The titan's flabby arm smashed through the bell tower with an otherworldly clang and the rumbling of crumbling bricks.
Gunther's breath caught. That was very close, too close for comfort.
He twisted mid-air and fired his hooks across the beast's upper back, the metal of the left carving a straight, raggedy-edged gash through the pallid flesh which began to gush, his hooks then attaching into the decaying building opposite. It should hold for just about long enough.
His nostrils flared as he zipped past, retracting the hooks again as he reached the nape, and hacked through the meat of its neck with a hefty double strike. As the telltale steam began to rush, he pushed off the foul corpse with his boot, and brought himself to land on the shabby red roof tiles of what looked to be an old school.
Eld promptly appeared by his side, roughly wiping some blood from his cheek, though it was already vaporising into the crisp air.
"You misjudged that a bit." He said, scanning the rooftops.
"I know." Gunther muttered, "The bell tower obstructed me."
"Mm."
The sound of wires alerted the pair to their right, where the bobbing head of Petra approached, flipping herself between each energised fire of her hooks, tailed closely by Oruo. This was only her third expedition as part of the Special Ops Squad, but she was always acutely aware of the positions of the team at all times. Gunther noted that since she'd been working with them, it had felt as though an invisible red thread connected them all; as though for the first time they were becoming greater than the sum of their parts.
She landed decisively on their roof some feet away;
"Eastern side." She called out, and pointed with her blade to a crowd of three titans, hulking and blundering in the distance, unattended.
Following a quick scan Gunther noted that this appeared to be the last major threat in the area for the moment. The rest of the routes to the supply point were currently being defended, or were manned in wait. Plus the Captain was roving somewhat nearby, trusting his squad to be able to deal with threats more successfully than the other squads tasked with defence.
"Right." He and Eld affirmed together, as the squad jetted off towards the murderous cluster of bloated tissue.
The four of them flew at high speed, the fire of purpose gleaming in each of their eyes. These enormous son-of-bitches were no match for the hurricane of blades that was about to massacre them.
As they approached their ugly new company, Oruo called out;
"I'll take the gawky blonde. Not sure I trust any of you to manage it."
He smirked, propelling himself off to the right, towards the largest of the three titans. Gunther held back a sigh. He made a mental note to ask if they could have a squad meeting about reckless behaviour.
"Oruo wait!" Petra cried out and made to follow on, but was obstructed by Eld;
"Leave him - small fry, with me. Gunther take the one on the left."
Gunther nodded and sped away.
—
Rats. Once again Eld was morbidly amazed at the speed of the mammoth ogres. Even this five-metre one he and Petra were honing in on was deceptively quick. It also possessed a level of intelligence in that it would move slowly, and then surprise the pair of them with a jolting flick of a limb. Any other squad would struggle to dispatch it.
He scowled. Oruo and Petra's yelling had lost them the element of surprise here too, which meant that the rapid 'sneak-up-behind-and-cut-out-the-nape-before-the-titan-even-notices-you' tactic, that was widely known to be the road of least resistance, was no longer an option. What in the living hell was the point in training mutely if Oruo was just going to balls it up in the field where it mattered most?
He caught Petra's furiously concentrated gaze and quickly slapped a hand to his neck, before speeding directly towards the pasty titan's gaunt and pouting face.
"You're going down you pouty-ass motherfucker." He growled, whirling a blade around ready for its beady eye.
Immediately there was a squeezing pressure on his right leg and he winced. The asshole had whipped its hand up at the speed of light and managed to grab him, stopping him in his tracks. Strings of hideously glistening saliva stretched out between its slowly widening jaws and he recoiled a little. Didn't matter though. The giant moron.
Eld relaxed into a confident smile as, with a sharp tearing noise, a red-haired bullet accelerated past its nape, and the monster's dark grey eyes widened a little before the light withered out of them, almost as if it were surprised by the turn of events. Not bothering to wait for its grip to loosen, he chopped though its dumpy fingers and met her on a nearby roof.
—
Petra had been on the roof for less than a second before she whizzed off again in Gunther's direction.
Some way away she could just about made out the jostling figure of Oruo - but it was important that she didn't worry about that - she had to trust that Eld was on it.
With each manoeuvre they tackled together, she was impressed afresh with Eld's communication skills, not to mention his consistently cool head - even when Oruo gave away their position, or when he'd been unexpectedly yanked out of place by his leg just now he hadn't broken a sweat. Each day that passed made it increasingly clear to her why he was the Captain's second. An internal smiled warmed her…the Captain was truly an excellent judge of character.
The sky had begun to take on the soft pink-orange glow of golden hour, lending an eerie picturesque quality to their grim activity. Blood was beating in her ears as she searched for Gunther, who was nowhere to be seen around his allocated target. She wanted to race at it, dive into the street and fly past the nape, but without knowing where he was, that was difficult. What if she interfered with his plan? But equally, what if he was injured?
She stalled, brows twitching, breath ragged and eyes flitting around the scene like a hungry hawk. If someone or something moved, she'd spot it.
Nothing. Her heart rate sped up.
Run. She hurried along the roof behind the tiredly ambling beast, her eyes still darting around. It hadn't appeared to have noticed her yet.
Still nothing. Darn it. Her hair whipped about her face as she blasted herself around to its side, landing and running across the long roof there, blades primed. Steam was issuing from the titan's face - perhaps its eyes healing?
There - on an opposite building - a glint of wires through a hole in the roof. Gunther must have fallen through.
Sweet Maria - although, Gunther was sturdy, he'd probabl- she swatted away a million worries and solidified her plan. There would be time to check if he was alright after she took down this hulking brute.
—
Oruo's eyes widened as he caught Petra distantly speed past the remaining titan's face, taking its nose clean off, and doubling back on herself to get to the nape.
The hand - why hadn't she factored in the hand? Was she an idiot? And where the fuck was Gunther - she shouldn't be taking on a titan alone- she-
His heart was in his mouth and he made to leap from the rooftop, a strangled cry caught in his throat-
"Petr-arrglfhd-"
The taste of iron flooded his tongue and the wind was knocked from his chest as Eld's arm slammed into him.
"Stop - she's got this. You'll only distract her." His grip tightened around Oruo's chest, "You gotta trust her."
Oruo spat out a mouthful of blood, his face distorting in frustration,
"Let the fuck go of me you bearded blonde asshole-"
The world seemed to stop for a moment as Petra distantly slashed her way through the beast's hand and obliterated the nape. His jaw dropped and he felt Eld's grip loosen.
"Trust her." Eld urged, an unusual intensity in his brown eyes, "Now come on."
He zipped off and Oruo grumbled, wiping his bloody mouth on his sleeve.
Trust her. Fuck you Eld. You don't know her like I do.
A tiny voice alerted him to his heightened emotional state. It was unsoldierly, and dangerous. The Captain had said so time and time again. Keep your emotions in check; keep a lid on it.
"Pfft." He spat, before taking a deep breath, raising his chin. He had to rise above it. She was safe, that was all that mattered now.
A few minutes later he joined Eld and Petra on the caved-in roof, where they collectively fished Gunther from the building. He was fine, but missing his jacket and half of his shirt, and his gear was bent out of shape on one side. Apparently with some quick thinking and only one hook, he'd managed to propel himself deliberately through the hole in the roof and out of the titans reach and sight. He looked remarkably unfazed by his ordeal as he sat on the dirty red tiles, checking over his scratches.
Petra pulled a rag and a tiny flask of rubbing alcohol from a small pouch on her harness, and knelt down to begin cleaning the couple of small cuts he'd sustained to his shirt-free side.
For a second, Oruo watched her focused topaz eyes and little hands as they gently dabbed at Gunther's injuries. Then, pouting, he looked off towards the sunset with a barely contained huff.
Eld crossed his arms over his chest, eyeballing Gunther's state of undress;
"I'm taking it your plan to 'seduce the titan' didn't work then." He ribbed, "I'll have to let Section Commander Hange know."
"Very funny." Gunther grumbled, then hissed as some rubbing alcohol came into contact with one of his cuts. Petra apologised softly.
"Good work." Oruo murmured.
The three other squad members flicked their attention to him.
"…are you talking to me?" Petra asked tentatively, eyes round and rag limp in her hand.
"Who else would I mean?" He bit back, "That was your first solo kill since joining this squad…wasn't it?"
From the corner of his eye he picked up on her small smile.
"Oh…yeah…I guess it was. And only my second solo dispatch ever…"
"Hey! Good on ya booster seat." Eld beamed with pride.
Gunther's eyes twinkled a little, "The Special Ops squad is bringing out the best in you. You know what they say - an oak tree only grows in a stiff wind."
Eld cocked his head, "That's right - diamonds only form under pressure."
"An ice sculpture can only be crafted by an ice-sculptor." Oruo blurted.
Eld quirked a brow, "What? That's not-"
"It's a real phrase look it up." Oruo barked.
Petra laughed and shook her head, "The wisdom of this squad never ceases to amaze me."
She brought the rag back to Gunther's arm and he cringed.
"Sorry. This one might need a couple of stitches." She said, turning to Eld, "The area looks clear. Maybe we should regroup and I can patch Gunther up properly at base."
Eld nodded, "Good idea. Oruo - fire the flare."
Levi swatted open the front of the strategy tent and stalked out into the night. The big moon hung in the sky like a half-lidded eye, glancing across the now quiet town.
One of the soldiers on watch clocked him and gestured, "If you're looking for your squad, head to the second street on the left."
He repressed a grumble. So they were pissing about in the town now? The buildings weren't structurally sound, all it took to recognise that was a single measly glance. However, having just had that thought, when he turned onto the second street he was surprised to see how well it looked considering it's abandonment. He instantly spotted the tranquil yellow glow from a house about halfway down.
As he approached the doorway, he spent a minute or so surveying the condition of the wood and bricks of the exterior, then expressionlessly clocked the two scouts sat on watch on the roof with steaming metal mugs. It looked well enough. He ducked inside.
Small groups of soldiers were laying about on mats and tarps, some on the moth-eaten armchairs, and some around the old fireplace that they'd managed to light. They were cheerier than usual, the expedition so far had been unusually successful, with no fatalities and few injured, and they'd actually managed to follow Erwin's strategy without a hitch. Perhaps that was why they'd decided to camp out in this rotten old building, as a kind of grim, dangerous celebration. It was beyond moronic of course, the mission wasn't over until they were back though the gates.
The ramshackle house was somewhat sinister; it contained a wealth of perfectly in-tact (though skin-crawlingly dusty) items of furniture and trinkets left behind by the poor bastards that had once lived there. It was humble, and filthy.
He hadn't realised quite how filthy until his eyes flicked left. Sitting with his long-ass back against the grimy wall was that scout; the one Levi could never remember the name of…no, the one he decided he wouldn't remember the name of (the guy had earned no such respect); so now Levi had taken to referring to him in his mind as 'that lanky asshole' or anything along those lines. The gangly bitch was laughing with some of his squad mates when he caught Levi's hard glare and immediately paled.
Levi was masterful at communicating his hatred for another person with a single look, and so he was certain that the tall freak could read his exact thoughts which were more or less: fuck you and the horse you rode in on.
What business did he have being so tall? He was untrustworthy. Who knew what he was thinking about all the way up there.
"Hey - Captain."
Eld was beckoning him over to where his squad were sat in a far corner on mats and tattered floorboards. With a final glower at the unnamed scout, Levi snorted and turned away, making his way over to his squad. They were sat leaning on the peeling walls, each with a can of cold beans and some half eaten rations bars.
"What, the tents aren't good enough for you anymore?" He growled at them; then, clocking Gunther's state of half-undress, "The hell happened here?"
"ShrhtMhpuknsm." Oruo tried to say through a mouthful of beans.
"If you missed that, I believe he said 'shirt malfunction.'" Eld said dryly.
"Nothing Captain." Gunther frowned at Oruo, "I made a slight miscalculation."
Levi simply stared at him, and after a second's pause, Gunther realised he needed to elaborate,
"I was working solo and got grabbed just after I took out its eyes - messed up the left side of my gear. Managed to escape by jetting through a hole in a roof."
"…"
"Gelgar and Moblit are searching through the reserves to see if there's any spare harnesses, gear or uniform in my size."
Eld smirked, "Anything else you need to get off your chest?"
Petra squeaked with amusement and Gunther sighed the sigh of a deeply tired man.
Levi glanced at Gunther's sewn up arm, then to Petra.
"You patch him up?"
She blinked, taken off guard, and rapidly swallowed a mouthful of ration bar, "Yes sir. Although it was nothing serious-"
"Good job."
His eyes lingered on her a moment, hoping he might catch anything; the faintest blush, a nervous breath…but he observed no such response from her. He glanced to the ground, squashing the slight burning in his chest.
"Whats the plan tomorrow sir?" Oruo asked, tapping his fork into his now empty can.
Levi replied flatly, "Take out the big ass jerks when they get in the way."
"Come on Captain, that's no way to talk about Mike's squad." Eld jested, but his smile faded as Levi stared at him expressionlessly. Oruo scoffed.
"Did you take a hit to your head Eld? You're more annoying than usual." Levi uttered wryly and Petra squeaked another giggle through her hand. Maybe they'd all taken a hit to the head. It seemed like the atmosphere in this run-down room was only slightly short of hysteria.
Levi was less than a split-second away from leaving, when Gelgar and Moblit bustled in from an adjoining room,
"Hey guys - look what we found!"
They held up a neglected guitar and dusty old lute.
A vein was pulsing in Gunther's temple, and he crossed his arms hotly, "You said you were looking for spare gear."
"Alright, alright - keep your shirt on." Gelgar remarked mindlessly to a small ripple of laughter through the room.
"I found you a top?" Moblit offered almost apologetically, handing Gunther a bundle of grey material that looked like it was definitely going to be too small.
Gunther looked less than thrilled, "Thanks…I guess."
Five minutes passed and Levi still hadn't left. Instead he was now sat on his cloak in the corner (no damn way was he sitting on the disgusting floorboards) next to Eld, Gunther and Oruo while Moblit and Petra tuned the creaky instruments, which took a lot longer than normal due to the rough state of them. The pair winced and laughed as they twanged the odd string, grimacing at one another as they slowly twisted the tuning pegs.
Levi remained silent, trying not to think about the way that tall, bastard scout had moved forward to take a seat as close to the musicians as possible, or the way his lecherous bug eyes were watching Petra. Getting angry about such things was a ridiculous waste of energy, especially when they were beyond the wall. Was he at the whim and fancy of his basest instincts? No. He wasn't a moron. Instead he patiently awaited the show.
The Scout's band had played at the local tavern only a handful of times following the Trost Winter Parade, and he was often too busy with administrative work to attend, especially now that he did his paperwork alone. If he could go however, he would, no matter how uncomfortable being in a filthy pub around wailing drunks made him. He'd never let an opportunity to hear Petra play slide by; few things had such a power to transport him so entirely away to somewhere better.
"What do you think?" Gelgar muttered to the pair of string players, "A traditional song first?"
Petra put her hand to her mouth in thought, "Hmm - it could be nice in this setting."
"Do you know 'Ode to Worry?'"
Moblit and Petra beamed and nodded at Gelgar, each plucking a string to set the key.
Gelgar took a swig from his flask, before clearing his throat and tapping his foot thrice, at which point the lute and guitar began to chime, perfectly in sync. Petra strummed shimmering chords, while Moblit plucked the sweet melody line across it on the lute.
The rooms attention was pooled on the three of them, feet tapping, as Gelgar began to sing;
"'Been chased by worry for all of my life,
She caught me, my worry, and now she's my wife.
Throughout all my toil, she refuses to leave me,
And just like the soil, she's always beneath me,
She sprouts her flowers of bother and fear,
In spite of the seasons they grow round the year."
Moblit and Petra added some gentle 'oohs' in the background in harmony, while Gelgar continued into a chorus;
"Oh worry, can't you see?
I just want to be free.
Oh worry, it's not fair,
Where I look you are there.
Oh worry, so unkind,
You are plaguing my mind,
Oh worry, can't you see?
I just want to be free."
"…tell you what - I could do with a hot cocoa." Oruo mumbled under his breath.
"That's not a bad shout." Eld said quietly, "Captain, Gunther? Klaus's squad have some water boiled, I could ask-"
"Are you making it?" Levi inquired lowly, his gaze unshifting from the musicians.
"Ye-"
"Then no."
Oruo smirked at the exchange.
The evening ebbed away in no time at all since the music began. For the duration, the room was undisturbed: a tiny slice of calm amid the terror of the expedition. All souls present were collectively reset, further bonded by the unusual experience and instilled with a confidence that whatever tomorrow brought, they would tackle as a unit. Levi mused on music's odd power to pull together even the least likely crowds, and bring about a calmness in the mind. It had always been the same, underground, above ground, within the walls, and now outside of them.
As she approached the squad at the end of their last-minute set, Petra burst into giggles at Gunther's tiny grey top, which barely reached his middle, and clung to the muscles of his arms like a second skin. At her childish reaction, Levi told him to ride back the following day with the wagons, because even though they'd managed to source him a spare harness and set of gear, Gunther's tiny new attire was clearly going to be too distracting for his dumbass squad.
Levi couldn't risk having one of them getting eaten because they were too busy trying to think of a damn joke at Gunther's expense.
Dawn wasn't far away and, feeling calmer and refreshed from the music, he left with the intent of returning to the tents, and perhaps take his horse an apple. He'd only taken a few steps up the old road before he heard an unfamiliar voice calling his name;
"Captain Levi sir?"
Mustering the will, he turned to see that gangly son of a bitch approach him. If he had one thing going for him, he supposed it was that the asshole was brave.
"I'm sorry to bother you Captain, but - I was wondering if I've done something to offend you sir."
Levi's gaze could have split stone. Offend him? The gall.
"…if that's the case I'd like to make it right sir."
"Tch."
Curses were caught in his throat. Thoughts he couldn't air because if he did, he would be giving external validation to feelings he wasn't allowed to have.
Yeah, he could tell this asshole to stay the hell away from Petra, he could invent some bullshit reason why this prick wasn't to take her out on 'dates' or whatever the fuck else he'd been doing with her - Levi found he couldn't follow that thought through any further for fear he would wordlessly break the man's jaw, and the medical cart would already have enough to deal with on the ride back.
The fact was, if he forbade such…activity, then he was no better than the self-absorbed swine of the Nobles or MP's, exercising every minute crumb of control over the people they had the responsibility to protect.
His feelings about this situation weren't important, they just were, and he had to live with them, no matter how he was tested on the subject.
The lanky freak's face was contorted in a blend of anticipation and fear.
"You look like you're struggling to shit." Levi bit out;
"Look around you. This crumbling wreckage of garbage used to be people's homes, their whole lives. Scouts are fighting and dying trying to take all this back for humanity, but you…" He raised his chin disdainfully, derision dripping from his tongue, "All you're concerned about is whether or not you've pissed me off. Shit. Well good for you that you have the time and inclination to worry about such petty personal failings."
The scout's face was marred with disbelief as Levi approached him, brusquely yanking the tall imbecile down by his shirt collar so they were nose to nose.
"Let me give you some advice, soldier;" He spat, "grow the hell up." Then threw the man off, who stumbled, clutching his neck and coughing.
Levi turned and walked away down the street.
"Not like that."
It had been just over a week since the return from the expedition, and Petra had stopped outside the common room door on overhearing a rather unusual conversation. A smile gradually lit up her face as she set eyes on the strange picture.
"Do you want it to be lumpy? Stir in a splash of hot water first to make a paste. Then pour in the rest of it."
She pressed her lips together an attempt to contain herself, her dam of exhaustion following the day's drills and band practice could not hold back the wave of joy which was washing over her. She'd been planning on heading straight to bed, but now she wished she could stand in the doorway forever, just watching them.
The Captain was teaching Oruo how to make the perfect cocoa in the kitchenette, and Gunther and Eld were playing draughts at the table.
"Hot water? Haven't we got any milk left?" She beamed on her way in.
"Petra?" Oruo was exuding a bright excitement that was quite uncharacteristic, "Try my cocoa, it's delicious - even if I do say so myself."
He held the mug out towards her with a comical over-enthusiasm, and she cautiously accepted it, raising an eyebrow as she cradled it between her palms,
"Your cocoa? It's just that - I've been watching from the door for a few minutes and it seems to me like the Captain taught you how to make it."
She sipped the hot drink and smiled. Not too sweet, but still rich and comforting. No way was this made with just hot water. If the Captain could make cocoa this good without milk, then he must be dabbling in dark magic.
Oruo's smugness overrode her thoughts, his lilting tone replete with its usual conceit,
"Oh, you've been watching me have you?"
Petra wanted to slap her hand to her forehead.
He continued, "There I always thought you were too sweet to be a pervert; I should've known appearances aren't everything, not after your post-graduation shenanigans."
"Shenanigans…?" Of course Eld was interested in that word.
She glanced at the pair at the table, frowning, and mindlessly returned Oruo's cocoa to him,
"Honestly, I have no idea what he's talking about."
"Really Petra? You don't remember pissing yourself and bawling after your first ever trip beyond the wall?" Oruo puffed his chest out, like the self-satisfied prick he was.
Oh fuck.
She felt any positive feeling drain from her, along with any blood in her face.
"WHAT!" Eld had stood up from his chair, delight plastered across his features, "Petra you didn't."
"No way." Gunther was staring at her with wide eyes.
"Oruo!" Her hands balled to fists at her sides, "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
This was utterly mortifying. Perhaps she should just quit the scouts and work scrubbing laundry. It would take a lifetime to wash away that stain. She'd spent nearly six months building up some kind of friendship and respect with these guys, only for Oruo to rip it all away with a single sentence. Not to mention that she was suddenly horrifically hyper aware of the Captain's presence in the kitchenette, leaning against the counter, arms crossed. Oh god. She would never be able to look him in the eyes ever again…she already struggled to.
Oruo's blustering voice continued, "Maybe next time you're requesting rations you should request yourself some diapers."
Goddamn it, he really didn't know when to shut his jerk mouth.
"Alright." She stared straight at him, flames of rage licking around her, "I wasn't going to say anything, but since you've pushed me…" She turned back to the room, "I wasn't the only one to cry and wet themselves on that mission," Then to Oruo again with hotly renewed focus, "isn't that right?"
He slowly deflated, his face ashen, "N-no I-"
Did he really think she wouldn't tell? He was such a moron. If she was going down, he was absolutely coming with her.
"Hot damn - this is brilliant!" Eld might as well have been slapping his thigh, "Five stars - you should charge a fee for tickets."
Gunther remained silent, but he looked like a man changed for the worse.
"P-Petra that's not true!" Oruo stammered.
"Oh! So you're calling me a liar now?"
"I-" He looked extraordinarily distressed, "No."
"Good! And the next time you piss yourself, don't come crying to me!"
A low chuckle sounded through the room; it stopped almost as soon as it sounded, but it was enough for them to realise it was coming from the Captain.
Did he just…?
Petra and Oruo were stock still, staring at him, alarmed.
He stared back, his eyebrows were slightly relaxed he looked almost amused. He picked up his cup of cocoa with his fingertips, "Don't stop on my account."
"You two, grab us some cocoa and sit the hell down, we're hearing this goddamn story right now." Eld demanded.
"Yeah, I'm gonna need an explanation." Gunther added quietly.
The pair of them shuffled their feet, shooting furious glances at one another as they made their way to sit down. The Captain followed, taking his regular seat at the head of the table much to Petra's chagrin.
Seriously? Now he wants to spend quality time with the squad? To hear this embarrassing as all hell story? Good lord.
"…so?" Eld motioned with his hand.
Petra looked to Oruo, who scowled and glanced away indignantly, chin up and arms crossed.
She sighed,
"…we were positioned with the other new recruits running the spare horses-"
"Obviously." Oruo interrupted.
"Do you wanna tell it?" She retorted, glowering, to no response.
By the walls he was such a child.
She took a deep breath, "To be honest there isn't a whole lot to tell, not from my point of view anyway. We both ran some spare horses out to enemy detection on the right flank, where they'd taken a hit, but no-one realised that the titan…it wasn't properly…out…it just looked like it was, but the cut must not have been deep enough…"
She cleared her throat and tried to focus on stopping the blood that was predictably rushing to her cheeks. Nothing cut quite like the Captain's gaze, and she could feel it penetrating to her very bones from her peripheral vision, not to mention Eld and Gunther were hanging on her every word. No-one had even taken a single sip of cocoa since she started talking.
She eyed Eld and Gunther, "If only you two were this attentive in the field - right sir?"
She laughed nervously and then glanced to the Captain, whose brows twitched up, and a subtle glint of humour glanced across the grey of his irises. For him, that was basically a wide smile, and she took some joy in it; she was still reeling slightly from having heard him laugh for the first time.
Besides, it was good to get a small dig in at the others before she was forced to humiliate herself so entirely in front of him.
She cleared her throat again, "So, there we were, approaching these three soldiers whose horses had run off, when there was the most horrific shriek-"
"An ungodly scream-" Oruo added.
"Right - and the titan dragged itself up from the ground, clawing mud-"
"It flung the mud at us - if you can believe it Captain-"
"Well, I wouldn't say that that was deliberate-"
"Oh I would. It was most definitely a calculated attack. The bastard must've known we were green - smelt our fear."
"Honestly Oruo, it was just standing up from the ground, the mud thing was just a-"
"Guys." Eld interjected, "Get to the good bit."
Petra and Oruo looked at one another, shamefaced, then dropped their eyes to the table.
"Well, then we…" Oruo's hand was rubbing his neck, "…then we retreated, as any good soldier would have in such a situation."
Gunther's frown was pronounced, "You left those scouts on the right flank alone without horses?"
"What?" Petra was stunned, "No - no - of course not! They mounted the spares and retreated with us! We might have done a lot of…unfortunate things on that trip," She swallowed, "but abandoning our comrades was not one of them!"
"Right!" Oruo affirmed, pounding a fist on the table in agreement, as though somehow the intensity of the sentiment might make the rest of the squad forget why the story was being told in the first place.
"So you retreated…" Eld encouraged.
"The titan roared and chased us until we managed to rejoin the formation and outrun it." Petra's head fell into her hands. "It all happened so fast."
"If you'd only heard the noise that monster made!" Oruo cried melodramatically, "The goddess Sina herself would have quaked in her boots!"
"It was…bad." Petra muttered.
"Fuck." Oruo bewailed.
"I'm not proud of it." She shook her head.
"…you already know what happened next…or…during." Oruo said shamefully.
"Our poor horses." Petra mumbled.
A beat passed before Eld practically exploded with laughter, Gunther guffawed and even the edge of the Captain's mouth was ever so slightly upturned.
"Holy shit - you pissed onto your horses? No fucking way." Eld was pushing his fingertips into his temples to try and calm down a little. "That is too good."
Gunther chuckled, "A new low."
Oruo growled, "You have no right to laugh like that - you weren't there! We thought the bastard was dead!"
"I didn't need to be there." Eld rebutted, "I've never once pissed myself on an expedition - or off an expedition for that matter."
"Me neither." Gunther crossed his arms, a hint of judgement in his voice, "Sounds like the whole regiment could smell your fear after that." He shared a look with Eld, who fist bumped him.
"Yeah well." Petra was chewing her lip and kept her eyes focused wholly on the table, "They made us ride in the carts on the way back."
"You still got your regulation yellows?" Eld quirked a brow.
Petra looked confused, "Huh?"
"You know - your soiled trousers? Surely you kept them as a memento?"
"Tch." The Captain scowled. Clearly the idea of keeping the pissy trousers was a step too far for him.
"If by 'kept' you mean 'burned to ash', then yeah I kept them." Petra said wryly.
"And the crying?"
The squad were always a little taken aback when the Captain actively contributed to their silly conversations.
Petra caught his eye and felt her heart stop momentarily.
God, how had she ended up in this position? Telling the most attractive and admirable, yet most filth-phobic person she'd ever met about how she'd pissed herself and bawled her eyes out doing the very job she now did for him…if it weren't that he seemed (for some completely unknown reason) to be enjoying the conversation, she would have assumed her's and Oruo's days on his elite squad were over.
She gulped, "The crying was…pretty much constant…sir."
He looked to Oruo, "Is that right?"
"Not at all Captain. My eyes were dry for the ordeal, though I'll admit that at one point a leaf blew into one of them and caused it to water somewhat, which is why Petra might tell you that-"
"Bullshit! You cried more than me."
"Fuck off did I-"
"Look guys," Eld began, "You both cried and pissed yourselves, no point arguing which of two piles of horse shit stinks more - they're both still piles of shit."
The Captain chuckled quietly again at that, and Eld looked pleased with himself.
Gunther sipped his cocoa, eyebrows raised, "I can't wait to tell James."
"Oh - no." Petra stood up, hands on her hips, "There'll be no telling people about this. This stays in this room."
"That's right." Oruo affirmed, also standing and pointing a finger firmly down into the table to emphasise his point, "I invoke the Special Op's pact of secrecy - keep your damn traps shut! Do you want the whole regiment laughing at us again? We're the most elite squad, we need the respect of the troops!"
"They'll be laughing at you, not us." Gunther said flatly.
Petra began to panic.
"Staring contest!" She blurted, "If we win, you have to promise you won't say anything to anyone else."
Oruo nodded, "Yeah - and no more taking the piss out of us."
"I mean, you did that yourselves." Eld derided and Gunther spluttered a mouthful of cocoa.
"Staring contest, huh?" The Captain's low voice rumbled, "And how, may I ask, will the two of you stare at three separate men at once?"
The blood rushed to Petra's cheeks again, "Uh…I don't…"
Oruo's brow was twitching as his mind sped through any alternatives.
The Captain looked deadly serious as ever, but once again spoke as though he were smiling,
"A shame. There I thought you had a special party trick to show us."
"Actually Petra can do a pretty good impressi-arglg-" Oruo narrowly avoided biting his tongue again as Petra kicked him hard in the leg.
"How about a pop quiz?" Gunther offered, "Captain, why don't you ask us some questions, and whoever gets the most answers correct wins?"
Petra protested, "But then the Captain still doesn't get to play-"
"Fine."
As the Captain answered, he looked even more youthful than usual, his expression quite unburdened, the shadows under his eyes paler.
Eld smiled, "To be clear, if Gunther and I win, we'll tell everyone we know about piss-gate. Maybe I'll ask Moblit to write a song-"
"And if we win," Oruo scoffed, "No-one ever mentions this ever again, that includes joking about it."
Eld stood and held out his hand to Oruo, "Good luck."
"You'll need it." Oruo replied, taking Eld's hand firmly.
"Three questions." The Captain stated, and Gunther bustled off to fetch some paper, pens and an ink pot.
—
Levi looked on, wryly amused as Eld, Oruo and Petra sat back down and proceeded to stare at each other in silence, their arms folded and their eyes narrowed. The quiet was only broken by Gunther shuffling back into the room, clearing his throat as he placed the paraphernalia onto the table top. Each member slowly pulled a sheet and pen over to themselves.
Fingers clasping the edges of the cup, Levi took a long slow sip from his cocoa, all too aware of the team members' expectant gaze, pens dipped and poised. He spotted Oruo's dripping splotches of ink all over his previously blank sheet of parchment, and wondered if it was too soon to knock two points off their team for the mess. Then he noticed the pure, dazzling spirit in Petra's amber eyes, and granted them two additional points…it evened out. He languidly placed the cup back onto the table with an exhale.
"Alright. Question one. How many copies of 'A Touch of Frances Fancy' does Erwin own? I'll give you a hint, it's more than three."
Petra giggled sweetly, earning their team a bonus point.
Eld looked incredulous, "What the hell is 'A Touch of Frances Fancy?'"
"A cheesy romance novella by S. Seidel." Gunther had already written his answer and barely looked up, "It was a best-seller about twenty years ago, still does quite well I think."
"You done?" Levi uttered sounding as bored as ever, "Let's see."
The four held up their pages, revealing their answers to the group.
"Zero Oruo?" Petra said, flabbergasted, "He said it was more than three!"
"I thought it was a trick question." Oruo grumbled, "Why would he help us?"
"The answer is eight."
"Eight!" Came the stupefied chorus.
Levi wished Erwin could've seen their response, maybe that would convince him to burn some of his garbage collection. He crossed his arms, speaking flatly;
"He says half of them belonged to his father. But even if that's true, that still leaves four copies he somehow acquired himself."
The squad were babbling and chortling,
"Hey, each to their own eh?" Eld smiled and elbowed Gunther, "A point to us I believe."
Levi nodded. Eld's answer was the closest at six, Gunther and Petra had both written four. Oruo grumbled something unintelligible.
"Question two."
The table fell again into silent anticipation. Levi mused that Petra had been right, it seemed to be the most attentive he'd ever seen the squad. He held in a tired sigh.
"If I add six to eleven, why do I get five?"
It was a question once posed to him at an underground bar, which he correctly answered, winning Furlan a new leather coin purse. The squad's eyes flicked back to their papers as they scrawled answers. Moments later they revealed their workings.
Oruo had written, 'Because you didn't go to school' and promptly received a month's toilet duty.
Eld's page said, 'You don't, you get seventeen', and Gunther had put, 'Seventeen…', and was shaking his head as he held up his sheet.
Levi's eyes sparked as he scanned Petra's page which read: 'Time. 5PM.'
He found it excruciatingly difficult not to smile then as she did, a knowing glimmer of her correctness in her eyes. He forced himself to look away.
Eld and Gunther groaned when they realised she was right, and Oruo slapped Petra's back;
"Heh - I knew I could count on you Petra, you always were the most reliable of us besides myself. And that of course means a point for us - so we're tied. This reminds me of a time-"
"Question three." Levi interrupted. The squad could thank him later for saving them from whatever shitty anecdote that was about to be.
Once again the room was hushed and concentrated on him.
"When is my birthday?"
You could've heard a pin drop.
He wanted to smirk at the speed at which the colour drained from everyone's faces. For a moment, no-one wrote anything and looked at one another in a kind of anxious dismay. This was almost as good as making the new recruits shit themselves in fear, if not better. Slowly, unconfidently, they each put pen to paper and scribbled something down.
"Go on." He grumbled, instructing them to reveal their answers.
Petra's expression was optimistic, and her page read, 'May 28th' and she'd drawn a little smiling face beside it, which vexed him.
Gunther had written, 'October 15th'. Wrong. Though close to Erwin's.
Eld's page said, 'Today?…Happy Birthday?' Tch.
Oruo, shockingly, had the nearest answer which was, 'December 21st.'
Levi exhaled. Then he picked up his cocoa, draining it.
"…sir?" Gunther asked tentatively, "Uh…what's the answer?"
The cup clacked as he put it down.
"December 25th." He muttered and Oruo stood from his chair and slammed his hands down on the table.
"Hah!" He shouted, to further grumbles from Eld and Gunther, "You know what that means - keep your blabbering imbecile mouths shut! No spreading the story around, and no mentioning it."
"You got lucky." Eld said, eyebrow quirked and a slight sourness to his features. Evidently he wasn't used to losing.
Levi was close to chastising the group of them when he caught Petra's relieved expression, and stopped himself.
"Thank the walls for that." She muttered softly, tucking her hair behind her ear. He felt his heart speed up a little, and stood abruptly. With a cursory nod, he took himself from the room.
As he walked away down the corridor, he could hear the squad continue to laugh and joke in joyous rapture;
"That so Oruo?" Eld quipped. "I know you only said December 21st because it's the shortest day of the year."
"Don't be mad because you didn't think of it." He heard Oruo reply.
Levi snorted. It seemed that Oruo had six additional months of toilet duty to look forward to.
phew what a hefty chapter
i vaguely remember seeing something about the 21st being the shortest day of the year, and it being close to levi's birthday somewhere online and i just couldnt resist
sadly again i think im going to have to delay the next chapters for a few weeks as I've been inundated with things to do and unable to keep to this schedule atm especially in terms of editing.
thought id put here the ref songs for the scout band here too in case u wanna check it out- but equally music is v personal and ideally ppl can sub in stuff that's to their personal tastes to the scout band- basically: ignore this if u already had songs in mind!
at the trost parade (GW chapter 25) the general vibe i was going for was Beirut's album 'the rip tide' - the song gelgar sings there is homaging 'East Harlem'
when petra sings in general the vibe i'm following is Phoebe Bridgers - the song she sings in that same chapter is loosely based on 'Savior Complex' right down to the celeste haha
and this chapter's song is based off of 'Trouble' by Cat Stevens!
These songs were v much springboards for me in terms of what i was 'hearing' and to write lyrics (lol that pale in comparison to any of the originals) but that were kind of tailored more to the situation the characters were in...there we go in case anyone was interested in the vibe i pictured :3