Eruri | Beyond the Walls

Chapter 2

~Day 2~

Erwin awoke to an empty cave. He stood up quickly, hopping over the remnants of last night's fire. "Levi?" He called as he walked towards the entrance, all previous tiredness evaporating instantly into mild panic. Did Levi abandon him? Was he killed in the middle of the night while Erwin slept?

He exited the cave to find Levi standing at the edge of the woods, three titan corpses around him. He had found a hollowed-out log and filled it with water, then placed it on top of the steaming titan.

"Hot water," Levi explained triumphantly as Erwin neared him.

Erwin's mouth fell open a little. "Levi, you're a genius."

"I know," he said smugly. "I desperately want a bath, even if it's just a sponge bath. We can take it in shifts but since I killed the titans I call first dibs."

"That's fair," Erwin agreed, amazed. "How's your fever?"

"It broke last night, thank fuck. I actually managed to sleep, so I think that helped."

Levi paused, checking his surroundings. "I'm down to half a tank of gas because of this. What about you?"

"Three-fourths. Let's try not to engage in combat unless absolutely necessary."

Levi nodded. "We won't last long out here without gas. What's the plan? Try to find your horse?"

Erwin sighed. "I've been thinking about that. If I had the maps that are with my horse, we could plan a way home. I mean, we can get back now using the sun and stars to navigate but we'd be completely exposed by the open ground. To compensate for that, we could aim to move from one forested patch to another and take our chances with the smallest amount of grasslands possible."

Erwin took a small stick and started drawing in the mud as he spoke.

"However, if we do that without the map we could shoot too far to the left or the right and end up going past the walls."

Levi groaned. "Fuck it. The populus out here is nicer anyway. I think I'll stay."

Erwin snorted. "Those poor nobles in Sina would be so offended to hear that."

"I'd rather deal with titans than those fat lards."

"Well, if I want to be Commander I'll have to deal with those 'fat lards' all the time."

Levi looked disgusted, like he didn't understand why Erwin would choose that path, but didn't say any more.

"We could go to the rendezvous point. I bet a lot of people died on this mission, so their horses might still be running around. Maybe there will be tracks to follow or supplies dropped. It's not much but... What do you think?"

"Why are you asking me?" Levi asked, deadpan. "You keep asking what I think and then we end up doing your plan anyways. You're just wasting your time. It's fine, let's go."

"I want your input, Levi," Erwin replied. "If we get back, if I become commander, and if you are willing, I would like to make you my captain."

Levi stared at him blankly.

"Did you hit your head?"

Erwin sighed. "I thought you might say something along those lines."

"Why me? Why not Miche? Even Hanji would be a good choice."

Erwin fiddled with the stick in his hand before letting it drop into the mud. "Look, Levi, you have the title of 'Humanity's Strongest Soldier' for a reason. Miche's good, really good, and we've known each other for a long time. However, he's too similar to me. Your opinion comes from a place I can't even begin to imagine. You're my opposite and that's exactly what I need. Besides," he looked away from Levi into the forest, "sometimes when you look at me it feels like you can see through my soul."