Another very hot week, darlings, and my brain feels like it's frying inside my skull, my insides feel like they're boiling and nothing works to cool down my apartment. Needless to say, that makes a very crappy environment for writing so I've just been lazing about most of this week. Hope you lovelies are having cooler temperatures where you live!
As always my lovelies, go ahead and enjoy this chapter and don't forget to toss me a little review, to let me know what you think~ ;)
P.S. All Attack on Titan characters belongs to Isayama Hajime. I only own my OCs.
22. A future with you
~ 850 ~
It had been a full day for everyone living within the Walls. The very next morning after Rod's demise, Historia had been crowned as their new Queen in the acclaims of all the citizens from Wall Sina. Though Historia herself had then retired to the palace to settle into her new home, the citizens were still celebrating out in the streets even as daylight slowly faded into night.
Natalie too had excused herself shortly after lunch, leaving the others to enjoy the festivities and withdrawing to her room back at the barracks. Now seated on her bed she was holding the handkerchief Levi had given to her in his office, upon accidentally breaking her nose. She never had gotten around to returning it, after washing off the blood. And sometimes when she was just taking the time to sort out her thoughts, holding onto it was an odd source of comfort.
'I really should give it back to him, though.' she mused with a light smile, tracing her thumb over the snowy fabric.
Heaving a sigh, she closed her eyes for a moment and listened to the distant sound of music and people laughing, and a smile tugged at her lips. Heaven knew they didn't have much to rejoice for in their lives, and yet their victory was bittersweet at best for her. Not that she wasn't happy for Historia and hopeful for a better future for their people, but for some reason Kenny's death still weighed on her. Even now she could see him sitting against the tree and could hear his words to Levi replaying in her mind.
"What are you drunk on, Levi? Love...? Everyone has to be a slave to something, to keep on living."
'Is it really like that? Are we just slaves to our emotions?' she pondered, feeling conflicted about that idea. 'Is love... really something that chains us?'
She had never stopped to think about it in such a way, but had she really been just a slave to her own heart all those years? Was she just a slave to her desire to help people... to her desire to change the future? Was she a slave to her power... to her other self? Was she a slave to her love for Levi?
"I just... wanted to be free..." she recalled her own words, spoken to him on a night that seemed like forever ago, when he had asked her why she had joined the Survey Corps.
From a logical standpoint what Kenny said made perfect sense, and yet... why did it feel like he was wrong to view it from such a perspective? She wished Levi was there; maybe if she talked it over with him he would have some advice for her, as he usually did. Again she heaved a sigh, only to be startled by a knock at the door. Setting the handkerchief atop her brother's scarf on the nightstand, she stood and made her way over to open it surprised to find Levi there. How did he always know when she needed him the most?
"Sasha told me you came back here." he said, this time stepping into the room without any need for her to invite him in. "I thought you enjoyed social events."
The underlying humor in his tone brought a fleeting smile to her lips as she closed the door.
"You know me better than that." she retorted, turning to him with the intention of asking why he was visiting her, only to blink at the palm-sized jar he held out to her. "What... is this?"
"Albert gave it to me earlier. He said it should help with any stomach pains."
For a moment she blanked on what he meant, before recalling she had teased him about his rescue the previous day leaving her unable to eat.
"Levi..." she smiled, thoroughly touched by his thoughtfulness. "I wasn't being serious. Even if you had done any damage it would have healed before last night."
Still, she did accept the medicine and at the same time stepped closer to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him.
"Thank you..." she whispered. "Are you... too busy to stay with me for a bit?"
At that he reached up to caress along her arms and gently moved them off his shoulders.
"Lock the door. I'm not in the mood for interruptions and... I actually wanted to talk to you."
Surprised to hear that, Natalie walked back to do just that while the young Captain removed his coat and untied his cravat, sighing in relief upon popping his collar open. He really needed a good sleep, but first he had more important things to discuss with her. This time he sat on the bed of his own accord while she placed the medicine on the desk and folded his coat so that it wouldn't wrinkle, before joining him.
"You look so tired..." she said softly, sounding concerned. "Maybe you should try to get some sleep first; we can talk later."
"Thank you." he said out of the blue, startling her when he reached over to grasp her hand. "For disobeying me yesterday; for staying with me..."
The gratitude mixed with sorrow that she could clearly hear in his tone made her eyes sting with tears, and she could only cover his hand with her other one in a tight hold.
"Of course... Levi, I couldn't just leave you alone with him. No matter what you say, you cared for him; I know that. I could hear it in your voice, at the end."
Suddenly realizing what she was saying, she lowered her head.
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to—"
"You're so stupidly kind... you idiot..."
More than his words, it was the subtle tremor underlining them that startled her into looking back at him, and she blanked at the sight of his azure eyes brimming with tears despite his light frown. It was a natural reaction she would have predicted in anyone who had just lost a father figure, but to see it in him was so unexpected. While she had been sure to some extent that he had cared for Kenny, to have it confirmed in such a way was nothing short of shocking.
"You can cry..." she goaded him on gently, brushing her thumb over his cheek. "It'll be our secret."
She couldn't even imagine how much time had passed since he had last cried, but he certainly needed to let go of everything he had bottled up over the years. In a way, she had expected Kenny's death to be what broke him. But still, seeing the way he crumbled at her touch, the way his always calm mask shattered, the way his face scrunched up in sorrow – it was both heartbreaking and yet it felt like she was seeing the real him. That she was seeing the Levi she had so far only ever glimpsed a few times.
Again she wrapped him in her arms and his hands clenched onto her shirt, but he didn't fight back only leaning into her embrace, into her warmth, into the comfort she was so willing to offer him. Though he didn't make a sound even after pressing his face to the crook of her neck, burying it into her soft hair, he couldn't stop the sobs that made his muscles spasm. But she never said a word, only combing her fingers through his hair, only holding him tightly, only being there for him like she always had been... like he had never expected anyone to be, after his mother had died.
"I... don't want to lose you." he at last said, once he felt he had a good enough grasp on his voice.
When she jerked in surprise he only tightened his arms and pulled her closer, feeling her racing heartbeat through their chests pressed together.
"I'm such a hypocrite, right?" he huffed, his breath warming her skin. "I lecture you on how our people are more important than us, and then I say shit like this. But... this is how I really feel. I'm not a hero; I never was and I never wanted to be a hero. I just wanted... I thought at first I wanted to be free. And I realize now I was never free. Even when I thought I was making my own choices I was still bound to someone, I was still following someone – Erwin, the ghosts of my friends, humanity's expectations and need to survive. I was never really free... I was just lying to myself."
At last he leaned back to look at her and found her staring at him, looking stunned to her core by what he was saying.
"And then I finally found my freedom. When I chose to love you... that was my freedom. Loving you is what makes me feel truly free. Kenny was wrong; I may be drunk on your love, but only because I choose to be, only because I want to love you. And I pity him for living his life without ever knowing something like this. For not meeting someone like you, who would give him the freedom to choose. He truly was a slave his whole life... a slave to his desire for power... a slave to his fears... and I feel sorry for him."
"Levi..."
"Wait. Let me... let me get all this out, first." he cut her off, gingerly pressing a thumb to her lips and only speaking again after she nodded. "I don't— don't misunderstand me; I do value humanity's survival. I just... value your life above even that. You're... my last hope for a future where I won't just seek my own death in battle. And even with everything that happened I'd forgotten just how easy it is to lose people. Because many of them were never close to me, I'd forgotten that all it takes is one moment... and then the one you lose is gone forever. I already lost everyone closest to me – you're the last one I have left. I don't want to lose you; I want a future with you, I want to make a family with you, I want to grow old with you. And I know that might just be wishful thinking... I know that if it comes down to it, I might just have the strength to die for humanity... but this is what I truly wish for – more than even humanity's survival."
Pressing a kiss to her lips, he leaned his forehead on hers and heaved a sigh while his hands found their way to her cheeks.
"So don't go dying for anyone. Don't... don't leave me alone in this hell." he pleaded, feeling her tears touching his skin.
To hear him baring his heart to her like that was something she never would have imagined him doing. And to hear that despite his attempts to keep them both on a selfless path, dedicated to humanity's future, what he truly wanted was a future for them... it made her so happy that she could barely even process it.
"Never... I promised, didn't I?" she at last replied. "This will sound stupid, but... I want to believe there was a reason why we met the way we did that day. Why life brought us together again, after all those years. I refuse to believe that was just coincidence."
"I love you." he said, hearing the breath leaving her. "I want you to know that. Whatever happens in the future... whatever happens to us... I'll do my best to not screw up anymore, to not ever leave you wanting for anything."
Huffing at that, the redhead pressed forth to kiss him if only because she felt that if he said any more her heart would burst with how full it was.
"I don't want anything more... because you already gave me everything I ever wanted. This... this right here..." she smiled, tenderly caressing his cheeks. "You made me into what I am today. Without you I'd still be just a stupid brat; I would have ended up caving to my parents' demands; I'd have married some arrogant, rich asshole and wasted my life as an empty shell. Without you I wouldn't have learned what it feels like to make my own choices... or how to take responsibility for what I choose. Without you I wouldn't have known what it feels like to find someone who understands me, someone who doesn't judge me for what I believe or what I feel. Without you, I wouldn't have known what it's like to be truly important to someone. So I can't ever want anything else... when you're already all I want."
Taking a bit of time to simply bask in how comfortable and safe she felt with him there, she then offered to let him sleep there with her that night. In truth she wouldn't have taken no for an answer even if he had refused, but she knew he was too tired to protest.
"I think... I'm on better terms with Eren again." she said as she waited for Levi to remove his boots and harness so he could lie down.
"Did you talk to him?"
"Leave it to us to be awkward at a social event. We just huddled away in a corner with some food." she giggled, before her humor fizzled out. "He told me what happened in the caves, before we got to him."
"Yeah, he told us about it on the way back while you were sleeping."
Sticking her tongue out at him, she pouted and held a hand out for his shirt which he was still unbuttoning.
"Only you could say I was sleeping, when I was actually out cold."
"Yes, yes, I'm sorry..." he retorted with a faint smile. "So? What do you think?"
"I think there's an interesting connection between Eren and royal blood. He said that when Historia and her father touched him, he saw some of Dr. Jaeger's memories and how it was actually him that killed the Reiss family five years ago. And... I'm thinking, what if..."
Hesitating to speak her mind, she took the shirt from him and started folding it while the young Captain narrowed his eyes at her.
"What are you thinking?" he goaded her on.
"Maybe... what if I could use that? What if Historia could help me see more of my other self's memories? I need more answers and she's clearly not going to give them to me if I just wait around. I have no other way to contact her; everything she's done so far has been her initiative. I just... I can't sit around doing nothing anymore. I can't just wait until she decides to talk to me, I have to do something... anything..."
Heaving a sigh as she set the shirt onto the chair, realizing she had gotten worked up again, she turned back to the bed to find Levi silently beckoning her to him only to wrap her in his arms when she was within reach.
"Calm down... we can talk to Historia tomorrow and see if she would be willing to help."
"I know... I'm sorry." Natalie nodded.
"Don't apologize, idiot." he huffed, taking hold of her hand and bringing it to his lips to kiss her knuckles. "Lie down with me."
Briefly pressing her lips to his, the redhead did as he requested and sighed again once she had settled in his arms.
"I'm... so nervous about going to Shiganshina." she confessed, tilting her head to look at him when she felt him doing the same. "I have a really bad feeling about this expedition... like I had with Karl."
"You said you felt like this before the forest mission too, didn't you?"
"Yes... and you saw what a disaster that was. I'm afraid this will be the same, I... I feel like I'm about to lose you..."
"Hey, hey, hey..." he said softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead to calm her down. "I'm not going down that easily. I promise. So do you think your twin knows something?"
"I'm sure she does... she has to. Even if she wasn't here to witness things directly, she told me that you and Hange spent an entire day catching her up with what went on here. She does know something; I just... hope I can see what I need to see. If getting Historia's help will even work. At the very least I'm hoping that if it works, it'll convince her to talk to me."
"It will work." he reassured her, stroking her back in the hopes that it would keep her anxiety from overtaking her again. "I think you'll feel better after Erwin calls a meeting to make the plans for the expedition."
"I hope so..."
~ oOo ~
"I suppose we're lucky that the new Queen considers us friends. At least we don't need to waste any time on formalities."
"Captain..." the redhead chuckled, trying and failing to scold him.
It was almost noon and they were now walking one of the many corridors in the palace, following the maid who was leading them to Historia's office. Levi had sent word to her as soon as they had woken up that morning, but the poor girl hadn't had the time to receive them earlier.
"It must be hard for her, having to adjust to something like this."
"As long as she does a good job, everything will be fine." he shrugged.
"We need to work on how you show sympathy for others. Just feeling it on the inside isn't always enough... and not everyone can read you as well as I do."
"I'm perfectly fine so long as you understand me."
She would have scolded him again, but when the maid informed them they had arrived and opened the door to the office, she switched focus on the matter at hand. Following Levi inside while the maid closed the door behind them, they bowed to the blonde who moved to stand from the desk.
"Please, there's no need for that..." she smiled, gesturing for them to join her at the table placed by the window.
No sooner had they sat down than another maid entered the office with a tray holding three steaming cups which she served swiftly.
"Thank you, Julie." Historia smiled, while the maid curtsied and hurried off. "Now... how may I help? Captain Levi said it was a rather urgent matter."
"Eren... told me yesterday about what happened in the caves." the redhead began, immediately sensing the uncomfortable shift in the young Queen. "With you and your father..."
"I am really sorry I put him through something like that. I didn't know what would happen when I touched him... I just did as my father asked me to."
"I'm not blaming you for it, Historia; and neither does Eren. I'm actually here because I need your help with that."
Caught off guard by that, the blonde scrunched up her face in confusion.
"I... don't understand."
"If you'll recall, I said back at the cabin that my Titan power allows me to see memories of both past and future hosts. I need to see if what you did to Eren would work on me... I need some answers that only the future holder of my power can give me, regarding our expedition to retake Wall Maria. Because we need to be as prepared as we can, if we're going to succeed."
"I see." Historia nodded, at last realizing what was being asked of her. "Alright, let's try it."
At that she reached across the table, holding out her hands to Natalie with a light smile. However, though the redhead took hold of them, nothing seemed to happen leaving the woman to sigh and narrow her eyes in contemplation.
"I guess it doesn't... so then why with Eren?" she pondered aloud.
"Ah!" Historia gasped at that. "My father said something back there... about how the Founding Titan's powers can only be truly unlocked if the vessel has Reiss blood in them."
"How about trying it with both of them?" Levi suggested, leaving both girls to stare at him confusedly. "You have Historia with Reiss blood... and Eren with the Founding Titan."
"Of course... it's so obvious." the redhead laughed in self deprecation before reaching out to squeeze his hand. "Thank you, Captain."
"Then... I'll send someone to bring Eren." Historia smiled as she too caught onto what the young man was suggesting.
In the following half hour while they waited for the boy to arrive, Natalie had taken the time to ask Historia how she was settling into her new life.
"It's... not that bad, all things considered. There is a lot of work I have to do still. My first project is going to be setting up an orphanage. I think the people of the Underground city have been neglected for far too long. I want to help them... and I'll start with the orphans who are forced to starve on the streets down there."
"That's a great idea... right, Captain?" Natalie smiled, looking back to Levi who seemed to finally see Historia with different eyes.
"However, I don't know if I'll manage to convince the nobles to lend some of their fortunes for this. I'll have to come up with a really good speech for that."
"I'll help you." he offered, startling the young Queen. "I was born down there and that's where I lived until I joined the Survey Corps six years ago."
"Thank you, Captain."
She never would have imagined he'd had such a hard life, and now the blonde felt even worse for raising her hand to him the previous day. To her great relief, the maid returned bringing Eren into the office before she could succumb to the tears she felt stinging her eyes.
"Your Highness." he greeted, bowing before offering a salute to Levi. "Captain..."
Startled when Levi moved to his feet the boy blanked upon being beckoned to the chair.
"Sit down."
"W-wait, sir... why? What is this?!" he panicked. 'Something's wrong... the Captain's never this nice to anyone outside of Natalie.'
"Huh? What kind of stupid question is that? This is me ordering you to sit down." Levi frowned.
Doing as he was told, he then fell silent while Natalie and Historia at last explained why he had been called there.
"You think it'll really work?" he perked up, turning to the redhead.
"It might... with both of you. At least I hope it works."
"Then let's do it!"
Startling her when he all of a sudden reached out to grab her hand, he followed her lead when she reached out her free hand to Historia.
"Well... whenever you're ready."
Nodding, the blonde took a deep breath and again reached out taking hold of both her hand and Eren's at the same time. Again nothing seemed to happen, and even Historia looked visibly deflated.
'Why?' Natalie pondered. 'What are we doing wrong? Damn it... come on... you'd better not be blocking me out on purpose, you bitch!'
The sharp tingle that suddenly crossed her body now that she was entirely focused on talking to her 'twin', told Natalie it was working and she involuntarily felt her eyes widening when the scenery in front of her changed.
=0=0=
It was almost nighttime, and she was standing near a group of people huddled around a campfire. She was still holding Eren's hand and the boy looked utterly confused as to what was happening. In truth she too was somewhat confused, being used to seeing memories through her other self's own eyes rather than from an outside perspective.
"What's this?"
"It might be the memory I needed to see." the redhead replied, gesturing to one of the seated figures, just when her other self glanced in their direction.
"Is that... you?!" he gasped.
"Yeah. I don't know if she can see or hear us, though. She might just sense that there's someone here."
Across from Natalie's double they could see an older version of Jean, Conny, Sasha and Mikasa seated next to Hange, with Levi sitting a few inches to the redhead's left. The sight of the Section Commander's eye-patch, as well as the scars on Levi's face... seeing how weathered down they all looked... it broke Natalie's heart such that she nearly burst into tears right then and there.
"So we eventually got to Shiganshina..." Hange said, as if continuing some conversation they were having. "And let's just say things didn't really go as we had hoped."
"We had to fight Reiner again." Sasha sighed. "It was such a crappy thing..."
As the others chimed in to give more details about the fight, she could hear the sorrow in their voice and – now that she had gotten to meet Reiner – it only solidified her desire to somehow save at least him.
"But the worst thing had to be the ambush by the Beast Titan." Mikasa at last interjected. "He split our forces and forced us to fight on their terms."
"Erwin died in that battle." Hange agreed, sounding like they were still mourning the late Commander. "There was nothing else we could do... he had to lead the new recruits on a suicide charge, to give Levi the cover he needed so he could reach the Beast Titan and take him down."
"And I couldn't even do that..." the young Captain huffed. "I promised Erwin I'd bring him Zeke's head... and to this day I failed to keep my word."
At that she felt Eren squeezing her hand when she covered her mouth in horror.
"And after all that, we still had to deal with damn Bertholdt." Jean heaved a sigh. "Armin almost died trying to stall him long enough so we could take him down. If it wasn't for the serum and the Captain deciding to turn him into a Titan..."
"It didn't matter after all, did it?" Conny scowled sorrowfully. "Eren still ate him in the end..."
It was then that she heard the breath leaving Eren like he had been punched in the gut, and looked over to see his horrified expression that mirrored her own by now. Still she squeezed his hand, finding that beyond any fear and terror he had ever instilled in her... she still felt sorry for him.
"W-what... that's not right... no, no, no that's not right at all!" he stammered. "I... I ate Armin?!"
When he started hyperventilating was when Natalie realized it might have been a mistake to drag him into that.
=0=0=
She had just reached for his other hand to try and calm him down, when she suddenly realized their surroundings had changed. The soft sobbing drew their attention to her other self kneeling in the middle of what looked like a forest road.
"Don't leave me... Levi... don't go..."
Her words struck Natalie deeply and she at last realized this was the same memory she had seen as she was dying before, when the power had been transferred to her.
"No... stop this..." she pleaded, realizing that what came next would probably be enough to break Eren. "You have to stop this..."
"...What's this?" he gasped upon seeing his own Titan approaching. "Why am I here?!"
"Stop this... please..." Natalie called out again. "This has to stop!"
She couldn't even tell if her other self heard her, or if she was showing them that memory on purpose.
"He doesn't need to see this... you have to stop!"
"Levi!" she heard Hange's bloodcurdling scream, just as she had the first time she had seen that memory.
"Hey... what the hell is this?! What... what am I doing?!"
"Eren!" she called out when he tried to walk forth like in a daze, upon seeing Hange landing in front of her other self, carrying Levi. "Don't let go of my hand!"
Snapping out of it, he threw her a stare that she didn't even know how to read – there were far too many emotions mixed in it, for her to make heads or tails of it. While Hange returned to the fight, leaving her future self to tend to the dying Captain, she scowled at what she knew would come next.
"Stop this... you have to stop this..." she said again, and when the other her froze, she briefly wondered if her twin could hear her.
But then she saw Levi getting up, and involuntarily took a step back at the sight of the blood staining his face. She saw her other self talking to him and felt Eren nearly crushing her hand in his grip when Levi agreed to kill her, so that he couldn't devour her power.
"Stop..." she sobbed, grabbing her head with her free hand. "Stop this!"
It was that which seemed to finally snap Eren out of his emotional turmoil, and he seemed to at last realize she wasn't the one who had wanted to show him that. He couldn't tell what drove him to do it, but he used his free hand to grab her shoulder and pull her into a one armed hug, making sure her face was hidden in his shirt. He was finally starting to understand a few things about how seeing memories of other hosts went... even if he couldn't really grasp how it was still Natalie who had held the power. He could only assume they were seeing the future and that somehow... somehow the power had gone back in time to the Natalie he was holding in his arms.
But he would make sure she wouldn't have to see that... that she wouldn't have to watch Levi staggering to his feet; that she wouldn't have to watch him slicing her head off, to watch him falling to the ground next to her as he bled to death, to watch him begging her forgiveness with his final breath.
"Enough!" he at last scowled, the sight sparking his anger that Natalie had to be put through that torment.
=0=0=
For a split second he felt something shifting inside him, some core of his power, before their surroundings changed yet again. And he was left to stare at the vast emptiness they were now standing in.
"What... what is this place?" he gasped.
His words and the sudden utter silence drew Natalie's attention and she too gasped upon realizing this time she was standing within the humming pillar of light that she had only ever seen from afar.
"Oi... do you know where we are?"
Startled by his voice, she took a step back careful to not let go of his hand and nodded.
"This is... where she sometimes calls me; where we talk."
"Well where is she? She's got some nerve putting us through that!"
"She won't be coming this time. Not while you are here, Coordinate."
The male voice startled both of them and drew their attention to the young man who had appeared out of nowhere nearby.
"Huh? What did you call me?" Eren scrunched up his face in confusion, upon realizing the man had been addressing him.
"You possess the Founding Titan, don't you?" he replied with a taunting smirk, his humor fading when he turned his chocolate eyes to Natalie. "I know what you saw... she sensed that you brought Eren with you this time. It was likely her fear which made that memory resurface."
"Oi... what the hell are you talking about? Quit talking in riddles!"
Again the man turned to him, sizing him up for a moment before answering.
"She fears you, Eren Jaeger. Can you blame her? You took everyone she ever loved... but it seems to me this is truly a chance to change that future. You know what that means, Natalie."
"Are you saying... there was something in that memory I could use?"
"Perhaps."
"This is pissing me off..." Eren sighed. "Who the hell even are you?"
"Oh, my apologies. The name is Kasimir Scholz... but you wouldn't know me. I never lived within the Walls."
"...What?"
"I'm from the same place as Reiner and Bertholdt... I used to be a warrior, when I was alive. Then I just happened to die in an unfortunate accident – and the Attack Titan passed on to Natalie."
"You... you're the previous host?" she gasped, feeling conflicted to learn that he had been an enemy of her people.
"One who sympathized with your cause, however." he replied after a lengthy silence in which he had stared her down. "The reason I'm here is because I wanted to meet you; the vessel chosen by Ymir to receive my power. I wanted to see what kind of person you are, what you fight for."
"What...?" she stammered in utter confusion.
At first he didn't reply, only glancing off into the distance as though he had spotted something.
"That's not important right now; there is something more pressing that I need to tell you. You know now to expect an ambush at Shiganshina. I have seen how your Walls are structured... expect him to be hidden in plain sight."
While both she and Eren stared at him in confusion, he once again glanced away and frowned.
"You have to go... she knows the Coordinate is here."
"Who's...?" Eren asked, following Kasimir's gaze to what looked like a child watching them from afar.
He didn't know why but for some reason the sight killed his voice and sent an unpleasant chill of fear down his spine.
"You must leave, Natalie!" Kasimir urged them. "Release his hand... you both must leave."
=0=0=
To Levi and Historia it was only a few moments that Eren and Natalie had both been staring blankly into space. Then the young Queen gasped at the sight of tears overflowing on Natalie's cheeks, while Eren's expression morphed into unsettling horror. And then they suddenly released each other, the redhead pulling back with a gasp and nearly falling to the floor had Levi not caught her. Though Eren hadn't moved, he was now staring at her with a disturbing mixture of sorrow, consternation and terror.
"Natalie... what happened?" the young Captain asked, deeply concerned by both of their reactions.
At first all she could do was to hyperventilate and whimper while reaching up to grab her head, startled when he again called her name. For a moment she stared up at him with an almost deranged expression, before she crumbled into a sobbing mess in his arms.