and the gunslinger followed

Snowflakes spiraled from overhead, traveling down, and dappling the earth in a cold stiff blanket. The higher peaks of the mountain were already well-coated in several layers of snow, but as the stone cut downward to the base, it faded to show signs of spring. In the hollow there were only a few feet that had settled against the earth, holding a hushed claim on that territory.

The only sound of stirring arose from the trees where birds chirped softly before settling into their homes and seeking the warmth of their families. The hollow on the mountainside appeared calm, quiet, undisturbed by passersby.

A rumbling of thunder from the looming sea of grey clouds echoed through the jagged peaks. From the clouds, a streak of color appeared falling toward the earth. The limp body did not strike anything before it plummeted into the snowbank with a dull oof and the mountain hollow returned to silence.

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’Hey!’

Golden eyes shot wide; a gasp of air filled his lungs.

Levi felt snow around him and wondered how he had arrived near snowfall.

‘Are you dead?’

Who was this? The scout narrowed his brow swiftly and latched his eyes on the unfamiliar figure of the she-wolf who had approached him. She was fiery in her colors, dashed with crisp autumnal reds and warm gingers. Her eyes were a contrasting shade of blue, a look that reminded him distinctly of a chilly fall day. It did not matter how long he stared, the stern-faced hound was certain he had never crossed paths with her before. This begged the question; how did he get there?

“Not yet,” Levi answered gruffly, pushing himself so that he was no longer splayed in the mound of snow. The pale yellow of his eyes shifted to her face as his features settled into a comfortable frown and scowl.

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‘Do you wanna be?’

Levi’s expression did not shift or move from her features, but he was rather surprised at how quickly she had opted to bite back. After all, it had not been he who had approached her while she slept and asked if she had died. The scout’s head throbbed, whittling his patience down to nothing more than a hairpin. He didn’t understand who this uncouth stranger even was, or how he had gotten to the snowy hollow of the mountain.

What was I doing… before this?

There had been a fight-

Levi furrowed his brow deeper and shook the snow from his stormy cloak with little regard for whether the flakes would land on her. He remembered so little, but he knew that he had been sent on a scouting expedition and had gotten caught up in a battle with the opposing side. Horror sank into his stomach as he realized that he might have been captured.

“Who the hell are you?” the scout inquired in a tone that hadn’t changed at all.

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While the scout’s expression did not shift much from the dismal scowl that comfortably existed there, the she-wolf seemed to shift between several stages of… something. Truth be told, Levi wasn’t quite certain he was safe near her as her lips pulled back to reveal a row of snaggled ivory fangs, displayed in a grin that was far from pleasant to the eye. The longer he remained speaking with the fiery stranger, the more he fell into the pit of thought that he had been taken captive by the attackers on the hillside.

But where was the sea?

The woman continued on, prattling about how he had fallen from the sky and she was just as curious as he was. Levi regarded her with a glint in his pale-yellow stare. She must have been a loon, surely. If he had plummeted from the heavens, he would have hit the earth and his life would have been ripped from his body. She seemed intent on this idea.

The scout’s lips peeled back, revealing a glint of his fangs.

“Back up,” Levi snarled swiftly, moving to guard himself from her. “What the hell are you saying? You’re mad.”

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“Why would I believe the crazed ramblings of a complete stranger? A barking mad one at that…”

His voice was lackluster and void of emotion, but it held a gruff edge to it. She made her case in saying that she was the only witness to his waking, but Levi didn’t want anything to do with her in the state she was in. She’d come up to him in the snow and inserted herself into his business with no mind of her own to realize how intrusive and foolish that might have been. Was that really what the world had come to? Idiots running around seeking attention from others?

The fiery woman drew her muzzle upward so that she could look down at him. Levi sneered devilishly, unafraid of her in any height she tried to impose upon him. He had seen the worst cruelty of the world, had witnessed the savagery of his fellow beast. They were all devils in their own way – she was no different from the rest, save for a lack of common sense.

“Perhaps next time you won’t sleep on your opportunity then,” Levi returned to her, unshaken at the idea that she had contemplated devouring him. The woman made a wide birth around him and moved to leave. He had no intention of stopping her, but he did feel a sour churning in his stomach at the idea that she would leave that scene entirely feeling as though she had made all the right choices.

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‘Starlord…’

He hated that already, demonstrating so with a cold grimace that forced his dark lips into a frown. The yearling had never belonged to the heavens, but to the chill of the earth. The trip she referenced was just as foreign to Levi as it was to her, and nearly just as infuriating for the stormbound scout. The pale honey color of his eyes followed her without hesitancy, making sure that she would not make a fool of him by circling around to his rear in hopes of attacking where he wouldn’t see.

The way she laughed it off left him feeling rather empty, unsure of what could have possibly triggered this strange introduction. Even if it had been on normal terms, Levi was fairly confident that he would not have enjoyed the personality of the fiery stranger. She swept through like flames, demolishing things without care or regard for them – and Levi was of the earth.

When she had vanished from his line of sight, the scout looked to his surroundings and frowned. He knew nothing about where he was, only that the flame-touched wolf had believed he’d fallen from the sky. Wouldn’t that have been an amazing sight, Erwin?

Trekking away from the meeting spot, Levi sought to familiarize himself with the terrain.

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