Shorter Than Me

2 Ecyn

"So, I got Captain Zebbo. He was nice," Briine is telling me. We're inside the dining hall, though there's no meal right now.

"I got Captain Levi."

"Oh. I heard he's super hard on people." He looks at me in sympathy.

"Yeah. Really hard." I rub my arm where one of the bruises is especially large.

"What did you do?"

"He made me run, then we did some stuff with the maneuver gear."

"Wow, already?"

"Yeah."

"All I did was learn how to jump off a horse with maneuver gear."

"Really? I want to learn that."

"It was boring. Most of the time, Captain Zebbo just talked about his first time on a horse where he couldn't hang on, but his feet were stuck. He said normally in a situation like that you would use your maneuver gear to get off the horse but he didn't have any on. It was funny the way he told it." He smiles, remembering.

"Really? They're allowed to talk about their lives?" I say. Captain Levi would probably never do that ever. He's so stern. Why did I have to get the mean one just because I'm short? At least, I assume that is the reason. Could there be another one?

"I guess." He shrugs.

"Why did I get Captain Levi?"

"Well he'd probably be the best for you because you both started here the same way."

"Short?"

"I didn't say that," he looks away.

"You're mean," I joke.

"Sure I am, shortie."

I groan. "He kept calling me that. Shortie, slug, snail, idiot," I trail off.

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's fine. You say it nicely. He says it really rudely."

"Oh. Why?"

"I don't know! He's mean. He dropped me from the top of the trees!"

"What? Why?"

"I don't know. He made me fall, then caught me and dropped me, and then grabbed me and dropped me again."

"Were you wearing-"

"Yeah. I was wearing the gear."

"Oh. Well-"

"Why does he want to kill me?" I complain.

"That's weird. Captain Levi is so much different than everyone else. I don't think anyone knows why."

"That's strange." Why is he so stoic on the outside? Is he that way all the way through? There had to have been something that made him like that.

But what?