abandoned church and helped Levi observe the girl before him. His watchful gaze carefully dissected every piece of information out of her appearance and actions. Her poise, mannerisms, and knowledge of medicine told him that her origin was not from the Underground. Perhaps a couple of weeks at most was when she probably started living down here.

"Um, is there something you want to say to me?" she asked with her cheeks flushed.

"You're not from here, are you?" he said, not withholding his curiosity.

Her red eyes widened as she was caught off guard by his question. "Was it that obvious?" Canaria asked while rubbing her arm and avoiding his gaze.

"The Underground's a small place. It's easy to tell who is and isn't from here," he stated.

"I see," she softly said while shifting her gaze over to a pile of debris under the collapsed ceiling. Canaria clenched her fist into a ball and bit the lower part of her lip, looking bitter over the debris as she recalled a recent event. She softly said, "I came here two weeks ago."

"Alone?"

"No," she replied. Canaria shared without giving too much details, "I was with someone for a while. But now, that person's gone."

Levi could only assume what happened. Tragedy had always lured people into the Underground. He didn't bother to press about the subject any further.

"What about you?" she asked, her eyes staring into his.

He averted his eyes away from her. "The same as you," he replied without sharing much about his past.

Both sensed a strange connection forming between them as silence and the flickering flames intertwined their sad untold history.

Cold as it was that night, they felt a strange warmth on their chest.

Canaria broke the silence with a bitter laugh. A weak smile rose from her lips as she told him, "Strange, isn't it? No matter how bad this place is, it still connects people."

It had been a week since the night she found him. The days they spent together was slowly becoming a routine for the two of them. Canaria occasionally left Levi to his own while she went out to get more food and medicine. She would always check on him and remind him to not overexert himself like an overbearing mother before leaving. Levi could only nod and wait for her at his state as he hadn't fully recovered yet.

He would always see her cover herself with a cloak before going outside. Levi wondered if it had anything to do with her strange features or if someone was after her. Either way, it was smart of her to do it. She would attract a lot of unwanted attention if she carelessly walked outside.

Then, all of a sudden, it hit him. Levi sighed as he caught himself thinking about her once more.

He wasn't like before. Was he getting attached to her? His eyes stared at the cracked ceiling while self-reflecting. The short conversations they've had, their interactions and her presence alone made him feel warm inside for the first time.

For such a short amount of time, she made him realize that he needed and longed for someone to be there for him. All this time of being on his own, he didn't know that a part of him wasn't satisfied being alone.

Levi knew that it wasn't going to be long before he recovered. He also knew that he didn't want whatever was going on to be over like a feverish dream.

The sound of the door creaking made him abandon his thoughts for now.

"I'm back! Sorry, I took a while," Canaria announced cheerfully while walking inside with a bag full of items on her hand and shutting the door behind her.

"Welcome back," Levi awkwardly said while sitting up.

She gave him a soft smile before walking towards him. "I bought us rice, some fruits, and vegetables. This should for a while," she giggled while carefully placing the bag down and taking off her cloak.

Her eyes went to meet with his as she crouched down before him and pondered, "So… what have you been up to?"

"Nothing in particular."

Canaria hummed as her eyes trailed off to his upper body, checking to see if his bandages needed to be replaced. She scooted very close to him. Her hands slowly caressed the places where his stitches were, looking to see if she was going to get a reaction.

Levi watched her quietly. He felt fine so he didn't paid attention to whatever she was doing to him as his mind focused on something else. With her face just a couple of inches away from him, he couldn't help but stare at her. After his self-reflection earlier, he became more aware of her. Her long lashes, her plump lips, and her voluptuous body hidden underneath those dirty robes…

"Levi?" she called out to him.

"What?"

"You're staring too much," she said, her cheeks blooming red.

His hand grabbed her wrist and told her, "You should be more careful around me." Levi pointed out, "Wounded or not, I'm still a man you know."

She stared at him, dumbfounded. Her ears started turning red as she realized what he was insinuating. "I know… but still," she trailed off. Canaria slowly looked at him in the eye and said, "I trust you, Levi."

His eyes widened in shock for a moment before returning to normal. "Stupid naïve girl," he muttered before letting go of her wrist and avoiding her eyes. How could she trust him so easily? Him, of all people.

She laughed. Canaria continued with her work silently as she took off his bandages to replace them with new ones. "Besides! A strong handsome guy like you probably have slept with better looking women. I wouldn't be up to par with any of them," she joked. "In appearance and… experience," Canaria added in whisper while clenching her chest.

"Is that what you think?" he asked rhetorically. Levi chose to drop the subject as thinking with his lower half wasn't going to get him anywhere with her. It would be a better choice if he would just be honest with her.

"So, what's your plan?" Levi finally asked the question.

She looked at him again with a confused look on her face. "What do you mean?"

"I'm asking you if you have any plans on how to get out of this hell hole," he stated. "Do you even know how to survive here in the first place?" Levi added.

Canaria's eyes fell on the cold floor. "No."

Levi clicked the tip of his tongue. He should've known better.

"But I think I still have enough money to last for a bit. Until then, I'll think of something," she optimistically said.

"What if you run out of that money and you still haven't figured it out? What then?" Levi pressed, getting slightly angry. He wanted her to think about the future.

"T-then I'll work and make more money!" she said as if she was trying to convince herself.

"Hah? Do you know what they do to women here in the Underground? They'll rape you, and then sell you to the highest bidder. You'll continue to spread your legs and be raped and assaulted till the moment you die," Levi spat out bitterly. She wasn't going to last in this place if she was this easy going. He didn't want her to end up like his mother. To die in a place like this… he didn't want that.

She could only look at him in horror as she realized the gravity of her situation. Tears fell out of her eyes. Canaria clenched her hands into a fist till it turned white. She screamed in desperation, "Then what should I do, Levi?! I can't go back up there. If they catch me, they'll kill me. If I stay here, I'll die eventually. Tell me, what should I do?!"

He looked at her and the words escaped his lips unconsciously.

"Come with me."

"Huh?" she uttered. Canaria saw his grey eyes shifted to a light bluish color. His eyes reflected her clearly. At this moment, she felt the world around her slow down.

"If you come with me, your chances of surviving is higher," he explained calmly. Levi added, "I can't promise you the world but, it's better than staying here in this rotten place."

"Why… why would you take me with you?" she said while staring at him dumbfounded.

He looked for the words to say. First of all, why was he even doing this? He already had it rough by himself. Taking a girl who doesn't even know anything in here would just drag him down. She would just get in his way. So why?

Levi looked up to avoid her burning gaze. "Who knows?" he flat out said. "…it's just that unlike most people, I still have a conscience. If I let an idiot like you die here while knowing that I could've done something, I won't be able to sleep well at night," he told her with letting out a genuine smile for the first time.

Canaria was stunned. He just—

She started to burst in laughter while half crying. "That's the most absurd thing I've ever heard!" she breathed.

"Thank you, Levi," she said with wiping her tears away. Canaria took his hand and looked at him eye to eye, "Please take care of me from now on."

That was the start of their journey together.