Whispers & Wildflowers {Levi Ackerman} {AoT/SnK} ~Book One~

Chapter Three

Chapter Three
Conversations with a Horse

Two Weeks Later...
The Day Before The Operation...

I stroked Dakota's thick, dark mane as she ate from the bucket I had hung from the stall fence. "Good girl." I cooed as I continued to run my fingers through her long locks of hair. She had been my horse for a few years now. I had chosen her from my mother's ranch. Since it was technically what my mother's side of the family did for the military, provide their horses I mean, I was able to get the first pick of the crop when joining the Scouts. It was one of the only things I had asked when I picked the Survey Corps as my permanent duty branch. Even though I knew that I would more than likely never set foot outside the walls, I only wanted the best horse I could get.

Dakota was not only a beautiful horse, but she was strong and she was fast. I had known this pretty brown horse since she was a foal and I had grown pretty attached to her. And she found me pretty interesting too. I wasn't sure why, but I think it had a lot to do with the carrots I carried around in my satchel.

My mother's side of the family was great at selecting the best horses to break-in and train for the harsh conditions of the Scouting Legion. And they never disappointed anyone with their results. Our horses were the fastest and strongest amongst the horses out there. I think that's how we established ourselves as nobles. We had been breeding horses for so long that we were a necessity to the cause. My father ran the business now since my mother passed. Of course, he doesn't have the same touch my mother had. And it was really the caretakers and trainers who were the real backbone of the program. My father is just the face of the organization.

I owned eighty percent of the company while my father and husband owned the last twenty percent. It was in my mother's will that my portion would go to any children I had. And if something happened to me, the ownership would automatically fall to the trainers. Even my mother knew how much of a snake my father was. And she predicted he would marry me off to an even bigger serpent than him. I thanked her every day for meeting with her own private lawyers to arrange her will and sort out her assets. If she hadn't, I would have never left my marriage bed alive.

Despite such a small stock in the company, my father and husband were living just fine thanks to the dwindling number of Survey Corps members with every failed operation. In truth, with every flatlined mission, the more money my family's pockets were lined with. And it turned my stomach. I was profiting off the deaths of my fallen comrades. Not only that, but the deaths of the horses whom my mother's workers spent years caring for were also a tragedy in itself. Spending hours with to make sure they were ready for service and companionship. These horses were more than just animals. They were family, they were soldiers. At least in my eyes and in the eyes of the trainers.

I smiled and leaned my head against Dakota's thick neck. "You ready for tomorrow, girl?" I asked, even though I knew I wasn't going to receive an understandable answer. All I heard was the crunch of oats and a grunt or two. Dakota's big black eye looked down at me and blinked. She never went outside the walls either, so it was going to be an experience for the both of us. She was a strong girl. She would keep me safe. Keep me steady. I trusted her with everything I had. Probably trusted her more than most humans. Certainly liked her more too, if I was being completely honest. "Yeah, me too." I replied with a sigh as I stroked the bridge of her nose.

"Do you normally talk to yourself, or should I be concerned? If the pressure has already gotten to your head, you'll be no good to us outside the walls." I heard a deep voice ask. I peeped outside the stall to see a small silhouette approaching with a large black beast beside him. "Cap-Captain Levi?" I stuttered. "You know, horses don't talk back. So it's kind of useless to try to hold a conversation with one. Unless you know something I don't. Do you care to share?" Levi said as he advanced towards the pen that Dakota and I stood in.