Birdie (Levi x OC)

seven

We broke out of the tree line shortly after hearing the second, guttural roar from the forest; Eren's voice, now undeniably warped by his Titan form. The open air offered no relief; it only made the silence of the waiting Scouts feel more oppressive. We dismounted in a flurry of dust and heavy breathing, joining the groups that had been holding the perimeter.

If Eren had transformed, the plan hadn't just changed; it had shattered.

"Commander Erwin," I began, my voice cracking with a plea I couldn't suppress. "Shouldn't we go back? Eren only transforms when there's no other choice. Something is horribly wrong."

"I understand your concern, Birdie," Erwin stated, his mind already miles ahead, calculating the next move. He didn't even slow his pace. "But we must put our trust in Captain Levi and his squad. I will not risk more men on a contingency when our primary objective is already compromised."

"But Sir—" I stepped into his path, desperate to crack the armor of his resolve.

"Come on, Birdie," Hange interrupted, her hand clamping onto my elbow with surprising strength. She steered me away, allowing the Commander to vanish into a cluster of officers. "Let's look after the horses. We need to prepare the wagons for the injured and the dead before we move out."

"Hange, they're alone in there," I whispered, looking back at the dark mouth of the forest.

"Don't worry too much," she said, though her eyes were shadowed with the same doubt eating at me. "If anyone can bring him back, it's Levi."

I wanted to believe her, but the scene around us made belief a luxury we couldn't afford. The rendezvous point was a portrait of grim efficiency. Scouts were wrapping bodies in white linens, stacking the fallen into the few remaining wagons originally meant for supplies. There were so many...and so many more left behind to be digested by the monsters we couldn't kill.

"Hange...I need a moment. I have to take a breather," I said, my chest feeling tight.

"Go," she nodded sympathetically. "Moblit and I will be by the medical carts."

I walked toward the tree line, needing to put distance between myself and the stench of blood and failure. The forest was beautiful from the outside; monumental trees reaching eighty meters into the sky, sunlight fracturing through the canopy in a mosaic of gold and shadow. It was a tragedy that such majesty was now the backdrop for a massacre.

I sat down abruptly in the tall grass and buried my face in my hands, clutching the sides of my head. I breathed in the scent of pine and earth, trying to steady the churning knot of anxiety in my stomach. I'm sitting here resting while they're dying.

My self-reproach was cut short by a strained discussion nearby. Three recruits were huddled together, their voices carrying on the wind.

"Mikasa ran off the second she heard Eren," a brunette girl said, her voice trembling. "I tried to stop her, but she just...she flew right back in."

"Shit," a boy with an ash-brown undercut spat out, his face a mask of annoyed terror. "Why would she do that? She's going to get herself killed."

"Jean, we have to go after her," a shorter, blonde boy pleaded. He was bandaged and looked like he was barely holding himself together.

I felt a surge of protective instinct. They were young, fresh recruits who had no idea what they were walking into. If this Mikasa had gone back for Eren, she was heading straight for the Female Titan.

I stood up and approached them, my voice firm. "You can't go after her. It's suicide."

They jumped, looking at me in surprise.