Petra Ral

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

Appearance
Petra was a relatively short woman. In the manga, she is portrayed with blonde hair and blue eyes. However, in the anime, she had light ginger hair and amber eyes.

Personality
Petra looked up to Levi as a captain and cared deeply for her team, though was notably at odds with Oluo.

Petra was kind and caring, as shown when she looked after and guided Eren when he was first admitted to the squad. She seemed to have acted as some sort of attachment figure for Eren among Levi's Squad as she was the one shown to worry about him. Although all of Levi's squad wished (and demanded, to an extent) Eren's unconditional trust, it was ultimately Petra who convinced him to do so.

She also showed the most remorse over her reaction to Eren's accidental transformation. Along with her comrades, she had bit her hand just like Eren, signifying that they had established a close bond.

Battle of Trost District arc
Petra was first introduced during an expedition outside Wall Rose, tending to a critically injured soldier. When she was unable to stop the bleeding, she helped Levi comfort the dying youth and mourned his death.

The Female Titan arc
She was later selected to become a member of the Special Operations Squad and ordered to guard Eren Yeager. It was established that she greatly admired Levi, and argued frequently with Oluo Bozado 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 accepted him afterwards. She was the first of the group to bite her hand in imitation of Eren's method of transforming, and notes that doing so was actually quite painful. She served as a gentle, almost maternal presence within the squad and discussed with Eren the importance of trusting one's comrades completely.

When the Female Titan began her attack on the 57th Expedition, Petra was one of those most vocal about Eren avoiding battle. She repeatedly begged 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 Survey Corps to successfully capture the Female Titan in a trap. Afterwards, the Special Operations Squad was ordered to standby while efforts were made to capture the human within the Female Titan. However, the operation ended in failure when the Female Titan used a scream to summon other Titans to her position and was devoured by them.

Afterwards, the squad began to retreat back to their horses, when a flare led them off-course. They were then ambushed by a person later revealed to be Annie Leonhart, who murdered Gunther Schultz before transforming back into her Titan form. Eren was ordered to flee while the surviving squad members engaged the Titan in battle. Petra and the others initially had the upper hand since they blinded the Female Titan and crippled both her arms. But when Petra and Eld Jinn moved in for the kill, the Titan suddenly regenerated a single eye and killed Eld.

Paralyzed from the shock, and despite Oluo's pleas, Petra was unable to react in time to the Female Titan's attack, which broke her spine and splattered her against a tree. During the Survey Corps' return from the expedition, the surviving soldiers were being chased by Titans and in order to escape, Levi ordered 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 was disposed of was Petra's, whom Levi was watching over.

Her father came to greet her when the troops returned, he appeared to be nervous and tense when approaching Levi (presumably because he had yet to catch sight of her). He revealed that Petra wrote to him constantly, saying that she had great pride in being selected as a member of the Special Operations Squad. The contents of her letters suggest she may have been overly eager to excel in her career as a soldier, and this leads her father to express worry over his daughter's safety. He implied that he wished for her to settle down and get married, though he admitted that she was still too young for a serious relationship. Levi listened to him in silence with a vacant, mortified expression on his face.

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

Relationships

 * Levi: Petra expressed great admiration for her commanding officer, and criticized Oluo for imitating him. She noted that many people are surprised upon actually meeting him, and admitted that he doesn't live up to the legend of Humanity's Strongest due to his many personality quirks and flaws. Her relationship with him is portrayed somewhat differently between the manga and the anime adaptation. In the manga, it was revealed after her death that she wrote to her father about her wish to live up to Levi's expectations and dedicate herself to her career. Her father expressed his worry over her safety to Levi, as well as his disappointment that she did not seem to want to marry, despite acknowledging that she was still too young. In the anime however, she declared her intention to devote her life to Levi in their correspondence.


 * Eren Yeager: Initially, she was uneasy around him and drew 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 asked him to place his trust completely in his comrades and wished for him to believe in her. Petra's death deeply affected Eren.


 * Oluo Bozado: Petra and Oluo were frequently at odds, often bickering with each other. She was highly critical of his attempts to imitate Levi, and demanded that he stop. She also stated that he should bite his tongue off and die. However, beneath this seeming-hostility was a strong bond of trust born from their many missions together. He also told Petra, "You're still ways to go to be fitting for my wife." His horror after her death, and attempts to mimic the man she admired hints that he may have harbored feelings for her.


 * Eld Jinn and Gunther Schultz: As comrades, she had great faith in them and cared deeply for them. She was enraged after Gunther was murdered, and repeatedly challenged the Female Titan while swearing revenge. Eld's death similarly shook her and caused her to panic, which eventually led to her death.

Trivia

 * Petra was the only female in the original Special Operations Squad led by Levi.
 * Her name is Greek in origin, written "Πέτρα" and meaning "rock" or "stone". It's also the name of an ancient city in the region that is now Jordan.
 * According to Eld, Petra cried and soiled herself during her first Survey Corps expedition.

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