Recall - Levi Ackerman x Fem OC (An Attack On Titan /// Shingeki No Kyojin ff)

Chapter 31 - A New Perspective

It took a while for each individual sense to return to Levi. The first thing that he noticed was the smell in the air. Smokey, mixed with cooked meat, all muted by the overwhelming smell of damp earth. Each time he inhaled through his nose, short, shallow inhales, the smells grew more defined and more real.

Next the pain that had been numbing his sense of being, took a backseat long enough for him to feel the discomfort of cold, uncushioned ground on his bare back. The air itself was mild, a comfortable temperature. While the soil was firm, and dug into his skin in places, the cool temperature soothed his burning body.

The world was quiet until the ringing began. At first it was a distant thrum, but slowly it closed in, becoming a painful screech in his ears. Again, Levi tried to lift his hands and cover them, to muffle the earsplitting siren noise, but there was no response from his limbs. He didn't know how long it took for the intense buzzing to subside, but when it did, the world came to life.

At first it was just the crackle of a fire, meagre spits and splutters as the wood began to be eaten away by the flames. And then birdsong. A nightingale? The chirping disappeared into the distance, only to be replaced by the wailing of a crane flying in the sky above.

And then Leah's voice. "I'm not hungry." She mumbled, not far from where Levi was situated. Her voice was weak and if Levi was right, it sounded as if she'd been crying. His heart hammered in his chest, and the desire to open his eyes and throw his arms around her was like torture to his disobedient body.

"Leah, you have to eat something." Hange reprimanded firmly. There was the soft shuffle as someone moved in the grass.

Yes, Levi thought, make her eat, Hange.

Levi felt relief in his body. Leah was safe and she had Hange to look after her. He wasn't sure what state he was in, and he was honestly quite shocked he was still alive. When Zeke set off that thunderspear, Levi was sure he was as good as dead. And now part of him was disappointed he was awake again; rest had felt so good. But the satisfaction of knowing Hange and Leah were still with him was good enough to dampen that disappointment.

But where was everyone else? Where was Zeke? Why were there birds everywhere?

There wasn't another word from Hange or Leah for a while and the silence was maddening for Levi: had he imagined them in the first place? When he started to feel his tongue in his mouth, heavy and dry, the sensations in his body also returned to him.

His mouth tasted horrible, as if he hadn't drank in days or weeks, and his lips felt horribly dry and cracked. His foot began tingling, and when he tried, he realised he was able to wiggle his toes. And then his ankle twitched. The tingling moved up his right leg, and began in his left too. Slowly the awareness crept through his body. When it reached his hands his curled his fingers, only to find two on his right hand still wouldn't comply. No, that wasn't it. Something wasn't right. The more he tried to move that hand, the more pain flowered in the area. His fore and middle finger weren't just being disobedient, they were missing.

The faint alarm that shot through Levi sped up the process of regaining control and before he knew it his eyes were open. Again, no, not quite. One eye was open, his vision only half of what he usual had. His right eye was a searing pain in its socket, held shut by fabric wrapped around his face. Bandages?

Levi's eye stared into the lush canopies of a forest. The leaves were saturated and vibrant, the green reminding him that Leah was indeed nearby. He was reclined back on something, not fully able to see lower than the skyline of the trees. The sun was filtering through the branches and scattering light through raindrops, causing a dim rainbow to shine through.