Episode 27- I'm Home and Episode 28- Southwestward

Gaia sat at the back of wagon with a blanket wrapped around her. She sleepily tried to watch everything going on around her. Eren and Mikasa were in the wagon with her and they seemed to be talking about something important with Armin but she could not bring her mind to concentrate and follow their conversation. 

The scouts were scurrying around rushing to get everything packed and prepared for their journey to come. She looked at the flames on torches and could not help but be reminded of the candle that Levi keeps next to his bedside at night. Night time, when they sky is dark and when she should be sleeping cuddled up to Levi in their warm bed in their room. She sighed and adjusted the blanket around her, as her train of thought reminded of the chilly night air nipping at her. A stark comparison compared to the warmth of her bed and Levi's embracing currently lounging in her memory. 

She watched Mikasa adjust a cloak on Eren and she could not help but wish that Levi was with her. Her mind refused allow her to sleep, no matter how much her body begged her to. Her eyelids felt increasingly heavy, but her constant awareness that Levi was not present was like a constant flow of the horrible bitter black stuff that the scouts drink, coffee, going through her system. 

Just then Levi, Hanji and Reverend Nick walked up to the wagon. Upon noticing her presence his face seemed to darken and he seemed to put up a bit of struggle for getting in the wagon with her. Hanji however held him tight by the scruff of her neck and gave him no option of whether or not he was to get in. Her demeanor was so dark, yet she behaved very nonchalantly towards the entire situation. Before Gaia could fully analyze the situation her gaze met Levi's and she was fully captivated. He was wearing his civilian attire instead of his uniform, which was an odd, but she had qualms with it, as he looked quite dashing in it. She moved up to the corner closest to the horse and made space for them to get in. Levi was first and sat next to her, then Reverend Nick, then Hanji. 

Levi was quite close to her, because the wagon was not too big and did not really allow for four people to sit comfortably next to each other. She was about to recommend that perhaps if she sat on his lap there would be more space for the rest of them to sit comfortably, but before she could Levi gave the order and they started moving out. 

Gaia tried her best to stay awake but feeling the warmth of having Levi next to her and the random rhythm of the wagon being pulled by the horses was efficiently lulling her to sleep. She slowly dozed off cuddled to Levi's side . He discreetly wrapped an arm around Gaia, pulling her sleeping form closer to him. 

As the night rolled on, Levi's patience was wearing thin, Hanji was behaving more broody than she was when her captive titans in the courtyard were murdered. Having enough of the silence Levi decided to break it, 

"Are your hobbies so boring that playing with rocks is somehow fun for you?" Levi asked, referring to the rock looking object that Hanji had her gaze trained on for the past half an hour. He did not expect her to agree with him and then explain that it was actually a hardened fragment of skin left behind by the female titan. They then discovered that the hardened skin does not disappear when the female titan reverted back to her human form, thereafter they discovered that it's composition was identical to that of the walls. She then went on to saying that it would be fruitless to go looking for a boulder big enough to plug up the new hole, so Eren would have to use titan hardening to plug up the hole. 

"But why Eren?" Mikasa asked interrupting Hanji, 

"What do you mean?" Hanji asked,

" Can't Gaia do it?" She asked looking at her sleeping form, Levi raised an eyebrow, surprised that the thought did not cross his mind either.

"No she can't," Hanji started, Mikasa looked ready to argue but then Hanji continued, 

"Because she physically can't," Hanji explained and was met with confused gazes, 

"I have been trying to get her to transform again, she is-" she tried, 

"You what?" Levi asked his face darkened, remembering what it took to get Eren to transform again. The thought of someone hurting her made his blood boil. 

"With her consent, " Hanji started, "We have been trying to get her transform for the past month, having the fact that she might be in this situation with us," Hanji explained. Levi let out a breath calming down a bit, looking over at the girl who's head was almost on his chest. He tried his best not to think of what they had done to get her to draw blood. 

With that out of the way they continued to discuss their plan. Throughout the wagon ride. 

Levi could not help but think back to the fact that Gaia is struggling to transform again and could not help but feel a little proud that she wanted to be able to transform when a situation like this arose and made a silent promise to himself that he would try and hep her with that once this was over and the people within the walls were in some form of peace. Well 

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