Attachment

Author: Cigamina

Fandom: Shingeki no Kyojin

Protagonists: Irvin Smith and Levi are the main focus

Part: 8/?

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 chapter below:

Daniel Portman - Galvanized
Lindsey Sterling – Minimal Beat
Lindsey Sterling – Moon Trance

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 8

One of the few things that he could always rely on was his inner clock – once a rhythm had been burned into his system it was very hard to get rid of it again. Having been with the military for 7 years now had indeed established a lingering pattern that Irvin's body worked with; he would never sleep past the hour of roll call. While he wasn't necessarily obliged to line up with the other soldiers in the morning anymore, since he had been promoted corporal, he still woke up in time for it every morning. This could only be cheated by going to bed very early, in that case he would just wake up earlier. His body never really needed more than 6, 7 hours of sleep until it was rested.

He was happy about the accuracy of his inner clock – the only exceptions were holidays. There he would have gladly liked to turn it right off. But he usually didn't have troubles falling back asleep when he really didn't need to get up.

Waking up this morning he opened his eyes slowly he was pleased to see the room only sparely lit – it was too early for the sun to have risen above the horizon yet, it was still during dawn. Just as he had wanted it to be – he had gone to bed early because of a reason.

Turning his head to the side he learned that Levi had indeed climbed the wardrobe at some point during the night, he was faced with an empty bed again. The blankets were gone, too, so Irvin assumed that the boy had heeded Irvin's advice of using them to make the surface a little softer.

He sat up and set his feet on the wooden floor, getting up from the bed. Moving as silently as he could he walked over to the wardrobe and opened it to get a fresh change of clothes, closing the door quietly afterwards and walking into his bathroom. He didn't want to wake Levi, there was no need for him to be up yet.

He got dressed and made himself look presentable, shaved, brushed his teeth and combed his hair into its usual neat look. Leaving the bathroom after a final look into the mirror he went back to his bed to get into his boots. It had gotten lighter in the room by now, the sun was rising slowly and when he turned to walk to the door he stepped on his toes, checking the top of the wardrobe. To find it deserted. At least Levi was nowhere to be seen, the blankets were neatly folded except for the ones that he had used to mattress the wooden surface.

Irvin frowned, looking around the room even though he was certain that the boy wasn't here. While he had never said that Levi couldn't leave the room on his own he wondered about the boy's reason for doing so, especially since it was still so early. Where did he go? His things were still here, the additional shoes, the clothes he wore to bed and even the soap and the other things he had bought the day before were still neatly set on that shelf in the bathroom. He hadn't taken off, he was sure of that – and that was the crucial thing. .

Shaking off that strange feeling that he recognized as a mixture of worry and light anger he decided that Levi could very well wander around the town on his own and at the time that he wanted to, there was no need to worry about him – and much less it was Irvin's right to be angry, he himself had told Levi to spend the day the way he wanted to. Irvin was rather certain that the boy would show up for breakfast, wherever he had disappeared to.

He straightened his shoulders and left the bedroom, looking around his office briefly when he crossed it. Levi wasn't there, either – part of him had thought that maybe he was pouring over the book again. But he wasn't – he would be doing something else, then. Irvin closed the door behind him and walked along the hallway, leaving the garrison a minute later.

The sounds of rustling straw and of horses chewing on the haulms, of the occasional pawing of hooves were strangely calming to him. It was very quiet, peaceful even – there wasn't anyone around, Levi assumed that it was still way too early for feeding horses or cleaning their stalls. It wasn't quite night time anymore but not really daylight either, the twilight of dawn still all around.

He smiled slightly when a grey nose sniffed him and nuzzled his cheek, the white ears perked up at him. Maybe he wanted just another carrot – or Flakes was simply asking him: What are you doing down there? He wouldn't have had an answer for that question, though; Levi didn't really know himself. He had woken up a while ago, he had no idea what had made him. But he had felt uneasy, as if having dreamed about unpleasant things – he was very happy that he never really remembered the things he dreamed about.

He had tried but couldn't go back to sleep so he had left his spot on the wardrobe to get dressed. Being very careful not to wake the still sleeping corporal he had gotten ready, used the bathroom for a while and had left the room soon after. He had considered sitting on the broad window sill and write a few letters – but had decided to do otherwise and had directed his steps towards the stable. The perspective of getting outside of the building had calmed his restlessness a little. He disliked being inside, to the extent that it made him nervous.

When he had reached the stable he hadn't really planned to enter but found himself doing so anyway, making his way over to Flakes' stall. While feeding the tall horse a carrot he had stroked its long head, touching the long ears – and found himself sitting in the straw a minute later. He had found a clean spot that he found tolerable to sit in and leaned back against the stall's wall, closing his eyes.

And now he was still here, listening to the sounds of the horses and felt lulled by it all. He liked being here… the horse's company was so much more appealing to him than human's company could ever be. Even though, he had to admit, he didn't mind the corporal's company so much. He had a way of acting around Levi that made him mind him less, his way of taking insults from him without seeming weak for doing so, his awful consideration – and his infuriatingly manipulative behavior. It was scary how he predicted people's reactions – and yet Levi didn't feel threatened. Maybe he should have – but his instincts didn't tell him to run. He was far from trusting this man and he still confused the hell out of him because he just couldn't figure him out. The man's intentions were still unknown to him… but he was convinced that this man didn't mean to harm him in any way. And that was more than anyone had ever managed to make him feel. Since Johann, of course.

Refusing to go there (even though he would have to, taking into consideration what he would do today) he moved to get up. The first sunrays were slowly creeping above the horizon, announcing the beginning of the day. The stables would soon be invaded by human beings and Levi wanted to be gone by then, not in the mood for human company.

Flakes nudged him in the chest when he stood and Levi smiled slightly, patting the horse's long neck.

"I'm sure Irvin will come soon and coddle you with more carrots."

It had been a little surprising to see Irvin with the horse – he somehow hadn't expected them to be… attached to each other? Thinking about it it seemed natural, the soldiers of the Scouting Legion worked a lot with their horses, using them to fight titans – and still he hadn't thought that the corporal would take care of his horse himself. Seeing this had made Irvin Smith… more human, more believable when he said that he was just one of many soldiers – he regarded himself like that instead of insisting on his rank.

Giving the horse's shoulder another pat he left its stall, giving in to its begging and fed him another carrot. He liked Flakes – he seemed to like horses in general. He only wasn't looking forward to riding one again soon – Mike had been right, his behind really hurt. Along with the insides of his thighs, he seemed to have overexerted muscles that he rarely used otherwise and now they hurt.

He left the stable and went back to the main building, set on returning to Irvin Smith's office to write a few letters until the man woke up – when the very man passed through the corridor that he was heading for, fully dressed in his uniform and probably heading for the main entrance of the garrison. Levi frowned, knowing that it was still way too early for the man to have business-meetings. Also knowing that it was none of his business he didn't really hesitate before moving, following Irvin without really knowing why. He didn't catch up with the man, giving him a little head start before also leaving the garrison and trailing after him. Having gotten quite good at moving silently he was certain that he wouldn't be detected, Irvin walked towards his destination without turning back once.

The city was still very quiet due to the early hour, there were only a few people on the streets. Levi assumed that it was mostly shop owners who were cleaning und preparing for opening the little shops later. He also assumed that it wasn't market day today, the streets would be full of people and little stands where people sold food, fabric, dishes, animals and other things. Levi would always keep far away from it all, hating crowds and people in general.

Irvin turned right at the next possibility and Levi frowned slightly, he had no idea where the man was heading.

It became clear after another little while of walking when Irvin left the labyrinthine network of streets and dived into rays of sunlight that flooded the vast free clearance the street opened into. He walked across the cobbled open space, pigeons were taking off with swishing wings when he came near them. The sounds of his brown boots' heels echoed from the surrounding houses' walls in the silence of the morning and Levi stared after him, still standing at the end of the street. Irvin was heading for the reverend building in the middle of the free space, surrounded by patches of green and low fountains.

The church.

He frowned – that was the very last of his expectations. Not really knowing what he did expect, maybe Irvin wanting to buy something very early or maybe even meeting a woman, this genuinely surprised him. The corporal actually caring for church and mass… seemed completely out of character.

Was he going there to pray? To talk to a priest and confess whatever he felt bad about? To be honest, after all he knew about Irvin… none of this sounded like something the corporal would do, it seemed out of character.

Hesitating another second he watched Irvin walk up the many low stairs that lead up to the imposing building, making up his mind – and pushed away from the wall to follow Irvin. Curiosity might kill the cat… but he wanted to know.

Of course he had known about the existence of this place but he had never really been here before because of lacking reasons. Never having thought of entering a church the only thing interesting here were the fountains that he found beautiful – and just looking at those wasn't worth coming here, especially since this place was bound to be filled with people once the day started.

Making wiggly lines around patches of flowers and fountains he walked up the broad stairs a minute later, opening the heavy portal of the church as quietly as he could. Maybe there was an early mass and Irvin chose to take part in it?

But when he entered the building with hesitant steps, looking around him warily, he found the central aisle of the church rather empty, there were just a few people scattered in the wooden benches that were organized equispacedly and separated by a corridor in the middle. There was a group of people in the front, not quite where the altar was set up, a little in front of that. They were taking seats there, on the left and right of the corridor leading up to the altar that was elevated and could be accessed by walking up a few marble steps. The people were sitting in ranks and Levi squinted his eyes to see if Irvin was among them – which he wasn't. Levi spotted him in one of the lines of wooden benches instead, his brown leather jacket and the blond undercut were distinctive. He was sitting in one of the rear benches close to the aisle, not too far away from Levi and he ducked behind a high column to not stand there as if waiting to be detected. The blond corporal looked straight ahead, seemed to be waiting for something – and when the people in the ranks stood up, took up their sheets and started singing it became obvious what Irvin was doing here.

So… he was really going to mass…? But… somehow it was very empty for mass, he had always thought that there were a lot of people attending those. And there was… no priest? There was just the choir…

Levi let his eyes travel through the central aisle, feeling awed and intimidated by the height of the room. The ceiling wasn't flat, it was organized in square vaults and the central aisle was lined with high columns that merged jointlessly into the ceiling. There were sculptures on little protrusions attached to the columns, all made of stone. The heavy stone walls were lined with colourful windows that lit the whole room in a diffuse yet warm light. Directing his eyes to the front of the church he saw all golden edges and marble, everything was exquisite – but not overload.

Above the altar three flags were attached to the ceiling on long chains, the expensive cloth swinging back and forth softly whenever they got caught in a little movement of air.

The portraits of the three goddesses: Maria, Rose and Sina.

The whole atmosphere was filled with the same awe that had settled in his heart, the choir's singing only adding to that feeling. Listening to the harmonic voices was making him want to close his eyes, just reveling in the sounds – he didn't understand a word, they were singing in a foreign language that he had never heard before. But their singing was truly beautiful, they didn't need any instruments to have Levi caught up in it completely.

Levi hesitated another brief moment, pondering if he was about to do something stupid – but decided that he didn't really care.

He left the column he had been hidden behind and walked down the aisle with silent steps, eventually sitting down in one of the rows of benches – right next to corporal Irvin Smith. The blond man opened his eyes when Levi slid into the wooden furniture, turning his head to see who had joined him. His eyebrows wandered up towards his hairline and he stared at Levi in surprise– but didn't seem to be angry. Levi held his gaze for a moment and then looked away from him, leaning back against the wooden back rest. His eyes wandered up to the flags and he watched them while he listened to the clear voices of the singers. He remarked that the corporal had his hands in his lap, fingers entwined loosely – he was not praying or anything. He just seemed to listen to the choir.

He felt his own eyes slide shut and he crossed his arms loosely in front of his stomach, getting as comfortable as possible on the hard wood. Closing his eyes didn't feel strange here – and somehow, as much as he hated to admit it, Irvin's presence added up to the feeling of security. Tightening his lips for a brief moment he pushed those thoughts away, deciding to just enjoy the music for how long it lasted.

It lasted a while even though Levi couldn't say how long, being completely lost in the different voices that harmonized so well. There were male and female voices alike, sometimes they formed two groups and only the woman were singing, then the men again, sometimes repeating the same passages several times. And even though Levi didn't understand a word he was fascinated by the singing, the atmosphere almost being a divine one. He felt fully relaxed, leaning back against the wood and having his eyes closed the whole time, just letting the music carry him away.

When the singing came to an end, smoothly, the last note muting down until it was too soft to be heard anymore, he slowly opened his eyes, blinking. There were a few moments of perfect silence in the high hall of the church, people seemed to be recovering from their dream-like state, just as Levi was, until they started getting up, rustling of cloth and footsteps echoing from the stone walls. Some people went for the portal of the church, others went to the front towards the singers, maybe to go talk to them.

Levi turned his head and looked up at Irvin, finding the bright blue eyes looking right back at him. He huffed and turned his gaze back to the front of the church where the singers gathered up their things and slowly disbanded.

"It was beautiful, wasn't it?"

The question surprised him, he had expected Irvin to ask him what he was doing here – it was obvious that he had followed him here, after all. But he wasn't going to ask him, if he wanted to give him a piece of his mind about it he would, Levi was sure of that. Glancing at him from the corner of his eye he saw the corporal shift his attention to the front of the church as well, his fingers still loosely entwined in his lap.

"It was."

He saw him smile from the corner of his eye.

"I always come to listen to them when I'm here in Hermiha. It's their early morning practice, they have it twice a week. You can also listen to them in the afternoon but the church is very crowded then."

Levi nodded, he could imagine that losing himself in the music with tons of people around wouldn't be as easy as it had been just now.

His eyes swept the three flags gently swaying back and forth above the altar and he jerked his chin into their direction.

"Do they sing about the walls?", he asked the coporal, wondering if the man understood the foreign language the choir had sung in.

Irvin shook his head, though, watching the portraits of the female goddesses for a few seconds before looking at Levi. "No. The songs they're singing are way older than the walls, they're relicts of a world without titans. The languages they're using is, too, it's called Latin. The songs have been forbidden for a while, being part of the legacy of the old world which the government would so much like to eradicate, but as nobody knows what the song's say they lifted the ban. We only have the texts but no translations for them – some people think Latin might have been the language of the church back then."

Levi listened to him with interest, frowning slightly at the last comment.

"But… if it WAS the language of the church back then, wouldn't it be… wrong to sing the songs to the goddesses?"

Cerulean eyes were giving him an almost incredulous stare which he returned blankly, not really understanding the reaction he was receiving. Irvin blinked and frowned a little, giving the three flags a thoughtful stare before shifting his attention back to Levi

"Well… no. Those three,", he pointed at the flags,"- are not necessarily regarded as goddesses. The person telling you that they were didn't express the general idea but his own belief. For most people Maria, Rose and Sina are the wall's names, represented by women's portraits – but they're not deified. There is a small group, the Wall Cult, only they do that."

Levi frowned at him, shooting the flags a confused stare before looking back at Irvin.

"So this church hasn't been built for them? What are the flags doing in here, then?", he asked, this confused him. He had always thought that the women were goddesses and that people prayed to them - Johann used to do it.

Irvin shook his head, inclining it a little afterwards.

"This church wasn't built for them, no. Their portraits are in here because of the walls' significance, it's an expression of our gratefulness for the protection they offer. Their pictures are set up in about every official building, not only in churches, without any religious reasons."

Eying the flags again his frown deepened, he still didn't get it. "So… who has this church been built for?" If it wasn't built for Maria, Rose and Sina… there had to be another reason.

Irvin sighed and turned back to the front of the church.

"I don't think anybody knows. In former times there was said to be a god, a protective and good god who forgave sins and loved all people. But… can you imagine anybody still believing in tales like that? After all that happened to mankind? I can't. There may be fatalists saying that this is all part of a greater plan, a part of destiny – but those don't seem to attract many followers. I think church is rid of a divine presence at the moment."

Levi thought about his words, trying to come to a conclusion what he thought about it all. Which was a rather easy one.

"Protective god… bullshit. Wall-goddesses… same bullshit. I don't believe in anything –we're in this mess all alone and have to dig our way out with bare hands. Prayers won't help anything." Devotion to something he couldn't see or feel was utterly pointless.

When the corporal turned back to him the corners of his mouth were turned up in a smile and he moved to get up.

"That pretty much sums it all up. I only come here to hear the choir sing, if they sang in the town hall I'd go there. Maybe the sound wouldn't be as great without the echo, though."

Levi got up and stepped out into the corridor, allowing Irvin to leave the bench as well. He had been right, after all; the man being religious in any form, kind or shape was completely out of character. Johann had been, though.

They walked down the aisle together, leaving the church and walking down the steps. It was then that Irvin addressed him again, distracting him from the fact that the once empty space around the church was now filled with people.

"Who did tell you that Maria, Rosa and Sina were goddesses?"

He sounded genuinely interested and Levi pressed his lips into a thin line for a moment, looking around them. The space wasn't really crammed with people but it was enough to make him feel uncomfortable. His eyes already made out the quickest way back into the shadows of the narrow streets leading away from the open space.

"The same who taught me letters and numbers. This way." Grabbing Irvin's wrist he urged the corporal to change his course, intent on avoiding the main streets. Irvin didn't seem to mind, letting Levi pull him along and trailing after him. He let go of the man's wrist and Irvin caught up with him, matching his steps with Levi's.

"He was a member of the Wall Cult, then?"

Levi shrugged, feeling much calmer now that they were making their way through the narrow streets. Even though he didn't know this part of the city so well his sense of direction told him where to go.

"I don't know. Maybe. I was too young to understand any of that. He just made it seem like everyone believed in the three goddesses… I've never heard of a Wall Cult before."

Irvin seemed to be just going along with him, Levi couldn't tell if he knew the way back or if he relied on Levi knowing it. Just because he could he decided to find out, taking a wrong turn at the next junction.

"They are a small group of people worshipping the walls like goddesses. They have their own masses, prayers, poetry and songs. It's quite interesting but they tend to get a little bothersome - I think it's better to go right here."

Irvin had stopped at the junction and pointed towards the right street with both pointers, smiling softly. Levi just nodded, following the way Irvin suggested. He did know where he was, after all.

"As I was saying, they're bothersome because they're getting agitated every time the government decides to change something about the walls. At the moment a huge discussion is going on because the Scouting Legion wants to have canons on top of wall Maria and the Cult is strongly opposing us."

Levi frowned, looking up at Irvin. "Why do they have a problem with canons? Might be good to fend off titans?"

He got a smile from Irvin for the last comment, accompanied by a nod.

"Yeah, that's what we think, too. But the Cult insists that the walls shall remain untouched and arming them with canons would mean altering them a little, we'd need rails to make them maneuverable easily… actually nobody would care about the Cult's opinion if there weren't a few influential nobles among them. For that reason we're still in negotiations about it."

Levi shook his head, sneering slightly.

"They're full of shit. Walls remaining untouched… my ass. It's walls for god's sake, the more they're equipped with the better. Throw the whole bunch off wall Maria and see if they still insist on fucking untouched walls then… They'd probably be happy about every damn canon."

Something about his words made Irvin laugh and when Levi looked at him the cerulean eyes sparkled a little mischievous.

"I bet they would be. The whole argument is utterly ludicrous."

It wasn't just ludicrous, it was the silliest thing Levi had ever heard. They were surrounded by titans… and they really wanted to prevent the Scouting Legion from upgrading their defenses? They deserved to be shot just for the suggestion.

By the time they arrived at the garrison Levi's stomach was rumbling and he shot Irvin a glare when the man chuckled, entering the building with a huff. Irvin took a moment to greet the guards politely and joined Levi to go to the kitchen and get their food.

It was a little scary to have a bunch of women fuss about him but they were very nice, giving him huge portions of food and informing him that they had made vanilla pudding for him again. He thanked them, his mouth watering when their tray was filled with bowls.

They sat down at a free table a little later, the room was full of soldiers sitting together in small groups, talking to each other. Irvin scattered the bowls on the table and Levi inspected the ones he pushed over to him, finding fish and vegetables and eggs apart from the bowl filled to the brim with the pudding. He also got tea and milk again.

He didn't waste any time and dug into the food, hungrily eating all of it. There wasn't anything that he couldn't eat with just a fork so nothing slowed him down. After all the years he had mostly spent hungry it felt fucking good to eat so much food, to fill his stomach until it almost hurt. If it wasn't for Irvin admonishing him he would devour all the things he could get his hands on… but they both knew how that ended.

Mike passed by their table when Levi was halfway through his food; he wasn't smiling but his eyes were giving away his amusement.

"How's the backside?"

Levi narrowed his eyes and shot him a glare before returning his attention to his vegetables, choosing to ignore the man. He heard him chuckle softly, saying not without a hint of complacency, "Told you so. I'll see you later, Irvin.", and then he left the room. Levi just kept on eating, shooting Irvin another nasty glare when the man had the audacity to repeat Mike's question. He reckoned that to be enough of an answer.

By the time Irvin spoke up again he was starting on the vanilla pudding, eager on eating the whole of it.

"What are your plans for today?"

He glanced up into the cerulean eyes for a moment and then back down to gather up a spoonful of the pudding.

"Taking care of some things."

He looked up again when the other man cleared his throat, the blue eyes watching him intently made Levi frown slightly.

"Just refrain from… taking care of anyONE, okay?" His voice dropped really low on the last words, he was making sure that nobody overheard them. Levi glanced in both directions suspiciously anyway before replying.

"I'll try.", he said dryly, the corner of his mouth twitching when the blond's gaze turned a tad bit worried. "I won't." There wasn't anybody that he had open accounts with or something like that.

"Good." The smile was back on the man's face and they continued eating, Levi quickly finished off his food. Irvin told him that he would go see another noble during the morning and that he would like to eat together again which was fine with Levi. He didn't intend to stay out too long, there was just one thing that he had to do.

Levi was sipping his milk when the room grew a lot quieter all of a sudden and he frowned, turning his head to see what had caused the chatter of the soldiers to cease. He was met with the sight of commander Zacklay entering the room and he couldn't help but grimace, he still didn't like the man.

The commander greeted his soldiers and, much to Levi's disdain, made his way over to their table. Irvin smiled at his superior and stood up in a display of respect, just like the other soldiers had done, too; Levi didn't move a muscle. He only watched the man while taking another sip of his milk. Receiving a stern glance from Irvin he merely raised an eyebrow and leaned back on his chair, making it more than clear that he wouldn't show his respect to a man who had done nothing to earn it.

Zacklay shot Levi a glance and then turned his attention to Irvin, choosing to ignore him which was fine by him. He just sipped his milk, listening to them exchange good-morning-wishes with only half an ear because he was just not plain interested in anything Zacklay had to say.

"I know this is at very short notice but I'd like you to accompany me to a function tonight. I would like to make you acquainted with a few people. You didn't plan anything else tonight, did you?"

Judging from the hint of reluctance shadowing the man's expression Irvin did, indeed, have something else planned for the evening. The change in his features being minimal and momentary Levi doubted that Zacklay had even perceived it, and Irvin's smile was already firmly set back in place.

"No, I didn't. Thank you for inviting me, Dallis. When should I be where?"

Of course he couldn't turn his commander down no matter what he had initially planned for the evening – poor guy, Levi thought to himself.

"Meet me at seven out front, we will walk there. It's not far and I'm sure Lady Anne won't stint on wine. Even you won't be able to pass this time."

The commander laughed at the slight grimace Irvin's face contorted into and gave Irvin a pat on the back.

"I'll see you later, Irvin."

The blond man nodded and Zacklay turned around to leave, giving Levi a disapproving look that he returned equally antipathetic. He left without another word and Irvin sat back down, looking after Zacklay; the look he was giving him was quite unreadable but Levi could tell that his happy-face looked different. Taking another sip of his milk he watched Irvin go back to drinking his coffee, deciding to point out something that was going through his mind.

"You don't drink?"

It was hard to imagine soldiers not drinking when being at a function – they didn't refrain from dinking while being on duty, either. But Levi could only say so for the Stationary Guard and the Military Police, before Irvin had decided to turn his life upside down and shake it violently he had never seen a soldier of the Scouting Legion.

Irvin looked over to him and shook his head, pouring himself a second cup of coffee.

"I try to avoid it as much as possible."

The scouting Legion seemed to be different… or at least Irvin Smith was different. Or he plainly couldn't hold his liquor.

"Where have you been this morning?"

Frowning slightly he tried to decide if he wanted to answer the man's intrusive question – but the fact that he had followed Irvin around and hadn't even been reproached for it made the question appropriate.

"Stable."

He could tell that Irvin hadn't expected that, the blond blinked and inclined his head a little before his lips spread into a slight smile.

"I take it that you like horses, then."

He did, apparently. Horses still were the more pleasant company compared to human beings. And considering what he would be doing until he died it might be an advantage to feel that way.

"It would be a bad thing to dislike horses when fighting titans with them."

Irvin hadn't expected that, either, his look turned into a stare for a few moments until he had his expression back in check, the frown replaced by the same slight smile he was often smiling.

"Yeah… that's true."

Levi didn't really know what to make from his reaction and chose to finish his milk instead, starting to put his used dishes back onto the tray afterwards.

They left the common room a little while later and returned their dishes to the kitchen before separating like the day before. Irvin wished Levi a pleasant morning and then turned to head for the stable while he left the garrison through the front gate. He wasn't in a hurry, having all morning to do what he had to do.

If walking through Hermiha's streets the day before had felt strange he didn't know how to name the feeling was having that day. This… was the last day he spent here. He might not be gone forever but he certainly wouldn't see Hermiha for the next few years. While he didn't feel attached to the city itself he still had spent his whole life here – all his memories had been created in the city's narrow roads, in its filth and noisiness. He certainly wouldn't miss it… but he felt strange about leaving. Losing his knowledge of the terrain he was walking on, the ability to tell what time it was from the noises in the city alone, all familiarity that was so important for his survival was scaring him – leaving here would be the end of a chapter in his life. And also the beginning of a new one. He was looking forward to it, in a way… Irvin was right, this was a chance for him. To prove himself, to leave a decade of cruelty, poverty and death behind him – and to free himself from the bonds this city had on him, literally and figuratively. The man opened a new path for him – and Levi finally understood the man's word when he had said: 'Sometimes it needs submission to gain freedom.' That was exactly what was required from him, wasn't it? Submitting to rules and a system of power to enable him to fight for freedom?

He left the bright main-street and dove into the shadows of the network of narrow alleys, choosing this path on purpose. His alertness rose by a good portion and he felt for the knife that was hidden in his belt. He didn't think that he would need it in broad daylight but in the unlikely case that he would he had it with him. The dark streets never were to be underestimated.

While he was walking his thoughts went back to the conversation he had had at breakfast, realizing something when he replayed it in his head. Irvin… had been surprised when he had made it obvious that he anticipated fighting titans. Which made him realize… that apparently he had already made his choice about choosing a military branch after the training. He thought about it for another while and came to the conclusion that if he was really going to be a soldier he wouldn't want to be repairing walls – and even less to spend his days drinking with the Military Police. While fighting titans and most likely being eaten by them didn't sound too appealing in his own ears but he stuck to his own words: He wasn't afraid of things bigger and more powerful than he was – and if he got the chance to fight for his freedom and the chance to maybe, one day, leave the walls without having to worry about titans, he would take it. He understood Irvin very well for his desire to DO something.

Softly shaking his head he wondered how Irvin had been able to get to him like this. A few days ago… the only thing he had been thinking about was how to get his next meal without being killed doing that – and here he was musing about the freedom of mankind and that he would like to contribute to that. Well, it was his own freedom he would be fighting for, but mankind would profit from that as well.

That man… had fucked with his head quite badly, he thought darkly. And still, he was… thankful. Irvin seemed to see something in him that Levi didn't, he had actually told him that he was 'kind of PROUD' of him… he had never once heard that in his life before. It made him feel weirdly… happy? Content? He didn't even know how to name the feeling spreading in his chest when he thought of it, he just knew that he wanted to do what he could to never make Irvin stop being kind of proud.

He walked through the streets for another little while, knowing them all by heart. Every stone, every plank and every plant growing on them was familiar, he knew where it was better to use a tree or a ledge in the wall to hoist him up onto a low roof because taking the street would take him so much longer. This was where he had grown up, where he had learned all he knew.

The more he advanced into the poorer parts of the city the shabbier the buildings got, the dirt of people not knowing what to do with it littering the narrow streets. The smell changed, too and Levi was surprised that it offended his nose more than ever. He had gotten used to his new, much cleaner surroundings very quickly – a few days ago this smell had been not pleasant but normal for him.

He felt the need to speed up, jumping on top of a box where somebody kept firewood in to climb the wall of a building, using his knife to get on top of the roof with a few practiced movements. The wound on his thigh that he wrapped with bandages every day after washing stung a little but that did nothing to stop him, he started running across the roof as soon as he got to his feet gracefully. Using the drive gained from running he pushed off the bricks at the end off the roof and jumped onto the next roof, continuing his run. At the end of it he jumped down, using a balcony's banister to land on and pushed off it again to grab the next roof's edge and climbed up. He continued across another few houses, passing places where he had slept before. He wasn't really seeing roofs, he was seeing his clear path across them, using what he could to advance without slowing down. Rods, balconies, ledges, clotheslines, whatever it was. The wind was whipping his hair around and his heart beat fast and strong in his chest. It wasn't so much the rush of adrenaline his moves caused but the physical strain that came with them– and he enjoyed it, feeling more alive than he had in days. It was like racing across that meadow behind the garrison on Flakes' back, uncatchable and feeling strong and safe because of that.

He jumped off the roofs at a convenient place, using another balcony to half the height of the fall and landed safely on his feet, falling back into even steps. He was panting and even felt a little sweaty which he crinkled his nose at. He definitely needed a bath when he got back to the garrison.

He went even deeper into the slum-like neighborhood, having to trespass it all on the way to his destination. Still being a little lost in his thoughts because he passed places where he had a memory connected to he let his feet chose their path, knowing they would lead him to the right place in the end.

Turning around a corner he slowed down, realizing where his steps had lead him, and stopped in front of a little wooden shack whose roof had come down for the most part. He took a deep breath and fought an internal battle whether to just pass the pile of wood – but decided that he could as well enter. He would have to confront the topic sooner or later that day anyway.

He stepped forward and pulled back a piece of cloth that seemed to be there deliberately but actually covered the only entrance to the room hidden behind it. Crawling inside he stilled, letting his eyes adjust to the darker surroundings while reaching for his knife. He wasn't afraid that the roof would come down for good, it had been like this for years – but he could never be sure that there wouldn't be somebody else in here, seeking shelter. There were a few corners in the room where you wouldn't get wet when it was raining, that were protected from the worst wind when icy breezes were howling through the streets. Nobody owned the place and Levi rarely used it, there were always chances that other people had found this place.

By the time his eyes had adjusted Levi looked around the room, not seeing anything suspicious. He still got up carefully, moving around silently with his knife drawn until he had made sure that he was alone. He let go of the breath he had been holding in and tucked the knife back into his belt, raising his head to look around again. Nothing had changed since he had been here last time – just the thick layer of dust that covered everything had become even thicker.

Moving forward he viewed the middle of the room, threading around the broken planks on the floor where the tumbled roof had shattered them, and came to a halt in front of the wooden column that once had carried the roof. He reached out a hand, closed his eyes and touched the rough wood softly, moving his fingertips around until he felt the short lines he had carved into the column. Retracing them he counted to eleven silently, one line for every spring he had seen. He had to move his hand down the column to feel all of them because he had grown over the years, which had caused him to make the carves above each other instead of next to each other.

'How old am I?'

Johann had looked at him with his dark eyes, smiling softly. He had tousled his hair, too.

'I don't know, Levi. When I've found you you weren't a baby anymore so it's hard to say.'

He had looked at the old man, thinking about his words.

'Hmm… but isn't it important? How old are you?'

'The age you feel is important, numbers are just… giving you the impression that you have control over things. Which you don't. I've stopped counting the years because it's pointless to me.'

He had frowned at him, not really understanding what the man was trying to say.

"But I would like to know…"

Johann had sighed then, contemplating him for a few seconds before his face lit up.

'You could carve a line into the column over there,' He had pointed at the column bracing the weight of the roof. '…for every spring that you see. Like that you know how many years have passed when counting the lines.'

He had blinked and looked at the column, nodding slowly in understanding.

'What is spring?'

Johann had laughed and pointed outside through the entrance of the shack.

'The season that starts now. It's when the trees grow their green leafs back after having lost them all during winter.'

Having learned a new word he had gotten up, taken the knife Johann had offered him and carved the first of eleven lines into the column.

Levi hadn't realized that he had opened his eyes and looked at the place where they had sat years ago, eating bread and talking about time. He had been really small in age and size back then, judging from the first carve had had made in the column, but time had been a thing he had thought about a lot. Maybe because it had been the only thing he had plenty of.

Tearing his gaze away he looked back at the column, knowing that he wouldn't be here next spring to make the 12th carve. Maybe he would carve something else instead, something mobile, and then always add the new carves to the eleven he knew were here.

Letting his hand fall back to his side his eyes wandered to another corner of the dimly lit room and he shivered, raising his hands to rub his arms even though he wasn't cold. He knew that if it wasn't for the thick layer of dust covering them the planks would still be stained over there, the red colour most likely having faded away with the years. He could still hear the tormented man's stertorous breathing in his ears, the hoarse words that made Levi promise him. He could still see man's broken body, the bloody hand that reached into his clothes and grabbed for it, his trembling lips explaining what he should do with it. The pain-filled voice that pleaded with him to cease his suffering, the weak, shaking fingers handing him the knife that ththe could barely carry anymore – the ugly gurgling sound he made, the twitching body when he did as he wanted, silently crying when slitting the man's throat.

Johann had been the first man he had ever killed. He had carved his third line into the column the spring before when he had returned to the shack one evening to find Johann dying in the corner, sliced open and left out to bleed to death with no chance on healing.

Levi blinked and hastily raised his hand to wipe away two single tears from his cheeks, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat. He had known that today would dig up everything … he just hadn't expected it to still hit him like this, after all the years that had passed since then. He shook his head softly, willing the memories to go back where he usually stored them, in the far back of his mind.

Straightening his shoulders he took a trembling breath and turned around, moving back to the entrance of the shack to crouch down and crawl out of it. He didn't feel the urge to flee from this place, he returned to make his carve there every year – he needed to come back sometimes. To show Johann that he was still alive? Maybe, he didn't know. He hadn't left the place because he had killed Johann there – he had left because of being afraid that whoever had done this to Johann would come back to kill him, too. Johann had told him to stay away from this place when he had raised a weak hand to stroke his hair for the last time.

The brightness outside blinded him for a few seconds and he squinted his eyes to protect them from the overflow of light, feeling pale sunrays caress his body and he shivered again. Opening his eyes slowly he turned on his heel to continue on the way to his destination, leaving the shack and the cold grasp of its memories behind him – it wasn't far now. He could already hear the plashing noises of the little brook.

The city was traversed by a large river that had been straightened and made accessible for ships, trading and transportation was possible because of that, However, there was a little branch of the river that was left in its natural state – and that was the little brook meandering through the poorer parts of the city. Levi had always been thankful for it, the brook provided them with water and at least a basic way of washing.

He turned around another corner and walked straight ahead to the end of the street – and found himself near the bank of the little stream.

The peacefulness and tranquility of the place was almost unreal after the things he had just replayed in his mind and he welcomed it, drowning in the sounds of the running water and the chirping of the birds sitting on the branches of the trees scattered around. Some tree tops were leaning heavily over the water and colourful leaves were falling down onto the sparkling surface when he wind blew them from the branches, relieving the trees of their dead excrescences. It almost made Levi smile – he had spent a lot of time here. Getting water or washing or just sitting here listening to that strip of nature in the middle of the city. Johann had been sitting with him here often, teaching him letters and numbers – it had been here that he had explained to Levi that his name was actually written Rivai. Johann had taken the liberty to call him Levi because he couldn't pronounce it in the original way. He had made Levi read the letters he had written down after naming them for him and Levi's tongue had formed the according pronunciation, making Johann smile and tell him that this was the way his name should sound like.

Levi took a deep breath and went over to one of the trees growing close to the water, the thick roots partly reaching into the soil underneath the plashing brook. Stepping onto them he balanced on them to get to the part of the trunk that faced the brook, grabbing a few lower branches to steady him. Looking up he pushed himself off the ground and grabbed a strong branch to hoist himself up there, repeating the action until he was high up in the tree top. In an arbitrariness of nature the trunk there split into three thick branches that deliquesced into smaller branches that formed the tree top, creating a small gap between the three sprouts that was just broad enough to allow a small hand to reach inside. Levi did just that, tentatively feeling around on the moss until his fingertips hit metal. He closed his fingers around it and pulled his hand out, looking down at the chain he had just extracted from the tree trunk. Wind and rain did reach into the little gap and he wiped his thumb over the uneven surface of the pendant to clean the worst off it, crinkling his nose when he just smeared the dirt across the pale golden metal.

Closing his fingers around the chain once again he climbed back down, being careful as he could use just one of his hands. He crouched down as soon as he was back on the roots of the tree, holding the chain into the clear water and scrubbing the grime of time and shifting sediments off the metal. When he was done the chain sparkled in the sunlight, he lifted it from the water to look at it.

A pale golden chain with a rectangle-shaped pendant that bore the emblems of the walls, Maria, Rose and Sina.

The chain that Johann had given him a little while before he had died.

The chain that he had grabbed with a bloody, shaking hand. The chain that he had made Levi promise he would hide until he felt strong enough to protect it.

Running his thumb over the skillfully carved out emblems he shook his head lightly, getting up. He had no idea why the chain was worth protecting – Johann had said that it wasn't worth anything in money, just in meaning. Levi had never understood his words – maybe it had to do with his believing in the goddesses, maybe the pendant had been important to him because of religion? Levi didn't know – he just knew that it had been Johann's last wish and he had fulfilled it. So far, at least. He had never wanted to wear it, afraid that he might lose it or that it was stolen from him because somebody thought it was worth more than it was. It had been hidden up in the tree top for the last 8 springs – and as Levi was leaving Hermiha tomorrow he had needed to retrieve it.

He turned around and started walking back towards the street he had left a little while ago, putting the chain around his neck and then underneath his shirt and scarf. He would just wear it for now, that was safer than carrying it around in his pocket.

He sensed that he was no longer alone before he actually saw him step out of the shadows of the street and it only took his alertness fractions of seconds to snap back into place. His steps slowed down a little but he kept them even, his attention focused on the tall man without being too obvious about it. The other continued on his way, as well, and Levi watched him doing so. Was he heading for him? He had never seen the man before, clad in black and looking well-kept – he wondered what he was doing here of all places, his suspicions and the tendency to be paranoid kicking in immediately and making him gear up, his body tense and ready to snap into action at any moment.

Never once taking his eyes off the stranger he continued walking towards the street – he would just walk by him, there was no reason for the man to even cast a closer look his way. Somewhere inside him his intuition told him to stop trying to fool himself.

His intuition never failed him. It was the moment when they had almost reached each other and the tension in Levi's body its peak that the other man spun into action, pulling a bat and lashing out at Levi. And it was only due to his quick reflexes that the man missed him by an inch or two – he might have ended up with a few cracked ribs. Jumping back he had his knife in his hands within fractions of seconds, moving his feet into a steady position to dart off and lash out at the man as long as he was still slightly off balance. Without any doubt the other was a skilled fighter, he dodged Levi's slashing movement and threw out a leg to kick at Levi's own, intending to make him stumble. He avoided the hit by jumping to the side, bringing his knife down again and almost got the man if it wasn't for him launching to the side, using his shoulder to roll off and landing gracefully back on his feet. Levi jumped back to get more distance between him and the other man, moving into a defense position. He stared at the man in the black clothes, blood rushing in his ears and his heartbeat racing in his chest, he was panting.

The man looked straight back at him, a small smile contorting his lips that were surrounded by a neatly trimmed beard, his dirty blond hair almost reached his shoulders. He circled the hand holding the bat and got into position as well, the smile broadening slightly.

"We finally meet at last."

Refusing to even think about the strangeness of his words he stared at him, keeping his full attention on the man – but his mind registered that there was something off about the way he spoke. It was exactly the same way off as Levi's own pronunciation was, too.

For a few seconds neither of them moved, their eyes silently assessing each other for clues on what the other would do next. Levi concentrated on breathing calmly, willing his muscles that were pent up to the point of snapping to just not do that. He would wait, observing the other for possible weak spots where he could attack.

The other didn't leave him much time to whip up a strategy but he had never really needed one – he functioned better when he was reacting to the situation at hand. When the man launched at him and swung for his head Levi dodged him and dashed to the side, slashing his knife at him and landed a hit, jumping back to be out of reach when the other man swung his bat at him again. He had no idea if he had hurt him or merely torn his clothes but he didn't care, he wouldn't stop until the other man was on the ground. Using the man's momentary being unbalanced he darted forward and slashed at his right arm, this time having cut the man for sure as he was howling in pain. That didn't stop him from kicking at Levi, though, and this time he didn't jump away in time because he was still caught in the drive of his attack. The sole of the tall man's foot collided brutally with his hip and sent him crashing to the ground, the force of the attack making him bump into the uneven soil a few times until he ended up on his side, wheezing. The world spun and he didn't know which way was up or down – he just knew that he couldn't rest, he had to move, NOW. Hastily rolling to the side he barely avoided having his ribs broken by another blow of the bat, the man crashed it into the ground instead and sent pieces of the humid soil flying into the air. Levi scrambled to get up, using the advantage of having the man bent over to slam himself into him, not trusting his accuracy enough to try to use his knife yet because the world was still spinning. It worked, his move sent the other to the ground, giving him a chance at going for his throat – when he briefly remembered words that had already been spoken to him.

'Just refrain… from taking care of anyONE, okay?'

Levi gritted his teeth, his eyes flashing at the man on the ground, his hand already raised for the blow. He was so, SO ready to kill this bastard, he deserved it for so many things and Levi had never run from this, he had never hesitated a second to kill somebody who was out to kill him – but he backed off, cursing all the ugly things he had in his mind at that moment and then sped past the bastard who was just about to get again, breaking into a run. He would let it go – committing another murder while he was Irvin's responsibility could cause the man trouble. And he didn't need to kill this man even though he wanted to, badly. He could walk away and tomorrow he would leave Hermiha and never be bothered again.

However, the man didn't seem to like his way of handling the situation. Not at all. When Levi had almost reached the shadows of the street he heard a banging noise and realized what it was with a gasp, the bullet practically soaring past him just above his shoulder and hitting the stone wall with a crushing sound. It echoed in the shadows between the walls that Levi just ran into, his adrenaline rushing through his veins with unknown intensity. He was using a firearm. And Levi could only assume that he had barely missed him just because of the wound he had inflicted on him. He had been very, very close to having been shot just there.

He ran, as fast as his legs could carry him, his senses most alert and his whole body tense with apprehension. He needed to get away from there, back into the network of little streets. He had no idea if the other knew the city as well as he did, he had no idea why the man wanted to kill him – he just knew that he was following him, he heard his steps running behind him, and that he wanted Levi dead.

Dashing around a corner he laid out a route in his head, pondering if it was safer to stay in the narrow streets with their sharp turns to avoid giving the man a chance to make a clear shot at him or to move up to the roofs and balconies. He decided on a mixture of both, thinking that the more confusing he made the path the harder it would be for the man to follow him. Cursing Irvin for having made him not kill this bastard when he had had the chance he pushed off the ground to grab the edge of a small shack's roof and jumped onto the bricks, barely pausing his movements before running across the roof. He knew that he couldn't stay up there for long because he would pose a great target on the open space so he ran to the edge of the roof and jumped down, using a low balcony for a stopover before hopping down into the alleyway, dashing around another corner. He would make this pursuit as hard as possible for that bastard and try to lose him somewhere in the labyrinth of the streets.

He continued like that, alternating between running across bent lanes and hoisting himself up onto roofs, changing directions and using as many sharp turns as possible. His strategy seemed to play off, when he cast hasty looks back every few minutes he could see that the distance between them grow larger – but the man was persistent and apparently in very good shape. Levi was panting for air, wishing he hadn't exhausted himself by running across the roofs before. His body was getting tired, the physical extortion was extreme and not every maneuver went by without inflicting him some pain. His hands were sore and the skin torn from grabbing wood, metal and rope, he had hit his knees and elbows against walls when jumping down and grabbing something to stave off the momentum of his fall. He really didn't know how long he could keep up the pace he was going on.

Hearing another bullet be fired at him he braced himself for the pain and threw himself down onto the bricks, protecting his head with his arms as he rolled across the uneven surface and then over the edge of the roof. He fell and unfolded his limbs in midair, grabbed his knife and rammed it full force into the wooden planks the wall of the house consisted of. It helped to brake his fall as the knife cut through the wood, aided by the weight of the body attached to it, and Levi brought his legs up to kick himself off the wall in order to rip the knife from the wood. Turning around when falling again he landed on his feet, forced into a squat by the force of his impact. His heart racing, his lungs screaming for air, his whole body aching he shot up and was about to break into a running frenzy again – when he stopped dead in his tracks at the sight in front of him.

On to the next? XDDDD

That was a fun chapter to write… so much different stuff happening~~ next chapter will be up very soon, I promise~ it's already half done! XD