Witch's Vein and Blood Stains (ereri)

3. Out of the Woods

Levi left Pastor Nick's just before sunrise. He let Fable ride in a lazy trot so he could enjoy the clear air of the countryside in peace, the wind cool and gentle against his skin. He'd arranged to meet Eren in the same clearing as last night, but as dawn arrived, he found it transformed from the eerie, unlit glade he'd encountered earlier into a quiet, innocuous woodland where sunlight filtering through pale green leaves to paint the forest floor in dappled colours. The air was spiced with resin and the dusky smell of ancient bark, pollen drifting through the air like snowflakes. He could hear small animals foraging in the undergrowth and woodhens crying in the tree. The forest was bursting with life and light, and as Levi wrapped his arms around Fable's neck and rested his forehead against her, he could almost pretend these weren't the Dark Woods.

The serenity was interrupted when he felt Fable shift against him, raising her head to stare somewhere over his shoulder.

"What is it, girl?" He followed her gaze, noting her flared nostrils and muscles taut with wariness. He saw before he heard them, which was strange because horse hooves were not usually discrete against the crunch of dried leaves and twigs that scattered the forest floor. The figure that materialized out of the woods was as pale as an apparition, and it took Levi a moment to register the form as that of a pure white shire horse, its ghostly mane hanging long and untamed over its crest and forehead. It looked so ethereal and wild, a spike of fear shot through Levi's heart as it occurred to him it could be a demon. Fable's strange behaviour didn't comfort him much either; she was an old mare with the kind of calm temperament that had endured multiple charges into battle without being spooked.

Levi's fingers itched towards his swordstick as he positioned himself defensively in front of his horse. He watched the other horse approach almost leisurely, head bowed low and not even watching him with the vigilance wild animals usually reserved for humans. Levi saw a second later why; it's milky-white eyes were fixed staring but unseeing at the ground. It was blind.

Levi's eyes flicked to the side as he noticed a hooded figure by its side, one hand knotted in the horse's ghostly mane. Levi recognised the boy's height, and the thin braid that escaped the confines of the hood, and only then did he allow himself to ease. Eren tugged down his hood as he approached and offered Levi a wide smile with his cherry-red lips. Levi unclenched his hand from the hilt of his swordstick and straightened his posture.

"You took your sweet time." He eyed the meagre packs he now noticed strapped to the shire horse's saddle. It was such a broad-shouldered breed, he hadn't even noticed them before. It didn't look like enough for someone intending to relocate permanently. "Is that all you're bringing?"

"It's mostly my herbs. I don't need much anything else." Eren patted the few bags. "I have money for anything more I might need." He turned to Levi expectantly, bottom lip tugged between his teeth. Levi's gaze slid sideways and away, looking over woods around them. A day's ride they had before them; all the way back to the fringe of Maria to their outpost along the east wall. Just him and this wild boy from the heart of the woods. Levi hardly knew him.

Well, he'd seen him in the nude already; that was a pretty big step.

Levi cleared his throat.

"You said all your goodbyes? You have everything you need? You won't be able to return for a couple weeks at least." Eren nodded, eyes now bright with excitement as he bounced on the spot.

"Yes, yes, let's go!"

Levi's own smile was cut short as Fable whinnied and shied again, her instincts telling her to retreat but still hesitant to leave her masters side.

"I don't know why she's acting like this. It's not like her at all." Perhaps it was the forest? Levi eyed the unassuming tree line suspiciously, but it's not like Fable had ever been spooked by it before.