The market linens dance with the breeze that eases the sun's unrelenting heat. Many civilians are bargaining and laughing the day away, reflecting how the coming days have been. Approximately a hundred years of peace in these walls allow most people to rest at ease… at least many of the Wall Rose civilians.
It is the last day of peace, unknowingly the next day Wall Maria would fall. Within twenty four hours, this same market would be packed shoulder to shoulder with Wall Maria refugees.
A young woman guides herself to her last objective on her grocery list- produce. With the money given by one of her caretaker's, Phoebe, she's able to pick up fresh supplies every few days. A familiar face arises, a woman with prominent eyebrows and hair as dark as night brushing her apron after restocking her wooden stand with the fresh lettuce from her family's farm.
"Irene dear, it's nice to see you!" The dark woman looks up and smiles, already picking out the short woman's usual order.
"You too Rae," Irene returns with a soft smile of her own, reaching to her cloth back to grab some coins. The young maiden exchanges small talk with the farmer's wife, the same old conversations on repeat. They trade and the fair woman makes her way off, Rae staring at the light braid flowing all the way to her lumbar region, stuffing the multiple produce in her bag.
Soon the smell of stew is filling a small but cozy home that resided in Wall Rose. Potato skins are thrown out to the few pigs fenced behind the small property along with other extra scraps. Rinsing and trying her hands on her white apron, she quickly skims the top of the stew and tastes it. Irene scoops the steaming stew into a wooden bowl, adding a few sprigs of the herbs she was growing outside. She makes her way around the house to the room where one of the people most dear to her resided.
A short knock on the oak door later even though she knows he won't answer, she steps in to stare at the man in the bed. Alger Whittika, the broad man with salt and pepper hair, stares off outside the window on the side opposite to the door. His dark green eyes don't leave the window as the woman steps into the room. Irene furrows her brows and sighs lightly, setting the stew on the bedside table.
Years as a scout captain has worn the man more than age. Scars etched into his skin with the most prominent extending from the bottom of his left eye to slightly under his jaw bone. Irene gazed at his leg, one missing from the knee down from his last and final scouting mission. But, it wasn't the only thing missing. Suffering from bad head trauma and PTSD has rendered him almost mute. They haven't been able to get him to talk in sentences since he was found bleeding out. It was a miracle he was found, and everyone knew.
Due to his extensive history in the military, they help support their family with some of his medical expenses. The rest fall onto her mother, who runs a clinic close to the inner walls of Wall Rose, up close to Wall Sina where people can afford her medicine and medical services. They were more well off early on, but over the past 6 months they downgraded to a small house along the river closer to Wall Maria. While she works, Irene takes care of the house and Alger.
With what free time she has, Irene educates herself with Phoebe's books on medicine. She often finds herself reading at night, interested in the effects of different substances on the human body, with a cup of coffee in her hand.
Irene smiles softly, planning to get some time in tonight. The stew has cooled a bit, allowing her to get his attention with a soft pat to his bulky shoulder. It's a process, having to guide him to the bowl and make sure he eats. An extra cloth resides over him to allow any spills to land on it. She has to feed him on his worst days, but wants him to be as independent as possible.
Once finished, Irene cleans the mess and stands to take it out. She walks out until everything becomes slower and darker. Color flushes out from the world around her, leaving her in gray. Turning back, she sees his mouth open and speak. Inaudible words flow as the pressure of the world crushes her, the words creating a void around her. She's unable to move but he continues.
Everything becomes unsteady and with a tear rolling down his face…
... her world collapses.
"Irene?"
A fellow cadet taps her shoulder. The bowl of stew she made turns into the common soup every soldier has for dinner here at the cadet corps with the blink of her eye. Irene tenses, looking up from the meal to give the younger girl a short nod. As everyone floods out of the cafeteria for some shut eye, the cadet lingering for a few seconds with a worried expression then turning, leaving the blonde soldier. Irene finishes her soup swiftly and walks to the women's dormitories with her eyes low once more and mind adrift.
The words that brought her from being a future doctor to a cadet rings in her head. From the man that found her and brought her in 4 years ago. The one who shortly gave away after his last dying words to her. The words that have sent her on a path she never thought she would take. The one who retaught her everything she knows with Phoebe, the woman with humanity's most gentle soul. To teach someone basic knowledge of everything in this world after them waking up with no memories except her name was another job.
Nights of studying common knowledge to the early hours of the morning, to stranger no less, had made Irene allow them to become her family despite the confusion and distrust she felt everyday for years. With the mystery behind her… situation, she forces herself to shut everything around her and focus on the task at hand. Furrowing her brows, she leans forward with more to her step, ready for the next day.
Breakfast for her was the same as always, sitting alone in the corner with a piece of bread and a cup of coffee. She woke up late, tossing and turning the night prior. Stretching to the sky, she stands and grabs what's left to the trash.
"I heard the new Commander of the Scouts is coming here today!"
Irene tenses, giving a side glance as she walks past a few female cadets discussing amongst themselves.
"Do you know why?"
"Nope, maybe for the head instructor."
The blonde leaves, thinking about Keith Shadis. She overheard overtime he was the last commander of the Scouts but retired the position to someone else. Noting to herself to keep an eye out, Irene walks out to the training fields with a yawn. Never going to let myself catch up huh… She lightly chuckles to herself with soft eyes, staring into the grasslands.
Soon enough, she found herself in front of one of her roommates, sparing with part of the 103rd cadet corps soldiers. The roommate, whose name escapes her, launches herself, coming in with a right hook.
One thing she learned starting as a soldier was how natural it felt. Fighting came easily as if it was a second muscle. Not even actively thinking about it, she is able analyze the opponent and counter swiftly in the blink of an eye.
Position of her fists and feet... Where to hit...How to dodge...Predict what they will do in a moment's notice…How to survive...
...How to kill.
It was information she knew she wasn't just born with, and others quickly picked up on this, earning herself more attention in her first few days than pleased, especially instructor Shadis. Not wanting to bring attention to herself, she swallows it down and forces herself to be an adequate fighter, allowing others hits to reach and slower movement. Deep down, she felt it. A feeling that comes from the clenching of her fist, wanting to rise even when handicapping herself. An unknown feeling in a void that scares her.
Forcing it down, she allows the weak right hook to hit. The long haired brunette had decent strength but lacked positioning. With a more solid form, she could definitely knock someone. Irene steps back, readying her fists to give a mediocre counter. Her roommate gazes to the side, eyes widening to the people walking up the fields.
"Commander Erwin and... Humanity's strongest."
Irene processes her words, following her stare. With her instructor Keith Shadis was two people. The tall one holds himself high with every step he takes, blonde hair perfectly in place and a knowing glint in his soft blue eyes. The man oozed control and intelligence.
Her eyes bounced to the other, instantly wishing she didn't. Sharp silver eyes cut right into her, making her physically shift herself back. Long black wisps dance with the wind, sometimes covering the intense stare of the man. His honed face was stuck in a bored expression, the lethal gleam in eyes saying something else. She shivers, feeling the aura of danger coming from him all the way from the dirt path they walked on. She clenches her teeth, feeling the fire under her skin different this time, unlike any other time…
...screaming at her to run.
His dark eyes shift to the blonde man, who started speaking to him, releasing her from his grasps. Irene remembers her roommate, who noticed the acute gaze directed at her, and turns towards the brunette.
"Humanity's strongest?..."
The brunette fixes her high ponytail, and proudly states, "Captain Levi Ackermann, the strongest of the Survey Corps and said to be the strongest soldier of humanity, hence the name."
The blonde woman gives a curt nod, positioning herself in a defensive stance, giving a quick "ready" before they resume. She glances back, once again in Levi's grasps once again. The men were coming through the gate leading to the main training yard, the trained eyes still piercing into hers. She freezes, not noticing the same right hook almost reaching her. Like a trained reflex, she dodges in an instant, shifting herself to the left, just enough where she can still feel the air from the force whip her bangs with wide eyes. Fuck.
Irene releases the breath she has been holding, and blocks the left hook coming at her in the same movement. They both pause, knowing she shouldn't have been able to dodge a hit that close.
The brunette frowns without bringing it up and shifts into a defensive pose, "My turn."
Irene simply nods and comes at her, fixated on not acting out of the blue again. The blonde catches a quick glimpse of the Commander whisper to Levi. The dark haired scout presses his lips together and makes his way to the closest group of soldiers. She quickly picks up that he was ordered to scrimmage with the cadets.
The blonde darts her eyes back to Levi as she trains, who threw a bulky man twice his size a couple meters away like a little sack of potatoes and made a couple vomit from a single hit. His speed and strength was unlike anything she's seen. Every punch and kick from him was perfectly precise and lethal. Her mind was scrambled, attempting to keep up with her current fight all while trying to examine his fighting style when and if she faces him.
Within a few minutes, Irene could feel him behind her, not even needing to acknowledge her roommate stopping and shitting bricks where she stood. Or the one of the cadets loudly announcing that the "shorties" are going to fight, earning himself multiple hushes as some cadets close stopped to watch. She turns hesitantly, Levi standing just a meter away with his refined face tilted down expressionless. Gray eyes size her up in an instant, slightly raising an eyebrow expectantly.
"Are you here to-"
"Let's get this over with." The deep voice resonated in her, making her twitch. She quickly resumes a defensive pose on instinct, leaning back from the man who narrows his eyes.
"Well?" The skilled scout grits his teeth impatiently.
Irene takes a shallow breath, attempting to rid herself of the hesitation. She launches, raising her arm for a left hook with a sufficient position. In an instance before she could process with her muddled mind, he simply side steps and counters with a low fist of his one.
The cadet's momentum doesn't help as his solid fist makes contact with her stomach, her mouth opening with an inaudible scream from the extreme pain flaring. Irene feels him push further to launch her, causing her to tumble like a ragdoll into the grass. A small dirt cloud doesn't help her coughing fit, unable to catch a breath combined with her stomach throbbing.
Everyone turns, expecting him to leave onto the next like the other cadets. Irene, with winced eyes, gazes up at the man still standing there, staring down at her like she was the very dirt that covered her. Levi's head slightly tilts to the side as he takes a step forward with those haunting narrow eyes. She's frozen by his words.
"Again."
Fuck.
Irene hesitantly jumps up, grimacing a bit from the motion. Swiping her bangs from the sweat that stuck to her forehead, she rushes from her spot. He stands still as she goes in with a right hook. The blonde stops part way to twist her body, swinging her left leg for a solid roundhouse. But with the speed, Levi saw it a million miles away. He grabs a hold of her foot before she could make contact, using the momentum against her once again, and punches her square in the jaw.
The woman is launched back again. She hears other cadets completely stopping to watch him in the midst of her hazy mind.
"Damn she's getting fucked more than any cadet here.."
"Did she do something?"
"Maybe pissed in his breakfast, I don't know.."
Before a second thought, her body launches itself back into a roll to avoid a brutal low kick from the scout. With wide eyes, she lands upright. Irene could've sworn his eyes glinted with an emotion before becoming pissed.
"Tch get serious cadet," He growls before going offensive.
"I-I am…" The fighter huffs.
She scrambles onto her feet and pauses. Levi comes with a hit slower than the others. One she believed any decent fighter could avoid. Whether on purpose or not, the blonde furrowed her brows, knowing she can't pull any more shit today.
The cadet could feel her pulse in her ears and she flinched, reluctantly prepared for another punch to the face by humanity's strongest. The contact causes her vision to go dark temporarily, feeling her body twist to her right.
Her body begs her to just lay and don't open her eyes. There's a part of her furious at this whole fight, somewhat at Levi but more for herself for not trying. Her limbs shake with rage as she grits her teeth, about to force herself up with whatever power she can use at the moment. Amber eyes open, her cheek dragging against the dirt to glare with a newfound rage at the man above her, making even humanity's strongest hesitate.
"You fu-"
"Don't let anyone find out, I...still don't know myself… I ask myself if I made the wrong decision… But I take one look at you and see the daughter I cou-couldn't have… I'm sorry I couldn't be of much help… I...I wanted to do it for you…"
Irene's body stops instantly and relaxes into the dirt at Alger's words in her head, closing her eyes and letting herself go. She could still feel Levi's presence hesitate, waiting for some sort of counter. But it never comes.
Silently, the raven haired man looks to his commander, who watched with his crossed arms and a calculating stare. Levi takes one last expressionless stare at the blonde woman as a few cadets surrounded her on the floor. Levi steps forward, facing the silent training group who were both in awe and in fear at the sheer force of the one man army.
With eyes once again devoid of emotion, he mutters loud enough for all to hear on the still fields, "Who was the one who called me short?"
One trip to the infirmary and a few cool packs later, Irene steps in the cafeteria adorned with bruises. A few acquainted cadets leaving the premises whistle and point out the injuries, everyone knowing she especially got roughed up. As they swarm out in their little cliques, she's once again alone in the cafeteria. Not like she had many people she talked to.
Most cadets were younger teens coming into adulthood where she was already in her early twenties. The few she associated with in small talk were her roommates in the same room and some older cadets like herself who were on the basis of nonsense small talk. No one was close enough to wait or come any closer than a few short conversations. Just how she wants to keep it.
The blonde grabs a tray and gives an apologetic smile to the cafeteria staff who thought they were done for the night, wrapping up and saving any leftovers they could fit in ice boxes. The cadet is late due to the line leading out to the door of their little clinic, all because of one… particular man testing cadets on the field.
More like brutalized.
She smirks silently, feeling an ache come from her sore cheeks. The swelling was not as bad as she thought it would be, pressing the cool clothed bag further into her face with one hand and a tray in another. The vegetable soup sloshed as she made her way to her spot alone.
The commander of the scouts and humanity's strongest were nowhere to be found. Probably eating a fancier meal with the higher ups… The blonde takes a spoonful of soup, internally grimacing.
She wished she had the collection of herbs that were in clays pots at her home to be able to spruce things up. She stocked up on searches in the fields of Wall Rose, while gaining another few through gifts from Phoebe and her visits to the inner wall. Soon enough, she had about seven different herbs growing behind but out of reach from the pigs.
"I wonder if she's killed one yet… Alger and I were suppose to-"
Irene stops, forgetting it's been two years since she's been a cadet. Not at home when life was easier and didn't feel the pressure of Alger's words over her head.
She often finds herself losing track of time and place, stuck in her head that played what memories she had up to four years ago. Her eyes lower, a defeated look etched on her face. How many times she wished to go back to the quaint home.
A feeling of nostalgia runs over her, an unknown feeling like deja vu. The cadet's head feels hazy once again, causing her to drop her spoon in the empty soup bowl and grasp her head.
After a few minutes with deep breaths, she looks up to realize the sun is fully set. Most of the torches outside have been put out. The only ones lit were the few placed in the cafeteria and the guards that held them outside. Irene, fully prepared to stay late, grabs a small container with a wax candle.
After lighting it with one of many matches in the tin that she carried in her pocket, Irene got up and walked to the wall where food was served. A few young men who worked for extra money grabbed her bowl with a nod. With a quick thanks, she heads out into the dark with only her makeshift lamp.
The hallways were empty, as the cafeteria was its own building with roughly fifteen cadet training rooms attached to the long hallway that split into two in the middle. Past the hallway led you outside to the separated dorms.
A pin drop could be heard across the hall, mostly due to the fear instructor Shadis installed in anyone that dared to stay later than curfew. He was a man of much respect, ripping on those that showed up late to training.
A few run-ins weren't enough to make her go. Interestingly enough, he didn't scream when he saw her in the beginning. He sat beside her and more so interrogated her. After a few questions left unanswered or vague answers were given, he left her to her tea with a stink eye and a quip of not being late in the morning.
The last time was about a month and a half ago, when he sat beside her with his own tea. Irene remembered that haunted face on his, one she sees at times on hers when she wakes up and looks in the mirror. Plagued by something from the past. In her case, something unknown.
He commented on her potential, since she was set to hold the tenth place in the highest ranked cadets of her squad. Although, he has once or twice commented on her being the "true" number one, earning a small empty laugh from the little blonde.
He insinuated she was probably joining the military police, as most of the top cadets wanted. To his surprise, she shook her head and looked him straight in the eye. Amber eyes that glowed like torches around the two, sharpening as she answered-
"I'm joining the scouts."
Man, today was a day filled with flashbacks for her. At least with all the… excitement today, she could rest easily. Ready for another boring day tomorrow, she yawns and stretches her hands up. She groans as her bones pop and feels her fatigued muscles stretch.
If she haven't always been antsy of the dark, the dark figure creeping behind her silently would go unnoticed. An ill shiver runs down her spine, the hairs rising in alarm as she turns, feeling the rushed sound of air as a cloaked hand reaches to grab her from the depths of the darkness.
Irene dodges swiftly, dropping the candle onto the ground in front of her. They take a few steps forward, the candle light that spread a little on the wooden floor illuminating a figure with a black cloak. A brown boot snuffs the light with urgency and rushes at her again.
In the dark, she watches the silhouette raise their fist. With wide eyes, she dodges quickly and dashes back. Without any hesitation, they bolt forward and kick with a force that lands her on her bottom. The focused hit nor the punch helped with the pain she has already endured today.
Using the momentum to roll herself back up onto her knees, she swiftly leans to the right as a hand passes her face. She could feel the sheer amount of force. Despite not able to land the hit, they instead grab her shoulder and ram their knee into it due to the height.
The pain slowly goes to the background as her adrenaline levels rise. As hard as she can, the woman presses into the flesh under their wrist on her shoulder and twists. A low hiss comes from the figure as they ease up, allowing her to jump up and land a solid roundhouse kick to their other side.
Irene used her foot, much like Levi kindly demonstrated earlier, and drove them further, launching them into the wall. Whipping herself back, she started sprinting down the hallway. Got to warn the others -
Not even five seconds later and still far from the end of the hall, her jacket is grabbed roughly in the back. In one risky motion, she stretches her arms back, allowing the jacket to slip off into the hand of the figure. With a grunt, she twists her body and socks the dark silhouette in the head. In the second they step back, she throws the jacket they let go into the direction of their face and gives a low kick to their shin.
Knowing she doesn't have a big window open for failure, she sprints lowly but heads down the hall to the left instead of the straight away. Seeing one of the doors to the cadet classrooms cracked, she slips in silently and shuts it. With a quick overview of the room, the small cabinet in the back with other large bookshelves was her best option.
Swiftly moving around desks and chairs, she scrambles with hopes that there is enough room for her tiny body in the cabinet. As if the gods have blessed her, she was able to slip her tiny 4' 10" body in. Closing it silently, she's left in what seems to be an even darker area. At least the halls had a little moonlight that streamed in through the cloudy night.
After holding her breath for a few seconds, she releases with a shaky huff. Attempting to slow her breaths despite her body begging for more, she paused. Who is after her? What do they want from her? Where did they come from?
Irene furrowed her brows, trying to think. They were exceptionally well, with both speed and strength. They seemed to focus on ending with quick but meaningful movements, not allowing any waste to occur. If they missed they'll just change the direction into something different and unexpected. Their mind was as sharp and quick as their body. She knew without even getting a glimpse at their face that it's a person to be revered indeed, to be feared.
Her body shook, knowing she probably couldn't beat them. She was only able to escape with maybe a fifteen second head start, which isn't enough to make it to the end of the main hall in order to get help… Not like anyone could probably help. Her amber eyes widen. Maybe that Captain Levi could-
Before her thoughts finish, the counter door opens in a flash and her ankle is grabbed roughly. An 'eep' leaves her lips as she is pulled out like a ragdoll and tossed onto a table. Her breath escapes her, droplets of spit leaving her opened mouth from the harsh impact.
Moonlight illuminates the fist flying towards her face at abnormal speeds. With anger pooling in her chest, she grunts and leans to the side to miss it by a hair.
I need to fight. I can't lose.
Bright green grass flows with the wind, gusts free to feather on the face of soldiers who dared to come outside the walls. Under the evening sky, just before dusk, was a naked woman laying in the opening of a forest nearby the wall.
Free cool blonde hair rested on the cheeks of the woman, no younger than a young adult but not past her late twenties. Alger Whittaka, a long time captain for the scouts, stared with a mouth open at the sight before him.
He looked past her, eyes widening almost instantly. Fear struck at him, pulling the reins back of the dark gray steed, who in return took a step back with a deep huff. Alone due to a squad wipe, he finds himself at a scene that feels foreign. Things foreign all around him. A small cough brings him back, eyes peering down at the woman.
"What.." Despite the weary tone, the emotionless amber eyes peered up at the man jumping off his horse. The bulky man with black hair with strands of gray couldn't help but hesitate than moving closer. Those void angled eyes peered into him, not a hint of humanity to be found.
An uncomfortable shiver ran down his back, a feeling surging in his blood he has only felt a few times out here. After seeing abnormal titans and hordes of titans feeding on his comrades. His blood went cold under those bright amber eyes that were almost red. Fiery but bone chilling at the same time.
In an instance, as if cleared by a mysterious force, those eyes lit up. Amber eyes that could warm even the coldest soul.
"What...What…" The young woman mumbled in confusion, raising her head to peer around her. Long hair pooled over shoulders, covering one of her well endowed breasts. The silkiness shone in the fast fading light.
Alger peered at the sky, a smoke signal resembling retreat was shot behind him. The light was slowly disappearing. With a quick apology, he hastley shoves his coat on and covers her. The tiny but fit woman was little to no weight to the giant man. Positioning themselves on the horse, the woman allows the man to jump in front and guide her hands to his belt.
Alger kicks the horse into the motion, rushing off. The forest opening the young woman rested on that confused him quickly led to the open fields. He saw troops in front, all returning from an exceptionally disastrous scouting mission. As he led, he saw another thing that shocked him. But, with the light fading fast and unable to stop without losing sight of other squads, he rushes forward.
"What were you doing there?" Alger looks back, looking to see the girl meet him with confused eyes. After a few moments of silence from the quiet blonde, he frowns and faces forward to avoid the few boulders in the plains.
"At least tell me your name," The rough man huffed.
"...Irene...I think," The soft woman's voice answers unsurely. He raises an eyebrow and continues, "What are you doing outside the walls...how did you get out?"
The soldier looks back at the fair haired woman, who tilted her head at his words.
"Walls?" Irene gave a tired glance past his bulky body, widening at the sight of Wall Maria, which became even more breathtaking as they got closer. His breath hitched in shock, feeling the woman lean further into him and snuggled into his cloak.
...
I can't lose. Not now. Not after what he has done for me.
Forcing her body up from the desk, she headbutts the figure with all her might with a growl, earning a string of low curses. The hood still almost completely covers their face, leaving gritting teeth on display. Pearly white sparkle from the moonlight.
"That's fucking it." Irene spats out as she steps forward, grabbing the chair next to her and whipping it to the cloaked person, the wood splintering into pieces at the force. With rage filled grunts, she launches whatever she gets her hands on, at speed that won't allow the person close to her without a government textbook knocking them senseless.
Her ashy blonde hair is far out of the low braid that meets the middle of her shoulder blades. Hairs sticking out here and there just add to the crazed look, her enraged expression doing most of the work. Her chest huffing up and down with the deep breaths she allowed.
Survive.
She screams in frustration as the man grabs one of the chairs, reeling her in to smack her with her own weapon. In a moment's notice, she's back to dodging multiple strikes. As she fights more, the feeling comes. That same feeling from earlier today, the same one that comes each time she fights.
Each hit were a mystery, only able to catch it with a second's notice. She feels her emotions start to slip into something foreign and uncomfortable, the feeling growing stronger each second she's dodging at almost inhuman speeds. As if time begins to blur, she watches them throw a right strike.
Grabbing one of their arms, she pulls them in towards. In the blink of an eye, she straightens her hand and uses the tips of her fingers to strike at all the right places on and under their shoulder before they could react.
Their arm lays limp at their side as they bolt back a few feet, stepping onto papers that scattered their battled field. They hold onto their arm, looking down with huff and incoherent mutters under their breath, which is low enough for her to believe her opponent was a male.
While distracted, she breaks a leg of a nearby chair with her knee and dashes to the cloaked figure. Silently, she goes to lodge a sharp end into the temporarily paralyzed shoulder, unbeknownst he would speak.
"That's it," A new but familiar voice seethes loudly. That deep voice that snapped at her earlier that day. The one who possessed it was no other than humanity's strongest.
Captain Levi.
The woman hesitates in confusion, eyes widening.
"Captain-,"
The opening gives the raven haired man enough time to grab a textbook from behind him and slam it into her face, stopping her from coming any closer. Lifting his left foot, he kicks straight into her stomach. The woman lands onto textbooks and other supplies, crashing back into a fallen desk.
In an instance, the man is on top of her. His knees are propped on both sides and using his weight to secure her pelvis, holding her wrists down above her head. At this position, she can vaguely see the outline of his face. Silvery eyes pierced down in a blank but narrow stare. His lips curled upward in hostility, red patches adorning his pale cheeks from her blows.
Her eyebrows furrow, looking up at him with a slightly turned head. Coming back to her senses, she attempts to melt herself into the ground, amber eyes unfocused and slightly scared as they meet his glare. She wrinkles her nose and gives him a quizzical gaze, questioning under her breath-
"Captain Levi?"