Wings [Levi Daughter]

Chapter One

"There you go, that'll do it."

Iris stared at the cane that Mike Zacharias had made her. She turned to Mike, who simply stared at her, waiting for her to use it. With shaky hands, Iris places the cane on the ground and carefully slides down the bed, when her feet landed on the ground, her knees almost broke down but she kept herself up. She forced her legs to move, taking one step at a time, counting each step she made.

Twelve... thirteen... fourteen... fifteen –

Her knees broke down, sending her to the ground. Whimpering in pain, Iris forces her shaking legs and arms to get up, but due to her still recovering body, she just fell back down. To her surprise, she was lifted from the ground and placed on the bed by Mike.

"Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it." Mike said. "For now, you need rest."

Iris nodded and laid back down the bed, and Mike tucked her in. She expected the man to leave right after, just like what her father does, but instead, he sat down on the chair beside her bed, takes the cane, and with a knife, he started to carve on the surface of the cane. They both stayed there in silence; Iris' eyes were already starting to get droopy until she heard a deep voice humming a tune. Turning, she saw Mike still carving on the cane with his knife as he hummed a tune. Unknowing to her tears started to form at her eyes. The sound of sniffing caught Mike's attention, turning to Iris, he saw the child wiping tears that fell on her cheeks. Reaching inside his jacket, he took out a handkerchief and handed it to her. Iris looked away from Mike, not wanting him to see her cry, ever since her hearing about her mother's death, she never wanted anyone to see her cry. She suddenly felt something on her cheek, wiping the tears. She finally looked at Mike and took the handkerchief from his hands and wiped the tears herself.

"It's alright to cry." Mike spoke.

"Mama told me to not let people see my cry..." Iris muttered.

Mike poked her at the chest, just above her heart.

"If you don't, then that'll hurt a lot."

Iris placed her hand on her chest.

"Where's Papa?"

~*~

Two months of staying the Survey Corps, Iris' presence gave life to the Scouts, especially those who had their own children but rarely see them, but she became an issue to the Commander and other Officers, seeing that she has been a distraction to some of the Scouts. Levi stood before Erwin, he knew what this meeting was about. He had it numerous times before, ever since he brought Iris to the Survey Corps to get treated. At first Shadis was kind enough to let the girl stay for the first few weeks she was seriously ill, but now that she was slowly recovering, he can't have the child stay any longer. Their supplies and budget were fixed to accommodate the number of Scouts, not to raise a child.

"We can't have her stay any longer." Erwin said, "And the Commander had given my responsibility to handle this."

"Well, I can't just leave her." Levi said. "Iris is still recovering; she can barely walk yet."

"I'm sorry, but it is not the Scout's role... The Survey Corps Headquarters is not a place for a child to grow up in. She needs a proper home, and she will need to start her education, and I doubt that she would be willing to listen to Hange any longer, knowing how she handled her last lesson."

How could he forget. Levi found his daughter vomiting at the floor of the mess during Hange's lessons. And ever since then, he made sure to keep Hange far from Iris until the woman learned how to keep her lessons human-appropriate.