Something About You [ Levi Ackerman X Reader ]

Twenty-Four.

Chapter Twenty-Four:

"A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing ; Prelude to Demise pt. 4."

~ ~ ~

"The Female Titan has been successfully captured," Levi announces with a harsh tug on the horse's reins, and the scrape of the leather against its hide makes the animal slowly trot to a stop. "(F/N), you stay here, I'm going to assess the situation with Erwin."

Levi looks at you, awaiting your nod of confirmation. When you perform the said action, he skillfully dismounts his horse and zips away with the help of his gear, crisscrossing the stature of the trees until he was out of sight.

~ ~ ~

From the eerie silence of the forest came a loud, guttural shriek, which finally put an end to the argument that had ensued among the members of Levi's squad after Levi's leaving; the argument was tactless, and it only managed to gain your rapidly-increasing irritation.

The shriek was blaring, and a violent chill ran its course down your spine as your mind strained to figure out what could possibly have the vocal capability to emit a sound as terrifying as that. It sounded like a desperate cry, much like the pained screams ripped out of a dying soldier's throat before their passing- but there was this underlying hint of ferocity which reinforced your speculation that only something inhuman could have produced that scream.

But, speculation aside, the shriek dies away after a few seconds of complete confusion among the soldiers and the noises revert back to the buzz of insects and indigenous birds.

The soldiers all look at each other, exchanging "What was that?"s, as if one of us bore the answer. Unsurprisingly, we all responded with exaggerated shrugs, and thankfully, nobody dared to light up another fire from the embers of the abandoned argument.

~ ~ ~

Several flares shot up into the air, all thrusting out the same light blue exhaust, and you were thankful for something to take away from the awkward silence. Everybody's looking at the blue flares as they gradually ascended higher and higher into the sky, and each soldier's gone through more than enough orientations to the extent where the meaning behind the blue exhaust has been burned into their minds :

Retreat.

"Back to the horses, everyone! Prepare to retreat!" you order, and with a loud click, you leap off of the girth of the tree branch and travel downwards, back to a ground that wasn't tree bark and creatures that weren't fat caterpillars.

"You heard her," Oluo reinforces, "Let's go see what the bastard inside that thing looks like."

Günther and Eld joined you, flanking you on either side, Oluo, Petra, and Eren some ways behind the three of you. Silently, you maneuvered through the verdure, cracking a small smile at the banter Eld and Petra started. Soon Oluo, even Eren joined in, and all four of them squawked at each other in mid-air, their voices raised like immature children, while you and Günther shared the same look of disappointment.

There was a ringing, signalling the firing of another flare, and instead of the blue exhaust you were expecting, the murky green of stagnant water gushed out as it rocketed upwards, trying to grasp the clouds.

Probably from Levi, you deduced, and you felt your entire body lighten as a wave of relief washed over you, and for once you felt eager- eager to be navigating through this omen of a forest, in these dismal turn of events, because you're going to meet Levi again.

The hooks of the gear retract back into their sockets, and you land on the nearest surface, which was another broad tree branch. The heels of your boots scrape against the rough, hardened bark in your elation, and you can hear a consecutive series of thumps behind you, followed by the sound of metal string being retracted.

"That must be Levi's signal, we'll rendezvous with him," you announce, pulling your own flare gun out from its sheath, covering your other ear as sufficiently as you could before you pull the trigger, letting loose your own jet of green.

You and his squad members set off once again, your direction modified to the origin point of the green flare. A figure suddenly manifested from cover of the trees, blades drawn, resting on either side of their frame, and the hood falling over most of the person's face.

It wasn't Levi.