Two Captains (AOT LevixOC)

Chapter 1

This scouting mission, just like the vast majority of the others, has failed. The grief of losing comrades, the reluctant admission to defeat, and the morbid memories of the battle all fresh in everyone’s mind, weighing down our steps. Pushing on in life after the fight might just be the hardest part about this. Knowing you’re not going to see the friends you made again. It made me sick for the first three years I was in the military. After that, the pain numbed, the once shocking facts became a routine. Life is short for us, the people who fight for the remainder of humanity. We are the only hope left, though most think we’re just wasting taxes. Every time I glance into the crowd we pass through, I can catch the glimpse of an individual’s face, bright with the idea we’re the best people in this small, miserable world.

It’s heartbreaking to see their faces dim when they realize we’ve suffered many casualties, when they realize their heroes lost the fight. The only thing I can do is see the disapproving faces, the disgusted and disappointed looks. The family members of our fallen soldier’s frantic attempts to see their beloved in the remaining crowd. I’m never the one approached for help finding their son or their daughter, the niece or the nephew, nor the brothers and sisters. It’s both relieving and upsetting, relieving that you’re not the one to have to bring the bad news, and upsetting that usually someone unprepared for the event is interrogated. I’ve seen the events many times. A glimmer of hope quickly snuffed out by the words they’ve heard, and any other hope they had left quickly suppressed and gone. It’s happened more times than I can count. My job has always been following orders and not questioning them. But that just leads back to the question I’ve left unanswered so far, who am I in this war?

Scouting League Headquarters, Wall Rose, Year 850

Jamie’s P.O.V

            “Jamie, wake up,” the pleading voice of Petra reaches my ears. “Come on. Captain’s doing roll call in three minutes.” I open my left eye at this, since I hardly opened my right eye anymore. It was both an insecurity and slight disablement of mine.

“Alright I’m up, you should go stand in line for roll call so you’re not late,” I say sitting up. I never understood the point of doing roll call since there were only five people in our squad, not including Captain Levi. I get dressed quickly, not struggling with the harness or anything. Then again, it’d be ridiculous if I struggled at this point. I’ve been dealing with those contraptions for probably over twenty years. I pull on my boots, and then tie my hair up. “One minute until roll call,” I think glancing at the clock on the wall. I grab the small glass bottle off of the dresser and take the lid off. Tilting my head back and resting the bottle over my eye, I prepare for the pain the medication brings. I slowly tilt the bottle downwards and a drop of the clear liquid lands on my eye, bringing with it a sharp pain that slowly numbs to a tingling then stops all together. Realizing just how short I am on time, I close the bottle, grab my eye-patch, and rush out the door tying the strings of the eye-patch behind my head.

            Captain Levi wasn’t present when I arrived, but turned the corner just as I was settled in line. The five of us salute him when he stops in front of us. He scans over us quickly, and gives a look of approval. Or what I’ve come to call approval, because his stoic expression never changes enough for us to be sure. We stop the salute, and Levi turns to me.

            “Late this morning?” he asks, already picking up the signs I was. My hair had fallen out of the ponytail while I was running. If I had woken up on time this wouldn’t have happened.

            “Yes Captain,” I say.

            “Another one of those nightmares?” he asks. For the past few days I’ve been having nightmares that were hard to wake up from.

            “Yes Captain,” I repeat.

            “Find a way to stop them then, since they are interfering with your performance as a soldier,” he demands.

            “I know they’re interfering and I have been trying to stop them, thank you,” I sass at him.   

            “Well you’re not trying hard enough.”

            “I’m trying the best I can short stack!”

            “I don’t think you are, you lamp-post.” Our height mockery is just funny because I can hardly be counted as taller than him.

            “I’d rather be a lamp post than an ant,” I remark.

            “At least ants move quickly, you don’t move at all,” he says. We probably would have continued for two minutes if Gunter hadn’t spoken up.

            “Captain Levi, can we go to breakfast now?” he asked.

            “Go ahead. Jamie after breakfast you’re needed in Erwin’s office,” Levi says walking towards the mess hall with the others. Normally I would worry why I’m needed in Erwin’s office, but I’m too sleep deprived to care, so I follow the others to the mess hall while fixing my ponytail.

A/N

Short, i know. I'm trying to make them longer as i go, so they'll probably get longer later on.