Petra Ral

Petra Ral (ペトラ・ラル) was a hand-picked soldier from the Scouting Legion by Levi in the Special Operations Squad.

Personality
She looks up to Levi as a captain and cares strongly for her team, though notably at odds with Auruo.

Petra is kind and caring, as shown when she looks after and guides Eren when he is first admitted to the squad and seems to have acted as some sort of attachment figure for Eren among Levi's Squad as she is the one shown to worry most about him as well as wishing he would rely and trust her and the others, and it is ultimately her who had managed Eren to do so. Whatever the case, Petra's words had a major impact on Eren. It should also be of note that the biggest reaction from Eren over the deaths of the Squad was in regards to her.

She also showed the most remorse over the reaction of Eren's accidental transformation.

Petra: "We're sorry Eren. We got scared and did something stupid and you must be disappointed in us."

Along with her comrades, she had bit her hand just like Eren, signifying that they had established a bond which was proven as very strong as Eren was shown to have been deeply hurt over their deaths and blaming himself for it.

Story
Petra is first introduced during an expedition outside Wall Rose, tending to a mortally wounded soldier. When she was unable to stop the bleeding, she helped Levi comfort the dying youth and wept openly at his death.

She is later selected to become a member of the Special Operations Squad and ordered to guard Eren Yeager. It is established that she greatly admires Levi, and argues frequently with Auruo Bossard over his imitation of their commander and his harsh behavior.

While initially wary of Eren and quick to draw her swords when he transformed by accident, she readily accepts him afterwards. She is the first of the group to bite her hand in imitation of Eren's method of transforming, and notes that doing so is actually quite painful. She serves as a gentle, almost maternal presence within the squad and discusses with Eren the importance of trusting one's comrades completely.

When the Female Titan begins her attack on the 57th Expedition, Petra is one of those most vocal about Eren avoiding battle. She repeatedly begs him to trust in his commanders and comrades, and accept the sacrifices of others so that the mission can continue. Eren eventually makes the decision to follow her advice, allowing the Scouting Legion to successfully capture the Female Titan in a trap. Afterwards, the Special Operations Squad is ordered to standby while efforts are made to capture the human within the Female Titan. However, the operation ends in failure when the Female Titan uses a scream to summon other Titans to her position and is devoured by them.

Afterwards, the squad begins to retreat back to their horses, when a flare leads them off-course. They are then ambushed by a person later revealed to be Annie Leonhardt, who murders Gunter Shulz before transforming back into her Titan form. Eren is ordered to flee while the surviving squad members engage the Titan in battle. Petra and the others initially seem to have the upper hand, first blinding the Female Titan before crippling both her arms. But when Petra and Erd Gin move in for the kill, the Titan suddenly regenerates a single eye and kills Erd.

Death
Paralyzed from the shock, and despite Auruo's pleas, Petra is unable to react in time to the Female Titan's attack, which breaks her spine and splatters her against a tree. In the anime when the Scouting Legion is returning home from the expedition, the surviving soldiers are being chased by Titans and in order to escape, Levi orders the troops to abandon the bodies of the deceased so that the weight would be lifted off from the wagons. One of the bodies that were disposed of was Petra's, whom Levi was watching over.

Her father comes to greet her when the troops return, briefly stopping to speak with Levi about his daughter. He reveals that she wrote to him constantly, and that she had great pride in being selected as a member of the Special Operations Squad. The words full of admiration toward Levi she wrote in her letters, bring her father to want to marry her off to Levi in the future, expressing concern that at the moment she is still too young for a serious relationship and that she had the whole life ahead of her for that. Levi remains silent throughout the conversation and it's not shown when Mr. Ral was informed about his daughter's death.

Abilities
She was a skilled and experienced warrior and had a high kill record of Titan kills (58 Titan killed, 48 in team and 10 in solo), being the highest known in the series so far.

Relationships

 * Levi: Petra expresses great admiration for her commanding officer, and criticizes Auruo for imitating him. She notes that many people are surprised upon actually meeting him, and admits that he doesn't live up to the legend of Humanity's Strongest due to his many personality quirks and flaws. Shortly after her death, it is revealed that she wrote to her father saying how prideful she was to have been choice by Levi to be a member of his squad and declaring her intention to 'devote' her life to him. It is unclear if said 'devotion' implied romantic feelings or it was just hero worship. It was hinted that her father was eventually interested in a marriage between her and Levi thinking of him as a good match but worrying that at the moment she was still too young for him to insist she gets married.


 * Eren Yeager: Initially, she is uneasy around him and draws her swords on him when he accidentally transforms. However, after learning that it was a mistake she apologizes for her behavior and bites her own hand to acknowledge him as a comrade. She quickly takes him under her wing, and acts as an almost maternal figure during his month with the Special Operations Squad. During the mission in the forest, she repeatedly asks him to place his trust completely in his comrades and wishes for him to believe in her.


 * Auruo Bossard: They have an antagonistic relationship, often bickering with each other. She is highly critical of his attempts to imitate Levi, demanding that he stop and stating he should bite his tongue off and die. However, beneath this seeming-hostility is a strong bond of trust, born from their many missions together. His horror after her death, and attempts to mimic the man she idealized, have led to speculation that he may have had feelings for her.


 * Erd Gin and Gunter Shulz: As comrades, she has great faith in them and cares deeply for them. She is enraged after Gunter is murdered, and repeatedly challenges the Female Titan while swearing revenge. Erd's death similarly shakes her, causing her to panic and leading to her death.

Trivia

 * Petra is the only female in the Special Operations Squad led by Levi.
 * Her name is Greek in origin, meaning "rock" or "stone" and is also the name of an ancient city in the region that is now Jordan.