Four months after Annabel appeared in the Underground, surprisingly, not too much had changed. She continued to train with Levi and had finished learning about titans, the walls and other important things Farlan had covered. When he had told her about the titans she was frozen. She couldn't believe that something like that could exist, that humanity was on the brink of extinction. How could she forget something so incredibly important? Yes, when Farlan had mentioned the disgusting monsters something stirred within her, but she didn't know what it was and if she was aware of the titans before the incident. What incident that was, she had no clue.
Her training was going slowly but steadily. She could now move from building to building with a lot less trouble than she had when she began. Her body was covered in marks and bruises from the collisions she had with her new best friend, the wall.
Levi carefully watched her as she moved. There was still a slight wobble in her movement, but in another month he doubted it would still be there. She had the smarts to know how to use the gear; her body just had to catch up with it. He made a mental note to start working on her physical strength.
He was also impressed with how well she fit in with him and the others. Of course the group had been balanced before, but it now worked perfectly. Beforehand Isabel had no one to really talk to about more feminine things and to complain to other than himself, who wasn't particularly keen on listening. She now went to Annabel with most things, which was a well welcomed relief to him.
Annabel landed gracefully in front of him. She put her controllers back into the belts and flattened the wispy bits of hair that had come loose from her braid.
"What do you think Levi? Am I getting any better?" Levi looked into her warm green eyes with his cold grey ones.
"Tch, if you weren't then you wouldn't be here. We need to work on your strength. The way you are now if we were to be attacked you'd be the first to die to those shits. We'll stop for today."
"Okay, Levi. Let's go see if Farlan has anything in store for dinner. I'm pretty hungry," she softly laughed. Levi just gave her another cold look. Despite how loyal she was and how much she was improving, the short stubborn man was still on edge around her. He had no issues when it came to how she acted to Isabel and Farlan but her cheery nature didn't seem natural for anyone. She was hiding something and he knew it.
He nodded to her and followed her as she walked inside the run down house that they called their base. Just as she had hoped Farlan was putting bowls of soup as well as cups of tea down on the table.
"Thank you Farlan." She smiled graciously and Farlan smiled in return.
"Don't mention it. How's training going?" he asked.
"It's going somewhere. I can move around more freely now," she explained as she took a sip of her soup. "Ow that's really hot." Levi clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes.
"No shit, what would you think it would be?" he grumbled before taking his bowl to the sink, "If it weren't it would be fucking disgusting." Annabel raised a brow at Levi and shook her head. Nothing they ate down there would be exactly classified as good. They're diet mostly consisted of stale bread and on rare occasions a decent soup like the one they were eating. They scavenged whatever they were able to get which wasn't very much.
From her arrival, Isabel, Farlan and Levi had to work harder to get more food. They were struggling to survive as it was; now it was near impossible to get everything. Levi had confronted Farlan about sending her on her way at times, but Farlan wouldn't allow it. He told Levi that he should keep to his word and be a man of honour. Now that she wasn't absolutely helpless she had a slight chance, but that chance was still extremely thin. Levi eventually agreed to let her stay longer, but he knew that she would have to start working with them soon. Life in this place wasn't forgiving and they wouldn't be able to let her have a free ride.
Levi knew she had kept her word and wasn't slacking at all. He was actually surprised with how hard and how well she was training. Never would he have expected someone to get to the place she is now in such a short time. He expected that in a year's time she would be at the same level as those shits at the Military Police.
Though he was impressed by her skills, it didn't make her any less suspicious to him. If anything it made him more curious as to where she came from. Did she really not remember or was she just hiding the truth from all of them? How could she familiarise herself so quickly with the gear? Was it luck or had she used it before? She seemed to be at least twenty so she could be a member of the military.
He shook the thought from his head. If she was in the military and went missing within the walls, there would be posters of her around Wall Sina. On his last trip, which was a few days ago, there were none. It could mean she was undercover, but that wouldn't explain why she couldn't use the gear when they first met. All the signs pointed to her story being true; she didn't remember a thing.
Looking out the small shattered window, he excused himself and went to his bedroom where he just laid on his bed and continued to think of the countless possibilities that could be associated with Annabel. He had his reasons for choosing that name but it was reasons he didn't want to remember. Why he had suggested the name, he didn't know and he slightly regretted doing so. It just felt right at the time, he supposed.
He knew he couldn't dwell on the past though it constantly nagged him at the very back of his mind where he had locked away his emotions. Since she came, he thought more and more of the past and it bothered him greatly.
"Levi?" Snapping from his thoughts, Levi turned his attention to the man standing in the doorway.
"What is it Farlan?" he growled. Farlan was used to his hostility so he didn't take it personally; though, it didn't mean he never felt intimidated by his short friend. Whenever he was acting out of character was probably when Farlan was most frightened by him. This was one of those times.
"I came to ask you the same thing. It isn't like you to space out like that in front of everyone. What are you thinking about?" Farlan was concerned; it wasn't usual to let down his guard even at their place.
"I want you to ask around about Annabel: see if anyone at all has seen her before." Farlan gave his friend a questioning look as Levi started at the wall. "If you find anything at all tell me. Even the unimportant shit, tell me."
"You still don't trust her do you?" Farlan questioned.
"Do you?" This time, Levi looked Farlan straight in the eye with a dead serious expression. Farlan turned his head to avoid the heated gaze. It was true; Farlan couldn't put complete trust in the kind girl that he himself had taken in. He could see she was hiding something in her eyes. He didn't know if she was lying but she wasn't telling them something. This something was holding him back from trusting her completely.
"I'll head out now and see what I can find." Levi nodded as Farlan left the house. It was getting late, so Farlan had at most two hours before he'd be in trouble of other gangs coming after him. Farlan knew that Levi had his reasons for everything he asked. He wasn't one to get people to do the dirty work for him if he could help it, but no one would talk to Levi with his reputation as the most feared and skilled thug of the Underground.
Levi and Isabel eventually left too to get some extra supplies and a little cash to live on while Annabel was left to hold down the fort.
Annabel sat on Isabel's bed and twiddled her thumbs. She hummed a tune to keep her mind off the deafening silence. Since she had arrived, she had gotten quite comfortable at her new 'home' but there was something missing that she couldn't quite figure out. What was she missing? No matter how much she thought and how much she searched she couldn't seem to find it. Little did she know, it was simpler than she thought.
She decided that the people who had rescued her didn't need to know how she was feeling. In a place like this, they didn't need to feel more depressed or stressed. What they needed was someone to cheer things up and she would be that person. She took it upon herself to make sure the others had something to be slightly cheerful about. She wasn't exactly lying to them she just wasn't showing the truth. She wasn't exactly depressed; she just felt empty.
When Levi, Isabel and Farlan came back they returned to an empty house. They quickly scanned the rooms, but found no traces of Annabel.
"Where could she be?" Isabel whined in a childlike voice. The others looked at her and shook their heads, saying that they had just as much of an idea as she had. "We have to go look for her!" She took a step towards the backroom before someone gripped her wrist. "Big Bro, what is it?"
"Don't do anything. If she wants to leave, then let her. It's less fucking work for us." His tone was cold and dismissive. Isabel couldn't believe what he was saying and attempted to escape his grasp, but to no avail. Farlan, on the other hand, understood what Levi was doing and didn't bother to argue. Judging by how she was the past few months, he assumed she had left from guilt. That would explain her actions but it didn't mean he agreed with it.
After some more cold words from Levi, Isabel escaped his grip and stormed to her room where faint cries could be heard. Farlan went to comfort her whilst Levi went to his own room and changed into his sleepwear; a loose baggy white top and black slacks. He neatly folded his clothes and placed them at the foot of his bed before getting in himself. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep but never did it come. He hated to admit it, but he wanted to know where Annabel went. He had gotten used to her being around and he didn't appreciate people coming and going as they pleased.
Once he had decided to get up and grab some tea, Isabel and Farlan had both gone to bed, leaving him the only awake one in the house. Quietly, he poured his mug of black tea and picked it up by the rip with his hand clawed over it. It was an unusual style of drinking, but he once explained to Annabel that holding it by the handle meant you lost all the heat that came with it.
Annabel; where on Earth did she go? He didn't have the slightest idea until he heard something; the roof creaked. It had never done so with such a loud noise, which could only mean one thing.
"That fucking brat," he muttered as he walked outside the building. Without hesitation he climbed up to his usual spot on the roof that seemed to be occupied. "How long have you been up here?" Annabel jumped up from her laying position to face him.
"L-Levi! Crap, don't do that," she harshly growled. Levi was slightly caught off guard. He hadn't seen this mood from her since the time they had first met. Her harsh stare soon softened as she laid back down and looked up. "I'm sorry, I'm not feeling the best at the moment." After regaining his composure, Levi went over to sit next to her.
"What are you doing here?" he calmly asked. Despite being an ass at the best of times, he knew when someone was upset enough as it was without his input.
"Thinking." She only said that one word which to Levi explained everything. He was incredibly good at putting puzzles together and compared to others, this one was easy.
"About what?" Annabel looked at him before chuckling lightly to herself. "What's so funny?" he asked, his gaze becoming harder.
"What's funny? I don't know myself. I don't even know myself." She looked at Levi with tears stinging her eyes. "Goddammit," she muttered. Levi looked at her with his stoic mask; not a single bit of sympathy appeared on his face. He was confused and now getting frustrated. Why was she acting like a completely different person?
"You know Isabel and Farlan were worried you'd run off," he stated, "They wanted to look for you." He was no longer looking at Annabel and was looking off into the distance.
"What about you?" she asked, "did you give a shit?"
"It's not my business if you choose to leave or not. I doubt you'd survive, but I wouldn't stop you. In this world you must make your own choices and hope you don't regret them in the end. I don't give a fuck what you choose as long as it doesn't put our lives in fucking danger." Levi's face didn't change at all when the words of truth left his mouth. Annabel nodded in understanding. "What is my business is that you've been hiding something, however small. What is it you shit?" Annabel sighed.
"There's something missing. I don't understand it myself, but a part of me just doesn't seem there and I can't figure it out," she confessed. After she realised what she had said she put her hands over her mouth. "I shouldn't have said anything. You don't need any more problems." Levi turned to look at her and clicked his tongue before speaking again.
"You really are a fucking moron," he sighed, "Of course you feel like you're missing something Brat; you're missing your whole life up until now. Did you expect to feel fucking fulfilled? If so, you're more of an idiot than I took you for." She looked at him surprised at his words but realised the truth behind them. She should have known she would be feeling like this. "You've only been here for four months and all you've done is train since then. Not to mention you've been putting on this act or us. It must be tiring," he faded off and looked away from her again. "Tomorrow you'll start helping us get some things. It will take your mind away from all this."
"That sounds good to me," she said gratefully, "Thank you Levi."
"I'm not doing it for you Brat. If you get depressed you won't be able to do shit," he spat.
"Of course." A slight chuckle escaped in response.
"Also stop with the overly cheerful act. We already have Isabel fucking around." Annabel laughed and he looked at her curiously. It was probably the first genuine laugh any of them had heard from the girl.
"That's true. I'm sorry for all the trouble Levi. I won't slack and I'll earn my keep; I swear this too you." Levi studied her closely. He didn't exactly have any cause not to trust her. In four full months she hadn't made a single suspicious move and he had made sure to watch her closely. Trusting for him was something that wasn't that was easy so he was having an internal battle with himself; kick her out or give her the benefit of the doubt?
"You better make sure I don't regret this Brat." A smile played on the girl's lips as she wiped her tears away.
"I will Levi."
"Now get to bed. You'll be the one to explain where you disappeared to. Got it?" he commanded and Annabel nodded in response before making her way off of the roof. Tiptoeing into the house she silently and carefully made her way to Isabel and her room. She slipped under her blankets without a sound and peacefully drifted off to sleep.
Levi on the other hand sat down at the table with his black tea in his fingers; his insomnia not allowing him to sleep. His face as always showed a blank expression and his mind was the same. He was too weary to think any meaningful thoughts and he didn't have to think of wear Annabel was anymore. He took mindless sips of his tea until there was no more liquid in the porcelain cup. He sighed as he stood up to clean the mug before slowly walking towards his bed.
He lazily laid down on his bed and aimlessly stared at the ceiling. He had to think of something in order for Annabel to help while she was still training with the maneuver gear. The idea that came into his mind wasn't something that he thought was particularly smart and was going to be a huge risk to her safety.
Another muffled sigh left his lips as he tossed and turned in his bed. He hated his insomnia. Sometimes, on a good night, he could get around six hours sleep but on a night like tonight he was lucky to get one. He closed his eyes and laid still, trying to ignore the sounds of the troubled people outside.
After what seemed like, hours but were indeed minutes, he managed to fall into a restless slumber.