Hellfire • L.A.

The 57th Expedition (p.1)

Perry was saddling up his horse, using the light from a few lanterns lit around the stable since the sun hadn't even risen yet.

The earth was too quiet this morning and it gave me an uneasy feeling in my stomach.

"You're oddly quiet, Lux. Normally you thrive off of the early morning adrenaline rush for expeditions." Perry gives me a worried look as he tightens the belts on the saddle.

"I'm just sleepy, that's all." I mumble, fiddling with the belts on my thighs.

"Ah." He nods. "You know, that Captain Levi talked to me about your sleeping habits." He winks at me and immediately my face goes red.

"W-why!? I mean, you already know everything there is to know about it. What does he even care anyways?"

Perry chuckles and smiles. "He may seem like a terrible guy, but trust me: he's just a little rough around the edges."

Levi wasn't terrible. There's no way he could seem concerned about my sleeping habits and be completely terrible.

"If you don't mind me asking, how does he know about your sleeping habits, hm?"

Perry smirks with his eyebrows raised. It takes me a moment before I put the pieces together and realize what he's thinking.

My face immediately turns redder than before and I can feel the bile rising in my throat. "Oh my God, Perry! That's disgusting! Jesus Christ, aren't you supposed to be extremely mature and professional?" I scowl at him and turn away. Perry laughs loudly which only makes me frown more.

"He's just up when I am. Sometimes I go down to the kitchen and get water and he's just there. Normally he makes tea." I explain while fixing the saddle on my own horse.

Perry hums and nods. "I know. He asked me if you had any allergies."

I click my tongue. "Why does he have to ask everyone about me? Why can't he just ask me?"

"Because every time he has you've bitten his head off." Perry raises his eyebrows at me. "Honestly Lux, not everyone is out to get you."

My face starts to feel red from both anger and embarrassment. I wish Perry didn't know so much about me, and I really wish he wasn't right about almost everything.

"Oh don't go pouting like a kid!" He laughs at me.

"It's just frustrating." I huff. "No one here needs to bother with who I am anyway."

"Lux, look at me."

Hesitantly, I look up to where Perry is standing. He has his arms crossed like he usually does when he's scolding someone. His brow is creased and there's a frown on his face. The same uneasy feeling I had a few moments ago comes back to me, so I look anywhere except for his eyes.

"You're young. You've been through hell and your trust is shot, I get that. But I need you to make a promise to me right now."

"People break promises, Perry."

"You don't."

I look at him in the face again, and he has a sad smile on his face.

"In the nine years that I have known you, not once have you broken a promise to me or anyone on this squadron. So make one more promise, okay?" He places his hand on my shoulder and I nod.

"Commander Erwin, Captain Hanje, and even Levi are trustworthy people. Don't be afraid to show your vulnerability. Trust goes both ways, and you can't trust people without knowing their character."