Attachment
Author: Cigamina
Fandom: Shingeki no Kyojin
Protagonists: Irvin Smith and Levi are the main focus
Part: 7/?
Warnings: violence , foul language
Rating: will be M
Disclaimer: Characters unfortunately aren't mine, therefore no money-making~ XDDD
Notes: Not too much yet, story starts a few years before the plot in the anime/manga evolves, in year 835.
Please forgive me for making so many mistakes, English is not my native language and I'm sure you will find plenty of mistakes in there! _
Songs I heard while writing the story below:
Christian Toth - Minimal Set 2013
Daniel Portman - Galvanized
Flying Steps – In da arena
Linked Horizon – Guren no Yumiya
Music Instructor – Rock your body (Brainbug Remix)
Schiller – Schiller
Notes²: I want to thank all people who write me comments and just everybody who reads this story! I really appreciate that and I'm happy about the attention this story is getting! I love you all!
There's a lot more coming up, I'll do my best to update as fast as I can!
Be patient with those two! They still have a very loooong way to go! XDDDD
Attachment– Chapter 7
Resisting the urge to draw back into the shadows of more narrow streets Levi made his way through the sun-flooded main street. His jaw was clenched and he had his hand tightened to fists in the pockets of his tunic, his fingers tightly wrapped around the money Irvin had given him. People were passing by and Levi meandered through them, carefully avoiding being too close to anybody.
It had never been stranger to be walking around the town – and he had never felt out of place like he did. He was waiting for somebody to shove him, to attack him, to try to wrestle him to the ground and take the money away from him – but nothing like that happened. It was broad daylight and very normal people were minding their own very normal businesses – and nobody paid any attention to Levi.
He wasn't used to that. He wasn't used to walking around among other people, to not being afraid of any of them. Trying to keep his face as neutral as he could he eyed passing people wearily, trying to keep track of everything that happened around him. It was much more difficult doing this during the day, at night there weren't as many people walking around, making it easier for him to oversee everything. He felt threatened in a way, waiting for people to scat him, trying to capture him. He nearly dove for the nearest shadows and his hand went for his knife when a group of soldiers bearing the Military Police's unicorn on their jackets passed him – but they didn't even spare him a look, they walked by, talking and laughing.
He was… normal. Just another person walking around the city, minding his own very normal business. But that needed some time to sink in – he had a right to be here, he didn't need to fight or kill people to earn it. He just had it because he wore clothes that were whole and blended in with other people's clothes. The thought was calming him a little – and still he was more than relieved when he finally reached the taylor Irvin had him to. Taking a deep breath he opened the shop's door, bells chimed when he did. Levi entered, looking around the bright room that was filled with cloth and clothes but he couldn't find the person owning all of it – until he heard a woman's voice.
"Just a sec, I'll be right with you!"
His eyes darted into the direction the voice had come from and he noticed a little door at the back of the shop. It was open and only a few seconds later somebody emerged from the room that was behind it, carrying a few panels of fabric in her arms. The woman had red, curly hair that fell past her shoulders and she was smiling, putting the panels onto a table where she most likely would be cutting them into pieces to make clothes from them. She looked up at Levi with bright green eyes, tucking a strand of her curls behind her ear.
"Hi there, how I can – ohhhh I'm glad to see they fit!"
Levi blinked when he saw her smile brighten even more, at first not understanding her excitement, but then he understood. Of course she recognized clothes that she had made on other people.
She came over to him, walking around him to contemplate him from all sides. He eyed her warily, turning his head to look over his shoulder when she disappeared behind him, not wanting to lose sight of her. There was nothing dangerous about her, she just wanted to see her clothes on him but he still was being cautious.
When she stepped in front of him and clapped her hands together happily he looked up to her, she was quite a few inches taller than he was though nowhere near Irvin's height. The man was just ridiculously tall.
"His visual judgment really is nearly impeccable, I'm impressed."
She held a hand out to him, smiling, and he very gingerly took it after a few moments of brief hesitation.
"I'm Vera, nice to meet you, …uhm… Irvin didn't tell me your name, I'm afraid."
That was because Irvin didn't even know it when he came here to buy those clothes, Levi thought darkly. Cocky bastard, he still was.
He looked at her and slipped his hand out of hers, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"It's… Levi."
Knowing that it was no point telling her the way to pronounce his name in the correct way he just stuck with the name Irvin called him by, not minding the sound of it as he was used to it.
Vera smiled and nodded, inclining her head a little.
"Levi, then. I hope you like the clothes, the colours are very good on you. I'm glad I had a few garments, it's not so common that I have clothes in your size. I mostly do clothes for grown-ups."
Levi nodded and looked around the room, taking in the friendly atmosphere and the brightness of the room which helped him to feel more comfortable being inside. It wasn't as bad as being in the garrison that was filled with soldiers and, he had to point it out, dirty. Knowing that it was only a temporary place for the soldiers of the scouting legion to stay in he assumed that it wasn't cleaned often.
Directing his attention back to the red-haired woman he unfolded his arms and reached into the pockets of his trousers.
"Irvin sent me here and he wants me to give you his best regards." He paused briefly when she smiled, bowing a little to him, before he went on. "He told me to get a few more clothes and a cloak. And shoes."
Vera looked around the room and looked at him apologetically before walking over to a stack of clothes that she examined, taking the clothes into her hands and regarding them one by one.
"I don't think I have more things in your size, Levi, I'm terribly sorry. I'm sure I can shorten a few things a little but those will still be huge on you…"
"He told me, in case that you didn't have any clothes in my size, which he expected, to tell you that you have two more days to make new ones."
The woman stood straight and stared at him incredulously, standing with her hands on her hips. Her green eyes were a little wide as if she couldn't believe the degree of impudence of Irvin's request – and Levi really couldn't blame her.
"He really told you that, huh? That insolent brat, his rudeness is incredible at times." She huffed and rushed over to the desk where she fetched a metering rule. "He surely thinks I don't have other clients to serve, doesn't he? Oh Irvin, you're going to owe me for this." She rushed back to Levi who almost took a step back at her fierceness but when she just started to take his measures he stilled, holding out his arms when she told him to. Green eyes looked into his own when she crouched down while gauging him from shoulder to hip. "Tell him I hate him, okay?"
Levi looked at her, shivering a little when she pushed his tunic up to measure the range of his hips.
"He told me you would tell me to do that."
Vera stared at him for a moment and then she started laughing – which surprised Levi a little, it seemed that the woman was not as angry as she wanted to appear.
"Oh boy, that man is unbelievable. You be careful, he tends to be a manipulative little shit at times."
Levi felt the need to snort but didn't, just settled with looking straight ahead darkly when she stood up and took the length of his arm. "Who are you telling this to…"he murmured quietly underneath his breath.
When Vera had taken all his measures and noted them down on a piece of parchment she looked at him, the smile back on her face.
"All done. Tell mister corporal Irvin bastard Smith-" Her expression darkened a little. "-that the clothes will be ready in two days, you can come pick them up then." Levi had to admit he liked her, he appreciated the way she kept insulting Irvin.
He reached into his pocket and presented her the money Irvin had given to him a little earlier, holding it out to her in his hands.
"How much for all of it…?"
He didn't have any clue about how much he was supposed to give to her, money didn't have a value for him – he had never paid anything with money before, he didn't know what the coins were worth in goods. He would have to trust her to take the right amount – he didn't know her well but Vera and Irvin seemed to know each other, he assumed he could trust her not to rob money from Irvin.
Vera looked at him and frowned a little, then looked down at the golden coins that laid in his palms. She seemed to count for a few moments and reached out, taking a few of the coins from Levi and showed him what she had taken.
"That will do, it's for another two tunics, shirts, trousers, underwear, socks and the cloak."
There were still some coins left and Levi thought for a few moments, looking around the shop and then back at Vera, eyeing her a little warily.
"I still need shoes… and I want a scarf, too. Can I get this here, too?"
He felt stupid in that moment – he had never needed to know where to buy what kinds of goods… biting his tongue he watched her look around the shop, tapping her lip in consideration before her eyes lit up. She exclaimed an 'Ahhh!' and walked over to a little cupboard, opened one of the drawers and pulled a few scarves from there, holding them up.
"Blue? Black? Or Red? Purple?"
"Does the colour matter…?"
Vera laughed and put the red and purple scarves back into the drawer, coming back with a dark blue and a black one.
"As I'm going to make your clothes from green, white, blue, brown, red and black fabric I think you go best with blue and black." She took another coin from Levi and motioned him to put the remaining money back into his pocket before putting the blue scarf loosely around Levi's neck and putting the black one on the table with the panels. She leaned on the table and pointed towards the window, Levi followed the gesture and turned to see what she was pointing at.
"For shoes I suggest you go over there, they have good ones."
There was a shop on the other side of the street, they had a few pairs of shoes behind their window.
Levi looked back at Vera and nodded, hesitated a little before he asked her, feeling stupid again.
"The…money that I got left… will be enough for shoes?"
She cocked her head to the side and smiled, straightening up and walking over to him.
"Depend on how many pairs you want to buy but it is more than enough for another two."
Levi nodded, relieved about her answer, and set to ask his next question, feeling a hated blush creep onto his cheeks when he did so.
"And… I need things for… cleaning teeth…?" He had seen the stuff in Irvin's bathroom this morning, at first not really realizing what it was, but he had sniffed the jar of the white paste and had recognized the pleasant smell of it on Irvin's breath – and had put two and two together. He had always cleaned his teeth by chewing on little twigs or rubbing down his teeth with roots of plants, just as he had been taught – but the things he had seen this morning seemed much more effective to him and he wanted them, too.
Vera nodded, looking a little surprised by his request, and then pointed down the streets.
"You can get those things a few houses down the streets, at Rita's. She sells a whole bunch of medical things and body hygiene stuff, too, you will recognize the shop by the white cross above the door."
Levi nodded again, slightly bowing his head to the woman.
"Thank you…"
She smiled at him and repeated the movement, tossing her hair over her shoulder before moving to stand at her table.
"Anytime. Now, I'll get back to work – there's clothing I need to have ready by the day after tomorrow." She winked at him and Levi's lips twitched. He pulled his new scarf tighter around his neck and looked at her.
"I'll see you, then."
She smiled and raised her hand, waving at him.
"Take care, Levi. And don't forget to give Irvin a piece of my mind, will you?"
He offered her a slight smile and turned around, leaving the shop to let her get back her to her work.
His trip to the store where they sold shoes went by rather quickly, he showed them his shoes and told them to give him another pair of those and a pair of boots that were more suitable for wearing in winter. Carrying a bag with his purchases down the street he found the shop with the white cross above the door and entered, the urge to buy a lot of stuff for keeping himself as clean as he could growing stronger and stronger.
He stayed longer in that shop, looking at everything and ending up buying lots of things. Nice-smelling soap to wash his hair and another one for his body, things that they called toothbrush, a jar of pleasant-smelling toothpaste, a strong-smelling dissolution that was supposed to help him keep his whole mouth clean, a little, flexible plate made from silver that he was supposed to clean his tongue with. He was already dying to try it all out, he had a woman explain it to him. He had also been assured that his teeth were fine which he had been really glad about, he knew that toothache was a terrible thing – he had seen it.
Still having some coins left in his pocket he returned to the garrison, passing the guards without any questions asked, they merely greeted him rather cheerfully. Irvin had most likely told them to let him in and out as he pleased – how considerate of him. Levi huffed quietly and carried the things that he had bought into the corporal's private rooms, placing the shoes next to his bed and taking the rest of the things into the bathroom. He put all of it onto an empty shelf and got to work right away, cleaning his teeth and mouth with everything that he had bought.
Knowing that he would touch horses and reek of them later he refrained from trying the new soap, putting himself off to do it later that night. He put all the things he had used back onto the shelf, pausing a moment to look at Irvin's things that were strewn around the washbowl. The man… was very untidy, judging from his desk, the way he threw his clothes and those things here around. Pressing his lips into a thin line the boy put away Irvin's things, too, storing them at the other side of the shelf he had put his things on to.
He had just set the last item onto the shelf when he heard noise on the other side of the open bathroom's window and he moved to see what was happening. It seemed that the party meeting that lord Irvin had mentioned in the morning was back, some soldiers were arriving with their horses. Levi recognized one of them to be Dallas Zacklay and his eyes narrowed a little, moving to search for Irvin. He wasn't really hard to find, sitting on the only white horse there was. He was giving some instructions and then swung his right leg over the horse's long neck to slide from the saddle, landing on his feet and grabbing the horse's reins.
Levi turned away from the window and looked around, finding the bathroom in perfect order. He nodded to himself and then left the room, heading downstairs to the room where they had eaten in the morning. Choosing to stand close to the door so he had it in visible range instead of going inside and sitting down at a table he waited for Irvin to appear. He didn't want to be stared at and questioned what he was doing here – he doubted that Irvin had explained his being here to every soldier and he wasn't in the mood for stupid questions.
Soldiers passed him without noticing him and filed into the common room, most of them busily chatting with each other – Irvin was one of the last. Levi pushed himself away from the wall he had been leaning at and followed the blond man into the room, looking around to seek him out. He found him standing at one of the tables, talking to the tall, blond man who had seated himself across from Levi this morning when Irvin had gotten the food for them. Levi narrowed his eyes a little, the man was strange. He came over to their table after Irvin had left the room, sniffing the air as if he was trying to smell something in particular – which had been the case, Irvin had told him. The particular smell had been Levi's smell. He felt uncomfortable about it and he would watch the man closely when he was around. That was why he didn't approach Irvin any further, waiting for him to finish. He was aware of the looks he was receiving from other soldiers, some had noticed him by now, and he was getting uncomfortable.
The blond man, Mike, chose this moment to look past Irvin and noticed Levi which caused him to point that out to the other blond man, gesturing in Levi's direction. Irvin looked over his shoulder and tapped the men's table twice with his fingers, excusing himself before turning around to face Levi. Irvin smiled and Levi couldn't help it but feel a little comforted by the gesture. The blond man closed the distance between them and pointed at the same table that they had sat at when eating breakfast, it wasn't occupied at all.
"Glad to see you, Levi. Why don't you sit down over there? I'll get our food. Oh, and take that with you."
He handed him a little bag and Levi took it, it was light. Levi nodded and walked over to the table, sitting down on the same chair as he had sat on in the morning while Irvin left the room, undoubtedly going to the kitchen to get another tray full of food. He didn't get it… he didn't know why this man did all that for him. Buying him clothes, making sure he ate properly – and without asking for anything in return. Levi had agreed to sign up for military training, yes – but it wasn't something that served Irvin Smith personally.
He sat the bag down on the floor next to his chair and shook his head, not wanting to go into that any further. He had successfully not thought about it the whole morning and he wanted this to go on, just pretending that this was… absolutely not fishy.
Looking around the room unremarkably he noticed that soldiers left the room and returned with filled plates a little later, they seemed to all go to the kitchen to get their share of food. Levi tried to see what they were eating but he didn't really recognize anything. He hadn't had too many cooked meals in his life, the things he had been able to steal had been bread, pastries, sausages… things that didn't need to be cooked. This morning he had eaten fish, eggs and cooked vegetables for the first time.
He received another few curious stares but it seemed that now that they had seen Irvin Smith interact with him his being there wasn't questioned any farther. Mike also looked at him and when Levi's gaze crossed his he raised his hand in greeting. Levi blinked and then hesitantly nodded, showing the man that he had acknowledged the gesture. He half expected the man to come over again but that didn't happen – and he was glad about it.
Hearing footsteps he looked over his shoulder to see Irvin walking up to their table, a tray in his hands. It seemed that Levi was getting special food again, if they were going to eat what the others ate Irvin wouldn't have needed a tray. The blond man set the tray down on the table and moved to sit down on his chair, starting to scatter the plates. The delicious smell of food rose to his nose and he felt the familiar urge to grab for it, stuff as much of it into his mouth as he possibly could because he could never be certain that there wasn't somebody going to take the food away from him – even though he didn't need to worry about it, here. Nobody would take his food away, he knew that. It was very hard to suppress the instincts that had been burnt into his behavior, though.
Levi got another mug of tea and one of milk, a plate filled with some pale meet in sauce and orange… vegetables if he guessed correctly. There were steaming yellow things on another plate and judging from their shape he would say that they were potatoes but he had never seen them cooked so he wasn't sure. He just knew that they were poisonous when eaten raw. There was another little bowl filled with… a yellowish… paste. He frowned slightly and poked at the stuff with his fork, learning that it was rather soft – and he heard Irvin chuckle. Looking up at the sharply he looked at him, narrowing his eyes a little.
"What's so funny?"
The man's blue eyes almost sparkled when he smiled, his charm was almost disgusting.
"Just your way of poking the pudding like it's going to attack you. It's sweet and vanilla-flavoured and the dessert." Levi just glared at him and Irvin smiled, completely unfazed, gesturing at the food vaguely. "You know the rest? The meat is chicken the nice ladies told me."
Levi lowered his gaze to look at the food, really wanting to start eating but he pointed at the plate with the yellow things, just in case. "This?"
Irvin raised his eyebrows and inclined his head, looking at Levi curiously.
"Boiled potatoes, peeled. You've never had any…?" When Levi arched one eyebrow the corporal seemed to rethink his question and noticed the stupidity of it. "Let me take that back. No cooking… and they're poisonous when eaten raw." There, answered his own stupid question. Levi couldn't help but feel a little smug. He nodded and started eating, learning that the orange vegetables almost tasted a little sweet. He sunk his fork into one of the two pieces of meat and lifted it from his table, leaned forward to take a bite of the piece. The sauce was dripping off it back to the plate and somehow he already knew that this couldn't be the right way to eat this before he heard Irvin clear his throat. He shot the blond soldier a glance, Irvin held a knife out to him, smiling softly.
"It's easier if you cut it first."
Levi snatched the knife from Irvin's fingers, feeling a blush creep into his cheeks and hating himself for it. He had never been properly taught how to eat with cutlery – eating soup with a spoon had been self-explanatory and this morning's food had been eatable with a fork. He glared at Irvin, waiting for him to laugh at him again – but the blond man didn't, he showed Levi his hand's instead.
"Here, that's how you hold it. You're right-handed, right?" When presented with Levi's blank stare he just waved it off. "Nevermind, just mirror me. Knife in the right hand, fork in the left." Levi stuck with mirroring Irvin, holding knife and fork like the older man did. "Good. Now stick the fork into the meat at the edge of the piece to hold it in place and use the knife to cut off the piece containing the fork." Levi did so a little clumsily, it made sense, though - he could now put the piece of meat into his mouth without making a mess on the table – or himself if he was unlucky.
"Good. You can do another few helpful things when using both knife and fork. "
Irvin smiled and cut his own meat, using the knife to push some of the orange vegetables onto his fork to eat them together with the meat. Levi cut off another piece of meat and mirrored Irvin's action of pushing more food onto the fork which resulted in having too much food on his fork – which he realized after he had put all of it into his mouth, chewing was a little difficult.
They ate in silence, Levi was concentrating on eating neatly and watching Irvin doing just that; Irvin was busy with his food, trying to mask the fact that he was watching Levi in return. He wasn't really bothered by it, knowing that the man wasn't silently mocking him because he had never eaten with cutlery before.
Levi made short work of his food, devouring meat, vegetables and the potatoes (that tasted surprisingly mild and bland). He also downed his tea and Irvin refilled his mug for him, Levi hadn't really noticed that he had been thirsty all along.
They had started with the dessert (Levi had been informed that dessert was meant to be eaten after the actual meal) when Irvin asked him about his morning, scooping up pudding with his spoon. Levi, who had already eaten half of the pudding in his bowl, looked up at him.
"I went to the taylor, I bought clothes, shoes and… a few other things."
Irvin nodded and took a sip of his water, arching his eyebrows in question.
"Oh, Vera did have another few clothes in your size?"
Levi ate another spoon of the pudding-paste-thing, making a mental note for himself that he apparently loved vanilla – this stuff was about the best stuff he had ever tasted. He shook his head at the corporal's question.
"No. I asked her for more clothes and she told me that she didn't have any. So I told her that you told me to tell her that she had two days for making some clothes. She called you an insolent brat and told me to tell you that she hates you."
Irvin stared at him for a second, blinked and then had the audacity to laugh. Levi watched him, almost a little disappointed that he was so utterly unfazed by the fact that the woman might be a little mad at him. Cerulean eyes sparkled and he sat back on his chair, lifting his arms a little when he shrugged.
"I told you she would… but insolent brat? She really said that?" Levi nodded and Irvin chuckled. "Brat… she's not even that much older." Levi did notice that he didn't even try to rebut the 'insolent' in front of the 'brat'. "But she's doing the clothes, then?"Levi nodded again and finished his pudding, contemplating to ask for a refill. But he felt pretty full… and he vividly remembered throwing up the previous night, he really didn't want to risk being sick again.
Irvin seemed satisfied and finished his pudding, too while Levi was sipping his milk. He wasn't too fond of the taste but Irvin had told him during breakfast that it held some stuff that was important for the bones and so Levi drank it. He was curious if he would really grow a little taller now that he was stuffed with food every day.
The blond soldier leaned back on his chair and sipped his water, looking at Levi.
"I'm glad you got everything. I got you another something, too. It's in the bag I gave you earlier."
Levi frowned and set the mug down on the table, reaching for the bag instead and put his hand inside, feeling cloth and something harder. He pulled its contents out of the bag and needed a moment until he realized what it was.
"Those will be better for horseback-riding, the pants are reinforced in some places and those boots are the best things to ride in. I got them at one the Guard's garrisons, it's the smallest they had. I hope they fit."
Irvin had brought him the Military's typical dirty-white trousers of their uniform, a white shirt to wear with it and the brown boots. That was good because Levi had already dreaded the thought of having to walk around in clothes that were reeking of horse and probably filthy. He wanted to keep his new clothes clean and good – the thought of being filthy again was unbearable.
He looked at the blond man, lowering his eyes a little when he softly said, "…thank you.". It still felt awkward to mouth the words but he wanted to express that he really felt that way and so he forced himself to get them past his lips.
Irvin smiled at him and finished his water, starting to put their used dished back onto the tray while Levi took the last few sips of his milk.
"Not for that, Levi."
He finished his milk and put the mug onto the tray, helping to put all the plates and cutlery back onto it as well. When the tray was charged Irvin stood up and reached for it, addressing Levi.
"Go upstairs and get changed, I'll return the dishes. Meet me in the stable when you're ready."
He nodded and got up as well, taking the bag with him as he left the room with Irvin. They parted ways at the stairs and Levi made his way upstairs to go change.
He returned the used dishes to the kitchen and made his way to the stable afterwards, taking off his leather jacket to drape it over the side wall of Flakes's stall. He smiled when the white stallion raised his head from the hay he had been chewing on and approached the door, nudging Irvin's chest with his nose. He reached to the side and grabbed for a carrot, feeding it to the tall horse. Looking him over he could see that his fur had dried already, wet as it had been from the riding they had done to get to the lord they had gone to see in the morning.
Entering the horse's stall he patted the long, elegant neck and slipped a head-collar onto his head, leading the stallion out of the box to tether him in front of it. The horse perked up its ears and looked at Irvin curiously as if asking him 'You have already chased me through the countryside today, what do you want now?'. Irvin smiled and patted Flake's back, feeding him another carrot with the other hand.
"Poor boy, I'm really sorry to bother you again. But it's not going to be strenuous, I promise. He's the weight of a fly, don't worry."
"So you'll teach him how to ride a horse now?"
Irvin looked over his shoulder to see Mike walking up to him, hands casually in the pockets of his white pants. The man chose to lean against the boor of Flakes's stall, crossing his arms in front of his chest and looking at Irvin. He smiled and draped an arm over his horse's back, stroking the white fur at the back.
"Yes. I don't think he's ever seen a horse up close, let alone been on its back before. We're going to be in the saddle for a few days and I think it's useful to get him accustomed to that."
Mike nodded, watching Irvin closely. He seemed to be on the edge of saying something but didn't and Irvin cocked his head to the side.
"Spit it out, what is it?" He knew Mike too well to be ignorant of the fact that the man wanted to say something, they had worked together long enough for him to know when something was up. Mike was as good as he was with masking his emotions but there were little things that gave them away – and the barely noticeable narrowing of his left eye (which he was sure the other wasn't even aware of) was one of those things.
Mike raised his eyebrows and reached out to pet Flakes's nose when the stallion strained his long neck to sniff him.
"What is it with this kid? Where did you get him from?"
Irvin pushed his hand underneath Flakes's thick mane, curling his fingers through the silky fur there while he answered his friend's questions. He had wanted to tell Mike about the whole thing earlier this morning but they hadn't had time for a chat so he was content that Mike had come to see him now. They were alone in the stable as far as Irvin could tell – but he wasn't telling things that were well-protected secrets so he couldn't care less.
"Found him a few nights ago and suggested he should join the military. He's really skilled and I think he's going to be an enrichment to whatever force he's going to join after the military training."
He couldn't be exactly sure about the boy's choice – but his aversion against the Military Police ruled that one out already and the Stationary Guard… Irvin doubted that Levi would like repairing walls and acting out justice in the places too far away from the Military Police to control. He was almost positive that the boy would join the Scouting Legion – but three years of training were long and could of course influence his decision. Irvin was hoping that he would join the Scouting Legion, of course. He could unfold his skills best there – if he was convinced of their cause. He knew that the decision to join the Recon Corps was a fatal one and every soldier deciding to do it because they wanted to fight for the cause of humanity had his heart-felt respect.
Mike frowned at him and poked Flakes's nose playfully.
"How is he skilled? He looks starved to death and even though I don't smell anything fishy around him… he's got a vicious aura about him."
He almost laughed about Mike's way of saying that manners where something Levi probably didn't even know how to spell (scratch that as Levi probably didn't know how to spell anything at all) and settled with smirking.
"He certainly does…" The boy was a handful – and none to underestimate, he had to remind himself. Levi was mostly civil with Irvin because he had earned it – he certainly didn't expect Levi to be the same way with others when they weren't nice to him. "I've seen him in action, you'd be surprised. I can't wait to make him run our training course at the headquarters." He was sure that Levi would outperform at least most of the other trainees if not all of them, his long-trained survival and physical skills were much more advanced than those of usual kids.
Mike nodded slowly, going back to putting his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
"I'm looking forward to watch it. So… there's nothing behind it? No special reason for choosing this kid in particular?"
Irvin looked at him, watching his expression. Mike was looking at him with genuine interest, he knew that he couldn't fool Irvin's attentive eyes when pretending that he didn't really want to know. Mike's nose was very sensitive and he usually knew when something was up – but he was never able to read anything when it came to Irvin. He didn't smell like anything to him – that was why he had to trust on Irvin to be honest with him.
He smiled, deciding to stick to the truth as closely as he felt comfortable with.
"Not really. I just have a good feeling about him, it's an instinct-thing."
Mike looked at him for another little while and nodded, the corners of his mouth turning upwards just a little bit. He never was the type for hearty smiles and Irvin appreciated every effort.
"Your instincts never fail you so I'll go along and trust them." Irvin's smile brightened, it meant a lot to him. He knew he had Mike's unconfined trust, they had worked together very well when Mike had still been in his quad and they had learned to appreciate and respect one another. "Just remember your own words about no longer being able to differ between your soldiers – and having favourites. And you definitely need to talk to Jana."
Irvin almost winced when Mike reminded him of the fact that OH YES, he needed to talk to Jana. This was one of the two things that he disliked about leaving Hermiha – not being able to see his sister for a while was the other one.
He remembered his words. And he didn't see any reason to forget about them.
Looking at Mike he nodded, raising a hand to run his hand through the short hair the back of his neck.
"I know. I will as soon as we're back."
It was going to be a very unpleasant conversation, but it really had to be done – better sooner than later. He needed to get his point across to his fellow soldier –preferable without her making a big deal out of it.
Mike nodded, looking at Irvin almost a little sympathetically – which he really didn't need to, Irvin had chosen this fate willingly. While Mike didn't quite agree with his reasons for the choice he had made regarding partners and the like he was concerned anyway.
"Good."
Irvin mirrored his nod, at the brim of retorting something, when he caught a movement in the corner of his eye. He turned his head to see Levi enter the stable, walking down the aisle towards them. Smiling he looked the boy up and down, he was wearing the pants, the shirt and the boots – the pants seemed a little loose but they would do until Levi got trousers in children-size at the military training camp. Irvin had gotten him the smallest female-size that they had at the Guard's garrison.
Levi had tucked the shirt neatly into his pants, closed all of the shirt's buttons.
"There you are. I'm happy to see they fit."
Levi nodded and threw a glance at Mike, keeping his physical distance to both men when coming to a halt. Mike straightened up and pushed away from the wood he had been leaning at, jerking his head in the garrison building's direction.
"I'll leave you, see you later." Irvin nodded and Mike was about to leave when he paused, turning to face Levi instead. "Just let me warn you, your ass is going to hurt for days."
Irvin bit back on a chuckle when the boy frowned, eying Irvin and the white horse suspiciously and then shifting his gaze back to Mike. Irvin patted Flakes on the back and detached himself from the horse, shaking his head when he looked at Levi.
"Mike's exaggerating, he's actually quite comfortable to ride. It's not that bad."
Mike waved him off, nodding his head in Levi's direction repeatedly.
"It is, you'll see."
Irvin made a tzking sound and made shooing movements with his hands in the other blonde's direction, clearly signaling Mike to take his leave.
"Don't listen to him."
Mike shrugged and finally left them but did so with a chuckle. Irvin smiled at his back for a moment before turning to Levi who was still eying Flakes a little warily. He smiled at the boy and motioned for him to come closer.
"Come here, I'll show you how to take care of him properly."
Levi came over a little hesitantly and Irvin handed him a carrot, motioning him to approach the tall horse further. The white horse turned his head and perked up his ears when he saw the carrot in Levi's hand, already craning his long neck for it and making that endearingly funny thing with his upper lip, twisting it around to reach the carrot.
"His name's Flakes… and I think he really wants to have that carrot."
Levi stepped closer, held the carrot out to him and Flakes gently took it, making short work of the vegetable. He sniffed at Levi, then, probably searching for more carrots – and Irvin was mildly surprised when he nudged him into his narrow chest, the gesture being much gentler than like he always did this to Irvin. Just as if the horse knew that he would maybe knock Levi over when he shoved him too hard. He smiled and bent down to reach for a brush.
"Pet him, I think he likes you."
Their horses never usually disliked anybody, they were trained properly and 100% loyal, carrying everybody on their backs – but of course the horses were more attached to the person riding them frequently. Flakes was very attached to Irvin, he would follow him around like a dog if he wasn't tethered or in some kind of enclosed space. Maybe because he had still been very young when he had gotten him, he had come directly from his training and Irvin was the first soldier to ride him to battle.
To see the white horse being so friendly with Levi (he was just trying to lick Levi's hand even though the boy tried to stop him) was surprising – but it was relieving as his concerns that Flakes might misbehave when sensing an inexperienced rider were narrowed down.
Irvin let Levi get a little more familiar with the horse, watched the boy pet the horse's nose and neck before handing him a brush, taking another one into his own hands.
"We'll groom him first. Putting saddle and bridle onto a dirty horse is going to cause the horse sore spots and we're to avoid that no matter what. Horses are very important for us, we need to keep them in good shape in order for them to perform like we expect them to when we're going outside – apart from us being very fond of our horses. They're our companions and sometimes help us make really narrow escapes – they deserve being well taken care of."
Levi nodded and watched Irvin start grooming the horse's fur, soon mirroring his actions. Irvin smiled and switched to the other side so they would finish faster. It was when the boy bent down to brush the stallion's legs that Irvin was reminded of the length of his hair again, Levi brushed the strands falling into his face behind his ears. Irvin made a mental note to make sure Levi got a proper haircut before he delivered him to the training camp.
He showed Levi how to clean a horse's hooves and then how to attach saddle and bridle properly. Knowing that it took a few times watching the whole process before you could do it all by yourself he was content that Levi watched him closely, probably trying to memorize where each leather strap should be attached.
When Flakes was ready Irvin held the reins out to Levi and the boy took them awkwardly, making Irvin smile when he explained how he was supposed to hold the reins when leading a horse around and that he should walk on the horse's left side.
"Okay, let's go."
He led Levi out of the stable and across the courtyard to the meadow that was enclosed by a fence. It was usually for the horses to graze upon but as the horses were all inside the stable today Irvin wanted to use the free space to make Levi practice.
Irvin opened the gate and Levi led Flakes inside, stopping then and looking at Irvin expectantly. He closed the gate and stood next to Flakes, patting his croup.
"Put the reins over his head, just see that they're not twisted." He waited for Levi to do so and smiled softly when Flakes lowered his head to make the task easier for the short boy. He reached out to pull down the stirrup, walking around Flakes to do the same with the second and returned to the horse's left side. He made Levi stand right at the saddle, pointing at the stirrup.
"Okay, you just put your left foot in there, grab the saddle and –"
The boy was on the horse's back so fast that Irvin couldn't even finish his explanation – and he hadn't used the stirrup, he had somehow climbed the horse with some graceful movements that made Irvin envy him. In military training they had been supposed to mount a horse's bare back – and Irvin had almost failed the task because he just had never gotten HOW to move his body up there with no things helping him. And he had passed just barely, somehow getting onto the poor horse's back but feeling like a flour sack doing so.
He looked up at the boy who was now towering over him by some inches, grinning at him.
"I should have expected that you didn't need any explanation for that."
The boy could also climb wardrobes – and Irvin was sure that trees, houses, brides where things that he could easily climb.
Levi looked down at him, seeming just the tiniest bit smug, and leaned forward to pat the base of Flakes' neck. Irvin took up the reins and twisted them until they made a straight line from the bit to the part where they connected with the other rein and held them out to Levi.
"Here, grab them."
Levi did so and Irvin looked at his hands, reaching for them to cover them with his own. He showed Levi where to put his fingers by guiding him with his own, feeling the other stiffen underneath his touch – and the coldness of his skin. He looked up at him and was met with Levi's blank stare, he cocked his head to the side.
"Are you cold?"
The boy shook his head und his hands twitched a little, obviously confused about the physical contact Irvin was inflicting on him. He couldn't blame him – but he was doing this for a reason. He tightened his grip on the boy's smaller hands and moved his fingers around with his own.
"There, that's how you shorten the reins. You do that when you want to go faster because shorter reins mean more control over the horse. If you don't have the reins short when the horse is running at high-speed you can't really tug on them to make the horse slow down, okay? And if you're really unlucky the horse's front legs will tangle in the loose reins and that… might end up really ugly. So just remember: The faster you want to run the shorter your reins need to be." He moved his fingers again, made the boy loosen his grip on the reins. "That's what you do when you go slower, leaving the horse more room to move its head. Believe me, they're happier like that." Keeping horses on short reins when going slow would only agitate them after a while.
He did notice that the tension slowly left the boy the longer he touched his hands, he was looking down on them with a look of concentration on his face. Irvin smiled, feeling content about the whole thing.
Irvin let go of the boy's hands and moved his right to the boy's leg instead, pushing it up until it was draped over the pad the knee lay against usually, his foot dangling down. Levi stared at him and watched him reach for the straps that attached the stirrups to the saddle.
"What are you doing?"
Irvin smiled.
"I'm shortening the straps so you can put your feet into the stirrups. They're still my length and won't be of any use for you like that."
He showed Levi how to shorten the straps und pulled his leg down when he was done, pushing his foot into the stirrup. Walking around the horse he went to do the same with the other strap, Levi raising his leg on his own this time and insisting on trying it himself.
When they were done Irvin returned to Flakes' left side, patting the horse's neck for being so patient with them. He stood at Levi's left leg and reached out to grab the area containing the Achilles tendon. Levi looked down at him and he looked up, pushing against his foot to make it poke the horse with its heel softly.
"That's what you do when you want to make the horse accelerate. You do it with both heels simultaneously. Usually our horses are well-trained and obey when you tap them lightly but sometimes… they might be a little lazy, you tap a little more urgently and repeat it if necessary."
Levi nodded and repeated the movement, apparently using both of his feet because it made Flakes take a step. Irvin moved with him and reached for the reins, pulling on them to make the horse stop, and smiled up at Levi.
"Yes, exactly like that."
The boy had just moved with the horse's movement, hadn't been thrown off-balance by it at all. Irvin noticed that with approval, it confirmed his expectations of Levi having no nameable difficulties with adjusting to the movements of a horse.
Levi readjusted himself in the saddle, looking down at Irvin.
"And how do I make the horse slow down? Just pulling at the reins that I have shortened before?"
He smiled, the boy was catching up quickly. Putting a hand onto the boy's thigh he pushed against it lightly, seeing the boy frown at him.
"You pull, yes, carefully. But you also shift your weight back, making yourself seem heavier – and you tense the muscles in your thighs, like you want to close your legs a little. The horse feels that and those things combined will do the trick."
Levi looked at him, nodding slowly and Irvin pulled his hand back, done with explaining things and touching Levi to show him how he wanted him to move his limbs.
"That sounds complicated."
Irvin laughed and took a step back, shaking his head.
"It really isn't, you just need a little while to get used to it." He made a vague gesture around himself. "Okay, I think I explained most things to you. Let's practice a little. I want you to ride around me, just make a wide circle. If you want to go more to the right you pull the right rein, same with left. Go slow at first and get used to the movement. And if you have any questions, just ask."
Levi nodded, took a deep breath and then tapped Flakes' flanks with his heels tentatively, making the horse start moving. Grabbing the reins a little shorter at Irvin's command he directed Flakes to move around Irvin in the wide circle he had requested.
It was all going very well, Levi was able to implement most of the things Irvin had explained to him and the older man was watching him, feeling a little proud. The boy sat straight on his horse's back, fully concentrating on everything Irvin told him to do and not really looking like he had never done this before. When Irvin explained that horses had three different paces that all felt differently Levi asked him if he could try the other two and Irvin didn't see any reason why he shouldn't. So he told him to make Flakes go faster and explained that he had to move up and down with the horse's steps when trotting, using the stirrups to get up in the saddle and sitting back down repeatedly. You could also stay seated when trotting but that was comfortable neither for the rider nor for the horse.
He watched in amazement that after a few jolty movements Levi got the rhythm already, moving up and down with Flakes' steps with increasing easiness. He had even thought about grabbing the reins a little shorter.
Irvin was highly pleased when the boy mastered gallop as well, both seating in the saddle and standing in the stirrups, bent over the horse's neck. Well… that was all there was that he could make the boy do, the rest was practice. So he put to tell the boy that he could slow down now – when Flakes suddenly sped up. The white horse raced along the fence, leaving the circle he had been moving in before, and his pace quickened even more. Irvin stared after him, his eyes widening. Shit. He was about to run after them but he knew that it would be pointless – he watched the galloping horse with his heart pounding hard against his chest, raking a hand through his hair nervously. He could only pray that Levi wouldn't fall off. He had never experienced Flakes kick out when somebody rode him and he really, really hoped that today wouldn't be the day that he decided to try it.
As the meadow was flat he could watch them reach the end of it and they made a loop, coming back to the front. Levi was still in the saddle and Irvin was already preparing to grab the horse's reins when he sped past – but… when the pair approached Irvin… he could see that Levi held the reins short. And he was bent low over the horse's neck. And… when he approached further, he got a look on the boy's face – there was no fear. Oh no. The boy was smiling, the wind whipping his unruly black hair around furiously. Irvin closed his eyes and heaved a relieved sigh when he realized that the boy had made Flakes run on purpose. Oh god, that might have cost him years of his life.
The two of them sped past him and made another loop, heading back to the far end of the meadow to race another round – Irvin could have sworn that he heard the boy laugh.
The white horse slowed down eventually after the second round, his cadence decreasing until he fell into trot and finally back to step, coming to a halt in front of Irvin. The white horse was breathing harshly through its nostrils and Levi was still smiling, his cheeks a little flushed from the exertion and the wind that had whipped into his face.
"That was amazing."
He sounded a little out of breath, too, and Irvin smiled, reaching out to pat Flakes' neck.
"That was scary. And dangerous." But he couldn't blame Levi, he had never said that he couldn't go faster, and he wasn't about to chide him. He was just relieved that nothing bad happened to either Flakes or Levi. The dark blue eyes were looking at him and the pale lips curled into a smirk. He took the reins into one hand and used the other to stroke the horse's sweaty neck.
"Were you afraid I would fall off?"
"Yeah. There's no cure for a broken neck.", Irvin said pleasantly.
The boy tzked and Irvin told him to march the horse for another while, that was highly needed after the crazy racing. Levi obeyed, making Flakes walk around Irvin to stay in earshot.
"Give me some credit, will you? I felt safe and I wanted to see what it is like… to just ride as fast as you could."
Irvin could comprehend where the desire had come from – his heart was still beating a little faster from the shock. He had really been worried about Levi. He smiled at the boy and left his spot on the meadow, walking over to hoist himself up to sit on the wooden fence.
"I can tell that this wasn't his top-speed. He can go faster if there're no fences around. Maybe, if we have time when we're back at the headquarters, we can go for a ride – and I can show you what the horses are really capable of."
Levi made another circle and approached Irvin, the look on his face gave away how much he was dying to do just that – race through the countryside on a horse's back, going as fast as possible. Irvin smiled at him when the boy halted the white horse next to him and reached out to pet Flake's forehead when the stallion craned his head to sniff Irvin's hands.
"And I do give you credit, Levi. That was really amazing - I wouldn't have expected you to master this as quickly as you did. I'm kind of… proud of you."He really was, so far the boy was really doing great. If he proved to be as subtle with the other things demanded from the trainees Irvin had no concern about making him enter the training even though the other kids had already been trained for several weeks. Levi would still be ahead of them – provided he was as clever with the 3D-manouever-gear as with riding a horse.
Levi stared at him, then turned his head and poked his heels into the horse's flank, making Flakes walk again and hiding the blush that was creeping onto his face – Irvin had seen it, there was no denying it. He just smiled contently.
He let Levi ride another few rounds before swinging his legs over the fence, hopping off at the other side of it. He opened the gate from outside the meadow and let Levi pass him before closing the gate and falling into step with his horse. They headed back to the courtyard and Irvin made Levi dismount the horse in front of the stable. He looked at him in surprise when Levi swung his right leg over Flakes' neck and slid from the saddle, landing on his feet gracefully. That… was very unusual – and exactly the way Irvin sometimes dismounted when he felt a little giddy, just like when they had come back from the lord earlier. Maybe Levi had seen him do it from the window? He hadn't exactly set a good example, then.
"Actually you bend forward and swing your right leg over the horse's croup and slide back to the ground then." At the boy's bored look he laughed, holding up his hands defensively. "At least I told you like you're supposed to do it, in theory."
Levi looked up at him, his gaze almost piercing.
"I've never been one to do what you're supposed to."
Irvin couldn't argue with that and he just let the matter drop. Levi grabbed for the reins and lead Flakes back into the stable, waiting for Irvin to explain what you did with a horse after having ridden it.
They left the stable a little later, Flakes put back into his stall and all the things they had used put away. The white horse had been briefly groomed again and fed carrots, some oats and a bunch of hay which he was chewing on happily when they left. Irvin had also retrieved his jacket that he had draped over the wooden wall of Flakes' stall earlier
They returned to the garrison and walked up the stairs to get back to Irvin's quarters where he stretched, thinking about how to spend the three hours they had until they would be going down to the common room to eat again. On second though… he knew how to spend some of the time.
"I think I want to clean up." He had spent an awful lot of time grooming horses today, making him probably need another bucket of water and soap desperately. Levi looked up at him, his features unreadable.
"Can I… use the tub…?, he said, his voice carefully guarded.
Irvin smiled and nodded, gesturing in the bathroom's direction.
"Of course you can, that's what it's there for. Did you figure out how it works?" The boy frowned a little and Irvin took that as a cue that the answer was 'no'. "Come with me, I'll show you quickly."
The boy followed him to the bathroom and Irvin showed him the oven below the tub. "Just put wood in and light it with a match, then you pour the water. Test the temperature until it's warm enough for you and then just close off all the openings here to quench the fire slowly.", he said, showing the boy the leverage he had to actuate to enclose the fire. "The water stays warm for a while like that but won't get hotter." The bottom of the wooden tub consisted of a specially laminated material that warmed up but never get too hot to sit on it. Irvin had no idea how it worked but he had learned to appreciate it a lot.
Levi nodded, eyes roaming the leverage again to memorize where it was before fixing on Irvin. He smiled, reaching up to undo the gear's strap on his chest.
"Just give me some minutes in here, you can have the bathroom all to yourself for as long as you want afterwards."
The boy left, closing the door behind him, and Irvin continued his business.
When he came back to his office a little later, clad in clean clothes and his hair still a little damp he found Levi sitting on the broad window sill, his legs crossed underneath him. Dark blue eyes looked up when Irvin entered and he smiled, gesturing at the door to his bedroom in invitation.
"Bathroom's free. I already lit the fire and poured some water into the tub."
Levi blinked, uncrossed his legs and hopped off the window sill, walking over to the door. He threw Irvin a quick glance and ducked his head, mumbling '…thank you…' before he disappeared into the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Irvin just smiled and went to sit at his desk, reaching for one of the unfinished reports. The boy was warming up… very slowly, but he did.
He got lost in his work, there was still so much left to do until they would return to their headquarters. But he was optimistic that he wouldn't have to take anything back with him there, he still had tonight and the next night and half a day on the day that they would leave Hermiha – that time should be sufficient.
By the time Levi returned from the bathroom he had another few reports done, the pile with the unfinished ones getting smaller slowly. He smiled at Levi, they boy had changed back into the clothes Irvin had bought for him, added by a scarf that he must have gotten in the morning. He was willing to bet that Vera had suggested the dark blue scarf, it went well with the lighter blue colour of the tunic and accentuated his eyes, too.
He glanced at the clock, they still had an hour until they were going to eat – that was enough time for starting with another lesson.
Levi, his unruly hair still damp but combed neatly, came over to him in a bee-line and Irvin smiled, patted the bearing surface of the chair next to him.
"Sit down, I want to show you something."
The boy arched one of his thin eyebrows and came over, sat down on the chair next to Irvin. He pulled his legs up and crossed them, resting his bent legs against the armrests of the chair. It occurred to him that Levi only did that when they were alone, he hadn't done it downstairs in the common room.
Taking a book from his desk he held the cover turned to himself, looking at Levi. He was going about this lightly, knowing if he went about it wrong he could cause a little explosion – and he wasn't in the mood for that, the day had been surprisingly peaceful and he wanted it to remain that way.
"I apologize in advance for being biased but I need to ask this. Have you, by any chance, ever been taught how to read and write?" He thought it was highly impossible if the boy had really spent all his life living on the streets but he wanted to make sure, preventing the book he wanted to give him to appear like an insult.
Levi's face went blank and Irvin already braced himself for a snippy remark when the boy lowered his eyes, placing his hands in his lap.
"I… have been told some things. Some letters… and numbers. But not too much."
Irvin was genuinely surprised by the boy's answer and he waited for him to elaborate a little further but was almost certain that he wouldn't. He didn't seem like he wanted to talk about it… Irvin would drop it, for now. Even though he couldn't deny that he was interested in the matter… who could have taught him letters and numbers when the boy claimed to have been living alone on the streets?
He refocused his attention on the boy and held out the book to him, making Levi look up at him.
"I got you something this morning. I hope it's not too much below your capacities, I made the mistake of assuming things that I should have clarified before."
The boy hesitantly took the book from his hands and looked at it, Irvin wondered if he could read what the front page said so he went to elaborate without stating the obvious.
"It's for practicing. It's good that you know some things already, that will make it a lot easier." He had gotten him a book that children worked with in school when they learned the alphabet and writing and reading their first words. Some basic skills of that would be required in military training and he wanted to make sure that Levi attained those basics until he would start his training. He had seen some comrades struggle when he had been in training himself, some hadn't been so lucky to have parents who could afford the education Irvin had been provided with.
He reached over and opened the book, turning a few pages.
"They make you write the individual letters and give you pictures with the content's word next to it, showing you how to pronounce the words that you see pictured. You should be able to recognize letters and sounds of syllables rather quickly that way."
Levi nodded and flipped a few pages himself before looking up at Irvin, his face carefully impassive.
"Why did you get me that?"
He smiled and leaned back in his chair, bending a leg to set the ankle of his foot on the other leg's knee.
"Because you'll need to read and write to some extent in your military training. Might as well start practicing now that you still have some time."
Apparently thinking about his words for a few seconds the boy was silent, speaking up again eventually.
"Will you send me to military training right after we leave Hermiha?"
His voice was bare of emotions and the dark blue eyes looked up at Irvin, still too impassive to not being regarded as a mask he was using to hide emotions he might be feeling. Irvin placed his hands in his lap and looked at him, unable to figure out the sudden need for the mask. He had already learned that most of the emotions he openly showed were masks to hide what he was really feeling. The bored expression he was so fond of hid confusion, his rage insecurity and pain. The impassiveness hid other things he didn't want others to see. Irvin had seen him without a mask when he was riding Flakes. Not only when he had smiled and laughed because the crazy racing had made his adrenaline explode – it was when he was really concentrating, just following Irvin's instructions and doing his best to do everything right. There he had been just himself.
"We'll stay at the Scouting Legion's headquarter to rest a day or two after the journey there. I'll take you to the nearest camp, then, there happens to be one just half a day's ride away, near Trost."
The boy nodded, then turned his attention back to the book in his hands. He looked around the desk, frowning at the things littering it and apparently couldn't find what he was searching for.
"Can I have a quill?"
Irvin thought a moment and reached out, moving folders around until he found another quill just below the undermost folder. He handed the quill to the boy who took it, the frown deepening when he saw the slightly disheveled state of the quill. He arched an eyebrow at Irvin and the older man grinned a little sheepishly, moving the ink so they could both dip their quills into it.
"It's a good quill, don't judge it because of its appearance."
The boy threw him a bored stare and made a vague gesture in the general direction of his desk.
"I don't judge the quill, I judge your chaos. How do you possibly find things? Do you even know which reports you already finished?"
Sometimes the boy's open bluntness took him by surprise and he needed a moment to have his reply ready.
"It's not chaos, I do perfectly well know where my things are. There's a sophisticated system behind all this which took me years to develop." He may have exaggerated a little with that last statement.
The boy arched his thin eyebrows and looked at him, that bored expression back on his face.
"Yeah, sure. You might have mastered it but it's still chaos."
He turned his attention to the book and flipped back to the 6th page where he set to writing the letter 'A' in the lines provided for that, putting an end to their conversation. Irvin chuckled softly and got back to his own tasks.
The silence between them was a strangely comforting one, Irvin didn't mind the boy next to him at all. He usually was very uninspired by people being in his office when he tried to work but it was different with Levi. Maybe due to the fact that the boy didn't want his attention and stuck to his own work, being silent except for the scratching noise of quill on paper, but Irvin appreciated the company in a way. The boy didn't distract him, he just sometimes pushed the book into Irvin's field of vision and made him pronounce a letter that he didn't know before continuing to write said letter down.
They worked in silence until it was time for them to get downstairs to eat. Leaving their work to continue later they went downstairs to the kitchen and Irvin almost regretted bringing Levi there when the woman started fussing over the boy. They suggested giving the boy more food because 'O dear goddesses, you look starved to death!', but Irvin politely told them off, explaining that the boy was getting the special diet for a reason and that it was fine this way. To spare the boy more fussing he asked what they had prepared for the meal and they let themselves be distracted, filling things into bowls and putting it all onto a tray.
They were allowed to leave a little later, Irvin carrying another tray filled with food, most of it light food for Levi. He had asked for it insistently because he remembered the boy's reaction to eating a lot in the evening quite vividly and he didn't want a repetition of the previous night. So Levi got clear soup, vegetables, some chicken left over from lunch and a little bread. And, because the boy had nearly died from keeping himself from asking for it, another bowl of vanilla pudding. He was very fond of it, Irvin could tell.
They returned the dishes when they were finished and returned to Irvin's office to work for another little while. He noticed that the boy had an air of determination around him while he wrote his letters, he was fully concentrated and he worked efficiently, Irvin could tell. And he kind of admired his handwriting, it was very neat. He had some practice, it was visible in the way he wrote.
He called it a night another couple of hours later, knowing that he would get up very early in the morning. Rubbing his eyes he turned to the boy who was still curled up in the chair next to him, the book settled in his lap.
"You can stay up longer if you like to, you're not bound to going to bed just because I do."
The boy looked at him for a few seconds and then shook his head, blowing the page he had been writing on softly to make the ink dry faster.
"No, it's fine."
Irvin nodded and got up from his chair, leaving the report he had half finished lie open on his desk. Levi frowned a little and blew at his page another time, carefully touching the ink to see if it was safe to close the book now. It seemed to be because he did just that, closing the book and placing it neatly in a corner of the desk. He placed the quill on top of it and sat up in his chair to put the lid on the vessel that contained the black ink. Irvin watched him, thinking to himself that he had discovered a really neat person. Admirable, in a way, because he wasn't and would never be a tidy person.
They moved to the bedroom and repeated the routine of the night before, Levi went to the bathroom first while Irvin changed and when he was back, already in the clothes that he slept in, it was Irvin's turn to use the bathroom.
When he came back a little later the boy sat cross-legged on his bed, looking up at Irvin – and he remembered that he had wanted to do something which he went to do a second later. He walked over to his wardrobe and pulled out a few more folded blankets, putting them on Levi's mattress. The boy frowned at him and then at the blankets.
"What are those for?"
Irvin just smiled softly and went back to his bed, sitting down on the edge of the mattress.
"To cushion up the wardrobe if you intent to sleep on top of it again."
It was obvious that Levi hadn't expected that, from the way he stared at Irvin before he averted his eyes, his cheeks blushing. He didn't thank him but Irvin didn't need him to, he just blew out the candle on the nightstand and slid beneath his covers, smiling. He heard the rustling of sheets and guessed that Levi was lying down, not climbing the wardrobe yet. Maybe he wouldn't at all, Irvin would see it in the morning.
He closed his eyes but opened them a few seconds later, deciding to ask now – not because he hadn't dared to while looking at Levi but to make the boy less uncomfortable. The matter might be touchy and he already prepared for the 'Mind your own business' as a reaction to his question.
"Who taught you the letters that you know?"
The 'Mind your own business' didn't come, he was met with a few seconds of silence before he heard the hesitant voice.
"I… lived with somebody for the first few years of my life, he taught me some things… but he died long time ago."
Irvin tried to fit that piece of information into the puzzle that Levi seemed to be, he got some little pieces every day that would maybe fit together perfectly one day.
So… he had lived with a man that apparently hadn't been family for some years, at least. That explained some things, his surviving his childhood-days on the streets, for example. Irvin had already wondered how he had managed… it was hard to a teenager but nearly impossible for a child that was completely on his own. He wanted to ask the boy so many things because he was curious about it – but he didn't want to push the boy too much, knowing that the line between being concerned and being intrusive was a very thin one to walk on.
"I'm sorry." He just settled for what seemed appropriate.
He heard the rustling of sheets again, Levi shifted around in his bed. Silence enveloped the room for another little while until Levi spoke up again. The sound of his voice hadn't changed at all.
"Do you have a schedule for tomorrow?"
Whether the boy had just said anything there was regarding their previous subject or the subject was indeed a touchy one Irvin couldn't tell bur he went along, he didn't see any use in insisting on talking about it. They would spend another few days together, maybe the boy would open up a little more – Irvin certainly wouldn't force him.
Closing his eyes he relaxed underneath the covers that warmed up due to his body heat, making lying there a lot more comfortable.
"I do but you don't. Spend the day the way you want to, it's our last day here in Hermiha. You might want to do some things, go do them."
Irvin would have another meet-up with a noble in the morning and was planning to spend the afternoon with his sister.
"Just come back to eat, that's important." He didn't want the boy to buy food deliberately and stuff it into him as it would only make him sick again.
The boy just hmmed and Irvin felt sleep tug at his senses, making him turn to his side.
"Goodnight, Levi."
The boy repeated the words in a soft murmur and it didn't take Irvin long to fall asleep.
"As a matter of fact, we might need you here."
"Does the situation's urgency really call for this? We've just been through a restructuring… would it really be wise to cause a commotion yet again?"
"We're not talking about tomorrow, Dallis, but if suspicions substantiate we might need to act. And we want you to be prepared if we have to take action."
"Don't take my concerns for hesitance, I'd be honoured. I just think we should try to avoid drawing any kind of attention to us."
"I perfectly agree with you and we will keep this as close to the chest as possible."
"That's advisable, there are people who would strongly oppose any suchlike processes."
"Are you thinking about some people in particular?"
"I don't think that there're open activists around me, no. But you never know. We just need to be careful."
"There's no need to worry, it's not as if we weren't prepared for anything like this."
"That's true."
"Let's turn our attention to more enjoyable topics, then."
General agreement ran through the men sitting at the large table.
THIS CHAPTER WAS SO DAMN LONG. *suffocates slowly*
And nothing really happened…
But it was important, somehow, in some aspects.
I hope you enjoyed reading this anyway!
There will be some Levi background-information in the next chapter!
And we're getting near Irvin and Levi leaving Hermiha~ oh god, I'm really looking forward to having them at the headquarter~~ *_*
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