Tainted (Levi x Reader)

Chapter 32

As promised, you began teaching the girl the next day. You quickly realized that she couldn't fight worth shit, but she had a will, and other things worked to her advantage. Anya was alarmingly cunning, somewhat making up for her lack of physical ability.

You first taught her the basics of a proper fighting stance, moving on to techniques for evading attacks and overcoming a larger opponent. Toward the end of the day, you let her tag along as you hunted for dinner.

Keeping low, you crept along a well-worn rabbit track among the dense undergrowth. It weaved between the trees until you spotted an oak tree with acorns littering its base. A squirrel was perched on an arching root, turning one over between its tiny paws. You silently raised the bow you carried, an arrow already loaded. You pulled back, gathering tension in the string as you took careful aim. With a soft whirr, it pierced the animal, killing it instantly. You quickly gathered your catch as the two of you returned to the ravine.

You taught Anya how to gut and cook the animal, something you'd had to learn pretty much by yourself. As the two of you sat in silence, your mind began to wander.

You'd grown increasingly uneasy as time went on. Anya would have to return to the orphanage the next day to avoid suspicion, but would keep meeting up with you every other day. But you were more worried about the inevitable arrival of Mikasa. She would take the opposite route around wall Sina to get here than you'd taken, placing her at the forest bordering the opposite side of the orphanage. The chances of you two running into each other, although slim, still existed. And you had a gut feeling that Levi may accompany her in order to track you down.

You still felt guilty about how you'd left things with him. You'd pushed him away out of anger, but also because it would provide the opportunity to slip away. But now more than ever, you just wanted to hug him and let him know that you weren't upset anymore. I won't be able to until after I complete what I set out to do. I'll apologize as soon as I see him again.

"You okay?" Anya's hesitant question startled you from your thoughts.

You forced a small smile, but didn't meet her eyes. "Yeah, just remembering stuff."

Anya pulled a blanket tighter around her as the chill of night began to settle in. "Must get lonely, traveling all by yourself."

You shrugged. "I try not to think about it." You suddenly studied her closely. You'd lent her some clothes for her stay, but she'd have to change back into hers before leaving. Her shoulder-length, dirty-blonde hair was tangled and messy, you motioned for her to come closer.

You pulled out a hairbrush from your bag and began to carefully brush it out, picking out the bits of leaves and whatnot as she sat there quietly. "You should tie it back while fighting. Otherwise it'll get in your way. Do you know how to braid?"

"No." She lowered her head some. "Some of the other girls learned before they arrived, but I guess I was too young."

"Watch." You grabbed a bit of your own hair and slowly weaved it into the beginnings of a braid, letting her take note of the pattern. "Now you try."

It took her several attempts and a lot of gentle correction before she got a fairly neat braid on one side. You cut a thin strip of fabric from the end of the sleeve on her own clothes, and showed her how to tie it to secure the braid. She then did it herself for the other side.

Triumph lit her eyes as she softly ran her hand down the braid she had woven. She thanked you quietly before lying down on her mat and curling up in the blanket, her hands still clutching the braid until she fell asleep.

You stayed up for a bit longer, listening to the sounds of the night. A fondness for the girl was budding in you, and it felt wrong that you'd have to send her back so soon. I taught her a little bit. It'll hold her over until I can teach her more.