I startle awake, a sleepy haze still hogging my conscious thought. For a moment I wonder what it was that woke me, but then I hear it. A solid pounding on the door. I don't want to move, I'm deliciously warm on this fluffy blanket. I clench my fist in this softness when I receive an all might wallop to the back of the head.
"Ow!" I exclaim as I leap away from my assailant. My feet tangle in the blanket and I fall flat on to my ass, my right arm supporting my sitting position.
"Don't you 'ow' me, you shitty brat! You nearly took out half my feathers," I hear a voice hiss.
I bring my hand up to my face to rub the sleep out of my eyes, only to find a handful of small silvery black feathers. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry, Levi," I stammer out as my mind clears a little bit.
The pounding on the door becomes more insistent. Levi sighs, "Come in,"
The door is pushed open by none other than Mr Smith. "Commander Eyebrows, what brings you to my humble sleeping chambers?" Levi asks with a huff.
I try to stifle a giggle at that by pressing my fistful of feathers to my mouth and coughing horrendously. "I told you that you would get sick, brat," Levi states with a glare.
"Sick from what?" Mr Smith raises an eyebrow which causes another bout of cough cover giggles. I will never be able to look at this man the same way again.
"He was standing outside this morning. For a good forty five minutes. Shitty brat,"
"I see. What, exactly, were you doing outside for that long?"
"I- erm- I was waiting for Levi to come back with the pizza. And I was looking at the city. It's really high up here,"
"Oh, so you were admiring the view?" I notice the calculating look in his eyes; it feels as though he is evaluating my law breaking ability or something like that.
"Yes, I guess I was. I don't suppose I can bother you for another set of clothes, right? I mean, you two look like you need to talk and I need a shower so- umm- yeah,"
"Yes, of course, whatever you need. Petra will bring it for you," Erwin gives a nod.
"Thank you, I will leave you to it," I stand up from the floor, spin on my heel and walk into the bathroom. It must have sensed my entry, because the lights flick on by themselves and I quickly close the door behind me.
As I strip off the clothes that were given to me early last night, I hear Levi and the commander discuss something in hushed tones. It's not like I can hear them or anything, just that the commander said something that upset the captain and that the discussion was borderline argument.
I turn on the water and the sound of it hitting the chess board tiles sufficiently drowns out the conversation next door. As I wait for the water to heat up, I take stock of the bathroom itself. The tiled walls are a thundercloud grey; the shower tiles black and white while the floor tiles are a misty white. The shower is encased with clear glass. The toilet and the vanity are also white, but the mirror above the vanity has a black frame. Below the vanity are shelves containing clean towels (black), hand towels (black) and face clothes (big surprise, also black). There two baskets on the shelves, one containing cleaning products (enough to clean the entire city) while the other contained body wash, soaps and shampoos. There was a small cabinet next to the toilet bowl which contained toilet paper.
Once steam fills the room, I check the water and climb inside. I sigh as the hot water hits my skin, I feel the muscles in my back and neck relax. I move my head under the warm jets and massage my scalp. I hiss when I touch the area above my right ear. That hurts, let's not do that again.
I let the water wash over my face. It burns my eye lids slightly and I wipe the sleep from my face. I feel around for a bottle, turning my head slightly once I make contact with the plastic container. 'Shampoo' it reads. I place a little of the liquid in the palm of my hand and start lathering up my head. I then move my head under the water again to wash out the suds, placing some body wash in my hand and slather the stuff all over me. I scrub every part on skin that I can reach, remembering the smell of fire and how it could put a lot of people off. Finally, I just stand under the warm water and let it caress my skin, as though the gentle touches of a long lost lover.
After what feels like an eternity, I turn off the water and step out of the shower. I towel myself and my hair as dry as I can before wrapping the towel around my waist. I hear a loud knock on the main door. Sighing, I open the bathroom door and go over to the front door. The knob twists under my hand and the door swings open.
A powerful shove from the other side tosses me back. The next thing I know, two hands are headed straight for my throat.