Lara (Long-Fic Levihan | Armin Arlert X OC)

Chapter 3 - Lara's Story

The girl's ears were filled with the heavy sound of the rain. Her entire body ached and she felt very hungry.

When she opened her eyes, the girl realized she was inside what appeared to be a cabin, but in a small room, lying on a bed.

She noticed that on top of her beige filthy dress, was now a green cloak. It was very cozy.

Slowly, she sat down. There were three people around her: the woman she helped in the forest, and two soldiers, the blond and dark-haired men.

The woman was sitting right beside the bed, with a sweet and worried look. The dark-haired man was sitting in the back of the room, his hair covering his eyes, gazing at the girl. The blond one, with his arms and legs crossed, gave her a little smile.

"Are you okay, darling?" the woman asked, laying her hand on top of the blankets. "What's your name?"

"Lara," the girl replied, softly.

"Lara?" the woman confirmed. "It's a pleasure to meet you. My name's Hange Zoë. I'm the Leader in charge of the Forth Squad of the Survey Corps, but I'm sure you have no idea of what that means, right?" She chuckled.

"More or less," replied Lara, trying to sound friendly.

"See those two men over there?" Hange pointed to the soldiers. "They're great friends of mine. People I fully trust."

"Hi," said Lara, waving shyly. "Nice to meet you."

The blond soldier rested his hands on his open knees, in a body language that showed confidence.

"The pleasure's all mine, Lara. My name's Erwin Smith, Commander of the Survey Corps," he said, excitedly. "This guy here next to me, with that ugly face, is Captain Levi Ackerman, known as humanity's strongest soldier." Erwin placed his hand at the side of his mouth as if telling a secret, "Have you heard of him?"

Levi snorted, rolling his eyes.

"Ignore him," he said, looking at the girl with a little smile and an eyebrow raised. "Nice to meet you, Lara."

"Sorry, sir," replied Lara, embarrassed. "I've never heard about you... I only know the Survey Corps in general."

"That's why I love kids!" exclaimed Hange, laughing. "Lara, dear... First, I'd like to thank you very much for helping me in that forest. We're all truly impressed with what you've done there."

Suddenly, Lara remembered what had happened to her. Flashes of the last events came into her mind: the knock-out, the dark place, the loneliness, the Titans, the terror...

Her hands began to shake and she stared at Hange with her intense blue eyes, with an expression of pure horror.

"Miss, I mean... Hange," Lara said in a low tone, grabbing the woman's hands. "For the love of God... Help me..."

Hange startled and turned to Erwin and Levi as if asking for support. The two soldiers sat on the edge of their chairs, confused.

"S-Sure," Hange turned back to Lara, worried. "We will–"

"Lara," Erwin began to speak firmly, making her look at him, "don't worry. You're completely safe here. No one will hurt you, I promise."

Lara sought Levi's eyes, who also looked worried. He made a deep breathing movement, inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth, signaling for the girl to do the same, trying to calm her down.

Lara imitated him and took several deep breaths until she managed to get her heart back to normal.

"There you go..." said Hange, stroking Lara's hair. "It's over now. Are you feeling better?" She offered a cup of water.