Ch. 6 A Promise
Levi pays keen attention as Rhea downs five of the 10 remaining titans in a matter of minutes. With most of the titans focused on the garrison, they put up very little resistance as she tears them apart. One titan chomps down on a soldier, and a second too late Rhea sinks her jaws into its nape. The last remaining garrison soldier retreats to the wall, failing to notice Levi standing in front of the broken lift. The man has short blonde hair and a thin, dark mustache, and he appears to be in his late 30's.
Without the distraction, the titans at last turn their attention to Rhea. The giants reach for her with slow, bumbling arm. Rhea dodges between them with graceful agility. She kills the smaller titans first, then focuses on the remaining three. Each of these stands at least 12 meters tall, and Levi knows Rhea will need to bring them down to her level before she can kill them.
A shaggy black-haired titan with a distended belly lunges for her and crashes face first into the ground when she jumps away. Rhea pounces quickly, ripping out the nape with her claws. The second and third titan attack simultaneously. Rhea escapes the first, but barks in pain when the second clamps its flat teeth around her side. She snarls and paws furiously at its face, forcing the ugly brunette giant to let go. She kills her brunette attacker and twists away from the last titans second attack just in time. Levi notices that her wound, though fast healing, does not emit steam like a titan, and the rate of regeneration is much slower. He hears the garrison soldier gasp and mutter as Rhea slaughters the last titan and turns to face them, titan blood evaporating from her muzzle and the field behind her filled with steaming corpses.
"What in the walls is that thing, some sort of crazy abnormal?"
Levi locks eyes with Rhea's as she approaches. Her eyes are bright, full of intelligence, and burning with emotion. Titan's eyes are always dull and listless. No, she isn't a titan; of that much he is sure. Hearing the familiar sound of drawn blades, Levi turns to see the blonde soldier brandishing the weapons at Rhea as he hangs from the wall.
"Halt! Don't come any closer beast, or I will cut you down!"
Rhea stops her advance immediately and sets her penetrating gaze on the man's blades. Her lips pull back from her teeth, and the now familiar rumbling growl emits from her chest. She backs up just a step, but Levi can read from her expression that she is ready to flee at any moment. He can't let that happen.
"Oi, moron. Stop threatening the woman who just saved your life."
The blonde looks down, finally noticing Levi, and his face is contorted with fear.
"Captain Levi? You're still alive! I don't understand. Do you see what that thing just did?"
"Yes. She saved your shitty ass, and mine. She's not a threat. Put your damn blades away before you scare her off."
"But—"
"That's an order."
The scruffy, terrified blonde stares stupidly down at him for several seconds, then finally puts the blades away. He descends from the wall and lands next to Levi.
"Alright, fine. But we need to hurry and get back on top of the wall. I think I can carry you and still scale it."
"No. Go see if you can salvage another set of gear. I'll retrieve the brat."
"You mean that creature? Captain Levi, you can't be serious."
Levi doesn't answer. He is already walking away, toward Rhea. She growls lowly again as he approaches, and he watches her eyes dart to the blades still in his hands. Levi lets them drop to the ground without a thought and holds one hand out to Rhea as he takes steady, careful steps closer. She stops snarling, but her posture still screams that she's ready to run. The wound in her side, he notices, has already stopped bleeding.
"I just want to talk, brat. Calm down."
Levi stands directly in front of her now, hand outstretched with palm facing up. Rhea glances suspiciously at the garrison soldier, lips curling back slightly.
"He won't touch you. Focus on me."
Rhea glowers at him a few moments more, before her tense muscles relax and she lowers her head, lightly pressing her muzzle into his hand. The fur on the rest of her body was thick and coarse, but the fur on her face is incredibly soft. Levi allows himself a small moment of awe. How is it possible, for this little slip of a woman to change into this powerful creature, capable of ripping apart 10 titans with relative ease? How can he convince her to come with him? He is not Erwin Smith.
"Rhea, I know you have more reason than most to hate this world. I can't promise you that people won't be afraid, that they won't try to hurt you. I can promise that I will never be afraid of you. There are things worth fighting for inside the walls. I'm as jaded as they come, and I believe that. I'll show you, somehow. Just, give me chance."
Rhea releases a low whine and attempts to pull her face away. Levi brings his other hand up and holds her head firmly to his. He knows she can rip it away and escape easily, but she doesn't, so he keeps still and doesn't push any further. He is acutely aware that standing here waiting, in an open area in titan country, is probably the most dangerous thing he can do. He does it anyway. Levi wonders what she sees as she stares into him, gold eyes full of torment. She must see something though, because he suddenly feels her head begin to change shape in his hand. Her enormous, fur covered body shrinks and twists until Rhea stands, in human form again.
Levi hears a sharp gasp behind him but ignores it. He removes his cloak and wraps it around Rhea's shaking shoulders. He can tell she is beyond exhausted, and it's good to know her limits. He glances down at her side. In human form, the wound stretches from her armpit, down to her hip. The angry red teeth marks aren't bleeding, and he can see the skin stitching itself back together. A human would be long dead from a wound like this.
He will have to keep her clear of Hange for a while. The freak means well, and even Levi can't deny she is brilliant, but he can't have that crazy scientist scaring the brat off right away with talks of "experiments". Levi closes the gap between Rhea and himself, shielding her from the blonde soldier's view. He gently brushes his fingers over her hip and whispers in her ear.
"How long will this take to heal?"
He expects her to shy away from his touch and is surprised when she leans her head on his chest instead, eyes drooping. Her reply is raspy.
"Several hours at least, maybe more."
"That's too long. Wait here."
Levi turns and jogs quickly to the slack-jawed soldier. He is holding a harness limply, and a full set of gear rests at his feet. Well, at least he can follow orders. Levi takes the harness and slips the straps on hastily, with practiced ease. It takes him only 3 minutes to gear up completely and return to Rhea's side. Without any warning, Levi lifts her into his arms bridal style. He smothers a chuckle when she squeaks in surprise and tries to find a place to grip. Her face flushes slightly, but her eyes are already closing, and she lays her head against his chest again. Her whole body is heated, and the overly warm flesh pressed against his bare skin makes his gut churn in a familiar, long forgotten way. Is she always this hot, or is it just because of her transformation? Levi pushes the uncomfortable feeling away and pulls the hood over her head. With her safely in his arms, Levi turns and jogs past the soldier, toward the wall.
"Let's go."
"Captain, are you really going to bring her inside the walls?"
"Yes. And you are going to keep quiet about it."
Levi reaches the wall and immediately realizes there is a problem. He can't scale the wall with her like this.
"Brat, I need you to get on my back so I can use the gear."
Rhea lifts her head sluggishly from his chest. She glances to the wall, down at his gear, and back up to him, nodding in understanding. With some difficulty, he helps her shift onto his back. The uncomfortable feeling rises again as her large breasts press against his back, and her thick, bare thighs wrap around his waist. She lays her head down on his shoulder, unable to keep it up, and her warm breath caresses his neck. Levi keeps his face carefully neutral as he grips tightly onto the handles and squeezes the triggers.
"Hold on tightly."
Her warm fingers press further into his chest, and her legs tighten around his waist. Levi and the garrison soldier scale the wall, and he places Rhea on the floor at the top. She plops ungracefully down on the stone and pulls the cloak tightly around her. Levi faces the blonde man, who looks conflicted.
"You. What's your name?"
"Lieutenant Hannes, Sir."
"Hannes, how long until someone comes to investigate this disturbance?"
"The nearest garrison troops should be stationed at the Trost gate. If they sent someone as soon as they spotted your signal, they should reach us in about 10 minutes."
"You will wait here for them to give your report. You saw the signal flare and descended the wall to investigate. I approached the wall with a horse that was left behind. I was alone. Titans attacked from the abandoned village. You and I were the only survivors. Is that understood?"
"But Sir, we can't bring that girl inside the walls, and we especially can't keep her a secret from the government. It's treason."
"It's not forever. We just need time to prove that she's an asset and not a threat. I am taking full responsibility for her. It's better if less people know about her for now. I'm not asking you to commit treason, just to buy us a little time, for the good of humanity."
Hannes stares back at Levi. His whole body is shaking. He glances down to Rhea, who is barely conscious. Something seems to trigger him. He stops shaking, stands straight, and salutes Levi firmly.
"Understood, Sir. You can count on me Captain."
"Good."
Levi lifts Rhea onto his back again, strides to the edge of the wall, and looks down at the city of Trost. He can make out the Scouts headquarters in the distance. It will be tricky, to get there without being seen, but Levi knows how to move in the shadows. It helps that the sun has only just risen. Most of the city is still sleeping peacefully in their homes. Levi scales down the wall, landing in a secluded area, and begins the trek home, with Rhea breathing deeply against his neck, asleep.
Notes:
Hey there guys. I know I'm late again. I'm sorry. This has been a crazy week for me. I'm just gonna warn you now, I'm probably never gonna update when I say it's gonna happen lol. I'm a lifelong procrastinator and a space case, so life just gets in the way a lot. But I promise I will still get the chapters out, even if they are late. Hope you guys enjoy these next two chapters. They were supposed to be one chapter again, but I decided to split them up.