Broken Hearts, Severed Limbs (Levi x OC x Erwin)

|5| Ilse's Notebook II

It talked... If the sayings of the notebook that they had found nearby the corpse were correct, then the titan... it talked. And it was intelligent. Then the titan that Levi had taken out in that forest, it had led them there to the corpse of a fallen comrade whose notebook said it all.

Nathalie and Hange had sat down to study it in Hange's office. It was late at night, but they had just returned from the Expedition and they didn't want to waste a moment further. They read it, again and again, trying to dig deep into the meaning of everything that their fellow comrade, Ilse Agnar, had written down. He was the survivor of a squad and he had been wandering alone in the outside for days with no hope for survival. But he had made sure he'd write down everything that he'd experience.

And he had experienced having that titan cornering him and talking to him. "'Subjects of Ymir' What does it mean by that?" Nathalie's fingers reached for her glasses, taking them off and clearing once more the lenses with her handkerchief.

"I don't know. But I'll be damned if I don't find out," Hange said determinedly. She grabbed a pen and a paper. "I need to send Erwin a letter. We know absolutely nothing about the titans. This cannot continue," Her fingers fisted around the pen.

"I agree. Thousands of people have died already. If we keep this up, the losses will be thousands more. What about the family of this poor man?" Nathalie pointed out and Hange nodded. Nathalie stood up. It was time she returned to the Special Operation's Squad Headquarters. She was in no mood for another scolding from Levi, and maybe a shower too was in order. "I could get that Notebook to that man's family if you want. I know it's hard to face the relatives of the fallen," Nathalie suggested.

Hange stopped writing for a moment and she looked up at her with a smile. "It's alright. I'll get it to them myself in the morning. Besides, I'm third in command. When the reins of the Scouts fall into my hands, then I'll be doing this quite often,"

Nathalie nodded. She placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a smile. "Goodnight, Section Commander Hange,"

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She arrived late at night back in Headquarters. She could tell everything was silent and everyone was sleeping. She did prefer it that way. She did prefer silence and peace over anything. She headed straight for that shower, and a few minutes later she was downstairs in the kitchen, intending to brew some water and make some tea. It was Levi's fault she had grown fond of tea in the first place. She could never tell what he did when he made tea, but she could never achieve such taste.

Nathalie never got to brew some water when she realised a cup of steaming tea was waiting for her on the kitchen counter. Of course, he had saved a cup for her. It was still warm. She chuckled and she brought it up to her lips. She drew in the sweet aroma of jasmine, before she took a sip. She probably had to go back to sleep, but there was no way she could sleep without finding answers in all these questions that formed in her mind.

The titans were human-like creatures with a slightly different biology but all the rest were the same. What if that titan was a human once? What if something turned it into a titan? It had that troubled, tormented expression on its face that she couldn't wipe out of her mind. Nathalie groaned as she headed for the library with the mug in her hands. That building was provided to them by the government to serve as their headquarters, and it came with a large library that she had been exploring for the past five years.

Once she entered the large room filled with bookcases and tables, her gaze spotted Levi sitting on a table with a book in his hands. The book had leather black wrapping and she could tell exactly what book it was. It was one of the books that she had read and admittedly, she was just about finishing reading the entire library. She tucked her glasses further up her nose and she approached the bookcase that stood behind him.

"Honestly, I never had you for the nerd type," Nathalie admitted as she brought her lantern up at the titles of the books.

Something about the name 'Ymir' sounded to be related to history. No. Specifically, 'Subjects of Ymir' sounded more like something related to the past. Maybe some historical person was named 'Ymir'. If she was to find any answers, she'd find them in a history book.

"I read the notebook on our way back," Levi said and at that she stopped searching for a moment and she turned and looked at him. Levi was the one who had found it and held on to it till they reached the Wall.

She hummed and resumed searching. "So, you know," She groaned. All history books in that library were useless. The name 'Ymir' was nowhere to be found and she knew it. She had read them before.

"You won't find anything," Levi stated the obvious and Nathalie sat on a chair beside him, placing the mug and the lantern on the table.

Levi shut closed the useless book that he had picked and he crossed his legs. His hand reached for his own mug and took a sip from his tea. Nathalie's hand reached for another book that she had left on the table. It was focused on biology and inheritance. She had started studying that book before they left for the Expedition. It almost felt like it was time to resume it even though her doctor had advised her not to read in the night. It only worsened her vision, but it was bad anyway. If it weren't for those glasses that Hange had helped her get, she wouldn't be able to see anything.

Even though she tried to focus on the interesting contents of the book, Nathalie could still feel him staring at her. Maybe he was waiting for her to apologise for earlier. They hadn't talked about the fight that they have had back in that forest. She sighed as she rested back on her chair and she turned and looked at him.

"I'm sorry about earlier today. I didn't mean to put any of our friends' lives on the line-"

"Nat," Levi cut her. His eyes met her own, piercing, even behind all that indifference that he forced upon his face, and even through the darkness of the room. And then he said that one thing that she wasn't expecting him to say. "You and Hange were right..." her eyes widened. What?! "...we can't face an enemy we know nothing about. You always have been, and you always set me on the right path. I'm sorry I doubted you,"

She wasn't expecting him to apologise, but yet again, she always knew Levi would never cease to surprise her. Nathalie gave him a smile and she took a sip from the tea that he had made for her. "It's alright. I too may have acted just a little bit more reckless than usual,"

"You acted very reckless like the stupid moron you are sometimes..." Ah, there he is. "...don't you ever put your life in danger like that, I will personally kill you myself," Levi threatened but she could still tell he was only trying to protect her.

"I know you're worried and you have every right to be, but you of all people know it isn't so easy to get rid of me," Nathalie smiled mischievously at him and for a moment she could have sworn he almost smiled. It was still dark though, and she couldn't really tell.

"Don't I know it," He agreed as he stood up. His hand reached for the top of her head, giving her hair a stroke, messing them more than they were already messed. "Don't stay up too late, Nat,"

She chuckled as she watched him exit the library. "I won't,"

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Hange's and Nathalie's request to capture a titan was accepted. Twenty days later, with the support of the Special Operations Squad led by Levi, the Scouts managed to capture two titans alive. The method of capture was a specific one proposed by Section Commander Hange and Lieutenant Nathalie. Not a single human life was lost.