Dangerous Territory

Patton's Move

Eren woke up to Levi's voice, only he did not understand the words. Rather than the nasal sounds of French, this sounded more throaty, a lyrical prayer as the sun rose in a blue sky that was now free from the storm that had pounded Metz for days.

Levi kept his voice soft as he sang-recited.

Avinu malkeinu, kot'veinu
B'seifer chayim tovim.
Avinu malkeinu, kot'veinu
B'seifer g'ulah vishuah.
Avinu malkeinu, kot'veinu
B'seifer parnasah v'chalkalah.
Avinu malkeinu, kot'veinu
B'seifer z'chuyot.
Avinu malkeinu, kot'veinu
B'seifer s'lichah um'chilah.

Our Father, Our King! Inscribe us in
The Book of the Good Life.
Our Father, Our King! Inscribe us in
The Book of Redemption and Deliverance.
Our Father, Our King! Inscribe us in
The Book of Livelihood and Sustenance.
Our Father, Our King! Inscribe us in
The Book of Merits.
Our Father, Our King! Inscribe us in
The Book of Pardon and Forgiveness.

(starts at 1:55 in, but the first Avinu Malkeinu is beautiful too)

Eren propped himself up on an elbow as he watched. The white shirt Levi wore practically glowed in the brilliant sunrise light. Eren began to reach forward, but his hand stopped. He needed to honor Levi's limits on this holy day.

"It's a beautiful language."

Levi glanced back at him, touched by the acceptance. "I only managed to memorize that because I once wrote it down."

"And you can remember anything you see in writing," Eren recalled with a smile. Levi's special skill sounded like a superpower.

Levi thought back. He had written it out five years ago, not even in Hebrew, since he did not know how to read it back then. Instead, he wrote the words as they sounded, as told to him by one of the Jews in his village. That way, he could say it with Petra.

Just that one Yom Kippur, celebrated when the war was only a few weeks new, and he still remembered them. He had recited this prayer once a year ever since.

"Today is the day," Levi whispered. He should feel elation. Freedom was just four flights of stairs away. Instead, there was a weight on his shoulders and a pain in his heart. He grumbled to push past the ache, "I need to pack."

Eren finally put his hand out and covered Levi's wrist. "That's work. It's not allowed today. Let me pack your things."

Again, Levi was touched by Eren's eagerness to let him observe Yom Kippur properly.

Eren pulled the black backpack up onto the bed. Most of his supplies were already there from Levi's narrow escape yesterday. He saw the Tanakh and smiled, remembering when he first saw this book and offered to keep it safe. He still had no idea why he offered such a thing. At first, he tried to rationalize that he knew it would keep Levi in line, but that wasn't it.

He instinctively knew how important such a book could be.

He fetched the comb, toothbrush, and razor Levi had been using from the bathroom. He wrapped up a bar of soap and packed the shampoo into a paper bag. Levi would like that extra cleanliness when he was away. They also needed to pack at least one Louise outfit for the prostitute to wear while Levi made his escape wearing her clothes.

Each item Eren packed hammered in that Levi was leaving, and the future held no guarantees.

He grabbed the bread and sausages he got yesterday. "Take the food with you. Eat it tonight. You need to recover your strength."