A Devoted Heart (Attack on Titan // LeviHan) - Part 2

Lights in the Sky

All set? Hmmm... almost.

Levi looked around the empty guest stables, frowning at the regret he felt about their imminent departure. He wasn't even sure why he liked it here so much but the devastated way Cook had looked at him when he had told her he was leaving had put a lump in his throat. And the kids... his hand went to his right trouser pocket to finger the rag doll one of the girls had made for him as a parting gift.

Tch.

No need for sentimentality, he'd be back soon. Historia wanted to enlarge the orphanage and take in more kids and he had promised to help her with the logistics - if Hanji let him take some time off that was.

Time off?

Levi snorted at the ludicrous notion as he opened stable box after stable box to check their cleanliness one last time. Of course he would not get any time off. They had a Titan problem in the outer territory that needed urgent taking care of. The monsters had to be killed so that humanity could repopulate the land between Wall Rose and Wall Maria and he was going to be the one leading these efforts. After that, he might be able to return here for a few days. That was soon enough even if he was sure to miss the harvest festival.

And then he would have to make sure there would be many more harvest festivals to come.

Spotting some straw that lay scattered in one of the last compartments, Levi went in and used a dustpan and brush to remove it. It was Titans first, human enemies after. The orphaned children deserved a good, peaceful and carefree life. Nobody and nothing had a right to threaten them.

"Are we ready to ride in half an hour, Levi?"

Levi swiveled around. How had he not heard Hanji come in? His stomach did a little somersault at the sight of her. She was in uniform like him, the green cape draped carelessly over her shoulders. The morning sunlight that filtered in through the small windows made her tied-up hair shine like molten sugar.

She looked glorious.

"Yes," he replied, trying not to stare at her like a leering lunatic.

"You arranged everything with the outrider teams?"

"Of course," he frowned. She had given him the order last night, had she not? He had distributed signal flares - just in case - but the formation was simple. Levi and Hanji in front as vanguard, Anni and Treibel as their rearguard, two more teams to the left and right. That left the brats well-guarded in the middle. He and Hanji were armed with the guns they had taken from her father's guards, the military police and the Garrison were carrying their own type of pistols. The only thing they did not have at their disposal was their vertical maneuvering equipment - but that happened to be useless in the flat grasslands against human enemies anyway.

"Okay," she nodded. "Of course you did."

Then why did she sound doubtful? Did she not trust him to do his job? Levi felt annoyed and unnerved at the same time. If she was angry with him, he had a pretty good idea why.

"Thank you for thinking of Blitz's happiness," Levi changed the topic, "but I doubt the mare he fancies can keep up with us if we need to go at high speed."

Hanji shrugged. "She'll find us."

"I hope he won't think it's necessary to wait for her."

"I am confident that you can handle your horse, Captain Levi," she brushed his concern aside.

Silence fell, her visible eye resting on him thoughtfully. Levi swallowed. Yes... he knew what this was about, but he didn't like it one bit.