Something Wicked - 3
You didn't expect immediate fluff, did you?
His footsteps kicked up the dirt as he walked, continuously looking down at the dark expanse beneath him that had been so green and full of life a few days ago. Granted, that life had been fake and held no meaning to anyone. Maybe a cow if it wanted to munch on the weeds, but that was it.
It only served to remind him of Krista though. She had practically ran off after finishing the last of the weeds, not making a mistake again throughout all of it; even though she was the only person that had been working on the 'garden.' It had been finished just like all her other tasks, neat and in a timely manner.
The only difference was that he hadn't managed to send her on that errand he orignally had planned afterward. No, instead it was given to someone that got lost in the forest of all things, making the message nearly an hour late. Really, if he could just get rid of all the incompetent soldiers and not have to worry about the stacking losses of the Survey Corps in the process he would. But they needed every soldier that joined them.
Every last one.
His boot scuffed the mark in the dirt from where Krista had fallen. She hadn't left the Survey Corps but it sure felt like it. He hadn't been able to find her for a whole day after that and even when he did she would try and sprint away in the other direction as fast as humanly possible. That friend of hers - Ymir her name was - would shoot him a nasty glare an instant later if she was in the vicinity; she had seen what had happened that day and obviously had a low tolerance of him because of it. Which he couldn't blame her for it, but he also didn't particularly care.
The only person he cared about was Krista. Who he had only caught glimpses of the past few days, due to her behavior after what one recruit called the 'garden incident.' Apparently they had taken to calling anytime he had to yell at someone for their work ethic as an 'incident.' Needless to say he didn't find it humorous at all.
If they were saying it as often behind his back as often as he caught them talking about it then it was no wonder Krista hadn't lost that spark of anger in her eyes from the first time he saw her afterward.
She did have the right to be angry though. He could have completely skipped over shoving her into the dirt like that. Better yet, he could have waited for her to be done completely, for the training regime not too far to end before reprimanding her over the sudden sloppiness in her work.
If he had handled it better she probably wouldn't be so angry at him. For essentially embarrassing her like that in front of the other members of the Survey Corps.
Levi pushed open the swinging door to enter the stables. He needed to clear his head. To figure out just what he could do so it was possible for him to even see her again for more than a moment, to even talk to her properly rather than just give orders.
"You like that?" His feet froze in place at the sound of the voice and he turned his head to look into the stall, to see her standing there next to her horse, brush in hand. The soft neigh from the horse was confirmation enough, even as it nibbled on the fabric of her shoulder. "Okay, okay. I'll get the other side of your coat nice and shiny too," she said with a laugh. Her other hand raised to push it's snout away softly, redirecting it to the hay scattered over the floor just as she looked up, ready to walk to the other side of the horse to continue it's night grooming.
She froze much like a deer and he had to stop himself from reaching out to her to stop her from scampering off and just scaring her further. Instead he made himself hold her gaze as his mind spun before latching on to something he could use. "Saddle up your horse. We're going to run a quick perimeter check," he told her, turning away to get his own horse ready for a nightly ride as he had previously planned. Now he just needed to fit her into the plan.
If she even came that is. It was completely possible that the moment he wasn't looking she had gone to put the brush back and leave the stables. He wouldn't past her after what he did, but he hoped she would stay. Even if she was just doing so because he was her superior officer.
She hadn't exactly let him give her any orders after the garden, which meant she didn't have to be around him he supposed. If the logic she was using was that she wouldn't have to be near him as long as she could get out of there before he could say a word to her about doing a single thing that is. It didn't seem too far-fetched in his mind anyway.
Levi finished putting the saddle on the horse and with a slight frown stood up on one of the boxes in his horses' pen so he could swing up and onto the horse. He grabbed a hold of the reins, directing the horse to turn with a nudge of his boot along it's side so it was clopping out and into the hall of the stables.
Once the horse cleared the large door he felt a wave of relief wash over him to see Krista sitting astride her own horse, waiting for him. She hadn't left.
"Let's go," he said, digging his heels into the side of the horse as he snapped the reins in his hands. The beast took off quickly, hooves pounding into the dirt as it rode for the gate and he could hear Krista's horse following shortly after.
With the gate already open due to the actual night patrol being out they just slipped through the opening and out into the woods. He directed the horse away from the walls of the headquarters and into the trees.
The last thing he wanted was for this to actually turn into a patrol when he hadn't planned on that in the first place. He had given her enough tasks when he would need to go see to the Survey Corps business for the time being. This wasn't going to be like that. He had her to himself, alone and he would make use of the time.
Levi glanced over his shoulder to make sure she hadn't fallen behind as they wound through the trees, jumping over bushes and logs. She was still there, just quiet as a mouse.
He wasn't sure what she expected him to do. Yell at her for the way she kept avoiding him? Stir up enough noise to wake those up in the vicinity - or direct the night patrol's attention to their location - so she went through a repeat of that day? She certainly wasn't complaining about the silence that continued to stretch between them, at least. Which wasn't exactly his ideal situation in the first place.
His gaze moved back to the forest ahead of him. He wasn't going to get anywhere on horseback.
He drove his heels into the horse's sides for a second, urging it to go faster as he pulled on the reins to redirect it to the stream in the forest. The trees began to thin as he rode, the horse jumping over the mossy log before reaching the stream and he pulled his reins up, tugging them to the side to slow his horse as it turned, sending droplets of water flying through the air as it stepped into the stream for a moment. He slid his feet from the stirrups before throwing one leg over the large animal and sliding down to the smooth rocks that lined the stream.
Another set of feet followed his a few seconds later as Krista got off her own horse, pulling it to the stream with the reins so it could take a drink from the running water like his own horse was already doing without any prompting from him.
He watched her silently for a moment. She must have figured out that she wasn't on a patrol by now, but she still hadn't said anything. Which meant it was up to him.
"Krista." Her head turned swiftly upon hearing her name and he had to pause for a second before continuing, "You didn't get hurt from before... did you?" He had kept wondering if he had been too rough on her then; which he had, he knew that. But he wanted to check that she was okay now since he hadn't had the chance after that time.
"No," she replied. Another second passed before she added, "Not physically."
Of course. He glanced to the stream, watching the water run over the moss covered stone. "You weren't giving it your all like before and from what I've observed that's not like you. I'm sure you had your reasons for dropping in productivity like that, but if you ever need a break you only need to ask. If I'm pushing you too hard tell me next time." When she was silent after he spoke he added, "I just expect everyone to give a hundred percent at all times. No matter the task they are given; if it's cleaning the dishes or killing a titan."
When he glanced to Krista her eyes were wider than usual as she stared at him. "Yes, sir."
A chuckle escaped him, brought on by his nerves more than anything else. "You can just call me Levi, you know. You've certainly earned the privilege."
"Okay... Levi," she had paused before saying the name. As if she expected his words from a moment before to be a trick.
Hmm. He glanced up to the thin veil of branches above trying to shield the dark sky and the stars from view. It was nice to hear her say his name. Now if he could just make it so she wasn't so hesitant to say it. That is was normal for her to do so.
He had to make his intentions clear. Perhaps not tonight, but... "Come by my room tomorrow night." He turned his gaze back to her. "If you want to that is. It's up to you."