Chapter Text
It all began, as it usually did for Levi, with eavesdropping. However, this time happened to also have an unusual but welcome twist compared to past occasions; this time, the man talking definitely wanted to be heard. He had the attention of almost everyone in the dimly lit tavern, half leaning on the bar, loosely gesturing with one hand while telling his story. And it certainly caught Levi's interest, even from the back wall. The guy had charisma, Levi had to admit, and it looked like he was trying to make the most of it, eyes glued to a vaguely attentive blonde barmaid on his right.
“So my buddy was telling me about it, and I bet him his prized bearskin rug that I could do what he couldn’t,” the man had begun, flexing subtly. “I was gonna find the stupid tower, get in, and take the treasure all for myself. I mean, I’m doin’ pretty well for myself but I ain’t gonna say no to easy riches. So he tells me where to go and I see it with my own eyes. The weirdest thing. It’s in the middle of nowhere and there’s no door in. But I was prepared. Had a hammer y’see. But—” he takes a swig from his tankard “—fifty hits and not a single mark on the stone. Couldn’t believe it could be that strong. Can you?” Here he pauses and looks at the people around him, happy to see many still listening. “And then this crazy cat jumps in outta nowhere and claws up my arm.” He brandishes the wounds. Levi raises an eyebrow in contempt. The scratches on the man’s forearm are many in number but small in size, barely visible from a distance and nothing to complain about. Although red now, they’d heal completely in a couple of weeks. “I was half ready to swing at it too. Waste of my time. I get home and my buddy has the gall to laugh at me. All a trick, for sure. I bet there’s nothing there. And that swine cheated on the bet, not tellin’ me about no stinkin’ cat, so he ain’t getting nothin’ outta me. I shoulda known when he agreed so quickly. I should take the rug anyway.”
The man rambled a little further, but Levi had heard all he needed. He concentrated on moving around the outer tables, checking jackets and pockets swiftly while staying inconspicuous. The search didn’t yield much, but he had other plans for the evening. The last thing he heard as he slipped up the stairs was a prim voice saying, “I hate bearskin rugs.”
A few minutes later, Levi left the building from an open window, weighing a few pounds heavier than he did when he had entered through the front door. With his task over and his mind unoccupied for the moment, he spared a thought for the oaf abandoned at the bar and his tale of woes. It was rare for Levi to take interest in such stories, and yet he fancied himself having more luck than that cocky bastard. On a whim, Levi switched paths and melted into the night.
+++++
Levi put it all down to simple human curiosity. He had nothing in particular to do, and so he allowed himself to spend a couple of days on reconnaissance in that town, and a couple more in the next one over. It was a job that kept him active, and eventually he had a direction. Levi discovered he was a little late to this particular party, but it seemed that all the men who had made an attempt on this tower had failed, and to Levi's good fortune, half of them had big mouths.
The stories varied in many ways; the treasure remained undefined and things were added in or taken out or exaggerated, but such is the nature of rumours. Levi didn’t make a single move until he had a location though, and a solid one at that. Whether it was gold, or a princess, or a fairy ready to grant wishes that awaited him, Levi would find out.
A two hour ride north-east from the next town on, it was. Levi had no horse, but no objections, and so he set off on foot just as the sun had risen. His bag was as light as could be – important belongings had been stashed nights ago, of course – and for the most part he enjoyed the sense of adventure, setting off into the forest at a fork in the northern road, just as he’d heard. The weather was good, the summer sun kind to him once filtered through lush green leaves. He encountered no one once off the beaten track, but that didn’t matter.
He thought he’d see it coming, but he was wrong. The tower was tall, that was true, reaching a fair distance above the old trees surrounding it, but it was hidden from the angle of Levi's approach. After miles of walking, Levi finally laid eyes on the tower from all the tales.
Cat Tower, it had recently been dubbed.
Word of mouth was unreliable, but everyone who had the time to come to the tower saw the same feline during their visit, hence the name. Not one person had cared to describe it beyond its species. All found it unusual in different ways, but no more unusual than the tower itself, and so it had been overlooked. But one account let Levi know that he’d have to find it to get what he wanted.
He circled the tower’s base, scouting the place more casually than he normally would, but no less careful. It was perfectly cylindrical, with a tiled, conical roof, and really did have no obvious method of entry. There was one window at the very top that looked big enough for a person to climb through, but the others below it were slim rectangles barely more than a foot in height. They were shaped into small pointed arches, decorative and completely non-functional. Other than that, smooth grey stone was the only thing for Levi to look at. He stopped after making two full rounds, quietly appreciating the flawless architecture. There was currently no way of knowing what was on the inside, but the outside was clean and simple; Levi had the passing thought that he’d like to have a tower like this for himself. The solitude appealed to him just as much. Birdsong was the only sound that had reached his ears for the last hour or two.
If it was all a hoax, then it had at least been wrapped in a neat little package.
Levi scanned the wall in front of him again, seeing nothing new. He reached out a hand to touch the largest of the stones, but then stepped back quickly when the contact made the brick glow bright yellow. On high alert, Levi watched, intrigued, as the unnatural light condensed itself into golden lettering, written in a delicate script and completely incomprehensible to him.
It was the words of the Old Tongue. Having fallen out of use with commoners everywhere at least one hundred years ago, it was now referred to as Witch Speak, named such for the one group that still cared to use it. Levi couldn’t read it, but from his thorough information gathering, he knew that some other poor sap had already turned out his pockets paying for a translation. He was immensely grateful that he wouldn’t have to initiate conversation with his one magical acquaintance, or a certain bushy-browed intellectual, to know that the text read:
The cat has the key
Levi stared at the glowing words. He had yet to see the infamous cat, but knew that it would only be a matter of time. Knowing cats, Levi thought it was likely to come out to enjoy the weather at midday, and that he might stumble across it lounging in a sunbeam.
The magical message faded after another moment, and Levi, having scoped the place out as well as he could, moved away from the tower and towards the shade of a nearby pine tree to sit down. He set aside his pack, keeping it within reach, and drank from the waterskin attached to his belt. The cool water was amazingly refreshing, and he relaxed against the tree trunk, glad to be resting.
A light breeze blew through his hair. The birdsong from earlier had died down, but there was still music in the leaves. For a long while, Levi just listened to that quiet rustling. After a while, a new sound reached his ears. From the thicket over to his right there was a very faint shuffling, almost drowned out by the other noises. Levi saw a branch move, and then a section of tall grass was pushed and sent swaying. He made sure not to move as a grey rabbit hopped out to the edge of its hiding place, but allowed himself an internal sigh of relief.
There was nothing Levi could do this time, but finally seeing some wildlife in the area let him know that setting some traps nearby could help bulk out his supply of rations. Extending his stay at the tower for longer than a week would only be possible if he could catch more food as well as identify edible plants growing around him. A water source must also be close by, but he had never worried about that. Fresh water was abundant in this area.
Levi was only able to look at the rabbit for another short moment. He breathed a short laugh as he watched its fluffy, white tail disappear back into the foliage. With a small shake of his head, he turned away from the momentary distraction.
Only to find a cat staring straight at him.
It sat directly between Levi and the tower, like a proper little guardian, sitting watchful and alert with its tail neatly curled around its front paws. Its fur was a rich brown, with dark stripes banding its limbs and decorating its forehead in an interesting pattern, but the tip of its tail was pure white. The sun was glinting off something on its chest.
Levi stood and brushed grass off his legs, acutely aware of the cat’s gaze following his every move. The animal made no protest when he came closer. From a few of the stories, Levi had half been expecting some sort of wildcat, vicious and territorial, but in front of him was an average-sized domestic cat, looking well-groomed and docile.
It was cute.
Levi knew he was unusual for liking cats, but he didn’t care. In this country, they were seen as pests, only useful to farmers who let them hang around if they could keep rats and mice out of their food stores. In the towns and cities they were met with hostility and dislike. Shopkeepers swept them from their doorsteps, women were scandalised when they came near. Their close association to witches didn’t help either.
If he thought too much about it, Levi would say they were kindred spirits.
He looked at the cat and had to suppress a small sound of delight. As it was, he was caught up in admiring its green eyes, tiny nose and triangular ears, all in perfect proportion to its rounded face. Around its neck was a short strip of leather, from which hung a shiny, golden key. But that was suddenly much less important.
Its steady gaze seemed full of intelligence, and Levi hadn’t found a cat so trusting of a human in a long time. Slowly, he crouched down in front of it, extending his right hand into the space between them. Noting the tip of its tail flick upwards, Levi opted to stay still and let the cat decide what to do.
“C’mon, I won’t hurt you,” he said, curling his fingers gently and showing it the back of his hand instead. The cat, unblinking, flicks its tail again, but judging by the movement of its ears, it was listening. “You’re quite a pretty cat, y’know.”
Levi was simply speaking his thoughts aloud, but the cat perked up, twitching its whiskers and standing. Then it sauntered around Levi's side, completely ignoring his outstretched arm. Levi let out a breath, slightly disappointed despite the fact that he’d been expecting such treatment. But as the cat passed he felt a brief touch of fur on his arm, and turned to see that the feline had deigned to brush the end of his tail against his left elbow.
Labelling the gesture as ‘friendly’ was probably giving the cat too much credit, but Levi happily thought of it like that anyway.
+++++
The next morning, Levi was met with another strange, magical sight.
He had watched the cat for hours the previous afternoon, cataloguing the way it circled around him, maintaining a set distance that didn’t allow for anymore contact. When that pastime had yielded no fruit, and his sweet words had shown little effect, he left the cat to its own devices and started setting himself up for the night. As his stay would be longer than a single night, he put more effort into making a comfortable place to sleep than he normally would.
This meant scouting the area and climbing a tree.
Levi didn’t have to go high, but tying his hammock further off the ground meant he would be less noticeable to nosy humans and any predatory animals that might wander by in the night. The leaves offered shade and shelter from the rain, and his pack had to be kept off the ground either way. By the time he had finished, the cat had gone.
Wide-eyed, he watched it return mid-morning.
The tower was special, that was for certain, but it was still full of surprises for Levi. In broad daylight, the cat descended gracefully from the large upper window via an external spiral staircase made of small, protruding bricks. When the cat reached the ground, Levi witnessed the bricks recede back into the tower, leaving them flush with the rest of the stonework and completely hidden from view. Levi hadn’t seen the cat-sized path before because it never crossed his mind to look for such a thing. The workings of the magic itself made no sense to Levi, but he was glad that it explained the method for the cat’s comings and goings. That, at least, was one question answered.
Wide awake but stiff from sleep, Levi slowly climbed down from his hammock and set off west until he reached the river he’d found the previous day. He shucked his boots at the edge, leaving them neatly side-by-side on the grass, and rolled up the bottom of his trousers until they were just under his knees. Just as he was moving to stand up straight again, he spotted the brown cat emerge from behind a nearby tree.
“Morning, cat. You sure are living the good life out here, aren’t you.” The cat’s eyes were fixed on him before Levi spoke, and the intensity of its gaze was just as strong as in their first meeting. Not feeling the least bit silly for making conversation with a cat, one of the most hated creatures in the land, Levi stared back. He didn’t know quite what he was waiting for, but the only reaction the cat gave was to look him up and down and then begin licking one of its front paws. Levi smiled and shook his head slightly, and then stepped down the riverbank until his ankles were graced with cool, clean water.
He stood still when the water was halfway up his shins, and then faced upriver to scoop water and wash his face. Tiny fish darted by his feet, and water droplets clung to his eyelashes and ran down his arms. The forest felt full of life and peaceful at the same time, and Levi relished the quiet time to himself without worrying about anything happening to him. No one chasing him, no threats to hear, or authority to dodge. Just him and the sun and the trees.
Oh, and the cat.
Levi splashed his face one last time and used one hand to push back his hair, turning to look to where he’d last seen the animal. There was no movement in the grass, no white-tipped tail flicking between the trunks. The cat had disappeared without a sound.
Unbothered, Levi shook off most of the water and stepped out of the stream. He pulled a cloth from his back pocket and dried his hands and face, folding it again once he was done and heading for where he’d left his boots. There, he had to pause for a moment, taking in the unexpected sight. His boots were no longer positioned in the orderly way he’d left them. Instead, one was lying in the dirt, tossed from its original place, and the other was missing.
Levi knew there was only one explanation, but rather than irritation, he felt a small laugh bubbling up inside him. Pressing his lips together and humming a single, thoughtful note, Levi set off to find his wayward shoe.
+++++
Twenty minutes later, his right boot was rediscovered, under a thorn bush halfway between the river and Cat Tower.
The laughter that Levi had been holding back spilled out all at once. When he got up from his crouch, unharmed by any prickly branches, the cat was sitting a short distance away, silent and unassuming. Levi smirked at it, slipped his boot back on, and sat down properly, one hand outstretched in a second attempt.
“Well?” he asked, amusement underlying his tone. Levi swore he saw those long whiskers twitch, right before the cat stood up and walked off, not once looking back.
+++++
Four days of mischief followed. When Levi wasn’t watching the cat it would take unattended possessions and move them wherever it wanted. Levi didn’t bring much with him, so the same few things would get taken, but the hiding places were random and sometimes ridiculous. After the first few times, Levi began to see it as a game. The cat wasn’t hurting him, but at the same time it couldn’t seem to leave him alone. Often it would sit on its magic brick staircase and observe him while he searched. “How about a clue, cat?” Levi would ask if it was dragging on for too long, and the cat would stare at him and then pretend to look off into the distance. Every single time, the cat would be looking somewhere close to the item.
Levi knew it was strange, but he thought the cat was having fun.
In the night, when the cat had returned to its home and the forest was quiet, Levi would lie awake and contemplate the events of the day. He would look back fondly on his interactions with the weird cat, and smile to himself. Not once did he really question anything. Levi hadn’t lived an ordinary life so far anyway. But the cat made him happy, and he barely thought about leaving. He wondered if it was time to switch things up. To step away from his current lifestyle and find something else.
One particular night, Levi was curled in his hammock, those same thoughts running through his mind, when he spotted a snow-white owl fly overhead. He watched, in slight awe of the rare sighting, as the owl flew to the window at the top of Cat Tower and tapped at the glass. Levi could tell by the reflection of the moonlight exactly when the window swung open, and kept watching as the owl hopped inside. Despite staying up for almost an hour after that, Levi saw nothing else happen at the tower. The next morning he wondered if he had dreamed the whole thing.
When a whole day passed without an incidence of thievery, Levi wondered what had changed. He went to sleep curious, but couldn’t come up with an answer.
And then the next morning he was woken by a sound he’d never heard before. A loud meowing was coming from beneath him. Levi could hear the demand in that sound, and frowned as he carefully leaned his head over the edge of his hammock, instantly spotting the cat pacing through the grass. It was circling and weaving back and forth, but stopped once it saw Levi's face appear.
“Uh… morning, cat,” Levi greeted, confused but undeniably pleased for the obvious attention. The cat meowed once in reply, bright green eyes fixed on him as usual. “What?” Another meow, louder and longer. “Alright, alright, I’m coming down.” The cat meowed every now and then while waiting for Levi to get up, but went quiet as it watched Levi climb down from his perch.
Once Levi's boots touched the ground, it sauntered closer and looked up at him in what seemed to be anticipation. “I don’t have food for you,” Levi said, trying to make sense of the cat’s new behaviour. The cat made another adorable noise, not quite a meow, and for the umpteenth time, Levi crouched down and held out his hand.
For the first time in almost a week, the cat walked straight over a rubbed its face against his fingers. Levi couldn’t hide his surprised gasp quickly enough.
“So, you’re going to be nice to me now? Not going to be a thief anymore?” he questioned. The cat meowed softly, a slight trill reaching Levi's ears just after it. “That’s ok. I don’t think I want to be a thief anymore either.” The cat turned to face him with an expression Levi couldn’t possibly decipher, but Levi stroked its head and broke the eye contact, sighing gently. He looked over to the tower. “I’ve been wondering something, cat. Who’s taking care of you? Are you all alone? Are you a witches pet?” The cat continued to demand petting, but said nothing. Levi hummed to himself. “I wouldn’t mind if you were, you know, but I’m not so good with people. I haven’t seen anyone around here. Oh, but you had that owl visit that one night, right?”
The cat turned those big eyes on him again, and meowed a few times. Levi smiled. “It’s good that you have friends, I guess. I hear a guy tried to hit you with a hammer, cat. What an asshole.” Levi thought the cat might have nodded at that, but then it was ducking under his hand and walking off in front of him. Even knowing how independent this cat was, Levi couldn’t help but be disappointed at the loss of contact.
“Was it something I said?”
The cat looked over its shoulder at him, and then trotted off to its tower. The brick staircase slid out into place, and then the cat was running up it, pausing every now and then to glance down at Levi. When it got to the top, the sun shone on the key on its collar briefly, before it vanished through the window.
Levi didn’t know what was going on. Distracted, he went about his day without any sign of the cat. He went to the river to wash and fill his waterskin, he took the time to make a fire and have a hot meal for lunch, he organised his belongings despite already having them set out just as he wanted. Cat Tower remained void of activity throughout the day, no matter how often Levi checked. He touched the stone again and saw the glowing message, and thought of how he was brought here by nothing but a story.
Levi went for a walk.
It was close to sunset when he returned to his camp, and he was lost in thought when he climbed the tree and settled into his hammock early. A sudden meow brought him back to the present. Unlike that morning, the meow came from up in the trees with him. Levi whipped his head around to see the cat perched on the sturdy branch that Levi had tied one end of his hammock to.
Without further invitation, the cat picked up something in its mouth and leapt from the branch to land directly on Levi's chest. Levi let out a short huff of air at the impact, but recovered quickly. He was shocked that the cat would come up to see him.
“Hey, cat, what are you—?”
Before Levi could finish, the cat dropped what it was carrying on his chest. And then it made another leap to the branch in front of it, expertly navigated its way to the ground, and hightailed it back to the tower. Speechless, Levi sat up, his hand coming up to hold the cat’s gift. It was a short strip of leather. The collar.
The key.
Levi took a moment to breathe, but then jumped into action. He’d been overthinking everything recently, but this was his step forward. He could solve the mystery of Cat Tower now and ponder the future later. Boots on, he hurried down from his bed and over to the base of the tower, the key clutched tight in one hand. He brushed his free hand over the smooth stone to reveal the tower’s message, and then hesitated. There was no keyhole in sight, and if there was one anywhere else then Levi would have found it on the first day. Clueless, but not giving up, Levi holds the key up in front of him, hoping that it would trigger something.
One second passed. Then two. And on the third, the golden letters started to swirl and condense, until there were only two words left. It was still written in the Old Tongue, so Levi couldn’t read it, but the tower still continued to change so he didn’t have time to dwell on it. The words sparkled and vanished, and then the stones started to slide apart to make a doorway.
Levi was impressed at the display of magic, unused to seeing such feats happen right before his eyes. It was incredible to think that witches were capable of such things, and yet ordinary people shunned them because they were afraid of the unknown. Cautious of being caught by any more moving walls or floors, Levi entered the tower.
The room he walked into was bare, except for a few boxes and miscellaneous items piled by the wall, and although Levi was still unsure if anyone lived in the tower, the space was clean and airy. A stone staircase started on his left, and spiralled clockwise around the tower wall. Levi thought briefly about searching through the boxes – after all, the rumours spoke of priceless treasure – but his priority was finding out what was at the top.
Plus, the cat must be in here somewhere.
Levi climbed the stairs at a steady pace, listening for any suspicious sounds and hearing nothing. The room above the ground floor was very similar, seemingly used only for storage, but wasn’t one big, open area. Half of the room was walled off, and the wooden door that lead to that room was closed. Levi pushed aside his curiosity and continued upwards.
In the third room up, the staircase staggered itself a little to provide more space, and more than half of this room was walled off and hidden behind two closed doors. Levi ignored them. Red-orange sunlight shone through one of the small windows. He was almost there.
The staircase ended on the next level, and Levi was brought face-to-face with a dark-wood door with black iron hinges. He thought that he might have to use his borrowed key here again, but the doorknob had no keyhole underneath it, so Levi assumed there was no lock. Determined, he took a deep breath, and decided to knock.
“You can come in,” called a masculine voice on the other side. Levi hesitated for a moment, not expecting such a prompt reply, or even another human being, but then he reached for the doorknob and pushed the door open.
The first thing Levi noticed was the large window on the opposite wall from where he was standing, open to let air in. He’d made it to the top of the tower, and he knew that if he walked over and looked out, there would be an amazing view of the forest, and he would be able to see the spot where he’d made camp. This room was completely open and full of light, even at this time of day, and Levi could see that it was a multipurpose space.
Closest to him was a kitchen area with lots of shelves and cupboards and a small dining table with four chairs. Another area housed a bookshelf and a large oak desk with many drawers and space for various items. Books were spread on its surface, some open and some closed. The middle of the room was bare of actual furniture, but the floor was covered in a deep red, circular rug, and a few pillows had been placed on top of it. Much of the free space in the room was filled with plants, in big pots and small pots and even hanging from the wooden ceiling, species and varieties that Levi knew weren’t common because he’d never seen them in his life. There was a ladder on the wall to Levi's left that lead up to a trapdoor and a final attic room, and a creeper plant was growing up one side of it. Close to that was a huge comfortable-looking sofa, one that must’ve been custom made to fit the curve of the wall, and just on its other side was an armchair of similar style.
And in that armchair sat a teenage boy.
Levi's first impression was that he fit the room perfectly. The slight clutter and the effect of all the flora gave the whole space a barely-tamed feel, and the boy only added to that. He had thick, dark brown hair, longer and shaggier than Levi's but still parted neatly to show his forehead. He wore dark trousers and a long-sleeved top with a stretched, wide neckline that made his collarbones visible. His feet were bare. And by far his most interesting feature was his eyes; deep green and unwavering.
“Hello,” the boy said, tone polite and posture relaxed.
“Hello,” Levi repeated stiffly, having no idea what was going on.
“So, the cat gave you the key, huh?” The boy tilted his head slightly, questioning, and glanced down at Levi's hand. Levi held his hand up in front of him, the key resting on his palm. He frowned at it.
“Yes,” he said simply, wary of the conversation and where it might lead. The boy hummed.
“So the cat likes you. And you like cats. Don’t people give you trouble for that?” Levi thought over the words and his answer.
“I do like cats. And I can handle trouble, but people know not to bother me.” The boy smiled widely at this. “Where is your cat, now that you mention it?”
His question went ignored. “The cat knew from the second it saw you that you hadn’t got the magic touch.” Levi was about to make a remark about nimble fingers, but the boy continued. “Magic has touched you, however.” His green eyes narrowed as he ran his gaze over Levi's body, curious. Levi couldn’t hold back the slight shudder he felt at the mere thought of Hanji making physical contact with him, but made no word to deny the statement. The boy blinked slowly. There was a moment of silence. “You’re interesting.”
“I could say the same about you,” Levi replied.
“Ah, so you know what I am,” he said, tapping his fingers on the armrest.
“Kid, you live in a magic tower in the woods with a cat. You’re not exactly being subtle.” The witch’s eyes went wide, and then he burst into laughter, shaking his head and leaning back further into the cushions. Levi felt awkward standing in his home, but part of him was glad to finally get a positive reaction from the boy. Tension bled out of his back and shoulders.
The witch boy eventually got himself under control, the last of his laughter muffled behind one hand. He grinned and stood up from his seat – he was taller than Levi by a few inches too, he realised – and motioned for Levi to come further in.
“Sorry, I knew you were funny but that just caught me off guard.” Levi paused in the centre of the room.
“What do you mean you knew I was funny?” Only Hanji had ever described him as such, and if this continued he’d start thinking it was a thing with witch humour. “Have you been watching me?” The boy went quiet at this. He scratched the back of his head and looked off to the side. Because of that, Levi didn’t get caught staring at the blush that has risen on the boy’s cheeks.
“Well, I mean, not watching you. Um, the… the cat told me.” He ended the last sentence with such inflection that it mostly comes out as question, but Levi had no time to ask about it. The boy waved a hand dismissively and hurried on. “So, uh, I guess I should introduce myself.” He took a step forward but paused when he noticed he no longer had Levi's full attention. “What?”
It was just as he asked the question that an owl alighted on the windowsill, folding its wings in one fluid motion. Perched there silently, it looked between Levi and the witch boy with a slow swivel of its head. Levi's mind was only just catching up to its sudden appearance, and the fact that he had seen this white owl before, when it took a step forward and hopped into the tower room.
When the bird’s feet hit the stone floor it was no longer a bird, but a boy with long blonde hair and blue-black robes. A witch. A shifter. Levi never thought he’d see one in his entire life. That particular kind of magic was rumoured to be a lost art, and when it was around it had been rare and apparently incredibly difficult to master. Levi's brain helpfully supplied this knowledge in Hanji's annoying voice, their words coming back despite his best efforts to block them out. He was well aware that they had a keen interest in the subject, but Hanji couldn’t perform it even after reading piles of books. Apparently you couldn’t learn it from text. Shifting had to be taught by a shifter.
The blonde adjusted the white shirt collar peeking out from under his cloak, and then fixed the brunette with a disapproving look.
“Eren, what are you doing?” he asked flatly, glancing at Levi without changing his expression. “Mikasa is visiting today, I hope you remember, and just because she let you move out here alone doesn’t mean she’ll be happy to find you messing around.” The brunette, Eren as Levi now knows, sighed lightly.
“I’m not,” Eren replied with a smile, obviously ignoring the other witch’s scolding. “Let me introduce you to… um…”
“Levi,” Levi said.
“Yes, Levi.” Eren cleared his throat. His blush was still making his cheeks red. “Levi, this is Armin, my best friend.” Armin narrowed his eyes at Eren's dismissal, and gave Levi a suspicious look.
“A pleasure to meet you,” he said, his tone leaning towards polite but not quite reaching it. There was a pause, and then Levi brought his hands in front of his chest, putting his fingertips together with his fingers spread, and bowed slightly. A typical witch’s greeting. Levi had never been the kind of person to bother with or pride himself on being polite, but things were different when facing a strange new witch. He looked up to find Armin's eyebrows raised, his surprise clear, but there was no hesitation when the boy greeted him back. When the witch did it, the space between his hands started to glow pale blue the moment they touched; it was a part of the greeting that Levi couldn’t copy. Hanji always made red sparks fly, and he never knew the magic was personal to the witch.
Armin smoothed out his expression when he lifted his head. “Well, I know Eren didn’t teach you that. I look forward to hearing more about you, Levi,” he said, much happier. Levi simply nodded, following the conversation but unable to see where it was leading him once again. Eren was beaming at him, obviously impressed. Levi looked away again. The day just kept getting weirder and weirder.
“I can’t believe you ruined my introduction, Armin. What do you want?” There was no real irritation in Eren's voice, but he did punch Armin lightly in the shoulder. Armin threw a punch back, and then reached an arm into his cloak and pulled out a small pouch. Levi could tell that the little bag was filled with something much smaller than coins, yet Eren's eyes went wide and he fixated on the pouch instantly. “Is that…”
“Yes, indeed. I went out of my way to you-know-where to get you-know-what for you,” Armin replied, smirking as he held the drawstring pouch out of Eren's reach. Since Armin was shorter than Levi, this meant he soon had to jump up on the sofa in order to hold it high enough.
“Armin, come on, give it!” Eren whined, grabbing at Armin's robes and tugging at his arm.
“Well since you’re being so mean and punching me maybe I’ll keep it for another time.”
“You already punched me back, so come on.”
“No,” Armin laughed, obviously enjoying himself.
Levi watched them scuffle over the mystery item, his confusion reaching new heights. Armin was now on the arm of the sofa, and Eren was jumping and swiping at the pouch in an attempt to take it for himself. The action reminded him of the brown cat snatching some food from him earlier in the week. It was so similar that Levi almost laughed.
What came out of his mouth was a different sound, however, since he’d just spotted a tail flicking against Eren's legs. A brown tail with dark bands and a pure white tip. But the tail wasn’t attached to the cat Levi had been looking for. Instead, that tail disappeared under the hem of Eren's loose shirt. Both witches stopped their playing and turned to Levi, who could hardly take his eyes off Eren's new, fuzzy appendage.
“Ah, oops. The cat’s out of the bag,” Armin said, biting his lip and looking very unapologetic. Levi tore his eyes away to see Eren staring at him, and noticed a change there too. Eren's pupils had become slits. There was an awkward moment where none of them know quite what to do, and then Eren whirled around to face his friend.
“Armin! You ruined my big reveal!” he yelled. His tail lashed angrily behind him. Seeing it now, and knowing that Armin could turn into an owl, Levi didn’t understand why he hadn’t realised the truth sooner. Then, Levi hit another realisation. He’d been talking to a cat that wasn’t a cat all week.
With all the embarrassing things that he’d said and done to that cat, to Eren, rushing to the forefront of his mind, Levi turned and walked to the kitchen table, pulling out a chair and dropping heavily into it. Head in his hands, he tuned out the argument that had come to life again behind him.
A week ago, he’d set out to solve the mystery of Cat Tower. He thought it would be easy, and that he could satisfy his curiosity and carry on with his life afterwards. But Eren was a whole new mystery, one that he’d stumbled upon completely by accident, and that was a much more curious thing.