"Oh, no you do not, you hulking turd..!"
My horse reared and pranced out of the way of the charging bull with a snort, but I quickly pulled her back into the chase. It had taken us a little longer than expected to find the cattle, thankfully with no titan interjections, but they had obviously spent a little too long in the wild.
We had been chasing them for over an hour now, trying to herd them back towards the wall, but they had other ideas. Especially that damn bull.
"Any bright ideas, beef for brains?" Levi was riding a wide circle around the few who had stayed together, and I continued trying to stay out of the way of my new arch nemesis.
"No, but I'm happy to butcher this asshole right here and now..!" I barked, daring the hefty brute with my eyes to try my patience one more time. The clouds had cloaked the sky, and thunder rumbled close, lightning becoming more frequent. Still, I didn't want to give up.
"It's not going to happen. Even if we did manage to get them back, they'd cause nothing but trouble. We need to head back before the weather gets worse." Ignoring the captain, I continued to try and round up the bull. If I could manage that, then the others would follow. The only problem was that my horse wasn't as game as I was. She wanted nothing to do with it and was starting to go against me.
"Don't wimp out on me now! We can get him!" I insisted, despite knowing the mare couldn't understand a word of it. Maybe I was just trying to put that positive energy out there, in hopes the universe would comply and give me a break.
It had other plans.
The entire world became bright when a fork of lightning struck a nearby tree, and every animal, including myself, seemed to yelp in shock. When my horse reared up, I was unprepared, and slid backwards, over her hindquarters and onto the ground with a grunt, rain beginning to pelt down as she bolted off away from the direction of Wall Rose.
Slamming my fists down into the now-muddy ground, I threw my head back, almost screaming.
"Yeah, whatever! Leave me too, then, you coward!" I was already soaked to the bone, and I was beyond pissed. At least that was how I decided to decypher the sting in my chest and eyes.
I just cursed under my breath as Levi pulled me up by the scruff, flipping my muddy cloak over my head.
"We can't make it back in this!" He yelled over the heavy rain, pushing me towards Mire, whose hooves now suited his name. "Get on! We need to find cover and wait it out!"
More proof that my luck is non-existent...
Climbing on behind him, awkwardly wrapping my arms around his middle, I moved my face close to his ear so I wouldn't have to shout as loud.
"North-East, there's an old cottage, not far! I stayed there once or twice!" Trusting my judgement, Levi took off in that direction. It wasn't like he had any other choice.
It was already nightfall, but thankfully we managed to reach it before the pitch black set in. I slipped off Mire and raced to the door as Levi moved him to the small, one-horse shelter to the side of the cottage. It was a little jammed, but I managed to shove my way inside, plodding in and leaving a trail of sopping wet in my wake.
Levi was quick to follow, the howling wind and thrashing rain growing quieter when he shut the door behind him. So much so that I could hear the steady drip of our clothing.
"Just so we're perfectly clear...I blame you for this..."
No shit...
Choosing to ignore him, I unclasped my cloak and let it drop with a wet slap to the floor, kicking it to the side as I moved further into the small cottage. It was exactly as I had left it, all those years ago, so I was hoping that meant that there was still supplies.
In the kitchen area, I crouched down by one of the drawers, opening it to find exactly what I was looking for. Matches. Pulling them out, I then started pottering around in search of a lantern or two.
"So, you used to live here..?" Levi attempted to start conversation, and I shrugged my shoulders, coughing as I opened the pantry and got covered by a cloud of dust.
"From time to time. Usually in Winter, because it's closed up, and has a fireplace..." I explained, pulling out an old lantern and returning to where he stood, shoving it into his hands for him to hold as I lit it.
One there was light, I kept my sights narrowed, turning to check ooutthe aforementioned fireplace. It was dirty, but there was still kindling. I had always made sure there was enough ready in case I ever needed it.
"I see. You were obviously much smarter as a child..." Levi hummed, placing the lantern down to shed his own cloak.
"Had to be..." I muttered, dropping a lit match into the kindling and flinching back when it combusted into a localised blaze. "I'd be a pile of bones otherwise."
"Like those..?" Cringing, I already knew what he was referring to before I turned around, spying the small mound of animal bones in the far corner.
"Yeah...like those. Let's ignore that..." He was definitely disgusted, but thankfully he didn't dwell on it, instead choosing to approach me by the warmth of the fire.
"I suppose if I allow this to burn my eyes to a crisp then I won't focus on the state of this place..." He sighed, taking off his jacket before starting on the buttons of his shirt. Whirling around to face the opposite direction, I felt my face flare up, the movement making an awful squelching sound.
"Wh..what are you doing..?!" I snapped, tensing as the click of his tongue bounced off the walls.
"I don't exactly enjoy the thought of getting sick. I suggest you take what you can off, too, unless you still have a death wish..." He explained, making sense yet still frazzling me.
Yeah...this is so my fault...and now I'm gonna die of embarrassment..!
Whining under my breath, I followed suit, keeping my back to him as I removed most of my dripping clothes. Jacket, shirt, boots, apron and pants, I was left in my underwear, covering myself with my arms as I shifted to face the fire.
"You got us into this mess. Don't go acting all meek now." Levi's voice was a little less stern than it had been before, and I turned to sneak a quick glance. His head was turned away from me, and all he had on was his long johns. I instantly averted my eyes, nearly squeaking out loud.
"Sh..shut up...I was just trying to do something that would actually help people..." I insisted, sitting down and scooting as close as I could to the flames without getting burned. It really was cold. Levi remained standing, peering around at everything except me.
"I don't even want to imagine what condition they might be in, but are there any blankets here?" He asked, and I limply pointed to the small bathroom, the second of the three rooms.
"Should be one in there somewhere. Don't think it has fleas or anything..."
He left the room, and I curled in on myself, forehead to my knees. Not only was I embarrassed, but I was angry, too. I always got myself into shitty situations, and often dragged others down with me. This was no different, even though we weren't in any immediate danger. We could have been. That was the problem. All because I couldn't work through my issues like a normal person.
Before I could fall prey to any deeper, darker thoughts, I dragged myself to my feet, padding back over to the kitchen cupboard and pulling something out before returning to my place. Levi returned shortly after, spluttering as he shook out the musty blanket I had mentioned.
"Try to escape and I'll hunt you down." He announced, and I raised a brow towards the flickering flames.
"Try to wha-" I froze solid as he sat down, right up against me, throwing the blanket over the both of us. My heart immediately began to race, but I couldn't move away, even if I wanted to. I wasn't sure if I did want to.
"Don't get the wrong idea. This is simply to avoid illness..." The ravonet mumbled, stiff beside me, yet oh so warm. Hot, even.
"Y..yeah...I get it..." I stammered in response, my voice small as I fiddled with the object I had fetched. Levi glanced over to my lap, immediately looking away when I took notice.
"I wasn't being perverted...What are you holding..?"
Clearing my throat, I shifted so I could hold it up. A bottle, filled with an untouched brown substance.
"It's been here for forever...I thought that maybe I could finally make use of it now that I'm an adult..." When Levi reached to take it out of my hands, I tried to pull it away, but he leaned with me, face getting awfully close, his hand now over mine on the glass.
"Do you really think that getting drunk is going to help anything, (Y/N)..?" He asked in a low voice, and a different kind of chill crawled up my spine. Not budging on the matter, despite my fluster, I nodded, my eyes of (E/C) reflected in his midnight blue.
"T..technically speaking, Levi...this is my house...and you're a guest...so I don't think that it's your choice to make..."
Staring me down for what seemed like hours, Levi finally released the bottle of alcohol, slowly leaning back, bare shoulder still pressed against mine.
"Fine. Have it your way...but I swear, if you start ranting about your problems, I'm throwing you into that fire..."
.
.
.
.
.
.
***Honestly, I had no idea how to give them alone time without sending them off on a stupid journey, because they all live in the barracks.
Plus, a little more insight as to how yn lived outside of the walls. (Yes, she was thrown from Maria, into the outside, but once it fell, she slowly made her way back in).
Next Time: Show Me a Reason***