━═━═━═━═━┤➴├━═━═━═━═━
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE, F/N?" Levi asked, breaking the silence as they walked outside under the dark sky.
She shook her head.
"No, captain," she quietly said.
Levi glanced at her for a second. That was the first time he had heard her voice. It sounded so delicate and weak as if she hadn't eaten anything her whole entire life.
And that was how another question appeared in his list of questions-to-ask-F/n list.
"Captain?" he repeated questioningly, not being able to recall him telling her about him being a captain of a squad.
"Yes," she said, almost in a whisper, "Hange said you're captain."
She had been interacting more than when she first met them, even though she still made some mistakes here and there. Erwin, Hange and Levi, three were all the only ones she considered friends and Mike as an... acquaintance.
Well, the first interaction they had was in the room where he smelled her. It made her a tiny bit uncomfortable and the two of them were quiet so neither had verbally communicated with the other before.
"I'm training you," he simply responded, dismissing her last response.
"Okay," she whispered while slightly nodding her head.
They continued walking side by side as the star lightly twinkled.
F/n's eyes curiously scanned her surroundings. The not-so-tall trees and the grass-less ground along with the wooden crates.
Levi, on the other hand, was lost in his thoughts. The second his eyes met with the e/c orbs, he saw something quite similar.
Fear, hunger, cold. It was very similar, too similar for his liking. She reminded him of the time when he was in the underground.
No sun to tan his skin, resulting in it appearing paler than regular people. No heat to kill the germs and bacteria, causing diseases to appear common. No trees for fresh air and no decent food to eat.
It was just like how she had experienced in the tree, only then did she have no one to accompany her. That made him wonder how long it had been for her to be in there.
"F/n," he spoke again and the girl acknowledged him without noise, "Do you know how long you've been in that tree?"
She gazed at him for a moment before remembering how Hange stated she looked younger than her age and responding with a "Twenty-five."
"You've been in there your whole life?" Levi asked and F/n nodded her head.
The captain faced forward once again and although he didn't show it, he was astounded. And confused.
"How did you manage to talk?" he asked bluntly.
"Listen," she said and then added, "Friends."
"Friends?" he repeated and she nodded, "Who? Your friends?"
She shook her head and pointed her finger at him. Though the captain's eyebrows furrowed at the impolite gesture, he continued to talk.
"My... friends?" he raised an eyebrow and she nodded, "Who?"
F/n carelessly shrugged her shoulders, shifting her gaze back to the grassy ground, following how her feet shuffled across it. She had gained the strength to walk now that she had been fed.
She felt strong, unlike how weak and useless she used to feel when living in the tree trunk. She was glad to meet people like them, even though it may be quite confusing at times.
"So you just recently learned how to talk by listening to other people's conversations?" he summarised their discussion, earning a small hum from the girl.
Levi could already feel a pulsing headache form and he pinched his glabella to get rid of the irritating feeling. He let out an exhale through his nose before gesturing for her to stand still.
All afternoon they worked and they were exhausted. Well, she was. Levi was just mentally tired.
He had pushed her to exercise, while being considerate of her condition, of course. He made her jog around, resting in between rounds as she gradually got used to it. He also made her do simple cardio exercises, nothing too much to hurt her though.
The night came and F/n was laying on the ground, breathing heavily as she took in as much oxygen as she could through her lungs. Her arms laid beside her, stretched out in a starfish position.
Levi grimaced as he stared at her lying position, cringing at the dirt that stuck to her thin, sweaty arms. She had gotten better, though. Her skin wasn't so sickly pale anymore after having some more exposure to the sun.
Hange stated that she cannot stay out under the sun for too long, afraid that her skin cannot adjust to the environment quickly enough. So F/n would usually come out at night or in the afternoon, accompanied by one of the higher-ups.
Levi clicked his tongue, eyes drifting away from the girl.
"Let's go," he commanded, already walking away.
F/m scrambled onto her feet, quickly following after the monotonous captain. Her arms felt numb as if she couldn't move them anymore. The captain kicked the door open, catching the attention of many as they walked in.
"F/n!" Hange shouted, running towards the girl with open arms.
"Levi," Erwin greeted, "How was the training."
Levi ignored him, deciding to just sip on his black tea. By the look on his face, Erwin could guess that it went sufficiently.
Hange guided the younger to the seat next to hers, blabbering on and on about titans as the others in the room stared at them. F/n continued to munch on her bread and steamed potato while half-heartedly listening to her.
"Hange, how's it?" Erwin asked.
"What?" Hange asked, "Oh! The plan! Everyone's informed. It should be done by tomorrow."
The commander nodded. "All right, then F/n will stay with Levi until he needs to do his part."
That caused Levi to give him a side glance while Hange pouted childishly.
"Aw! Why can't-"
"Hange."
"F/n, do you want to be with me or Shorty?" Hange asked, turning down the commander.
"F/n will stay with Levi," Erwin strictly stated.
The girl glanced from the man to the woman and back at the man before nodding her head.
"Okay," she murmured quietly.
Hange gasped. "You spoke!"
"Four Eyes," Levi glared at the woman.
"Don't act so salty, Shorty. This is a big thing!" she squealed.
Erwin sighed, rubbing his forehead while F/n just stared at the crazy woman with a blank look.
𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁
"What's going on?" Nile Dok, the commander of The Military Police, wondered, "Escort Squad! I'll hold this position! See what's happening!"
"Understood!" one shouted and the three military police flew with the help of their ODM gears.
"Something is up," the commander concluded, "First, there was a big explosion and now..."
"Nile!" a voice called out and turning his head, he spotted the commander of the Survey Corps, "Delay all troops immediately. We should assume a Titan has appeared."
Erwin stood tall next to the carriage as F/n stood next to Levi, slightly behind the commander.
"Are you crazy?" Nile exclaimed, "This is Wall Sina, you know! No Titan would show up here!"
Just then, a presence appeared and a military police reacted immediately by grabbing his shoulders.
Jean Kristen. F/n had met Eren and his friends, exchanging a few sentences after the meeting for the plan. She wasn't close with any of them since their time was limited but enough to know a little about each other.
"Halt! Stop right there, Jaeger!" he shouted, still gripping onto his shoulders.
"I'm done with this dress-up!" Jean harshly took off the wig and threw it on the ground, "Never call me that name again, you halfwit!"
The boy ran towards the commander.
"Commander! I want to help too!" he declared
"Ask the fourth squad for equipment," Erwin stated.
"Understood!"
"Bravado is nice and all but just remember to stay alive," Levi added.
"Yes, sir!"
And with that, the boy ran away with his cape flowing after him. Commander Nile followed his distancing figure before turning back to the other commander.
"What? Erwin! What was that?" he exclaimed but was interrupted once more.
"Commander! I brought it!"
The cadet opened the case which showed the set of ODM gear.
"Good work," he praised.
"Thank you, sir!"
Erwin put on the gear and readied everything.
"Hold on, Erwin!" Nile shouted but was, again, ignored.
"All able-bodied soldiers, follow me!" he commanded and started walking, "We're going to rendezvous with the Capture Squad!"
"Erwin! Stop!"
The gun Commander Nile was holding pointed directly towards the other commander. The military police surrounding the three followed, pointing their guns all towards Erwin.
F/n's eyes widened and her hands began to shake. She had seen a gun work before and she was not too fond of it. It scared her. The bullet went right through the target.
"You are committing a clear act of treason against the Royal Government!"
F/n's heart pounded against her chest. Her hands clenched tightly as they shook violently.
"Nile, are you as rubbish-brained as you look?" Levi calmly questioned, "You clearly don't understand what's happening here."
"Remove your gear, Erwin!" he shouted again, ignoring the captain.
The commander stayed silent, eyes staring right through the other's eyes. He shifted the gun he was holding, cocking it with a noise that very much successfully reached the girl's ears.
The ground rumbled and with slashing and clinging sounds, Erwin Smith, Levi Ackerman and F/n were inside of a crystal dome, protecting them from whatever danger was to come.
┬┴┬┴┤┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈├┬┴┬┴