bonds | aot x oc (levi's sister)

➝ a soundless realm

~ 𝖇𝖔𝖓𝖉𝖘 ~

I came to in an unfamiliar room. I tried to sit up and examine my surroundings, but was met with a throbbing pain in my head. I meagerly looked to the right. A woman in nurse's uniform was sitting at a bureau next to the bed and seemed to be reading a book. A wind blew through the open window and played with her hair.

Something felt strange. It was quite. Too quiet. Surely, I would be able to hear the rustling of leaves from outside, and the call of spring birds as they soared with the wind. The nurse turned to face me. Realization swept across her face and she fumbled with a piece of paper on the desk. She held it up for me to see.

Hello, I'm Rain. I'm your nurse! Currently you are in Trost Hospital! What is your name?  :P

was written on the paper. Next to it, was a messily drawn smiley-face with a tongue sticking out. I managed a small smile, replying with my voice, even though I couldn't hear it.

"Elliot." I said quietly. "Where are my friends?" She scribbled something down.

That's a nice name. As for your friends, if they boarded the ship through the wall, then they are fine. Worry more about yourself.

"What happened to me? Why can't I hear myself?" There was growing panic embedded in my voice. She sighed and wrote something long.

Quite something, actually. You took quite some damage when we found you: The person who rescued you barely managed to evade a titan that was about to eat you. Unfortunately, your eardrums have burst and so you won't be able to hear anything more than 1 meter away from you. 2 of your ribs are slightly crushed and you've also received a concussion from being hit by some concrete, so don't move around too much.

My eyes burned. Titan about to eat me? Burst eardrums? Concussion? Everything seemed so wild and confusing. 

Aniki, what do you think of this? 

I took a deep breath to compose myself before asking. "Who rescued me?" This time, Rain didn't write anything down. Rather, she pointed to the small night stand next to me. On it was a neatly folded piece of paper and a small bowl of... cut apples? I picked up the paper and unfolded it.

Hello!

I was the one who rescued you during the fall of Shiganshina and brought you to Trost Hospital (be thankful I got there just in time)! 

I'm sorry to hear that you took quite some damage... but  ̶I̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶n̶k̶  I'm sure you'll get better (eat some of the apples I left you if you can)!

If you're joining the Trainees, I can't wait to see you again! :)

-Survey Corps Section Commander, Hanji Zoë

I smiled unconsciously at the very terrible handwriting as well as terrible attempt to make me feel better. In truth, I felt like shit, but knowing that someone cared about me and that Eren, Mikasa, and Armin were safe provided solace in this growing dark world.

I looked up at Rain, pointing at the apples. "Can I...?" I asked. She nodded and came to help me sit up in the bed. She handed me the apples and a fruit pick. As I ate them slowly, I did a body check of myself. There seemed to be bandages around my head and around my legs (I couldn't move them, so I assumed they were crushed). There were also new bandages wrapped entirely around my torso.

Wait, new bandages? Torso? I looked down at my chest. Sure enough, they were bandaged loosely, and my chest stood out like a girl's should. I looked at Rain, wide-eyed, with my hand pressed to my chest. She looked at me and scribbled something on paper.

I had to change them since your ribs were crushed. You already had some on but they were too tight - there were some bruises on your breasts already! Honestly, when you were brought in, I thought you were a boy!

That was the point. She paused to continue writing.

Do you want to tell me why you wore them?

I shook my head. She nodded in understanding.

Well, your two months of rehab start today!

She sent me a beaming smile. I nodded back at her.

-

The two weeks passed by really quickly. In that time, my legs had healed up and Rain helped me to regain my balance. We would walk around the hospital practicing my legs for hours on end. She also taught me something called 'sign language' that was used by people who were deaf or mute in order to communicate easily - so that she didn't have to carry a pencil and paper with her everywhere.

She also taught me how to lip-read so that I could understand what people were saying without having to hear them. It was hard at first, but got easier after practicing with Rain and a few of the other doctors.

I requested she cut my hair like Louise-sama said she would - Rain did without a moment's hesitation. It took a lot of will power to only focus on the lilac strands that hit the floor gently.

Rain was very kind to me. We even held a mini-party right in my room on the day my concussion was fully healed. She reminded me so much of Isabel.

The only one thing that was bad about my hospital stay was the fact that I was never free of nightmares. Wails of the innocent and screams of those who lost others reverberated around my head. Louise-sama's was one of them. The flashing image of her limp body being picked up replayed in my mind and I would wake up drenched in a cold sweat with a concerned Rain clutching my hand tightly. 

On my last day, Rain was helping me get changed into some new clothes (I asked if she had boy's clothes) when a soldier came crashing through the door. We were both startled because 1: I never usually got visitors, and 2: he was wearing Scout uniform. In his hand was clutched tightly an envelope.

"Bitte! Tell me this is Elliot Ackerman's room?!" I read his lips. He seemed really desperate and scared. I wondered how he knew my last name. Nevertheless, I looked to him and nodded.

"Oh, really?! Thank the walls!" He took a deep breath, as he had been running, and stepped towards me. "A letter for you, sir." Rain was about to correct him, when I gently placed my hand on her arm. She kept quiet.

I gasped as I vaguely recognized the handwriting on the front of the folded envelope. It was brandished with the Scouting Legion 'wings of freedom' seal in bright red wax.

Elliot Ackerman

"Th-thank you." I muttered.

★ a short chapter (i don't have an excuse, sorry)... the words in italics are those written on paper ! stay tuned for the next chapter ! :)