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Air was thick with vapor, the stench of death, and the intangible despair of failure. It was a battlefield, through and through, but something about this instance was causing it feel uneasily different. Levi had left his squad to take down the female titan, but the whole while he was away from them, a nagging, horrified sickness filled his stomach. It was immediately rejected as regret, denied, and undesired to face as reality. The sudden quiet was just as uncomfortable, only increasing the fear within the captain. Ignoring his injury completely, he maneuvered just as swiftly through the trees as he would otherwise, though he would immediately be caught unawares by the horrors ahead. The female titan had reeked even more havoc, and claimed more lives to lay to waste. None of his squad members had been sited since he began his path back to the formation, which even further caused him uncertainty. Then the blonde hair amongst blood stained green caught his eyes. Erd, his first brother in arms after Gunther, was dead. Killed honorably in action, defending humanity. The life of a comrade to close was a near fatal blow to the captain's heart, for he didn't even have to think about why it was his fault. Another crest fell into his possession, expanding a collection already much too large. Lids were about to fall over pained blue eyes, when the glint of fiery red met his gaze. Chest seizing with excruciating devastation, he flung himself toward the lowest branch, his eyes immediately following the trail of crimson down the trunk to her body. He choked, feeling as if his heart was going to beat through his throat. His body was rendered momentarily unresponsive, darkness instantly shrouding blue eyes that once gazed upon her with endearing awe. He dropped from his lines, only aggravating his injured leg even more, but it was nothing compared to the pain in his chest. No----
Those angelic amber eyes that had become a signature luxury in his everyday life, always so full of energy and passion, stared vacantly, dully, up towards the heavens. Soft, delicate features marred by the torture of the enemy, yet silken locks still flowed in the breeze. Blades fell to the blemished grass at his sides, then he to his trembling knees. Gently he laid her across lap, something he should have done long ago. Quivering thumb brushed her cheek, leaving a mark of red across his own skin. Fingertips then trailed to her eyes, closing the lids as he looked upon their exquisiteness for the last time. Another patch added to the collection. But he did not depart quickly. He paid no heed to the pain in his left leg, but merely remained, clutching the embodiment of his devotion as close as possible. Strong shoulders began to shake as he buried his face into her lifeless chest. The lack of her beating heart terrified him, a fear which was quickly rerouted by the sight of his last teammate who'd been robbed of his life just as the others had. He closed his eyes, unable to bear the loss any longer, then touched his lips to hers, only to be met by the cold, grasping sting of death.
