Levi walked until he found a farmer with a wagon full of hay in the back that was heading in the direction that was outside of town. 'Perfect,' he thought.

The farmer looked at Levi, who still appeared to look like an old man, and spoke, "Um, sure, Sir. We can give you a ride. There's room in the back, but where are you going?"

"Just a little further than where you're going."

"Alright, hop in."

And with that, Levi went to the back of the wagon. There were lone strands of hay all around. He did his best to refrain from looking disgusted at the mess. After all, these people were giving him a ride. He brushed his hand at the area where he had planned on sitting for the trip, getting the straws of hay out of his sight. He hopped onto the back of the wagon before gently kicking at the bed of the carriage, signaling to his driver that he was on and ready when they were.

The trip took most of the morning but when they arrived at the farmer's house, the wife greeted Levi with open arms and insisted that he stayed for some lunch before continuing onto his journey. He wanted to get to the mountains before sun down but he didn't want to come across as rude to their hospitality, so he reluctantly agreed to lunch.

"So where are you heading? How much further do you need to travel?" The wife asked curiously as she passed the vegetables over to Levi so he could put some on his plate.

"Quite a bit," He replied politely with a small and humbled smile, "I'll be heading towards the wasteland."

The farmer and his wife's eyes widened at his answer. Levi couldn't blame them, he understood the risk involved. He couldn't falter though, he had to return to normal. He needed to see Hange and figure out how to ask them for of him wanted to see them beyond that reason. He was quickly pulled back into the conversation when the farmer piped up.

"That's a dangerous area to be in. Nothing but witches and wizards of the sorts up there. You must have a really good reason to go there or you're crazy."

The corner of Levi's mouth twitched upward, forming a small smirk on his face. "Maybe I am," he quipped. "I'm actually going to visit my sister. She lives a few hills over from here. I go and check on her from time to time since she lives in such a risky area," he lied.

'I'm starting to get the hang of lying. Must be one of those things that get better with age.' He didn't know too many people that would question the honesty of an old man.

"Well, just be careful while you're up there. I think it's quite sweet of you to go and check in on your sister still," the wife said thoughtfully.

Levi gave a small smile of appreciation and they ate their meals in mostly silence with bits of chatter between the farmer and his wife. Levi happily dug into his meal, gaining his fill before he would continue with his journey. He wasn't exactly sure how much further Hange's castle was, but he wasn't going to give up before he started.

When they were done eating, Levi volunteered to help clear the table and do the dishes to offer his thanks to their hospitality. When the dishes were finished, the farmer walked him out the door to bid him farewell.

"I still think you're crazy if you do this Grandpa!" The farmer called out to him jokingly. "Nothing but trouble with those witches and wizards up there so close, regardless if your sister lives there. Maybe you should have her move in with you to keep her safe!"

'Tch! I didn't ask for your opinion,' he said to himself but outwardly saying, "Thank you! I'll keep that in mind and I'll bring that up with her!" And with that, he continued on his journey to find Hange.

—-

Levi felt like he had been walking for hours and his body was exhausted, so he decided to stop for a break. He sat down and looked out towards town when he heard his stomach grumble.

"Really? I just ate. I guess my appetite gets worse as I get older as well."

He pulled out some bread and cheese and made himself a snack while getting a good look of the view he had from the hill. Town was relatively still close and he started to become discouraged. "I'll never get there with these legs." For someone that is normally fit with a good athletic built body, he began to see the downfall of having the body of a frail old man.

"At least my teeth haven't gone out yet," he mused while munching down on a piece of bread.

As the wind picked up, something had caught his eye. He turned his head and saw a stick poking out from a bush.

"That'd make a decent cane." As he stood up, he felt every bone in his body crack at once. "Tch, stupid old bones…"

He walked over to the stick and began to pull on it while getting a better look at it. "Might be too big though." He continued to pull on it, trying to remain optimistic for something that would come in handy. He huffed and yanked onto the stick until he gave a big push down on the stick, feeling more bones crack. It seemed to have done the trick though because what appeared to be a stick, had what appeared to be a body at the other end of it. When Levi looked at it more carefully, it was just a scarecrow.

"Thought you were one of those things, but you're just a scarecrow. How are you standing on your own though?"

The scarecrow appeared like any other scarecrow, except for a few features. It had a turnip for a head, a draw-on toothy smile, and big, draw-on bushy eyebrows.

"Ha! Would you look at that, you have a turnip for a head. I've always hated turnips, ever since I was a kid. And whoever drew bushy eyebrows on you must've hated you."

He looked up and down the scarecrow once more before walking off, "at least you're not upside down now. So long."

Levi continued on the steep track up the hill, the air becoming colder as he reached high elevation. He looked back down onto town and let out a sigh of frustration.

"Gah! I barely moved. Town is still fairly clo–" His eyes widened at the scarecrow that appeared to be hopping along behind him while holding onto something with its outstretched arms.

"Go away! Don't follow me. You don't need to thank me. You probably have a spell on you and I already had my fill of witches and spells. Go find a field and stand in it or whatever."

The scarecrow stood and looked at him for a moment before continuing on following him until he stopped right next to him to drop the cane he was carrying.

Levi looked at what had fallen beside him, his eyes widened at the sight of a cane. It was just right for his height too. "Thanks, this is perfect. This is just what I need. If you don't mind, could you do me one more favor and run off to find me a place to stay?"

The scarecrow appeared to understand his request because he promptly hopped off to complete his new task.

This time, Levi watched him hopped away while waving him off. He scoffed, "Seems like I've become more cunning with old age…" He continued his climb but stopped when he heard the sounds of an engine in the distance. It sounded like it was coming from the sky so he looked up and saw a battleship. "Odd."

The wind picked up, causing him to turn away from the sky when he felt a freezing breeze hit his face. "Tch, why do people get so cold with old age? I'm fatter than ever yet the wind blows right through me."

He pushed on a bit further before stopping for a short break, sitting down and facing away from the direction of the wind, only to get back up when he caught the scent of a firewood burning. He walked to the direction of the scent, only to be met with a large, moving home walking towards him. The sound of metal clanging, steam spewing out from the pipes, and an engine running. He caught sight of the turnip head scarecrow hopping over towards him.

"Tch! You idiot! That's Hange's castle! That wasn't what I meant when I asked for a place to stay!"

"Isn't this where you were heading anyways?" He asked himself.

"Guess I don't need to search any further…"

The castle came to a complete stop. Steam poured out from all sides of the castle as if it was catching a break for itself. After the 'breath of steam' was let out, it slowly started to move forward once more, the scarecrow chasing after it while pointing an outstretched arm out towards a door.

"Is that the way in?" Levi called out before chasing after the door. Running as best as he could with his 'old age' until he was able to grab hold the railings and pull himself up to the steps when it bottomed out a little on a bump. The mysterious black jacket flew off of his shoulders with the scarecrow hastily hopping after it.

"Shit!" He looked after the piece of fabric flying off but decided to not dwell on it too much and opened the door to the entrance, peeking inside. He could feel the heat from the inside already hitting his face. It seemed cozy. He looked back and saw the scarecrow hopping towards him with a piece of black fabric in an arm.

"It's nice and warm inside so I'm going inside. Wow, you got my jacket!" He exclaimed upon further inspection of the fabric as the scarecrow got closer to him. "Thanks! I'm sure Hange won't eat the heart of a shriveled old man like me."

The scarecrow slowed its steps a bit, watching Levi start to go inside.

"It's been a pleasure meeting you, even if you're my least favorite food with funny eyebrows. Take care, Bushy Brow!"

And with that, Levi stepped inside Hange's castle, unsure of what was in store for him inside.