"There are as many ways to survive as there are survivors."~Amanda Robb
"Cover that thing up! Whatever you do, don't let sunlight hit that thing's face!" was the shout that snapped all of us out of silent shock at the view in front of us. There was the face of a titan the same size as Wall Sina revealed through the missing chunk of wall. Turning to the voice, I saw a Wallist priest screaming and being held back by a couple of soldiers as he yelled out desperately for someone to cover the face of the titan. The man looked familiar, but I didn't have the mental capacity to worry about him right now.
"Emmryn, I need you to go check on Erwin while I help sort things out here. Ensure his safety, get his orders, and then report immediately back to me," Levi's stern voice ordered as he looked at me out of the corner of his eye to see me nod robotically. I turned to follow orders before being stopped as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and gave me a quick kiss on forehead and muttering in a low voice that only I could hear.
"And don't stop for any military police. I have a bad feeling that shit is only going to hit the fan worse since Erwin pulled this stunt. Come straight back to me. Today is not the day for you to ignore orders," he muttered, his eyes narrowed as they darted around to make sure nobody was listening. I nodded again, not having the energy to speak at this point as I immediately ran off to find Erwin.
"Commander," I called out in greeting, silently thankful that my voice didn't crack as I approached him seeing as he was still surrounded by MPs. My eyes narrowed as I noticed the cuffs on his wrist. Erwin, of course, appeared as confident and strong as possible. He almost looked like he expected this. Either way, I found myself getting pissed off at seeing my brother in handcuffs like a criminal for saving thousands of people. Yes, we put the people of Stohess at risk, but with the female titan running free, everyone within the walls would be at risk. I turned to a familiar face that saw my expression and immediately looked a bit concerned as my hand twitched towards my knife that was holstered to my thigh. It was a man I was forced to service during my time in the Underground and he looked very nervous after seeing the stunt I pulled earlier when they tried to arrest Erwin.
"Cadet Ackerman," my brother's stern voice called out, snapping me out of what was no doubt a dangerous trip down memory lane, "It's fine. They are going to put me on trial, and I turned myself in willingly. Your orders are to stay with Lance Corporal Levi and follow his and Section Commander Hanji's instructions. Understand?" Our matching clear blue eyes locked, and I recognized the glint in them. It was almost arrogant as though he had already predicted all of this as what he believes would happen next, and frankly, I had a feeling he was right, so despite my concern, I gave him a salute and saluted Nile Dok with a neutral expression.
"Commander Dok, I'd like to remind you that the Commander has a perfectly clean record and should not be treated as criminal until he is declared one by Supreme Commander Zachary," I warned, my voice even and showing little to no emotion while still saluting causing the MPs around him to glare at me and shift their guns till Dok stopped them as he gave me a proud smirk.
"You've grown quite strong it seems, Cadet Emmryn Ackerman. I'll make sure he's treated according to his rank, but suggest to your brother to not take such gambles with the lives of civilians in the future," the Commander responded evenly earning a small wry smile from myself. Dok was a bit of a pansy and an asshole, but I think it was more of his loyalty to the people within the Walls than being a dick just for the sake of it.
"Sorry, Commander Dok, but my brother has never been one to listen to someone else's opinion on his decisions," I admitted, darkly to which I saw Erwin's eyes soften ever so slightly, "However, he's always made his decisions for the betterment of humanity as a whole. He saved the lives of many more than what were lost today. Which is callous and no comfort to the grieving families, but it is the reality we in the Scouts face on a daily basis." At that, I gave one final salute before hurrying back to Levi, knowing that the tensions would only rise if I stayed there any longer and Levi came looking for me.
Sure enough as I made it close to where I had left Levi, I found him standing next to a cart with his arms crossed and his brows slightly furrowed in what looked like annoyance but I recognized as concern. As soon as I reached him, I saw his eyes scan over my body, clearly looking for any new injuries. The whole interaction took only seconds before he grabbed my hand and took me into one of the barracks where he led me to a room and guided me over to the bed there.
"What's the status with Erwin?" Levi asked bluntly, and I felt my fist clench as I remembered how hostile the MPs seemed to be towards him.
"He was cuffed when I left. They are keeping him under surveillance until they can have a meeting with Supreme Commander Zachary. It pisses me off that they're treating him like a damned criminal, but Erwin seemed pretty relaxed and confident about the whole situation," I reported, tugging at the roots of my hair in frustration. Levi nodded at this, before heading into what I could only assume was an attached bathroom. As he got to the door, he looked over his shoulder at me with an eyebrow raised.
"What?"
"Are you coming or not? I need to clean your wounds and change your bandages since you decided to rip your stitches by being reckless earlier," he pointed out nonchalantly, "Plus, you're filthy." I rolled my eyes and shook my head with an amused smile as I stood up and followed him.
"You could just admit you wanted to see me naked," I teased with a wink causing him to turn and face me fully, wrapping an arm around me and pulling him flush against his body.
"If I wanted to see you naked, I would tell you outright. I'm nothing if not a straightforward man, Emmryn," he stated lowly in my ear, his hot breath fanning across my neck before quickly releasing me and backing away to continue to the bathroom where he immediately started the water for a bath.
"Fucking tease," I muttered, my face a nice shade of pink at this point, earning a rare quiet chuckle from the raven haired man in front of me.
After washing ourselves to Levi standards of clean, and making sure my wounds were properly redressed, Levi instructed me to go ahead and take some rest. When I asked him if he'd like to lay down with me, he declined and went to sit at the desk that was in the room, looking over some documents that he had received during my visit to Erwin. His still form at the desk was the last thing I saw as I faded into a light slumber.
When Levi woke me, I noticed the sun was already starting to set, meaning I had slept for nearly 5 hours. He helped me get into some comfortable clothes that would allow me to move without being too tight on my wounds. That meant I was in a simple short-sleeved sky blue button up and a pair of stretchy black leggings that only reached my hips, stopping them from putting any pressure near my injuries while still making it quite easy to move around. I started to tie my hair back out of my face but Levi stopped me.
"It'd be best if you don't stand out right now. I saw the way those MPs looked at you earlier, and it could get even worse with Eyebrows pissing them off even more," he stated bluntly causing me to nod but still a feel bit insecure that maybe he didn't want to be seen with me with my scar showing. As soon as Levi saw the expression on my face, he clicked his tongue in annoyance before gently tucking my hair behind my ear and placing a gentle kiss on my right eye and then another on my scar under it and finally a chaste one on my lips.
"Whatever bullshit insecurities went through your mind, they're just that: Bull shit. You're my wife, and I chose that knowing about that scar and your eye. Yeah, you don't look like a stereotypical proper lady," I glared a bit at him for that one but he kept going, "You look like a fucking survivor. And that makes you way sexier than being one of those boring ass pretty girls." This caused me to smile a bit. Levi was crass and blunt, but that just meant that you knew he meant every word that he said.
After that, I nodded and rearranged my hair to hide my right eye and scar like I used to. As soon as I was done, Levi handed me a handgun to strap onto me before wrapping one of his Survey Corps cloaks around me, since it was a bit bigger than my own and took me to Hanji's office where Moblit was running around telling her to hurry up before they got left behind. On the walk there, Levi informed me that Erwin had been acquitted and the charges against him ended only in Erwin basically receiving a slap on the wrist. This earned a smirk from me. I should have known that the Supreme Commander wouldn't do any more than that. He knew as well as anyone else that wasn't an MP that Erwin was humanity's best chance at fighting back right now. Sure, Eren had titan powers, but Erwin had the charisma and leadership qualities to utilize and make the most of it. Even if that did end up with Erwin coming across as a total heartless prick sometimes.
The part that concerned me the most was when Levi informed me that titans had been spotted within Wall Rose and that the Scouting Legion was heading out to investigate along with the Garrison. After telling Hanji to hurry, she asked about a special guest which confused me. As I followed Levi and Hanji outside, I saw the same cart I found Levi at earlier and was honestly not that surprised to the Shiganshina trio, with Mikasa looking at me with a glare, Armin looking scared, and Eren looking pissed off at the world.
I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I hadn't noticed that Hanji was following behind us with a guest of her own. As Levi first helped me into the carriage before getting in himself, it was then that I locked eyes on none other than a priest of the Walls. My eyes widened as I recognized the man before Hanji even spoke up to introduce him; however, when she did, I felt my blood freeze in my veins as his eyes locked with my one visible one as he got into the carriage and sat beside Levi on the other side.
"Everyone, this is my new pal, Pastor Nick!"
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Song: Control by Halsey
