solutioning | [2] zwei | sense and sensibility

[2] zwei | sense and sensibility

Before the fireplace lay a green rug, two chairs, and a table on which rested an old-world novel bound in crimson linen; this last was an orphan from the two massive bookshelves which dominated the western wall of the office. The open window admitted the shouts, gentled by distance, of the soldiers training in the courtyard below. A long yellow column of afternoon sunlight draped lazily upon the wooden floor and the rightmost third of Commander Erwin Smith's desk. Here there was the restful scent of paper, and a sense of order as steep and clear as if drawn from a deep well.

Erwin himself was seated at his desk, where he was drawing up a set of expense authorizations in his swift, neat handwriting. The sound of footsteps in the hall disturbed his focus not at all. The pace was intimately familiar, and he knew by speed and heaviness what to expect, and how soon to expect it. He finished the line just in time to look up, tip his pen into the inkwell, straighten his shoulders, and in all other ways convey to his visitor that his attention belonged completely to the matter at hand.

"Welcome back." It was not necessary to indicate the comfortable chair on the other side of his desk. "How did it go?"

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Erwin smiled in appreciation for Levi's quip, but it was one of his plangent smiles, the sort that denote a joke on two levels. Levi was honorable, direct to a fault, sharp as a blade, and a tactical genius, but he would sometimes reveal a startling lack of guile - indeed he would probably resent anything so characterized. But the situation called for guile, and that being the case, it would require that Erwin take an indirect approach even with Levi himself.

There was another way, in short. Erwin would put him on it whether or not Levi was aware of it.

"I'd like to send you both out into the field. Hange tells me that she's found a radiant for the recent attacks, here..." He drew a map out from a drawer and started to unroll it; it was natural, now, to set the stone paperweight at the edge to hold it while he unspooled it. Unless Levi got up and put the other one down, though, he would have to hold it open.

A location to the southwest was marked in red wax pencil. Some 15km outside of the wall, near a forest (shaded a delicate green on the map): a fortress called Iduna. Arrows traced the path of five recent attacks, based on point of contact and direction of travel, back to this one place.

"I would like for you and Ackerman to proceed to the location and determine whether there is anything responsible for the activity there. If it's feasible, you'll stay overnight to see if the Ape Titan hits the position after dark. Any objections?"

As it was very close to being a suicide mission, Erwin expected a few.

Indeed, it wasn't in Levi's brain capacity to assume there was some cushier way to become titan killer of his caliber. He had only his own experience to draw from, and though he'd clearly been born with the talent the knack for it, he couldn't see how Mikasa could become better without the same vast and intense amount of effort.

Levi leaned forward and helped Erwin with the map, then rested his arms as he listened, easing them down so that both lay on the top of chair. Though he missed none of what Erwin said, he was feeling slightly weary from the morning's exercise. That tea would certainly be appreciated.

When Erwin finished, Levi didn't answer immediately. Suicide mission sounded right, but it obviously wasn't a jest. He felt his eyes narrow and his lips pinch.

"Just the two us," he said. "No escort."

He paused again, this time briefly.

"Why?"

Indeed it was not long before the tea arrived: on a tray, a pot and two cups, milk in a small pitcher, and a crock of honey, and one of the few luxuries Erwin permitted himself: half of a lemon sliced into wedges. The soldier laid the tray on the desk without interrupting the work in progress. Erwin poured as he spoke.

"You're a peerless captain, Levi." His quick glance met Levi's. There was no need to be coy about compliments between them. "As a leader of men you have risen to every occasion. I could not ask for finer work."

He set down a saucer before Levi and laid one full cup upon it. Then he squeezed a lemon wedge into his own cup and sat back down.

"But you're not being asked to lead a man this time. You're being asked to lead another you. Tell me: did you become loyal out of obedience, or do you obey because you are loyal?"

Levi thanked him with a nod, then attended to his tea while Erwin went on. He added a short drip of honey -- not allowing a single stray drop reach the saucer or tabletop, naturally -- and followed it with a dash of the valuable lemon. Then he stirred; the warm steam rising from the cup was already working to revitalize him.

As for the query, Levi found it to be somewhat obtuse, and he wasn't sure what kind of answer Erwin wanted to hear. Still, for him, there was only one response that would ring true.

"I obey because I want to see every titan fucking dead, and I know you're one of the few men who can see it done. Probably the only one."

He tasted the tea with a small, probing sip -- still too hot, but the flavor was to his liking. His palate appreciated the touch of citrus in particular, and Levi added another squirt of lemon after setting his cup back down.

"Whether I object doesn't matter," he said. "You give the orders. If you're willing to take a risk this big, there must be a reason."

"Mikasa Ackerman," Erwin started, so abruptly he nearly cut Levi off. "Doesn't have that kind of loyalty. I'm going to have to call Eren Jaeger up here to ensure she goes where I want her to go."

He took a sip of tea and leaned forward in his seat, and held up his hand to forestall any conversation.

"You can beat someone like her into compliance but not obedience." He didn't bother to extrapolate how this was the case for Levi as well. Men can be beaten into shape, but a genius - like Levi, like Mikasa - chooses his master. The genius is obedient only because he is loyal.

"If she has the right motivation, she'll pursue you. She'll do everything possible to learn from you. She will hone herself into the soldier you want her to be. We're going to give her the right motivation."

His friendly blue-eyed smile had become ruthless and fixed.

"Step one is cutting her off from everything she knows and putting her life in someone else's hands."

For something so drastic, Erwin could rely only on Levi's strength. It was a calculated gamble. Even so, in Erwin's opinion it all would have been moot if she had not, at some point, lashed out at him. That was the telling factor.

Ah. So it wasn't enough for him to "be the titan" -- the threat of danger wasn't the end itself, but only one of the means. This was the kind of deep game Levi had come to routinely expect from Erwin, and for the nth time, he was thankful for the consultation. The bittering relationship between he and Mikasa might have become irreparable if this conversation had never occurred.

Another man might have taken a moment to air his complaints. It's still insane. You're asking too much this time. Levi was feeling rather the opposite. The vague images and prognostications that had been floating in his mind -- of transforming Mikasa into an untouchable soldier, of fighting with her brilliantly in tandem while turning the tide of the war -- these had gained an exciting clarity.

Certainly, it was a tall order. But those Levi enjoyed all the more when he came out successful -- and he would again. There was no other option.

"I see."

He returned to his tea, taking a longer sip.

"Do you actually expect the Ape Titan to appear?"

Edited 2013-11-03 09:30 (UTC)

"Hange thinks the Ape Titan will only appear so close to the wall during a full moon, and I agree with her. The new moon is in three days. I recommend waiting until then to depart." There was apology in his voice when he answered, as if saying this is the best I can do to protect you.

"But Ackerman doesn't need to know that. The mission will still entail a night watch. We don't know what else you'll find there. I'll authorize you to take extra horses and a wagon for supplies. If you want it." Standard procedure would, in a larger sortie, be to set up a cache of blades and gas for soldiers holding a position.

He paused then and added, "If you see the Ape Titan, you are to abort the mission immediately and get to safety. Leave her behind if you have to. Is that clear, Captain?"

A night watch between two people meant that they'd lose a lot of rest, but again, Levi would not voice any displeasure. He thought Erwin was being generous enough, between the timing and offer of extra supplies.

"Clear, Commander."

Not that he obviously wouldn't relish an opportunity to take the bastard out, but he saw the logic in treating it with extreme caution until they knew just what the hell it was. After brief consideration, he went on.

"Extra horses should be enough."

If all went well, the mission wouldn't last longer than a single night, with a day for travel on either side. For just the two of them, a pair of horses could easily carry over a week's worth of supplies.

"Are you planning to talk with Jaeger and Ackerman alone?"

He leaned back against his chair again, picked up his teacup, and took a long, relaxing pull. He had known Levi would agree sooner or later, yet in his own subtle way Levi had indicated that this assignment was not only acceptable, but intriguing. Better in every way than an unwilling dispatch. Nor had he relished the thought of testing Levi with an order.

After some consideration, he frowned thoughtfully. "No. I want to talk to all three of you together, along with Armin Arlert. I'll summon you after dinner."

Those two Shiganshina boys had a part to play in this. Their distance from Mikasa had to be carefully managed, and Erwin had developed an excursion for them while Levi and Mikasa were away.

"Any other questions?"

Levi didn't really have any other pressing concerns, but he had no intention of leaving abruptly before finishing his drink. They were both busy men -- 'workaholics,' even, if only by necessity -- but a little pleasant downtime could go a long way. Levi took a slow sip and thought of something else to ask.

"Will we be missed?" he said.

He didn't particularly mean in the will you need us around? sense, but more like will the rest of the Scouting Legion know you've sent your two best soldiers out alone into the field?

Erwin smiled - a true, genuine smile.

"As you know, the annual finance conference will begin the day after tomorrow." Each branch would argue for its funding. Typically, Erwin went with a new recruit to stress the importance of the Survey Corps. They made no immodest requests and were almost never declined. But in this case... "I intend to send Arlert to argue for us. And Eren, to support him."

All eyes would be on the conference. Something in Erwin's smile might have indicated that he expected this line of argument; in fact, he had planned for it almost exclusively.

"There will be secondary benefits for your mission. Everything has been arranged."

He had foreseen all difficulties. There was no aspect of his plan more in doubt than Levi's own agreement; with that secured, Erwin felt confident of pursuing the rest.

"Glad to hear it."

When Erwin said 'everything' he almost always meant everything, so with regards to the mission, there wasn't much left to discuss. Now he had smalltalk to fall back on -- or at least what qualified as smalltalk for Levi, though despite the comfort, he didn't want to linger in the commander's office overlong.

"I've heard Arlert has a way with words. Put him in charge of the speeches and correspondence, and we might end up with more than a dozen new recruits."

When it came to bantering with Erwin, often the best Levi could do was pitch him a few knowingly unsubstantiated jibes.

"He's sharp," Erwin agreed. "He wants to succeed." There was always time to top off the cups and swap a few jokes, and Erwin appreciated Levi's dry, blunt sense of humor; yet even so his eye was always on the objective.

Even this delegation had been arranged to further Levi's work with Mikasa. Erwin could assure her that Eren would be in the safest place possible - deep within Wall Sina, in the king's own halls, with Armin at his side. The other prong of his attack rested on the diversion as well: the conference, with its showy, youthful new Survey representative, would draw most of the attention, and what was left of the prying eyes could be satisfied with the radiant explanation. But what Erwin would say later that night, to Mikasa and to Eren, was that the fortress represented a potential fallback position should there be any need to conceal Eren from the crown - that would explain the need for such a small team and such intense discretion. In addition to searching for the source of the attacks, Mikasa could examine the location for structural integrity and suitability.

She would go willingly and work thoroughly. Everything else was up to Levi.

Not so sharp with his blade, was Levi's initial thought, but it sounded insipid and not worth voicing. The kid was brave enough, and as Erwin said, he did have the drive. They were fortunate, really, that one of Eren's closest friends was quick-witted and generally capable under pressure.

"Then he's where he belongs."

Levi understood that Erwin's manipulations would soon take form, and that the board was set as well as it could be. He wouldn't fail.

"All of these brats from the 104th sure have stirred up some shit."

Both good and bad shit, admittedly, and though humanity hadn't won many battles since their emergence, Levi refused to believe that things had gotten worse. More than anything, they'd needed more weapons, and now they had them.

"Life is messy. Humanity is coming alive again." He gave Levi an uncharacteristically sly look, just for a moment. "We need to make sure these 'brats' are ready to take on the work ahead."

To take over from us, he meant. Nobody in the Survey Corps bothered with a retirement plan; even beyond that, age hunts a man more viciously than any titan. If they could not win the war themselves, he and Levi, the banner would have to be passed. Someone like Jean, or Armin, would succeed Erwin. Someone like Mikasa would succeed to Levi's position. Except she did not have Levi's compassion or his drive.

Just one of the many kinks to be worked out as the future unfolded.

"You don't have any concerns, do you?"

Levi shook his head; there were none beyond the obvious. In sum, he felt as prepared as he could be.

He drained the last of his tea and tipped the cup a few appreciative inches toward Erwin before setting it down. He, too, was optimistic toward their young, would-be successors. Levi could still call them brats, but with some endearment now, and even the tiniest bit of self-mockery.

"Will that be all?" he asked.

"That's all for now. Thank you, Levi."

He held Levi's gaze for a moment to lend weight to his thanks, and watched him as he put down his cup; there was a genuine warmth in this attention which went above and beyond the conscientious care Erwin took with all his soldiers.

Then he began to clear away the paperweights and the map. There was still a lot of paperwork before him, and Erwin wished to return to the meditative practice of signing and sealing, counting and acknowledging, to drive away the specter of doubt which clung to his thoughts.

There were no thanks necessary -- not for the man whom Levi trusted with his life, as well as with the entire fate of humanity. He owed Erwin more than he could ever likely repay, even with all of his strength, and Levi would continue to bear whatever weight he could from the Commander's shoulders until he was crushed by the lot of it.

It wouldn't happen anytime soon. Levi believed this, and his intuition had always been good.

"Erwin."

Levi was not a warm man, but there was a certain brutish intimacy to his version of 'you're welcome.'

"I'll see you with the brats," he said.

And with that, Levi rose and left the Commander to his paperwork.

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[2] zwei | sense and sensibility

tee hee

probably going to be recreationally incapacitated until the wee hours again, unfortunately

npnp

why do i forget words, it's like a disease

probably it's because of the and the

i see the lateness of the hour hath not dampened your wit

^______________^

actually going to bed now, since it's basically 5 am whoops

:o how dare you sleep

no subject

no subject

no subject

/just jams in some exposition like a jerk

jam away!

ooooh heichou ooooooooooooh

d-danchou, you jam so hard

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhMUXN3kGK8

never stopped laughing tbh