No Choice (Eruri)

Guardian

Levi squinted his eyes as he stared at the paper hanging on the wall in front of him. He tried to decipher some of the syllables, but that was certainly not possible with this handwriting, even for those who had mastered this writing system. Instead, he tried to make sense of the drawings, which, unlike the writing, were accurate and neatly put on paper. He raised his hand and traced one of the lines in the air with his finger, trying to understand where exactly it went in this entire construction.

"This is the side cable tray. The left one, to be exact. As you know, there's one on each side."

He watched a slender finger settle on the paper and trace the lines. "The wire is run over this hoist mechanism here, so there's enough traction to pull you up a Titan or a building without effort. The mechanism itself is powered by the gas but will automatically retract the wire without further propulsion, so you won't get tangled in it once you reach your destination." A soft chuckle followed. "The idea would be kind of funny, though."

Levi glanced to the side with an irritated look and spotted a young woman with blonde hair now standing next to him, giving him a broad smile.

"Lily?" he asked, recognizing her features.

Her smile only widened. "Levi. You don't know how happy I am to see you here in our workshop. I had been worried after I learned from Hange that you had been injured in Shiganshina."

"I see you made it out of Quinta in one piece," he replied with a friendly look.

She nodded eagerly. "I had gathered all I could carry as soon as the news reached us and set out for Krolva."

"So you're the one we have to thank for the plans of the new ODM gear making it here?"

She nodded eagerly, pushing her blonde curls out of her face as she returned to carefully examining the plans on the wall. The workshop wasn't particularly large, but it was richly filled with a wide variety of apparatus and materials, so the plans had probably only found their place directly against the wooden walls, which had been literally papered with them.

"It's nice to see you survived," he said when their eyes met again. And he meant it. He'd met Lily while testing the new prototype in Quinta, and she'd been one of the few he'd gotten along with. She was smart, had an unassuming, sunny disposition, and was very easy to work with. And he was glad she had made it out of Quinta in one piece.

Again she smiled as he looked over at her, lost in thought. "Can I show you something for a minute?" she asked suddenly.

He nodded and followed her past some more equipment, the point of which he didn't understand, to a table at the far end of the room. There was a construct of the maneuvering equipment on the desk, which he eyed intensely.

"You did complain, when you were with us in Quinta, that the trigger mechanism for the propulsion system still reacted too slowly," she began, pointing to a part of the apparatus.

He eyed her in surprise that she was still concerned about it after all that had happened in the last few weeks.

"I've had a lot of time to think the last few days," she seemed to sense his thought, "and, honestly, I have also been trying to distract myself a bit. As a result, I've now been able to come up with a solution to make up for the delay." She took one of the handles on which was the trigger she had mentioned and which at the same time, together with the half-blades, formed the swords they used in the fight against the Titans. Of course, there was no blade attached to it at that moment, so she balanced it thoughtfully in her hand before pressing the hilt into his.

"Try it. I'm sure you'll sense it already from the pressure point."

He did as he was told and saw the coils of the apparatus begin to turn instantly, giving the necessary push.