Hange spent the rest of the day with Lara, showing the camp and teaching her a little about the routine of a Survey Corps soldier.

Of course, she also talked a lot about the Titans. Lara listened to everything with fascination, and even though she'd already seen a Titan for real, hearing about them still gave her the chills.

After nightfall, they both headed to the refectory. The night was quite pleasant, so most soldiers preferred to dine by the bonfires outside, thus, only a few of them were in the refectory when they arrived.

"Go sit down, and I'll go get our food," said Hange, standing at the door.

Lara looked around and spotted the only person she knew there: Levi. He was sitting at one of the few tables of the room, accompanied by some talkative distracted soldiers.

She sat down next to Levi, waving a friendly "Hello!". Shyly, she also waved at the other soldiers, who smiled back at her and continued to talk amongst themselves.

Lara swung her little legs on the bench, waiting for her dinner. Even surrounded by strange soldiers, she felt very comfortable in Levi's presence. She couldn't say for sure… He had a very serious face and seemed grumpy all the time, but he didn't scare her, much less intimidate her at all. On the contrary, she felt like getting closer to him.

Levi looked at her, uneasily. He didn't want to show it, but he was feeling quite concerned about ensuring that child's safety on the mission to Shiganshina. Lara was still making Levi feel something very strong. Her story had really moved him. When he imagined someone doing such a terrible thing as done to her, it made him angry.

He didn't remember ever taking care of a child at some point in his life. Of course, he was used to leading and teaching groups of young soldiers from the military training, but taking care of someone as small as her would be the first time. He felt a bit lost, like he didn't know what to do around her.

Levi thought he had no patience with children. They always looked dirty and made lots of annoying noises, and many were too spoiled. However, what little he knew of Lara, he had sympathized with her. Maybe deep down, it was because she had a story so similar to his…

He was so absorbed in his own thoughts, he didn't even notice that the girl was calling him.

"Mr. Ackerman!" called Lara, with her big blue eyes staring at him. "Hange told me that tomorrow, you'll take me to the mission on a black horse, is that true?"

"O-Oh, yes…" replied Levi, turning to her. "It's a big black horse, which has been with me since I joined the Survey Corps." He leaned towards the girl. "You can just call me Levi, please."

"Okay, Levi," she smiled. "I've always wanted to see a horse from up close…" Lara looked up at the ceiling, her eyes gleaming.

"Are you… Afraid of horses?" Levi asked.

"Afraid?!" she replied, turning to him with a confused expression. "Not at all! I've just never got any closer to one because I was not allowed at the orphanage. I've always wanted to ride a horse. It must be a lot of fun to be able to reach that high." She spread her arms like a bird's wings.

Levi raised his eyebrows and got surprised, thinking how uninhibited the girl was and even seemed, quite brave. He wanted to ask her something, but just then, Hange arrived with the food.

"Chow time!" she exclaimed, giving another bowl of soup and bread to Lara. "Sorry, darling… We don't have much variety here…"

"Are you kidding me?!" Lara widened her eyes, laughing. "This puts the meals of the orphanage to shame!"

Hange didn't know whether to laugh or not at this, so she just blew air through her nose. She turned to Levi and said:

"Have you already dined?"

"Yes, I was waiting for you," he replied, with his fingers crossed on the table. "Would you join me for some tea, later?" Levi turned to Lara. "Do you like tea?"

Hange accepted his invitation and Lara signalized him to wait until she swallow the bread, then replied that she liked tea very much.

"Great. I'll prepare an excellent blend when you two are done."

"Hmm!" Hange made a sound as she swallowed her soup and looked at Lara. "If one day you ever want to make this guy happy, just give him a box of black tea!"

Lara laughed and they continued to eat. Then a soldier appeared at the refectory door. He seemed like looking for someone.

"Squad Leader Hange!" he exclaimed. "Commander Erwin and Vice-Captain Moblit are calling you outside by the bonfires. It looks like they need to settle some things up about tomorrow's mission with you. Could you come, please?"

"Sure!" replied Hange, grabbing her bowl of soup and the bread. "You two stay here, I'll be right back."

Seeing that Lara was distracted by the food, Hange looked at Levi, as if to say: "Make sure she eats everything, huh?" and gave him a little wink. He nodded and watched the woman walk out of his sight, for longer than he should.

Time went on, Levi and Lara talked a little thing here, another there, but no sign of Hange. Lara had already finished her meal and all the soldiers from the refectory had gone to bed.

Lara was playing with a piece of wood that came off the table and her eyes were starting to feel heavy. She gave a big yawn and didn't even notice when she fell asleep.

Hange arrived catching her breath at the refectory. Before saying anything, she saw Levi signaling her to stay quiet.

She stopped abruptly and didn't want to admit it, but the scene she saw brought a warm feeling to her heart: Lara was sleeping, leaning against Levi's chest. He was holding her so she wouldn't fall, for there weren't any backrests on the refectory benches.

"Forgive me!" Hange whispered, visibly upset. "We had to review a long report. Almost everyone is already asleep. I'm sorry, Levi… I believe the tea time will have to wait for another night."

"That's okay," he whispered back. "I imagined it was something on this matter."

"I think we better go to sleep", said Hange, walking towards Levi and Lara. "We'll wake up very early tomorrow. Do you think we should wake her up now to go to the bedroom?"

Levi took a look at the child lying on his chest and thought for a moment.

"Better not," he concluded. "If she wakes up, it may take a while to sleep again. Especially in a place she's not used to."

Hange sensed something in Levi's tone, as if the situation was familiar to him, and just nodded.

Gently, Levi picked Lara up, lifting her by her armpits and laying her head between his shoulder and neck.

For a moment, Hange froze witnessing that scene. Not in a million years, she would imagine Levi in a similar situation, carrying a sleeping child. For just an instant, Hange found all that very… Cute.

She startled when realized that Levi was staring at her, signaling to show where the girl was going to sleep. Hange led them to one of the bedrooms, where there were two beds and some cabinets.

"I asked Erwin to give me a more private room for her to sleep in," Hange said, as she watched Levi put Lara on one of the beds.

"You did well," said Levi, as he watched Lara sleep deeply. "The first night is the hardest…"

Hange stared at him, confused, and he noticed.

"I mean," Levi continued, "this is her second night, but yesterday she was passed out, so it doesn't count." He took a long pause. "Do you need me for anything else?"

"N-No," said Hange, awkwardly "it's alright."

Levi nodded and walked towards the door.

"Levi?" called Hange.

"Yes?"

"Thank you very much for taking care of her for me," she said, with a smile and blinking slowly.

"If you need anything," he replied, after a deep long breath, "just call me."

"Go to sleep, mister. Okay?" Hange made a bossy face. "You have not been sleeping well."

"Yes, ma'am," replied Levi, rolling his eyes but giving a slight smile. "Good night, Hange."

She waved, changed her clothes, and went to sleep.

Hange was having a very uneasy sleep. She was dreaming that Levi and a Titan were having tea in the middle of the camp. She watched this strange scene from afar and noticed that Lara arrived and joined them, happily skipping.

Levi, Lara, and the Titan seemed very happy and looked at Hange, as if inviting her to join them as well, but Hange couldn't move. She struggled but just wouldn't move.

Then, out of the blue, in a fast movement, the Titan swallowed Levi in a single bite. Hange tried to scream, but no sound came from her throat. Then, the Titan tried to bite Lara, but her small legs made her dodge quickly.

But it was no use, because the Titan grabbed her by the head and started chewing on her leg. The child screamed for Hange's name, desperate for help, but Hange couldn't speak or move.

The feeling of terror took over Hange's body, and she began to cry desperately.

"Hange!" screamed Lara. "Help me!"

The Squad Leader tried to scream back, but she had completely lost her voice.

"Hange, help me!"

"Hange, please!"

"Hange!"

"Hange?"

"Hange… Wake up…"

With a jump, she sat up in bed. Hange finally felt her own body and turned her head. Lara was standing beside the bed, rubbing her tiny hands nervously.

"Lara…?" sighed Hange, then widened her eyes. "Lara!"

Without thinking, Hange hugged her tight. The girl was startled at first, but then hugged her back.

"W-What happened?!" asked Hange, distressed. "Is everything alright?!"

Lara looked down, clearly embarrassed.

"I had a nightmare and…" she looked at Hange with her blue eyes filled with tears, "I can't sleep. I'm scared…"

Hange couldn't hold it anymore. She hugged her again and stroke her hair.

"It's okay," she whispered, "I'm here. I won't let anything bad happen to you. Come," Hange moved to the corner of her bed, "sleep here with me. I'll protect you."

Without hesitating, Lara crawled under the blankets and soon felt extremely protected in Hange's arms.

"So, this is what it feels like to have a mother?" the girl thought to herself, dreamy.

Hange watched Lara's shoulders go up and down with her breath, and she stroked her hair. It didn't take long for the child to fall asleep again.

Before also closing her eyes, Hange looked at the door, wondering if Levi was safe and sound.