#squadlevi

"Do~~~n Do~~~n."

First call had sounded and she shuffled lazily to her feet from the cold, rickety cot of her barracks. She looked to Nanaba's bed; long made and empty; she had likely already left to meet with Mike Taichou or... wake him possibly: Petra couldn't imagine the strange Squad Leader with the affliction for scents an early riser. She felt the chill of the wood floor beneath the rough skin of her heels and toes, sending slight shivers up her spine as she hurriedly gathered her clothing for the day; leaving her bed a twisted mess of crumpled sheets and linens. She suited up, strapping and tightening the belts and buckles of her uniform, brushing her hair in to a more suitable state and scrubbing the sleep from her eyes. Yesterday evening, as was growing tradition, she had brought her Corporal his nightly tea; as always; freshly steeped, but this time; with a touch of honey. He hadn't complained nor mentioned anything of it but she noted a light glint in his eyes as he took the first sip, telling her that he had at the least, noticed. Yesterday's meeting was longer than usual; they had been growing slowly ever longer since the first evening tea some six weeks ago; the night before she'd come crashing down from the second story accent window of their meeting place in to her Heichou's arms. During their visits, they talked a portion of the time, whilst sitting in silence and drinking together at others. The company, although silent, was nice and she secretly treasured these moments of quiet solitude with him; these moments of just being together. At times, she helped him with his paperwork; looking over things, placing green, waxen seals with a squish on to documents, just to follow formalities, before "forwarding" them to the Commander; which was really just them being dropped off for his review. There had been a few times where she was surprised to enter his quarters and find him cleaning things, folding clothing or sitting at his desk as he stared out the cold glass of the window, curtains drawn, in to the snowy landscape; one leg crossed over the other as he sat, an arm propped over the back of the chair as he awaited her. The latter was the image she had come to for the first time, one evening during their second week of nightly teas; sending herself in to a panic as she worried whether she was meant to have come that evening being as he apparently had no paperwork to complete. However, he had looked up at her over his shoulder, from where he sat, awaiting her presence and ushered her further in to the room, motioning with a nod to the chair that he had already sat beside him whilst awaiting her preparation of the bitter liquid. This part of the day had grown to be something she looked forward to, though it always made her head spin and her heart race in nervousness. It had become a ritual part of her being as her Heichou no longer even made the request that she join him; he already knew that she would-- This pleased him.

She fastened her cloak over her shoulders with a toss; placing the Wings of Freedom on her back as she hurried down the crowded hallway of her barracks and in to the Main Hall, greeting and saluting various people as she passed. She felt a shiver run up her spine as she left the somewhat warm HQ building, entering a snow fallen landscape and making her way across the grounds to their "practice facilities", as she had come to call it. She stepped inside to find the others already awaiting her and saluted to her Heichou before he motioned that they head to the combat room with an upward nod. They did as instructed and stripped accordingly. She came to stand next to Oluo, as he had been her assigned partner in combat practice since day 1. They had been doing the pairs practice together and losing; ever since their first practice against Erd and Gunther ten weeks ago, the day she had been assigned to Squad Levi. They had slowly improved, learning to move based on each other's movements; keeping an eye on the other's back. He smirked down at her with an upward nod of his head as she stood at his side and she just sort of sighed out, letting it pass. They all stood, bare-chested or in bandages awaiting the words of their Squad Leader, who tossed them each a familiar, smooth, wooden knife over which Petra ran her fingers gently. However, to her surprise, he gave them orders she wasn't expecting.

"Erd. Ral."

"Gunther. Bossard."

"Pairs. If one is incapacitated, the both of you are out."

She looked up to Oluo swiftly, who also seemed a tad surprised by this new division, eyes slightly widened, mouth slightly agape. Erd nor Gunther seemed the least bit surprised; it was as though they had expected this much from him. She glanced to Erd across the room in front of her who motioned her over to him with a wave of his hand, a wide smile on his face, and she came to join him, switching places with Gunther. She looked up to him swiftly as he placed a rough hand on her shoulder with a smile whilst meeting gazes and they each took their stance, the air growing heavy.  She had yet to do this with Erd, and only hoped she could read and predict him well enough to follow through. She studied his stance at her side, fluid, quick on his feet; he held the knife backwards in hand as she did. She crouched a little lower, breathing shallowly, feeling her pulse ring in her skull in her anticipation as she studied her other comrades. They seemingly fought somewhat similarly as well; their stances were strong and wide; well-supported, less crouched and slightly boxy in the shoulders. As she studied her comrades before her, she saw Erd take off from her side from the corner of her eye and hopped back quickly as Gunther approached her with a low kick in an attempt to knock her from her feet. She hadn't been watching Erd nor paying attention to him in the least. She kicked herself inwardly for so openly ignoring the purpose of the exercise: We fight as a squad. We live as a squad. We are a squad. Read your enemies and yourself. 

She cursed herself inwardly, crouching again and with a dash, tried to close the gap between the fighting pairs. She wanted to support Erd and have him support her. She approached him swiftly before putting her back towards his; the scuffling of feet on the cool, smooth wood floor echoing in the otherwise empty room. She felt him nudge an elbow gently in to her back as Gunther approached her again from the side and she turned, pushing Erd to turn with her, hopping back and sliding forward as needed to keep her distance from Gunther's blows but her proximity to her partner. 

With the shuffling about the room, it seemed to rise in heat, sweat slowly beading on their foreheads with their physical activity; creating a light stench in the air that their Corporal scoffed at as he looked on. She noted Erd's ever rising proximity to her as Oluo repeatedly forced him back in his attempts to take him down; Finally, Oluo took off hard on his feet, a sharp squeak against the wood floor, sweat dripping from his brow, his breathing heavy as he swung sharply at Erd to disarm him. He succeeded in his goal, knocking her partner's knife to the floor, Erd just barely missing Oluo’s blow against his skin in an awkward stumble backwards. 

Gunther turned, sending an upward kick toward her in an attempt to disarm her as well and she took this opportunity to shift to Erd's side in a crouch, Gunther's kick grazing over her hair as she sent Oluo off his feet with a low, swift kick on the floor, with which he collided with a heavy thud. Erd corrected his stance and pinned Oluo to the floor as Gunther came upon Petra from behind, pinning her arms sharply behind her back as he lifted her from the floor. She squeaked out, dropping the knife numbly from her hands at her back; a shaking rattle heard against the smooth wood below as it collided, struggling violently against him. 

Erd turned his attention from Oluo, pushing with a sharp movement off of the floor towards Gunther, attempting to take him from behind. Gunther dropped Petra, sending her to the floor with a wince, elbowing backwards at Erd as he turned to face him; he wouldn't allow him to take him from behind as he had Petra. She sat there, panting heavily; the sweat of her brow matting her bangs to her forehead, a reddened hue in her cheeks and looked about at her partners. Oluo had pulled himself from the floor, but was bleeding, having seemingly bit his tongue when she'd sent him to the ground with a heavy thud; face reddened with physical activity, panting and hair matted in sweat just as she. Gunther and Erd were still at it, heaving in deep breaths, the air scorching their lungs with each movement, sweat dripping from their chins to the floor in splattered puddles. She shifted to her knees; one on the floor as she supported herself with her palms against the cool wood, her other leg propped up and outstretched to her side before looking to Erd who met her gaze, silently and ever-briefly, before proceeding to push the offense against Gunther, forcing him to step backwards as Oluo rushed towards her. As Erd forced the proximity between Gunther and the crouching Petra on the floor to lessen, she swung her body against the floor, knocking Gunther's feet out from under him and turned to flip the rushing Oluo who approached her swiftly from behind, sending him to the floor anew with a heavy crash. Erd leaned forward swiftly, grabbing the knife her partner had recently been forced to drop from the ground and laid its mock blade at Gunther's neck. A smile spread over her face as she watched a panting Erd slide down as he leaned back against the wall, heaving with exhaustion, face reddened and brow drenched in sweat. He struggled a half smile to her before returning all focus to his breathing. She was breathing rather heavily now as well, and studied her other two partners; Gunther on his back on the floor, defeat and exhaustion on his face and Oluo, scoffing, wiping up his blood with the cravat that he now sported daily. Ever since their first day on the Squad he had worn a cravat, and she found this decision strange because he hadn't worn one during training. "Copying Levi", she thought before turning all cognitive focus to regaining her composure; slowing her breathing, taking in the chill of the floor on her spine as she collapsed against it. The early afternoon call tolled as they rested, the pain of Oxygen burning their lungs with each heave. Levi left them to rest a spell, returning to the Main Hall of their training facility and taking a seat with a plop in his chair at the end of the table. After a period, she rose to her elbow, propping herself on her side as Erd pulled himself strugglingly from the floor. He struggled to speak between heavy breaths.

"And to think the day's not over."

She smiled at him, the action of laughing requiring too much oxygen to be performed at the moment and nodded before bringing herself to stand. As the afternoon bell had already tolled, she knew what time it was and now turned to face her next task; tea. She went about it in the usual manner that she would, serving her Corporal first and then heading around the table as expected. She served them each some sweet biscuits, but nobody moved to eat for several minutes aside from Levi; the thought of consumption was always repulsive after such heavy activity, though, within the hour, it would sound positively heavenly. Her panting slowed with time, but the red stayed in her cheeks as always; with the exhaustion as well as the slow change in body temperature from scorching to frigid with the onset of the chilled air over her. When everyone had finished devouring their food as primly as they could in front of their Heichou with their current affliction for nourishment, and the dishes washed, they redressed and applied their maneuver gear; sliding, clicking and hinging the metal contraptions and blades in to place; preparing to head for the pines.

Entering the old trees to the North of HQ, she breathed in deeply, taking in the fresh, slightly-sweet, earthy scent of the forest and the chill of the fallen snow on the apples of her cheeks and the tips of her ears. A soft, rushing sound blew through the trees above them from a light wind; but nothing that would be too conflictive with their practice. They would, as usual, be working as a team in which they needed to find the doofy wooden titan dummies within the forest and assist each other in taking them out. Their Heichou wouldn't be looking at their individual 3DMG skills; he already recognised them as powerful soldiers individually. As he had said; This wasn't a squad of capable soldiers, this was a capable squad. He would be looking for their ability to communicate silently and assist one another. He had had the set-up done earlier in the day by some lower ranking squads; ones that were assigned this sort of assistance as their duty for the week; he had instructed them to station various titan dummies throughout the forest, in a very explicit pattern. Squad Levi was stationed each at a different point, some 200 meters between one another throughout the pines. Their Heichou would shoot a green smoke flare in to the air to tell them to begin. They would need to find the targets and find each other, quickly, before cooperatively taking them down.

She stood, blades readied, on a branch toward the top of a pine on the eastern side, that swayed gently beneath her feet with the wind. Contrary to her previous, somewhat embarrassing performance whilst cleaning nearly two months ago, she actually did possess sound equilibrium and balance, and her squad knew this; it wouldn't have been possible to be of her skill level as a soldier had she not. She listened intently, looking toward the sky, a flock of winter birds honking above the pines to her West; echoing softly through the trees. As she waited, she contemplated all that had happened in these last three months with her Squad, and, with her Heichou. She held him of the highest regard and only recently had realised that it was more than admiration that she held for him. She shook it off, returning to the task at hand; if this were a real mission, although, she had yet to be on one, she wouldn't have allowed her mind to wander like that. But the trees, and the earth and the sky, amongst many things not found in nature, reminded her of him; he'd given her Wings of Free—

"Buuuuuuuu!"

A plume shot in to the sky before her, leaving a green powder to dissipate in to the air with the wind, some 60 meters ahead; she took off in to the depths of the forest to find her comrades, pines and branches and fauna flying by her at an incredible rate. She breathed in deeply to gain cognitive control, the waning light of day through the tree tops above playing tricks on her eyes; she had to be quick with this.

She shifted her stance to head to the West, the icy chill of the air against her at such speeds scorching her cheeks to a reddened hue. She encountered Oluo, or, who she thought to be Oluo, heading away from her some 30 meters ahead, his figure growing ever distant and shifted her stance anew to follow behind him, the Wings of Freedom on his back guiding her as they wrinkled and flew with the air current. She didn't know if he knew where he was going, but neither did she, so there was no harm in following him. If her approximations were correct, they seemed to be headed in the direction of where their Heichou had shot the flare and although that didn't necessarily mean anything in the activity, it surely didn't hurt; she thought it a reasonable way to encounter their comrades. If no one knew where the others were, heading to a common point sounded reasonable. She shifted her stance behind him, trying to reach him, leaning forward slightly, repeatedly releasing and withdrawing the hooks of her maneuver gear as she travelled at such an irregular speed. They arrived at a wide clearing of the pines and Oluo quickly corrected his stance, looking back at her.

"Oooii!"

She nodded, a determined look in her eyes, the wind harsh against her brow. At the Southern edge of this 100 m clearing, stood the doofy titan mannequin. It had 3 plush spots on its body where they would need to cut, quickly and in a logical order, via team assistance; one at its shoulder, its ankle and of course, the neck. The most difficult part of the task would be getting to each point quickly enough; there was nothing but a few sparse trees throughout the clearing to use the 3DMG on. She followed along behind him as they circled around the outer rim of the clearing using the pines at the edge to make their distance quickly, coming to the point where the trees most invaded the clearing and then sprung forward. He shot his grapples in to a pine some 6m from the mannequine beast, lunging forward and removing his blades. With a swish, plush tendons fell to the grass below at the perfect depth. She met his gaze, turning, before swinging around the front of the dummy, grappling in to the same tree as he had, but at a higher height, before backlashing herself off of it; the bark scraping at her boots as she flung forward, cutting the plush target from its shoulder seamlessly. It fell to the snow-covered grass below, crunching slightly. She met Oluo's gaze and then corrected her stance, the wind blowing her hair over her eyes as she changed direction to come back at its 3rd 'weak point'. As she rose in the air, she found herself barely a few meters from Oluo, as he had gone for the neck as well. 

"Oi!"

He shouted at her and she panicked; everything seeming to freeze for a second as she backed down from her assent on the prize, shooting her grapples in to the dark bark of the pine just behind her, splinters flying. She had corrected herself just in time to avoid a collision, but was heading at an extreme speed toward the grappled tree in front of her. Oluo swiftly sliced its plush flesh to the perfect depth before landing softly on the grass next to the now 'defeated' beast as her superior's voice went ringing through her ears, echoing from the pines behind her in panicked tone.

"Petra!"

"Erd. Ral."

"Gunther. Bossard."

She looked up, surprised he had switched their partners like this. They stood, prepared to clean the building in which they met daily for the second day in a row, supplies out and awaiting duties. It was a cold day, colder than any she'd experienced in a long time. Even though they were indoors and even through the long sleeves of her thick military jacket, she felt goosebumps rise over her skin, spreading in an icy chill completely down her spine.

"Ral. Erd. Upstairs."

"Sir!"

"Gunther. Bossard. Outside. I'll join you."

"Sir!"

She shivered from simply imagining cleaning outside. What could they possibly clean outside? It was the dead of Winter; heavy with chill and snow and barren trees. There would be no leaves to gather or anything of that sort. Maybe he meant clearing a path through the snow or pulling weeds? Gathering sticks? She truly couldn't imagine what would need to be done outside. 

"Erd. Gunther. Teach them to actually clean instead of just scrubbing the filth around. And Ral, clean the fucking window I instructed you of yesterday."

She flushed slightly, feeling a warmth fill her face in her absentmindedness. She and Oluo had spent the rest of the evening re-cleaning what they'd cleaned that day; she hadn't had the time to do the decorative center window. She nodded to him and saluted with the others, who went about tying the cloths at their necks. He looked to her expectantly and she tied the protective cloth, somewhat haphazardly over her face as motioned. However, he clearly wasn't pleased with it. He stepped forward, adjusting its position and angle, retying it, tugging it every which way until he was satisfied. She flushed slightly at his proximity to her, his dark lashes just centimeters from her face as he studied and adjusted the cloth about her neck before nodding to her to send her off. As collected stone met flustered honey, she felt her face flush a deeper hue and her heart skip a beat. She regarded herself ever more foolish these last few weeks. Her Heichou, her Corporal, her Squad Leader; oh how he made her head spin. He brought her both calamity and tranquility at the same time for being such a to-the-point man and their small bumps and glances in the hallway only drove her to think of him more when they were apart. She respected him and was so pleasured to have earned his respect. She cared for him, and while she had come to care for all of them, the feelings she held for him were different. She regarded this as being due to their difference in status. Her mind wandered a bit farther as her comrades gathered the supplies they needed, suiting themselves up as required; Gunther and Oluo attaching their cloaks to face the chilled wind. Her pensiveness was broken startledly by Erd, who, leaning over the banister on his way up the stairs, whistled to her.

"Peeee.Tuuuu.Raaaa."

She felt her face redden slightly further before glancing back to him with a gentle smile, nodding as she made her way upstairs. They spent the next couple of hours rearranging things and moving furniture; to clean underneath as well as the bottoms of said items, scrubbing the cracks in the wood of the walls and performing a balancing act with her on his shoulders to wipe the ceiling banisters. He educated her on their Heichou's way of cleaning; which truly just meant incessantly meticulously; replacing the scrub water far more often than what she felt was needed, scrubbing smooth items to a sheen, amongst other pit-nicky requirements. As she rinsed her cloth in the wooden bucket before her a final time, he motioned to the feature window, which had yet to be touched. She nodded to him with a smile, simply pleased he'd reminded her as he headed to the banister to give it a thorough scrub-down. 

She approached the window, scrubbing it in circles as instructed, along all of the grooves of the Wings of Freedom motif where chilled glass met metal as Erd called back to her over his shoulder.

"You'll have to open it and clean the ledge under it on the outside of the building as well. You should tend to the outside first to avoid any new dust coming in with the wind after you've cleaned the inside."

She looked back to him, and her heart sunk slightly in thinking of sitting in an open window on the second floor of a building with such a strong wind chill that she could hear it rattling against the thick glass of the Wings of Freedom before her. She smiled softly beneath the cloth at her neck, eyes closed behind two thick sets of honey coloured lashes and nodded to him, though she truly dreaded it. However unpleasant, she wouldn't complain. She would surely face many more unpleasantries in her life as a soldier.

"Mm!"

She stood, moving to the side of the massive window; with a diameter greater than her height and unlatched the heavy metal hinge at the side, swinging the glass beast in to the open room along the empty wall to the left, as the room drastically dropped in temperature in a matter of seconds. She then straddled the window ledge; one leg outside, the other in, to position herself to scrub the outer ledge before looking down, seeing her comrades and Corporal below. Levi was bent to gather twigs from among the now dead brush lining the building, instructing Oluo to thoroughly scrub the outside corners. Oluo, as she expected, seemingly complained, muttering something under his breath that was unintelligible to her before heading to do as instructed. She smiled softly seeing them work together like this, Levi shouting instructions as needed, but just as thoroughly hard-working as the others, if not more so. She appreciated this about this newfound family of hers. They all contributed to complete things together, a teamwork she was glad to have built. She and Oluo were neither as in sync with the rest nor each other as the other members, but through their daily practice and guidance, some progress had been made. She studied her Corporal's face in the harsh wind, how he so bitterly hated the cold as he shouted orders over the whirr of the breeze against the building and through the pines at the outskirts of the grounds; his strong, trim jaw and thin brow furrowed in displeasure with the elements. She smiled, enjoying being able to take him in like this, get back at him for all of the times she had caught him doing so but had been unable to do the same. She blushed slightly, goosebumps crawling over her skin due to a variety of sensations; the cold, anxiousness, admiration, dedication. Her hair teased softly about her shoulders, escaping the spot behind her ear where she'd tucked one side, but she didn't move to fix it; she wanted to enjoy this scene a little longer; her newfound family. As she studied her Corporal's behaviour ever further, he looked up to her from his crouched position on the ground two stories below, stone meeting honey. She felt his gaze pierce her, having caught her in the act, and read her like an open book. Her face immediately increased in reddened hue as she grew ever flustered and emotionally off-balanced. To add to this, the chilly, winter breeze became suddenly stronger, flying in to the room before making its way out again and blowing Petra about in her precariously propped position. She moved to grab the ledge upon which she was straddled to steady herself, but it was too late; her lack of emotional balance caused her to move too slowly to grasp where needed and she lost her physical balance as well; slipping from the sill with a shout. Erd had started to make his way to her side when he noticed her lack of balance, but he wasn't quick enough in step and simply witnessed her fall; her leg that had been straddled inside, slipping out with the rest of her in her lack of support. She closed her eyes tightly, feeling the wind rush about her, tousling her hair and clothing; readying herself for a painful impact, feeling foolish for what she'd done but holding no one to blame but herself.

"Ral!"

Whilst she anticipated the hard, frozen ground, she felt herself land with a padded crash in to her Heichou's arms. She looked up to him, his gaze piercing hers demandingly in worry and frustration with her. She felt herself squeak as she landed; the air being forced from her chest on impact. He stared her down, her cheeks, nose and ears growing a bright red from both the cold and her current predicament; she was in his arms; he had saved her, as if it were nothing, though he was obviously upset with her for what had just transpired. She went to speak from beneath her cleaning cloth but couldn't find any words to say; her heart began to race upon noting the warmth of his chest and breath over her and... his scent. He lowered her slowly to her feet, placing her softly upon the disturbed snow below them. She glanced up, seeing a panicked Erd lean over the windowsill from which she'd just fallen; looking down at them; confusion and helplessness and worry in his eyes. Gunther and Oluo had rushed to their side, but said nothing, likely in nearly as great a shock as she. Oluo muttered some guttural noises in worry, his face a contorted mess, as if nearly on the verge of panicked tears.

"Ral."

She instantly returned her Corporal's gaze as he walked further forward to her, closing the small gap between them before throwing his cloak off of himself and over her shoulders, the wind teasing their locks about their faces.

"Get inside." 

She nodded to him, and he touched her back gently to force her in that direction, following along behind her. He brought her to sit at the table next to the fireplace, which seemingly hadn't been used in some time. It was scare of any remnants of ash or priorly used logs and its cleanliness gave it the appearance of being new, though the entire building was clearly somewhat old. Levi set up a starter fire, brought a few logs to a burning smolder, heat radiating from the glow before them that cast variable strengths of shadows on their contours as it flickered in strength and fury; the same fury he felt at this moment. He plopped in to the chair next to her with a bitter scoff and she looked up at him hesitantly from beneath his cloak, which reeked of bitter tea... sweet vinegar... cleansing soap, just as his quarters had. They sat in silence a moment before he hardened his gaze at her. His words were stern and somewhat bitter with her, causing her all the more embarrassment.

"Ral."

"Mm." She returned his utterance as shortly as possible. She couldn't bring herself to words. He stared her down for a period before continuing, as harsh as before.

"Be more careful. You're a skilled soldier. However, there's no fucking point in training you, if you injure yourself before we ever leave these walls."

"I understand, Sir. I--"

There was no time nor need for excuses. She didn't have one. She had been acting foolish and she knew this and refused to blame anyone but herself. She reaffirmed their gaze and nodded, his scolding having brought her back to her senses.

"I understand, Sir."

“And where are you going, Private?”

“Well, sir— I… was heading to eat and… have my room re-assigned.”

Gunther and Erd shared a few chuckles whilst the latter wiped a mock-tear from his eye. The initiation ceremonies had just ended, and it was true; everyone was heading to the Mess Hall for lunch… well, everyone except for Squad Levi.

“No. You’re not.”

Heat flooded her face in her nervousness; she could hear the blood pounding in her skull with the patter of her heart. She… had seemingly already crossed him—no. Breathing in deeply, she corrected her gaze; reasserting herself.

“Captain Levi, Sir!”

His sole response was a scoff, his cloak rippling lightly with the afternoon breeze as he turned from her, in a mood she could only interpret as annoyed.

She raised her gaze to Erd and Gunther, who stopped laughing the moment her honey eyes turned to fiery daggers beneath a furrowed brow. The tall blonde mock-sighed and then motioned with a wave of his hand that she follow them- as if she were a small dog or something. She could feel the grind of her teeth before reluctantly giving in with a light sigh, allowing them to lead her along; across the grounds, into a building at the south side of headquarters. It was an old structure; small, bearing a stained glass Wings of Freedom in the circular window above the wooden entrance. Levi stepped in first, glancing back at Petra. The moment he connected his sharp, stone gaze with hers of amber, she could feel her eyes balloon. A light furrow grew in his brow as he deliberately held her sight with his own before scraping his boots against the entrance rug then made swift steps into the building. She… felt a tinge of shock spread her form, before reddening further in embarrassment; it was all because of the stupid first encounter with the bloody mud-splattered boot yesterday. Erd’s laugh and boot-charade in response to what he’d just witnessed brought her no sense of calm, nor did the duo’s share of light chuckles.

She nodded stiffly to herself. Sure, she was happy to have been chosen, but feared the image she had already construed of herself for her Captain and newfound squad. A light wave of irritation spread her form, a light grind to her teeth; they treated her like some sort of child, a joke, not a force to be reckoned with—She would prove them wrong. More than her squad mates however, she had concern for how her Captain viewed her. She was a competent soldier and a headstrong individual if there was need to be. There’s nothing to be done for yesterday. It doesn’t matter. You can do this, Petra Ral. Yes, she could. She met the charcoal gaze of her deadpan Captain, giving him a stiff nod before following in after him, the sound of her boot against the rug rasping her ear drums. Lowering her eyes to what she’d done, her gaze softened slightly to see the Wings of Freedom tarnished by the mud of her soles.

She looked up to find a fairly sparse room, empty; there was no one there nor… hardly anything else. The centrepiece of the room was a finely carved, oak table with a fringed runner spread across it. The table ran the length of the room, surrounded by some sixteen chairs, and was placed over a finely woven rug in patterns of green and blue. The table runner bore the same Wings of Freedom as those on her shoulders and was edged in white fringe with a white embroidered accent line about the edges. A fine set of windows bordered the long wall alongside the table’s length; draped with curtains at either end, also fringed delicately in white. However, they were drawn back, allowing the brilliance of the early afternoon to flood the room… which was surprisingly clean and smelled of vinegar. As the crisp scents permeated her olfactories, she was led her to believe that the room either wasn’t used all too often or that it had been cleaned recently; maybe in honour of this afternoon? She would come in time to understand that such was a normality of any place that was to be inhabited by Squad Levi.

She glanced to the right, copper eyes falling over a wooden staircase that lined the wall- worn, cracked, decrepit; though clean. It appeared as though it would creak harshly under the slightest of pressure or… possibly collapse. At the opposite corner sat a wood fire stove with a pile of perfectly stacked logs laid next to it which was placed over a woven rug; to keep the logs from touching the floor? Above the stove, she encountered a fine set of smooth cabinets, likely filled with china for dining.

There was a brick fireplace at the other end of the room, with a magnificent forest green tapestry strung above it; also depicting the Wings of Freedom. Sadly for her, the fireplace wasn’t lit; though it may have been nice if it were. A light chill enveloped the room; it wasn’t a warm day in the least. Maybe that’s why none of them had removed their cloaks? The room was… spotless to say the least. No-- that may have even been an understatement;  from her position, she couldn’t even see soot in the fireplace; no, just brick, perfectly uniform. If it were of a different material, it would surprise her none if it sparkled.

She stood aside, waiting for her comrades to take their places at the long table. Levi was the first to sit -which surprised her none-, at the end closest to her, near the fireplace, one leg crossed about the other. Erd and Gunther took their places on one side, immediate to Levi’s right which left the left side to… her and… Purse-face. The aforementioned met her honey eyes with his wrinkled, tawny gaze before shooting her a “smirk”, -which she imagined he undoubtedly pictured as cool; it wasn’t-- before approaching the table on Levi’s left side. Further wrinkles and grooves spread his contours as his brow furrowed in concentration; eyes focused on the two open chairs. Should he take the one closest to the Captain? Though he clearly admired him, he was also intimidated and wanted nothing more to do with his sharp boot. The one furthest away communicated his intimidation or… maybe just said ‘I don’t like you’… which he didn’t want either. Auruo scoffed and Petra could hear the ‘fool that so commonly escaped his lips, though he truly shared no sound. Eventually, he plopped himself nonchalantly into the chair furthest from Levi; a good or bad thing for her… she wasn’t certain. No, let’s go with good. It was a good thing. Her point was to prove herself; and she would do so.

She was snapped back to reality by the cool breeze that permeated the room through the door she had been standing by, and had left wide open for… seconds? Minutes? She wasn’t certain. She could feel the blood coursing in her skull as she attempted to keep her calm, turning to close the heavy mahogany as quietly as possible, though it still rattled deeply as it met it’s frame. As she moved to take the open seat alongside her newfound Captain, his cold eyes rose to meet hers of honey and she matched his gaze, taking her seat, as calmly and respectfully as she could muster, though she still found herself rather nervous. Should she really be sitting there next to him?; she was new and all... it seemed like the sort of position that would be given to those with seniority. No. She could think of no more appropriate a decision to have made. For it would have been especially strange of her to leave the seat next to him empty. She had really had no other choice.

She glanced about the room, attempting to keep her mind occupied whilst the 5 of them were engulfed in what she would deem a rather awkward silence -stale… stiff, heavy-, aside from the sound of pen roughly scratching parchment. Glancing periodically down and to her right, she could see a mess of lines -what many would deem chicken scratch- slowly fill portions of the page before her Captain. Squinting her honey orbs, she struggled to decipher the mess of handwriting on the paper but could only make out her name, Petra Ral, adorning the top of one that was cleanly folded, assuming it had to do with her assumption in to his squad. The words filling the page looked more foreign than familiar, sporadic and uneven; as if a small bug had jumped about in ink, to leave a trail of tiny footprints about the page.

Scratch, scratch, scratch; Levi’s pen, rough on the parchment. She found herself captivated by the way he held the pen; awkwardly, almost upright, the strangest of grips. She imagined trying to write like that—where had he gone to-- Suddenly, Levi’s sharp, ashen eyes shot up to meet hers, catching her in her staring act as she struggled to decipher what he’d written and studied the way he’d done it. She averted her glance, a nervousness painting her face before flicking her eyes back to his only briefly, an apology quickly pouring from her lips.

“It’s fine. It’s about you after all.”

She nodded, awaiting that he look away. Though, his flat eyes only continued to pierce her form, trained on her a few seconds longer. Erd and Gunther turned to continue their conversation from earlier this morning regarding some beautiful girl in Erd’s life, but found themselves interrupted by Levi’s voice –flat and stiff- again.

“You know how to make tea.”

The puzzle and confusion was apparent in her eyes, on her face. Well, of course she knew how to make tea. But… was he asking if she knew how? It didn’t sound like a question. There was no rising intonation to his utterance. She sat a bit longer in silence, as the words repeated in her mind.

“Why didn’t you come yesterday evening?”

She felt warmth rise in her cheeks. It… HAD been a request for tea. But, she didn’t even know where his room was. Although, she could have easily found it by asking someone… but… — She felt like her head was spinning. Erd looked to Gunther, his lips curling to a smirk.

“Yes. Why didn’t you meet the Captain in his quarters last night?”

She reddened even further; it felt as if her face was on fire. Levi shot the tall blonde an icy glare; obviously understanding as to where Erd was going with this.

“Hold your tongue.”

Erd shifted his gaze to his left, to Gunther and smirked.

“I mean, it’s been a long while since the Captain’s had a female visitor… why didn’t you come if he requested your services?”

Gunther’s stoic mask broke slightly; little cracks of amusement and confusion and ‘wow, you’re in for it’ plastering his face as Auruo furrowed his brow, mouthing under his breath.

“Idiot.”

“…Private Jin…”

“Sir!” He saluted almost immediately, fist balled over his heart.

“Hold your tongue.”

“Sir!”

She was obviously uncomfortable -her jaw clenched whilst her eyes pierced Erd’s of sky with horror, a light fiddling of her hands. Yes, everyone could tell, including Levi; despite his lack of understanding regarding social etiquette. Eyes of stone glanced back to her, flat words breaking the barricade of his lips.

“Let’s start this over, without Private Erd’s obscenity.”

She met his gaze and bracing herself, smiled softly as she shared a respectful nod in return.

“You know how to make tea. Erd does not.”

Erd half-smiled, nervously, slightly embarrassed, blonde brow upturned over fleeing eyes. He turned his head from the group; it was obvious that he had attempted such before. However, due to his reaction and Levi’s clarity regarding the matter, it was all the more obvious that he had failed.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Black. Hot. Five cups. No grinds.”

She followed his eyes to the small wood-burning stove in the corner of the room. Aaah, now she understood. He was requesting tea.

“Captain Levi, Sir.”

Her chair scraped lightly against the wood panel flooring as she scooted the chair out from behind her, heading toward the aforementioned spot of the room. She tugged lightly on the cabinet doors above, revealing a lovely ceramic tea pot and cups. Her brow furrowed lightly as it came into view on the top shelf; it was fairly high up. Placing the entirety of her weight on her toes, she shifted forward in an attempt to extend her height to reach the pottery safely. Her fingers played at the handle as she struggled to reach the pot, the cool ceramic brushing her fingertips. Auruo smirked at this and motioned as though he were about to get up.

“No. Stay. You talk too much.”

His tawny eyes darted to Levi, nervousness painting his face though he attempted to play it cool with a roll of his eyes. He almost spoke to tell him off, but decided he would look smarter if he didn’t say anything; that would show Levi that he didn’t talk too much. He crossed his arms with a triumphant look on his face, tawny eyes closed beneath a prideful brow. Levi ignored him, at least pleased that he was keeping his mouth shut. Erd and Gunther started to chat about their families and their surprise about the morning’s events; repeatedly commenting to Levi about how they weren’t expecting his choice, almost as if inadvertently trying to pull information out of him regarding it—not that Levi would understand their intent or care to share such with them should they not ask directly. Petra’s hearing honed in on the conversation, hoping to overhear Levi’s butt in as to why he had chosen her, nearly knocking the pottery from its shelf in her absentmindedness. However, much to his dismay, the captain said nothing of it. She gasped softly and caught herself before she wiped the pot from the shelf to a thousand tiny, ceramic pieces on the floor-- turning back to the task at hand with a sigh.

Finally, she grasped the pot fully, pulling it down to her. It was in much nicer condition than the one she had used last night, either better taken care of… or possibly used less. Sort of like the building’s appearance in general.  The cups clinked softly against each other as she pulled them down, setting them on the counter aside the sink along with dinged-up aluminum pot. She looked up to the rickety, wooden faucet and pressed down on it –hard- a few times before she heard the flow of water approach, filling the metal container with ever-rising pitch.

Turning to her right, she layered the solidly-cut wood inside the stove and set it aflame, feeling it heat the air around her before setting the pot on the stove. She looked in the cabinet to her left and found the tea, a bread box and the sieve, among other items. Pulling out the necessities, she placed a chunk of the shredded tea leaves into the sieve over the tea pot, before pouring the well-heated water from its aluminium confines into its newfound, ceramic ones. Steam rose from the pot as she filled it, clearing her nose and head a little. Her honey eyes softened slightly, inhaling the lovely scent anew; making tea like this reminded her of home… and her father. Lowering her gaze, she watched as the water turned from transparent to grey as it passed over the delicate leaves through the sieve, swirling against the confines of the pot; sort of like how her head had been spinning as of late. She turned to the bread box and opening it, found several loaves of already sliced ciabatta bread, with some sort of speckled, black seed sprinkled over the top. She pulled some fine dishes from the cupboard and then proceeded to cover each one with a slice of the fine smelling bread before heading back to the table to deliver it. Auruo smirked at her as she bent to serve him and she shared a glare in response. Then, it hit her! She should serve the Captain first! Just as Auruo reached for the bread, she snatched the small plate back from him, heading to the end of the table to Levi. Bending over him from behind with a gentle smile, she placed the bread before him with the softest clink of ceramic against smooth mahogany. Levi looked up to her and shared a stiff nod of gratitude and recognition; a gesture she could only interpret as pleased.

Auruo looked on with frustration at Petra and the Captain—not because of Petra, but because of the kindness Levi seemed to share with her, as though all of Petra’s dislike of Auruo and him not having received the bread initially were Levi’s doing. However, he soon caught himself, feigning as though he didn’t care whilst Petra returned with two additional plates for Erd and Gunther, placing them down in front of them gingerly. Erd smiled, thanking her and touching her shoulder whilst Gunther’s stoic self simply nodded with gratitude before the two men turned back to their prior conversation. Returning to her seat, she served a piece of the fine bread to purse-face and herself as well. As she placed the ceramic before her comrade with a soft clink, a smirk curved in his lips, stating rather boldly.

“You are well on your way to becoming my wife, Pe-to-ra Ral.”

Honey eyes ballooned in surprise, a furrow of disgust growing in her copper brow as she snatched the small plate back from him. She wanted to punch him or elbow him or do something harmful to him to put him in his place so badly. Auruo moved to protest her thievery of his bread, but Levi interjected.

“Hush.”

She returned with five fine cups, placing each one gently so as to avoid its clink against the polished oak in front of each occupied chair. She went for the tea pot and returned to her Captain’s side first, pouring the hot, bitter water into his cup carefully, watching as the amber liquid sloshed gently against the sides. He raised his flat, stone gaze to her anew, sharing a stiff nod in thanks to which she felt her cheeks redden, though she didn’t truly understand why they had done so. Auruo took note of the warmth in her face and furrowed his wrinkly contours a bit in disgust, deciding that it must be the cravat. Yes, the cravat. He would wear one. As she finished serving the bitter liquid to each of her comrades, she returned to her seat.

 Erd, Gunther and Auruo were now all discussing their Captain, the Commander, their duties and lives; laughing and holding their cups in cheers to each other, welcoming Auruo to their squad. She looked over to find her Captain bringing his cup to his lips to drink, with his hand placed over the top of the pottery to hold it, grasped by its rim with delicate fingertips. She found his position strange, thinking it would be difficult to accomplish much drinking like that, at least without spilling much of it. Hmm... looking down into her own delicate cup, she felt the heat radiate against her skin through its ceramic walls, watching the amber liquid swirl about as she cupped it gently in both hands with a tendered smile.