Pluviophile | Levi Ackermann × Reader |

| Chapter 1 | Orphic

Writhing underneath the moonlight, grasping at the bed sheets in hopes of tearing them off alongside the dreary and suffocatingly sullen images, I felt myself gasp with an icy breath of relief as I woke from a dream...

"Ugh..." I shifted forward, placing the palm of my hand on my forehead, trying to rid the pounding noises that seemed to play like a broken record in my brain. The words, "get out, leave me, go!" Danced around unwelcomingly in my mind.

"... What... The hell was that...?" I whispered to myself, the only company I had being my reflection in the frosted window beside me. Snow fell lightly throughout the lifeless town, no lights, no people, no noise. Everything and everyone was asleep, leaving nature to blanket our homes in a freezing embrace. I blinked sleep from my eyes, relaxing my shoulders as my gaze followed snowflakes down to the stoned roads outside.

I placed my fingertips lightly on my windowsill, sliding out of bed, my feet grazing the dusted floorboards as I stood. I questioned the hazy memory of the dream I had just moments ago. Blured figures and slurred words stung my ears as I fought to recall what it was about.

"Get out...?" The sentence replayed multiple times, but I couldn't figure out what it was or who spoke it. How odd.

My attention turned to a large wall just beyond a few houses. Wall Rose.

That's when I felt a sudden realization stab into my gut, paralyzing my thoughts.

The voice was suddenly familiar. One I'd known for a rather long time, one that had imbedded itself into every bone in my body. And as I felt myself piece together the puzzle that fell apart as soon as I awoke, I grew more weary.

The voice belonged to a man, a man who had been torn apart by his own blade, blood painting the snow red, the color blooming like a flower. This man wasn't someone I was close with, nor necessarily fond of, yet a man I respected.

A man none other,
Than Humanities Strongest.
Levi Ackermann.
-

|| Chapter 1 ||
Orphic
-
The sun beamed down, spilling into a small clearing beside a stable of horses, their clamoring hooves ringing out around the group of people who gathered alongside me. I adjusted everything necessary for the task ahead of me, my hand grazing across my uniform.
The leather boots were tight around my calves, and the harness secured my gear firmly against my body allowing me to move without the worry of things coming apart.

After reassuring my safety, I tredded through the dirt over to a horse that snorted at the sight of me, my hand reaching to gently soothe the horses tension by allowing it to grow accustomed to my scent and touch. This was my first time working with this one. The last one, my old steed, had been sacrificed for what others may call the greater good, however I'm aware we achieved nothing during each and every expedition in our history. No human nor animal has made more then a slight scratch in our progress, and I highly doubted we'd realistically ever do much more than that.

"All Soldiers, take your positions!"
Commander Erwin rose to face us all, his usual stoic expression casting a shadow across the crowd. I could see the more recently recruited cadets seemed to be disheartened, biting their thumbs raw to the point they bled with hesitation.

I gripped the reigns of my horse to pull myself up onto the creature, listening to the saddle stretching under my movement. Commander Erwin stood firmly as he spoke once more.

"Today, we return to Wall Maria. All soldiers must play their part, and follow through with the mission- Understood?" He called out.

"Understood!" The Scouts rang back.

But I couldn't pay attention to what Erwin was saying, as I felt my head turn past my left shoulder. My eyes abruptly filled with unexpected remorse, an unwanted knot catching in my throat.

I brought my hand up to my neck in attempt to sooth the growing clump that made it hard to swallow, but it helped little to none.
My fingers slid from the reigns of the horse down to my sides as I drew in a shallow breath, unsure as of why I felt this way all because of what stood ahead of me.

I parted my lips momentarily, as if something was prying my mouth open and begging me to say something.

There, in the stables,

Stood Captain Levi Ackermann.

He was caressing his black stallions muzzle, his mouth moving in a slow paced pattern, showing that he must've been uttering words to his trusted friend; I assumed what was likely words of assurance.

I sat in complete silence, every word spoken by Erwin going in one ear and out the other. All I could focus on was Levi.

I was so completely entranced by the way this man had me paralyzed with questions. Why had he appeared in my dream? Why had it felt so deafeningly real, to the point where I grow sick just imagining it? Why do I feel as if I can't begin to fathom the sight of him dying? I've never felt this strongly towards him before. He'd always just been an unexplored mark on my map- One I previously had no intention of exploring.

But now, the wind began to sing to me, telling me to go to him. But why now? I had seen him die in my dream the night before this moment. I wanted nothing more to tear the image out of my head and set it on fire, I refuse to grow closer to someone who reminds me of such a thing.

So I forced myself to turn away, swallowing every thought spiraling in the captivity of my head, trying to focus on the expedition.

Focus on the expedition, Y/n...

...

I felt a drop of water on my cheek.

So I held out my hand. "Rain?"

I could feel myself tense under the cold droplets. For some reason, I fell under some sort of spell that kept me from moving freely, as if the rain had turned to glue, keeping me in place.
I snuck one final glance at Levi, my heart racing with fear.

To my surprise,
He met my gaze, his piercing blue stare shooting through me.

Regardless,
I suddenly felt
Every single bad thought I had just a heartbeat ago,
Detach from my body.
Leaving us staring back at eachother in the rain.