Tasteful - Levi x OC (Attack On Titan)

Losing Lost Comrades

With what was left of the platoon riding back for Calaneth District, the substantial loss suffered to the Scout Regiment was more apparent than before. Over half the forces had been eliminated in the short, few hour time span of the expedition. What was once a giant, skillful platoon was now only some, most far too battered and bruised to continue a fight.

At the head of the underwhelming platoon, was Erwin Smith, riding with Levi Ackerman and Arden Croix. And with every jolting step of her horse, Arden's wound burned. The piece of shirt she tied around it to stop the bleeding had long since been soaked, now she could feel the warm liquid oozing straight through. With how much blood she lost she should've been dead. But she wasn't a human. And death wasn't likely for her.

But something was wrong. This wasn't like any other wound she had received from a demon. This one felt like it was moving, growing, spreading. It felt like something was coursing through her veins, mercilessly stabbing and slicing at everything that it could. Her whole body was on fire. Bile continuously rose and fell up and down her throat. Something was definitely wrong.

A few minutes before, she had turned her head to the pounding of hooves. And there sat with the rest of her Squad, was her younger brother Kain. His crimson eyes set on her like a hawk, like he physically couldn't bring himself to look away from her. Glinting in his eyes was relief, a look that told her that he knew he'd never lose her. And although he was relived to see her, the worry enshrouding him was far greater. He couldn't see her wound, but he could sense it.

That was one of the things about being a demon, or a halbreed in the Croix siblings case: you can sense demonic energy. And when a demon attacks another demon, they leave behind a trace of their energy. So any other demon can sense when one of their kind is injured. The injured's energy becomes weaker, tainted with something that isn't their own.

And that's what Kain could sense. Yet he could also feel how this was a much stronger energy han he'd ever felt from a demonic wound before. Not to mention he could see it in her physicality. Her usually straight and dignified posture was hunched and weakly bouncing with every pound of Zazel's hooves. Head flopping lazily from side to side. And despite already having unusually pale skin, she had seemed to grow a shade paler.

But at the sound of a flare behind them, Arden, Levi and Erwin whipped their heads around to see a plume of rising red smoke.

"Enemy spotted at the rear!" A soldier voiced the meaning of the flare.

Now it was time to be more serious than ever, Erwin spun back around, his air of authority only growing as he gave his order, "Full speed! All soldiers!"

"Our best chance might be to circle back, make a beeline for the trees." Levi suggested, his face as deadly serious as Erwin's, "We can't put up much of a fight out here."

"No, our best option now is to continue to the Wall." Erwin commanded, slapping at his reigns to make his horse go faster.

Arden assessed both options: heading back for the trees would provide the perfect surroundings to engage ODM gear. But the soldiers are too worn out to fight. Heading back for the wall means we'd be stuck on flat ground, but it would be the option to sustain less casualties than what's already been accumulated.

But in the end, she trusted that Commander Erwin knew what he was doing.

"Tch." Levi scoffed, pulling away from Erwin slightly. He was clearly opposed to the idea, but made no efforts to disobey it.