White Blank Page *Captain Levi* (AOT Fanfiction)

Chapter Twelve

 There was only a day before we were to head out into the outside world. For me, it would be the first time. I was excited, as well as nervous. The plan was pretty simple, but that was on paper. The formation we used seemed complicated, but the system sounded as if it would work well enough.

I hadn't seen Captain Levi for a while; I'd catch a glimpse of him once in a while, never long enough to say anything though. I wasn't sure if he was avoiding me, or if it was just coincidence that we hadn't talked at all. In the past when I barely saw him, I noticed it, but it hadn't made me feel as rejected as I do now.

I tried to ignore it, and trained hard in preparation for the coming fights. The night before we were to leave, Petra decided we should eat together; we'd gotten food from the mess hall, and then brought it outside. The night was cool and breezy, but not cold. We sat comfortably and talked, Fala laid only a little ways away.

"You know, I noticed the tension between you and Captain Levi, is there a reason why?" She asked with a bit of a teasing manner.

My eyes widened as I chewed some bread. "I don't know what you're talking about," I answered, my voice going up an octave.

She giggled, "I new it, you like him," she stated.

I blushed, and didn't reply.

"And he likes you back," she told me, putting a grape in her mouth.

I gave her a quizzical look.

"If anything, I thought he'd like you," I tell her truthfully.

She burst out laughing, "He took me into this squad, gave me my dream job. But he's an ass, and truthfully, I see him more as an annoying older brother," she told me.

I nodded and continued eating.

 *****

The next morning there was a deathly quite. Everyone had grim, serious expressions on, and the air hung heavy with anticipation and fear. Most prepared themselves and their horses in silence. The only ones speaking were of authority.

It didn't take to long for all of us to be ready. We moved into a group and headed out. As we passed through the village, there were shouts and cheers of good luck. Wide-eyed children stood on boxes to catch a glimpse. And old hags whispered amongst themselves of the waste of life that we were instigating.

I sighed and kept my eyes forward. Fala padded next to me, she kept up easily with the horses. I was to be in the group with Captain Levi, the Special Operations Squad, and Eren. I disliked the position, because the chances of seeing a titan were slim. But, I was in no position to argue, especially since it was Captain Erwin's orders.

The large group stopped before the gate, waiting as it rose. Once it was high enough for us to pass, the horses were forced to a gallop. As we continued outwards, we formed into our squads. Only about fifteen minutes later, there was a flare indicating to turn the group due to a titan sighting. Our group's trek seemed pretty boring, and I couldn't help but sigh in annoyance. Petra heard and she smiled and shook her head, but remained silent. Fala was still able to keep up; she wasn't even a gallop behind.

As we continued, the signals became more frequent, and I began to grow worried for those on the outer edge of the formation. A message was received that the right flank had been decimated, and my stomach plunged. For some reason, we began heading towards a different direction then was planned. We were riding towards a mass of forest. I suspected it was because we could maneuver better that way, and I assumed there was an emergency that had forced us to take this route.

As we rode into the forest, the sky became shadowed, and I wondered how we would be able to see the flares now. After only a little while, I began to hear loud, fast footsteps. Fala whimpered and began running faster then Killian, urging us onwards, rushing us. My heart began pounding as the footsteps neared, and a glance behind me revealed a titan. It didn't look like a normal one either, it had no skin, it ran at unimaginable speed, and it appeared to be female. It didn't seem like a variant either; I watched as soldier after soldier attacked the monster, all failing... the creature was intelligent.

Eren was shaking slightly, and he began to lift his hand to his face.

"Eren," I said with a warning tone.

He looked over at me, and when the others noticed what he was about to do they began trying their best to convince him that he didn't have to. Captain Levi silenced the others, and told Eren he could decide for himself, and do what he thought was right. Levi stressed that trusting the regiment was what should be done, but he didn't force Eren.

As the seconds wore on, the beast drew closer, and I almost held my breath as I awaited Eren's decision. He slowly lowered his hands though, and our small group willed our horses to run as fast as possible. I could feel the movement of the air behind me as the titan lowered her hand to grab at me. Fala was there though, in a flash she was behind me, blocking the titan from taking hold of my cape. I turned my head and gasped in horror as the titan lifted up Fala. Fala struggled and whimpered and cried out, and even through this the thing still managed to run right behind us.

"Fala!" I yelled, my voice cracking as the beast grabbed Fala by the tail and pulled it clean off, her blood spattering across my face.

There was a loud resounding yelp of pain that seemed to echo throughout the trees. Then Fala was on the ground behind us. My heart burned with fury and tears reached my eyes. I rose up in my saddle and prepared myself to move into the trees with my maneuvering device.

"Iris," the loud demanding voice of Captain Levi called.

I turned to look at him, my tears gone, and a dead look replacing them. He held eye contact for as long as he could, "Don't," he yelled out and turned around.

I growled in fury and pain, but didn't argue. Only a few moments later, there were noises of screeching metal, and harpoon like weapons shot out of the trees into the clearing we'd just passed through. They caught the Titan perfectly and held her in place. Yet, she still managed to cover the nape of her neck. I blink confused for a moment, until realization hit me. She must be like Eren: a human that can transform into a titan.

Captain Levi told us to ride on, and so we did. We stopped by some trees a little while later, and dismounted from our horses.