Conny is home but no one is there to greet him, besides a titan with a little something to say to him. Levi rushes out of Wall Sina to make his way to Wall Rose and make sure you're okay, but before he can do that, he has to work to get Pastor Nick to talk and explain the titans living inside of the walls. (AO3)
Words: 1,532
You swallowed dryly, at a loss for words. This... This was Connyâs home. Â
Connyâs home had been destroyed by a titan. Its awkward limbs hung out from every flattened wall or crushed window. Your eyes darted to Reinerâs to gage his reaction. His chestnut eyes were dead, his skin ashen grey, you could see the way his pulse jumped underneath the flesh of his neck. The blonde hairs of his neck and broad shoulders stood on end. His fists were clenched until his knuckles were white. Bertholdt was right there beside him. Moist with the dew of a cold sweat, Bertholdt placed his hand on Reinerâs shoulder, offering comfort to his friend. Â
âReiner...â He murmured. Only then did Reiner finally come out of his head, a new found determination in his eyes. Â
âConny. Letâs have a look around the village.â He said, sounding like a cool-headed leader. Reiner cleared his throat before pulling on the reigns of his horse, taking her around the corner and away from Connyâs childhood home. Reluctantly Conny followed Reiner, taking a few stolen glances back to the titan whose eyes were eerily similar to his own. Â
âBertholdt, how do you think this could happen.â You asked quietly, it was just the two of you alone now as the others searched the village of any survivors or clues as to where everyone had gone. Â
âI donât know.â He replied flatly. Bertholdt was a timid type, you didnât know him very well but he reminded you in ways of Armin. Or rather, Arminâs potential. You thought about how the two of them might get along and how Bertholdt could be a good role model for Armin the way he supports Reiner. They reminded of Eren and Arminâs relationship. Wholey equal but one always seems to have a bit more bravado and leadership than their quieter more docile friend. You thought of the parallels for a while more before you decided to speak again. Â
âWhen we arrived, I noticed the villageâs horses were all still in their stalls. Do you think... that maybeâ-â Â
âI hope not. I should catch up with the others now.â He cut you off before you could even finish articulating your thoughts but you understand. You knew full well what you were suggesting and the idea wasnât pleasant. You gave the lanky brunette a small nod before allowing him to walk away without another word. Â
You sighed; you wish you could be more helpful out here. You wish you learned something so that you could be of use. Your shoulders sagged; the stress of the day was wearing on your body. In all of the months youâve been âyouâ again this is the longest youâve been on your feet, the longest youâve spent in the sun. You were weak, you needed a place to rest when it was safe. You donât want to drag everybody down because you canât keep up. Lost in your thoughts you didnât notice Conny standing next to you once more. Â
âY/N. What do you think happened to them. Theyâre all gone.â His voice sounded meek and sorrowful. You couldnât help the sad frown that formed on your lips at the sound of his voice and the prospects that his family was alive were slim to none. Â
You opened your mouth to speak to him, to be of comfort to the boy before you were interrupted by a third voice, much deeper and raspier than any youâve ever heard. A voice you donât recognize a voice you can't place the origin of. It was loud, it rattled your bones, sending a shiver down your spine. But the voice did not sound menacing. It was devoid of human emotion however the words themselves were kind.Â
âWel...come...home...â Â
âWel...come...home...âÂ
âWel...come...home...âÂ
The look of horror on Connyâs face told you everything you needed to know. The way his eyes stared ahead into a much larger but matching pair. The titan that was crushing his home, the titan that had hazel eyes that were so similar to his own, the only other thing that could make such a sound just spoke.Â
âWel...come...home...Con...ny.âÂ
...Â
In Wall Sina that evening, a carriage is loaded and ready to set off out of the inner city and towards Wall Rose.Â
Levi crossed one leg over the other, patting the spot next to him before folding his arms over his chest.Â
âYou can sit right next to me.â He said, his voice alone left no room for debate. Pastor Nick took his spot next to Levi without a word. He made no eye contact with anyone around him. He simply just looked ahead, working hard to keep his vow of silence. Mikasa sat across from Levi, and next to her was Eren. On Erenâs other side, Armin was taking his seat after meeting up with Hange on the way to the carriage. Hangeâs hair was a mess but their eyes were excited, a telltale sign of progress in their research.Â
âUm, who is this?â Armin asked politely, point his finger toward Pastor Nick.Â
âAh! This old guy? Armin this is Pastor Nick, Pastor Nick this is Armin.â Hange acquainted them cheerfully. Â
âNick here knew of the titans in the walls and decided humanity was better off not knowing about it.â Levi said dryly, unimpressed with the way the pastor held his head up high when he was mentioned seemingly taking pride in the information he kept hidden.Â
âHuh? He knew?!â Eren asked perplexed, his nails digging into the wood that made up his seat in the carriage.Â
âYes, he knew. Heâs kept his silence about it and hasn't given us anymore information.â Levi cut in brandishing a pistol from the belt of his trousers.Â
âBut I have my own ways of making someone speak. It wonât be hard.â He added, nudging Pastor Nick roughly with the gun. Armin swallowed deeply, clearly uncomfortable with the use of force in that manner, but he knew well enough that what he was comfortable with in the moment didnât matter. Â
âThreats dont work Levi, trust me I tried that already.â Hange commented, a silence filled the carriage before they continued addressing everyone.Â
âI wonder if heâll be able to keep his silence after seeing things first hand.â Levi commented through his teeth, irritation lacing his words. He didnât have the time to babysit Pastor Nick and get information from him, what Levi was far more concerned with was finding your location and finding you alive. He wasnât quite sure yet why the thought of you in danger out in the world right now irked him beyond belief, but what he did know was that when you were back under his watchful eye, heâd feel better. Youâd be safe, and then he could think about making you useful for the time being so you can stand on your own two feet and heâd worry less. All of this was giving him a killer of a headache, it was going to be a long night trying to find the missing scouts in Rose.Â
âNo! Itâs wasting time! If he knows something he should just tell us!â Eren barks, standing up from his seat, but his rage was quickly snuffed as a sharp pain shot through his skull. He still wasnât feeling himself after everything heâs been through the past few weeks. After Annie, Erenâs stress was through the rough, there was a lot of warring feelings and chaos in his head that he struggled to deal with alone. Who else would betray him? Who else would betray humanity within the walls? Who else wanted to put an end to everything he held dear? His friends, his family, his pride, his freedom. Â
âEren, calm down and sit.â Mikasa said softly, lowering him down to his seat and wrapping him back up in a spare blanket she brought to keep him warm. Levi rolled his eyes secretly at the way Mikasa cared for Eren. âBabiedâ would be the word Levi used, but he was working on his patience with the brats, per your advice.Â
âYouâre correct Eren, but he won't tell us using humane means. So, what if the reason he doesnât talk is because he knows of something far more important than the fate of humanity?â Hange theorized pinching their thumb, pleased with the hypothesis they came to. Armin was on the same train of thought, his ears perked up at the idea. He hummed to himself as he thought of the prospects of something more important than keeping the remains of humanity alive.Â
âSomething more important than the fate of humanity?â Eren asked in disbelief. The idea was preposterous enough, but Pastor Nickâs visceral response to the words worried his soul.Â
Pastor Nick shifted uncomfortably in his seat; cold beads of sweat threatened to slip past his furrowed brows. Levi closed his eyes and let himself surrender to the troubling thoughts in his head for the time being. They had a few more hours left in their ride and for now he wanted quiet time to think things over. Tomorrow will be a long and hard day for everybody, and he can't wait for it to be over.Â