Birdie (Levi x OC)

prologue

The small, blonde girl was at the curious age of 11 years old. She would sneakily enter her grandfather's office when he wasn't inside and snoop through his various papers and books. Ever since she began living with him a couple of months prior, she would spend a lot of her time at his place of work, the Garrison Headquarters. She would read his books and papers, despite most of their contents being gibberish to her. However, a few words stood out to her that she understood.

Walls. Cannons. Titans.

She knew of these all too well. Her father and grandfather both worked with these.

The little girl was currently reaching up on her tiptoes to reach the highest shelf of her grandfather's bookcase within his office. Her small hand just barely reached the big, green book she so desperately wanted to look at. She swatted at it, unable to grasp the book firmly in her hands, causing it to land on the ground with a thud. The book opened as it landed, two yellowed pages faced the small girl.

The girl looked at the worn pages, her big, golden-brown eyes wide with curiosity.

Most of the pages contained paragraphs upon paragraphs of words, but a certain diagram piqued the girl's interest. She knelt and wrapped her arms around her bent legs, peering down at the diagram.

It looked almost like a person, but it definitely wasn't. It wore no clothes, had large eyes, and a large smile that made the little girl feel uneasy.

"It's ugly," the little girl spoke aloud.

Was this a titan? She thought. She hadn't ever seen one, she just knew that her family worked to protect humanity against them.

She began to read the paragraph above the diagram.

The titans' only purpose in life is to feed on humans. Their bodies lack a proper digestive system, indicating they don't feed for survival. Furthermore, they are uninterested in prey that isn't human, making humanity their sole target.

"Birdie!" The little girl whipped her head to the door of her grandfather's office.

"Grandpa!" She slammed the book shut and sat on it, not wanting her grandfather to know she had been snooping again.

"I was wondering where you snuck off to," he explained as he entered the office.

"It's okay, Birdie," the old man laughed, seeing the little girl hiding the book she was reading. "You're allowed to read, silly girl."

Birdie sheepishly sat up from the book.

Her grandfather walked over to the book she was reading.

"Trying to learn more about titans?" Her grandfather inquired; his eyebrows raised at his granddaughter.

"I was just curious..." Birdie faltered, still embarrassed from being caught red-handed in her grandfather's office.

"Well...what do you want to know?" the old man asked her.

Birdie looked at him thoughtfully for a few moments. Her forehead scrunched up as she thought of what she wanted to know.

"Grandpa, why do the titans eat humans?"

Her grandfather had been expecting this question. As much as he didn't want his granddaughter to understand the cruel realities of this world, he knew the curious little girl wouldn't leave it be without an answer.

"We don't understand why they do the things they do. All we know is that they will stop at nothing to eat humans. That's why we live within the walls...to keep us safe," Birdie's grandfather explained.

The little girl nodded. "That's why you help fix the walls. To keep the titans out."

"Yes, however, there is a different part of the military, besides the Garrison and Military Police, that seeks to answer the question that you asked. They also explore the world outside the walls," he explained.

"Yeah, the Survey Corps, right?" Birdie answered, having heard of them before. She'd seen them before too, walking through the halls of the Garrison when she was with her grandpa. They wore a different symbol on their uniforms than the red rose that was on her grandfathers. The symbol resembled wings...like a bird.

"Grandpa, I want to keep us safe too!" The small girl faced her grandfather, her frizzy blonde hair bouncing as she did. Her expression was full of ambition, an all too familiar trait to the old man.

The old man admired his precious little granddaughter who had only recently begun living with him, his eyes crinkled in a smile as he admired her look of determination.

"And so you shall. Perhaps next year you can start training as a Cadet. Then...maybe you can work with Grandpa." He smiled down at his granddaughter, reaching his hand out to grab hers.

"I'd like that," Birdie grinned and grabbed his hand.

They exited the office together, hand in hand. Birdie turning her head to look briefly back at the book still lying on the floor. The picture of the titan on its pages still clear in her mind.

The members of the Survey Corps must see titans like that all the time, the girl thought to herself, inwardly shuddering at the thought.

But...they get to explore outside of the walls. They can fly over them like the birds do.

Birdie shook the momentary thought from her head. She looked up at her grandfather, her small hands still in his. Her mind immediately drifted back to the prospect of working with him.

Grandpa and I...working together, she smiled to herself, it sounded fun.

~

Although Birdie did not know of it yet, she would one day don the wings of freedom on her own back, allowing her to explore outside the walls herself.

Like a bird.