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Post by Fateful on Jan 16, 2014 20:22:59 GMT -5
Eren laughed. "I bet he made them clean the rocks." He added, looking at her. She looked a little upset, he could see it in her eyes. "Mikasa? can you tell me what's bother you? I-I know it's small and you're trying to hide it, but it means a lot to me. Please? I hate seeing you upset. And don't say your not. I can see it in your eyes." They'd been friends for years, since they were just kids. He'd do anything to see her smile and seeing her this torn up inside upset him.
Hanji took the bottle and started to sip from it. "What, no vodka?" She teased, letting some of their students hear them. From her voice it sounded like a joke. She took another sip and looked out toward the fire. "I agree. This is beautiful... They deserve something nice like this, it's still warm enough for them to swim a little and relax. I think that they'll love this. Maybe next year we can do a beach trip to the coast. Or to France." She said, smiling slightly. She loved France, but knew that the school wouldn't pay for a trip back there. Then, she cleared her throat. "Did I tell you I got a letter from the Spanish government?" She asked, looking ahead at their students. "They offered me a grant to work on my project... under the condition that I go under a five year contract. They'll pay for my work, an apartment, and even offered to let me teach there." She explained. "At the University of Barcelona. They... offered me an existing class or offered to let me create one that fell under two guidelines." Whereas she loved teaching High school, she wanted to teach University students from the start.
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Post by belated valentine on Jan 16, 2014 20:57:23 GMT -5
Mikasa laughed along with him, but then her face turned somber when he began questioning her. The pulled the scarf up to hide the bottom half of her face. Her fingers stayed tucked around the edge of it. "Eren," she started but wasn't exactly sure how to continue. She didn't want worry him but at the same time it wasn't a big thing she was upset about. The girl just dropped her head on his shoulder, watching their classmates. Jean tripping over Marco and landing on his ass, Connie and Sasha having an eating contest, Ymir attempting to braid Christa's hair while looking confused. "Doesn't the future scare you?"
Levi took small sips from his drink, his other hands wiping bits of dust off his pant leg. He listened to her speak and he could practically feel the excitement in her voice. He didn't have to look at her to know that she was smiling. Science was her love, something she never grew tired of. Teaching was her next love. To have a chance such as the one she was talking about was amazing. "Hm, it's everything you've always wanted," he spoke up, a small smile playing at his usually expressionless face. He watched the fire flicker. "See, shitty glasses. I told you your evil mind would take you places. Though, I wonder if Spain can handle you." It was true he would miss her when she left. Europe was small and it was easy to travel amongst it, but it wasn't as if they'd be as close as they currently were. Still, this was a dream she'd had for a long time, even long before she'd met him. Levi was happy for her. She was slowly moving up in the world and would continue to until she did something great, which he had no doubt she could do. Her mind was a scary place.
He glanced over at her, reaching through the empty space to give her glasses another flick. Barcelona could keep her safe.
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Post by Fateful on Jan 16, 2014 21:28:20 GMT -5
Eren hesitated before he answered the question. "I..." He began, but then he looked toward the fire. He shifted his feet in the dirt and bit his lip for a second. His eyes flickered with the flames and he tried to focus his thoughts. "I think... that the future can be a horrible thing or it could be amazing." He told her, quietly. "But the future doesn't scare me. The past scares me because I only know what happened in the past. As for the future, nothing is set in stone and nothing is certain. That doesn't scare me, it excites me. I'm afraid of knowing what my father did to me, and if it will still last when I'm graduating high school. I'm scared of what my mother thinks of me sometimes..." He looked down at the ground, still moving his boots in the dirt and leaves.
"The only part of the future that scares me..." he lowered his head so he wasn't at her. His voice also lowered, because he almost didn't want her to hear him. "is a future without you."
Hearing how supportive Levi was, she was surprised that he could manage a smile. How the hell was she supposed to tell him? This was what she wanted. No... THis was all she ever wanted and more. They allowed her to do her project as long as they got some of the proceeds. They only asked for thirty percent, which is less than anyone else, who usually demanded fifty. If her project succeeded, they wanted a contract that said she could speak at any University in the world, but she had to work for them for a minimum of ten years. They offered her so much. An institution finally recognized her and was offering her everything she ever wanted.
Well, almost everything. "I... haven't answered yet." She said softly, pushing her glasses up her nose when he flicked them. "I don't know if I can handle Spain." She said, almost sounding sad. "I loved France, but you were my favorite part about it. The country is amazing, but I only kept living there because I found someone else crazy that would do things for me. And when I was gone, you came here. I... always assumed it was to find me." Her hands were together and she was running her thumb over the other. "I don't know if I can be in Barcelona, the Spanish city of love... while... you're in Germany."
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Post by belated valentine on Jan 16, 2014 22:08:02 GMT -5
Mikasa's face brightened at this. She hesitated a moment before she reached for his hand, grasping it between both of hers in her lap. The darker skin of his contrasted the paleness of hers. She supposed it further showed their difference. The two of them weren't much alike, except that they would do anything for the people they loved. But he brash and jumped into things without looking back, while she was collected and less emotional than him when it came to processing things. He was more intuitive while she was more rational.
"I remember when I was younger, someone shoved me into the backseat of an old car. A boy saw and he followed the car on his bike until they stopped at a light, and then he broke the window. He was so small. I don't know how he did it but he saved me," she said. His voice was low but she was listening and she heard him. It brought a small smile to her face. "I want to stay by his side."
Levi wasn't going to let her throw away her dream because of him. It was likely that he wouldn't stay here much longer either. He would move again, and again, and again. It was a cycle. He was running from something much bigger than she could even fathom. Hanji, the scientist, the mad genius, only saw a galaxy of the universe he was living in.
His eyes flickered around the students' faces. How stupid that he'd actually become attached to the little shits that irritated him on an almost daily basis. He wanted to scoff at it. Look at how normal he'd become. He was a teacher, for fuck's sake. It wasn't something he'd ever imagined he'd be doing with his life. "You should go. You won't get another chance like this for a long time," he said slowly. The smile was no longer present on his face, and he wasn't looking at her. His slate colored eyes reflected the flickering flames of the campfire as he stared at it. "I won't follow you," he said bluntly.
The voice he'd heard on the phone earlier drifted back into his mind. How long did he plan on playing this game? Acting as if everything was normal? Pulling Hanji closer to danger?
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Post by Fateful on Jan 16, 2014 22:24:47 GMT -5
Eren wasn't entirely sure how to react. When she took his hand, he smiled slightly and squeezed her hand, wanting to keep her safe. "He was on the phone, in the store." Eren told her seriously. "He was talking quietly, but i could hear him, about how a girl could be worth more money than they could make in ten lifetimes, how millionaires in America would trade everything for a girl an asian girl of nine." A disgusted look crossed his face. When he was nine, he didn't understand what a sex slave was, but he did now. It took a lot for a man to beat another man to death with a baseball bat. BUt, it took a lot more for a nine year old boy to break open a tinted rear window of a car and then beat the man inside. Even when they got out of the car and that boy kept beating the man with a bat until he stopped breathing and his skull had been crushed against the pavement. Only for those men to beat the boy near senseless before driving off again.
Perhaps that's why Eren had no common sense now.
When they parked at the safe house, Eren found them, his legs exhausted. He went inside through the kitchen and stabbed one of them with a kitchen knife. Mikasa killed the last one.
The police were horrified. But Mikasa's kidnapping was on film. They didn't charge either one of them, but mandated therapy for the two of them. The men they'd killed were international sex trafficers. They'd been being watched for months. Now, they wouldn't stand trial. The FBI was furious, but didn't believe in arresting children. One of the officers said that they were glad Mikasa didn't have to suffer.
After the ordeal, Eren had wrapped his scarf around Mikasa's head and held her hand. He never wanted to let go of her hand.
Levi probably could have done better. When he said the only words she never wanted to hear, she stood up, the setting sunlight reflecting in her glasses. She walked away from him, suddenly. If that was his answer then there was no point. She had to finish her contract her before she could leave. The next seven months of school were going to be hell. She was two doors down from the man that wouldn't follow her.
So be it then, but if he wouldn't follow her then, she had no reason to stand at his side now. Short fucker... She thought to herself, tears starting to kill her eyes. Not even that attractive... arrogant jackass... She was thinking to herself, reaching under her glasses to wipe her eyes. Why did she do this now? Why did she have to ruin her happiness. Levi was Levi and she knew that would be his answer. Why did she need him to say it?
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Post by belated valentine on Jan 16, 2014 22:56:05 GMT -5
Since then, she took up martial arts and strived to become stronger so that she would never have to feel vulnerable like that again. And so that she could keep Eren safe should anything happen to him. If the time ever came where she would have to pay him back for everything he'd done for her, she wanted to make it count. Mikasa let the warmth envelope her. The temperature had cooled down a little since nightfall. Picking her head up off his shoulder, she straightened up a bit on the make shift logs they'd pulled around the fire to create seats. Her hand still gripped his at her side. It was warm and comforted her.
"Are you hungry?" she asked him, noticing the food had finished cooking.
Levi continued to keep his eyes trained straight, even as she got up to leave. To follow her would make an idiot. He hadn't planned to do this so early but at the same time he couldn't continue to keep her in his pull for his own selfish desires of wanting another person. He shouldn't have started anything with her from the start. How could he have been so stupid? It was all his fault. He came after her to Germany. He should have let her go after that stupid fling they'd had in France. But he was leaving the country anyway and Germany was so close and a certain college girl had mentioned it, he just...fled there, knowing it was stupid to think he'd find her.
But then he got a job teaching and ran into her in the hallway, years later.
Levi finished the last drops of his drink, wishing it was something else, something a little warmer that would distract him and blur his mind. Behind him, he heard her footsteps fading. Someone grabbed him by the arm, a student, and they pulled him closer to the fire, demanding that he eat with them and since it was getting dark they were going to tell scary stories. He just sighed and went along with it as they chatted around him. Stupid kids.
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Post by Fateful on Jan 18, 2014 20:19:17 GMT -5
Eren was watching Mikasa. he felt comfortable with her there beside him. When her head lifted from his shoulder, he was disappointed and it showed on his face. He nodded. "Yeah, I could eat." He said, but didn't want her to walk away. A lot of people thought she was hot. He heard people whisper about how she was fine and a sex magnet. He'd heard things he never wanted to hear about his best friend. He once punched a guy for grabbing her ass before she could do anything about it and kept hitting him until a few teaches (Levi being one of them) pulled them apart. He was furious and was still angry in the nurses office as Mikasa wiped blood from his face and called him foolish for doing something like that.
She gave him medical attention since the nurse was worried about getting close when he was still yelling. Eren had been barely hurt. The other boy left in an ambulence. Miskasa just took his hand to calm him down. He relaxed and stopped fighting. "I'll always protect you." he'd told her. "Even if it's from rumors and assholes."
Now though, that seemed less real. Eren had always been quick to violence and aggressive. But Mikasa could calm him in a way even his mother couldn't. She was the best thing to happen in his life.
When she returned with a few hotdogs for him, with extra relish, he smiled at her. "Thanks." He stated before shoving almost half of one into his mouth and eating it. He was starving. He'd slept most of the rider over here and didn't eat when he was tired or had just woken up. He glanced to her and put his arm around her to straighten out her scarf on the otherside of her neck. She was eating too, so he didn't want to be rude and reach around her. He smiled when he fixed the scarf and ran his hand over her back, letting it linger for a few seconds before it slid down toward the small of her back where he barely touched her before his hand fell away.
Mikasa meant a lot to him. It felt like he'd be insane and always punching people without her.
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Post by belated valentine on Jan 19, 2014 1:13:34 GMT -5
Mikasa headed over to where Sasha and Connie were cooking the food, putting together something for both of them. She pretty much knew what he liked and didn't so it wasn't hard to assemble his hot dogs. When they were ready, she brought them back to him, handing him the paper plate, she also set down a can of soda beside him and then took a seat and started eating her own food.
When he reached around her to fix her scarf, she felt a light blush paint her cheeks. Eren had never been shy when it came to touching her - it was the same for her too - so she was never really certain at what point it had begun to make her stomach flutter with butterflies. It wasn't like she wasn't aware of what it meant, but she assumed she'd eventually grow out of it. It wasn't unusual for someone to develop feelings for their best friend. Aside from Armin, Eren was the only other guy she spent most of her time with, so honestly it wasn't surprising.
"I wonder what they've got planned for the rest of the weekend. I mean, there's only so much to do in a forest," she spoke up, pondering the thought.
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Post by Fateful on Jan 22, 2014 21:21:36 GMT -5
Eren wasn't sure how he felt about a lot of things. There was something about Mikasa that drew him to her. He wanted to believe that he was in love with her, but there were also things that annoyed him. In some of the movies they had watched together, a lot of guys totally threw away any flaws the girls they loved had. They ignored their problems, their weaknesses, everything bad about them. But Eren couldn't do that. He noticed that she broke out along her chin sometimes when she wasn't eating well or was working out too hard. Sometimes, when she was tired, her eyes would close and it would look like she was asleep, even when she wasn't. Other times, if she was cold, she'd wrap his scarf around her face so only her eyes stood out. The last one wasn't a negative. It was his favorite thing, something that always made him smile.
She never offered him the scarf back and he never asked for it.
It was hers, and he sometimes felt that he belonged to her too. She'd do anything for him, protect him, defend him, lie for him, back him up. It all meant so much to him. But still, it felt like a flaw in himself because he felt he'd never be good enough for her. A lot of guys fell in love with their best childhood friend, the girl next door. It was taking longer than he thought to grow out of it. But he didn't treat her differently, or he tried not to anyway. It'd take a while, but it would happen... right?
And if she ended up dating some asshole jackass like Jean, Eren would go big brother and kick some ass.
"Knowing Levi, he'll probably have us cleaning everything around us to keep everything sterile. Hanji will like having us on a hunting patrol to capture small animals so she can dissect them. Or bring them to class. We can have squirrels there too." Eren joked, laughing to himself. Looking to Mikasa, he noticed she looked a bit sad, so he bit his lip. "Hey..." he whispered. "Is everything alright? Are you hot?" He'd finally noticed her pink cheeks.He put his hand on her forehead and held it there, trying to see if she was burning up.
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Post by belated valentine on Jan 24, 2014 18:22:50 GMT -5
It was around then when Levi stood and cleared his throat, gathering attention from the students. "Alright, you've all had your fun for tonight. It's time to get your asses to bed. There will be no sleeping in tomorrow, so when I'm up - you're up." He hadn't really demanded anyone go to bed, he'd simply suggested it, but most kids were already headed to their respective tents, knowing full well that they would be getting an early start tomorrow. Once the last of the students headed to their tents, he put out the fire and then entered his own tent.
- - timeskip yo - -
The next morning had come fairly quickly. Somehow, despite being on the ground in the middle of a forest, Annie slept quite peacefully. She rolled over, her blonde hair falling over eyes momentarily. The other half of the tent was occupied by Mina Carolina, who had snuck back into the tent at some point in the night after wandering off. Apparently, she hadn't been the only one either. Once Levi had gone to sleep - or whenever he stopped giving a fuck, which ever came first - quite a few students had left their tents or snuck into others.
Annie sat up and stretched, then stayed seated for a moment and just listened to the sounds outside, wondering if anyone else was up by now. It was quiet, aside from the birds and occasional squirrel. Getting up, she slid out of the tent and into the cool air outside. Her hands went up to her hair, pulling it into a messier version of her usual bun, before she glanced around. Everyone seemed to still be asleep, which wasn't a shock considering it was fairly early. Even Levi was still getting his beauty rest.
She squinted as the sun became more apparent, her eyes landing on a tent further away, where the lower half of a person was sticking out of, their legs folded beneath them with their ass in the air. Annie wandered over, a small smile playing at her lips. With her foot, which was fairly cold due to being barefoot in the cool air, she prodded at the tan skin of his side where his shirt wasn't covering. "Bertholdt," she spoke, "you're supposed to sleep inside the tent."
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Post by Fateful on Jan 26, 2014 23:40:58 GMT -5
Bertholdt woke when Annie poked at him with her foot. he grumbled and slid almost all the way out of the tent. He laid down flat on his stomach and then slowly started to regain consciousness. When he first woke up, he was usually less oriented and didn't sweat or get embarrassed as easily. Rolling over, he put his arm over his forehead and stared up at her. with the sun behind her back, staring down at him in her pajamas, a smile formed on his lip. "From this angle, you look tall." he told her, shifting his legs. Despite the fact he was laying on the ground, he didn't seem to mind at all, as if he was at home anywhere. Nothing really made him uncomfortable, except people. Seeing the sun rising over the horizon, he stood and took her wrist in his hand. "Come on." He started to pull her and when she refused to leave without shoes, he lifted her and pulled her onto his back.
They didn't have time to wait. He stepped into his boots, which were outside the tent and started to walk up the terrain. When he got to the high point, he looked out over the horizon and smiled. The wind moved through his hair and made his bangs dance along his forehead. The sun broke over them and gleamed over the wet leaves of trees in front of them. They were on top of a small cliff, surrounded by trees. Since she was still on his back, she saw the sunrise from a higher vantage point, probably one she's never seen. Looking up to her, he was still smiling, no sweat forming along his brow. He was warm, but it was still cool in the morning.
"Beautiful." he said, but was staring at the look in her eyes and not at the sunrise.
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Post by belated valentine on Jan 27, 2014 0:07:31 GMT -5
Annie couldn't knock him to the ground, since he was already there, so she settled with kicking his shin when he made the comment about her appearing tall. Being friends with a pair of giants often resulted in all sorts of height jokes, so she couldn't say it wasn't surprising. "Shut up," she grumbled.
To be honest, Bertholdt and Reiner were probably the only ones who could get away with lifting her up and not receiving a mouth full of dirt in return. When they were small, she made them carry her around like she was a princess or a queen. Bertholdt was always more willing than Reiner. As they started off, she actually wondered if they should wake up Reiner, but the snore from the tent told her he'd probably rather sleep.
When they reached the highpoint and he stopped walking, she glanced out into the distance, her usually icy blue eyes warming slightly at the sight of the sunrise. There was something much more fulfilling about watching the sun rise over a landscape like this rather than the city. The fact that she was up higher too probably had something to do with it too.
She rested her arms over his shoulders, letting them dangle. He smelled faintly of grass, probably due to his venture outside of his sleeping bag. It reminded her of when they were kids, the three of them running to watch the sunset from atop the grassy hill they played on. "Hm," she agreed, a small softness to her voice, "it's nicer out here, isn't it?"
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Post by Fateful on Jan 27, 2014 1:05:23 GMT -5
Bertholdt chuckled to himself. He was amused that she didn't like his comment, but the two of them were always pretty well synced with one another. Ever since they were little, he looked out for her. Ironically, Reiner had been taller than they were young, but Bertholdt had always been stronger. After a while, Bertholdt shot up and towered over everyone, even in middle school he had been large. Now, it was normal for him to hesitate when he walked through doorways or stumble when he walked into a wall or something. Whereas he could be graceful, his nervousness at times made him clumsy. His lack of confidence didn't help much either.
Having Annie with him, however, helped his confidence immensely. he cared for her and wanted the best for her. he wished that he'd tell her what was going on and why she pulled away. He wanted her to be safe and happy, but no matter how hard he tried, nothing he did ever seemed to make her happy. That's why he'd come up with the idea for fireworks: just to see that smile.
The smile that, right now, nothing could take away from her face. The smallest things brought her joy and it was times like now he wished he was the smallest thing in the world to keep making her this happy.
Rather than watching the sunrise, he watched her reactions to it. The way her eyes scanned the horizon and her blue eyes reflected the colors. The small uneven smile that pulled at her lips. No one knew that Annie actually broke one of her teeth in a fight at the beginning of high school. The dentist had repaired her left front tooth and no one noticed. There wasn't even a line from where her tooth was reattached. She always felt conscious about her mouth whenever she fought now. She protected her face now, no matter what. And if she did get hit, when she thought she was alone, she always touched her moth to see if it had broken again. When it happened, Bertholdt thought that she was going to cry when it happened. Annie wasn't vain or selfish in her appearance, but breaking her tooth upset her greatly, even if she won the fight. Later, she'd told Bertholdt and Reiner it was a moment of weakness on her part. They had never judged her for it, despite the fact she felt the need to justify how upset she'd been.
He nodded in agreement. It was nicer here. "Found it yesterday. Firewood duty." Now he was starting to get nervous. he'd been awake and the exercise was waking him up. He was starting to feel hungry and felt he could eat a good breakfast. And Bertholdt was a large man, he ate fairly large meals to keep his body functioning.
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Post by belated valentine on Jan 27, 2014 2:27:20 GMT -5
As a member of their high school's kick-boxing team, fighting was not something Annie was new to. She liked it. The thrill of landing a perfect kick, watching her enemy falter, the ringing of the bell when she won her match. It helped a lot too. It was therapeutic, in a sense, as sadistic as that sounded. It wasn't that she liked watching people get hurt, it was the feeling of rolling whatever you were feeling into your fist and punching something. And she wouldn't exactly admit it either, but it was also the feeling of her team mates - who she barely spoke with outside of meets - relying on her and the sense of accomplishment that came along with not letting them down. Because she wasn't skilled at being a good friend, but she was good at fighting.
So even despite her ability to keep a poker face, losing a fight did dent her pride. And losing a part of her tooth meant that she wasn't her best, even if she had won it.
The sun continued to rise in front of the pair. Her blue eyes were drawn to it, to the colors and the way it slowly lit the forest up. She glanced over at him, noting the faint glow of the sun on his olive skin and his eyes upon her. He stared too much, she noticed this. He never said much but he took everything in. Since they were little, he stared at people, at the sky, at the world, at her. She would be lying if she didn't say it made her feel slightly self conscious, even though she knew there was no reason to. Bertholdt wasn't mean, especially not to her, so to think that he was judging her was probably inaccurate.
"It's really something, I think. We should come back before we go home." The blonde girl moved so that she dropped from his back, falling to her actual height. The sun had risen almost entirely now, but the view was just as beautiful and breath taking. As much as she didn't want to leave, she knew that the others would be waking up soon and Levi would get mad if they wandered too far. "Want to head back?" she asked, craning her neck to look up him, a smile tugging the corner of her lip at the sight of his bed hair.
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Post by Fateful on Jan 28, 2014 17:42:18 GMT -5
Studying the world around him had always been the way Bertholdt connected to things. He had a hard time connecting with people, socially, emotionally, spiritually, any way, really. People just weren't his thing. he was nervous and had a hard time making friends. But he had close friends and that's all he needed. Armin was the only other good friend he had besides Reiner and Annie. Surprisingly, Armin was accepting of Bertholdt's nature and his shyness. They got along well, studied together, and Bertholdt had been known to get books on high shelves and help his friend carry them. Armin read a lot and learned everything he could.
Bertholdt admired that quality in Armin greatly, he wished he could be that smart. He tried to learn from Armin, and did what he could. But, at the same time, he couldn't help but wonder how someone could be that smart.
Annie had always been someone that Bertholdt enjoyed studying--the way she moved, how she spoke, how she fought, even the way she admired things, even how she looked when she wrote--there was always such focus and determination into her eyes. The soul came out at her eyes and he loved watching those eyes to see the rare glimpses of her soul that light up his world.
"I'll bring you again." He stated, glad that she liked the view as much as he did. There was just something about how confident she looked now that he wish he could have too. He'd never been particularly good at anything before. He was a good student, an average person. There was really nothing extraordinary about him, other than his height.
When Annie jumped down, he almost looked sad. She still wasn't wearing shoes and he didn't mind carrying her back to camp if he wanted her to. he'd hate for her to get hurt. "You sure?" He asked, quietly, watching her closely. Nodding, he started to walk with her heading toward the campsite. Levi probably would be awake by now. "Want to be carried?"
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