*Reader's POV*

Your appearance around Headquarters was brief, making a point to simply hit some of the necessary locations of your daily routine, making sure you were seen at them. You tended to your little garden, went out to the stables to take care of Zephyr and sneak Levi's horse a treat, and took your sweet time to the mess hall kitchen to get a pot of black tea started for Levi. You checked your special book about plants and their different health effects beforehand to try and find one to help with Levi's current...status...and ironically, his favorite black tea was known for cardiovascular health and improved circulation. You wondered if he was aware his favorite tea improved blood and heart health. He probably did, with how much of a tea enthusiast he seemed to be. But, since it was his usual tea, maybe he wouldn't notice the subtle gesture it actually was: an attempt to help him recover faster.

You were still in a strange sort of high after feeding from him. You felt tingly in your blood, energized and strong, alert. It was also a little disorienting because your senses felt sharper. You weren't used to this much coming in at you at once. Sounds, smells, and sights were sharper, almost too sharp. It was like when you were a brand new vampire with senses that you didn't know how to handle. At least this time you knew from your first trial by fire how to adjust. There was a lot of focusing on one sight, one sound, one smell, blocking out the noise with some difficulty and adjusting to the stronger sense of clarity of the individual senses before moving on to taking in more, little at a time.

The other thing you were worried about was the fact you could still taste it, in your head at least. And even in the stables far away from where Levi currently was, you wanted more. Yes, you'd scoffed at his question about you getting addicted to his blood, but really, you were a little worried if it was still this prominent in your mind, well fed and away from him you still had the lingering taste, a desire for more. Hell, part of the reason you were able to let go and stop in the first place had been because you told yourself you could continue to taste it in the future if you pulled away in that moment. You'd wanted to keep going, to take every last drop, your vampiric nature overcoming everything else, but you'd held it at bay thanks to Levi's actions causing some of your predator instincts to calm down and drawing your conscious attention to him, his actions and his words. You'd had to tell yourself you could taste this rich and empowering blood regularly if you pulled away now, instead of gorging yourself once and never being able to do so again.

You were ashamed that what got you to pull away had nothing to do about feelings or relationships or actually caring about Levi, but at that moment you'd been running off pure, brutal instincts, and emotions weren't going to be enough to get you to pull away in that moment. It had to be cold logic that got you to pull away in the moment. The part where emotions came into play came later, when your teeth were no longer in his neck and you were talking to yourself to keep yourself from sinking them into him again even though his throat was inches from your face.

Fuck, you were struggling with this, even now the scent and taste was rushing in your mind, making your teeth ache. You didn't need it, you felt more satiated than you'd been in forty years, but you wanted it. Badly.

You needed to tell him. While you two were talking about all this, you needed to bring it up. Maybe he would feel weird about it, maybe it would make him back out knowing how dangerous it was to keep dangling himself in front of you, but he needed to know.

It also meant that you made him black tea spiked with white sage. The sooner he got white sage back into his system, the better. And the more at ease you would feel because there would be a deterrent keeping you away from his blood again.

It was evening by the time you had finished your rounds and were returning to Levi's office with black tea in hand, feeling that a couple hours walking around being seen and doing things was plenty of time to calm any suspicions that might have been roused by your absence. You'd wanted to come back sooner, since you'd left Levi with some significant blood loss but also got the sense he needed some time to himself to think after what happened. You were still shocked that he'd gone through with it in the first place, with how afraid he'd been. Neither of you had said anything, but you could hear how fast his heart was beating, and could see the look in his eyes. He'd been afraid, but he'd offered and gone through with it anyway. Which meant a lot, but at the same time, you were worried about him. It hadn't been the best first experience for a willing participant, and it had been a little rushed, and you'd been starving, but...still. You'd rather it hadn't been so painful.

You were going to have to work on that...if this was something that was going to continue. Now that Levi had experienced it for himself, he might change his mind. Maybe he wouldn't, though, maybe he'd just want things to be a bit more thought out, more careful.

You needed to stop making these circles in your head and just talk to him, because you couldn't come up with much without talking to him about it, first.

You knocked on the door, hearing a quiet 'yes?' from inside that prompted you to enter. Levi was sitting at his desk, hair brushed back into its proper place, collar fixed high with cravat securely in place, hiding the injury you could still smell a bit of blood from.

Shit...he needed to hurry up and drink this damn tea.

Doing your best not to look like you were in a rush, you approached the desk that Levi was sitting behind, looking like he was rather focused at the moment on the paperwork in front of him. Carefully, you sat down the cup of tea, though you lingered in front of his desk, biting and worrying at your lip.

"When will you be free to talk?" you asked him seriously, eyeing the paperwork in front of him.

Actually, now that you were in front of and looking at him again, he looked exhausted, and not just from a bit of blood loss. Maybe black tea wasn't the best option for tea he could be drinking.

Gah, but circulation health...

You were overthinking again.

Shit! Focus, bitch, you're a sixty year old vampire, a soldier, and a professional. You can focus on a damn conversation for five minutes. I'm distracting myself again. Fuck!

"Later. Not right now," he said in a distracted tone, signing the paper in front of him with a sharp motion before moving onto the next.

"Obviously not right now, that's why I asked when, not can you," you said pointedly, hand waving slightly towards the paperwork in front of him.

Levi sighed softly, and you winced inwardly when you realized it sounded a bit annoyed. Whoops...it wasn't like you could predict one of his post-donor moods was going to be irritable, but still, you didn't want to annoy him just before the two of you had this serious talk.

"I don't know when I'll be done with this. Try after dinner," he said shortly, still focusing on the paperwork in front of him.

You nodded, watching him quietly for a few moments before speaking again. "Before I go...how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," he said bluntly, but you arched a brow, gazing at him expectantly. Levi glanced up at you when you didn't leave like you'd suggested you would after the question, raising a brow of his own at your look. "I am. I will be. Don't worry about me, go do whatever you need to for today," Levi said, turning his attention back to the paperwork.

All right...you'd been hoping you could have the discussion now, but apparently not.

It could wait. Maybe he needed a bit more time to think things over. Paperwork gave him time to mull things over in his mind while also providing an excuse not to be interrupted from his thoughts.

"Okay...I'll see you after dinner, then."

Maybe over a stiff drink, too...

Levi hummed, and you turned to leave, officially anxious about what this was going to mean for the relationship between the two of you with how he was acting right now.

Then again, it was Levi. Maybe it was best not to take it to heart and just wait until the two of you actually talked. He'd never been one for words in the months you'd known him, and you doubted that was going to change now. You were just going to have to wait and see what came up when the two of you finally talked after dinner tonight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You were anxious to talk to Levi by the time dinner rolled around–something he didn't show up for, by the way. He was still in his office. The fact that he didn't come to dinner to at least keep up appearances made you wary, wondering if there really was something wrong that he didn't mention earlier.

As such, you ate a couple things so people could see you eat something, then put together a platter for Levi like you'd done the other day, complete with more black tea for his blood flow. With that, you headed back up to his office, knocking on his door and opening it warily when you didn't hear a reply on the other side.

"Levi?"

"Shit!"

The curse was actually soft spoken, but the thud of something hitting the floor wasn't, and you darted across the room to set his dinner tray on the desk before darting over to the bedroom you'd heard it all from.

Levi was on the ground, in the middle of getting back up, shifting one knee up to plant his foot on the ground, one hand splayed on the ground in front of him while the other arm was braced against the bed to help him get up, head bowed low so you couldn't see his expression. The noise was him falling.

The blood loss was affecting him–he'd just been doing a damn good job hiding it by staying at his desk doing paperwork.

"Shit, Levi, I'm sorry–" you started to say, hurrying over to grasp his other arm to help him up.

He tried to shake you off. "I'm fine," he said gruffly.

"No, you're not," you snapped firmly, holding fast and helping him get to his feet. "God, Levi, I'm so sorry."

"I'm just a little dizzy, I'm not dying," Levi grunted, weaving when he was on his feet as you got a better look at him, guiding him into the other room and to his desk for him to sit down. As you were moving him, you did a quick once over to get a closer look at his current state, now that you were aware that the blood loss was physically affecting him. It seemed he'd fallen on the way back from changing the bandage, as there was a fresh one covering the spot you'd bitten him, and his collar hadn't yet been fixed to cover it up again. Now you could tell he was actually very pale compared to normal, and the obvious thing was that it was taking more effort than it should have for him to move around on his own.

He needed food and rest. But he was too stubborn to actually lay down and try to sleep, and he was struggling too much to come downstairs on his own to eat. Probably got winded and clearly was at least dizzy from that short trip to and from his desk...if that was all he'd been up moving around trying to do.

"If you're having problems moving around, you need to rest. And eat, but mostly rest to give your body time to recover."

Levi didn't say anything, opting for silence as you helped him settle back down in his office chair, pushing the platter with his dinner towards him before you moved around to the other side to take a seat.

"I think now's the perfect time to say we really need to talk about what happened earlier," you added as you sat down, attempting to take charge of the situation and be the responsible one if Levi was going to be quietly stubborn about talking this out. "For example...if you want to take back your offer to be my donor."

He looked genuinely surprised at your suggestion, looking up from the tray he'd been pulling toward himself to stare at you in confusion. "Why the hell would I do that?"

You hadn't realized just how self conscious this conversation was going to make you until you started it. Why the hell were you embarrassed, you'd never been embarrassed talking about your vampiric nature before? And it certainly wasn't your first time talking to Levi about it, so why did you suddenly feel shifty about the topic?

"Well, I just thought...you might change your mind after that first time. After experiencing it first hand," you said, deciding to leave it at that generalization instead of, at least this early in the conversation, blatantly stating some of the glaring problems. Like the pain it had caused Levi more than once, or the fact you almost hadn't let go of him.

"There were problems," Levi admitted without hesitation. "Things you'll have to fix. But it doesn't change the fact you need blood. And I'm not letting you go down into the Underground for it anymore."

"I don't want you doing it because you feel like you have to. Especially if it runs the risk of you resenting me or something," you mumbled, picking at your fingers out of his line of sight, hands below the surface of his desk.

Levi eyed you for several moments, the only sound that of him stirring his tea with the occasional, soft 'chink' sound of the spoon tapping against the edge of the cup in the process. "I don't have to do anything. I told you, I'd been thinking about your donor theory for a while. I didn't expect it to happen this soon, or like this, but it was an option. That I chose. I could let you go back down there instead of stumbling around making this insanity work, but I chose to do this, instead."

"And are you going to choose to keep doing it, or decline? I know you're trying to help and provide me with a safer alternative, but you need to be comfortable with it. That's my priority," you said pointedly.

"And mine is making sure you and the people around you are safe. The best way to do that is to make sure you're well fed and in control of yourself. This is the best way to do that–as long as we figure out how to make it..." he trailed off, searching for the right word for a few moments before you filled it in for him.

"Easier. Safer. Better," You offered, running a hand through your hair as you leaned back, heaving a sigh. "I know it was painful. But relaxing isn't easy in the process, so telling you to relax a bit more doesn't do anything."

"You need to let go, sooner, too," Levi said abruptly.

You nodded, silenced for a few moments. "I know. I...even knowing it was difficult, I didn't realize just how hard it was going to be to resist. Even..." you hesitated, knowing this was going to be a touchy subject for both of you. Or at least uncomfortable. "...even a couple hours afterwards."

Levi's eyebrows rose substantially. "Excuse me?"

You shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. "Honestly, a few hours later I was still smelling and tasting it like a phantom pain. My teeth were even aching, and I had that thirst of desire stronger than normal for a while, but just for the one..." You were looking anywhere but at him to try and avoid the awkwardness of what you were saying, but even avoiding his gaze you felt the awkwardness of that last statement, telling him you'd been craving his blood and his blood alone for hours after drinking from him. "I've never had that happen before. It's new territory, and the only way I can think to adjust is learning and control over time. That's how I adjusted the first time."

"Trial by error, then. That's the option we've got so far?" Levi asked, voice a little distant. Yeah, that little confession had to have put him on edge.

"That and precautions. White sage, making sure I don't reach that level of starvation again before feeding would help, and then just...taking care to build up a resistance to the temptation, before, during, and after. It might just take some time, but if we're careful, it'll get easier. At least on my side. Your side, it's a little different, what we need to do."

"You're the vampire. What are your suggestions?" Levi asked. He was eating while you spoke, quietly and slowly, the carefully arranged plate slowly disappearing as the two of you conversed. Or rather, you bounced thoughts off him hoping he approved of what you were considering.

"Well," you said with a sigh. "Obviously, we've got to work on how much and when–if I take less, there will be less side effects, maybe even none at all. It'll be a balancing act while we see how much this affects me. Then there's, like I said, learning to relax so that you don't tense up and make it unnecessarily painful. And...I know it sounds gross, but at least take it under consideration...having a little of my blood could also help you recover faster. And you wouldn't have to worry about keeping the bite mark covered up because it would heal much faster."

"I am not drinking your blood. That's disgusting. I heal fine on my own," Levi protested instantly, a look of extreme distaste on his face.

"I know blood for you isn't the same as blood for me, I'm not stupid. I could just put a bit in your food or drink so you don't even have to taste or see it," you suggested, hoping the sneaky method might help sway his decision. He was already eating and drinking stuff spiked with white sage, would it really be so bad to have the very occasional meal or drink spiked with your blood to help him heal so you wouldn't have repeats of today?

Levi paused mid-chew and stared down at the food you'd brought him, and you quickly spoke up before he could assume the wrong thing. "I didn't put anything in there besides some white sage in your drink. I'm not going to feed you my blood without your consent...unless it's an emergency and you're unable to give consent, let me put that out there," you added hastily, just so that was in the air between the two of you.

Levi shook his head, officially disgruntled. "It's still a no. Especially with the risks," he said firmly.

For now, at least. While it was still weird and new for him. But maybe another time he'd be more open to it.

"Unless you're planning on jumping from the roof afterwards for some reason, that shouldn't be a problem. It's not like we'll be doing it right before an expedition–you'll need some time to recover naturally from the blood loss each time."

"I said no," Levi said, tone a little harsher this time. It was best not to keep pressing the issue. though at least it was out there between the two of you with one of his misconceptions and worries cleared up for him.

In order to keep the discussion going so it didn't die the moment you pushed a little too far on something, you shifted topics.

"I wish I could tell you how often I'll need it so we could have some kind of time table, but I don't know yet. I'll be sure to let you know when the thirst starts turning needy, though," you said honestly, one thumb stroking along the other repeatedly under the table as you stared at him again.

Levi shifted awkwardly in his seat, nodding towards you. "Are you still...thirsty, after all that?" he asked awkwardly.

"Need-wise? No. But, the craving is definitely still there," you admitted, a burn in your cheeks showing just how much that little admission embarrassed you.

"And for my blood, specifically," Levi clarified, leaning back and appraising you when you gave a little nod. "Should I be worried?"

"Well...knowing there's white sage in your system again is quite the deterrent."

"And when it's not?"

"...as much as I'd like to say my control is better than that, I'm a little hesitant after what happened earlier. So let's just say it's something to keep in mind. Though, again, I was ravenous earlier. I'm hoping we'll be smart enough not to wait that long before trying again."

Levi sighed and leaned forward, pinching the bridge of his nose as he set his elbows against the desk. "This is a mess I'm not looking forward to telling Erwin about," he mumbled, and you perked up curiously at that.

"You didn't tell Erwin?"

Levi shook his head slightly. "If I told him, he would have talked me out of it. He knows how. I'll have to tell him now, though. He's supposed to stay updated on these kinds of things when it comes to you, and this is too important to leave out. He needs to know."

"Do you want me to come with you to explain, or..?"

"No need, I'll take care of it, like I usually do," Levi said dismissively, not moving a muscle from his position pinching the bridge of his nose. "You have work to be doing–getting ready for the next expedition in a few days. Have you been memorizing the flares Hange made for you?"

Only Levi could turn a conversation about the blood donor thing into an expedition preparedness conversation.

Though then again, it was probably really good timing. The only thing you could think of was how strange it had all felt, and where it left the two of you in regards to one another. Only recently had Levi acknowledged you as an equal, you even dared to think of the two of you as friends outside the Captain/Squad member, Student/Teacher relationship the two of you had.

Yeah, the two of you were already in a relationship transition phase, you didn't want to poke at it any more than necessary. And with the way Levi was about his thoughts and feelings, keeping them securely under lock and key, you had the sneaking suspicion that was the last thing he wanted to talk about.

Right now, anyway.

"Yeah, I mean, most of them are just lighter versions of colors we already have, since the solid ones are already in use and we don't want to confuse the rest of the formation. It also means they'll be a bit harder to spot–especially the white one...ironically."

"Well, a white line coming up from the ground is pretty noticeable, even on cloudy days. Especially when you're looking for them. And we'll be relaying the signals you give to make sure Erwin sees them."

"I suppose if it doesn't work out, there's always the backup plan–falling back into formation near command. But if it does..."

You let the silence linger for a few moments, both of you thinking of what that could mean for the Scouts and humanity as a whole. Sure, right now the Scouts were seen as a useless waste, going out beyond the walls just to wander around, place some supplies, fail to set up a few bases, and then come back with far less than before...but even the public was noticing the shift, how the Scouts were starting to come back with less casualties and more distance covered. And you hadn't even been set fully loose, yet. Now you would be.

There were still unknowns, tragedies and situations you couldn't account for, but the progress you could help the Scouts make could change the game.

"What do you think is out there? Beyond the Titans, I mean," you asked abruptly, looking at Levi curiously. He shrugged, having finally dropped the pinched expression while the two of you were contemplating the outside world.

"How should I know? Erwin seems to have some ideas, but I..." he hesitated, not really meeting your gaze, as if debating if he wanted to say anything. "I'm more focused on the obstacle right now. Not what's beyond it."

Somehow you felt that wasn't the whole picture, but you left it alone for now, satisfied with the crumbs he was offering you. "Fair enough. It doesn't hurt to contemplate it every now and then, though."

"Less of a chance for disappointment, later. If there's no expectations built up," Levi answered. At that point, he'd finished his meal and tea, and you got up to gather it up and put it on the platter for you to take away.

No way in hell were you going to make him make the trek downstairs to the mess hall and back, especially with a platter that had breakable things like the teacup, when he could hardly get to his room and back on his own.

"Before I go," you said, the words tumbling out before you could think them over, officially making it to where you had to say something, you couldn't just back out or it would be awkward. Your fingers curled a little more around the edges of the tray, and you hesitated for a few seconds before swelling your panic long enough to get the awkward feeling words out and over with. "This, this isn't going to make things weird between us, is it?"

Levi arched an eyebrow at your nervous display. "Only if you make it weird."

You let out a soft, relieved sigh, feeling some tension in your shoulders bleed away. "Okay...okay, good. Thank you, Levi...ah, get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night, Y/N," Levi answered in kind, remaining seated until you'd left the room and shut the door firmly behind you.

As you were leaving, you could hear him taking his time trying to get up and move around just a little.

Stubborn man. As long as he didn't fall, though, you would let him be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Levi's POV*

"You let a starving vampire feed off you without any intervening third party, without even warning anyone that it was going to happen. And to make matters worse, she almost didn't stop. You realize how unlike you that is? You had plenty of time to tell me and get some proper safeguards put into place so if something went wrong the Scouts didn't lose you. You've never been this reckless before–unnecessarily, too."

"I didn't want to be talked out of it. I did what was best for her at the moment, but I had my misgivings. I could have been persuaded not to do it, but I couldn't let that happen."

"You risked death because you didn't want to be talked out of it?"

"You didn't see her, Erwin, it was bad, she was almost killed–she would have been if I hadn't found her first. And now there's someone down there with a personal vendetta against her. We can't let her keep going down there, this is the best option."

"I don't mind taking risks when necessary, Levi, but this was unnecessary. If you'd explained what was going on this could have happened without risking you in the process. You can't do something like this again!"

"She was starving. She's never had anything like it. Of course there were complications. But we're not going to do it again when she's starving, she'll have more control over herself. And what she's still lacking in control will come with practice. I've already talked with her about this and about moving forward, as much as we can right now."

Erwin sighed in frustration, eyebrows seeming like they were about to merge together with how his whole face was wrinkled up in displeasure with what he was hearing. "I accept that it happened. But if this first time was as difficult as you say, and she's already struggling with what could turn into an addiction, it would be wise if someone was there to intervene whenever the two of you–"

"No."

Erwin leaned back slightly at how sharply the word cracked out and interrupted him, studying Levi closely for a few moments. "I'm sorry?"

"No," Levi repeated, as if it wasn't a big deal just how rebellious he was at the moment in regards to Erwin's say in the matter. "I got her off of me when she was starving without incident, I can handle future situations."

Erwin's expression didn't change much–if anything, it grew a little suspicious instead of satisfied with Levi's answer.

"Why?"

"Excuse me?"

Levi had just said why, what did Erwin hope to gain by asking him that–he'd already answered why–he could handle the situation, they didn't need supervision.

"Why are you so intent not to have anyone else around to make sure it proceeds safely?" Erwin asked steadily, suddenly sounding unfazed by Levi's odd behavior and simply pursuing a hunch.

Okay, so he wasn't going to take Levi saying he could handle it as enough reason to let things be. Honestly, the last thing he wanted during these little sessions with Y/N was for someone else to be in the room with them. Between her little moans and how pleasurable it actually felt to him when it wasn't painful, he didn't want anyone in the room witnessing that. It didn't feel right, like some kind of invasion of privacy. Yes, Erwin had a point, it would probably be safer with someone there as a mediator, but Levi still didn't want anyone else in there because it felt like a private thing, even if it was dangerous.

"No one else is going to be able to help–they'd only get in the way and get hurt. I'm the only one who has a chance against her, you know that. If something were to go wrong, no one could help."

"Not necessarily," Erwin said pointedly. "We know enough about vampires to subdue her, now."

"That's much different in practice, Erwin. And I've seen what white sage does to her, now–it's better to avoid it if we can."

"But if necessary–"

"I know, I had some on me earlier, just in case. I didn't need it, though. And if I don't need it when she's starving, I don't think it will get bad enough to need it in the future considering we already have a better sense of precautions to take. I've got it handled, Erwin."

Erwin sighed, still looking displeased, but they both knew Levi wasn't going to budge on the subject. Carefully, Erwin took a seat at his desk, rolling out his plans for the new formation, complete with the new distance between Y/N, Levi's Squad, and the formation for him to evaluate.

"Don't be reckless going forward, Levi...no matter how much you like her," Erwin said, head turned away from him as his gaze roamed the altered formation for weaknesses–other than how exposed Y/N was at the very spearhead as their forward scout.

Levi bristled at his words, taken aback by that last part. How much he liked her? What was Erwin suggesting, what did he think he'd seen?

"What the hell does that mean?"

Erwin looked up at Levi's prickly tone, his expression serious. "Don't be reckless. She hasn't replaced your value to the Survey Corps."

They both knew that wasn't the part Levi had been asking about, but Erwin didn't look like he felt inclined to explain his other comment, turning back to the formation on the table in front of him.

Damn Eyebrows and his cryptic shit. Was that simply a comment about perceived favoritism, or something else? If it was the favoritism thing, that wasn't an accurate evaluation, and Erwin might be losing a bit of his edge–Levi saw them as equals, not as Y/N being a more exceptional squadmate than the others. He honestly believed if the situation was different, she might have had her own squad to oversee.

Maybe. Levi hadn't really seen her in a position that tested leadership qualities, yet, though she certainly had the skills and judgement to operate on her own.

Was he suggesting Levi was getting attached to her, enough it was starting to make him reckless?

He might have been in a few situations by now that required some risky moves, and he might have made a few decisions that could be seen as reckless, but he didn't think that was the case, either.

Not that Erwin was going to spell it out for him. Levi was left to ponder what the hell the other man had meant on his own time after he left the office.

Though right now, he had to find a way to explain to the rest of the squad why they were going to be in the positions they were without telling them Y/N was a vampire.

Right...that was something he'd been puzzling over for a while now, and while he didn't have the most convincing approach, it was the best he could come up with for all the things he had to omit.

That was what he was going to focus on right now.

Not Erwin's sly little comment about liking Y/N.

There were more important things to focus on right now than Erwin's speculations about the evolving relationship between Levi and Y/N.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Petra's POV*

Petra wasn't the only one nervous about this expedition. Looking around at the others, she could see the doubt in the other's eyes, despite how much they all tried to trust that Commander Erwin and Levi knew what they were doing.

But this...it felt like they were hanging themselves out front as bait intending to be sacrificed, and without any further explanation beyond that Erwin was trying a promising new arrangement with the formation. They even had signal flares different from the rest of the formation, newly tinted colors with similar meanings for the most part, but a few differences, likely to avoid confusion for the rest of the formation.

Who was apparently unaware that there was any kind of change, and they were supposed to keep this new position a secret, even after this test run expedition that was meant to see how well the formation worked.

So many secrets, and they didn't know why, or if it would even work, whatever it was they were trying to do. It put everyone on the squad on edge, though they still trusted Captain Levi enough to follow orders and not question them–out loud.

The only ones who seemed relatively at ease, or at least unfazed by the strange position their squad was going to be in, was Captain Levi and Y/N. Every now and then, Levi would glance at her out of the corner of his eye, or he would murmur a question that she would give a quick answer to. Once Petra overheard it, and he was double-checking that Y/N knew which color signals meant what, a last minute check.

Maybe Captain Levi was a little nervous, as well. Petra didn't think she'd ever seen him this chatty with someone before an expedition trying to make sure they remembered something. In all honesty, if that was the case, then Y/N was the calmest one in their group despite all the unknowns regarding this secretly altered formation.

What was going on?

The gates ahead opened, and her questions had to be tabled for now, anxiety pooling in her gut even as she gathered the reins for her horse and glanced between the two in front of her, noticing the slight tension in Levi's shoulders as his horse came a step closer to Y/N's.

There had been that whole rumor debacle a while back that Levi hadn't taken too kindly towards, and he'd cleared it up rather well with Y/N by showing just how skilled she was, and that she did need training with someone closer to her level...but seeing little gestures like this made Petra wonder if maybe there was a bit of substance to those rumors.

Not the whole sleeping with Levi to get her position nonsense, she earned that, and Levi wasn't the kind of person to promote someone because of sexual favors, not in this line of work. But maybe, maybe there was something there. They certainly spent a lot of time together, even with training factored in. Y/N was around the squad itself less and less and around Levi more and more, occasionally with Erwin, as well. Things were happening behind the scenes, and the only reason Petra had any clue that something was happening was by proximity to both Captain Levi and Y/N.

Though this new position was a big hint that something was up, too. Obviously.

Maybe Captain Levi and Y/N weren't getting close in that way, maybe there was something tactical that the others were missing while they tested it out, and Captain Levi and Y/N were at the center of it.

But, again, apparently that was need to know, and the rest of the squad wasn't need to know. At least not right now, while it was being tested. If it didn't work out, they would probably go right back to normal and there wouldn't be any reason to tell them what had been going on.

But if they moved forward with it...well, hopefully they would get some kind of explanation instead of having to figure out some blind faith for a situation that their experiences so far told them was suicidal foolishness or intentional sacrifice of the Special Ops squad. Though Levi wouldn't be playing along if the latter was what was going on. And he would have said something if it was the former.

Petra's head hurt thinking about it, enough that she winced slightly when Commander Erwin gave the command to run past the gate and out beyond the walls once more, since the squad was currently placed right with the rest of command.

For now, at least. Once everyone else was where they were supposed to be with the formation all spread out...

The sunlight beyond the walls broke through Petra's wandering thoughts again, and she snapped back to attention on instinct, shifting her attention away from pondering Captain Levi and Y/N and to the far more important task of keeping her eyes open for trouble. Always on guard outside the walls, that was one of the ways you helped your chances of survival out here, and she couldn't afford to get distracted by matters she could dwell on once everyone was back within the walls.

The Scouts thundered past the gate, galloping straight into the open fields ahead of them to unknown horizons, everyone traveling in one large mass for now, waiting for Erwin's order to shift into the long range scouting formation, eyes scanning the horizons for any Titans drawn in by the ground-shaking sound of so many horses galloping in one large group.

A few leagues past Wall Maria, Erwin spread out his arm, signaling the Scouts to shift into the long range formation, smaller groups of horses breaking off and heading in different directions to form the arrowhead shape of the long range formation. Their squad didn't move, but stayed alongside command, making the position a little bulkier than normal as they awaited their different signal, a direct command from Erwin to Levi. The Scouts spread farther and farther, more and more of them leaving the range of sight of the command position in the formation, until there were only the two front vanguards on either side of command and a little ahead, a few relay positions between center and vanguard, and the supply position behind them.

Captain Levi said something to Y/N that Petra couldn't hear because he came in close on his horse and said it in a low tone, one that Petra was surprised if Y/N heard over the wind and horses. She nodded, head fixed ahead while Captain Levi kept a steady gaze on her, as if he was waiting for her to do something, or making sure she didn't wander off. That she didn't find so weird–this kind of thing happened every expedition. Y/N would focus on something none of them were privy to, Captain Levi would watch her, and then normally, their squad would fire early signals that somehow always managed to be correct. Eventually, Petra and the others stopped questioning why they needed to fire these unexplained flares, but they still wondered what they were missing that allowed Captain Levi and Y/N such accurate predictions.

Captain Levi slowed down his horse, shifting positions so he was between Y/N and Commander Erwin, gaze still on her until she said something to him. Levi moved over to Erwin, said something brief, and Erwin fired a flare to shift the formation's direction.

Petra and Eld shared a glance, once more wondering what it was they were missing. By now, everyone knew it had something to do with Y/N, but again...they didn't know what. They just knew it worked, and it was helping, whatever it was.

The formation shifted, Y/N's horse herded by Captain Levi instead of guided by Y/N herself. The scene repeated itself four more times before Y/N actively turned and addressed Captain Levi with a serious, nervous expression on her face. At that, Captain Levi simply nodded, turned his attention to the Commander, and called, "Erwin, we're ready."

"Take the next position. The rest is by your judgement."

The next? Was there more that the rest of the squad wasn't aware of? What came after that, what Erwin hinted at? They surely hadn't been informed if there was more to the plan.

Still, this was the moment they were all anxious for, and they all urged their horses to go faster in compliance to the order and the leadership of their Captain as Levi brought them to the point position of the formation...and then even further, stretching out until they could barely see the formation behind them, the usual distance between formation positions. Eld, Petra, Gunther, and Oluo were on edge, looking in as many directions as possible to try and see any threats before they were seen, since there was no vanguard to tell them if danger was coming. They were their own line of defense, with no one ahead of them.

Captain Levi, however, kept most of his attention on Y/N, who was riding at his side as usual these days and was in that usual, distracted-seeming haze. But, again, they all knew that even though she looked like it, the last thing she was, was distracted. She would see any threats coming before they did, for reasons still unknown to the others.

But apparently well established with Captain Levi, since he only let his gaze flicker around their surroundings to stay aware of them when he wasn't keeping an eye on her and making sure they were in the right direction.

Y/N seemed to say something to Captain Levi, who then turned to look back at the rest of the squad. "Gunther, fire one of the white flares to our left."

White...that was one of their special flares, their replacement for what normally was a red flare for Titan spotted. A signal to command to shift formation–to the right, since they were firing the flare to the left.

Captain Levi had explained the different colors as an attempt to avoid confusing the rest of the formation that wasn't going to be aware of this special position they were going to be keeping from here on out if this worked. These commands were for Commander Erwin alone, and he would adjust the formation accordingly.

Their group waited until Erwin fired the green change direction flare behind them to adjust accordingly with the rest of the formation. Captain Levi kept his gaze to the left for a little while, just to be safe, before his attention was pulled away by Y/N again, giving him another piece of information that led to Oluo firing another white flare closer to center. Commander Erwin fired a green flare right, again, and they made their necessary shifts. Levi asked Y/N another soft-spoken question, and she shook her head in response. A few minutes later, she gave Levi another warning, and they fired another white flare, Petra's this time, to the right, which allowed the formation to shift closer to the original course again.

This continued longer than perhaps Captain Levi had intended, or at least expected, it to, judging by how restless he seemed to be getting beside Y/N. Petra wondered if he was actually just as anxious about the precarious situation the squad seemed to be in and he'd been able to hold it at bay until something the rest of them weren't aware of seemed to be going wrong. Petra bit her lip, considering voicing her unease and asking if they should get back into position with the formation, before Y/N spoke up, drawing Captain Levi's full attention once more.

"We're clear."

Surprisingly, Captain Levi didn't seem entirely happy about that answer. There was something about it he clearly didn't like, but he wasn't voicing it. "Take point. If at any point you need help–"

"I know."

"Don't try being a fucking hero. You're useless to us, dead."

"I'll remember that."

"What are you still here for? Get up there, before you miss your window."

Then, to everyone's shock, Y/N broke away from the group, picking up speed on Zephyr and racing forwards, and Captain Levi wasn't stopping her. This seemed to be part of the plan.

And it was immediately met with protests from everyone else.

"Captain! She can't go off on her own, not up ahead!"

"There's no one to warn her of dangers up ahead!"

"If something happens no one will know! She'll be on her own!"

"She'll get herself killed going in blind like that!"

"Someone should be with her!"

"At the very least, don't send her alone!"

"Oi!" Captain Levi's sharp word cut through the air, momentarily silencing the rest of the squad, though they did so reluctantly, watching their fellow squadmate rapidly disappearing ahead into the unknown. She'd be out of sight entirely, soon.

Captain Levi's grip on his reins was a little tighter than normal, but other than that, he showed no other outward sign that he was displeased with the situation, as well, or that he had any intention of calling her back to the group.

"Do you really think we've sent her ahead without thinking about this beforehand?" Captain Levi admonished sharply, a bit of an edge in his voice, like he disdained the implication that he was being reckless with Y/N's life and willingly sending her to her death for no real reason...which was something everyone was thinking right now, even with his admonishment.

"There's things going on here that are need-to-know. All we need to know is that we're her safety net if something goes wrong, and we're the line of defense between her and the rest of the formation if something goes very wrong. You know the flares. Keep your eyes open, and focus on relaying that information to command."

That was the first time Captain Levi had said out loud there were things being kept from them, things going on the rest of them didn't know about. But he'd included himself in that–did that mean Captain Levi didn't know, either?

No, no, he had to know. With all the time spent around Y/N, and the times those two met with Commander Erwin, he had to know. There was no way Captain Levi would have gone along with this plan if he hadn't known. And if the reason hadn't been a damn good one with a fairly high chance of survival. He cared about his people, and he wasn't going to let them have needless deaths if he could help it.

And if the reason was good enough to convince Captain Levi to do this, then it was enough for Petra to trust his judgement implicitly on this, and believe she was going to see Y/N tonight at camp if the Scouts managed to reach the dusk checkpoint as planned.

But she was still worried about Y/N. And her mind was still trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

Y/N was out of sight by then, and there was nothing they could do but follow orders and hope for the best, hope that she was going to be all right, hope that the flares up ahead continued to be pink and white. Petra expected to see a lilac one occasionally, probably grey ones, and she could tolerate seeing a brown one here and there, too.

But not an orange one, not a dark blue one.

She really, really hoped Captain Levi and Commander Erwin had a damn good reason for doing things this way, because she did not want to stand by and watch as Y/N died from a plan that should have never even been tested if this didn't work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Levi's POV*

This was the first time they were trying something this risky with Y/N and her abilities, and to say it was putting Levi on edge was an understatement. She was out of sight, far out of hearing range, farther ahead of them than he thought even the others might have realized. He knew she was capable of handling herself, he had yet to see her in a situation with Titans where she was truly in danger–unless they were counting a few quickly healed scrapes from risky maneuvers–but that didn't mean she was invincible. Levi was painfully aware of the fact she wasn't impervious at this point, with everything he'd seen so far. It was part of the reason he was so on edge right now.

Sure, his blood had made her stronger in many different ways, but even she had admitted she was still getting used to it. She could hear and see farther, both when she focused and casually, but she was still relearning how to shift through some of the noise. Against his advice, or rather, his concerned comments, she had decided to push even further ahead of the squad than originally planned, since she had a greater range now with the little boost he gave her. It would mean a longer warning time, that it would be even easier for the formation to avoid threats from up ahead, but it also meant it would take a little longer for help to reach her if it was needed.

It didn't help that the squad was anxious as well, with how little they knew about why they were doing this new and risky thing. For them, it must have seemed like madness, yet they still trusted him enough to go along with it after a few voiced concerns. As reassuring as that was, how on edge they were as they rode ahead did nothing to quell Levi's own nerves, though his were for entirely different reasons.

They probably thought he wasn't happy with the unknowns of the situation as well, but he actually knew what was going on, and it was a good idea. He just wasn't entirely sure of the execution right now, and he was anxious about Y/N being on her own, even if he understood why. If he didn't have to stay back to lead his squad, he would have asked to be up there with her, just to be safe.

For the most part, the colors of the flares seemed to be alternating between the two basic colors–white for normal titans, pink for abnormal–that Levi and his squad echoed so Erwin could make the proper adjustments, keeping the formation on track. A couple times there was a brown flare, putting Levi on edge as he had to sit and wait for the next flare as they continued forward without changing any trajectory, keeping an eye out for any other signals. Brown meant she was pausing to take care of a Titan threat, but the rest of the way was clear for them to continue. They had to keep their eyes peeled as they closed in on her position–though it was likely they weren't going to pass her. Brown was for the messes she could easily clean up on her own–annoying shit.

Yes, he'd made that joke out loud already, and yes, in his mind, that was the 'annoying shit' signal. But it still put him on edge, because she was still facing it alone. And there was a lot on his mind that they needed to eventually discuss–not all at once, but eventually. So she needed to make it back from this risky trial run in one piece. He wasn't hoping for without incident–no expedition beyond the walls happened without incident–but he was hoping that overall she would be okay during this expedition despite all the unknowns they were testing.

Grey flares cut through the air between the white, pink, and brown–far less than the brown, but each time, Levi tensed, his orders cutting through the air sharp as a whip and the rest of the squad following his orders without hesitation. Each time, when the grey flare streaked up into the sky, Levi and the rest of the squad would race ahead to Y/N's position, keeping an eye out for any Titan threat along the way in case the fight had shifted, or one got past her to come after them. When she fired the grey signal, it was to call for assistance in taking care of a Titan threat before the rest of the formation reached that point. Arriving on the scene, there would be four, five, once there were six Titans, mostly normal Titans, though usually there was at least one Abnormal that made it difficult for her to handle them in one go–probably the reason she asked for help. Levi had seen her handle multiple Titans at once with ease before, but even she had her limitations, and he was simply grateful that she was willing to call for help and wasn't trying to play the hero, like he'd warned her earlier.

He still tensed each time he saw the grey flare, anticipating some kind of trouble, hoping it wasn't anything too bad, hoping they got there before the situation got worse. Each time, though, they found her holding her own until they could reach her to assist, simply to fall back into their previous positions and continue forward as if the skirmish hadn't occurred. Except for the slight depletion in gas, or a missing pair of blades or two afterwards. As long as it wasn't lilac colored flares going up into the air, he could keep this façade that this entire thing was normal, that there was nothing about this situation that would cause a stress in him that might make the other members of the squad feel they needed to panic.

Lilac...an emergency, like the purple flares for the rest of the formation, but also a call for help from the others–more immediate help because she was in some kind of danger they could help with.

The real ones he was worried about seeing were the orange or the dark blue flares. The dark blue meant that she was still busy with a conflict she'd fired a brown flare for, but the formation was headed straight for a significant danger and she couldn't reach the threat before the formation. And the orange...the orange flare was for a conflict that had broken out that they needed to stay away from. Something really bad, something she was in the middle of and would have to find some way out of on her own even though the odds didn't look good, because dragging more people in would only get them killed or make it worse. If she fired an orange flare, they were supposed to regroup with the formation and go back to the original long range strategy until she was able to regroup and they could go back to the vampire point arrangement.

If she could make it back to them.

Hence why the thought of an orange flare made him anxious. Not that he had the luxury to tell anyone that, or act on it if there was an orange flare.

This continuous balance on the knife's edge continued for hours, the position of the sun in the sky their only indicator for the passage of time. He wondered how the rest of the formation was faring, if they were breaking the records it felt like they were, where they were getting farther and with less incidents–the entire point of this new formation. It needed to work for Levi to continue to agree to this anxiety-inducing mess over and over again. All it would take was one stroke of bad luck...

The sun was starting to set, indicating that soon they would be stopping to make camp for the night. This was a trial trip, so they weren't going to push their luck in the morning and continue pushing forward–they were going to return to the walls tomorrow, and review the success of the expedition before planning the next expedition and how best to use this formation after seeing how well it worked out in the field.

Not long, and they'd be able to get some rest and start heading back. For once, he was impatient to see the end of an expedition.

"Captain!"

Levi immediately snapped to full attention at Petra's tone, head on a swivel around the area around them to see what had her calling out his name with that tone.

A few miles away, arching at an awkward angle above trees of a small forest, was an orange flare.

Fuck!

Levi felt his throat close up, a torturous symphony of images playing through his mind of what could have gone wrong, what she ran into that she said they needed to stay away from. Abnormals? Multiple? Had she discovered a horde? Was her gear damaged? No, if it was just her gear, she would have called for help. Though it could be a factor.

This was why he didn't like this arrangement. He had no way of seeing what her situation was so he could make a call for himself and decide if he should actually back off. If anyone was going to help her in an orange flare situation, it would be him, and only him.

He had to at least see for himself and go from there. He wasn't going to just back off and leave her on her own.

Still keeping his outward composure, he turned his head to look at the others.

"Petra, fire the flare, and fall back to the vanguard point position. If Erwin asks, tell him I'm making a judgement call."

"Captain?" Petra asked hesitantly, though she was still preparing to fire the orange flare either way so Command would know. She actually fired it before Levi answered, the orange flare cutting through the sky above them so the formation could immediately shift course away from the threat.

"I'm going to see if I can help. The rest of you get back to the formation. Now."

"Yes, Sir!"

The chorus of a reply was sharp and immediate, but he could see the concern on their faces, the worry for their Captain about to head straight into the unknown without backup towards a situation they had been told to stay away from.

But again, he had the best chances out of all of them.

While the rest of the squad turned and headed back to the formation, Levi's heels pressed into his horse's hindquarters, urging the black stallion forward even faster, directing them both straight to the danger instead of away like the others. As he raced forwards, he adjusted his grip on the reins so he could draw his blades, keeping them at the ready as he raced towards the small forest the flare had come from.

He heard the fighting before he saw it, saw branches of trees shake as Titans hit the ground, ODM cables cutting through the air, the whir a strangely reassuring sound because it meant she was still alive and fighting.

Not that he expected her to go out that fast, even out here with the Titans, but still. He'd seen too many abrupt deaths to get too optimistic, and it was always good to have some proof of life while it lasted.

Levi clicked his tongue, his horse shifting into a full sprint now that he was close enough to hear, shifting his weight so he could jump out of the saddle at a moment's notice. Y/N had to know he was coming, with how hard and fast he was racing towards her right now, and the fact it was a single rider, and not a whole group. Hopefully she could hold out until he arrived...

Bursting past the brush and into a small clearing, Levi only had a few seconds to react as a Titan lunged towards him through the trees from the left, kicking up and hoping his horse would be able to avoid the worst of the attack as his cables fired into the nearest tree to get him some air. His body twisted to fit a mid-air, loose summersault backwards so he could get a clear shot at the nape of the Titan still lunging forwards as Levi was propelled the opposite direction, gaze narrowing when the Titan did a sharp twist to face him again.

Abnormal.

There was a clattering of large branches crashing to the forest floor, and Levi looked up in time to see another Titan falling towards him from what had been a fairly decent height for the small forest.

Another Abnormal.

Abandoning the initial plan to cut through the nape of the one that attacked him, at least for now, Levi anchored to another tree, pulling himself safely out of reach of the falling Titan as his eyes quickly surveyed the area to get a feel for his situation and the situation Y/N found herself in.

It was like the damn place was crawling with Titans. There wasn't a crazy number, like thirty, but it definitely wasn't a smattering of five or six. And he had the sneaking suspicion he couldn't see them all.

Actually, he hadn't seen Y/N, yet, either...

The sound of ODM cables sounded again as Levi sailed to a tree branch as he took in the scene, pinning down where the Titans that were for the most part trying to swarm him now stood, and he looked up the second he realized he had a moment to breathe and figure out where she was.

And it turned out she was high up in the trees, trying to stay out of reach since at the moment the Titans were grouped in one place, though now they were splintering since they were distracted by Levi's presence. Now he knew why that one Titan fell from above–it was probably trying to climb up and get her.

At the moment, however, she was coming down, eyes widening when she saw Levi on a branch a few meters from her.

"What are you doing here?" She called over to him, which Levi responded with a quick obvious answer question of his own to tell her this wasn't the time for stupid questions–they both knew why he was here.

"What the hell were you doing up there?" Levi asked, tone sounding annoyed. "How many are there?" he asked before she could answer the 'stupid' question.

"Thirteen. Mostly Abnormals," she called, eyeing one of the other Titans that started climbing the tree she was standing on again. Levi had to grit his teeth and place a steadying hand on the trunk behind him as two of the Titans at the base of his tree slammed into the trunk and made the thin tree shake a little violently. This would be faster and easier, and better handled, if they worked together for this.

"Whoever grabs their attention more distracts, the other attacks. Switch if we need to. Nothing unnecessary, just get the kill. Be ready to shift at a moment's notice with the Abnormals," Levi ordered, eyeing some of the Titans at the base of his tree.

"Yes, sir. Who first?" She asked, shifting her grip on her blades as she did a similar scan at the base of her tree.

"The eight meter over there–gives us some distance from these leeches," Levi ordered, pointing at the eight meter Titan that was waffling around between their two trees unable to make up its mind who to go after.

She probably nodded over on her tree before she responded a moment later, "Ready when you are."

Levi's eyes hardened, and he kicked away from the tree, trusting Y/N's reaction time was going to be enough to keep up with him as he fired the cables across the clearing to give him a fairly clean shot towards their target Titan while staying above the reach of the Titans below. He cut through the air, hearing Y/N moving in sync with him, her ODM gear sounding nearby as they both came at the Titan at the same time. It's tiny eyes locked on Levi, first, who used the attention to their advantage, shifting course and coming in low, slashing at it's leg as he passed dangerously close to keep its attention but also sever a tendon so it wouldn't move around too much. While he was doing that, Y/N swooped down on the brute from above, getting a clean cut at its nape when it looked down at Levi coming in at its legs.

One down, twelve more to go.

As they both continued by momentum in different directions, three of the remaining Abnormals lunged, two from where Y/N had been perched and one from where Levi had been. Grunting, Levi shifted course enough that he would be clear of the one jumping at him from where he'd been, rolling onto his side as he rapidly approached the two lunging towards them from Y/N's side. Y/N zipped passed him in pursuit of the one behind him, cutting it down and keeping the space behind him clear so he could focus on the two ahead. The first he cut cleanly through on pure momentum and speed, the second had shifted a little so he had to fire another cable to correct his trajectory before he shot up at an angle from the ground while it stood up, cutting cleanly through its nape as well in what looked like a single smooth action.

Levi ducked under the arm of another Titan that tried to join the fray, using the limb as a waypoint to vault himself back high into the air and take another quick look at the situation in a split second. Y/N was skidding along the ground, two Titan corpses behind her and her cables sunk into the back of another to use the Titan to get past a nasty, thick gathering of them, using their limbs instead of the trees in the tight corners to try and avoid any of them grabbing at the cables like some were smart enough to do.

Actually, a couple of them had lined up nicely...and they were quite distracted by the vampire flitting around their legs looking for a way back up.

Eight left, and he could take of three. Maybe four, if he was quick enough.

He kicked off the tree, cables firing a split second later as he let loose a low growl, slicing forwards with a speed that was pretty comparable to hers, both blades held in a backwards grip as he spun midair, gas burning through the chained attack and keeping the spinning momentum going forward with the dangerously sharp attack. He cut through two without problems, one blade blunted on one side before he reached the second, so he had to shift how he held it by the third and attack the more standard way, leaving the now useless blade in it's nape and switching out for a fresh one as he came eye to eye with the fourth. It reached for him, but Levi nimbly arched around the outstretched fingers and around until his feet planted firmly on the wrist, just for a split second as he drew fresh blades, kicked off and forwards again with a snarl, whistling past it's freakishly big head and straight at the tree behind him. His feet planted against the trunk, he coiled, and lunged again, this time with a perfect shot at the nape, which he cut right through, riding the Titan down for a few seconds to reassess.

Y/N was up in the air again, his swift attack of four of the Titans still in the area giving her the chance she needed to get airborne again. She'd taken care of another while he was busy, leaving three left.

Easy pickings between the two of them.

Y/N was arching through the air to take care of another Abnormal that was twisting around like it was having a seizure, which Levi left to her since her vampiric reflexes let her react faster than it could move. He focused on keeping her in the clear, coming in fast and cutting straight through the nape of a Titan that tried to lunge at her while she was coming in for the kill on the spastic Abnormal.

She cursed down below, drawing Levi's gaze away from the other Titan to see the Abnormal had jerked while she was without cables midair and knocked her to the ground while she was suspended and couldn't move. At that very moment as she cursed, she darted out of the way of its hand as it smashed downwards, rolling and popping back up onto her feet as it reared its head back, looking like it was about to faceplant into the ground where she was in an attempt to catch her with its mouth.

Sparing the other Titan that was coming in abnormally fast towards Levi from behind, heading the same direction as him, He fired both cables into the spastic Abnormal's nape to anchor himself and let another burning burst of gas propel him directly into it's nape, where he made a messier than normal cut since its head was currently bowed back and its neck was all folded up.

While he was doing that, Y/N got back to her feet, and while he was coming down on his newest kill, she was headed back up and sailing past him to take care of the quick one that had been heading for him. One last thud sounded a few moments after the one Levi was detaching from hit the ground, signaling the fall of the thirteenth and final Titan in the area.

They both landed nimbly on the ground, checking their gear to make sure nothing was damaged while their gazes flickered around the forested area.

"We can talk on the way. Where's your horse?" Levi asked, eager to leave this spot behind and get back to the formation before something else happened, either with them or the formation.

Y/N whistled, as did Levi, the two whistles different in pitch and execution, and resulting in both horses appearing through the woods at a trot to their respective owners, who quickly mounted their steeds.

"Can you hear the formation?" Levi asked her as they came astride one another, taking the lead at least out of the forest and back into open space.

"I think. Faintly. They made quite a bit of time," she mused, closing her eyes to focus for a few long moments before she nodded, pointing in a specific direction. "That way. Quite a ways, too. We'll have to book it if we want to rejoin the formation before they have to shift course again."

Levi nodded, pulling gently on the reins to get his horse facing the correct direction before he clicked his tongue and they took off at a gallop. They didn't speak at first, focused on getting out of the trees and back into open space where they could see threats coming before they started talking. At that point, Y/N took the lead, since she was guiding them to where the formation was based on sound.

"What happened, exactly?" Levi called, thinking of how quickly they'd just dispatched those Titans together despite her labeling it an orange flare problem.

"Horde came from different directions, I led them into the forest to give me a better chance of fighting them off. The noise attracted more," she said abruptly, keeping her words short since she was focused on guiding them back.

That helped him draw up a mental image of why it was an orange flare problem with a bit more ease. The reason that small horde had been such a problem had to have been the fact that most of them were Abnormals, and it was difficult for her to kill even one when all of them were converging on her at once. She was good, she had plenty of raw talent, but she hadn't been out in the field to hone it to experienced expertise like he had, yet. She'd get there, but she wasn't there, yet. And she hadn't wanted to drag the squad into that because there were so many, mostly Abnormals, in one tight space. So she'd opted to send them away, instead.

Maybe they should have a flare signaling just Levi for help, in the future. If they could come up with another flare color that wouldn't be confused with the other formation colors.

There was a reason this expedition was their test run.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time they caught up with the formation, the sun was starting to disappear under the horizon, the sky turning a bloody orange in the process. With Y/N officially back with the group and able to tell if there were any incoming Titans, the Scouts regathered and set up camp to get some rest. Tomorrow would be the journey back to the walls, and it would be back to the smaller scale or personal problems instead of the razor sharp focus on simply surviving out here. Y/N was given two watch responsibilities, told to perch in a tree and listen for any approaching Titan threats until the sun set, and then to get up when the sun rose and do the same until the Scouts reformed and left for the wall. She would get her rest in the night when Titans appeared to be less active so that she was still rested and alert when they needed her at the front of the formation tomorrow, but they were still going to use her abilities for the watch in the waning and first lights.

Levi and Y/N momentarily separated while she moved to her watch and Levi went to check in with the rest of the squad and report to Erwin. Both wanted updates for what exactly happened and the squad's first question was if Y/N was all right, which he told them she was. Erwin asked if Levi felt, after the first day, this was a manageable arrangement. Despite his reservations, Levi said that it was, as long as adjustments could be made, which they would talk more about once they were back behind the walls.

After talking, it was simply a matter of resupplying–in case something happened in the night–and making sure everything was taken care of before turning in for the night. He spent some time with his horse, making sure the stallion got plenty of water and some fresh oats after the hard running back and forth they'd been making. He even took a bit of time to brush out his mane, making sure there wasn't too much forest debris tangled up in the fine hairs. Once that was done, he headed for the tree Y/N had made her perch, the cables doing most of the work to get him up there since he didn't want to use the gas he'd just received to make sure he was full and prepared for tomorrow.

She was at the base of the highest branch she could sit on, her back resting against the trunk of the tree, one leg dangling over the edge while the other was pulled close to her so she could use it as a solid surface. In her hands was her sketchbook and something to draw with, eyes fixed on what she was working on even as Levi landed nimbly further down the branch in front of her, her head tilting slightly to the side to acknowledge him as he kneeled down on the branch. He knew she was supposed to be focusing on making sure there weren't any Titans coming, and to do that she was focusing on listening to the surrounding area, so he didn't speak at first, watching the sun set as he waited for a slightly safer time to talk.

She continued scribbling in her sketchbook as the silence went on, and Levi had the brief flash of curiosity for what she was drawing, though he set the curiosity aside. She wasn't very open about her sketching, in fact this was the first time he'd seen her actively drawing. He only knew about the sketchbook being a sketchbook because of when he snooped around her room. Any other time he saw her with it, it was closed, she wasn't using it. And she didn't draw around the others. It was like her own little private hobby...so he got the vaguest sense that the fact she was letting him see her draw was something of a privilege.

When the last of the sunlight went away, the only hint that the sun was still setting the lighter color of the night sky in the distance, Levi spoke up.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, gaze sliding from the horizon to her on the branch next to him.

"A little tired, but other than that, I'm fine," she responded without missing a beat, eyes still focused on the sketch in front of her.

"Any injuries?"

"A couple. Nothing critical, and it all healed up almost as quickly as they were inflicted," she answered, her tone casual. It sure must have been nice to be able to get injured and be fine in practically the next moment. He wouldn't have known she'd even been hurt if he hadn't asked.

These expeditions were draining on her, even if she didn't say anything, and depending on how draining they were, she could end up having to feed sooner. She hadn't said it specifically, but he got the sense that the more she had to push the limits of her abilities, and the more injuries she received that her body had to heal, the more energy she expended and the sooner she'd have to feed to restore her strength. And walls forbid she ever end up severely injured out here for whatever reason, injured like she had been in the past in the Underground. And at present, she had no way to call for help from Levi without calling the rest of the squad to her in the process. And what about afterwards, if he had white sage running through his veins? She wouldn't be able to drink from him if she needed it for a full day, and if this expedition was anything to go by, that could mean the Scouts ended up dangerously stranded in the middle of Titan territory without their eyes and ears to make sure danger wasn't going to corner or surround them. It wouldn't be good, and it wouldn't be easy to keep her hidden from everyone else until she was healed and recovered so they didn't have to answer any uncomfortable questions.

"It might be wise to make sure I'm white-sage free during expeditions," he said abruptly, pitching a thought he'd been toying with since seeing that damn orange flare and his mind went to many, many dark 'what if?' places. If he didn't have white sage running through his veins during expeditions, then he would be there and ready in an emergency if she needed blood.

She, meanwhile, looked up from her sketch with wide eyes, lips parted in surprise at what he was suggesting. "Levi, you don't have to...I'll be fine on expeditions, you need to make sure no vampire can get inside your head as often as possible."

"Out here it's not vampires we're worried about, is it? It's Titans. And if you get hurt when we're a day or two into an expedition, and you can't feed, we're all fucked."

"Okay, fine, but if I go into a-a, a bloodthirsty haze out here cause of a need for blood or just being surrounded by it like that one time, and you don't have white sage in your system–"

"I know how to take care of it if you lose control, now."

"I've fed off you one time, and it was already...difficult, for me. I don't think that constitutes enough experience getting a hungry vampire off your neck to be making bold suggestions like this."

"You said yourself effectively dealing with situations like that would only come with practice, anyway. And this is something we need to do before the problem arrives, not after. Getting the blood you need in an emergency won't work if your only option is pumped full of white sage."

"It's risky, Levi. You'll be vulnerable to compulsion and you won't have anything to stop a vampire that sinks it's fangs into you far longer than I'm comfortable with."

"As if everything about these arrangements aren't risky," Levi scoffed. However, her mention of risk reminded him he'd have to tell Erwin if he didn't want to push the man too far in what he was willing to let slide as acting in the moment of necessity. Especially if this was going to be premeditated–no bullshit in the world would convince Erwin that Levi just conveniently happened to forget to take the white sage that was in practically everything he drank. And this kind of a decision was definitely one Erwin needed to be a part of.

"It's just a suggestion right now. We'll be headed back tomorrow–they'll be plenty of time to consider it," Levi added after a moment of tense silence, Y/N shifting self-consciously on her perch so both legs were pulled up to her chest, the sketchbook resting on both thighs as she gripped at the edges.

"You're putting yourself at quite a bit of risk for me," she said softly, and Levi glanced at her through the darkness.

"It's a calculated risk," he said bluntly, though he was well aware that a lot of those risky decisions had been a little impulsive and very in-the-moment, as Erwin had observed...probably because he saw her as humanity's current best chance. She surpassed him in raw strength and ability. With her potential, if she could just hone it, if she could refine it to expertise with experience like him...in his mind, a loss of himself wouldn't be felt with her here to fill in that space. So when he risked himself to make sure she was safe...it made sense. To him, anyway. It seemed the others didn't feel that way. Then again, she wasn't at that point of refined expertise, yet. She'd pointed out to herself that he had the skill while she had the raw talent, and she still deferred to his experience.

Perhaps he did need to pull back a little on how quick he was to put himself in the line of fire to secure her safety–he was still needed at this stage of the game...and two was always better than one. Look what they'd done together earlier, when they'd faced that small horde of Titans. Imagine what more they could do given time, practice, and the eventual ability to synchronize with one another, to operate on the same wavelength as a single unit as well as individuals like the rest of his squad had conditioned themselves to.

And once again, he was hearing that word, risk, and though she didn't say it bluntly like Erwin had the other day, he still heard it in her soft, careful voice.

Unnecessary risk.

He should be a bit more careful going forward and make sure he wasn't being needlessly reckless. But considering he was pretty much her only support right now that knew the truth, since she still kept a distance from Erwin...he was going to do what he could to give her the support she needed.

If it wasn't a life or death situation, he would run his ideas by her and Erwin so they could figure out the safest way for everyone involved to go about it.

Levi sighed, getting to his feet. "Just think about it. And get out of this tree–it's dark, you should be asleep," he scolded, as if he wasn't the one who came up here and started talking to her, keeping her from turning over her post and getting some sleep.

She got to her feet with a little frown on her face, pulling the sheet of paper she'd been drawing on out of the sketchbook before she closed it. "Make sure in all those calculations of yours, you're not leaving out your own worth, Levi," she said pointedly, taking two steps closer and holding out the paper for him to take. "All those calculated risks only work if we're both around to see them through each time."

Levi took the paper from her with a slight crinkle to his eyebrows as he wondered why she was handing it to him, his movements a little slow as he considered her words carefully, gaze probing as he tried to pry into the deeper layer of her train of thought that led her to say that. She dropped nimbly from the tree, apparently comfortable enough in the darkness and in her abilities that she didn't use the ODM gear, landing as gracefully as a cat on her two feet down below, as if she'd simply taken a single step down a set of stairs instead of dropped out of one of the highest branches of the trees. As fluidly as she fell to the ground, she rolled her shoulders and started forward without glancing back, heading for the small section of camp that made up where Levi's squad had settled for the night.

Still mulling over her words, Levi turned his attention to the paper in his hands after using the ODM gear to get down safely from the tree, unable to see anything yet in this darkness with his mere human eyes. When he came within range of the campfires, though, he finally had enough light to make out the edges, and coming closer allowed him to see the details, choosing a spot at the first source of light he came to that he was by himself and undisturbed by anyone still up even though everyone should have been settled and trying to get some sleep for the night–who he ignored, instead of admonishing, since he was a bit preoccupied with his thoughts and the paper at the moment.

At the edges of the firelight, he could make out a figure and a horse. That had been easy. When he drew closer, however, he was presented with the much more detailed image of himself and his horse, likely in that moment not too long ago when he'd been making his end of the night rounds. He held the reins in a loose grip that the horse still obeyed with the slightest motion, one of his hands cusped gently along the curve of the horse's cheek, his own head leaning close to the horse's forehead, almost touching his own forehead to his horse's forehead. His hair was falling loosely in front of his face, lips mid-word, gaze holding his stallion's gaze.

It was a snapshot of reality, done in impressive detail even with her vampire sight considering the waning light she had to have done it in, and the fact she'd been finishing details in the darkness while he talked to her. But honestly, it was the feel of the drawing that got to him.

His fingers brushed lightly over the surface of the drawing, making sure his fingertips didn't accidentally smudge any of the carefully crafted lines. He'd seen the other one she'd done of him–the other one he knew about, anyway, from when he'd been stalking her trying to figure out what her big secret was. Where she drew him leaning against the stables in the shadows. Then he'd clearly been lurking, the details cast in shadows, eyes hard and fixed in a weird mix of curiosity and threat, body language closed off and tense, someone coiled and ready for a fight, for some kind of conflict, for attack.

This was much different. First of all, he was open and relaxed in this picture. Maybe it was just the moment she chose to draw, but every line seemed to be drawn with care–not just the practiced perfection that had drawn the cold and hard lines of his scowling expression in the other picture. This had intent in it. Every edge was carefully drawn, even the hard angles of some of his features managed to have something of a soft edge to them, the slightest natural curve that showed even the sharpest parts of him had a bit of softness to them. His hands were one of the details given special care, as he was able to tell just by looking that the touch was gentle, fingers relaxed and loose, barely stroking alone the horse's cheek in a caring stroke. He was mid-word in the moment she'd captured, and maybe it was the knowledge he'd been speaking quiet words to his horse earlier that colored his perception of it, but even his drawn self seemed to be whispering quietly to the horse in this contained moment, lips barely parted but clearly forming some kind of sentiment. And his eyes, though some of the strands of hair falling forwards obscured slender segments of his eyes, were probably given as much attention as his hands had been, maybe more. There was a bit of a shine to them–a soft light, a warm look, something...something almost tender about the way this drawn version of himself was interacting in this moment with the steed, who seemed entranced by the man in front of him.

It was a quiet moment of gentleness she'd chosen to capture this time. Gentle touches and soft looks in the middle of all...this. Here he was thinking about blood and risks, about dangers to her and the horrifying what ifs while she was separated from the squad, about the fact she'd killed a man the other night, and not for blood, and they hadn't talked about it, how they still didn't know what they were going to do the next time she needed to feed from him because both of them were too skittish to talk about it beyond that conversation the other day. He had all these worries and stressors and fears on his mind, and she was over here, capturing one of the moments he hadn't been plagued by one of these many fears. Perched up in a tree, apparently watching him move around camp, choosing to sketch this particular moment in astounding detail in a way that even he could appreciate the care that had gone into drawing...him.

And with the shift in feel from the other piece to this one...

Was this how she saw him?