maskormenacelogs | CLOSED | Though the words are true the state is old news

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CLOSED | Though the words are true the state is old news

WHO: LEVI and HANGE ZOË
WHERE: Café out on the pier in Heropa
WHEN: 08/13
WHAT: A not-date where Levi makes the grave mistake of introducing Hange to caffeine. Also, talk about how screwed up their world is.
WARNINGS: SPOILERS from the most recent chapters of AoT

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON

[ He picked the little washed out wood café out on the pier for a couple reasons. For one, it allowed dogs even during rush hours; his own liver red pit mix still in need of a bit of acclimatizing to noisy, crowded places was hunkered down under the balcony table with her head in Levi's lap as he browsed his phone, picking the nerves of a steady internet connection. Secondly, it was somewhere literally right out over the ocean water. Hange he was sure had yet to find the time between the swearing-in and her move into her assigned house to come out and enjoy the salt stink air and shrieking gulls for herself. So long as she contained herself from making observations about the consistency of gull shit or go poking at dead jellyfish, Levi was happy. He had sent her directions not long after ordering something caffeinated and chilled along with a succinct message. ]

Out on the second floor balcony. Bring sunglasses along with the records you received on arrival. Also, I already ordered for us.

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[Hanji doesn't have sunglasses, yet. But she does bring her files. It actually takes her a little while to show up, since she's stopping to peer at everything and ask questions of completely random passersby. When she does finally arrive, she drops into the seat across from Levi with a 'oof' and grins at him.]

Beautiful day out.

Watch the dog, shit brain. [ Levi grouses when Hange flies in, feeling eighty some odd pounds of startled animal jolt and smack her against the underside of the table with deafening thud that incites a wince from people the table over. Not looking down, Levi nudges her side as she readjusts. Dog had more situation awareness than Hange. ]

Here. [ A spare pair of aviator sunglasses are pulled from his jacket pocket and slide across the table to her just as their drinks show up. Both red eye ice coffees in plastic cups with the obnoxious bright logo smacked on the side. Levi didn't trust ice tea, but he figured they could both use the boost. ]

Take you so long to enjoy the sights? It's a big ass ocean out there.

Ohhh...?

[Hange blinks and then leans to one side to peer under the table. Her face lights up as she pops back over the edge.]

You didn't tell me you had a dog! What's its name?

[She plucks the sunglasses from the table, turns them over in her hands, and then carefully she tries to fit them over her normal glasses. The result is a bit silly looking. The ocean gets a long look at Levi's comment.]

It really is. I never imagined something like it could exist, you know? But... there it is.

[She plucks her cup up and takes a big sip. Her expression is slightly quizzical and then it turns into another grin as she takes another sip. Wow, that's got a jolt!]

Edited 2014-08-14 03:58 (UTC)

[ Shit. ] ...Ginger.

[ Teeth clenched down so tight they might crack when he said it; he just called her Dog. Shelter named her the shelter named her. The current topic of the afternoon wagged her tail and soundly stuffed her muzzle in Hange's crotch. Absolutely splendid. ]

No, you don't stick them over your- you know what? Never mind. [ Levi grabbed his drink and chewed on the straw sucking down his caffeine fix while watching Hange get wound up. ]

It's something, but I'd avoid the beach. Sand gets everywhere and it's gross. [ Reaching over he grabbed Hange's file and started to idly flip through it. ]

Ginger! That's so cute! I didn't know you liked dogs, Captain!

[She's just gonna use that. Ginger gets an affectionate pat and a surprisingly tolerant little push away from her crotch. She pops open the lid on her drink and then leans over so she can start rifling through the collection of creamer and sugar packets in the middle of the table.]

It's bitter-

[There's a pause and then she blinks and looks up at Levi, leaning across the table to shake a sugar packet in his face.]

Don't they have any honey? What is this?

Edited 2014-08-14 04:26 (UTC)

People here have so damn many of them that someone had to lighten the load on the local shelters. [ Dogs were useful he told himself as his slunk back under his legs, and he was growing increasingly rankled by the local population. ]

Hm. [ Levi made a dismissive hum as he reads her file and slides Hange a honey dispenser shaped like a bear from the little condiment wheel on their table. ] It's coffee some kind of a brewed drink from roasted seeds.

[ He had yet to look up from her file. Flight he could work with, that was now Hange along with he and Sasha as the flight capable ones. Heat resistance was a bit out of the common way, but it could be useful knowing how scalding the skin of titans and shifters were. And whatever x-ray vision was well, maybe not important yet. ]

Hange. [ Levi closes the file and actually says her name rather than some affectionately insulting nickname and variant of 'shit' and 'glasses' as he looks up at her, grim as the grave. ] How are you?

[Hange grins and accepts the honey dispenser. She then proceeds to empty a few giant squeezes into her drink and stir. Once her coffee is much, much sweeter she takes another sip. Yes, good. This is good.]

Well, I like it! It's invigorating!

[Better then tea, even!

Then Levi has to ask a weird question.]

Ah, I'm... doing alright, so far. Adjusting. Why?

[ Adjusting was what they in the Corps excelled at, but it was also why Levi could not gauge just where Hange stood where the last few weeks back home were concerned. She handled herself better than the others. When things went to hell, and the usually would, Levi shut down, Erwin would just shut out, but Hange could still engage with the world.

If it was a factor in Erwin passing command over to her, then he wouldn't be surprised. ]

I wanted to know what the last thing you remember was. [ Straw squeaked against the plastic lid as he pulled at it. ] Before coming here.

Ah.

[She takes a sip of her coffee, expression settling into seriousness.]

Erwin handed over command. And I ended up having to deal with the Military Police more then I thought I would. You'd taken everyone out to go after Eren and Historia.

About that.

[ Levi pushes his straw against the ice settled at the bottom of his drink with his gaze anchored to the table top. He never had any real difficulty making eye contact, but these types of things even as the rational part of him said it was out of his hands, he always looked down. ]

I received a report. [ That was the kicker. He believed Armin, but he doesn't himself remember and parroting what he read feels like a disservice. What he wants is for Armin to be wrong, but that report had etched itself in the back of his skull and refused to be dismissed because Levi decided he wanted to be in denial. ]

Central Branch ambushed us with new anti personnel maneuver gear, and [ How old was Nifa? Sixteen, maybe eighteen? He felt like he should know. ] only the special operations squad managed to escape.

[Hanji's cup pauses halfway to her mouth and she slowly sets it down. The coffee makes her feel a little jittery, but she's not bouncing off the walls (yet). She takes a breath - she was used to losing friends and comrades. She was used to seeing the lists of names and the shrouded corpses (if they were lucky enough to recover the bodies). Not that it ever really helped, even if you adjusted to the deaths. She breathes out slowly, head tilted back so she can stare at the sky.

Funny how that worked. They were here, enjoying the sun and sky and the wonders of this world ("enjoying"), but back home people still ended up dead. Was that really fair? Probably not, but she'd survived for so long that she was almost used to it.

Even if the fresh deaths still hit her in the gut. She'd liked Nifa.]

So that's how it is.

[Another name to avenge.]

[ Levi knew that after awhile you get numb to it. Never does losing someone exactly become 'routine' but you compartmentalize grief from moving forward. When it did finally feel like going through the motions then you know you have thrown too much of yourself away in pursuit of an impossible dream. Maybe that was the worst of it. Never knowing just whose death or in what number before it finally kicks the fight out of you. ]

Yeah.

[ Eyes fixed to the table looking for imperfections in the wood with its shellac sheen over it to make cleaning coffee spills and food grease less nightmarish. Levi doesn't look at Hange. Losing your own squad was one thing, hard as that was to imagine, but the people another squad leader entrusts you with makes wearing that natural guilt all the more unbearable. ]

So... [ Seagulls shrieks on the windowsill as Levi fights through the hard shell he wears around the space in his chest a heart should be. ] The coffee is good.

[The silence is really all there is to it. She can't change it. She can't save her. She can just move on, because that's what they always do. They move on and hope that the death was worth it. They hope that one day they'll be able to look back and say to all of their dead comrades, "We made it because of you." She takes another long, slow, sip of her coffee.]

It is. Thanks for treating me.

Whatever, anytime.

[ And he did mean it even if his platitudes tasted a bit sour and nothing he said ever had much inflection in its tone. The last of his drink went down bitter and he found himself scanning the crowd because even in some kitschy boardwalk café he was constantly alert, wound up tight and incapable of trusting the privacy of an open space. ]

I know we can't cover all of this over a cup of coffee but I- shit, what? [ Levi glanced under the table to see a liver nosed snout poking at his thigh between some low-pitched whines and dark amber eyes wide and watering. Levi grunted and sat back up straight. ]

Hange, my dog needs to piss.

Does he?

[Hange peers under the table curiously. She doesn't know dogs that well, nor does she feel particularly strongly one way or the other about them.]

Do they have a spot for that...?

She.

[ There really was point in correcting the gender of a four-legged animal that only existed to drool on your lap and chase its own tail, but Levi would be remiss if someone thought he named a dog that looked like that Ginger. ]

I thought we should go outside to talk. There's a stretch of beach for dogs, and you haven't been down there yet, right? [ He asked, making excuses for doing anything nice by shrouding it with necessity. ]

Ah, no! I do want to see the ocean up close!

[She glances out the window. It really does look incredible. A vast, smooth surface stretching out to the horizon. After a moment, she shoves back from the table and stands.]

Let's go!

[ The entire scene played out in the muted colors of the daily minutia more associated with 'regular' people who enjoyed a civilian life. People that threw an an extra dollar tip jar walking out with a nice girl and a dog that plodded along abreast between them to stroll over to the stretch of beach down off the pier that allowed dogs.

Middle of the week when everyone was off working the nine to five and the school year closing in the beach was more or less deserted. Levi unclipped the leash from Ginger's collar and let her off to go roam about the sand duns and beachgrass that obscured everything but a whip thing red tail. ]

Waters' salt. [ Levi droned in poor facsimile to a beleaguered tour guide. ] And the fish can kill you.

Is it...?

[She glances at the wide expanse of water and then settles on the sand, tugging her shoes off and rolling her trousers up to the knee.

Look what you've done, Levi.]

I have to check that out!

[Without any hesitation, she bounds out to the surf and stands in it as a wave comes rushing in. She trails her hands through the foam and then gives one of her fingers an experimental lick.]

Hey! It is salt!

Shit glasses.

[ Levi grouses low under his breath as Hange and put something in her mouth she shouldn't have like some child that needed to be kept on one of those leashes he had seen attached to screaming toddlers held by beleaguered parents making poor attempts to multi-task.

Actually, not a bad idea. ]

You know people fuck and piss in there. [ He calls out even as he takes off his shoes, rolling his jeans up past his calves then give one last look around to see Ginger still moving through the reeds. ]

It's getting colder. [ An observation made walking up next to Hange already feeling the waves swell around his legs. It's almost pleasant. ]

[Sorry Levi, Hange can't hear you over the sound of how cool the ocean is. She pushes to her feet and peers out at the distant horizon, a slightly giddy grin on her face. She finally turns back as Levi joins her.]

Well, that's alright.

[She honestly hadn't noticed the temperature change.]

In general? Or just here?

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CLOSED | Though the words are true the state is old news

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