𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐲 | 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐢 𝐀𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

✥𝚆𝙾𝚄𝙽𝙳𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝙽𝙴𝚅𝙴𝚁 𝙷𝙴𝙰𝙻✥

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And they were back on the walls again.
Maybe Violet was getting a bit tired of being on top of them, always overlooking the enemy, waiting for the right time to attack. After all, it was becoming an awfully constant occurrence nowadays. And she would be lying if she said that it did not drive her to the brink of insanity.
She turned around to face her squad, giving her back to the scenery on the other side. All of them were here, all of the members of her squad, and it was nice to see them all once again. It had been an awfully long time since she had last seen them all together like this, for a mission, and she had missed them, had missed guiding them around.
Even though she wasn't keen on being a captain at first, it became second nature to her. To have to guide cadets around, to teach them what she knew. It had become her whole life, after all, she did do it every day. So not having them around in these past few hectic days certainly felt abnormal to her. Felt their presence like phantom touches around her when they were not around. "Remember, we do all we can out here without losing our heads." She started, "The end, you leave it to Historia, okay?"
All of their young faces nodded at her, saluting at their captain. "Alright then, go where you need to go. Don't let me down, cadets."

"Are you ready to put an end to this, Grey?" Julian said as he remained by her side while everyone scurried away to their positions.
"Gods, you have no idea. Remember all the times I've told you I need a break? This takes the fucking cherry on top."
Julian laughs, his golden laughter reaching her heart. He looks down at her warmly, lips stretching ever so slightly, as he ruffles her head. "I will make sure you get it, Violet." He laughs, "You're an absolute pain when you're grumpy."
"Ha ha. Real funny, dipshit." She slammed her elbow on his side, while her face was adorned with a scowl, "Now, let's go. That order also applied to you, you know."

✥

"Hello, Kenny Ackerman."
Violet was alone. And she had found Kenny Ackerman slumped against a tree, blood flowing everywhere she could see. He was a mess--- a complete opposite of how Kenny the Ripper usually carried himself.
It was a few hours after the mission on the wall. And all was done, for now. Violet had taken a walk amongst the forest, to collect any equipment left behind in their time in the woods. But also, she had been hoping for this moment, too.
She crouched down to his level and offered him her handkerchief so that he could clean himself somehow. "Here, you look like shit."
He took it hesitantly, giving her a wary look as he reached out his hand, but only kept the handkerchief on his lap. "No wonder that boy is so keen of you. You have the same ass personality as him." He managed to crock out, his voice like sandpaper and dust.
Violet hummed, picking at her nails. "You would know, wouldn't you? But it's been years, hasn't it? Since you abandoned him? I'd doubt you know him as well as you think you do."
He let out a groan, clinging to his side in pain. "It doesn't take a genius to know how fond he is of you. Everything he did...." A violent cough stopped his voice and Violet had to shield her face as blood escaped everywhere from it.
"Gods, old man, whatever the hell happened to you rocked your ass, huh?" She sighed, hiding the disgust from her voice, "Look, I'm not here to talk about Levi. Especially not with you. I need to know what happened, what's going on, who hired you and why."
"What's your name girl? I know who you are but I'm sure you're not gonna like me calling you---"
"My name's Violet Grey. Call me whatever you prefer, I don't care. Answer the question."

He groaned out again and moved his weight a little, resting more on his less damaged leg. Saying less damaged was a stretch, but it was what it was. "Give me a damn break, brat. I feel like shit."
"And you look like it, but tell me something I don't know."
He chuckles. "I swear, you're just like him. You two spend too much time together, I see--"
"I am not here to talk about Levi. I won't repeat myself." She growled, "I don't think you have any right to talk about him like this after what you did. What kind of guardian leaves a child? In the Underground, out of all places?"
"You wouldn't understand why I did it."
"You're damn right, I wouldn't!" Her anger was boiling in her veins, could feel the trickle of her magic urging to get out to fuel that fire. But she held back as much as she could, although the pressure building in her veins grew with her anger. "You and I know just exactly what kind of shit hole that place is and yet you have the nerve to leave a kid, a kid, alone by himself."
"He told you that?"

"It's the only thing he has told me. He doesn't share much. Barely started opening up."
He sighs. "You won't understand why I did it, Violet Grey. But I had to. I--I couldn't take care of him. I was never meant to be a father. Much less to be a role model. I taught him what I knew, what I knew he needed to survive and thrive in the underground. And once I saw that he could fend off for himself just fine, I left. I couldn't keep doing it. I wasn't meant for it."
"You know that no matter how skilled you are, no matter how ruthless and evil you are, you don't thrive there, right? You're telling me that you had the opportunity to take him to wherever the hell it is that you went, but you left him there? Just because he could 'fend off for himself?" She growled, almost baring her teeth, "I was an assassin, Kenny. An assassin. You couldn't get more ruthless and skilled than that. And yet, I suffered greatly down there. I did not thrive, I did not live a good life. Sure I had more money than anyone down there, but I was not free. I was not free. And I suffered. But I was not alone. I had people around me, even though they were not close. I lived with people in a place that was not my own. But you know who did not have any of the sorts? That did not have a home, food, warmness to keep him warm at night? Who had to fight tooth and nail for those things? Levi. And he was just a kid. Do you understand how messed up that is?" She scoffs, "No, of course, you wouldn't."
"I did what I saw best fit for the kid. And look at him now, he's humanity's strongest soldier. A captain of the Survey Corps. One of the best weapons humanity has under their sleeve."
Violet shook her head, laughter leaving her throat in pure disbelief. "You're fucking sick, Kenny Ackerman." She looked at him in the eye, no matter how looking at the man made her want to punch him numb, "Did you even care for him? Had any sort of love for him?"
But Kenny didn't answer. He looked away from her, hiding his face. Violet only shook her head some more, before getting up and walked away. Did not even bother to wait and see if Kenny Ackerman answered what she had said.

She had enough. And she was sick to her very stomach. 

✥

Seeing Kenny Ackerman more than twice in one day was never a part of her plan.
But here she was, with Levi, Kenny still slumped against the very same tree she had previously found him on. She hadn't told Levi about her encounter with Kenny a few hours ago. Had preferred not to tell him since she was not sure what sort of reaction Levi would have about the fact that she had met him alone, without him by her side. It was an argument she'd rather spear herself from, so her unbuyable silence it was. 

As Levi approached Kenny, Violet stayed a good distance away from the two men. To give Levi the privacy and space she was sure he'd wanted.
And as they talked and talked, she leaned against the trunk of a tree and closed her eyes, resting for as long as she could.
The battle prior to her talk to Kenny had taken a lot out of her, adding on all the events from the previous days, so she was worn out. Her body reaching its maximum energy that it could lend her without proper care and sleep.

She would only close her eyes for a few seconds, rest for a while to refill her body just the tiniest bit.
That was her plan, as she let her body relax. 
But long before she knew, Levi was shaking her awake. "Let's go." 
She had barely opened her eyes when Levi walked past her and didn't stop to turn around and wait for her, instead marched away from the forest where he surely left Kenny Ackerman behind. Left that part of his past behind.
Violet pushed her sore body against the tree and followed behind Levi, not even daring to ask him what went to hell back there as his body language -- his tense shoulder, his rigid posture -- told her all she needed to know.

He was upset.
And he was sure as hell in no mood to talk.
So Violet only followed behind, quiet as the wind that carried those feelings around.

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