❝𝐈𝐟 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐨, 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚.❞
Selfishly fascinated with her own strength, Valen Ferreira is willing to do nearly anything and everyth...
SHORTLY AFTER THEY'D VACATED THE CABIN, the Military Police had stormed inside, the Levi Squad barely dodging apprehension. They'd safely observed the scene from a faraway cliff, the MPs' torches weaving in and out of sight as they scoured the cabin for them. As their search unfolded, they'd devised a plan and separated— Hange and Moblit would rendezvous with Erwin in Mitras, and the remainder of Hange's squad would accompany Levi's to the Trost District.
Valen adjusted the fedora hugging her skull, ensuring it properly shaded her skin. While her colleagues easily blended in the crowd, Valen—for conspicuous reasons—could not. To conceal her identity, Jean had graciously loaned her a spare fedora of his which she reluctantly, but graciously accepted.
Together, they stopped at an intersection presently occupied by a merchant's wagon. Levi wound up at her side— he hadn't done much to conceal his identity. "I'm saying this again, I don't think wearing a hat is helping," Levi whispered in her ear.
"It was either this or smear flour on my face," Valen grumbled, pointing to a strip of blemishes blooming along her cheekbone. "My pores are already clogged enough."
"Tch, we're being hunted down by the monarchy. Your appearance should be the least of your worries." Valen ignored his snide remark— didn't she possess the right to care for her appearance? "Regardless, I'll trust your judgment."
"As you should." The merchant's wagon having pulled through, the intersection emptied, and they crossed the road— Valen discerned how drastically the crowd swelled. "What's going on?"
"Don't know. Perhaps a festival." Civilians murmured excitedly among themselves. After pushing through what Valen estimated was hundreds of people, they neared a second intersection. Waiting for the road to clear, Sasha and Conny snickered inconspicuously, giving Valen and Levi a reason to turn around. "What's so funny?" Levi pressed, his expression mirroring Valen's.
"Look," Conny snorted, handling Valen a crumpled paper— one of the many wanted flyers posted around the city.
Specifically, it was her wanted flyer.
Conny and Sasha's chortling continued incessantly in the background as a scowl warped her lips— the illustrator had exaggerated her skin color, darkening her taupe skin to a midnight raven. They'd exaggerated her eyebrows as well, thickening their shape to a comical degree.
