Author's Note: I have a huge crush on Lalisa Manoban.
Chapter 5: A Small Clothing Shop
"I don't blame you for telling those people in the forest who you were, by the way. I know I woulda done the same."
Petra had just finished eating the bread and cheese Hange had distributed after arriving back to their location, alluding to the fact the brunette had taken a little tour into the town super market. Petra stayed in her room the rest of the day, coming up with various avenues on how to pass this time being held captive. When she heard a voice by the entrance, she looked up to see Shane standing with his leather bag slung over his shoulder.
"I...I know you're scared and it must be hard being away from home." He continued. "And to top it all off, Levi took you away from your people. You prolly don't know what to think of us."
The ginger-head quietly absorbed everything he said. This boy with short sandy blonde hair, perhaps a good foot taller than her, couldn't possibly be much older than her younger brother. She felt a pang of longing for her home at his mention of it. "You call him Levi?"
He scratched his head, a goofy smile beginning to spread on his face. "Yeah. He told me to even though he's bout 10 years older." After a short moment, he added randomly, "You make great tea!"
Petra blinked at the topic change, smiling suddenly. "I learned it from my mom back in the day. It's just me, my father, and siblings now, however because she's been in a coma for some months. So I've always been the designated tea maker." She found herself rambling, absurdly comfortable giving away pieces of her life.
Petra felt further encouraged when Shane sat down on the ground near her door, crossing his legs as he continued to listen with an eager smile. Normally, this would have been an odd situation but she couldn't stop to understand what had come over her. "It has been hard. It's been a few weeks since I've seen them when they sent me off. But I know I'll see them again. I think...I don't know what you all want but...I feel like you aren't after my livelihood. And with what people are after nowadays...I think I'm happy knowing that much."
Shane nodded slowly, eyes wide as he placed his bag down beside him, unsure how to answer. She seemed to slightly trust him with everything related and he had enjoyed every moment of it. He was glad there was someone he could engage in conversation with now. The boy took in a dramatically deep breath.
"That was probably a bit much...huh?"
He looked up and Petra's eyes widened at how watery his were.
"A-are you crying? Ahh, I'm sorry you're so young. I shouldn't have put my whole life story on you like that." She placed her hands on the edge of the bed, unsure of whether she should approach the blonde or stay where she was.
"It's nothin. Got something in my eye. And hey! I'm not that little!" He exclaimed, rubbing his eyes, looking away. "I'm probably close to your age yaknow."
Petra couldn't help but burst out into a giggle at that, closing her eyes. When she opened them, she quickly brought her fist over her mouth and cleared her throat, face folding back into seriousness.
Shane's mouth contorted into a confused pout and he turned to look up behind him and found Levi standing there, holding a few heavy loaded bags over his shoulder and under his arm.
"It's time to get going. Shane, go get the horses ready."
"Alrighty, will do." Shane stood up.
"Before you go..." she started, standing up swiftly after Levi left, "I never apologized for the first time I attacked you. I wasn't in the best place but that isn't an excuse so. I'm sorry."
Shane shook his head, eyes lighting up. "Don't worry bout it! That was nothin...You had every right to." With that, he ran off towards Levi, leaving her to stand there wondering honestly what on earth someone like this kid was doing here.
/
They had been riding for a good hour through unmarked fields, barely coming across any company in that time frame. She wondered if Hange was more than a strategist. Maybe she was also their compass, well acquainted with these sparse areas of forgotten land.
It was reaching evening, the cinnamon red of the sky mixing with a light purple hue of approaching dusk, casting dull colors across their path when they stopped the horses in front of a run down looking shop in the middle of nowhere. The entire area looked dead, no houses in sight apart from other short stubbed buildings in the distance like the one they were at. The sign on the shop read Konfektionsgeschaft.
"It's time you wore clothing that suits this terrain." Petra heard Levi say as he got off his horse.
She had been riding with Hange ever since the forest incident, not entirely sure who had devised the arrangement but hadn't implored further. Taking ahold of the side saddle steps, an extension added by Shane back in town to make it easier for her to mount and dismount her horse, she carefully treaded off and landed cleanly on the ground.
Clothing for this terrain? Petra found herself looking down at her crumpled skirts and muddied dress shoes. It hadn't occurred to me before...Had he noticed me staring at my shoes back in that lodge?
A sharp clicking made her head snap up, tingling senses on alert. Just as she recognized what the sound was, she saw Levi retrieve what looked like a long range rifle and attach it to the belt buckle he wore underneath his long winter coat.
"That...Is that necessary..." she began, speaking too soon and too loud to turn back time. He looked over at her, registering her alarm.
"We are in the middle of a raging war between all these self serving countries and to top it off, in a high crime volume area. We won't be as lucky as we were in that forest." He turned and began walking towards the shop, boots creating imprints in the snow accumulated on the ground.
Of course. She should have expected that much. Even the men escorting her had had rifles and guns on them. Come to think of it, if they had...She stared at Levi's back. How was he able to overcome them with that knife then?
Her thoughts were disturbed when Hange brought down a hand over Petra's shoulder. "Let's go do some shopping ayy?!"
Smiling nervously, the ginger-head nodded, following the older woman into the store. Shane stayed behind to watch over the horses and supplies.
The bell chimed loudly once they slid open the heavy door, the fresh smell of musk and furs making its way to Petra's senses. Woah, that's strong, she thought absently, eyes falling over all the aisles of mahogany benches and displays showing off woolen boots and other tough winter wear.
An elder woman with white hair stood at the counter in the back, hands folded together in front of her. It was as if she had been waiting for them.
"Mahre! Been a while! We'll need something road appropriate for this one right here!" Hange pointed at Petra although she did it with both hands, making it seem far more dramatic.
The woman named Mahre kept a stoic expression and then nodded at something behind them and when Petra turned her head, she saw that it had been towards Levi.
The male stood near the entrance with his back against a wall and his arms folded. When he turned his head to look from Mahre to Petra, she quickly looked away and back at the two women in front of her.
The elder woman behind the counter began sizing Petra up and adjusted her glasses. "Come with me, lad."
About a few minutes later, Petra found herself in cotton pants and a woolen vest, adorning some leather boots Mahre fitted her small feet into.
"YOU LOOK ADORABLE AND READY TO TAKE ON MOUNTAIN LIONS." Hange chuckled, clasping her hands together, eyes sparkling with an appreciation for Mahre's clothing handiwork. "Alright, now will you go wait with Levi. I'll be over in a bit!"
Petra felt increasingly embarrassed, as if she was 10 all over again, forcefully fitted into clothing by her grandma and told by random house maids how cute she looked.
Walking towards Levi, the girl found it hard to believe that she would rather stand there in his company than go through that process again. But here she was, releasing a held breath, standing there in comfortable silence.
She peered up at him through her bangs and with a start, looked back down to make sure they were on leveled ground. Was this her first time standing beside him?
"Hey. What the hell are you smiling to yourself for?"
"W-what?" She looked up to find him staring at her inquisitively. "Oh nothing you're short-I mean I'm short but you're taller but you're...close to my height. I just didn't realize it before...That's all." She turned her head away, scrunching her face up mournfully. Why do I forget how to speak?!
"Petra."
She jumped at her name and peered back up at him. "Yes?" Did I say something wrong...
"Do you resent me?"
"...What?" Had she heard right? When he continued to stare at her, no intention to clarify the question, she quickly followed up, "N-no. I suppose I don't."
"That's a relief." He looked up as Hange made her way towards them and the exit. He pushed off the wall and began walking away.
Do you resent me? What could he have meant by that? As in kidnapping her? What made him think that was something he should ask her? Why did he care...
"L-Levi!"
He stopped walking, looking back at her, eyebrows slightly lowered. Had she used his name, after all?
"I don't resent you and I might trust you a little now...but only where it counts. I definitely don't..and w-won't like you!"
A dull silence followed.
She felt a sweat drop but kept her expression firm, hoping he wouldn't see through her tough facade.
Levi was the first to break the silence, turning back around and beginning to walk away. "Whoever told you you had to like me, idiot."
Petra's face heated up.
He had a valid point.
Adjusting her woolen vest, she followed after him and Hange, hoping the cold breeze would erase all the embarrassment she had come to face inside this humble, small clothing shop.