Chagara - Chaos in the Darkness (Levi x OC Fanfic / AttackOnTitan)

16. Cry of Hope

"Tch." Levi clenched his teeth tightly. They had been caught in the middle of a snowstorm. Where was everyone? Through the wall of snow he only recognised four other soldiers. That couldn't be all of them. Or could it? Levi narrowed his eyes to see better. Without success. Mike, Hanji, Erwin - he couldn't see them. Surely Erwin wanted to get back to Wall Maria as quickly as possible and not risk an unnecessary fight. Surely the commander had given the order to retreat.

The weather and the Titans had massively disrupted the formation of the Scout Regiment. Levi grabbed a branch in a flash as his foot skidded away across the frozen bark of the tree.

"A battle against titans in the snow," Levi thought and set off for the next jump. The frost made the hooks grip worse in the tree trunks. The branches were slippery and the snow made it difficult to fight on the ground. Why did titans have to show up? "Why don't you all hibernate?," wondered Levi. "Erwin, Hanji, Mike and the others are surely closer to the wall by now. Aren't they?"

"Retreat. Back to Wall Maria", Levi shouted to the handful of soldiers as he pulled his sword out of the neck of a Titan and was already set off for his next jump, ready to kill the next giant. Where was his horse? With narrowed eyes he tried again to identify his surroundings. Again he pulled his sword out of the neck of a titan. But his vision was so limited that he noticed the titan's hand falling to the ground too late. Levi crashed to the ground and just managed to roll away before the head of the dead Titan hit the spot where he had been lying a second before.

Dazed, he lay on his back. Snowflakes fell on his face. Would he die like this? In the snow? When would he be found? In spring? Why would he be found at all? "Tch." Levi opened his eyes, sat up and wiped his wet hair out of his face. He wouldn't die until he ran a successful tea shop. Then he could go peacefully to sleep forever with a smile on his lips. And until then, there was still a long way to go.

As he stood, he moved his limbs carefully. Nothing seemed to be broken. He could not see his own blood either. As he took a step backwards, he hit against a back. Levi exhaled audibly. He was not alone. Some idiot had disobeyed his command. But that had increased his chances again. He let himself fall lightly against his comrade. Who was with him? There weren't many soldiers of his size.

"I don't like it when people try to play the hero. That's why honest and short answers."

Levi raised his eyebrows when he heard the voice. Were his senses playing tricks on him?

"Are you hurt?"

He had missed that sound. "I feel no pain," Levi answered briefly.

He felt the other person's deep breath. Was she afraid? "Can you manage the Titan to your left?"

Levi turned and looked over Chagara's shoulder. "Yours," she explained with a wave of her hand to the right. "Mine," she added, pointing to the left. "In the middle are the horses. There are more Titans running back there. Be at the horses in fifteen seconds." Levi eyed her side profile. She looked tired.

"ONE," she shouted and took off running. Levi started off as well. At five, he had climbed his titan. At six, he had cut the neck. At eight, the Titan hit the ground. Levi ran in the direction he thought the horses were. In his mind he kept counting. Only at twelve did he hear another Titan fall to the ground. Had she made it? Unharmed? At thirteen he heard a horse whinny. His was standing next to it. He jumped on it, but did not galloped off. He waited. Maybe he wouldn't open a tea shop after all?

"Fifteen," he heard her voice next to him. At the same moment, Chagara jumped on her horse and took off. Levi followed her.

***