Underdogs

SEVEN

❝Sometimes too much pain turns a soft heart into stone.❞ ㅡ Galene Magnolia

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Chapter seven:

TEMPER

The room was quiet; only the occasional snoring of Farlan and the brushing of sheets as Isabel rolled over for the umpteenth time broke the silence. The window was ajar, as to let the fresh breeze of the night crawl inside. No curtain concealed the moonlight, not anymore; and thus a tiny path of white light touched the faces of those who slept inside.

A frustrated grunt was heard, before a man whose height could be one of a child threw the covers away from his body. He sat up, drifted his glaring eyes towards the moon and then let out a heavy sigh, as if he was done with being awoken in the middle of the night.

After some seconds of mulling over his options, Levi let his eyes wander around the room. They narrowed upon stopping on the farthest bed; no one was lying on it, sleeping the exhaustion of the day away like they were all doing ㅡ or trying to do, at least.

"That brat," he grumbled.

Rubbing his temples as to get rid of the headache which was already coursing through, Levi got up and sneaked out.

The hallway was dark, as expected, dimly illuminated by a few torches that hung on the walls. He closed the door and paused, wondering about the whereabouts of the female thug, before his eyes fell upon the stairs at the end of the hallway.

His feet led him far from their room, up to the roof to which ㅡ he had learnt ㅡ one could get through a locked door. When he got to it, however, he was not surprised to find it unlocked.

The night was cold, the breeze chilling and silence prevailed in the streets which surrounded the building. Levi found her sitting, legs dangling over the edge and seemingly at peace as her gaze stared into the starry sky.

He knew that expression on her face ㅡ probably, too well. She was lost in thought; in a never-forgotten past, or in a hopeful yet darkened future.

She acknowledged his presence after a minute of silence, but she didn't spare him a glance. "Did the towel work?"

Levi clicked his tongue in utter annoyance as he mentally replayed how the item had flown out of the window the second he had tried to cover it up, in an absurd attempt to keep the moonlight away from his face.

Instead of giving her the satisfaction of knowing she had ㅡ once again ㅡ gotten on his nerves, a slap was delivered to the back of her head. Her eyes snapped to meet his, flashing in outrage. "What the hell, Levi? Try that again, and you'll lose your fucking hand."

"Your lack of conscience is pissing me off, brat."

At that, she cracked a mocking smirk. "Did Erwin reprimand you again?"

Truth be told, Levi was having a hard time dealing with her constant, effective attempts to spur chaos wherever she went. It had only been a week since they had left the underground and freed themselves from the misery in which they had lived through their entire lives. However, his last addition to the gang had managed to get into two fights, all of which had ended with broken bones and more trouble ㅡ for both her and him.

He had expected their arrival to be complicated; that much was evident. Nevertheless, part of him had held onto a tiny ray of hope ㅡ she will behave, he had forced himself to believe. But the judging glares, along with the whispers and gossiping, had brought the worst in her; word had gotten out and provoked a thunderstorm among the soon-to-become soldiers.