Stale earth and grime filled their nostrils as they slid down the steep incline, coming to a stop on the damp ground at the bottom of the waterway. Claustrophobia was already creeping up Levi's spine as he reached out and found Arya's hand in the dark.
"Stay close, or we will both end up lost down here."
If he was lucky there would be a moment in the future to reflect on this link they were sharing, allowing himself to mull it over in painful detail, but for now it seemed essential that he embraced it. He could feel her there in the shadows, waves of electricity flowing back and forth between them as if she was an extension of himself; one that he would protect as if it were his own flesh and bone.
The intensity of their connectedness was jarring, yet even as he pulled Arya at a half-run down hallways he hoped were there, he couldn't extinguish how freeing it felt. Sharing in an openness that was both daunting and comforting after spending all his life tucked away in his own mind. In the rush and intent focus of their goal to reach the airship before it took off without them, there wasn't enough time to pick it apart. All he could do was envelope himself in the feeling of her, allowing that drive and certainty to propel them forward into the darkness.
Though Levi's natural instincts were still beyond compare even in the pitch black of the waterway, one wrong turn would cost them time, and very well their lives. As they had found while rushing to Historia and Arya's aid only an hour before, the fall of the walls had nearly emptied the Underground: most of the wretches dwelling there fleeing to the now open countryside and towns that were finally within reach.
The only community still left seemed to be focused within the middle of the enormous cavern that held the subterranean city, which would act as a beacon for them once they found their way from this stinking hellhole and into somewhere more recognizable. The construction of the Underground had left more than a fair share of winding offshoots and hidden pathways, but the waterways were much more direct, all flowing directly into a large man-made lake on the edge of the filthy metropolis where much of his life had been spent fighting to stay alive.
Arya is no stranger to that, either.
His fingers tightened around her warm hand as he came to an abrupt stop, noting a distinct change in the sounds of their echoing footfalls. This section of tunnel was larger, smoother and more refined than the sewer behind them; they must be getting close.
"Feel along the other wall, there should be sconces lining the hallway that might offer us some light."
A pang of unease shot through Levi when she was no longer in his grasp, thought he could still feel her presence as they hurried down the tunnel only a few meters away from each other. Even that small a distance felt like miles to him, and a shiver of anxiousness tingled in his chest. His discomfort didn't last long, however, when a minute later Arya called out and he rushed to her side, pulling out the small flint stone he kept tucked away in his belt.
The oil-soaked linens that wrapped the end of the torch went up quickly and the tunnel was filled with it's warm glow. There she was once more, disheveled and dirty, her normally silky hair tangled in a mess around her ash covered face. Arya looked back at him, eyes wide and pleading. Though there was plenty of light in which to see, she reached out and took his free hand as if it was a lifeline. Levi gripped tighter in response.
The pair continued, running as fast as they dared now that their path was illuminated. After a short time the pathway changed once again; walled off at the far end and a thick wooden door blocking their way. Swinging it open they stepped out of the tunnel and into the Western reaches of the Underground.
Once filled to every corner with light and sounds, the outer streets sat dark as Levi and Arya let their ODM pull them above the houses and toward the glowing ember that was the still inhabited portion of the city. All they would need to do now was skirt around the edge of the light to the left, breaking off for the Northern staircase and out of this disgusting hole. Even as the air whipped passed Levi's face, he could still taste the despair and death on his tongue, the weight of lost souls crushing down on him like the frigid stalactites that he could feel above him.
The noise of their gear was bouncing away and over the rooftops, several confused faces peering up at them from between the shadowed streets outside the aura of light. Coming closer to the point where they split off from the Underground and make for the stairs, they ran down the steep slope of a roof and threw themselves over a stone courtyard, one side ringed by chain-link fences and filled with rusted play structures. The orphanage was deserted, years of abandonment carved into the wood and stone.
Turning his head over his shoulder, Levi watched Arya's unreadable face as they flew over the place where she had spent the first years of her life, which disappeared behind them with another blast from their air canisters. He had not intended to bring her this way, but perhaps now he could tell her.
"It was here that I met you for the first time." He said, keeping his eyes forward as she stared at him in shock. "You were just a child, and I was not much more than one."
The memory came back to him much smoother this time compared to the day he had sat with Arya, hidden from the world. It had only been a few weeks since Dear old uncle Kenny had left him to his own devices not much younger than Eren had been when he had come into Levi's charge. All he did in those days was fight: fight for food, for shelter, and for a place among the insects. He was squat down behind the edge of a stone wall in the shadows near the very fence that was now fading behind him, eating the little he had been able to steal in secret.
His meal was interrupted, though, when the telltale sounds of the fight broke out just around the corner. Tensed, he had peaked out from behind the wall to see 4 small children: Three boys who were much younger than him but nearly as big, and a tiny girl, who was picking herself up off the ground with a scowl.
Levi couldn't remember what they had been saying to her, only that she had spat venomously back in retort. Why didn't she give up? He had thought, incredulously. Outnumbered by opponents significantly larger than herself, this small girl still fought back, even after she had been knocked down again. Her eyes were ablaze, determination pulling her to her feet once more, and Levi had found himself enraptured by her resilience.
He had intervened then, driving off the boys and sending them running through the gates to the orphanage, howling as they went. The girl had watched him from the ground warily, gripping something tightly between her small fists. He had taken a step towards her and she shrunk back, staring daggers at him, which after a moment turned to shimmering tears. Opening her clenched hands he saw a locket with a broken chain, glinting brightly in the artificial light.
Before Levi had been able to find something to say, she was gone; bolting back into the confines of the fence, throwing him a quick glance as she vanished into the building. This interaction had confused him a first, but as made his way to the high, sheltered alcove he had been calling home for the last few days, he found himself thinking of that girl. She had been scared and overwhelmed, yet she had still fought as if her life depended on it, keeping something important to her safe at any cost. Someone so innocent and pure didn't deserve that kind of strife. It was that wide-eyed, ferocious little child that he saw as he fell asleep, an idea forming in his mind.
A few days later he returned to the orphanage, peaking around the same wall to search the busy playground. Levi remembered being startled when he saw her only a few feet from where he stood, back pressed to the stone barrier. She looked so small, huddled in on herself as if she was trying to make herself as invisible as possible. Leaning forward, Levi had tapped on the chain link fence, causing the girl's head to fly up in alarm. When she saw him, her eyes turned wary as they had before, though this time she did not run from him.
Before he could give her an opportunity to retreat, he had reached into the breast pocket of his shirt and put a clenched fist through one of the gaps in the fence towards her. Letting his hand fall open, he revealed a thin silver chain that was coiled around itself like a shimmering serpent, and the little girl's mouth popped open in surprise. She scurried over to him, looking between the chain and his face, a disbelieving smile playing around the edges of her lips.
Had there been no one in her life that had offered her any kindness before? This thought had made Levi frown, and he lifted his other hand out to her in a gesturing manner. Tentatively the girl reached into the folds of her long skirt and removed her locket, though when he gestured to her again she hesitated. He pulled his hands back and rested them open in his lap. Handing over something so precious to her would require a level of trust he doubted either of them had ever experienced, so all he could do was wait until she made that choice.
Eventually she gave in, passing the locket and broken chain through the fence and deposited it onto his open palms. Working swiftly, he slid her talisman from the chain and onto the new one, studying the intricate designs carved into its' smooth surface. Once he was sure that the link was secure, he passed it back through. He had fully intended to simply drop it back into the girl's anxious hands, but before he realized what he was doing, Levi remembered expanding the loop and lowering the locket gently over her head and around her delicate neck.
They had both seemed stunned by this casual interaction and had spent what seemed like hours staring questioningly back at one another, much as they did now. A chiming bell had rung out, signaling the end outdoor time and sent the children running back inside. The girl had lingered for a moment, seemingly torn, but eventually she rose and retreated with the other children, once again throwing a look back over her shoulder as she disappeared from his sight.
"I came back." Levi said as they touched down a stone's throw away from the base of the stairs that would lead them to the surface. "But you were gone. For a while I feared that you had met the same end as so many others dwelling in the Underground… I suppose it's a relief to know that wasn't the case, although I can't say where you ended up is any better."
Arya was quiet as they hustled up the narrow staircase, digesting what he had told her. It was hard to wrap her head around, but as he spoke a fuzzy memory had come back to her: the face of boy and the feeling of her locket dangling around her neck, and the first gentle taste of kindness.
How long had this man been dancing around the edge of her life, just out of reach? Was there something more to this than simple chance? Had she received this information at any other time, Arya may have finally breached their silence over this unexplainable tether they seemed to share, digging into why's and how's of the matter. Perhaps if Armin's kind face wasn't swimming in blood in front of her eyes, another concept may have been revealed to her, then. Yet with the doors that led to the surface coming into view, and the reality of the war that raged above them once again becoming the highest priority, she held her tongue.
Instead, as the two of them burst out of the stairwell and back into the streets of Mitras under the moonless night, Arya returned her hand to the place where, in that moment, she felt it was meant to be: wrapped within his.