Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/1425616.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Choose_Not_To_Use_Archive_Warnings, Underage, Graphic_Depictions_Of
      Violence
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Shingeki_no_Kyojin_|_Attack_on_Titan
  Relationship:
      Levi/Eren_Yeager
  Character:
      Levi, Eren_Jeager, Mikasa_Ackerman, Armin_Arlert, Hange_Zoë, Erwin_Smith
  Additional Tags:
      Demons, Demon_Hunters, Weapons, Rules, demonic_abilities, Pacts, forced
      surrender, Blood, levi_pov, Betrayal, Trust_Issues, Eren's_a_dick_for_a
      while, Hunter_Eren, Demon_Levi, Internal_Conflict, Death, possible
      character_deaths, Slight_Suicide_References, Levi_thinks_too_much_for_his
      own_good, future_smut, Slow_Build, slight_dubcon
  Stats:
      Published: 2014-04-10 Updated: 2015-10-02 Chapters: 8/? Words: 51833
****** My Demon's Fate ******
by InfiniteSoul
Summary
     Being a demon had never been easy. But meeting a human hunter with
     the ability to match him move for move was the most interesting thing
     Levi had ever come to witness.
     It would also be the thing he would come to regret the most.
Notes
     I'm probably going to regret posting this. But it was an idea I had,
     and I really had to get it out. Its mostly a release from my other
     Fic, because I was lacking motivation and needed an outlet of sorts.
     Oh well. Please let me know if there's any mistakes, including
     grammer. Please also let me know what you think!
     This will probably be around 11 to 16 chapters long if people like
     it. Updates might also be pretty slow. . .
***** Chapter 1 *****
My hands sunk into the soft flesh beneath me, digging into the corpse of the
creature that had once been a human. With an enraged growl, I picked him up and
flung him off the branch he had followed me to, watching his body disappear as
it fell towards the ground. My teeth gnashed together, a horrible sound
escaping my lips as a monstrous snarl echoed through the trees. My eyes
flashed, seeking out any other that dared to face me within the darkened
forest.
I had the advantage in the dark. The humans did not. They were simply stupid
thinking they could kill me at this time. I did not want to fight them, but I
knew I had to if I wanted to live to see the sun this coming morning. But I did
not really want to live. So why did I fight so hard? Maybe I just enjoyed
seeing the blood from my prey, those who were foolish enough to try and think
that could strike me down. Fools. All of them. For them to come again and
again, never once learning that I only spared the ones who were too weak to
fight or were wise enough to surrender. The brave ones always died. But it's
not my fault. It's theirs.
A sudden branch snapped somewhere to my right, and my head swiveled around to
detect where the sound had come from. I narrowed my eyes, my hand tightening on
the flat bladed sword I carried with me as I jumped down several branches,
seeking out the human intruder that had thought it was a smart idea to invade
my territory. It, in fact, was not smart, at least not on their part. It was
smart for me, because it meant one less hunter to deal with. If I killed
enough, I might not have to worry about them for a few weeks, at most. The
times I had only killed one or two, they had come back only after a number of
days in order to hunt me down again. But I was no fool when it came to prey and
predator.
A demon's natural instinct is to fight, the taste of blood pushing us on,
making us want to kill, to feed, to hurt, to cause pain, even to ourselves in
order to achieve we want. To feel the tear of skin breaking out on fangs and
claws, swords and weapons. To see the terrified face of our prey as we devour
the very skin they live in, rip it apart, and break them, bone by brittle bone
until nothing remains but lifeless eyes and a bloodied corpse.
We are monsters. There is no other word for it. I've tried to find one, but
nothing ever came close. We are simply monsters.
Demons.
I stopped, glaring down at the form of a lone human as they slowly wandered the
forest, a useless sword in their hands as they cowered back from every shadow
that even trembled. I narrowed my eyes, tipping my head to the side as I
watched the helpless creature. The smell of fear reached my nose, even though I
was a good two hundred feet above him. I did not understand. Why go into the
heart of the enemy, alone and without a companion, your fear giving you away,
and still hope to defeat the one thing that was impossible to kill.
Me.
The human continued on, and I figured I might as well confront him. Perhaps
this one could be reasoned with.
I jumped down from my perch on the branch, my body dropping to the ground with
increasing speed, but when I landed, I hardly made a sound. The human’s senses
were sharp though, and I saw them gasp and take up a defensive stance as I
landed. This human had acute senses, I realized, suddenly wondering if I’d made
a regrettable mistake. I've seen the humans with sharp sense act as bait to
lure a demon out of hiding so that the rest of their team could strike it and
bring it down. They had tried it once before on me, but none had made it out of
that fight alive.
So I waited. I followed the human man through the brambled forest, searching
for any other signs of his comrades. I found nothing. Clenching my sword, I
stepped out into the humans sight, letting the moonlight soak my skin and hair.
Believe it or not, I actually look rather human. The only difference is that my
skin is not tan like theirs, but is instead very pale, light layers of silver
atop it, basically making me glow. It typically has a very alluring aspect on
the humans that hunt me, and I am never sure why. They all get this strange,
almost allured look on their face upon seeing me, and this man is no different.
I stop, tipping my head to the side at his reaction, waiting for him to say or
do something. I have clearly made it my intention to not harm him. It is up to
him whether or not this fight will need to happen.
The human jumped back and gripping his weapon to him, his face full of terror
as he was about to let out a blood curling scream, before he stopped, staring
at me with an utterly shocked expression.
I said nothing. This is what always happens. Their fear soon turns to surprise
when they first take in my appearance. How human-like I appear to them, but my
slight silver skin making them realize something I have not been able to quite
understand yet. It's always very confusing. Then their faces turn dark, and the
ones who claim to be courageous take up their swords and prepare to fight.
Humans are strange. They never state what they think or feel, except
occasionally saying that I was going to die and they were going to kill me and
all that ridiculous shit.
Humans are also stupid. Without carefully sizing up an opponent, and refusing
to surrender although the enemy is much stronger than them. They attack
anyways, and step right onto deaths door. But I have often been accused among
my kind of being soft. The others ask why I give the humans a chance, why I
give each and everyone of them another chance at life. A chance to stop, turn
around, and forget about my existence. Very few have taken that path.
Regardless, I feel contempt when they do.
Life should not be cut short before its due time. To take the life of a human,
or even a worthy demon, is meaningless. Neither side gains anything in killing
those who can communicate with others and avoid conflict. What is truley lost,
is the possibility of saving lives. To gain protection from each other. Pacts
could even be made among the strong. But humans have pushed us far enough to
the point that even those who don't seek conflict, such as myself, are forced
into it to protect their own lives and covens. The number of lives lost
continue to increase each day.
The human has not shifted from his allured state of staring. If anything, he
appears cautious, guard up but eyes questioning. I blink once. I do not believe
this life will have to be taken, and for that, although I crave to see the
blood in his shell, I am grateful.
I keep my flat sword gripped tightly in my hand, but do not raise it, meeting
the human's gaze with my own. The last traces of red are leaving them, due from
my fight with the last human I had encountered. Good. "Human," I begin,
watching for any signs of change from him. "I do not wish to fight with you. If
you want to return home again, I suggest you leave this place immediately. I
will not hesitate to kill you if you have the intention of doing the same to
me. Leave now, and I will spare you."
The human's mouth and eyes widened in shock. My guess was that he was surprised
that I was willing to let him leave without bloodshed. Very few of my kind did.
I myself only knew of a select handful, and could count each of them on one
hand alone.
"You. . . Don't want to fight me?"
I stared at him.
The human kept my gaze, and I briefly noticed the faint traces of freckles on
his cheeks, thinking he looked more like an innocent boy than a man. The boy
nodded. "Alright, I'll leave. Thank you. . . Demon?- for your kindness."
My own eyes widened in surprise. No Human had even called me kind before. No
human have ever thanked me for letting them live either. I think I liked this
kid. He had my respect at least. But I did not answer him upon him basically
asking my name. No human could ever know that if I did not trust them. And I
did not trust him. Respect is one thing. Trust is another.
I nodded once. "Now go."
The boy nodded, turned, and left, checking over his shoulder every so often,
probably to make sure I hadn't tricked him in order to get him to show his back
to me. I snorted upon seeing that. It was not within my nature to do something
so cowardly. The thought made me laugh, really. I took a step back, and once
the boy was out of my sight, I turned to leave, staying to the shadows as I
sought out the remaining humans. I could still taste the blood on my teeth from
my previous fight, feel it on my fingertips. I shivered, wiping off as much as
I could on a moss covered tree, wrinkling my nose at the disgusting color it
let behind. I had given the human man a chance to turn away, but blind with
fear, he had fought anyways, trying to strike me from behind.
Apparently, playing the coward was well within a human's nature.
A sound ripped from the tree's behind me. I turned, anger igniting my senses as
another human burst from the coverage and barreled towards me, two long rapier-
like weapons in his hands.
I growled, a snarl pushing past my lips in a harsh warning, raising my own
weapon as I prepared to fight. The male human looked enraged, anger clear on
his face as he moved towards me. He made no intention of stopping to talk, and
I knew that this would have to be another life I would have to take.
I did not like taking human life. That is why I gave each of them a chance to
surrender.
The human narrowed his eyes, surprising me when an animalistic snarl broke on
his face, mirroring mine.
It was all the time he needed.
He swung one of his rapiers through the air, aiming for my chest. I hadn't even
realized how close he'd gotten in mere seconds. It left me angry and confused.
I stepped back at just the right moment, barely moving out of range of his
swing. The young human advanced still, slashing his other rapier through the
air with precision as he aimed for my side this time. I didn't have enough time
to move out of the way this time, and his blade dug into the skin on my arm. A
hiss left my lips, my teeth growing sharper as I felt my demonic power expand
inside my body, already responding to the flesh wound. Red swarmed my typically
grey irisis, muscles tightening as I felt my strength building up. The next
time the human moved to strike, I was ready. One of his blades swung through
the air, hoping to catch me off guard, but I side-stepped and swung my own
sword up, small white lines running over my silver skin and muscles as I
forcefully swung my own sword up to meet his.
The human's eyes widened in surprise at the force behind my blow, but it was
much to my surprise that he even managed to keep ahold of his weapon. I knew I
had used enough strength to send the kid into the nearest tree, if I had
decided to strike him instead. The fact that his arm was still intact and the
rapier still firmly gripped in his hand made me realize that this could
potentially be the best fight I might ever get the chance to have. I sly smirk
filled out on my lips. There was no was in hell I'd pass up a chance like this.
Not when the human who moved to strike again was alreasdy much stronger than
any other human I had ever faced before.
His golden eyes narrowed, meeting my slightly red ones, as he moved in towards
me. I took up a loose fighting stance, my flat sword pointing towards the
ground, arms at my side. I could tell that my relaxed stance confused him, but
I also saw it spark a deep anger inside the human boy. Good. Make this worth my
while. If you don't, I will not ask you if you would preffer to run and defy
death.
Adrenaline shot through my veins in excitment, and the human swung one of his
rapiers, to which I blocked, but used his other to attack me again while the
first one came back to defend his chest. I had to step away now, striking his
thin sword with my flat one as white lines filled out over my body again, power
coursing through me as I attempted once more to knock the sword from his grip.
Instead, he kept his strong grip on his weapon and used the momentum from my
blow to swing around once, coming back to strike me with both swords. My eyes
widened with a crazy thrill, now letting thin black lines pulse through my skin
as I moved out of reach of his blow in the blink of an eye. But somehow, the
man knew where I would end up, and with a roar of frustration, he tipped the
edges of his rapiers to the side and they connected with my chest. Shock was
evident on my face as I looked down at the two gashes adorning my abdomen. I
couldn't remember the last time I had been struck without fully expecting or
wanting it. I glanced up to the human, who now stood, and he stared back at me
with rage contorting his face. I tipped my head to the side slowly, for more
than one reason. For one, it was still not clear why he had decided to attack
me. Another, was how he managed to fight against me as no one else had ever
before. It was an understatement to say it took a toll on my pride, but
nevertheless I was intruiged. I wanted to know more.
The human crouched down, baring his teeth as he readied to launch himself at
me, but I took a step away, my sword hanging from my side furthest away from
him. He paused in confusion. I decided it was either now or never.
"Why are you here?" I asked, my voice low, seductive almost. "You. . . are not
a normal human."
He seemed momentarily stunned by my questions, but he soon regained his
composure and snarled, "We were sent here to kill you. All S-class demons need
to be annialated so we no longer need to live in fear." He paused his face
twisting into an even uglier expression. "And you killed Thomas." He lunged
forward, and I let both the black and white lines emerge, clashing my sword
with his so forcefully that his stance shattered and I was able to deliver a
kick across his face, sending him sprawling into the dirt. I had no idea what
an "S-class demon" was, but I figured since he'd directed his words at me, I
must be one of them. I wasn't going to waste my breath and ask what that meant
though. Fighting this kid was just too entertaining, too thrilling, too
challenging.
I stepped towards him, careful to keep my guard up in case he tried something
else. I wasn't too fond of using sneak attacks myself, but humans favored them
relentlessly. There was no way I was going to take any risks with a kid who
could fight this good. To even still be alive at this point was a feat in
itself. New record for the humans.
He watched as I approached, holding a hand to his nose as blood dripped through
his fingers. He looked pissed. Beyond pissed. His golden eyes quivered, like an
unseen power dwelled within them. It made my pulse race. Made my eyes widen
with crazed excitment. His narrowed in disgust.
"This is why demon's must be killed. You all crave the feeling of battle and
bloodshed. None of you strive to even negotiate with us-"
"Excuse me you fucking brat, watch what you say before you start spouting
useless shit." He blinked in surprise, opening his mouth as he stood, but I cut
him off before he could say anything. "While it may be true that most demons
seek battle, there are many that do not. I for one, do not care for killing, or
even fighting." The kid's eyes threw accusing daggers at me, looking ready to
say something again. I cut him off. Again. (Just shut the fuck up and listen,
stupid brat.)
"I give every human I come into contact with, with the intentions to fight me,
a chance to leave. If they continue to pursue their own death, they stay, and I
end their miserable lives. But you-" I pointed my sword at him. "-are the first
one that has ever been able to stand against me. It's fun, really."
The boys mouth gaped open. He had seemed somewhat disbelieving at first, but
now he was shocked to the point beyond words. I thought of this whole fight as
a game. He knew that now.
"You. . . treat this-. Treat me, as nothing more than something for your
entertainment?" He dug his fingers into the skin where his hand still clutched
at his face, his shoulders shaking visably, the flashes of gold brightening in
his mysterious eyes. "Fine. You want some fun? I'll give you some fun," he
snarled, finally pulling his hand away to reveal himself.
My eyes widened.
With the kick I'd given him and the blood that had been seeping through his
fingers was enough to tell me that I had managed to break his nose. But now,
looking at him, it was clear I was not fighting any ordinary, weak human.
His nose was no longer broken. It had been healed, all by itself. And by the
sly smirk that the kid gave me, I already knew how this battle was going to
end. It made my heart beat faster, made my fingers and toes curl, made me lick
my lips in anticipation. Hell, my mind even clouded over in ecstacy.
I was going to die.
The human lunged towards me, his arms flung back and chest wide open. I moved
my sword up, aiming to split his chest in two, white lines coursing over my
body, but he used one of his rapiers to knock it down and dig it into the
earth, successfully trapping it there. Stunned by momentary shock, I was a
second too late as I glanced up to meet my rival's face.
His weapon dug into my flesh, sinking in deep and deeper, wonderful pain and
the promise of death screaming through my head.
I felt something break through the skin in my back from the inside. A small
gasp escaped my lips, pain evident on my face as I stared into two beautiful
golden pools, animosity clear within their depths. Somehow I had landed on my
back, the human's rapier sticking out of the middle of my chest and effectively
trapping me to the ground. A contempt sigh left my lips as he stepped back,
watching me with careful eyes. This wouldn't be enough to kill me, both of us
knew that, but he had another sword at his side, ready to deliver the final
blow. I watched him, waiting.
He blinked down at me, something in his expression suddenly changing.
He did nothing.
My brow furrowed, my breath coming out slow and shallow. "What are you waiting
for? End it. I killed your friend, didn't I? Do it. Kill me." If I hadn't been
so desperate for this, I would've beaten the shit out of myself for how
desperate I sounded. Huh. Ironic.
Momentary anger resurfaced, his jaw clenching, but he refused to budge. He
leaned down next to me head and extended his hand to lightly brush the side of
my face. I automaticaly let out a defensive growl, but it ended up sounding
more like a whine then anything else. He traced the thin black and white lines
that were quickly receading from my skin, a pensive look in his eyes. I was too
weak to really do much, so I let him do as he pleased. When he turned to
finally look me in the eye, he seemed to have come to a conclusion. I had a
feeling I wouldn't like it.
"No."
I stared at him blankly.
No? What the hell was he talking about?
"No," he said again. "I will not kill you."
This kid was fucking stupid. He didn't make any sense. I was going to kick the
shit out of him, that insensitive little prick.
"Why?"
He paused, pulling his hand away to grip the blade that stuck out of my chest.
"Make a pact with me instead."
Yep, he was stupid. Fuck him and his hopeful little face.
"No. Either let me go, or get it over with and kill me all-fucking ready."
His brows pulled together in frustration and he gripped the blade harder, a
trail of blood traveling down the rapiers blade and towards my open wound from
how hard he grasped it. "No, I told you, I'm not going to kill you. and Im not
letting you go, either. Form a pact with me. I won't ask again, demon."
Well fuck you too asshole.
"No."
He sighed, watching as his blood finally touched the skin of my wound and
blended in with mine. I narrowed my eyes, understanding finally dawning on me.
He wouldn't. . .
"Fine, then." He stood, raising his bloodied hand to grip the hilt of the
weapon sticking out of me, pulling it out. I tried to move, to do anything to
get away, but I was too weak, and he was too fast. His blade swung down and
slashed against my chest, words unknown to me spilling from his lips as he
continued to create a bloodied symbol on my body.
My screams were so loud that my ears began to ring from the sound. The pain
searing into my skin with each strike was like spilling acid onto my skin. My
eyes rolled back into my head, my head hitting the forest floor as my body
slighty convulsed. The human kept speaking as he struck me, over and over and
over. When he finally stopped, he placed his bloodied hand in the center of the
symbol he had made, mixing our blood together with a loud hiss escaping from
the both of us. Smoke drifted off the top of his hand, and I watched him wince
through pain filled eyes as he continued to chant some hunter verse out loud.
After what felt like hours, he finally pulled away and fell silent. His skin
was healed, save for an outlined, light black wing. I glanced down to view my
chest, despair drowning my heart. An outlined black wing was on sitting there
on my chest as well, blood surrounding its form from when he had cut me.
I was so shocked that I didn't even know how to react. The human managed to
recover faster.
"Since you refused to form pact with me, I performed a binding spell to bind
you to me instead," he said, his golden eyes suddenly dimming in color, much to
my confusion.
I stared at him. He stared back. I glanced at the weapons he held in his hands.
Those would be useless against me now. Even his hands could no longer. . .
I lunged at him with every ounce of strength I had left, swinging my fist and
aiming for him face. Much to my dismay, when my knuckles had been only an inch
from my target, they were pushed back, deflecting themselves away from him. I
tried again. The same thing happened. I clutched my head, my nails digging into
silver flesh as I turned around and fell to my knees, letting out a roar filled
with rage, despair, and agony. This human had chained me to him, to a life I
had never wanted.
To a way I had not wanted to die.
"Get over it," he sighed, guilt breaking in his voice a little. "You are bound
to me. You are now my demon and you obey my commands. You cannot harm me, like
I cannot harm you." He sheathed his weapons, coming to stand next to me. "You
belong to me."
I wanted to hit him. I didn't belong to anyone, and I never would. Not even
now. Even though he had marked me, I refused to give in. But I knew what my
life now consisted of. I would no longer be able to live the way I had, no
longer be able to have free reign of my actions. He controlled my very being,
and there was nothing I could do in my power to deny him.
I was a prisoner trapped within my own skin.
I hated Eren. I hated him so much. I just wanted to rip into him, bite into his
throat, feel the blood drip over my teeth-
"Come on, Levi. We're going now."
"Fuck you. Fuck you. Eren Jeager. Just- fuck!" I roared.
My fist collided with the dirt, but I got to my feet and followed him despite
my desire of wanting to rip him to shreds.
***** Chapter 2 *****
Chapter Notes
     Alright, so I didn't really wanna work on my other fanfic yet, I'm
     sorry ;A; So enjoy some more of this instead! ^^
See the end of the chapter for more notes
I only knew his name because I was bound to him. Being bound, trapped like
this, nothing is secret anymore. As soon as the spell is complete, both Hunter
and demon both know the most important things about each other, and this gives
the Hunter complete dominance over his demon. We'd know each others families,
if I had one, date of birth, rank, even a small portion of our abilities where
revealed. But more importantly, we knew each others name.
He knows my fucking name.
I'm not okay with that. Beyond not okay with it. A Hunter knows my name, and I
don't trust him. I don't trust anyone, but this kid knows my fucking name. I
could already hear the laughter from the other demons echoing in my ear. 'You
got bound by a hunter? He beat you?! Hah, your life su-'
"Levi."
My head snapped up, something between a bark and a snarl escaping my lips. How
dare he call me that. Was this asshole purposely trying to insult me? If only I
could rip his throat out. I'd make it so he could never utter another word.
The power in a name is boundless. By letting other people know your name, it
gives them a sense of acceptance, that you want to get to know them, be a part
of their life. It shows society that you trust them enough to give them a
source of identity. But the thing is, I didn't want this hunter in my life, and
I didn't want to stick around to make it a permanent situation. And I didn't
trust him. He'd deceived me, leaning down to me to whisper the promise of death
to only snatch it away before my eyes. The thing I had wanted for so long, its
promise like a glass mirror before it's shattered, its sharp pieces coming back
to dig into fragile flesh. They leave wounds that taunt you and scar you,
reminding you what could have been before it was ripped away. This bloodied
engraving on my body was the painful reminder that what I wanted, could no
longer be easily obtained. Not that it had been to start with.
He glanced over at me as we walked, frustration clear in his now emerald eyes,
the gold somehow vanished from their depths. What the fuck was up with this
kid? There was no way in hell that was even remotely normal.
"Levi, look, I-"
I hated him.
"Fuck you. Don't talk to me," I growled, glaring at him sideways, traces of red
swarming over my eyes like fog. I refused to walk behind Eren, but also refused
to walk next to him. Directly, at least. I was about ten yards away from him,
keeping pace despite him having a taller stature and longer legs than me, which
was slightly annoying. I'd tried to walk in front of him, but as soon as I had,
I'd felt a searing burn on my chest, the marks' power bringing me more and more
pain as I physically felt Eren's anger. But I'd welcomed it. Let him get angry,
make him realize that he can't control me as much as he'd potentially like. But
that burn on my chest was back now, and I let out a knowing smirk.
"Stop being an asshole already! I'm just trying to-"
"I said shut the fuck up. I really could care less about anything you have to
say to me, so just shut your damn mouth."
His eyes blazed with rage and I laughed silently as the burning sensation from
the mark grew. It was amusing to say the least how easily his temper flared,
and I was more than happy to be the one to cause him such frustration. Let him
feel how I felt, let him know what it was like to be my Captor. I would make it
as unbearable as I possibly could, make him want to rip his hair out and rip
through my skin with his blades, to hit me, to leave me bloody as he vented his
anger, to let him conjure up these wonderful fantasies in his head only to be
unable to even touch the surface of my skin. That's what would be going through
my head, in any case. Beating him bloody was the only thing keeping me sane
right now. My body was craving the taste of his blood, my hate fueling the want
to sink my teeth into him and rip his soft flesh to pieces.
The pain on my chest grew sharper then, and I let out a trembling gasp, the
strong flash of pain surprising me as I was torn from my thoughts. My step
faltered slightly and I tripped, stumbling into a nearby tree. The fabric of my
black shirt snagged against the bark of the tree, my shoulder catching it just
right. I grabbed ahold of the truck to steady myself, trying to free the
article of clothing with little luck. I knew if I tried to force it, I'd rip
the shirt, and I wasn't too fond of fixing things if the trouble could be
avoided beforehand. Besides, I really fucking liked this shirt, I didn't want
it ruined.
I took a better hold of the tree as I tried to figure out how to free myself.
It wasn't an easy task. I'd knocked into it just right to the point that I
could barely see what I was doing, and it was starting to piss me off that I
was standing there helpless against tree bark. But I paused upon feeling a
light breeze brush over my chest and tickle my pale skin. The sound of
footsteps echoed and realization hit me. Ah. That's right. The shithead already
shredded my shirt with his Goddamn swords. And this was my favorite one, too.
Fuck this shit.
Within the blink of an eye, a ripping sound came from the back of the ratty
jeans I had on, a long silver tail coming into view. I turned to see that Eren
had stopped a few paced back, eyes widened with surprise as he stared at the
newly revealed part of my demonic form. I let it swish from side to side, using
it to tell the world how fucking pissed off I was. The soft fur on the end was
left victim to the maddening wind it endured as my tail swished back and forth.
I let a smile creep onto my lips at Eren's cautious gaze, knowing he'd had
enough experience with reading a demons body language regarding tail's. This
whole bonding thing would go over a little more smoothly at least.
"You ruined my favorite fucking shirt," I growled, red seeping into my eyes a
little more as I met his gaze evenly. I felt the strands of my tail move, its
shape changing rapidly yet smoothly as it formed itself, growing sharper and
sharper. Eren's emerald eyes widened even more.
I smirked, swishing my tail from side to side again, a weapon having now
replaced the soft fur from before. Black lines swam over my body as I lashed
out in brute force, my tail striking the tree with the newly formed weapon, and
smugly curled my fingers as it snapped in two. I hadn't even been using half of
my full strength, and had manged to easily send a five-foot thick tree falling
to the ground. Sure, my shirt ripped a little more, but at least I'd shown the
fucking tree bark who was boss. It'd deserved it.
Eren's eyes narrowed then, and I felt the slight burn on my chest again, but I
could tell from the very slight sting that he was only irritated. I think his
shock had taken over, probably too surprised to be completely pissed off at my
destructive actions.
He stepped forwards, unsheathing one of his rapier-like weapons and held it at
his side as he walked towards me, a determined gleam in his now golden eyes. My
head tipped to the side, curiosity burning in me as I watched. I still wanted
to know how the kid did that. It was impressive in its own way, and I was more
than a little exicted at the thought of finding out what caused his slight
trasformation. It reminded me of my own eyes. It made me think he wasn't human,
but his scent was deffinatley that of a human's.
My tail, now a weapon that resembled the flatened blade I carried on my back,
stopped moving as I waited to see what the Captor would do. He couldn't hurt
me, so I wasn't really worried about him trying to lop my head off.
In truth I was more interested in his weapon. I glanced down at it, wanting to
take a better look at one of the only things that had caused my body to bleed
without my permission, but narrowed my eyes. The rapier was normal looking,
save for the hand guard. It was made up of what looked like vines and roses,
the buds making it next to impossible to stab through the strong metal to get
to the weilder's hand. The entire body was made of silver, and the roses seemed
to have been tinted a light pink color. I'd had to squint to even notice the
difference. I'd never seen such weapon before. Most humans carried wepaons that
looked plain and easily breakable, but Eren's were extremely detailed, even
down to the texture of the vines that made up the hand guard. On top of that,
it was durable and more than capable of taking a hit. This he proved by
mirroring what I had done only moments ago and swung his sword through the air
as it contected with a nearby tree. It split in half, pausing for a moment
before its trunk tipped to the side and heavily fell to the ground, dirt and
leaves kicking up in a whirwind around us as it crashed to the forest floor.
We stood there watching each other with unblinking eyes. Each of us waited to
see what the other would do.
Although I kept my face blank, shock had now taken hold in my own body. The
fact that he had been able to slice a tree at its base just as I had, was more
than a little alarming. While I had my demonic abilities and strength to rely
on, Eren was only human. He was human and had manged to deliver the same,
forceful blow as I had. I watched him carefully, observing the golden pools of
his eyes.
What was he?
"Are you done now?" He asked, his voice bitter. I blinked, feeling the hardened
strands of my tail shrinking down and losing the replicated form of my blade.
Soon enough, soft, silver fur replaced the hardened exterior. Eren paused,
lowering his rapier just slightly upon seeing me.
I reached up and yanked the shredded black shirt from my torso and flung it on
the ground. Eren's eyes followed my movements, but his eyes flicked back to
stare openly at my chest. My head tipped to the side as I watched him glance
away, a somewhat sheepish and saddened look on his face. Fucking weirdass kid.
"I'll say this once. You owe me a new shirt. If I don't get one an hour after
we get to this shit camp of yours, I'll fucking kill something."
Eren sighed, giving in. "Fine, I'll get you some new things to wear. Just don't
flip the fuck out every time you're pissed, alright? Tempermental demons only
give all the elder Hunters something thrilling and challenging to kill. While I
can't kill you, other people can."
No shit, you moron. Tell me somethiing I don't know already, you're wasting
precious seconds of my life right now that could be used in finding ways to
piss you off. (I'd already admitted to myself that making Eren mad was going to
be a relentless hobby of mine. It was so much fun I just couldn't resist it.)
My tail twisted in the air a little, still swishing from side to side, but not
as violently as before. Now that I'd had some time to vent my anger a little, I
was starting to feel better. But I was still pissed as fuck.
Eren took my less-violent tail swishing as a good sign, and he sheathed his
weapon, glancing back in the direction he had come from. "Let's get going. It's
getting dark, and I'm supposed to be back before the sun sets. Commander's
orders."
I shrugged, brushing my hand over my bare, engraved chest to clean myself of
any debris that was kicked up from the tree Eren had slit in two. While my body
healed fairly quickly, I didn't want to take any more chances that could
possibly get the mark wounds infected. I noticed him watch my movements
again, his eyes a mix of emotions that were impossible for me to read.
"Very well. I could honestly care less about what you have to do, but I'm
basically joined at the hip with you anyways, so it's not like I can say much
about it. Where you go, I go." And I'm going to make sure you never forget I'm
here. I will make you're life so miserable, you'll wish you would have just
killed me from the beginning.
He nodded.  
 
                              {----o---O---o----}
 
 On the way back to Eren's camp, he'd promised me that he'd find a new shirt
for me to wear since I'd made it very clear I was not going to walk around half
naked all day long. I told him it was either I go fully clothed or fully naked
and I get to take the innocence from any of the human children there as a
bonus. He agreed to me being fully clothed.
Most demons resemble the form of a beast or monster, and there were some that
even looked similar to the animals I'd seen wandering around in the forests.
But there were also demons that resembled humans, their bodies the exact same
shape, down to the very last detail. I was one of those demons. My physical
form was identical, if not exactly like Eren's, besides us having a small
difference in height and me having a tail. 
The thing was, even though I never showed it, I was actually very shy about my
tail. I didn't really like anyone looking at it since it was one of the more
personal parts of myself. It was sensitive, even if it could harden its skin
and shift into weapons. Eren didn't know this though, and he kept glancing at
it, trying to be discreet. It would often move in much the same way a snake
would slither across the ground, in a sort of zig-zag, but that was only during
the times when I was being lazy. I usually kept it hidden in the human's
clothes I manged to pick up from human towns, often trading them for meat or
what money I had manged to pick off the Hunters I'd killed. Some people would
even offer it to me without charge, and I never failed to thank them for their
kindness. They probably thought I was a bandit or something though, since I
always wore a cloak that covered all my skin and hid my face from view. Even if
my skin tone resembled the humans, my silver skin was a tad too pale. The
humans knew a demon when they saw one.
There are several rules to being demonic, though. Stealing is one of them. We
are incapable of doing it, simply put. It defies our morals. We never steal,
not even from each other. In order to take something, we must ask for it or lie
in order to obtain it. I preferred no to lie though. The honest way had always
fit me better anyways. 
"Stop it."
He blinked, turning to me with confusion in his crystalline sea-green eyes,
feigning innocence. "Stop what?"
The nerve this kid had.
"Stop looking at my tail, it's fucking rude."
His face was blank for a moment, then it lit up the slightest bit in a small
burst of laughter. "It's rude to look at a demon's tail? Really?"
"Yes, dipshit."
I frowned, and his expression soon followed mine.
"I didn't know that."
"Well now you do, so shut the fuck up and walk, I'm tired and I want a new
shirt."
He snorted, and I thought that he'd get angry again, but when I turned to look
at him, he seemed more content than anything, a thoughtful look on his face. 
Fucking insane human. 
I glanced down to my chest though, making sure he wasn't paying attention to me
when he did. I raised a hand to trace over to sharp lines of the wings that had
been carved on my body, realizing how precise the lines actually were. They
were beautiful, really. I almost admired them. But the very small, dark, ugly
black vein that was starting to form at the top left part of the wing reminded
me what the mark really meant. I sighed, dropping my hand and once again
checked to make sure Eren hadn't seen me. 
He had.
He was watching me again with that blank expression, staring pointedly at my
hand as I drew it away from my chest that was caked in blood. He reached
over, but thought better of it and stopped. 
"What?" I asked harshly, not even bothering to hide the annoyed tone in my
voice. He sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets and glanced away.
"Nothing," he replied, just as bitterly. I tipped my head at the sudden change
in his attitude, confused. I opened my mouth to ask him what the fuck his
problem was, when he suddenly sped up and pushed ahead of me, taking the lead.
My eyes turned red at that, anger pulsing through my head as he tried to show a
sense of authority over me. 
"This fucking prick," I snarled through clenched teeth. I took a step forward,
trying to catch up to him and his long strides, when we suddenly broke through
the tree's and stood smack dab at the outskirts of a hunter establishment. I
froze in my pursuit of my Captor, who continued towards the wood built wall and
over to what appeared to be a gate. He didn't even spare me a look, simply
expecting me to follow. The dick had something coming to him if he thought I'd
follow him around like a lost animal. My tail started its violent dance in the
air again, agitation clawing away at what even existed of my patience.
I watched as Eren made his way to the gate, swords on his back, hands in his
pockets. As he approached the door, three guards walked out of the shadows and
addressed him with stern voices. With my supernatural hearing, I could hear
every word they spoke, but decided to tune myself out and listen to what was
happening further in. The sound of children playing in the streets, dogs
obediently following their masters on their late walk around town, mothers
discussing the towns latest gossip all reached my ears. But what really caught
my attention was the sound of metal. I tipped my head and closed my eyes,
trying  to pinpoint the sound. Judging from the echoing it caused throughout
the Hunter camp, the sound seemed to be coming from the center of the
established town. Whoever was carrying the metal counterparts seemed exhausted
beyond words, unable to even mutter hello's to their comrades. Something had
them down, I realized.
That was, until man ran into the area and shouted out, "Eren's back! He caught
the demon! He caught him!"
I blinked, opening my eyes in shock, the cheers that arose from those words
making my skin crawl. My head swiveled around to zero in on Eren, who was now
looking at me and pointing with a proud look on his face as he continued
talking with the other two men at the gate.
Two men. There had been three.
I took a step back, instinct telling me to run, but was met with something
painfully digging through my back, and was then thrust out through my chest. I
let out a ear-splitting cry as the pain overtook me. My breathing came out
uneven as I glanced down at myself to see a thick broadsword sticking out of
the center of my chest, its blade only a breath away from my heart.
Fear gripped me since the first time I could possibly remember. Not even facing
Eren in battle had frightened me, and not even the promise of death had me
shaking.
It was how I would die, was what I was afraid of. And this was not the way I
wanted to end my life.
I buckled to my knees as the person behind me thrust their sword in deeper,
grunting with the effort it took, and I let out another painful cry. It sounded
more like a sob, a desperate plea to whoever would listen. I glanced towards
Eren again, my vision blurry from the tears that had accumulated there. When
had I started crying?
He stared at me with a mixture of horror and shock before he was racing towards
us, yelling something to the person behind me who held the sword through my
body, much in the same way Eren had when we had fought. But whatever he
screamed fell of deaf ears, I could tell from the way my attacker gripped his
blade even tighter, the pressure of his fingers preparing to twist it and cut
through my heart in one movement. In that moment, I knew. My eyes clouded over
in reddened lust, my head swam in the depths of anger and oblivion; in that
moment, I saw death.
My tail hardened a split second before the human moved to cut me in two. Its
tip struck back, its formed hardened in the shape of an arrow. It first struck
flesh, then blood. Then a pumping organ, and through it. It hit flesh, and then
armor, and then air.
All movement stopped.
Eren stopped running.
I stopped crying.
The human's stopped shouting.
The man behind me stopped breathing.
I felt him take his last shuttering breath, cursing me and my race, before he
fell limp on my back. How he managed to survive so long after a hit to his
heart was beyond me. His weight was too much for me though, and I fell onto my
hands, staring down at another mortal blade that had managed to wound me
without my wanting. Was I becoming weak? How could I let this happen again,
within such a short period of time?
I let out a shuddering breath, my tail softening as it pulled out of the body
behind me, squeezing out of the space between my bare back and the human's
chest. His weight had drove the blade even further through me, and its tip
pierced the ground beneath me just slightly. Once the entirety of my tail was
freed, I used it to push him off of me, and let his bloodied body fall to the
ground beside me. I could feel the slickness of human blood drenching my back,
dripping off my sides and tainting the grass with yet another sin I'd
committed. Another burden I'd have to bury deep inside myself. The continuing
flow of blood that stained my hands was visible to me now.
With weak effort, my tail came up and wrapped around the hilt of the broadsword
to yank it free from my back. Slowly, ever so slowly, I was able to rid myself
of the silver weapon, and I flung it to the side with what strength I had left.
Blood flowed from the wound in my chest and splattered to the forest floor
beneath my crouched, broken form. I stayed like that for a while, unable to
move. Not wanting to move.
Eren had betrayed me once again.
As I felt my body slowly healing itself, a pair of boots came into view. Funny.
My sense of hearing was much better than my eyesight, I should have heard him
first. Not like it would have given me much of a warning for what was about to
come.
I glanced up, my eyes partly lidded as the pain made it unbearable to do nearly
anything. Even breathing was hard. I expected to find Eren, but was met with
the unfamiliar face of a human soldier, hate and disgust written all over his
face. Dread filled my heart. 
"You just killed him. You're a monster! You demon! I'll kill you, I swear to
God I will! You didn't even give him a chance, you just butchered him!"
I opened my mouth to say something, to try and defend myself against the human,
but he kicked me in the stomach, cutting off any words I had been capable of
forming before hand. My body finally gave in at that, and I crumpled to the
floor, too spent and exhausted from being stabbed in such a vital area. The
amount of my blood that flowed out into the ground didn't help either, my wound
still not completely healed. I grunted at he struck me, over and over and over
again. During the process, I'd hear other shouts of anger and approval, and I
felt others join in with the first man. The unforgiving force behind ever
single attack drove into my pale skin relentlessly. Hit after hit, I suffered
though the pain, unable to defend myself to even to tell them to go to hell. I
could do nothing. My body had been too greatly injured, and the abuse was not
helping in the slightest. 
A brutal kick to the back of my head yanked out a strangled yell though, my
demonic cry of pain encouragement for those who continued their attacks. I
opened my eyes as far as I could, seeking out the one person who should have
been stopping this, for little than enough reason because I was bound to him
and had made me his prisoner. But he stood there, only about ten feet away, and
watched. Silently, impassively. Like I was the one who was the monster. 
I bared my teeth at him, letting the full force of my anger transfer through
the bond. Although my anger would not harm him like his did me, he could feel
it. In truth, a Captor felt all emotions of his captured demon through their
mark, so that he would be able to tell when and what his demon was feeling and
would be able to stop them before they went on a rampage or tried to harm
anyone. I made sure that Eren knew how angry and betrayed I felt. When he did
nothing but blink at me, my anger soon turned into hate. Hate that he had bound
be, trapped me, and then reduced the proud demon I had been to this. A punching
bag for humans, just to satisfy their twisted sense of justice. 
It was disgusting.
I inhaled sharply as someone delivered a brutal kick to my gut, and I scrunched
forward in pain, a whine pushing past my lips as I dared it not too. The men
all laughed at the pitiful sound.
Through the bond, I felt nothing.
I coughed up a small amount of blood as I got another kick in the chest,
pushing my body into another foot that drove into my back. Black speckled
across my vision, and I sighed to myself, knowing that I had reached my limit
for the amount I could handle. I was strong, but even this proved to be too
much for me, piled on top of one another like this. I had no way to recover
quickly enough to regulate my body's health. 
But then the sharp sounds of someone stomping across gravel caught my
attention, and I glanced up, through blurry, blotched eyes as I saw a kid
stroll up to Eren. He looked around his age, but I swore i'd seen him before
this. One of the human's I'd let live, possibly? Then it hit me;he was the
freckled kid from earlier.
And hell, was this kid pissed. He ran up to Eren, called out his name with such
anger and venom it took me a while to realize it had actually come from him and
not one of the five people above me. Thankfully, they all stopped their
onslaught as the kid walked up and punched Eren across the face so hard, the
asshole hit the ground. His eyes went wide and he held his cheek in shocked
disbelieve, looking up to the gentle faced boy, who quite simply looked
murderous. 
Everyone stopped.
"Eren, what the actual fuck is wrong with you!?" He screamed down at him,
pointing over to me as he continued. "You bring him back, become his Captor for
crying out loud, and then you leave him to be beaten the shit out of when he
got stabbed through the middle of his chest?! You don't even help him or defend
him? What the actual hell!"
Eren looked completely dumbfounded, like God himself had come down the earth
and started cussing the shit out of him. My guess was that the soft faced kid
didn't do this sort of thing often.
"But he killed Nile, he deserves it-"
Eren was met with another punch to the face, causing him to clutch his nose as
blood surfaced on the bridge of it. I watched it happen with smug satisfaction.
"You have no right to say what he does and doesn't deserve! He was cornered,
what else could he do? It was kill or be killed, that much was obvious from
Nile's face and the way he ignored you when you told him to stop. He wasn't
going to Eren. This demon knew that. I don't know how, but he did, and he did
what it took to survive." The boy stood up straighter, looking down on Eren
with disgusted eyes. "You think he's a monster. You think he deserves to feel
pain and be tortured. Open you fucking eyes. The only monster here, is you, and
them. He is your responsibility. You made the choice to bind him, and now you
need to take care of him, even if he tries to refuse. For you to ignore someone
who is looking to you for help, and to openly ignore their plea, is even less a
person than the most bloodthirsty of demons." He blinked, turned around, and
startled to walk in my direction. "Don't be a monster, Eren. Besides," he
stopped to turn and look over his shoulder. "He saved my life. He let me live
when he could have killed me. He had every chance, and he let me turn around
and come home. You think about that for a while. Whose the real monster here?"
Eren was emotionless, still holding his slightly swollen cheek. He didn't seem
to know what to do, but it was clear that something about the other kid's word
had stung; deep.
A blurry face appeared in front of my eyes then, sympathy written all over his
adorable, angelic face. "It's okay, I won't let them hurt you anymore. I've got
you, you're safe," he reassured me.
I blinked, black taking over the entirety of my vision now, and I could feel
myself slipping into unconsciousness.
"You. . . but why?" was all I managed to say. Right before I blacked out, I
felt strong but gentle arms wrap around my small frame, lifting me up. A small
shrug lifted me up just a tad higher.
"I could ask you the same thing."
And then I was out cold.  
 
                              {----o---O---o----}
                                        
I awoke to the feeling of light brushing across my cheek. I stirred, attempting
to blink the sleep from my eyes, the sound of singing birds reaching my
sensitive ears. A small, relaxed sigh escaped me upon hearing them sing to
their hearts content, and I basked in the way their voices sounded so serene
and peaceful. The sunlight even felt wonderful, its warmth drowning me in a
soft, comforting embrace. I closed me eyes, letting it all absorb into my mind.
And the I remembered what happened.
My eyes shot open, a harsh growl rumbling in my throat. Those fucking humans.
They would be lucky to still be breathing after what they thought they could
pull. There was some serious things I needed to take care of now. Like killing
five sorry excuses for humans. And one prick of a Captor. I'd make sure he died
a slow and painful death that was enjoyable to watch.
The sound of a door creaking open pulled me from my thoughts, and I turned my
head to see the freckled kid enter with what appeared to be bloody, but just
barley cooked meat, looking a little contemplative as he stared at it. I
shifted, and his head snapped up in surprise, only just now realizing that I
was awake and watching him. 
"Oh! I-I'm sorry, I just brought you some food just in case you woke up, but
seems like you already are," he said, barley above a whisper, looking a little
sheepish, if not nervous. It was hard to imagine that this was the same boy
that had beaten the shit out of Eren. I fucking loved him for that.
I said nothing, but glanced out the window above the bed I was sleeping on,
white curtains puled back to reveal the light blue sky. It wasn't dark out
anymore. . .
"How long have I been out?"
The boy blinked, then moved to set the plate of meat down on a nearby table.
"I'd say about four days, at least. Maybe more."
I nodded slowly. That was a long time, especially for me. I brushed it off
though.  
I flung the thin sheet off of my body and moved to get out of the human bed. I
never understood why humans always had to wear something on top of them when
they slept though. Was it a security thing? Fuck if I knew. My mind was set on
the food siting next to the kid at the moment. He looked a little worried when
I stood up, but upon noticing that my step didn't waver or falter in the
slightest, he exhaled, relieved. I had healed completely over the past few
days, but I was still a little sore from all the places I'd been kicked. 
i bent down and picked up the meat from the thing I guessed was called a plate,
and lifted it up to my mouth, sniffing it gingerly before tearing into it. I
made sure not to be messy or gross though. No one needed to see me eat like I
hadn't seen food in years. The kid stood and watched, seeming to be glad that I
was eating what he'd brought me, but still seemed a little on edge. I gave him
a quick glance as I finished my meal, and made a spur of the moment decision.
"Levi."
"What?"
"My name is Levi. You asked me the first time we met. It's Levi. What about
you?"
He seemed a little surprised, but a gentle smile took over his face. "I'm
Marco."
I nodded. "Marco. Thank you."
He said nothing, but glanced behind him as a figure stepped into the door way.
I bristled.
Eren stood there, looking into the room, but not meeting either of our gazes.
Marco shook his head. "I need to go. You two need to settle your stuff. I'll
come back later."
Neither Eren or I said anything. He left without another word, brushing past
Eren as he did so.
I waited. Eren didn't move, and he still wasn't meeting my eyes. I let out a
low warning growl.
"What the fuck do you want? If you're here to be a dick some more, you can
fucking leave."
Eren said nothing, but at least he was looking at me now. Made me feel like I
did something right.  i crossed my arms and waited, my tail swishing back and
forth gently, dangerously. I was in no mood to deal with shit right now. 
"Levi," he finally spoke. "I need you to tell me what happened that day, why
you did what you di-"
"No, you know what Eren, I don't want to talk about that. I want to talk about
why you're a fucking asshole. Why the fuck you even let that happen. I don't
care if I killed someone. What the hell made you think that in any way, that
was okay? Really, I'm dying to know. Do you get some sick, twisted pleasure
from seeing things get beaten half to death?"
His eyes widened, horrified. "No! I just-"
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "You know what, no. I can't deal with this
now. You fucked up. You fucked up so bad, Eren. I'm going out. If you think
you're ready to settle shit, come find me. I'm not gonna come find you. I'm
stuck with you, and this is how you go about treating me. Fucking wonderful, "
I scoffed as I turned away, aiming for the window when a hand struck out and
tried to catch my wrist, but his fingers slipped off the invisible field that
prevented us from touching each other and fell back at his side. With one
movement I unlatched the hook, and then hoisted myself out of the large open
window. Tall trees were only a few yards away and I bounded up into the part of
the forest I could access without being tugged back by the bond. I dared one
glance back at Eren, and my eyes widened slightly. Through the mark on my chest
I could feel anger, but it didn't cause me pain or hurt me in anyway. HIs hands
came up to rub at his face, turning around so that he was able to sit down on
the bed I'd been sleeping on only minutes before. 
He wasn't mad at me; he was mad at himself. 
Chapter End Notes
     I'm sorry.
     Not really.
     Well, please let me know what you think! I'm sorry It took me so long
     to get this out, finals and life have been stressing me the fuck out
     lately, and I've only had about thirty minutes to work on this on a
     good day. PLease let me know if you see any errors! And thank you to
     those of you who have commented and given this story kudos, those
     really keep me going! ^^ I might add more to the last part, I feel
     like it was really short between Marco and Levi, but oh well. Fuck
     it. xD
***** Chapter 3 *****
Chapter Notes
     I am so sorry this took so long! A lot of stuff has come up recently,
     and I just haven't had much time to write T_T I am currently looking
     for a job, so I might not get another chapter in for awhile until
     I've found one and started working. Once I do I am planning to get a
     new computer, and then updates will come much faster after that, I
     promise! We must be patient my children.
     But anyways, here, for all of you wonderful lovely people who have
     given this story kudos and beautiful comments, a new chapter! I love
     you all for writing such nice things, and I reread them about ten
     times each, and since I'm bad at taking compliments I have no idea
     what to say xD I'm so flattered though, thank you for the
     encouragement! ^^
     This chapter is a little slow though, so I apologize in advance, and
     the voice is probably off T_T If there are any mistakes you see, or
     or confused or think parts need elaborating, don't be shy to leave a
     comment saying so! Honestly, critisism really helps me xD Its a
     little rough cuz I didn't have my friend look it over though (BUT I
     have boarded them on this ship! Victory!)
See the end of the chapter for more notes
An entire day had passed.
The sun had started to dip below the horizon, and the stars started appear one
by one in the sky. I watched it happen, counting each one I saw like one would
count down the minutes of a clock. I watched, and waited. In vain, maybe, but I
did it anyways. I held true to my values of giving foolish humans second
chances. It was the only thing I could do, just like always.
I continued to count. The sun was gone by now, leaving the forest I resided in
in absolute darkness. The evening chill brushed over my skin, but it was
strangely comforting, the smell of night calming my senses. 
 An entire day had passed with no sign of Eren leaving the confinements of the
hunter establishment.
I'd seen him walking around within the camp on several occasions, though. At
some points, he just sat around and watched what happened around him, from what
I could tell, observing the children that played and the men that ran their
family businesses and the women that cleaned. I was too far away to clearly see
any sort of detail surrounding anything, besides determining figures, and it
was frustrating to say the least. The only way I managed to even remotely
identify him was by the pair of rapiers that were still strapped to his back.
He was the only one in the camp that had two weapons.
Other times, he paced back and forth in remote areas where there was no one
else to bother him. Then, sometime during the middle of the day, he'd stumbled
into a short blonde haired boy who'd seemed to be looking for him, and was
seemingly around his age, maybe a year or two younger. From what I could see,
Eren began to spill whatever had been going through his head the entire day
upon the kid in front of him. Although I was curious to hear what they were
talking about, I kept my sensitive hearing abilities to myself. I didn't want
to pry at a time like this, especially if Eren said something that managed to
set me off even more.  He needed to figure out how to handle this himself, and
I wanted to hear what he had to say only once, if he ever decided to come and
find me. I wasn't sure what I would do if he wouldn't. Maybe I'd hunt down
those five men, make a new game for myself. . . 
I passed that day sitting in the abnormally large trees that surrounded the
camp. I'd picked a thick branch that could have easily held three people laying
next to each other and leaned onto the trunk as I'd observed the humans below
me. I'd stayed up there from early morning until now. At one point, I'd even
taken the liberty of taking a nap and getting a few hours of sleep, although I
didn't really need it since I'd been out for several days. But it had helped
with my mood a little. I figured it was better than nothing. I also spent most
of the day thinking, and over-thinking. Every possibility I could think of
surfaced to my head, but none of them were positive. I imagined what I'd say if
he decided to continue being a dick, what I would hit him with mentally,
creating every possible comeback I could think of if he got snappy, or started
to argue and try to defend his reasoning. In truth, I ended up making myself
even angrier from just imagining the senile things he could say to me, but
hadn't even shown his face yet. I was getting myself worked up over
nothing. Yet.
A white moon had soon replaced a glowing sun. Most of the humans had turned in
for the night, small flickers of candlelight the only traces of remaining
activity within the camp. But within one, I was able to see a black figure
pacing back and forth across an open window. I watched it carefully for a
moment, but returned my attention to the serene forest around me. The birds had
all turned in for the night, and had been replaced by the soft chirping of
crickets in the distance. That, and the musky smell of night made my muscles
relax, and I leaned back against the tree trunk completely, letting the chilly
night air invade my lungs as I sucked in a slow breath.
I glanced back to the window at which I had seen the figure pacing back and
forth tirelessly to find the candle blow out and the room dark. I sat up a
little straighter, glancing around the area of that particular house to see if
I could spot any roaming figures, but cursed myself and my poor eye sight. It
had never been my strong point anyways, and the fact that it was dark out
didn't help much, even with the moon out to illuminate the camp and forest.
Yet, when I looked over the rest of the camp, I realized almost all of the
other lights had gone out as well. I sighed in frustration and leaned back once
again, closing my eyes and extending my sharp hearing senses into the forest
beyond. I listened for the sound of insects and animals alike, zeroing in on
anything that gave off a pleasant sound. The beautiful sounds the crickets made
were music to my ears. A small smile extended on my lips at the sounds, and I
slowly started to drift off into a light sleep. 
That was, until the close sound of leaves rustling and branches cracking
reached my ears and I snapped awake. It had been close. Whoever It was was
nearby. 
I reached over my shoulder to draw my flat blade, but froze when I realized it
was no longer there. They had taken it from me when I had been passed out. The
little fuckers. And I was still running around shirtless. Seriously, how had I
not noticed this until now? God, talk about fucking oblivious, I couldn't even
tell when I was half clothed or not. Maybe my brain cells were dying along with
my sanity. 
I let out a short growl, hardening my tail into the form of my bladed weapon as
a last resort. I didn't like forming the fine silver hairs into something so
large, since they would often break if they were extended too much or were too
heavily damaged. It was painful, which is why I preferred keeping the extension
as small as possible. But I had no other weapon right now besides my own teeth,
and I doubted that would go over well if I was faced with an opponent with an
actual weapon. I blinked, somehow forgetting my supernatural strength and
speed. What the hell was I thinking,  I could take an opponent, weapon or not.
Suddenly the sound of parting leaves sounded from behind me, and I readied my
tail in case any enemies tried to get smart and attack me. I'd lop their head
off faster then they could blink. 
At that moment, the scent finally hit me and I froze, shocked beyond words.
Eren.
My tail lost its form and fell back into the normal figure of soft, silver
hairs, drooping off the wide branch I was sitting on the hang below me. He had
really shown up. He really had. My brows pulled together, folding my arms
across my chest. I hadn't expected him to show, and now that he had, I didn't
know how I'd even react when I saw him again. How should I act? I didn't know.
I think my mind was still numb from the shock of him actually coming up here to
search for me. My thoughts were echoed by his quiet, searching call.
"Levi? Are you up here?"
I heard the sound of more leaves rustling behind me as he searched through the
thick clusters, but I could tell from the way that he slowly pushed them aside,
he was nervous. He was moving slow, according to the sounds of his movements. I
snorted. He was nervous to find me. I blinked wondering if he was in the same
place I was, wondering what he should do, how he should react when we actually
came face to face again. A whole day had passed.
I looked up to the pitch black sky. 
I continued to count. 
Now what?
There was no way I was going to answer him. I had told him to come find me, and
I had meant it. If he wanted to actually talk about what had happened a week
before, he needed to work for the privileged opportunity to even breath the
same air as I did. If he found me, then I would try to work it out with him as
best as I could while dealing with an asshole. If he gave up. . . well, we
would have some very permanent issues, that I was sure of.
Just then, the leaves behind me were pushed away and Eren's scent flooded over
my senses. My back straightened in surprise, my eyes widening just barely. He'd
found me quicker than I could have guessed.  I didn't say hello, or turn to met
his gaze. I simply stared at the moon that shone brightly in front of me,
observing the small glow like my life depended on it. I took the liberty upon
myself to ignore his very presence. The sky was better company anyways. 
485, 486, 487, 488. . . 489-
A soft sigh of relief echoed in my ears, and I lowered my gaze to the human
camp below upon hearing it. I clenched my arms, preparing myself for one of the
hundred scenarios I'd played out in my head. 
Eren didn't move. I could feel his eyes drilling into me, but he remained
silent and still. I continued to act like he wasn't there.
493. . .  494. . .  495. . . . . .  496-
After what felt like hours, Eren finally pushed past the leaves entirely and
was now standing on the same branch I was sitting on, looking at the large moon
in front us both, his hands at his sides. I glanced out of the corner of my eye
without turning my head because I didn't want him to know I was actually giving
him any sort of attention. His eyes were wide with awe as he stared at the
glowing sky, but his hands trembled slightly before he balled them up into
tight fists. He exhaled silently, and his hands relaxed. He had also steeled
his expression, his brows furrowed together, but he looked somewhat lost. I
looked away, in the opposite direction, deeper into the forest, or what I could
see of it with the big tree trunk in my way. Maybe I should become a wood smith
and just hack down trees that piss me off. I already had an outstanding
background to qualify for it.
Eren shifted besides me. I turned, only a little surprised when I saw that he'd
he lowered himself into a sitting position on the other side of the thick
branch, letting his legs droop over the edge as laid his elbows on his knees.
He glanced at me, acting as though he was nervous, and took a deep breath.
"I came."
Nofucking shit. My teeth ground together, again wanting nothing more than to
punch the fucking kid in the face and watch him fall to the ground. Asshole.
Eren was an utter and absolute asshole.
"Levi. . . I. . . do, want to work this out, but you need to tell me why you-"
"Try again."
His head swiveled around so he could look at me fully, eyes narrowed as he
blinked in confusion, his face full of annoyance. "What?"
"Your first try of talking this out failed. Try again."
He bristled, casting me an irritated glare. I wasn't even looking at him. The
moon still had my full attention. 
"Ok, fine, can you please-"
"Try, the fuck, again."
Something that sounded like a muffled hiss escaped his lips, and I narrowed my
eyes, turning to face him. A light greenish yellow color hit my steel eyes, and
as soon as our gazes met, Eren blinked and the yellow disappeared. They were
back to being that sea green color again. . . Still, that didn't prevent me
from glaring daggers at him. His usual confident demeanor faltered upon seeing
the rage piled up with my grey orbs, and he glanced away. I snorted, shaking my
head and letting out a low growl. He just didn't understand it, not even now.
Not even after all the things that Marco had screamed at him, and all the words
that I said to him. Even after all this time he'd had to reflect on what he'd
done. He was still enough of a coward that he refused to admit his own mistakes
and voice them out loud. Eren needed a fucking wake up call. Life doesn't favor
those who shy away from their faults.
"Do you know what it feels like to be stabbed?" I asked, still not facing him.
"Do you know what's like to feel your tendons and muscles and skin rip inside
of your own body? Do you even know what blood feels like from the inside?
Unable to find an exit, it stays trapped within your skin. To feel it bubble up
inside of you, like hot water within a glass jar." I turned, noticing the wide
eyes and startled expression I was met with. My voice hardened, along with my
piercing gaze, ready to hit the kid as hard as I could without physically
touching him. "Do you know what betrayal feels like?"
He stilled, his body going rigid. I stared at him, letting him remember when my
feelings of hate and betrayal had flooded into him through the mark on his
hand, through the bond. Of course he knew what betrayal felt like. I'd made him
feel the purest form of it. 
Finally, he nodded very slowly in answer to my question. He refused to look at
me. 
"Now, how did that feel Eren? Tell me exactly what it felt like, how it made
you feel yourself. I'd really like to know, I think I've forgotten," I sneered,
keeping my dark, but neutral expression. Eren opened his mouth to speak, but
closed it just as quickly as he'd opened it. 
"You will answer me, you incompetent coward."
He shot me a glare, but it was weak, no real force behind it. Suddenly his
hands seemed like the most interesting things to him, and began to study them.
"It. . . it felt like. . . something had broken. . . it was negative.
Disbelieving. Upset. . ." he trailed off.
I nodded. "That sounds about right. Now how did feeling all of that make you
feel?"
He remained silent.
"If you think you're still some sort of righteous hero apologising after
allowing the things that you did a few days ago, you are so fucking wrong.
After that little display, you're hardly even the human you claim to be." I
paused, malice sinking into my next words. "You're a monster. That's what you
are. Only monsters allow that kind of torture with little to no feeling." 
At that his head snapped up, and he turned on me, eyes wide with shock. I
didn't care. He needed this. He needed to have his mistakes shoved up his face
and into his brain. Maybe then he'd realize how wrong everything was. 
"You people hunt demons, monsters who survive on lust, and blood, and pain. But
it seems like you're no different. Maybe you're even worse than those demons
you all aim to kill," I said, my tail flicking from side to side. He just
simply stared at me like I'd sprouted a second head. "Even demons can have
compassion, and love, and we know when things have been taken too far. Demons
may be evil, but they can also be merciful, and kind. We are monsters, but
people who live without mercy," I turned back to watch the quiet city beneath
me, "are just as evil as those who live to cause pain." 
Eren's body was shaking, and I felt a tinge of anger burn through my blood and
pain lightly dance through my chest. But his emotions were a mess. I could tell
from the look on his face. He knew what I was saying was true. And that angered
him, but then again, I think it frightened him all the same. I'd told him that
he was no better than a sadistic demon.
And he knew I was right. I could see it in his eyes. 
It looked a lot like pain.
I shook my head and re-crossed my arms over my chest, squeezing them tightly in
attempt to bury my emotions from my Captor. He didn't need to feel them. He
didn't have the right to.
"You had all this time, all this time to figure out what you would say to me.
And you come with this." I shake my head, disappointment clear on my face. "I
honestly, really don't know what to say. I want to be angry that you had the
nerve of showing up here to try to push the blame on me, but in truth, I just
pity you. You can't even own up to your own actions. What kind of man does that
make you?" I ask, and I truly wanted to know. I really did. But he never
answered that question. 
". . . .  . guilty. . "
I turned to him, confusion causing me to narrow my eyes. "What?"
Eren sat there, eyes closed and head bowed, hands covering his face. Although
it was slight, I could still see his body shaking, hear his rapid heartbeat
echoing from his chest. My head tipped slightly at the furious sound.
Was he scared?
He took a deep breath before raising his head. He started to turn to me, but
stopped halfway through and just froze. I blinked, surprised at the amount of
emotion he had trapped in his emerald eyes. They glistened, and even though we
sat a good two yards away from each other, I swore I could see the small lights
of the stars reflected in them. 
"Guilty," he repeated. "I felt so fucking guilty when I felt your pain. I felt
it, and I saw the way you looked at me, and I just. . ." He paused, letting out
a shaky breath. "I felt like a monster. Just like you said. " His eyes looked
dead, distant. "I'm a monster, you're right, you really are. People don't let
that sort of thing happen. . . " He laughed then, raking a hand through his
dark brown hair and doing his best to hold back a small sob. "My mother. . .
 would be so disappointed in me right now. . . to see what I did. What I let
happen." He covered his head in his hands again, his shoulders quivering as he
fought back the urge to cry. 
I was stunned. I hadn't expected him to come so clean so fast. It took me by
surprise, and I felt my rage dwindling with each passing second. My tail
stopped swishing and instead just hung there limply, watching the boy in front
of me struggle to not come apart. I felt my face soften and my muscles relax,
but I still hadn't heard the one thing I needed to in order to forgive him.
In order to give him a second chance. I gave everyone I met a second chance. I
wasn't about to stop now. Even if he was an ass.
Because even he deserved one.
I stayed silent. I listened to his words, but made no conformation of ever
hearing him. I sat, listening, watching, counting.
498. . . 499. . . 500. . -
"I'm sorry."
My head snapped up and felt a breeze whisper across my cheek as I turned to
meet his sincere gaze, eyes widening if only by a little. He stared at me
solidly, unflinchingly, meeting my gaze without even blinking. 
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Levi. I know forgiveness is a lot to ask for at this
point, but I hope that one day you can come to forgive the mistakes I made the
other day. I made you go through something. . . awful, and for that, I can
never begin to tell you how sorry I am. I was angry, and I let my anger take
hold and it only ended up making things worse. Levi," he said, crawling over to
me along the tree trunk so that we sat side by side. "I'm sorry. I will never
make you go through that again, as long as I can stop it," he promised, a
determined gleam filling his eyes. I blinked, doubt making me unable to bring
myself to fully trust his words. If I did give him my trust at this very
moment, there was no telling how easily it would be broken. But the fact that
he had ended up coming to find me and own up to his mistakes, to apologize and
promise to protect me, I couldn't help but lend him a part of it. I'd have to
see if he could gather all of it.
I turned to him and let my gaze travel over his form, observing him. His dark
brown hair still shone with the glow of the moon that seemed to illuminate his
entire being, and for some reason, made him appear like a completely different
person to me. He just felt. . . different, yet the same. It was odd feeling
that left a shiver down my spine. 
"Yeah, we'll have to see about that," I told him, and I saw him deflate next to
me, his bright emerald eyes swarming desperately as he tried to get a fix on
what he had failed to do in making it up to me. I smirked to myself. "I don't
trust you yet. You need to prove to me through your actions that you really do
mean what you say. You broke what little trust in you I had with actions. I
expect it to be earned back the same way."
Eren raised his head, our gazes clashing with such a fierceness that it had me
smiling darkly. No one had ever managed to match my sense of power before,
never-the-less be unaffected by it. From the way he fought me, to the way he
spoke and acted towards me. He was the first living thing that had never once
been afraid of me or my power. It almost seemed like he took me as more of a
challenge.  It peaked my curiosity. Why was he the only one unaffected? 
He raised a eyebrow, but nodded anyways. "Okay. Fair enough," he agreed before
standing, looking down to me with a small smile and outstretched a hand to me
although we both knew I couldn't take it without slipping out of his grip.
"Let's go back? You can stay with me, I think that'd be the best place for you
at the moment."
I stared at him, my gaze moving from his face to his outstretched hand. Did he
suddenly think we were friends now or some shit, I thought bitterly. Why was he
offering me something so generous as having me live with him and stay in his
house? 
"I can't. It's your home, I shouldn't invade your territory like that."
Eren returned my blank stare before he burst out in a fit of giggles,
transforming from the serious man I had known into something that resembled a
carefree boy. "It's fine, really. I think that would be the best place for you.
We don't have any other houses available in camp, and I think if you tried to
stay with anyone else, you'd probably end up in a fight or with someone dead.
We can't really afford any more deaths. And besides," he replied firmly, "it's
my responsibility to provide you with what you need. I didn't give you a choice
in this arrangement, and I need to make up for taking away your freedom as
well."
I must have shown some form of surprise, because his face twisted into one of
sympathy and he knelt down to my level, looking me in the eyes reassuringly. "I
will not leave you on your own again, especially after all I've done to you. I
need to redeem myself, Levi."
I snorted, rolling my eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Let's just go, your getting really
sentimental and serious while being nice and it's fucking with my mood. I'm
known for being ruthless and cold, I can't let my image go to waste over some
shithead apologizing for his shit mistakes," I replied sarcastically, rising to
my feet and waited as Eren followed. He made a sour face as an angry blush
settled over his cheeks. "Hey, don't make fun of me, it was hard to meet your
perfect fucking expectations!" He growled, balling up his fists as he turned
away. 
"Nonsense. If it was perfect, you would have bowed before me and offered to
sacrifice yourself for my happiness. Then I wouldn't be bound, and I could
fucking leave this human-infested place."
Eren rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Alright, whenever you're done fucking
whining, we'll head back," he said, and turned around the way he had come as he
pushed through the wall of leaves. The sound of him jumping down the path of
branches was clearly heard by the scrapping of his boots as he traveled to the
ground. 
I sighed, stealing one last look at the moon as it crept over the forest. Why
did this happen to me? I asked myself. Why did I end up at the mercy of some
brat? And why am I so scared of it?
Because now you don't know what the future holds for you now. Nothing makes
sense, and you're scared of the disorder.
I blinked in surprise at my own thoughts, peering down to the ground as Eren
finally reached the bottom, turned to look up at me and call for me to hurry up
and come down so we could head home.
A trace of bitterness returned to me upon hearing him. To think he could
determine where my home was. I'd had a home once, but I'd had to abandon it to
live. And it was all their fault.  
 
                              {----o---O---o---}
                                        
 
 
 Eren's home was bigger than I had first thought. From the outside it hadn't
looked too big, but once the door opened I noticed it had misjudged it
entirely. There was a nice room that opened up upon first entering, with a
small table and three chairs that surrounded its sides. They weren't anything
special, but it was obvious how often they were used to to the soft looking
texture of the wood. An empty vase sat on top of the wood table, along with
some tools that were used for sharpening weapons. A kitchen sat not too far
away from the table and chairs looked dirty enough to be harvesting mold, but
gave Eren's home a more relaxed feeling to it. On the far side of the room was
an unlit fireplace with a large piece of furniture that resembled a human bed,
but was smaller in length and had a small back to it. Firewood was stacked on
top of each other next to the hearth, along with several metal poles with
different ends attacked to them. When I asked Eren what they were, he told me
that they were fire pokers, to keep the fire going. I failed to see how a metal
stick could make fire last longer, but I said nothing. Not like it mattered
though, because Eren's gaze filled with amusement after I'd asked, a smile
hiding in the depths of those bright emerald orbs. It was sort of obvious how
hard he tried to hide it though.
I huffed and went on exploring the rest of the house, doing my best to ignore
my Captor's presence as he laughed inwardly at me. I would kill him for
laughing at me, the bastard. Beat him fucking bloody was what I would do.
I poked at the piece of fabric that was lying on the floor, curious as to why
it was necessary when the floor was substantial enough. Eren caught my curious
prodding and explained that the wood floors often got cold, and it was better
to have a 'rug' so your feet wouldn't freeze the mornings it was chilly out. It
made enough sense of me to leave it alone and continue on wards in my exploring
of 'ridiculous things humans put in their homes'. It was when I found one of
those plate things that I finally couldn't take it anymore and I almost hurled
it at the wall. Instead, I picked one up and pointed at it was an enraged
expression. 
"Why?" I asked.
Eren looked confused. "Why what?"
I growled, pissed off that he didn't understand what I was talking about. "What
the fuck are these even for?!"
He paused, lifting an eyebrow as he walked towards an open door at the back.
"Uhh, we eat on those. So we don't make a mess when we eat. It keeps the tables
clean and everything."
I froze, glancing down at the circular form I held in my hands. This thing kept
stuff clean? No fucking way. There was no way something that didn't even move,
could clean. I refused to believe it. 
Eren snorted, shaking his head. "I'll show you how they work tomorrow. It's
really late, and I think it's best if we both went to bed."
I regarded him strangely. "Excuse me asshole, I've been asleep for five days."
He sighed softly. "I'm sorry. But can we go to bed now? Oh, speaking of, I only
have one bed, so you can have it, I'll sleep on the couch."
I first thought about refusing, to tell him that it was his house and his bed
and he should sleep where he usually did. But then I remembered how much he
owed me. I straightened myself and walked calmly towards the door he held open
for me. A large bed sat at the far wall, a small window placed above it to
allow light in. One table stood next to it and another sat next in the corner,
both having candles and matches lying upon them. His room was organized and
clean, and I gave myself a nod of approval and made my way to the bed. I wasn't
tired, but at least I had a quiet place to be alone and think.
"Night, Levi," was all Eren said before he closed the door and left. The room
instantly lost any source of warm light, and blue moonlight illuminated the
space instead. I let out a soft sigh, reaching out and gingerly running my
fingers down the fabric of the bed. It was soft to the touch, and I wasn't sure
whether I liked it or not. I wasn't used to sleeping on soft stuff, having been
sleeping on tree branches or grass all my life. But i'd slept on one for the
past few days, so how bad could it really be? Besides, there were worse things
I could do besides sleep on a bed again.
I climbed onto Eren's bed and flipped myself onto my back. I let out another
sigh, slowly closing my eyes as I did. It wasn't too bad, I suppose. It was
better than sleeping on the hard floor at least. 
Opening my eyes to peer out the window, I let my thoughts take over. I wasn't
tired, so there was really no point in sleeping. If one slept too much, they
ended up feeling even more tired, and I hadn't ever been in a situation that
being tired was okay. Drowsiness was a sure fire way to get killed. And if I
got careless in a hunter town, things were sure to end badly. 
I held up a hand to pierce the moonlight streaming into the room. I thought
about hunters and demons, of evil and what truly made something evil. Is it the
way someone is raised? Or is it just how some are born? Are some born good? I
didn't think so. I thought of my past and my future. I thought of destiny, and
I thought of fate. And I couldn't help but wonder why they had both lead me to
this place. 
My thoughts twisted around in my mind for what felt like forever, but very
slowly, they started to grow weak, and eventually fade away.
 
 
 Several hours later, I had fallen soundly asleep, and I later awoke to find my
tail curled around my body to cover the tip of my nose. 
 
 
Chapter End Notes
     Ill be doing grammar checks when I can
***** Chapter 4 *****
Chapter Notes
     Welp. Hello again ^^
     A new chapter is out, yay! This one took a lot of extra thought and
     time to complete since I wasn't exactly sure how it would all play
     out. I got writers block for like, five hours today when I just sat
     here and stared at my computer screen. It was bad.
     I don't really know what to say this time, except if you see any
     mistakes or corrections I need to make, please let me know!
     I did want to thank all of you wonderful people who have left
     comments or kudos though, those make me seriously happy and keep me
     pumping out chapters. I did tell my father a while ago that I started
     writing fanfiction, and he started bashing on me for doing it because
     apparently its bad to do something you love if you're not making
     money off of it, so I was really down for a while. He was overall
     being really rude, and when I told him how happy it made me that
     people liked my writing, he was a dick and said "That's GREEEEAT."
     This only goes to further prove how much all your comments mean to
     me, how they encourage me when my own family can't. Thank you, I love
     you all! ^^
     OKAY enough of that, enjoy the chapter! ^^
See the end of the chapter for more notes
The soft rays of sunlight shone down onto my silvery skin, warming it to the
point it almost hurt. I let out a breathy sigh, but stayed where I was, not
wanting to move. Sunlight could be painful to demons, so not many of them
wandered around during the day because it had the potential to burn, or in
severe cases kill them. But since I was stronger than most, it did little than
cause me a bit of uncomfortable heat. But with the mix of warmth and the soft
fabric I was lying on top of, I was content. I felt rested and relaxed,
something I'd rarely ever felt. Which was strange, judging from where I was
staying; a hunter settlement.
My eyes snapped open, memories of the past few days rushing back to me all at
once. I curled in on myself, drawing my knees to my chest, fingers tearing
through my hair to grip my scalp. My lips parted in the form of a snarl, eyes
burning with anger and confusion. Everything was messed up. None of this was
even supposed to be happening.
And it was all his fault.
I snarled in disgust as I remembered I had slept on his bed, in his room, in
his house. I shot daggers to the sheets that lay beneath me and jumped off of
the bed as quickly as I could. I just needed to get away, I needed to leave and
never come back.
I snorted, rolling my eyes. Too bad you're fucking bound, smartass.
Stretching one final time, I crossed Eren's room and headed for the door,
opening it slowly and peeking out through a crack. Nothing. I cautiously opened
it further, glancing around the larger room warily. A single candle was lit,
but besides that the room was completely dark and empty. 
My eyes narrowed, my senses on high alert. Eren had said just last night that
he would protect me to gain his honor back, but humans were known to be liars.
I would have to see if he actually had the intentions of keeping his word. 
I exhaled and carefully opened the door just enough so I was barley able to
squeeze out. I could feel my tail reflexively hardening to a sharp point as I
moved forward, taking small, hesitant steps. I had made it about halfway into
the main living room at this point. My pointed ears twitched at every sound
that reached them, from the wind that pushed against the windows, to the sharp
sounds of creaking furniture-  
I whirled around, faint traces of black intricate lines dancing over my body as
I did so, my demonic powers acting on instinct rather than me activating them
myself. I spun around only to find Eren staring at me with a wide-eyed, sleep
infested look, appearing almost slightly frightened. Upon seeing me, he let out
a surprised gasp before he fell backwards and collided back onto the thing he'd
called a 'couch', with a less than pleased groan.
I let out a sharp breath, letting my muscles relax and my tail turn back into
the soft silver fur it usually was as I lost sight of my Captor behind the
furniture. He was kind of an idiot first thing in the morning.
I stood there in the middle of the room as I watched the kid struggle to get to
his feet, rubbing his head, grumbling something about surprise attacks from
pale-ass demons. My eyes narrowed threateningly, but I couldn't help but feel
mildly amused at the statement. After all, he had been the one who'd popped out
of nowhere. 
Eren let out a large yawn as he wandered around his makeshift bed, only to turn
around and sit on the back of it. My brows pulled together, confused as to why
he was sitting on it like that since it was obviously wrong. The designer had
not intended the back of his furniture to be sat on, clearly.
"Don't sit on it like that," I told him, trying to point out his fault.
He looked just as confused as I felt now. "What, why?" he asked, but opened his
mouth to yawn once more, trying to cover it up with his hand.
I let out a frustrated growl. "Because it's wrong."
At that Eren stopped at stared. He was quiet for a long while, as if trying to
figure out why I was telling him this. But he eventually came to some sort of
conclusion because he sat back even more and used his hands to brace himself as
he did so, mocking me. "I can sit on it however I want, it's mine after all. I
could sit on it upside down and it would still be right because that would be
the way I'd want to enjoy it. There's no 'wrong' way to sit on something if it
belongs to you. Unless you think it's wrong. But if you don't think it is, it
isn't."
My eye twitched. Did what this asshole say ever make sense?
"You know, you look really awkward just standing there like that," he stated
suddenly.
I glanced over to him coldly, not quite understanding what he meant by that. I
looked down at myself. There wasn't anything awkward about me, maybe besides
missing a shirt still, but my hands were at my sides, my back was straight, my
pants were holey, but that was nothing new. I failed to see what he was getting
at. "Why do you say that?" I asked.
He just shrugged. "Because you just do."
So fucking helpful. Really Eren, thanks a fucking lot.
I rolled my eyes and hissed, mostly just out of frustration. Why did I have to
be bound to an arrogant, hot tempered asshole like him? Why couldn't I get the
kid who punched him in the face? I felt like we'd at least get along better
than Eren and I did. Too bad I'd already forgotten the kids name. Oh well.
"Shut the fuck up if you're gonna say stupid shit, no one wants to hear mouth
diarrhea. Now - if you don't mind - I'm going to go kill something," I said
easily and began walking towards the door. 
"Wait, what?" He asked as he immediately started growing tense, all his
attention now focused on me, tone turning dangerous. "What do you mean?"
I growled, glancing over my shoulder to throw him a nasty glare before pointing
at my still exposed chest. I was still half fucking nude and he acted as though
it was something he saw every day. "I told you that if you didn't get me a new
shirt when we got here, I'd kill something. I'm not one to go back on what-"
Before I could finish, Eren bounded off the back of the couch and practically
sprinted to his room before disappearing. I stood there with my mouth still
open, confused and unsure about what had just happened. If someone had lit a
match under his ass at that exact moment he'd jumped off the couch, it would
have fit the image perfectly. 
I shut my mouth that was still gaping open right before Eren emerged from his
room, holding a small piece of clothing with an expression that said he wasn't
all too sure about it. But at the same time, there was something in his eyes
that said he didn't really care. My eyes narrowed at him before switching to
the article of clothing in his hands. 
"Here," he said, holding out what appeared to be a black, long sleeved shirt
with a small tear at the bottom. "This is the smallest one I could find. It
might be a little big still, but it's all I've got for now." He stepped over
and held out his hand that had the shirt clenched in his fingers to me, waiting
for me to take it. I glanced between him and the black shirt and back again,
eyes still narrowed in suspicion. Although he was doing his best to hide it,
his eyes gave him away. He wasn't very happy he had to be sharing his clothes
with me, that much was certain.
That set me on edge a little. But I reached out and took it regardless, zeroing
in on the small tear at the bottom.
I'll need to fix this. Maybe I can see if there's anyone who sells needles and
thread around here?
But in order to do that, I'd need more clothes than I currently had to be able
to hide my painfully obvious skin color from the humans. If they saw my silvery
skin, I'd probably be stabbed. That had happened once, and I never wanted to
repeat that scenario ever again.  
A small huff made me glance up to see Eren staring down at me with an impatient
look on his face, and I rolled my eyes. Impatient little shit. Slipping my arms
through the bottom of the shirt, I waited until both had found the sleeves and
my hands poked out before slipping it over my head. I ran my hands down my
chest, testing out the fabric and how much the shirt clung to my skin. It was
safe to say it didn't. It hung off me enough that I had a hard time keeping the
damn thing on my shoulders. Every now and then one of the sleeves would slip
down and expose one of my shoulders, to which I would give an irritated growl. 
"It's too big."
Eren watched my struggle with mild interest and amusement. It was clear he
found it somewhat entertaining watching me try and figure out how to keep the
over-sized shirt from falling off one way or another. But I didn't miss those
few glances when the sleeve slipped and my shoulders were exposed. He tried to
look away when I caught him staring, but he didn't seem to be embarrassed at
all. At first, I had thought he was watching me the same, strange way he'd been
watching me in the forest a few days ago, but his eyes seemed to be much more
curious than before. Then it hit me.
"You've never seen demonic skin like this before, have you?"
Eyes widened infinitesimally as they came back to meet my own questioning ones.
"N. . . No. I haven't. It's. . . strange."
My head tipped, causing the shirt to slide off my shoulder again, but I paid it
no attention. "Strange? Well, I suppose one would think that having never seen
a demon with this complexion before. My kind are the only ones that-" I
stopped. Wait, why was I telling him this? Why was I trying to give him
information about my race? I never told anyone that, not even other demons.
Eren reached up suddenly, reaching over to adjust something on his clothes, my
eyes following the movement unblinkingly. They settled on the winged design of
the mark on his hand, his flesh already healed from the burn it had caused.
Which was odd, since humans usually didn't heal from burns that severe so
quickly.
I felt anger settle in the depths of my belly, which caused Eren to stop and
glance at me in confusion. The mark was trying to compel me to spill demonic
secrets, things I'd never had the intentions of telling humans. I bared my
teeth, sharp canines morphing from my teeth, a light red fog swarming through
my eyes. I really didn't have any freedom. I was even denied the ability to
stop my mouth from moving. Being bound was going to be more trouble than I had
first thought.
It made my stomach curl with dread. 
"Levi?"
I blinked, letting out a low growl in the back of my throat. It still bothered
me that Eren knew my name. It was something I had not told him myself, and it
irked me when others knew things about me when I hadn't told them those things
myself. But then again, I knew Eren's name when he hadn't told me himself,
either. That was to be expected though. It was just one of the many side
effects after the binding was completed. Both demon and Captor knew their names
and a small amount of their abilities. Yet, for some reason, I wasn't able to
see any of Eren's skills, which was strange. Was it the same way for him? Did
he not know my abilities either? 
"Hey, shitty brat."
He frowned, a deep crease settling between his brows. "What the hell, don't
call me that!"
I rolled my eyes. "I'll call you whatever the fuck I want. I'll call you 'tiny-
dick-bitch' if I feel like it. But that's besides the point. I wanted to ask
you something," I said, waiting until he met my gaze with a glare before
continuing. "I can't sense any of your skills from the binding. Can you sense
mine?"
He blinked, reaching up to scratch the side of his head in confusion. "You
can't? But I thought. . . Yes, I can see them, but only a few. I know that in
the demonic tongue, you're considered a High Rank demon, which are somewhat
rare and hard to find." He paused, narrowing his eyes at me with an expression
that made me question if he was trying to recall what he knew or bore holes in
my head. After a moment, he hummed in interest before saying, "You have the
ability to take and summon Familiar demons, but you choose not to for some
reason. I don't get why you wouldn't, but whatever. You can also increase your
strength and speed at will and are shown through intricate markings that appear
on your body. But I sort of already knew that from when I fought with you, I
just don't know which colored markings activate which ability. That's it
really," he shrugged. "That's all I knew after the binding was complete."
I stood there in a mix of relief and confusion. He only knew the basics about
my skills, but I was still confused as to why I knew next to nothing about his.
I'd heard that it was supposed to work both ways, so why wasn't it? 
My thoughts where interrupted when a knock echoed through the wood of the front
door. I glanced at Eren briefly before I once again tried to make the fucking
shirt stay on my shoulders as he shrugged and went to see who it was. I moved
as far away from the door as possible, my tail shifting into a spear shape once
again in case the person who came through that door had any hidden intentions
and made it past Eren. I'd be ready, just in case.
Eren flung open the door almost carelessly, taking in the person at his door
with bedhead and a mouth wide open in a sleepy yawn. I peered past him to see
who it was, somewhat surprised to see a short blonde kid smiling up at Eren
happily.
"Oh good, you're up! Do you have a minute? We need to discuss some stuff before
we go see the Commander later," he said, but glanced past Eren to land his
bright blue eyes on me, a pointed look on his face. I kept my expression
neutral, not letting the small boy see anything I didn't want him to.
Eren sighed, running his hand down his face before nodding. "Sure Armin, where
did you wanna talk?"
"Right outside is fine, if that's okay?"
Oh?
"Sure."
He turned around, shrugged once and walked out, closing the door behind him. 
Well, this was sure to be interesting. Looks like the kid either didn't know or
didn't remember my acute hearing.
I strolled over to the wall closest to where I'd been standing and let my back
hit it with a soft thud. My ears twitched, searching for any signs of
conversation. Not that it was very hard. Now that Eren was no longer here, my
senses immediately swarmed to the outside world.
Then again, sometimes I really hated this ability of mine.
Even though I couldn't see what was going on, I could hear the sound of
crunching gravel being moved as the pair walked, obviously trying to put
distance between themselves and the house. Other sounds of random people's
conversations got caught up in my senses, and I tried my best to tune them
out. 
"So, what's up, Armin?"
The blonde kid named Armin paused a while before speaking, as if unsure as how
to begin.
"Eren. . . Well, I guess first I should ask if you and the demon made up yet,
since it was really stressing you out yesterday. Did you go to find him? Did he
forgive you?"
Eren sighed. "Yeah, I guess we did. I did go find him, but I was half afraid I
was going to fall off and die up there, but I made it back okay. . . " 
Then it was his turn to pause. 
"I think he forgave me?"
"That doesn't sound very reassuring."
"I know, I know, it's just. . . he told me that I needed to earn back his trust
the same way I broke it. Through actions."
"So basically, no, he hasn't forgiven you, but he's giving you another chance,
right?"
". . . Yeah, pretty much."
A sigh of relief sounded from the other kid. 
"That's good. He's not acting like Erwin thought he would, which is overall, a
good thing," he said, sounding very pleased, excited even. "We need him on our
side Eren. We need his power in order to bring down the demons, he's the only
one we've confronted that even acts within reason. He's smart, and overall, has
mercy on those weaker than him. His strength is what we need in order to win."
Eren said nothing for a moment, and I could only guess the mention of the word
'mercy' was bringing back some strong memories from last night.
Good.
But what the blonde mushroom had said made my eyes widen in disbelief. They
wanted to use me against my own? To kill other demons? Did they even know what
that meant for me, how all the other races would take it? It was one thing to
be bound unwillingly, but a whole story altogether when you brought in the
prospect of killing your own. The very thought horrified me.
"Yeah, I know," Eren finally spoke up, sighing. "I need to get him to trust me
again. I'll tell him whatever the Commander wants me to, all the lies he wants
me to use. As long as it gets him on our side, it doesn't matter. Half of the
things I said to him last night were lies anyways, I can tell him more if I
need to."
That made me stop, eyes widening. 
Whatdid he just say?
"You've got to be fuckin' with me," I breathed, starting to feel my body shake
furiously, anger pulsing through my veins at an unstoppable rate. 
He lied? But why? What the fuck did he think he would gain from that? I'd find
out sooner or later, that fucking bastard. And now he's saying he'll do it
again just to make me join his side? Did this kid have a fucking death wish
sometime today, because I want to sign off on the release papers when he goes.
More words were exchanged between the two, but I was too filled with rage to
even process what they were saying. 
After everything I said, after every thing I told him, he was still the fucking
asshole he'd been since the beginning. What I said didn't make one Goddamn
difference to him. Fine, you want to play like that? You want to try and trick
me? Go ahead. See where that gets you.
I opened the front door with such strength, the hinges creaked, part of the
metal ripping as it slammed against the outside wall. I saw a few passerby's
jump in surprise, but my gaze was set on Eren and his little friend. They were
still in deep conversation, Eren appearing somewhat remorseful, but I didn't
miss when he went to rub the back of his hand with the winged burn on it. He
could feel my anger, but was shrugging it off. 
When the door crashed against the back wall, both of them jumped and turned to
find the source of the sound that had surprised them. 
The blonde kid gasped, fear taking over his wide blue eyes as he took me
in. Eren's own eyes widened. Obvious dread washed over his face at the sight of
my demonic, red-fogged eyes and raged snarl.
That's right, motherfucker. I'm coming for your sorry ass.
I marched towards him, the predator inside me taking over, gnashing it's teeth
and screaming for blood, for revenge. To taste the blood of the human that had
dragged me so low. It wanted to feel the tear of his skin on its teeth, to give
in to the demonic cravings and drink in his blood, feel the taste of human
sliding down it's throat like honey. 
A few people made the mistake to walk right in front of me then.
My fist shot out as a middle aged man strolled in front of me with a sneer upon
seeing my skin, but fear took over the very second my fist connected with his
face and he was sent flying ten feet through the air, white intricate lines
swimming over my already pale skin. 
He screamed upon being flung through the air, then smacked into the ground with
such force several people followed his scream with a few of their own. 
Eren watched it all happen with wide eyes, shock paralyzing him. People started
running in fear, screaming something about 'getting the Commander', but I paid
them no mind. He stared at the man I had tossed away from me, looking as though
he wanted to run to his side, but I didn't give him the chance. Black markings
strayed over my skin once more, and with breathtaking speed, raced up to him,
blocking his path. His friend cried out in what I guessed to be either fear or
surprise, and my narrowed gaze turned on him. He flinched, taking a step back
and placing his hands in front of his chest to act as a barrier between us. 
I didn't even humor that with a snort. It was petty how much he tried to
protect himself when I would be able to kill him dozens of different ways and
he would have never known how it'd happened. I actually toyed with the idea for
a moment, but something moved in front of him, blocking my vision and I blinked
in confusion. I turned my head upwards and was met with Eren's wary face. I
felt a small prick in my chest and I winked, also taking note of the anger that
threatened to bubble over. His jaw was clenched though, fists balled at his
sides as he stared down at me, and I narrowed my eyes in return. The pain was
there, but it wasn't all that overwhelming. It was bearable, but. . .
"You will not harm Armin."
I raised a brow, a light smirk filling out my lips. "News flash, shitty
bastard, while I may not be able to hurt you, I can still hurt the people you
love." Eren's eyes flashed with anger, and I felt a burst of it echo to me
through pain, but it quickly dissipated as though it hadn't even been there in
the first place. His jaw twitched, and I swore I saw an ounce of gold in his
emerald green depths. I blinked, and it vanished. 
I said nothing.
Eren growled, gold steadily emerging from green, and this time I knew I wasn't
just seeing things. 
"You will not harm Armin," he repeated, the commanding tone in his voice
activating something within the bond. I grit my teeth upon feeling a
restraining barrier emit from the short blonde kid, and knew that even if I
tried to touch him now, my body would refuse. Dammit.
So instead, I turned on Eren and met him with a defiant, loathing glare. 
"You bastard. You fucking asshole!" I screamed, my tail swishing from side to
side, a dangerous and sharper than usual spear on its end. Everything he had
said, everything he had told me was a lie. And on top of that, he was willing
to lie to me again in order to achieve his own personal gains, with no care
about me or how I would be handling the slaughter of my own kind.
"I heard you," I snapped, "I heard every fucking thing the two of you said. I
know you deceived me." I let out a frustrated breath, clenching my own fists
when Eren's mouth fell open in an 'oh shit'. But no later than that did a look
of realization cross over his face, understanding washing over him. 
"Levi, wait-"
"No! You fucking prick, I gave you another chance and what did you do? You
fucking went behind my back, lied to my Goddamn face, and now I hear you want
to use me as some sort of mass murderer? Who the actual fuck do you think you
are?" I hissed. I leaned forward, as close to his face as I could get. "I could
wipe out this entire town in one night, Eren. You might want to think next time
you-"
"What's going on here?"
I spun on my heel, ready to unleash myself upon the one that had dared to come
this close to me when I was this fucking pissed, but stopped upon seeing a face
I had seen countless times before. 
"Commander Erwin," Eren sighed in relief, placing his clenched fist over his
heart in some odd sort of a salute. Little blondie did the same.
Erwin nodded, smiling at Eren and Armin before turning to me with a guarded
expression, but didn't seem the slightest bit deterred by my cold, red-eyed
glare. 
"You must be Levi," he said, stepping towards me with an outstretched hand. I
stood my ground, but stared at his hand with nothing less than disgust. One,
gross. Two, this bastard had lead missions in attempt to kill me before, like
hell I was shaking his hand now.
When it became clear I had no intention of taking his hand, he dropped it at
his side. His tall muscular figure shifted with every movement he made, and if
it weren't for the thick navy blue cloak that hugged his form comfortably, I
swore I'd be able to see ever ripple his muscles made. His light blonde hair
complimented his perfectly blue eyes in a way that almost made his face glow. I
stared at him, waiting to see what he wanted. I should have know he'd be the
one the two brats were talking about, it was so obvious now.  
Eren and Armin had remained quiet the entire time, but neither Erwin or I
spared either one of them a single glance. 
"What do you want," I finally huffed, crossing my arms over my chest and
silently cursing to myself when one of the sleeves slipped off my shoulder
again. 
But Erwin didn't take notice of it, and met my gaze head on. "You're Eren's
captured demon, correct?"
A warning growl rumbled deep in my chest. "Yeah, the fucking kid bound me.
What's it to you?"
He nodded once. "Good. I wanted to speak with you personally about a few
things. Judging from the riot that broke out only a few minutes ago, I'm here
to assume something went wrong?" he asked.
I sent a sidelong glare at Eren, who was already staring at me with a pleading
expression. Was he afraid of getting in trouble? Ha, to think that I gave two
fucks was beyond hilarious, really. "This fucking shithead is what's wrong."
"No, wait, Levi-"
"Eren, enough," Erwin ordered, turning to face him. Eren obeyed, hanging his
head in defeat. 
Then he turned to me. 
"Levi, I know while things must be very hard and confusing for you right now,
I'd like to ask you to join me in my office a few houses down. I would like to
discuss some issues with you, and Eren, that need to be addressed as quickly as
possible. I would prefer to avoid any future misunderstandings like this one,"
he said. 
I narrowed my eyes, taking in his words cautiously. It could be a trap, but
from what I'd see from him previously, he didn't seem like the one to do
something like that. So I took a gamble.
"Fine. I'll go with you," I grumbled.
He smiled reassuringly and turned to lead the way before stopping and glancing
over his shoulder. "Eren, come with us. And Armin, I think you should return to
the lab, you need to make up for Hanji being gone, she's counting on you to
help her get those samples done." 
Armin nodded his head about twenty times. "Sir!" he exclaimed, then  darted of
to the other side of the camp in search of the lab. Eren stared after Armin
desperately, as if silently wishing for him to come back.
"Alright, let's get moving then," Erwin stated, and once again made for his
office. I sighed unhappily, but followed him anyways and tried to pretend Eren
didn't exist. He made that kind of hard when he kept trying to get my attention
though.  
After walking a few streets and plenty of glares and fearful glances later, we
reached something similar to a small mansion. I was sure we were just going to
walk past it, but when Erwin started heading up the stairs that lead to the
door, I stopped and gave the place an impressed look. It looked clean, cleaner
than the rest of the place did. Eren, upon realizing that I wasn't moving up
the stairs after Erwin, turned and gave me a questioning look. I bared my
teeth, talking as long of strides that my legs allowed me. I brushed past him
without a word, heading through the opened door that Erwin was holding open for
us. I slowed my pace upon entering, waiting for Erwin to retake the lead, and
once did he lead us down a hallway that branched off the main room and dipped
into a smaller room that must have been his office, judging from the big desk
and all the papers. Erwin moved behind the desk and dropped himself down into
his chair, clearing some papers out of the way and motioned for Eren and I to
take a seat. Eren once again tried to get my attention with pleading glances,
but I ignored him completely.
"Alright, I'm going to get right down to business if that's alright with you
both?"
Eren nodded, I remained unmoving, arms crossing over my chest again.
"Good. Now, Levi, you came here around five to six days ago, correct?"
I scoffed. It was nice how he tried to make it sound like I came here willingly
when I clearly hadn't. But I nodded anyways. 
Erwin nodded thoughtfully, reaching for a clean sheet of paper and a pencil,
scribbling down something that wasn't all that had to guess what it could be. 
"And it's true that you and Eren are bound through a mark on both your bodies?"
Eren and I nodded together.
"May I see it?" he asked, offering a kind smile. 
I hesitated. I wasn't all too fond of the idea of revealing myself like that to
someone I had just barley met. 
Eren, sensing how uncomfortable the request had made me, extended his hand out
for Erwin to observe. He glanced at the top of Eren's hand, eyes darting up to
his face before moving back to his hand. Without having to be told to do so,
Eren flipped his hand open so it was palm up, showing Erwin that the mark had
been burned all the was through. He hummed in interest, jotting down a few more
notes. "And where is your mark, Levi?"
"On my chest," I said, leaving it at that.
He nodded his head slowly, sketching out the design of the mark on paper.
"Sorry to ask, it's almost next to impossible for a Hunter to successfully bind
a demon as powerful as you, it just simply hasn't been done before, so I'm
curious on the matter." 
Even though it was clear his words hadn't been intended to anger me, they did
anyways. "It's fine," I gritted out.
"Alright, let's switch topic," he suggested, and I relaxed slightly. But the
hard expression on Erwin's face had me tensing right up again. "Levi," he
began. "I know that you and Eren need some time to talk out some differences
that have recently occurred, there is a more pressing matter we need to attend
to."
I grunted, meeting his eyes only briefly to let him know I was listening.
"I know that although you are a demon, I am here to ask for your help."
That peaked my interest, and I raised a brow in curiosity. He took it as a sign
to continue. 
"Human kind is on the brink of extinction due to the constant attacks from the
demonic. We have set out to hunt some of the demons that would pose a threat to
us, but as you know, many of our soldiers' lives were lost in order to regain
the hope of no longer having to live in fear. There have been successes here
and there, but overall, humanity is fighting a losing battle. We can't compete
with demons who have elemental powers, or has incredible strength and speed
like you. While Eren has made some bad decisions surrounding you, I would ask
that you work with him, if you are willing to, to help us end the demon race."
I stared. He was delusional.
"Do you have any idea what you're asking me to do?" I growled.
"I do."
The way he said it so simply made my skin crawl. He knew he was asking me to
butcher my own, knew the lives I would have to take.  I lifted up a hand to
pinch the bridge of my nose, closing my eyes.
"Why would you think I would help you do this?"
"Because, you are the only demon we have come across that is willing to let us
weaker humans surrender without bloodshed. You don't wish to kill us, yet when
other demons come to fight you, our sources have reported saying that you
ripped apart the demonic who tried to challenge you with little to no
hesitation whatsoever. Now tell me Levi, what does that mean?" he asked,
threading his fingers together and propping his arms up as he rested his elbows
on the desk.
I froze. I hadn't know there had been people watching those moments. Moments
when I completely let go of the monster inside me and unleashed my full fury
again my opponent. But if there had been someone there to see that, that meant.
. . 
"Demons are cruel," I said, lifting my chin up and steeling my gaze. "It is
true many survive off of lust, blood, and pain, but not all."
Erwin's brows shot up into his forehead. "Oh?"
"Not all demons are evil," I repeated. "I have met a select few that despise
demonic nature and strive to live apart from them and their cruel ways. I
suppose you could consider me one of those demons." I shrugged. "While I hate
the way most of us are, there are a few that do not fit within that mix. What
if I refused to kill those that were like me?"
Erwin smiled, as if he had been expecting something like this. "If you were to
come across a demon like that while hunting, and you believed them to be of no
harm to the humans, I would let you decide whether or not they lived or died."
That had surprised me. I hadn't been expecting that sort of answer. 
"Really? You would just let them go?" I asked, a little twinge of disbelief in
my voice. 
"Yes. I mean we would probably have to create a pact with them so that the
other hunters knew they were on our side, but otherwise, I see no problem with
it. The problem are the ones that would threaten to wipe us off of existence.
Familiars would also be spared, if that was another worry you might of had," he
added.
I wasn't sure what to think at this point. Was I really willing to go out
there, fight alongside the hunters that had done their best to kill me for so
long and help them kill off the demon race? Was I willing to do that? Maybe.
 Was I prepared for the blood? Of course. Could I work with Eren? I cast him a
sidelong glance, and narrowed my eyes at him. 
Hell no.
Then again, If I joined the hunters, I would be able to dispose of the filth in
the world, save the ones that deserved mercy, and keep the humans alive. The
only bad part, was that now all the demons that the hunters had to deal with
would come after me now. And If I did agree, it would be a long road of
bloodshed and sweat. 
But I think that deep down, this is what I'd always wanted. To be able to kill
without holding back, because I knew that what I would be killing what wouldn't
be worth saving.
"Levi." Erwin's voice pulled me from my thoughts and he leaned over his desk a
little so we could look each other in the eyes more clearly. Eren was
completely forgotten about at this point. "Are you willing to help us? Will you
be willing to risk your life in order to bring down the demonic creatures that
thrive on our pain and misery? Will you be prepared to fight alongside us in
battle, to exterminate the filth that covers this word, for the good of not
only us, but for the world itself?" He asked, the weight of his words putting
more and more pressure on my decision to choose. But I already knew my answer.
From the moment I saw my mother bleeding out in front of me as a helpless
child, I knew. I knew what I had to do, what I would die to achieve. I knew,
and I felt my lips turn into a twisted smile.
"I'll help you massacre the demonic." 
 
 
Chapter End Notes
     Alright, so I didn't edit this at all, I just really wanted to get
     this out, so if you feel like there are parts that need more time and
     elaboration on, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, let me know so I can go back
     and make it better! You can be honest, it's fine! ^^ I might also be
     doing a grammar check in the next few days. Please let me know what
     you think, I'd love to hear it, good or bad!
***** Chapter 5 *****
Chapter Notes
     Why do I always get in the mood to write when its late at night and
     I'm tired as fuck and can barley see straight? I have no idea, but
     it's very much not okay.
     W-WHAT?! Demon's Fate broke 100 kudos!!!!! I can't tell you all how
     happy that makes me!!!! Thank you all so much for your continued
     encouragement, I love you all! ^^ I hope I can continue to write
     chapters that you all like >>" The need to make good chapters for my
     readers made me actually go through and edit this one this time (it
     needed it), so I hope it's alright! xD
     I'm sorry for the late post too, I got a job and have been working a
     lot in order to save up for my own computer and college classes. T_T
     But thank you all for reading, and please feel free to drop a
     comment! I'd love to know what you all think and how I could improve!
     -------IMPORTANT------
     There is mention of rape in this chapter, although it doesn't go into
     any sort of detail. I just wanted everyone to be aware just in case.
     ---------AND ---------- Demon's Fate actually has a theme song that
     inspired the entire thing. This story will have some chapters that
     will have music attached to them. PLEASE listen to them if they are
     given. They are actually VERY important to the story, and give
     insight on what will not be plainly said in words. YOU WILL BE
     MISSING THINGS IF YOU DONT. So here is the theme song! xD
     Within Temptation - A Demon's Fate (Don't look at me like that! T_T)
Lives are not toys. They can't be fixed or repaired when they've been
destroyed, its pieces laying scattered about. Once a life has been taken, it
cannot be brought back, no matter how hard one may try. You have one shot at
life. One. And what you choose to do with it is your choice. Your actions
define the way you live, and the way you die. And maybe, with the choices I'd
made, I think I might have led myself down the into the clutches of death. And
it would be my fault, in the end. I brought myself here.
I wished I hadn't. This place was somewhere I didn't know how to survive in to
protect myself. It was full of the uncertain.
Shortly after Erwin had brought Eren and I to his office, I had left on the
note that Erwin would be setting me up to go out on the next hunting
expedition, which would be occurring in the next few days. I couldn't say I was
exactly thrilled to be leaving that quickly to go assassinate my own race, but
I had to accept what had been given to me, I had been the one to agree to help
the humans anyways. Again, it was my actions that lead me here. 
But I wouldn't have it any other way. I wanted to kill the demons. I despised
them, hated them, and wanted them to burn in the hell we had all been born
from. They were creatures who lived to kill and lust. If a demon did not kill,
or feed itself off of lust or the blood of its prey, the demon would die. But
before that would happen, the demon would become monstrous, its' true nature
awakening. They would become desperate, and ravage anything they could just to
keep themselves alive. If they manged to find a way to survive, they were
indifferent to the chaos they had created. Be it death, destruction, or rape,
they never cared, although they could remember exactly how they had been during
their "Fall".
When a demon fell into this hunger driven state of survival, we called it The
Fall. Much in the same way the ancient scripts say God cast the demonic from
his realm due to their hunger for power and other sinful things they could not
obtain while in the holy land, which caused them to fall from their grace.
Quite literally. The ones who had once been angelic, became demonic as they
fell from heaven. Because these now fallen demons have been thought to have
lost their senses to want to turn away from the light and purge inside the
darkness, it was decided long ago that the hunger driven state of insanity
mirrors that of the ones who had been cast from the holy land, creatures who
were turned from beautiful masterpieces to horrible abominations. If you were
to sit and think about it, you'd realize how similar the two situations really
are. 
While this had never been a problem for me, there have been countless times
where I have witnessed the havoc surrounding those that lose their senses and
enter into The Fall. It was sickening. The amount of people whose blood and
been drunk, or the vast covens of demons who had been killed in the actions of
a single demons survival. Whats even more sickening is that fact that even the
purest of demons can be lost to The Fall. Those who had no intention of hurting
another living soul, but are yet succumbed to the origin of their beings.
It was repulsing.
I had seen many of my kind die this way. Either their demonic hunger would
destroy them from the inside out, or another demon or human would kill them in
order to defend their own life. Neither was a pretty sight to see. Both were
gruesome and  disturbing, and I hated every time I had to witness one of those
scenes. It was something I could never look away from, no matter how much I
wanted to. Even though I saw the awful ways demons had died during their
Falling, I couldn't help but watch. It reminded me that no matter how much we
may try, or how pure we claim to be, the truth of our darkness would find a way
to unleash itself if we rejected it. It would find us. 
And it would destroy the image so many had strived to create.
A world without the lust for blood. 
A world without death.
But the dream would disappear as soon as one was lost to The Fall.
That, in the end, is what made my world feel so hopeless. 
"So, Levi, there was something you wanted to discuss with me?" a sudden voice
snapped me out of my thoughts. I blinked, looking up into the face of a curious
Erwin Smith, who had obviously been staring at me for who knows long. I let out
an annoyed hiss between my slightly sharpened teeth. 
Asshole. 
Sometime shortly after our first meeting, I had turned around just as Eren and
I started leaving in attempt to find Erwin again. Eren had called out in both
confusion and frustration, asking what I was dong, but all I'd said was that
there was something else I needed to discuss with Erwin, in private. Earlier,
he had said something that had made me uncomfortable, and I wanted to know
exactly what it was that he knew. Eren and I had barley made it out of the
mansion-like house Erwin's office was located in before I had turned back
around to find him again. Although it was clear that there was something the
kid wanted to get off his chest, I decided he would have to come later, when I
was done talking with Erwin and I wasn't as pissed off at him anymore. 
So now, here I was, in Erwin's office, with him staring at me in amusement
after I had finally snapped out of my thoughts. 
"Well?" He questioned, threading his fingers together and placing them on the
desk in front of him, awaiting my answer. 
I let out a small sigh, leaning back into the chair and crossing my arms over
my chest, letting my eyes travel up to meet his own. Although this wasn't
technically a topic I wanted to be bringing up, this was something I needed to
know. "There was something I wanted to ask you about. Something that has to do
with what you said just a few minutes ago," I told him, keeping my expression
neutral as I did so. 
He encouragingly nodded for me to continue. 
". . . You said that some of your human soldiers reported seeing me tearing
apart the demonic that challenged me without any hesitation," I started, tone
growing more cautious by the second. "I wanted to know if they had reported
anything about me looking. . . different, I suppose. Any changes that they saw
that you knew wouldn't be normal for a demon." I asked, knowing my composure
was contained, but I could feel my palms starting to sweat and the sudden
dampness made me cringe. 
Erwin blinked, something sparking in his eyes, but I was unable to tell what he
was thinking. For a few moments, I actually started to wonder if he had
actually heard what I had said. He did catch me off guard though when he simply
smiled, letting out a light laugh. "No, nothing of the sort. Is that what you
were all stiff about? No need to worry, my men only reported seeing the fights
and how they played out, nothing more and nothing less. Is that the only thing
you came back here to ask me about?" He asked, reaching over to place a note on
the corner of his desk. "Is there anything else I can help you answer?"
I shook my head slowly, my eyes never leaving his smiling face. "That's it," I
mumbled.
He nodded, taking the moment to sort some of his papers and stack them together
to put into piles. I swear, what was with this guy and his fucking papers? It
was like he secretly ate that shit or something, his desk was full of them.
Fuck, the office itself was full of them. How did the guy even make it out the
door?
"Very well then," he said. "If there's nothing else you wanted to ask me, I
think it would be a good time for you to head back. Eren is waiting for you
outside, isn't he?" he asked, turning to look at me with a questioning stare. 
I bristled at the mention of Eren, my pointed ears quivering in anger. I didn't
want to see Eren. I didn't want to even fucking look at Eren. But I knew how
childish that sounded. I couldn't avoid him forever, and as much as I wished I
could, I couldn't stay mad at him forever either. I sighed to myself, lingering
on the idea of talking with him and asking him what it was that had happened.
Had he really lied to me? I didn't know. It was impossible to determine what
exactly what had happened now that I had seen how desperate he was to talk to
me, to get me to acknowledge his presence even, just so he could explain
himself. He was either very desperate, or there was a different side to the
story I couldn't see. 
I growled to myself when I realized that that was a very likely possibility. If
there was another side to it, I had been avoiding him on the sole fact that I
had believed what I'd heard, without even giving Eren the chance to explain
what he'd meant. Every time he'd tried to, I had ignored his presence
completely.
Admitting defeat with a reluctant sigh, I rose from my chair, sparing Erwin a
quick glance. He looked worried, but a small smile still hung on his lips. I
said nothing, simply excusing myself from the room as I headed for the door. I
needed to give Eren a chance. If he had been reacting just as a show to his
fellow humans, it was something I could understand. Not that I'd necessarily
appreciate that fact either, but then I would know I'd been mad at him for a
reason I was not aware of. I didn't want that to be the case. I didn't like to
misunderstand people because they had let their pride get in the way. Pride was
something I understood all too well. Demons lived on it, thrived off it after
all. Our pride is what defined us. Maybe that's what defined Eren as well.
Right as I reached out and clutched the handle, Erwin's voice made me stop.
"Levi," he started, the sound of papers being shuffled as he spoke. "Please
listen to what he has to tell you. He seemed upset once he understood why you
were angry with him. It seems as though he wants to be on good terms with you."
I spun around to confront him with an incredulous glare, but Erwin was
shuffling his goddamn papers, shrugging once before his icy blue eyes connected
with mine. Uneasiness spread through me as they hardened, a deadly seriousness
hiding behind the beautiful blue orbs. "You've got to give him credit for
trying, at least."
I stared at him a moment before I growled, flung the door open, and left.
I stormed down the halls, trying to get out of the house as quickly as my legs
could carry me. What the hell did he mean by that? Was he suggesting that I
wasn't trying? I felt my chest rumble with another deep growl, baring my
forming fangs as I walked. Whatever, he didn't know anything. I had already
been planning on hearing Eren out, I didn't need him breathing down my neck,
telling me what to do when I already had the intention of doing it. It was more
annoying than anything.
I took short, quick strides as I exited the manor. And as I walked, I let my
mind empty, yet think. So much had happened, and yet so little made sense. So I
thought to myself, clearing away as many uncertainties as I could, and taking
note of the things I had come to realize. With each step I took, I thought
about my selfishness, and Eren's. About the small blonde boy who had looked so
innocent and pure next to my Captor, it was alarming in a way I hadn't noticed
before. I thought about Erwin and his ever present smile, the perfect mask
hiding what he really knew and felt. I thought of the human who had tried to
kill me, and of the man I had knocked away in rage and left on the ground,
unsure if he was even still alive.
I thought about death. I thought about life. But above all, I thought of what
It really meant to be alive. I was alive, yet had I really lived? Did I have
the right to live, after I had taken so many lives? 
Did I have the right to take the lives of those, I alone, had deemed unworthy
to live? 
No, I didn't. But if I didn't decide myself, no demon would be left standing,
no matter how pure or how innocent.
I had taken on the role of playing God so I could save the ones that deserved
to keep on living. I would murder my own, destroy the parasites, and protect
the light inside the darkness. Or at least, that was what I managed to let
myself think.
I didn't pay attention to anything else besides the light that peeked through
the crack of the open doors that finally appeared in front of me, showing me
the way out. I tried to reach for the handle, but when my fingers gripped it, I
couldn't push it open. It was as though my body had failed me. 
I stared at where I had taken hold of the doorknob with a blank expression. I
sighed, letting my eyes flutter closed, my grip tightening ever so slightly.
Was I truly ready for this? I was prepared for what I had to do, but was I
truly prepared for what my future would now turn into? I had lived a life of
loneliness and constant bloodshed, but I had been able to go where I wanted, do
what I desired, without being tied down by any other outside forces. I had been
free, but now, I couldn't be within a few hundred feet from a kid who simply
had no sense, and my life was quite literally in his hands. Could I go out and
do what I had agreed to, knowing I had to rely someone I didn't even trust, or
hardly even know? To ask the kid who had bound my life force to his to cover me
when I needed him to?
So many questions and so little answers.
Demons who are bound do not live a life of freedom, and often times, they are
turned into slaves. Without the ability to deny their Captors' orders, they are
forced to do whatever is asked of them. Those who had once been powerful and
energetic, are reduced to soulless, dead creatures with no freedom, and no
future. And now, being here in this position myself, I could understand why so
many had withered away inside and had finally given up completely. With no
freedom, there is no hope, and with no hope, there is no life. Why should one
pursue a life in which they have no say or choice? 
Yet, although I understood why many had felt that despair, I did not feel this
same sense of loss that I had seen so many countless times before. My Captor
had not made me a slave, and did not force me into a way of life I would have
given up on, such as the sex trade. It was a depressing and sickening scene I
had had the unpleasantness of witnessing.
But while he had forced me into a situation I wasn't happy about, it was
something I could deal with.
I had made my own decisions and I had brought myself here. It wasn't Eren who
started all of this; it was me. 
I let out a tired sigh, and let go of the handle altogether.
I'm too old for this shit.
Reaching forward to open the door once again, I had just about grasped the
handle when I suddenly heard a frustrated, "Where the hell is he, he should be
done by now. . . " from behind the door along with the sound of determined
footsteps that sounded close. Too close. 
My eyes widened in understanding, and not even my lightning fast reflexes could
do anything about the door that was heading heading straight for my face. Just
when my head was nearly about to collide with the edge, it stopped mid-swing. I
blinked, somewhat surprised by the suddenness of its abrupt halt. I took a step
back, and looked straight into two brilliant emerald eyes that were filled with
just as much surprise as mine. 
"Levi," Eren breathed in relief, just before it turned accusatory, a slight
pout on his lips. "I thought that you were trying to hide out somewhere in
there since you weren't coming outside, so I came to see were you'd been and
what was taking so-"
I let out a pained growl, holding up a hand to stop him. "Kid, shut up. I don't
care what you were going to do, just get out of my way." 
Well, so much for sticking around and talking it out. I felt guilty as soon as
the words left my lips. 
Eren grew rigid, anger once again clear in his eyes as it ignited through the
bond. I winced, a searing pain attacking my chest for what felt like the
hundredth time. 
While Eren did open the door wider to see me better, he made no attempt to move
from the spot. In fact, it seemed as though he was purposely trying to block my
way, preventing me from going outside. The demonic creature inside me screamed
at the thought of being caged in, but I silenced it once I noticed Eren wasn't
technically moving to purposely block me in, but was blocking the way more out
of desperation than anything.
"Ok, Levi look, I know while what I said might have sounded really bad, it
wasn't what you thought-"!
I took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. I told myself I'd listen to what
he'd have to say, and now seemed as good a time as any. But not here, not at
this place.
"Eren, stop."
"No! You need to understand that I wasn't-"
"Eren, seriously, calm down. I just want to go back to your home. We can talk
there. I'd be more comfortable than standing here in your commanders' doorway.
My instincts are also freaking out right now, so just move and let's go."
His eyes widened in shock. He stared at me with a dumbfounded expression,
obviously confused about my sudden change of heart. While it was amusing for a
little while, he still hadn't moved from his spot at the door, and I was
starting to get anxious and fidgety. Demons didn't like feeling trapped,
especially when they could physically see the situation themselves. It just
simply conflicted with our nature.
Eren blinked, opening his mouth to speak before closing it again. This was
taking too long.
"Eren, move now before I break through the wall," I said, hiding my anxiety
behind my emotionless mask. But then again, there where no boundaries between
us regarding emotions. Eren felt it, and although he seemed curious on the
matter, he moved aside and waited for me to walk outside before closing the
door. Although I was grateful that he had finally moved his ass, I did my best
in attempt to conceal in hope that it wouldn't trickle through the bond. I knew
it failed though. Eren was looking at me with an amused expression now that he
thought I couldn't see him.
Damn.
The trek back to Eren's home was awkward to say the least. For once, he didn't
try saying anything to me, and I was glad when he kept the silence between us.
There was nothing for us to say right now. While we might have been getting
along enough to the point we could be in the same room as each other, it was
clear that we still weren't on the friendliest of terms. We did what we had to
in order to keep the other happy enough to keep the other off our back. If I
got mad, Eren knew I would probably end up killing someone or destroy
something. If Eren got angry at me, pain was inflicted, and although it was a
sort of personal goal to piss him off, I could only take so much before I
needed to give it a rest. There was only so much pain I could take before I
yielded. After all, pain was the best way to tame something, and it was no
different when it came to us demons, no matter how much we liked to cause it. 
As we passed through town though, I couldn't help but notice all of the
wandering stares I felt lingering on me. It left me tense. It wasn't so much
the fact that they were looking, but the harsh unblinking way they stared, as
if they could see through me. It was unnerving. The message behind their
blatant stares were obvious. I wasn't wanted here. I could practically feel
their fear and hate radiating off of their bodies. 
Eren seemed just as tense, even more so than I was really, as we walked through
town. His eyes flicked back and forth, narrowed and focused. There was
something in his eyes that almost looked defensive, and I couldn't fathom why.
Maybe it was a hunter thing that I just didn't understand yet. 
But I didn't miss the way some of them stared at Eren the same way they stared
at me; like he was the very essence of evil. I think they blamed him for
bringing me here and turning their world upside down. 
After a few minutes, we finally reached Eren's house. To my amusement, the door
was still thrown wide open, and the damage from it hitting the back wall was
plainly obvious. He let out a troubled sigh, prying it off the wall in attempt
to close it. It somewhat worked. I felt oddly proud of myself when it didn't
close all the way, and Eren shot me a nasty glare at the smug emotions he felt.
I scoffed at him, turning and making my way to the odd couch thing in the
middle of the small room. 
"Well, this makes things a little harder now," I heard him groan, watching him
over my shoulder as he tried to get the lock to fit into place. 
"Your fault" was all I acknowledged that with. He groaned again.
"OK, you know what, fuck it," he huffed, leaned the door as far out as he could
before pulling back with such force the thing practically flew into place. He
made a small sound of satisfaction. 
"Alright, now that that's settled. . . " He turned and met my gaze, each of us
holding it until he took a deep breath in through his nose, and followed me
over to the couch. While I hadn't moved to sit down, Eren flopped himself into
it and rested his elbows on top of his knees, burying his head in his hands.
"I need to explain myself."
I said nothing. I took a few steps back so I could lean against the wall next
to the fire place, and still be able to face him and listen to what he had to
say. I figured I owed him that much. If I couldn't even sit and listen to an
explanation about how he had so kindly decided to fucked me over, there was no
way this new demon hunting arrangement was going to turn out for the better. 
He took my silence as a sign to continue.
"What you heard me say when I was speaking with Armin wasn't true, first of
all," He glanced up, meeting my eyes to let me know he was telling the truth.
"I didn't lie to you when I came to find you yesterday. Everything I told you
was true. It was what I said to Armin that was the lie."
I tipped my head in confusion, narrowing my dark eyes. "What do you mean? Why
would you lie to your friend?"
Eren shook his head. "No, well, I didn't really lie to him either. He knew what
I was saying was a lie."
My expression went blank. He was seriously the most confusing thing I have ever
had to deal with. 
He let out a stressed noise, reaching back to scratch the back of his head. "I
know that doesn't really make sense right now, but just believe me when I said
that I wasn't lying to you, or Armin. Armin knew about the whole thing. It was
kind of a set up, I suppose you could say."
Set up? Why the hell would they have a set up conversation?  "What was set up?"
I growled, trying to get a grab on what he meant by the whole thing. 
"Our conversation! I mean, the first few things weren't, that was mainly just
Armin seeing if we had made up and everything, but the whole thing about me
telling you the lies the Commander wanted me to give you? That was what we set
up. Yesterday, actually, when I went to ask him for help on how to talk to you,
so you wouldn't be up in the trees for the next month, was when we made up the
whole situation."
I settled my unblinking gaze on Eren and said nothing. It was only after he
started squirming, waiting for me to say something, anything, that I finally
asked, "Did you set it up in attempt to see how I would react to something like
that? Is that why you did it? You tried to piss me off on purpose?" I couldn't
help but ask. I had to know.
His eyes widened considerably and he rapidly started shaking his head. "What?
No! No no no no, we weren't even expecting you to overhear that. I had no idea
about your super-sonic hearing or whatever." Something in my expression must
have changed for the worse, because soon enough he started talking faster,
almost to the point I could hardly understand what he was saying. "No, okay,
um, this is really complicated and will still sound really bad for a little
bit, but I swear it wasn't  what it sounded like and I don't want you to get
the wrong impression-"
"Eren."
He stopped, looking up at me with a wild and frantic look in his eyes. I
sighed, wondering why this whole fight was bothering him so much in the first
place. When did he finally start caring about all of this? Why was he trying so
hard to make things right? 
"Stop. Just start from the beginning and go from there. I'll try to understand
what the hell you're saying in the mean time." 
He nodded, closing his eyes and taking another deep breath before continuing.
"It all started after Nile stabbed you and you killed him in order to protect
yourself."
I felt the surprise travel through the bond before I even realized I was the
one it had come from. He snorted upon feeling it himself. "Yes, I've accepted
you did it out of self defense, alright? Yes, I was an asshole about it, but
that's another make up story or another time," he said, waving his hand
dismissively. He seemed to relax a little more as the seconds passed, and
eventually let his dark brown hair fall into his eyes as he leaned forward,
wringing his hands. He was conflicted about something, that much was certain.
There was a cautious air about him, but I wondered whether it was because of
me, or if it was because what he was going to say. Finally, he let out a harsh
sigh.
"Someone wants you dead."
I could feel my body freeze up. Interesting, was my first thought. My second,
was me wondering what the hell that had to do with anything. My third, was
realizing that someone or something had always wanted me dead. So it was really
nothing new to begin with. 
But still, this was coming from the group I had allied with, although it was
undoubtedly forced. I wouldn't be able to easily distinguish between who was
friend and who was foe anymore. This was going to be somewhat of a challenge.
"Someone wants to kill me?"
"From what we heard, yeah," he murmured, raking his fingers through his hair. I
still didn't get what this had to do about the situation at hand though.
"Okay, so what does this have to do with what you said about lying to me?" I
asked bitterly.
"That's what I was getting to. One of our friends overheard a group of people
talking about it," he explained. "When I went to find Armin and ask him for
some advice on how to talk to you, he told me what our friend had overheard.
That was when we decided to do a set up 'conversation' about lying to you.
That's one of the reasons we did it right outside the house, instead of talking
in private room or something," he continued, reaching up to adjust his sleeves
by rolling them up to his elbow as he leaned back into the couch. "We don't
really know why they want you dead though, although it's not too hard to come
up with a few good guesses."
Well, this was starting to make more sense at least. 
Eren had been trying to trick someone, but why?
I nodded at him once, motioning for him to keep going. He nodded in return.
"We thought that if we were able to have the people who wanted to kill you a
reason to believe that we had you wrapped around our finger without seeming
like we trusted you, we could somehow convince them that you posed no sort of
threat to us. We knew that at least one of them would be listening to our
conversation so they could probably try to gain information on either me, you,
or what we intended to do, and it's why we decided to talk outside in the first
place. We were hoping we could catch a glimpse of one of them to figure out
their identity and find out why exactly they want to kill you, but. . . ," he
let out a slow, dreadful sigh.
I too felt dread prick at my mind. So basically what Eren was telling me was
that . . .
I fucked up the plan.
"I should have told you about it. Then you wouldn't have gotten mad and you
wouldn't have nearly killed someone."
And let's not forget about me threatening to kill the entire camp if I got
pissed off enough. I'm sure that just helped my situation all the more. 
A sudden thought crossed my mind though. One thing that just didn't quite fit
into the picture. . .  "Wait, you said that you knew that they were listening
to your conversation. Just how long have they been lurking around here?"
Eren shrugged. "I'd probably say since we came back last night. But, they can't
get in," he mumbled, eyes darting off to the side.
My eyes narrowed, suspicion  crawling up my spine. For whatever reason, I
recalled Eren telling me last night that his house would be the safest for me
to stay in. Is this what he meant? That might also be part of the reason he was
so relaxed all of a sudden. When we had been walking around in town, he'd been
on the defensive, tense and cautious. Yet here, he was completely at ease.  
"What do you mean they can't get in?" I growled.
His eyes glinted, a smirk playing around the edge of his lips. "I mean, no one
can come in unless I let them. There's a barrier around the house. It's even
sound and magic proof."
I blinked. I'd been right. But I was curious on the matter.
"Why?" 
I'd thought it was a simple question, but Eren suddenly grew tense, and he
looked away again, overall avoiding my steel gaze. "Because. . . Armin thought
it would be a good idea, since you would be staying with me from now on. We
wouldn't have to worry about someone coming into the house and killing you in
the middle of the night."
I stared at him, my fingers clutching at my biceps to the point the pain made
me stop. I didn't understand.
Eren. . . was lying.
I could tell from the way he hadn't looked me in the eyes. And for some reason,
the tips of his ears had turned red when he had. 
I thought I'd be upset, but I wasn't. Not at all. Because I could tell that for
some reason, this topic was bothering him, pushing all the wrong buttons. It
seemed more on the personal level to me, so I let it slide. I had no interest
in getting caught up in someone else's business when they didn't want others to
know. If it wasn't about me, it wasn't my business. So I decided to play along.
"Alright."
I visibly saw his muscles relax, and he shifted up to meet my eyes once again.
He looked somewhat relieved, and my curiosity nagged at me like a raging bitch.
"So," I asked, switching topic. "What now? I don't necessarily like the idea of
humans trying to kill me anymore than the next guy."
He pondered that a moment before he shrugged. "I'm not sure. I think I might
try to talk to Armin again, see what he can come up with - "
We were stopped by the sudden sound of the front door bursting open, both of us
jumping slightly in surprise before turning on the defensive. My tail turned
into the shape of my flattened sword, and Eren unsheathed one of swords he
carried on his back and pointed it at the door, both of us ready to attack. 
At first, Eren looked shocked, but when he took in the sight of a woman with
short black hair and a black scarf around her neck, he sighed in relief,
lowering his weapon entirely. But I didn't miss the look of dread that crossed
over his face when he turned back to give me a short glance.
"Eren!" The woman seethed, eyes flickering around the room until they settled
on him. They softened once she found him, what had been a look of worry, fear,
and anger, slowly disappearing from her features. I took in the sight of her,
still wary and on edge. She was tall, her build thicker than what I saw on the
average human male, and it was just as impressive as it was dangerous. Eren had
said no one could enter without him first letting them in, so how in the ever-
living fuck had she gotten inside? My thoughts came to a halt though as her
blackened gaze traveled to me, and I swore I could already see her mentally
decapitating me. I smirked to myself. Oh, I could already tell she would have
been a demon to be feared had she been born into my race.
"You!" she screamed, rage returning as she left her spot at the door and
stomped towards me, unsheathing a weapon of her own. "You're the one that hurt
Eren!" She lifted her sword until its tip brushed against the tender skin of my
neck, her eyes a raging storm of fire as she stared deep into my red fogged
ones. I didn't appreciate being held with a weapon against my throat. "I'll
kill you, you son of a bitch. You hurt the one person I still love, and I'll
make you pay for that."
I let out a defiant snarl, my sword-like tail moving so I could hold it in my
hand, much like the actual thing. Her eyes widened when it poked her belly. 
"Don't threaten me, human," I whispered through clenched teeth, malice sinking
into my words.
Eren broke through the tension, jumping forward and reaching between us and
shoving the two of us apart. Well, mostly her, since he couldn't touch me. 
"No, stop!" He begged, sparing each of us a frustrated look. The girl fixed him
with an incredulous glare. 
"Why? Eren, he almost killed you! He almost took away my family and everyone's
chance at freedom! He -"
"Mikasa, please. He's my demon. I bound him. He can't touch me, so please just
calm down," he pleaded, holding up his hands defensively and blocked me from
her view. I snorted, but let him do as he pleased.
She stared, opening her mouth once before closing it again. Finally she let out
a dark huff, giving me a thorough once-over, dropping her thick bladed
broadsword and sneered at me. I glared right back. This female human was, quite
simply, a bitch. I had a feeling the two of us might end up ripping each
others' arms off. If she'd been demonic, it probably would've already happened.
Demons liked to show their strength and dominance. It was a display of power to
prove who was the best. 
I forced my attention off the seething girl in front of me to address Eren, my
red fogged eyes clearly showing him I wasn't enjoying this. "Eren, who is this?
How did she even get in here?" I snapped. 
He let out a tired sigh, shaking his head and running one hand down his face
while the other lead the glaring girl away from me and back towards the door.
Her aura was practically black, and I could almost see it coming off of her in
thick, dark clouds. 
"Well. . . she can come inside because the spell was altered so only certain
people could enter. She's the only one who can come through the field though,"
he began, quickly altering his eyes between the two of us as he carefully
picked his words. After a few moments, he just shrugged. I tipped my head to
the side questioningly, the shirt falling off my shoulders again in the
process. Eren blinked at me once before opening his mouth to answer. 
"And Levi, this is my sister."
My eyes widened, realization sinking in. Although they looked nothing alike. .
. it was clear how much they meant to each other, just by the way Eren was
still holding onto her arm like a little kid, and how she fixed me with a
deathly glare and tensed muscles, a protective gleam in her eyes.
But, if they were brother and sister, that meant I'd be seeing a lot of the
female human. . My jaw clenched and I pinched the bridge of my nose.
Goddamn it.
I had a feeling thing this wasn't going to end well. We already hated each
other. I let out a dark chuckle.
Must run in the family, I mused. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
***** Chapter 6 *****
Chapter Notes
     Im sorry It took so long! I tired really hard to get this out the
     past few days and you know what? It's a piece of shit. I'm really
     sorry. Please forgive the borningness of this chapter.
     Im also a piece of shit because I didn't edit it when I should have,
     but im too tired to right now. Maybe later!
     Thank you for reading this, and PLEASE LET ME KNOW if I need to fix
     something or I made a mistake, It's okay, don't be shy! COmments also
     give me fuel to keep writing, even more so than anything else, so
     please leave something, good or bad!
     Demons fate has also been pretty slow going so far, but I promise
     that will be changing in the next two to three chapters! Hang in
     there! T_T
     I also tried to make it longer to make up for not posting in three
     months? Eh?
Several days had passed since Mikasa had dropped by unexpectedly. After Eren
had reassured her time and again I was no threat to his life, she sent me one
last glare, gave him a bone crushing hug, and left. After that, Erwin kept
dropping by, always coming with an excuse or another to speak to Eren about the
arrangements being made for the next expedition, but I had a feeling he came to
check up on us more than anything. The man was wasting his time; although we
stayed in the house most of the time, we were hardly ever in the same room, and
neither of us really had the nerve to speak to the other. Although the tension
was thick, I was fine with this.
Sometime during the past few days, I had given up in my mission to make Eren
pissed all the time. While I knew I'd still enjoy angering him, I decided that
my body didn't need the pain that his anger inflicted, just days before we were
set to head out into the outside world. I would be fighting with the humans if
we happened to come into contact with any hostile demons, and I figured I'd
need to save my strength for the moments I'd be relying on the endurance of my
body more than anything else. Besides what I'd seen from Eren, I was the only
one with a regenerateable body. Humans didn't have that luxury, and I knew I'd
more than likely have to rely on the fact I could heal faster than the rest of
them in order to save as many of them as I could manage. I had scoffed at the
thought of that several times. The humans I had been allied to, who were also
trying to kill me, and yet here I would be, saving their sorry asses from being
killed themselves. 
The very thought of that made me wonder why I signed up for this in the first
place. 
The day before we were scheduled to move out, I finally realized I was missing
the flat bladed weapon I had always carried around with me. I don't know why
the hell I just now remembered it, but once I did, I went to find Eren. He
seemed somewhat surprised I was making the effort to talk to him at first, but
when he figured out the real reason I had started talking with him, his face
went blank. When I finally asked him were my blade was being held, he simply
stated I couldn't have the weapon back until we left the next day. I tried
convincing him to tell me where it was, but he was having none of it, and after
I continued to pester him about it, he eventually sat back and resorted to
ignoring me completely. 
In a fit of rage and sense of loss, I stormed out of his house and I swung open
the door with an untamed ferocity, but the scent of fresh air hit me full blast
and somehow, I was able to relax. It was the first time I had stepped foot
outside in at least three days, and in all honesty, it felt amazing. The cool
air invading my lungs, the slight whisper of a breeze dancing across my silver
skin. The sun that warmed it, but didn't burn. 
It was everything I considered to be home.
Everything I yearned for.
Including my freedom.
I took a deep breath in and closed my eyes, if only for a second, letting the
peaceful feeling sink in. The monster inside me relaxed as well, grateful that
it was no longer trapped inside that house anymore. It did quiver in anger
though when I heard Eren call after me, the chair he'd been sitting in falling
to the ground as he lurched forwards, trying to get me to stop before I left
the barrier of the house. I turned and granted him with a snarl as I stepped
fully out into the light of day, instinct telling me to get away from the human
who was trying to cage me in a place where my demonic pride was slowly breaking
little by little.
But reason was a bitch, and because of it, I could see why Eren was so upset I
had marched right outside without thinking. But the need to get away, if only
for a little while, drowned out all other voices echoing in my head, and before
Eren could give me the command to stay, I jumped. 
I jumped up high, out of reach and out of sight. Here, not even he could
control me. Here, I let the wind take control of me, flood back into my lungs
and blow away the impurities that had tainted my soul, wash away the clouded
thoughts of my mind and momentarily blotch out the hate I currently felt for
humanity.
Here, I was finally free again. 
Sunlight poured down onto me, and I watched with a look of expectancy as it
reflected off the silvery tone of my skin. It warmed me to the core, to see
something so familiar when I had started to forget the very sight of it.
Although I was different from the humans, although I was different from most
demons, it was moments like this where I looked at myself and saw the small
piece of the only beauty I thought I could ever possess.  
Because in truth, I was not beautiful. I was not desirable. I was not wanted. 
I was ugly. I was detestable. I was evil. I was rage and war incarnate. I was
demonic. I was a monster.
And I was disgusting.
So seeing the small part of myself I thought to be beautiful, that I thought
could be admired, warmed me in a way I simply cannot describe. 
I closed my eyes and let the light push of wind direct where I was going to
land. I could no longer hear Eren's pleas to come back down. I couldn't feel
the constricting ties of the bond, or the scent that came off him in calm
little waves that seemed to give his house a distinguishable smell that I was
actually alright with. And I was fine with that. 
I landed gracefully on my feet, me knees instantly bending to catch my weight
as I landed, only a small puff of dirt getting kicked up in the process,
despite having jumped to the complete opposite side of the human camp. 
Brushing off the small amounts of dirt my clothes had collected, I took the
liberty to observe my surroundings. My pointed ears twitched back and forth as
they tried to pick up any distinguishable sounds, while my mouth parted just
slightly to let the scents travel over my tongue and fill my lungs. To my
surprise, I was immediately greeted with the scent of another demon. In fear
that a rouge demon had found the hunters' campsight while no one was prepared,
I bared my fangs and shifted my tail into the form of a small dagger, it's
length half of the sword I typically favored. I couldn't let rouge demons find
this place. If they did, they would destroy it simply as a means for revenge,
or even worse, entertainment.
Just as I was getting ready to launch myself into a full on attack, my senses
caught hold of something else; a strange scent that I had rarely ever caught
ahold of before.
It was the scent of a familiar.
My tail returned back to it's original shape, my eyes wide with disbelief. The
creature inside me threatened to let out a low whimper, desperate to call out
for the demon in order to comfort itself, but I kept my instinctual urges in
check. However, that didn't stop me from take a hesitant step forward, ears
twitching and mouth open as I began to snuff out the other. It was only when I
heard a nearby shuffle, and a scent that smelt strangely of a lotus flower, did
I finally break into a full out run, the black lines emerging on my body and
pushing me faster down the roads and empty allies. Although the passages were
small in between the buildings, I was easily able to speed through every tight
turn with little difficulty. 
My time of living in the forest had much to do with this; in order to survive
there, one had to learn how to meander around the roots and trees that grew too
close together, especially when running for or chasing after rival demons or
hunters. A split second of stumbling or a simple trip meant that you either
died, or that your only chance at food had gotten away. Learning how to be
nimble was the only way to possibly stake out a living there. And thanks to my
time spent living in a place such as that, I came out of the tight allies
without having even skimmed the rough edges of the buildings once. 
The black lines that swam over my skin lingered there as I glanced around, eyes
wide and ears twitching on hopes of finding the familiar. Desperation clawed
away at me when I found no trace of them, and I gnashed my teeth together in
frustration. I turned to my hypersensitive ears to try to locate them that way.
After a few seconds, I turned and bolted down the small road once I heard
something that was similarly close to the sound of someone dragging something
across the ground. It had a certain kind of movement to it though, that made it
impossible for it to be anything other than another living creature. 
Familiars were demons that willingly made pacts with humans. It was what Eren
had first tried to get me to agree to when we had first met in the forest. But
there was nothing similar between a familiar demon and a bound demon. First of
all, familiars signed a pact with humans willingly, and are thus able to make
rules of their own. They are also able to touch their Master, unlike bound
demons. This, and the fact that they didn't have to have painful markings
carved onto their bodies, the restricted range of freedom, or even the one-way
bond that made it possible for captors to feel their bound demons emotions, but
made it impossible for a demon to feel their captors emotions, is what made
myself and this familiar different from each other.  And because of this, those
who are bound get shunned into a world of pity by familiars, while bound demons
feel nothing but jealousy and hatred for those whose freedom is still presented
to them.
Yet I on the other hand, sought this demon out in the hopes that I would no
longer have to be alone. Although we were probably different species, rank, and
tied to our humans differently, we were still the same. 
On the inside, we were both still monsters. Creatures that had to live everyday
next to the things we both yet despised and admired.
And it was that monstrosity we hid deep inside ourselves that I ran to seek
refuge in.
I turned sharply down another street, my shoulder catching on the side of a
nearby building and sending pieces of brick scattering to the floor. I looked
up, ready to continue, but froze. There, a few houses down from me, was a
demon. From here I was able to catch their scent, and when I lifted my nose to
the air, I blinked in surprise when I noticed it was a Mid-rank female. She was
a higher rank than I thought she would be.
My tail swished back and forth slowly as I started to approach the familiar. I
wasn't sure how this was going to play out now. Mid-rank demons had a tendency
to fight first and ask questions later, and were overall a very difficult bunch
to deal with, simply because they thought they owned the demonic realm due to
their large numbers. They made up the body of the demonic race, ranging in
species from Angelic types, to Dragon and Reaper types. Some were pretty tricky
and tough to handle, even for a high rank like myself. The amount of tricks a
Mid-rank could pull varied from demon to demon, so it was impossible to know
which skills they were going to play out. 
The familiar didn't notice I was there until I was within easy striking
distance. I took note of this. This demon did not have an acute sense of
hearing or smell like I did. That in itself made me realize she was probably
more of a defense rounded demon, rather than an offensive.
She turned right when I stepped out of the shadows though, finally catching a
whiff of my scent. 
Pure terror framed her face. 
I stopped, taken aback by the sheer force of fear I could sense coming off her.
My tail stopped moving. I took a step back, forcing my face to stay as neutral
as possible. I didn't want to come off as hostile, especially if she could
sense how much stronger I was than her. That would only push her into more of a
defensive situation, and I was sure I'd probably be walking back with some
pretty heavy damage if she decided to attack. If she was in fact, a defensive
skilled type, my offensive skills would have a hard time breaking through. 
Standing this close to her, I was able to make out a lot more than I could
before. She was beautiful. She appeared to be a Water Demon, judging from all
of the shiny blue scales and armor-like things she had on her sides, that
rounded up to cover her breasts, shoulders, and a portion of her neck, but left
her belly exposed. Besides the blue scales though, she had very human like
skin. The armor was designed to look like dark blue glass, that flowed over her
form and complimented it quite beautifully, and the layers easily made it look
very detail oriented. Curved designs, tiny circles, and sharp lines and jagged
end pieces of the armor completed the look quite well.
Her choices in dress ware were incredible.
I glanced down to the bottom portion of the familiar, and I was pretty sure my
eyes widened. Not only was she apparently a Water Demon, but she appeared to be
under the category of the Siren or Mermaid type as well. She had been laying on
the ground with her back to me as I had approached her, and I had thought
nothing of it. 
That was a mistake. 
Instead of having legs, she had a long scaly tail that was only several shades
lighter than her armor. The large crescent shaped fin on the end of her tail
was spayed out on the ground in an odd way though, so I wasn't able to get a
very good look at it. She did have short auburn hair that stopped around her
shoulders, and it framed her face perfectly. I blinked a few times at her
stunning beauty, before kneeling down, resting my elbows on the ends of my
knees so I could meet her at her own eye level. I could only hope this would
come off more curious than predatory. Mid-ranks are always unpredictable with
things like this.
Her eyes flashed dangerously, her hand snapping to a brown bag she had slung
over one shoulder, hand delving into the contents it held. Her large eyes still
help a certain form of fear in them, but it was currently being overpowered by
the strength of her anger and the need to defend herself. My instincts flared
to life, telling me to fight back, to kill. But I pushed them aside. I couldn't
ruin this. It was pitiful, but I needed her if I wanted any chance at keeping
myself stable. I had been alone for most of my life, and now the one constant I
had was a hot tempered prick, who I'd much rather not spend my time with. The
familiar had started to pull something out of her bag, and I felt dread wash
over me as her eyes turned vibrantly green, baring her razor sharp teeth at me
before she smashed a mysterious bottle of black liquid on the ground. 
Fuck.
A watery-like substance seeped out of her skin at the same she placed her hand
on top of the black liquid, the two combining the instant they touched each
other. She let out a high pitched, almost melodic cry. I hardly had a moment to
think before thin black spikes started shooting up at me from the mixed puddle.
One of them struck my shoulder and I let out a ear-splitting cry of pain, to
which she flinched at. But she twisted her fingers into the mixture on the
ground, and the thin needle that had been shot through my shoulder rapidly
started to grow in size, stretching and breaking my body as it expanded. I fell
to my knees and let out a howl of agony, my voice breaking as I choked out
several more viscous cries. This wasn't good. If I didn't do something fast, I
was going to- 
"Who are you?" She suddenly asked, venom dripping off her tongue. "If you try
anything, I'll separate your arm from your body. Don't try to-"
I didn't wait for her to finish. My tail swished violently through the air, not
giving the familiar any time to react before the fine silvery hairs began to
harden and morph, the blade of a large ax taking over its figure. With one
fluid motion, it came down and cut the thick black needle in two. Once I was
separated from the grotesque liquid, I lept back into the sunlight and out of
the shadow we had both been sheltered in. She stared at me in a mix of fear and
bewilderment. I imagined that it rarely happened for those to escape from her
in that situation. 
As soon as the hardened part of the needle that still impaled my shoulder hit
sunlight, it disintegrated almost instantly, leaving a gaping hole in its wake.
My breathing came out raggedly and I kneeled to the ground and attempted to
cover my open and heavily bleeding wound with my hand. She took in my
appearance with a small, barley noticeable disbelieving shake of her head. But
it doesn't seen to be the massive hole in my shoulder that seems to be paying
attention to.  "How. . . how do you. . . the sun. . ."
I let out coarse huff of laughter, a dark edge slinking its way into my voice.
"You should already know the answer to that," I chuckled humorlessly.
She stared for a few tense seconds, and I saw her eyes finally flicker over to
the slowly healing hole in my skin that had started the thread together bit by
bit to repair itself. I could see the hesitation in her eyes, and I was still
fully aware of the hand she kept in the blackened puddle. She blinked once and
spread her fingers out within the mixed liquids, giving me a harsh glare. 
But I could still see the fear hiding behind her look.
"So it's because you're a High Rank Demon? That's why you can withstand the
suns' rays?" she questioned suspiciously, her short hair falling into her eyes
as she did.
I let out a, low, pained sigh, deciding it was better to just sit down and let
my body try to fully heal. My tail lost the ax-like shape to it, and I instead
morphed it into the form of a long, thin blade. I rested it next to me, not
wanting to have to point it at her if I didn't need to. I didn't want to make
her feel any more afraid than she already was, but I needed to have some fast
way of protection if she indeed tried to strike at me again.
"I suppose so." I watched her forehead scrunch together in annoyance at my
dismissive  answer. Apparently, it annoyed her to the point that she decided it
was a good idea to try and attack me again. The black, liquid controlled
needles shot out from the small puddle and aimed towards my chest. I let out a
soft, disappointed sigh. This wasn't going how I had planed it to.
As soon as the needles reached out from the shadows and touched the sunlight
though, they froze for a split second before getting instantly incinerated. The
demon let out a hiss of frustration, and pulled back whatever was left of the
liquid and let it fall back to the ground. I decided it was either now or
never.
"I don't want to fight with you," I said softly, trying to ease her out of her
fear and frustration. She snorted, looking down at my tail that still held the
form of a thin blade. 
"That thing says otherwise," she bit back coldly.
The second her words were out, my tail shifted back into the small patch of
fine, silvery fur it usually was, tossing aside every warning that started to
go off in my head when I dropped all my defenses and left myself wide open. It
was risky, I was aware of that, but as long as I stayed in the sunlight, there
was very little a Mid-rank could do to attack me, either with her own body, or
with demonic blood like the vial she had smashed on the ground. It was
impressive how she had been able to manipulate it using her water-type
abilities, but once any form of raw demonic essence touched sunlight, it went
up in smoke. 
This seemed to surprise her though, and she drew her brows together in
confusion. But when her staring at my tail started to get uncomfortable and
anger started to spike, I drew it back towards myself, curling it around my
torso and hiding the furry part of it back between my shoulder blades so it was
out of sight. She quickly blinked at the sudden movement, watching as several
of the small silver threads that had split off fall slowly to the ground. A low
growl threatened to escape from my throat, but I held it back. Even though it
irritated me to no end to have my tail be stared at, I had taken a very close
look at hers as well.  I had no right to be the only one getting upset about
it. 
"I'm sorry."
My eyes widened at the words, and caused me to break away from my thoughts. I
glanced up to look into her face, disbelief and shock clear in my own. "What?"
She dropped her gaze to look down at the parts of my tail she could see wrapped
around my body before flicking her eyes back up. "I didn't mean to be rude.
I've just. . . never seen that sort of thing before. . . I didn't know that
there were demons that could shift parts of themselves into anything they
wanted- " She paused when she saw my tail constrict around me further, and her
eyes grew comically wider. "I'm sorry!" 
I narrowed my eyes. "It's fine," I said slowly, wondering how sincere she was
really being right now. She seemed to catch onto this, and she turned her head
away. But all through this, I realized that I no longer saw the massive amount
of fear clouding her gaze anymore. She still seemed a little uneasy, but I
think she was finally starting to notice I wasn't here to threaten her. Her
neon green eyes started to dim in color, returning to the soft forest green
color they had once been.  
"But, I do need to ask you something," she stated, and I tipped my head a
little in question. She met my silver toned eyes with a determined look on her
face. "You don't smell like a familiar. Yet you have this. . . scent about you
that makes it clear you're not a rouge. I have never caught this sort of scent
before, so could you please tell me," she asked, "what you are?"
Interesting. She had never witnessed the scent of a bound demon before. I knew
for myself what it smelt like. It was not a pleasant smell. It had pieces of
the demons original scent mixed in, but also something else, something putrid
and revolting, almost sickening.
Death.
"I'm actually a little surprised you don't know," I scoffed. "I thought the
whole village would have know who I was by now." And it was something I didn't
much care for either. I stood out like a single live tree in the middle of a
forest of dead ones. 
The female demon gave me a shake of her head to show she in fact, didn't know.
In an odd sort of way, that made me relax a little bit. 
"The reason why my scent is strange is because I'm bound by my Captor," I
sighed reluctantly, letting out a small growl at the end. It was humiliating to
admit out loud, but given the current situation, I didn't think we were going
to get anywhere if I didn't give her what she wanted to know. Water types where
info guzzlers after all. 
A small gasp echoed in my ears, and I fought the urge to cringe. I couldn't
bring myself to look at her either. I didn't want her pity, and I knew without
even looking that that was what was shining through in her large, innocent
eyes.  
"I. . . Oh my God. . ." she breathed, trying to get a grasp on her words and
failing to come up with anything else other than, "I'm so sorry. . ."
I snarled at the dirt in front of me and gnashed my teeth together. "Don't be.
It's my own fault that it happened."
Silence followed us after that. It seemed as though we had tumbled into a spot
that neither of us really knew how to continue forward with, and the air hung
with an awkward tension for several minutes. I was actually pleased that she
didn't continue to press the issue further, instead just letting it go and
respecting it for what it was. 
I flinched suddenly though, a sharp stab of pain bursting through the wound in
my shoulder that I had briefly forgotten was there. It was nearly finished
healing, and the last few minutes were proving to be the most painful part of
the process. I let out a demonic hiss as I felt my tendons reattaching
themselves as the flesh tried to heal around it. It started to tighten in the
places where they had been connected before, causing my shoulder to jerk and
twitch as it realigned itself. It felt disgusting, but it wasn't anything that
I'd had happen to me before. 
In was then that I noticed the familiar started to move as close to me as she
possibly could, her serpentine tail moving like a snakes as she moved, a
worried expression on her face. I winced as I felt some of my muscles snapping
back onto the skin and tightening itself. She frowned, keeping herself up with
one hand while the other reached out and beckoned me to come closer to her,
fingers just a breath away from touching the sunlight that surrounded me. 
"Come here," she whispered. "Let me heal that for you."
I gave her a wary glare at her outstretched hand, looking up into her forest
like eyes and remained where I was. When she saw I wasn't going to move, she
gave me a pleading look that made me pause. "Please," she begged. "I'm so sorry
that I attacked you without asking questions first. Let me at least help heal
the damage that I've caused. Please?" she asked again when it became obvious
how reluctant I still was. 
I gave her outstretched hand a withering glare. This wound wasn't something I
couldn't not recover from on my own, but I knew how painful it was going to be
until it was finished. Not that I hadn't handled worse, but still. I glanced up
and met the familiars eyes, searching them for any sign that she just might be
lying. But I found nothing of the sort, genuine worry clouding the pools that
bore deep into mine. I let out a defeated sigh. 
My hand reached out to take hers, our fingertips brushing right at the edge
that separated the shadow from the light. I pushed my hand further into the
shadows that protected her, and with a gentleness I had never felt before, she
wrapped her hand around mine and pulled me closer to her. Each time she touched
my skin, it was nearly feather light as if she was afraid of hurting me anymore
than she already had. I couldn't remember the last time I had been treated so.
. . lovingly. 
This is exactly why I had decided to run to her.
I crawled forward on my knees to her, head hung low as the snapping of muscles
continued to assault me. She pulled me to her until I was able to collapse onto
her lap, and she let out a small musical note when I did. 
"I need you to help me turn you over dear, okay?" She whispered softly, and I
simply grunted in acknowledgement, helping to shift my body as she grabbed my
shoulders and tried to flip me over. I let out a huff when I finally faced
upwards, and looked up into the familiars awaiting eyes. She smiled down at me,
and I relaxed into her at the sight. 
"This will only take a moment," she promised. She lifted her hand across my
chest and placed it over the shrinking wound just before closing her eyes. I
watched in curiosity as her brows drew together in concentration. Her fingers
brushed over the edges of the wound, but never went past that. It was almost as
if she was trying to figure out where to even start. 
I blinked in surprise though when a melodic hum caught my attention. She was
singing. And not only that, but after a small while she started drawing symbols
that glowed a brilliant blue above my chest and she started chanting words that
only I could understand;
"Oh radiance of unearthly light,  mend that for which has been broken, and
return it to what it once had been; heal!"
In the mixture of symbols she had been drawing above my chest, she pressed down
on them at the last word she spoke, and I watched in amazement as the blue
demonic symbols grew brighter and brighter, before turning into bright blue ash
that immediately sought out the still gaping wound in my shoulder. I winced as
they seeped into my skin, but other than that it was painless. Even the pain
that had been there beforehand had disappeared entirely. I glanced down to
observe the process myself, but was shocked to find that it was nearly
finished, that last few layers of skin all that remained, and withing several
moments, it was completely healed. 
I sat up slowly, unsure if I had really healed as quickly as I thought I had.
While I had seen Demonic Healing Verses used before, I had never seen them work
this quickly and efficiently. I rolled my shoulder, and was surprisingly
pleased to find no pain and that it was working properly. Behind me, the
familiar giggled, a pleased hum sounding from her chest. 
"There you go! All done," she smiled as I turned around to face her. I looked
back at my shoulder and touched the spot gingerly, and she laughed again.
"Pretty impressive, right?  It took a few decades, but I was able to perfect
the healing verses I had been taught as a child. I'm not much of a fighter
since controlling water is the only demonic ability I have, but since I'm a
Siren type Water Demon, I'm able to use my voice for healing and ability
increases for my comrades," she smiled. 
I stared at her, hope filling over me and threatening to escape onto my face.
She was giving me a chance, and it was everything I could have asked for. So I
returned her cheerful smile as much as I could. 
"It is pretty impressive. I honestly thought you were a defense type though."
She shrugged. "I suppose you could say that. I have spells that will create
barriers around myself and others if I need them to, but I don't think I have
as high a resistance as you think I do," she said simply, and I frowned. I
leaned forward to take a better sniff at her, pausing for a second to let the
light scent sink in. I shook my head.
"No, you definitely do. Your tail," I said, pointing at the bright blue fish
tail she had, "Is the best defensive tool you have. It's giving off
this metallic smell that I've only ever caught on defensive types." 
Her eyes widened, surprise dripping off her flawless features. "Wha-? Really?"
I scoffed, a small smirk lifting up the corners of my mouth. "Yes, really."
Knowing this seemed to make her incredibly happy, and she dragged her tail
across the ground a couple of times to make a show of it. 
We sat in silence for several minutes after that. I finally uncurled my tail
from around my torso and let it rest limply against the ground, my contentment
with the situation showing through as the tip wiggled back and forth every now
and then. The female also seemed pretty relaxed now, and eventually we ended up
laying down alongside each other. I was able to lean back against the flesh of
her tail since she was laying on her side so she was able to face me and I
her. 
She held her head up by propping herself up on her elbow, and I watched in
faint amusement as she started to reach for the furry strands of my tail to
play with it, but I flicked it out of her reach each time. Finally, I gave in
and let her mess with the ends of it, although it still made me slightly
uncomfortable to have someone pay any close attention to it. But when she
started simply brushing her slightly pointed fingers through the soft strands,
a low rumble started going off in my chest and I relaxed even more. She was
simply brushing it out, picking out all the dead strands that had simply fallen
or snapped off, and throwing them aside. She continued to slowly weave her
fingers through my fur and I enjoyed every second of it. It was nice. To just
be with a fellow demon that didn't want to harm you or hunt you down. To just
be able to sit in the company of someone who understood you, and knew what lied
deep inside your skin. 
This was everything I had hoped it to be. 
Through my glazed over eyes, I turned to the familiar and was the first one to
speak in at least an hour. "What is your name?" I asked.
Her eyes flicked up towards mine, the usual reluctance to reveal such
information the first thing I noticed, but I vanished just as quickly, and she
surprised me by opening her mouth and saying, "Petra." 
I hummed in approval, which seemed to please her in turn and the end of her
finned tail fanned out once before lying still again. "What about you?" she
asked in a small tone of voice. 
"Levi."
Petra didn't say anything, but continued to play with the fur of my tail, a
happy smile lighting her face. 
We remained in silence after that, and continued to sit and enjoy each others
company in the time we had let before the sun went down.
 
 
 
                              {----o---O---o----}
                                        
                                        
We had lied outside together for hours. Each of us had dozed off several times,
but both of us were too paranoid to sleep at the same time. There were a few
times we talked, but it was usually one of us asking questions about the other,
our curiosity pulling through. Most of the time though we just sat and kept
each other company. Although she hadn't said so, I had a feeling that Petra had
been just as lonely, if not more so than I had been, and I could see our time
together was soothing to her as well. She radiated an aura of contentment, and
I couldn't help the small smile that splayed out on my lips as I traced my
fingers over the shiny blue scales on her tail. 
I glanced up though when I realized how dark it had gotten outside, the last of
the sun's rays disappearing, and was soon to be replaced by the light of the
moon. I turned to Petra, she too having noticed the sun had gone down.
"I think I need to go back. My Captor wasn't happy I had left in the first
place this morning. Not that I really give a shit about what he wants, but
whatever. And it's getting late," I mumbled quietly.
She simply nodded in agreement.
"I should be getting back as well. Although we've done nothing but lay around
for hours, I'm getting tired, and my Master will probably want me home soon so
we can cook dinner together."
I let out an amused chuckle. "You cook?"
She blushed, turning her face away and letting a pout settle on her lips. "Yes,
I do, and I'm getting pretty good at it, really."
I didn't reward that with an answer, although I could tell she wanted me to.
Instead, uncertainty started to poke around in my mind. I had left Eren early
this morning on my own accord, and he hadn't been happy about it. I wasn't sure
how he was going to take me coming back, but it looked like I was going to find
out soon enough. Surprisingly, I hadn't felt anything through the bond at all
today, and it was starting to make me wonder what the hell was going on. That
guy was usually flaming with rage, it was unusual for the bond to be so
silent. 
"Levi?"
I turned to Petra as she tore me from my thoughts, blinking at her in question.
She pulled herself off the ground, her armor clinking together as she moved
into a sitting position. "I really am sorry about earlier, it's just that. . I
was really scared and I'd never met a high rank before but I'd always heard
horrible stories about what they could do and I-"
I cut her off by placing my hand on her cheek and she gasped at the
unsuspecting touch. "Petra, It's fine, you don't need to explain. I was sort of
expecting it anyways, so don't worry about it."
She sighed, and then nodded and I dropped my hand. I rose to my feet, arching
my back and stretching my arms high above my head. 
"I'm going."
Petra smiled up at me warmly, and moved her body in that same snake-like manner
as before so she was alongside me. I raised an eyebrow at her and she smile
back at me reassuringly. 
"Then I'll see you home. If it's alright with you, I'd like to see you again,
so. . . " she trailed off. 
Although I didn't show it, I was happier now than I had been in several days.
This sort of connection with another demon, one that was in a similar, yet
different situation. One that I could accept me for the monster I was, and
still smile at me like I held some importance to her.  
I didn't say anything, instead letting a pleased rumble echo though my chest,
to which Petra's smile widened happily and she let out a small musical note to
mirror it. 
Without another word, the two of us started making our way to Eren's, a
comfortable silence stretching before us. By this time most of the humans had
turned in for the night, and the ones that remained either did their best to
ignore us or gave Petra a small hello as we passed.  I did my best not to look
at anyone that came into view, and Petra seemed to notice my uneasiness the
longer we walked, but the humans weren't the entire reason I was starting to
become nervous. 
The closer we got to Eren's, I started to get the strange feeling that there
was something. . . off. The bond had been silent for almost an entire day, and
it was starting to make me feel like there was something wrong. It was unusual
for it to be so silent, especially with a temper like his. I just couldn't
shake the feeling that something wasn't right. 
I brushed it off though when I suddenly heard a light and pleasant sound start
to fill the extending silence between Petra and I, and I relaxed almost
immediately, calmed by the quiet song she sang to me. This in turn seemed to
make her calm down a little more as well, and I let out another praising rumble
to which she smiled happily at.
This was one of the small unknown facts about demons. Mid and Low rank demons
tended to swarm to higher ranked demons for a multitude of reasons. One of them
was a sense of security and protection. High rank demons were rare and few and
far between, so if you were able to gain favor with a High Rank, you were a
demon that was usually messed with the least our of fear for waking the Higher
demons wrath. Another was the powerful and attention demanding air that
surrounded them. Demons actually craved the sense of relationships with others,
to feel that bond that signified friendship or companionship. All demons needed
someone who was able to let them forget about their nature, even for just a
small while. High rank demons were ones that demanded attention, and in return
for it, they often rewarded Lower and Mid-rank demons with protection or
friendship. 
I turned and glanced down at Petra as I walked. I knew I would protect her if
she ever decided to call upon me to do so. What she had given me was
invaluable, and I hoped I would be able to be as valued by her as she was by
me.
Finally, we turned around the last corner to find Eren's house right before us.
I stopped as soon as I saw it, turning to face Petra and was surprised to see
the amused expression playing on her face. I went to question her about it, but
she opened her mouth before I could and stated in a curious tone,
"I didn't know Eren was your Captor."
I blinked at her in shock. "You know Eren?"
She tipped her head up and let out a small laugh. "Of course, he's best friends
with my Master, so I've met him several times! Although, I'm a little surprised
he didn't let me know that Eren had brought you back," she said, letting a pout
settle on her lips. 
Wait a minute. 
"What's your Master's name?" I asked dryly.
"Hm? Armin, why do you ask?"
Goddammit. I think that was I the kid I almost made shit himself the other
day. 
"I'm pretty sure I met him a few days ago and scared the living shit out of
him."
At this, Petra tipped her head and sent an accusing glare at me. "Why, what did
you do?"
"I'd rather not say."
She huffed, rolling her eyes and we came to another silence filled moment. I
glanced back at the house. Although I could honestly care less about what Eren
wanted and didn't want me to do, I wasn't looking forward to going back and
confronting him. I knew for a fact he was going to get pissy about me running
off this morning, but I let out an irritated sigh when I knew it would be
better to just go and get the whole thing over with. 
"I should go inside," I whispered. 
Petra nodded and looked up at me from her spot near the ground. "Sure! I'll see
you later then?" she questioned hesitantly, a shy edge creeping into her voice.
I let out another hum, reaching down and ruffling up her hair in answer. She
let out a startled shriek before glaring up at me in fake annoyance, but I
could see the joy bouncing around in her eyes. 
After a few minutes of saying our goodbyes, we bid each other good night and
she turned and disappeared the same way that we had come, the darkness of the
shadows swallowing her retreating form. 
I watched her until I could no longer pick up her scent easily before making my
way towards the house. The uneasy feeling had returned. Even though I was only
steps away from it, I couldn't hear anything going on inside. It made my nerves
stand on end. It was quiet, everything was too quiet. 
Yet as I neared the door, something dark started poking at me. I froze and
inhaled sharply. I knew this feeling all too well. 
Demonic madness was emanating from just beyond the door.
The very force of it was overwhelming, like a blackened sickness that hovered
like fog. 
My tail shifted into the form of my favored blade, and I held it in front of me
as I reached forward and turned the knob on the door ever so slowly.
"Eren?" I growled as I warily entered the house. I was greeted by nothing but
pitch black , no sign of the human as I continued to make my way inside.
 "Eren, where are you?" I asked again, this time a little more forcefully. I
didn't like this feeling that was poking at my mind. It felt weird and wrong
and so out of place.
And why did this place feel so heavy? The very air itself had a certain weight
to it that I just couldn't place.
I ventured further in, taking so cautious steps forward. I blinked as my eyes
switched completely into their nocturnal state, and I was able to see
everything much more clearly now. My gaze darted from corner to corner,
searching for my Captor in the dark confines of his house. Upon checking behind
all of his furniture and in the kitchen, and still no sign of Eren, there was
only one place left to check. 
I made my way to his room, pointed ears twitching at every little sound they
could pick up. Yet not even the sound of anyone breathing reached my ears.
I moved a little faster as I thought about what that could mean. Where was
Eren? 
Stepping down the small hall that lead to his bedroom, I couldn't help but
notice a sight change in the air surrounding his room. It was even thicker here
than it was anyplace else. Once of the weirdest things about this whole
situation thought, was the fact, that I had only been able to figure out
something was wrong the second I had stepped inside the barrier that surrounded
the house. Before then I hadn't felt anything.
It appeared as though it kept things in just as well as it kept things out.
I shuffled down the hall as quietly as I could manage, reaching the door and
gently prying it open. 
Bloodlust hit me full blast  in the face, and I almost staggered back by the
sheer hunger that consumed the air.
I opened the door as far as it would go, and my eyes widened in absolute
shock. 
There, Eren sat on his bed, staring out his window with his back to me.  
And with blood covering his floor and walls.
"Eren?" I breathed, not wanting to believe what I was seeing. 
Eren's body froze, and I watched as he slowly, so very slowly, turned his head
around to face me. 
"You shouldn't be here, Levi."
I couldn't say anything. My body refused to move. 
There, before me sat Eren with blood smeared across his face and dripping from
his lips, a pair of radiant golden eyes staring back at me from the depths of
the darkness. I stared at him, and the creature inside of me screamed one thing
at me over and over and over;
Demon.
***** Chapter 7 *****
Chapter Notes
     Hello everyone! I'm sorry it took me so long (again)! I've been
     really busy lately though with work and friends and all, and
     sometimes when i've come to sit down and write, I just couldn't write
     more than a sentence or two I was struggling so bad. BUt! I have
     finished! BUt once again I feel like this chapter sucks XP
     Anyways, I wanted to thank everyone for letting me know how much
     they've enjoyed this story so far last chapter! All of your comments
     made me so happy, and I love all of you. ^^
     ALSO I WANT TO THANK White_youkai for doing such a BEAUTIFUL fanart
     piece of Levi! Thank you so much, it really means a lot and I almost
     cried. ^^" Maybe I'll try and set up a link to it later when ive got
     some more time and I dont need to try and squeeze in five hours of
     sleep before work.
     As always, please let me know if there are any mistakes or I need to
     fix or add more to it! Comments are really appreciated and make me
     really happy, so don't forget to leave one! I tried to make this
     chapter a little slower since i've been told I kinda do too much at
     once sometimes with this story too quickly, so I tried to pace it a
     little better but im not sure if it worked ^^" Anyways, I hope you
     like it!
My mind had frozen over, all other sounds blocked by the harsh pounding
reverberating through my chest. I could feel my blood racing underneath my
skin, could feel the absolute terror that started to consume me. I was unable
to blink, staring at the maddened creature that stared back at me with radiant
golden eyes, a glint of insanity covering the surface. A gruesome smile spread
out on his lips as he tipped his head back from his spot on the bed, slowly
revealing a set of bloodied teeth that took on a form similar to demonic ones.
I shivered with eyes wide open as I saw a small droplet of blood trickle down
from the corner of his smirking mouth, fear starting to creep its way into my
veins. 
But just as the fear set in, so did the hunger. 
Blood was splattered up the walls and gathering in small pools on the floor,
small streaks of it running down from where it had been on the walls, tainting
the edges of the floorboards in deep crimson. The metallic scent that flooded
the air reached my heightened senses, and I quivered. Bloodlust was threatening
to take over, causing my mind to go fuzzy from the strong scent awakening the
bloodthirsty monster inside myself. I let out a small agonized cry as I felt
the pounding, the drive getting stronger and stronger, and I dropped my head
into my hands, trying to fight back against the intense waves. I had been
starved for too long, and it was coming back to bite me in the ass.
Blood. . . Blood. . . BLOOD. 
 The demon inside of me started to shriek in hunger, ravenous for the sinful
substance that was displayed before me. It wanted the taste of human blood on
its tongue, the succulent way it would drip down my throat, cover my lips, run
over my taste buds and ignite me in ways I only ever dreamed of. It craved it,
wanted it, needed it. My tail wove through the air slowly, like a predator
really to strike down its prey. A small smile emerged on my lips, eyes blown
wide and desire causing my whole body to quiver with want.
I need it. . . I need it. . . 
I shook my head and let out an enraged snarl. I needed to fight it. I couldn't
give in so easily to the cravings. I needed to get away, I needed to leave, I
needed to move. . . 
But I need it, I need it, I need it, I need it, I need it, I need it, I need-
A sharp cackle sounded from above me, causing my head to snap and snarl at the
demon who sat before me, smirked at me like he knew my every thought. 
"Oh you poor, poor, little devil," he cooed, a pout filling out on his face
before he chuckled and a dark smile took its place. "You want it, don't you?
Oh, I know you do." His whispered words were like honey, seduction gleaming in
his voice as he lifted one of his bloodied hands to enticingly flick out his
red dyed tongue, and lick a slow, mocking line from his wrist to his
fingertips. "I can see the hunger in your eyes."
My eyes widened, and I took several steps back. My hunger was threatening to
take over my mind entirely, and if it was already to the point that it was
blatantly obvious, I was in serious trouble. I had been starving my body, even
before I had even come to this human camp, and I was guessing that I was
running on almost two weeks without any source of nourishment for myself.
I could feel my hands starting to shake. After everything that had happened
these past few days, the last thing on my mind had been finding myself food. It
wasn't like I hadn't thought about what the bond would do to my hunting
routines, since I could only wander so far from Eren, but I realized what a
grave mistake it had been. 
Because of this, I had slowly started slipping into death itself, and now I was
at risk for entering into The Fall. Horror filled my mind at what that would
eventually lead to. If I didn't at least get away from the massive amount of
blood in this house right now, I would eventually slip into The Fall, and the
possibility of massacring the entire camp would more than likely end up
becoming reality.
That wasn't something I ever planned to be doing. 
So I started to turn, attempting to make an escape while I still had my wits
about me, but just as I reached the doorway of Eren's room, I heard an angered
growl sound from behind me. 
"Where do you think you're going?" It whispered maliciously. 
I froze, slowly turning my head to glance at the creature who was slowly
climbing off the bed and heading towards me, anger clearly displayed on his
face. But there was something else, something I'd seen only countless times
before; 
Insanity.
Dread poured through my veins as realization dawned on me. Fear gripped my
heart, and I could only stare in complete terror as Eren stalked towards me
with blood covering his entire being, a crazed gleam in his shinning golden
eyes that made him seem even more inhuman than he already was.
Eren had entered into The Fall. 
I ran. 
A shriek of rage echoed through my ears as I tore through the small hallway,
the loud sound of repeated pounding following shortly after. He was chasing
after me. But it was only instinctual. I'd known from the split second I'd
decided to run that he would come after me. It was what happened when predator
met prey. That, and when one entered The Fall, it was rare when a demon didn't
chase after the first living thing it saw. Those who entered The Fall wanted
everything they could get their hands on, blood, sex, anything that made the
hunger go away.
And it could take hours until a demon was fully satisfied.
I broke into the living room, running strait into one of the chairs that went
to the small table, but it shattered to pieces as soon as my body slammed into
it. Some of them dug into my skin, creating dozens of small wounds in my skin,
but I didn't even flinch. The wounds healed only seconds later, although it had
taken longer than usual. It hadn't slowed me down in the least, but the
splinters that split off from its frame kicked up into the air, it's tiny
fragments awaiting the demonic creature behind me. 
A screech of pain and frustration sounded behind me, but it just seemed to piss
him off more than anything else. 
"Bastard!" he hissed. "Get back here! I won't let you leave!"
I pushed forwards, racing for the door without looking back. I couldn't stay
here. Although Eren was unable to touch me while he was in control of his body,
I had no idea what would happen if he tried to touch me while his demonic
nature was possessing his body, his madness controlling his every movement. I
had no intention of sticking around to find out.
His hunger had turned him into a monster, no longer capable of human-like
thought processes or emotions that would otherwise hold him back from being
able to feed. The question was how he would react after he had regained his
senses. He didn't seem to be one of those demons who gave zero shits after they
woke up. If he killed someone, I was willing to bet he'd probably break.
I was almost to the door, I could almost feel the metal handle under my
fingertips when I heard the soft sounds of voices leaking in from outside. My
head snapped in the direction I heard them, a sickening feeling starting to
settle in my stomach. Even if I did manage to get away from Eren, the chance
that he would turn on the humans he considered to be his friends was nearly
unavoidable, especially with the way his hunger was making him chase down a
demon of nearly equal status, or so I assumed. If I left now and lead him
outside, I was basically exposing the humans to a force they had very little
control over. If any tried to stand against him while he was still in The Fall,
he would most likely kill any person who was stupid enough to try and fight
him. 
While in The Fall, a demons strength and speed is heightened because instead of
using their head to fight, they run purely on instinct and impulse. It's almost
like they're disconnected from themselves, and because of this it heightens
their abilities to an almost insane level. And while I wasn't too fond of the
humans I had encountered here, Eren included, I hated seeing despair more than
anything. I had seen too much of it in my lifetime, and I didn't care to see
anymore as long as I could stop it. 
So as much as I hated the thought of sticking my neck out for people who'd
treated me like shit, I knew there was nothing else I could do unless I wanted
to be a witness to mass murder. I had to keep him in the house. 
I skidded to  a sharp halt only a foot away from the door and dropped into a
crouch. A pleased growl escaped Eren's throat just as I bit my lip and expanded
the fur of my tail as much as I could without having the hardened strands break
immediately. They expanded in the blink of a eye, stretching out and forming
the shape of a shield-like figure just as Eren started to reach out for me, an
overjoyed yet crazed look in his radiant eyes.
In less than a split second, Eren collided with the hardened form of my tail,
and was thrown back with such a force that he was slammed onto his back, his
breath leaving him all at once. I on the other hand let out a cry of pain as he
collided into me. Although the bond made it impossible for us to touch each
other or even physically move each other, it was a lot weaker now. It was weak
enough to the point that I could feel the impact of the blow, and I was lurched
forward, my face grinding into the door. I heard a distinct crack, and I let
out a hiss of pain. That was a sound I was all too familiar with. I pulled
myself away from the door slowly,  only to have blood start trickling out of my
nose and begin falling onto my knees. 
Shit. Blood was not going to help my case at all in this situation, not with
Eren in The Fall and me being close to entering The Fall myself. I needed to
get away, but at the same time I had no other choice but to stay. Stay and hope
that I could think of a way to end this before I succumbed to the hunger and I
lost myself as well. There was no way this camp would be standing by morning if
I let that happen. 
"You. . . fucking bastard. ."  I heard Eren groan out, and I turned and watched
as he tried to pick himself up off the floor, but he struggled and fell on his
back once more. He looked a little disoriented, and I could only guess that he
had a momentary concussion. 
I let my tail resume it's original form as I watched him try and regain his
senses. Having it expanded to be twice as large as my own body was painful to
say the very least, and if I had let it stay like that for much longer the
strands would have eventually begun to break away. 
 "You. . ."He gasped out, hauling himself up onto his elbows with a glare, a
predatory spark lurking in the depths of his eyes. 
Good, I thought. He hasn't realized the humans outside yet. I just needed to
keep him distracted enough to keep his attention solely on me.  I couldn't
allow him to leave.
I wouldn't let him.
I steeled my nerves, clenching my teeth together in a furious snarl as I rose
to me feet. Blood continued to trickle from my nose and run over my lips, and I
reached a hand up to wipe off the access liquid. Eren's eyes followed the
movement in obvious hunger, the need heavy in his eyes as he struggled to rise
to his feet. It was either now or never.
A ragged yowl exploded from my lips in a cry for battle and I rushed forward,
not giving Eren a chance to react before the force of my body collided with his
just as he got to his feet. The field separating us was thin, thin enough that
when usually neither of us could even push the other back, Eren went flying
into the far wall with a surprised shout. The force of the impact crushed the
wall beneath him, creating a dented hole. 
I let out a ragged breath, watching Eren warily as he let out a pained groan
and slid to the floor. His head lolled to the side, and his eyes struggled to
focus completely, but otherwise made no move to get up. He didn't even try.
Something wasn't right. I'd fought Eren before in his human form, and this was
nothing compared to the all out fight we'd had then, besides the fact that now
I was slowly starting to lose my sanity. Even just moments ago he had come
after me with inhuman speed that almost rivaled mine. And on top of all that,
Eren was currently inside The Fall, when a demon's strength increases
substantially and in ways that make them even more powerful than other demons
who had originally been stronger than them. 
He was holding back. He was probably testing me, feeling out how strong I was
in my current situation. He knew I was close to losing myself and following the
same path as him, and he was going to use it to his advantage.  And it didn't
help that he was still soaked in blood.
But that didn't make sense either.
Where had he even gotten it? Had he killed someone? I hadn't seen anyone's body
lying around, and there weren't any signs of torn off limbs around either. It
was as though the blood had almost appeared from thin air.
I pushed those thoughts aside when I heard a stirring sound, stiffening at the
sudden movement. I blinked - and there stood Eren, right before my eyes with
his twisted, wrong smile sending dreadful shivers down my spine. Golden eyes a
breath away from my widened red ones, pupils hardly distinguishable within the
bright masses. He smiled at me, his tongue running over his bottom lip slowly,
seductively, and I could see the complete desire sitting in his eyes. A
disturbing yet knowing expression sat across his face and he leaned only a hair
forward, taking a deep inhale. 
He had me, and we both knew it.
"Decided to stay and play? Hmm, little devil??" he whispered, a smug grin
spread out on his lips as he leaned forward, moving closer and closer until I
felt him touch the edge of the field that separated us. "Don't worry, I'll play
with you."
His eyes lit up in thrilled excitement, and I could only watch as his fist
swung up to meet my gut. 
"Shit-" was all I got out before his hit connected, and although the field
prevented it from connecting fully, I couldn't help the little wheeze of pain
that escaped me. Damn, he was strong. 
I didn't like where this was heading. This was starting to lure towards
dangerous territory, yet I had no idea what other options I could take. If I
ran to save myself, Eren would destroy the town in a single night due to his
fall. If I stayed, I could only hope I could figure out a way to knock him out
or keep him busy enough to make him forget where he was for a night, and
hopefully help would arrive by morning. But if I were to do that, I was running
the rise of entering The Fall myself, and then it wouldn't just be Eren running
around as a madman killing everyone. If I were to even hold out till morning,
the only person  who could enter the barrier around the house was Mikasa, and I
didn't even know- . . .
Wait a minute. 
Realization made my eyes widen, my mind turning with the sudden possibilities.
I swerved out of the way of another of Eren's blows, doing my best to dodge his
advances as long as I could so I could have some time to think. Every time I
dodged his attacks, he seemed to grow frustrated and even more excited all at
the same time. Like his prey kept avoiding him, but in turn it made the hunting
all the more exciting. I knew what that felt like more than anyone. 
Before I'd came into the house, I'd had to pass through the barrier to get in.
Eren and his sister were the only other people besides myself that could also
pass through it. That being said, before I'd entered the barrier, I hadn't
sensed the strange atmosphere that was surrounding the house, but after I had
I'd felt it full force. I'd first had the idea that the barrier not only kept
unwanted people out, but also kept something inside. If this was true, it was
possible that the barrier was in fact a two-way field, something that was
incredibly hard to create, and is able to keep certain things both in and out.
I dodged another on of Eren's blows that had been targeting one of my kidneys,
and I could hear him growl in annoyance. 
If the barrier was meant to keep humans out, what was the barrier keeping in?
It wasn't me, since I'd walked right out of the barrier without any sort of
resistance just this morning. But then again, if it wasn't me, what could it
be, since it didn't seem as though it was built to be cage? I side stepped one
of Eren's kicks, but felt the force of his attack brush onto the field, making
me wince. I'd have to think about that later. 
"What's the matter Levi, too scared to fight me?" Eren seethed. His insane
smile had faded into a deep scowl, his frustration clearly starting to get the
better of him. "Stop resisting, just give in already!" 
I turned to snap at him, tell him that there was no way in hell, but that split
second of anger was all he needed. In one swift movement, Eren's hand snapped
up and wrapped around my wrist, that disturbing smile worming its way back onto
his face. I could only stand in complete shock as I glanced down at the spot on
my skin where he had actually broken past the barrier separating us. And that
was when I finally realized. 
"Oh fuck-"
I wasn't given the chance to hardly blink before my body was being flung across
the house, my back slamming into the front door, managing to tear it off the
hinges. The door and I both slid across the ground, its body having snapped in
half once it'd hit the ground outside. I let out a moan, pain coursing through
my head. I opened my eyes but the world seemed shaky, everything was a colored
blur. My head was pounding and I couldn't bring myself to even sit up. All I
needed was a couple minutes to recover, but I knew I didn't have that kind of
time, not while Eren knew how to get past the field. 
While the field still held together where there was more body mass, places like
my wrists and ankles were thin, so I guessed the field had thinned out to the
point in those areas where it almost seemed nonexistent since there was less
mass. The field was weakened enough to the point where it only had enough
effect on places like my stomach, legs, and the upper parts of my arms, where
the bone and muscle was thicker. It seemed that during the time while I had
been thinking, so had Eren. And he'd figure out how to break past the one thing
that separated us. 
A thick chuckle sounded above me, and I tried blinking to clear my vision, only
to see Eren standing over me with a pleased smile. All I could clearly make out
was his insane smile and radiant golden eyes that bore down into me. "See?
Isn't this fun, Levi?" he giggled.
 This didn't sound like Eren at all, not with the way he spoke to me like I was
some sort of plaything for him. That raging but passionate kid from before had
been consumed by his demonic nature. 
I let out a deep throated snarl at his words. He simply blinked before throwing
his head back and laughed. 
"Look at you, you're full of surprises!"
I snapped my sharpened teeth at him, the reddened lusty color swarming over my
eyes like fog as rage started to boil up inside of me. He was toying with me,
mocking me. Like hell I was gonna let that slide. 
My hand flicked out and snatched ahold of his ankle, his eyes meeting mine in
surprise right before I squeezed with all my might, and I heard a loud crack
echo in the small space. A piercing cry left Eren's lips and he fell onto his
side, fingers digging into the dirt below him as he screamed in pain. I took
the opportunity to roll away from him, thankful that within the amount of time
he'd been stalling and playing around had given me enough time to let my head
heal. My vision was still a little on the blurry side, but at least I was no
longer seeing random colors. 
I pushed myself up into a crouch, watching with wary eyes as Eren continued to
struggle on the ground right outside his door. Small muffled cries was all I
could hear as his ankle started to heal itself. I had put enough strength into
it that I had ended up crushing the bone. It had done nothing than buy me a
minute of time though. His healing powers where working perfectly fine, unlike
mine, and soon enough his pained gasps came to a halt. 
"You. . . pain in the ass. . . Just let me fucking eat you. . ."
I had no idea if he meant he wanted to eat me by drinking my blood or by having
sex, because I was up for neither of those things. It was understandable he'd
want them though. His body was dying, and they were his only sources of
nourishment. 
But like fucking hell I was gonna sell my body over to him just because he
asked. 
I snarled, baring my teeth and lashing my tail from side to side menacingly. 
He was still on all fours, trying to catch his breath when he looked over his
shoulder at me and gave a light snort. He was laughing at me. That bastard. 
I let out a demonic hiss, and this time he full out laughed, hard, until the
point where he was doubled over crying. 
This is why I hate dealing with demons who slip into The Fall. They're all
insane as fuck. 
"This-! Is great-!" He bellowed, picking himself up and slowly stood up,
running a hand over his face. I narrowed my reddened eyes at him.
'What is?"
He stopped laughing then, but the ever present smile remained.
"You haven't even realized, have you?" He chuckled, a sound that almost sounded
like a whimper easing out of his throat. 
My patience with this whole situation was starting to run very thin. That, am I
could feel myself slipping with each passing second. "Realized what, exactly?"
Eren stopped moving. He simply just stood there with one hand covering his eyes
and nose, while that creepy as fuck smile still stayed. He stood there, and
while I prepared for him to lunge at me and try to take me by surprise, he
surprised me in a different way when he opened him mouth and said, "You're only
one step away from slipping into The Fall with me, Levi." I could only watch in
hidden horror when he tipped his head just slightly and spread his fingers, one
golden eye peeking through the small gap as he whispered in a high toned voice,
"Join me, my devil."
No. He was wrong. He had to be. There was no way I was so close to losing my
sanity, not yet, not now.  No, no, no, no-
"I'll give you a little push."
My eyes widened, and within the blink of an eye, while I was still paralyzed in
shock and fear, Eren lurched forward. I could see his face for only a moment.
And I saw a razor sharp smile staring right back at me. 
And then I felt something digging into the middle of my tail. 
Pointed fangs drove deep into the skin, deeper, deeper. . .
I heard a bloody snap.
A shrill scream I didn't recognize exploded throughout the night air. 
I lost all feeling in my body, and I fell boneless to the ground, letting out
continuous shrieks of pain. My vision was blurry once again, and my heavy
breathing was all I could hear, besides Eren's twisted laughter. 
"There, you see! That wasn't so bad, now was it?" He asked, holding the top
half of my tail in his hands. I let out a demonic scream, my body writhing
against the floor as I struggled to get away. I crawled forward, every inch
sending searing pain down my back and up my neck. I reached forward, but my
fingers hit the air and weren't allowed to go any further. 
No. No way.
I had hit the barrier. And now I understood what it kept inside. Although it
could tell when a demon was entering or leaving, it let them in and out. But
now, now that I had slipped into The Fall, it was preventing me from leaving.
It could sense the madness, it could pick up whether the creature was sane or
not. And if not, it didn't let it leave. 
And that meant that if I had left from the very beginning, none of this would
have happened. I would have still been sane, and I wouldn't have had to worry
about following Eren into The Fall. I would have been fine and so would've the
humans.
I was a fool.
Blood pooled out from the wound on my tail, or at least what remained of it.
That was what I knew would send me over the edge completely. The blood loss was
going to drive my instincts into survival mode, and I would be lost to my
demonic mind. Already the stench of blood was starting to affect my thoughts.
My own blood no less. And I could see it have a powerful affect on Eren as
well.  
He lifted the bloody part of my tail he'd sliced off and took a deep inhale,
his eyes rolling back into his head. 
"Ahh. . ." he moaned. "This smells so good. . ." His tongue flicked out to
catch a bead of my blood before it started to roll down his hand. He flat out
moaned to high heaven, licking even more of it as his tongue trailed upwards,
eyes thick with lust as he slowly devoured the blood bit by bit.
I wanted to be sick. I wanted to hate the hunger and jealousy that burned the
pit of my stomach. But I couldn't even bring myself to be disgusted at the
sight.
Blood.
My body trembled as I watched Eren through foggy eyes as he licked up blood
from what had once been my tail. Hunger coursed through my veins, lust filling
my mind and threatening to overtake any rational thoughts I had left. My
consciousness was just barley hanging on. 
Blood.
I no longer felt the excruciating pain pulsing from the remaining half of my
tail anymore since my mind was now shutting itself down, disconnecting itself
and making it easier to forget the pain as the need for blood grew stronger and
stronger. 
BLOOD. 
My eyes were blown wide, pupils shrinking, the red fog that usually looked as
though it was moving froze across my eyes. My tongue darted up to lick my upper
lip, feral hunger settling into my mind. I could feel the insanity lurking at
the edges, promising me the thrill of the hunt, blood, sex, the freedom to just
let go and have my instincts take over my entire being. 
To let me slip into The Fall entirely.
I wanted it. 
I needed blood. I wanted it so bad it was almost painful, and I rose to my
knees, a small smile creeping over my own lips as I watched the other monster
in front of me still slowly savoring the taste of blood. My blood. 
I couldn't fight back the craving.
My eyes blinked, and my focus was once again on the demon in front of me. My
throat let out a low warning growl, and at this, his eyes widened. He lay still
for a second before a small laugh escaped him. The confusion of hearing such a
thing at this moment made me stop, and when my body no longer made any sort of
sound, his voice rang out louder and clearer than before.
"You-! Hah! This- this is- this is incredible!" He bellowed, wrapping his blood
stained hands around his middle to hug himself as he fell backwards, leaning
against the invisible barrier as tears leaking from his eyes as he laughed.
"You really did! You slipping into insanity!" His laughs were hysterical,
madness seeped into his voice. "You really fell into insanity with just that
single push! If I knew that was all it would take, I would have done that from
the very beginning!" 
A snarl escaped my lips. He was making fun of me. He was mocking me. 
I'll kill him, rip my fangs into his skin, crush his head, dismember him, drink
the demonic blood he holds, and- 
Suddenly my body was being thrown back, something slamming into my chest as my
back hit the barrier. A small groan left my lips, glancing down only to find
Eren smiling up at me. I bared my teeth. This low-life was not permitted to
touch me. 
I'll snap his neck, hear the bones crack, watch the glow fade from his eyes. .
. My tongue darted out to run over my lips once again, a dark smirk pulling at
the corners. Oh how I've waited to sink my teeth into his flesh and tear him
limb from limb. 
The field separating us was thin, very thin. Thin enough it was almost
nonexistent. 
It was blissful. 
My still-eyed gaze moved down to meet Eren's, my voice unusually quite as I
said, "Oh, Eren. You should have known better than to play with me." I leaned
down, my lips close to his ear and whispered, "I don't play well with others."
His smile faltered, although I could see a small spark of interest hiding
within them. He didn't quite believe me. What a shame.
I reached down and grabbed him by the hair, yanking his head back to expose his
throat. I wanted to sink my teeth into it, drink my fill of what I had been
raving for so long.But if he was the only one I could get my hands on, i'd have
to make it a little more interesting.
I lifted my knee and struck him in the gut, a maniac like smile in my eyes as I
did. 
Oh it felt so good. After everything he'd put me through, I could finally repay
him in full.
I was going to enjoy this way too much.
Eren was never given a chance. I no longer had anything holding me back, my
demonic nature had mostly emerged in full, although there was one sliver of my
consciousness that still remained. It didn't really seem to abject to what I
was about to do though. I smirked mischievously.
Eren had doubled over in pain from the blow to his stomach, eyes blown wide in
shock. Poor bastard thought he couldn't be hurt now did he? I was going to give
him such a rude awakening. 
I quickly moved out of the way, as if I were just going to let him fall to the
ground, but oh no. I grabbed his hair just as he started too, happily heard him
scream in pain before shoving his face into the barrier that refused to let
either of us through due to our untamed madness. I ground my palm into his
head, crushing it between the two forces.  His eyes screwed shut and he let out
a small hiss. 
Yes, yes, more. Hurt him more.
I stayed like that, with my hand crushing his head, waiting for him to move in
attempt to get away. It was right when he lifted his arms to try and push
himself off the barrier was when I let go, and he fell backwards, surprise
clear on his face. I watched him fall for only a split second, and then struck
my knee straight into his spine. All the air was forced out of him at the blow,
and I did nothing but smile when I finally saw the fear start to set in. Unlike
me, Eren didn't think rationally while in his Fall. I had enough experience to
know how to fight well when I entered mine. A demons Fall was supposed to
enhance their skills, but if a demon got too far lost in his madness, he tended
to act without really thinking at all. Those kinds of demons often caused the
most damage since they fed off of feeding instinct alone, but were easier to
defeat since they were unaware as how to fight in their new given state.  
And that was why this was so easy. Eren had given in only to the hungered side
of his Fall, without knowing how to tap into the fighting side of it.
I let him slip off my leg and fall to the ground breathless. He quietly gasped
for air, his eyes blinking furiously as they tried to refocus. I walked around
him steadily, stopping by his side and placed my foot over his ribs. 
"i told you, Eren. I don't play well with others. I really did try to warn
you."
He glowered up at me, a deep rage emerging onto his already crazed expression.
Intricate lines swam over my body and strength poured into my muscles as I
slowly brought my foot down bit by bit. Eventually, I started hearing the
cracking of bones, the harsh snapping sound as his ribs started to splinter
beneath my foot. He let out a ragged cry of pain, tears starting to leak at the
corners, and I let a low chuckle escape from me as he continued to scream.
It was then that I suddenly caught a new scent. I stopped, lifting my head. My
sensitive ears picked up the sound just as I turned, watching in complete shock
as I watched a girl enter easily through the barrier around the house, rage and
fear contorting her face.
The human girl. The sister.  
I stopped my torture of the monster underneath me, and turned to confront the
girl who was merely just a breath away, weapon at her side and ready to take me
down. 
And that was when my last shred of consciousness decided to take back over,
just like Eren's had before;
"You shouldn't be here, Levi."
I looked to her, and somehow managed to push aside my overwhelming instincts
for nothing more than a second. If I failed after that, I'd be lost to The Fall
for good.
"Please, knock us out. Do it now, before we rip each other apart!"
I had begged her.
And with a face full of shock and realization, she did as I asked without
question. 
The hilt of her sword hit right into my temple just as my teeth had sharpened
and I'd tried to bite into her soft flesh. 
The strength of her blow sent me spiraling towards the ground, and I was out
before she even made it to Eren's side. 
 
 
 
***** Chapter 8 *****
Chapter Notes
     Ahhh, guys im so sorry that this one has taken so long. I know every
     time I release an update they're like 3 months apart each time and I
     feel horrible about it. I have royally screwed myself with this story
     though, what started out as a simple demon story has gotten way out
     of hand and so much has been added to it T_T Getting writters block
     dont help much either. Also, this chapter was supposed to explain a
     few things from the past two chapters, but guess what? Lol, that 100%
     did not happen and I am REALLY sorry, ill try and get this thing
     under control, I swear!
     Alright well, I edited like half of it this time, but thats it
     because im lazy and I figured I needed to get this out now, since i
     havent updated in a long time.... so yeah..
     I've also become a little obsessed recently with K Project, or also
     known as just K, for those of you who know it. There is a season 2
     coming out in like, 8 hours and im ready to scream im so excited
     about it. So, because of this new addiction, I've really gotten into
     Sarumi/Misaru (Yata Miskai/ Fushimi Saruhiko) and am planning to do a
     few one shots on them sometime soon, so if you're interested, please
     go check them out when they come! ^^
     ~~~~~~~WARNING~~~~~~~~: There is very graphic depictions of violence
     in this chapter. Please do note the tag, and that there will be more
     in the future. If you would prefer to skip it, there is a dream Levi
     has while in the forest. Please do not read the last paragraph.
     As always though, feel free to drop a comment and Ill try to respond
     to them as best I can! And also thank you so much for 250+ kudos! Im
     so happyyyyy ^^
I was drowning.
I tried to take in a breath, but water flooded my lungs instead. Slowly I sunk,
deeper and deeper down, no light, no air. 
Emptiness.
Here, there was nothing. Time had stopped, sound was unheard. Smell, taste,
even touch were all rendered useless in this spiraling world of nothing.
My eyes struggled open, wanting to know where I was, if I could hunt out any
source of light within this ocean of darkness. 
It felt like a thousand pounds rested on my eyelids, as if this world was
trying its hardest to keep them sealed. My body was no different. When I moved
my hands, I felt nothing besides a thick and heavy substance I could only guess
was the water that pulled me down. It weighed against my skin, dragged me down
slowly, ever so slowly.
My mind throbbed, a constricting pressure that made me think my ears would
explode. But at the same time it was peaceful, a single consistent pressure and
nothing else. For once, everything just seemed to stand still. 
I managed to open my eyes, just barely. I was met by surrounding darkness. Yet
I watched, listened, waited...
Nothing moved. No sound was made. Pain was nonexistent. Suffering was gone.
Fear had been taken away. Despair was drowned out by the emptiness. 
There was nothing.
Nothing at all.
Including happiness, contentment, relief, bliss. 
Nothing.
In this place, nothing existed. Not pain - and not happiness.
No fear.
No anger.
No life.
No hope.
My face scrunched up and my eyes slid back closed.
This wasn't right.
There was something missing. Something that I thought would be here. 
I had thought this place would be more peaceful, someplace I thought would heal
my broken soul. Wash away all the impurities that had tainted it, ignore the
sin that had been absorbed, the hate and pain that had been felt. To just let
it all go, so nothing but the good remained. I thought I would be able to be
contempt here. That this was the place I could finally rest, and no longer have
to worry about the evil that was reality. That the death, sickness, hate, fear,
lust, would all just disappear like a bad dream.
And they had.
Everything had.
My body moved in the thick substance that encased it as my heart beat within my
chest and my lungs expand as I let out shallow breaths against the water, but I
no longer felt myself slowly descending into the voided blackness. I stayed,
unmoving.
This place was wrong. It was wrong, so so very wrong.
Nothing had happened how I had hoped it would. 
Slowly I opened my eyes once more, only to make out a small speck of light far
above me. I stared at it, but I didn't have the strength to move towards it. I
could only admire it from afar and hope that one day I could get out of this
empty enclosed space where there was nothing but nothing.
I had never thought my death could be this meaningless...
 
 
 
I awoke to the sound of a blood curling scream.
My eyes shot open, any traces of weariness now gone as the scream continued to
ring through my ears, striking at the core of my instincts. It echoed
throughout my head and the sheer pitch of it made my ears ring painfully.
It sounded like a monster howling out in agony.
I blink several times before trying to sit up, and was immediately met with a
sharp stabbing pain in my temple. I hissed at the unexpected feeling, making me
wonder how I had been injured. I didn't recall anything happening so- 
Everything froze. My mind was the only thing working, and the things I saw made
my spine go rigid in absolute terror. My hands came up to cover my face, my
eyes blown wide as I slowly turned my head around, seeking out the one thing
above all I wished wasn't true. But when I glanced back, complete despair
wrecked my entire being. 
My tail was gone. The bottom half still remained, but the top half was gone. My
body grew weak at the sight. I could feel my arms shaking, grief causing my
entire being to tremble violently. The very thought of it no longer being
there. . . The part of myself I found some sort of comfort in, being able to
run my fingers through the silky soft stands, was no longer there. I wasn't
even sure if tails were able to grow back, I wasn't even sure if I would be
able to fight properly again, I- 
No.
I needed to stop. I was panicking. I just needed to take a deep breath, and I'm
sure everything would end up being fine. 
But then I started to feel the searing pain shooting up my spin again and I let
out a harsh gasp. Now that the shock the shock had finally started to clear,
pain had begun to take its place. I also heard a slight humming sound, but the
pain was so intense now, I wasn't able to distinguish anything else besides the
sound itself. But every time the humming started, the pain I felt increased to
the point I tried curling in on myself to escape from it to no avail. 
My head pounded with the numerous sounds going on around me, unable to focus on
any one in particular. There was too much going on, the humming and screaming
and unintelligible voices crying out in the background. And then there were all
the thoughts racing around in my head. A part of me was trained on the pain
that seemed to overtake my entire body, while another part was trying to figure
out where the ragged screaming was coming from, while also trying to figure out
what the humming was, and the voices full of worry in the background I was
trying to decipher, the thoughts of never being able to fight correctly. There
were so many things racing through my mind.
Too many.
Much too many.
In this state of confusion, I suddenly felt a lingering pull trying to grasp
onto my senses, but in my state of outright panic, it couldn't get a firm hold.
Lust, anger, uncontrollable hunger.
My body was trying to pull me back into The Fall.
Somehow, I had slipped out of it while I had been unconscious, and now it was
trying to take back over but my overwhelmed mind made it impossible. No wonder
my body was rejecting everything that was trying to take over it. In my state
of shock, I had somehow managed to paralyze myself and prevent the Fall from
taking back over.
Suddenly, although I could hardly feel anything besides the torturous pain
engulfing me, I felt something cold press against my cheek. The chill lingered
on my skin as I felt it travel up and down, a gentle soothing caress that
sought to calm me. I could feel my body starting to relax at the gentle
motions, along with a soft vibration in the air I didn't quite understand. It
was getting easier to distinguish other sounds as the minutes passed and the
cool soothing touch against my face, but I still didn't understand how this
soft vibration could help relax my body and my hyperactive mind. But whatever
it was, I was grateful for it. I could feel myself slipping back into slumber,
the sound itself drawing my consciousness back into the depths of sleep. The
agony that had been shooting up my spine was starting to fall away as my mind
started to slip, and within just a few seconds I was nearly out cold. But just
before I was lost to the darkness, I heard the soft whisper of;
"Sleep, dear Levi. Sleep, and while you do, I shall wash away this pain for
you. When you wake, you will no longer be so broken, my poor friend."
I wanted to ask who they were, who was there, but before I could I was taken
away by sleep, the soothing vibrations still hanging in the air as my body went
limp in their arms.
I could have sworn it sounded strangely like a lullaby.
 
 
 
                              {----o---O---o----}
 
 
 
Over the course of the next several hours, I faded in and out of consciousness.
Each time I had nearly awoke it was to only be pulled back under, the barely
audible sound of humming reaching my ears every time just before I was put to
rest once more. No matter how much time seemed to have passed, every time I
tried to awaken I heard it. Although it was soothing to listen to, every time I
tried to regain my senses, I realized I had no idea who this person was who was
singing to me, or what they could be doing to me while I was asleep. I wouldn't
put it past the humans to try experimenting on me. I had heard them state
before that I was the most powerful demonic entity they had managed to subdue
so far, so the thought of being ripped open while my senses where numbed by
these vibrations made me very unsettled. Then again, was this a tactic to
subdue me? Make me unable to fight? Even if I lost myself and slipped into The
Fall, I would still be fully capable of defending myself. But if I could not
awaken to reach my Fall, that was an impossibility.
I couldn't tell if this would end up being a good or bad thing.  
So I was stuck. Unable to wake up, I was in the dark, quite literally at that.
I wouldn't know where I was or what was happening, and I had no idea when or if
I would even be allowed to awaken at this point. It felt like I had been
sleeping for days. 
So I waited. Either for my eyes to open or for death to take me. Either way, I
wasn't going to be thrilled. So, I waited and readied myself for which reality
I would have to accept. 
The only thing I knew for sure was that somehow, I felt no pain. Perhaps it was
part of the vibrations that had already numbed me over and sang to me that made
it possible, but either way I was glad. It was nice. It had plagued me since I
had arrived here, or possibly even far before that. It was nice to feel
nothing, to slip into a realm of darkness with no one else there. 
But at the same time, it was also sort of lonely.
 
 
 
I raced through the dense forest as fast as I could, my lungs exploding in my
chest as I struggled to gasp for breath. I jumped over roots and slithered
between enormous trees that had grown too close together, but nothing stopped
the pounding in my head or the feeling that something was following me, no
matter how far or fast I ran. My heart slammed against my chest, its rapid
beating telling me that whatever was chasing me was something I didn't want to
meet face to face. 
My breath was coming out in hurried, ragged pants now, and I ducked underneath
a fallen tree log as I hoped it would stall whatever it was behind me I was
desperately trying to get away from.
Run. Run. Run. Run! RUN!
My head was pounding, and I was moving at such a speed that my surroundings
where nothing but a blur and nothing was sinking in correctly. Fear drove my
instincts, pushing me to get away, get away, get away. 
But from what?  And why was I running from it?
Even though I didn't understand, I kept on going, pushing myself through the
foliage of the forest floor. I had the briefest thought about jumping up into
the tree's to escape, but immediate fear took over, and I started running
blindly, no direct path strung out in my mind for me to follow. Panic had taken
over in the split second I had started thinking about different escape routes.
But this was strange. I never got this blindly fearful, not even under intense
pressure and my life at stake. At most, my eyes had been unable to focus in my
rare hazes of extreme excitement from fighting or hunting.
But this was unheard of.
All thoughts vanished from my mind as I heard something chasing after me
through the forest and I immediately forced myself to refocus on a new path
that I could take to escape. My heart continued to pound against my ribs in a
frenzied manner, but I ignored it and pushed on. 
I slipped under an enormous root that had grown out of the ground, before
turning sharply on my heels and heading in the direction that seemed to have
the thickest amount of undergrowth. I darted into the bushes, ignoring the
hundreds of cuts that blazed across my skin as I tore through them. I took a
left and then a right, another left and then dipped forward to pass underneath
another root. I let out a ragged huff, wondering if I should turn around to see
what ever was out there was still following me. At this, my body decided to
make its own decision and turn to hide behind one of the gigantic trees. 
This was a stupid move, and I had no idea why I was doing something this
stupid. This was a useless tactic I'd seen used way too many times and always
ended in death. 
But I stopped anyways, taking a moment to catch my breath as I leaned up
against the tree trunk. My heart rate didn't slow though.
If anything it started beating faster. 
I moved, ever so slowly, leaning over to peer around the base of the tree. I
didn't know why I had decided it had been a better idea to stop and hide rather
than run or fight. I was surely going to get killed this way. But never the
less, I stayed where I was and waited for this creature to show itself to me. I
held my breath, afraid that even that small huff of air would give me away. I
dared not to even blink. Not to breathe. Not to move.
I flinched when I heard the sudden crunch of brambles against the cold forest
floor. It wasn't all that far away. Perhaps a few hundred feet.
Inching my way forward, I dared to take a look past the barrier of the tree.
But I saw nothing. It was pitch black, the entire forest now shrouded in a
thick blanket of darkness.
I blinked in confusion. When had night come? Sunlight had been filtering in
through the leaves only minutes ago, there was no way it was possible for it to
be dark so soon. There hadn't even been a sunset.
Then I heard another snap in the brush, and my head snapped to the side. I
searched through the shrouded forest, a small burst of fresh fear pulsing
through my veins. Why the hell was I so afraid? I had faced much worse than
this, why the hell was I freaking out like-
I let out an unsteady breath then, and I suddenly felt nothing anymore. My eyes
widened.
I had given myself away.
It happened within the amount of time it took me to do nothing but simply lift
my head, a small burst of sounds reaching my ears before everything went quiet,
and in what felt like was happening in slow motion, I looked up.
My blood ran ice cold. 
There before me was a creature enshrouded with darkness, small puffs of it
rolling off its very being. A large set of horns lay atop the creatures head,
thick pearl white bones curling up and back before stopping just a hair above
the monsters pointed ears. A pair of wings adorned its back as well, and the
size of them were large enough that they could probably wrap themselves around
the entirety of the tree at my back and still have room left over. They were
terrifying, the pointed joints sticking out of black leather and small pieces
of flesh that were encased in feathers. Its body size was only slightly bigger
than mine, but the muscles it had made it seem twice as big than it actually
was, the hard lines on his chest and abdomen showing the sheer power of his
strength. And he was tall enough that he manged to tower over me, but just
barely.
I was frozen. I looked up into the face of the demon before me, my eyes settled
on the razor sharp canines that broke through a twisted, sick smile.
And I watched those lips move as the demonic creature spoke to me.
"Run like the prey you are. For whichever way you turn, I shall always be one
step behind you. Try as you may, you cannot hide. I will find you,"  he let out
a high pitched cackle before settling his lusted glowing eyes on mine, that
were tainted in ever growing fear. "And I will devour you whole." 
And he lunged for my head, his jaws opening, dislocating, and ripping open the
sides of his face before striking, and sinking his demonic fangs into the
depths my skull.
I heard a sickening pop, a crack. The pain was only brief, that split second
when his tooth dug into the pit of my eye, sunk through skin and broke through
bone with surprising precision. In that split second he took hold of his grip
on my head and yanked upwards. I couldn't get away, my body having failed me
since the very beginning. A partial scream left my mouth, but was cut off
halfway through as the top half of my mouth was yanked from my skull. He had
torn off the upper part of my head, and my body fell limply to the forest floor
a split second later, blood gushing out onto the dead leaves as it poured
freely from the remaining part of my head, a small part of my brain still
sticking to the insides of my open skull.
 
 
My eyes startled open, a sharp gasp escaping my lips as I lunged forward. The
sheets that had been placed over me flew off with the sudden movement, and the
unknown material set off warning signs in my head as I was still frightened
from the very graphic dream I had just experienced. I snatched the sheet that
was draped over my legs and tossed them to the floor in a fit of blind panic.
Sweat clung to every part of my silvery skin, my unsteady heartbeat doing
nothing to calm me down. I shied away from the very air itself and retreated
into the far corner of the room, pressing my back up against the hard surface
of the wall...
Wait, room?
I glanced around the room in a furious attempt to gather my surroundings, my
lungs letting out small rapid breaths as the last traces of fear from my
nightmare started to fade away. 
I wasn't in a forest. I was in a human bed. In a humans room. 
Very slowly, I started to remember where I was and the panic I had felt was
starting to become replaced with intense relief. I groaned, letting my muscles
relax as I slumped forward and shoved my head into my palms.
What kind of damn nightmare was that? 
"Fuck...Shit..."
Jesus Levi, take a deep breath. Calm down. It was just a stupid nightmare, what
the hell are you so freaked out for?
It was the first time I had become the prey. I had never run from another demon
before. But never before had I been targeted and subdued so easily, and to
think that my mind was capable of coming up with a demonic creature so
terrifying that it made me sweat and lash out in absolute horror made me
question my own mentality. Why the hell was I coming up with useless shit like
that? 
I slid my hands down my face, wiping off any access sweat as I tried to calm my
racing heart. I needed to bathe, I was covered in sweat and blood and it
reeked. 
Blood?
And much like the first time, everything rushed back to me at once. Eren, The
Fall, radiant golden eyes, his bloodied room, that song, those words, my
tail...
My tail.
I scurried to jump off the bed as quickly as possible. I didn't want to believe
it. It couldn't really be gone...
Once on my feet, I moved the base of my tail to bring it forwards, my hands
reaching out to grab it as it came forward. My mouth fell open in what I could
only describe as disbelief.
My tail was still there. 
But how? I know for sure I had felt it snap in two when Eren had bitten through
the middle of it, there was no way the top half should even be there.
Yet there it was, resting in my hands. It was there, as if it had never been
gone. I ran my fingers through the soft silver stands at the end as gently as I
could, afraid that this could all be another dream and it would disappear in
front of my eyes.  
But it wasn't.
The strands felt tender in my gentle grasp, and I stroked through it again and
again in slight confusion. It almost felt like a giant bruise. I trailed my
fingers down to touch the length of my tail that had also been taken off, and
it felt much the same way. When I went to touch the base of my tail though,
nothing felt out of the ordinary. I glanced back to the fur sitting atop my
tail, eyes narrowing as I struggled to understand. There was no way it could
heal this fast on its own...
"Levi?"
The soft words reached my ears just then and I jumped in surprise. I turned
around, expecting to find Eren, possibly his sister, but was greeted by the
sight of Petra slithering in past the door, her hand tight on the handle as she
took me in in overpowering relief. I watched as her rounded eyes grew wet, joy
clear on her face and she let out a small sob. Her beautiful armor clinked
together as she brought up her other hand to cover her mouth as two fat tears
rolled down her face.
"Oh my God..." 
My demon...
I went to her, bending down to her level and watching her as she cried in
absolute relief. As soon as she sensed my presence next to her, a small melodic
cry sounded from the back of her throat, a plea for comfort. I returned her cry
with a low rumble of my own, reaching out to gently hold her arms and rub my
cheek across hers as I tried to do as she asked and comfort her. My tail
swished back and forth in happiness as I held my demon, letting her know how
glad I was to see her. Of all the people I had to choose from to come to me at
this very moment, Petra was by far the best choice. Her very presence soothed
me, lulling me into a state of myself that wished to protect her and keep her
safe from everything else, pulling my mind off of the worry for myself. 
"Levi, I- y-you were screaming and I-I..."
I let out another low rumbling sound in my chest, and although it took a few
moments, she seemed to be calming down little by little. She dropped her hold
on the doorknob and reached out for me, slipping out of my grasp and wrapping
her arms around my waist as she rested her forehead on my shoulder. Again, I
rubbed the side of my head against hers, nuzzling her hair in an attempt to
calm her. 
"It's alright Petra...It's alright..." I whispered.
 She let out one final sob, reaching up to wipe away at her tears and steel
herself before turning and giving me a gentle nuzzle of her own. She dropped
her arms, and I took that as a sign she was going to pull away, but her hands
simply fell into her lap and she rested her forehead against my shoulder once
more. I looked down at her and let out a mellow sigh. When she sat like that
for several minutes, not saying a word, I started growing restless. I opened my
mouth to say something, to try and ask her what had happened, but a soft
whisper reached my sensitive ears first.
"You fool."
I paused, letting my eyes flutter closed. "I know."
A brief moment passed between us and nothing was said. No words needed to be
spoken. 
After several minutes had passed, she let out a sigh of her own and leaned
back. She met my gaze head on, tears no longer clouding her vibrant demonic
eyes. Seeing her now, I couldn't help but admire her strength. Both as she
cried and as she sat here, staring into the eyes of a demon so much more
powerful than herself.
She was truly beautiful, and I couldn't help the smile that threatened to slip
past my lips. I was proud for this demon to be mine. 
"I bet you want to know what happened," she said, pulling me from my thoughts. 
I nodded once, turning away from her and picking myself back up. My tail wove
through the air, and I glanced at it out of the corner of my eye. 
"Yes.."
In truth, there was much I wanted to know, but I wasn't even sure where to
begin. Did I start at the strange regeneration, or go back to the beginning
with Eren? There was too much I didn't understand.
"Can you make it out on your own? I won't be able to help if you can't walk
yet..."
I simply nodded once again. "Of course."
She smiled a little, turning and pushing the door open a little further. Her
tail slithered across the floor boards as she moved to turn around and head
back out the way she had come. I followed her wordlessly. 
I walked behind her as she led me down a small hallway that was styled in much
the same way as it was in Eren's home. It only took a second to observe my
surroundings, not really finding it all that worrisome at the moment. My
attention was focused on the siren in front of me as she took a moment to
glance over her shoulder and look me in the eye before speaking. 
"Mikasa and my Master are in the other room. We can talk a little more and have
things explained to you there."
So the sister and the kid I'd tied to kill where here. That was great and all,
but...
"Eren's not there?"
Petra inhaled sharply, her eyes widening for a fraction of a second, freezing
at the mention of Eren's name. Then she was moving again, an air of discomfort
surrounding her. My eyes immediately narrowed in suspicion. 
"Well..." she started slowly, hesitating clear in her voice. I bared my teeth,
needing to know if my Captor was going to be in the other room or not. I needed
to know now.
"Petra," I growled.
She let out a harsh little hum, a small sign of stress before she answered. 
"No, your Captor is not here. He is... elsewhere."
Elsewhere? What the hell did that mean? Where else could he be after just
recently entering into his Fall? It could take hours for a demon to be
completely sated before their Fall wore away, sometimes even days.
I opened my mouth to ask her what that meant,ask her where Eren was, but when I
looked up I saw we had emerged into the living room and the words died in my
throat.
The small blonde human was sitting around a table that had been placed fairly
close to a small kitchen that just so happened to take up an entire wall. The
other three chairs sat empty while Mikasa had seemed to have taken it upon
herself to begin cooking, her face scrunched together in tight focus. She
didn't look up when Petra and I walked in, although I knew for a fact she knew
we were there. 
I stopped, my lips turning down in a frown. She was upset. It was obvious in
the way her brows were drawn together and how tightly her jaw was clenched.
There was also a stiffness to her body that expressed  clear signs of agitation
and stress. Even her movements as she cooked were extremely tense. 
But if Petra or her Master, Armin, had seemed to notice this about her, they
acted like they hadn't noticed. 
Armin looked up once we entered, offering Petra a smile as she broke away from
me to go to him. When he turned his gaze to me though, all traces of that smile
disappeared and was replaced with a brutal cautiousness.  I could see the harsh
calculating glare in his eyes, evaluating me, watching me. Observing the un-
pacted demon warily. 
But I couldn't handle this air of confusion any longer. 
"Where is Eren?" 
Everyone froze. Petra lowered her head, eyes wide as she looked at her Master,
who sat completely still in his chair now. It hardly looked like the kid was
breathing.
And Mikasa has stopped whatever she was doing, her spine straightening but
didn't move to turn around. She seemed to stare right at the wall in front of
her.
No one spoke for several moments. Not until Mikasa had finally started to move
again, stirring the ingredients cooking in the pot while she glanced over her
shoulder and said,
"Eren is not here."
I bit back a growl. That wasn't what I had asked. No matter who I spoke to, we
were going in circles and I was really getting fed up with these people fucking
around with me. 
"I can see that, so were the hell is Eren?" I tried again.
She met my gaze unblinkingly. 
"Why do you want to know, demon?"
This time I did let out a snarl. 
"I have a right to know! He's my damn Captor for fucks sake, I need to know
where-"
"No, you don't have the right to know!" She screamed, whipping around, utter
rage plastered on her face. "You fucking don't! Eren means nothing to you!.
You're not his family or his friend, hell you're not even his Familiar! So
don't come in here acting like you have a right to him when you don't!" She
stormed over to me, a snarl set on her face as well. "You are nothing to him,
and he is nothing to you. You are his slave, and slaves don't get rights,
demon."
An anger I never knew before surged up within me. How dare she say that to me.
How dare she disregard me, and stab at my already wounded pride I still fought
so hard to keep. 
How dare she say I am nothing.
"I believe you forget your place, human," I whisper, my tail instantly reacting
to the threat of the girl in front of me, but pain shot up my spine. I couldn't
shift my tail yet. So I opted for my next option;
Red fog clouded over my eyes, a slight bloodlusted glow settling over them as
black and white intricate lines swam over my silvery skin. My strength and
speed surged at her all at once, and her eyes widened a split second before I
lashed out and snatched her by her throat, lifting her up until her toes were
barley on the ground. Her hands flung up to grab ahold of my arm in attempt to
break free, but with my demonic strength surging through me, there was nothing
she could do to break my grasp. 
"Wait, Levi!" Petra yelled, trying to grab my attention but I refused to look
away from the glaring girl almost dangling in front of me. I heard Armin
briefly try to call out to me as well, but I paid neither of them any mind.
Instead, I tightned the grip on Mikasa's neck, a red fogged glare piercing into
her black orbs. 
"I am not some pet. I am not some damn slave to you're fucking insane ass
brother. I literally have the power to kill every single person in this city,
and he knows it. He can't hurt me now that he's bound me, but I can hurt him by
killing everyone he loves. He is my Captor, the human that chained an unwilling
life that is not his own, to his. He has subjected me to the deepest parts of
loss in myself, and taken what little I had left." I bare my teeth, a dark
rumble sounding from my chest. She was having a hard time drawing breath and
her nails began to claw away at my hand in a desperate attempt to free herself.
I refused to let go. "I have every right to Eren. Even more so than you,
because last time I checked, you do not share the connection of a Binding with
him. You do not physically feel his anger, and he does not feel all of your
emotions, he does not have the power to control you against your will, and you
do not have to deal with the price of having you're freedom stripped from you."
I lowered her closer to the ground, letting her feet touch before I tossed her
back, watching her as tripped and fell, coughing as she inhaled deeply and
fought for breath. 
Petra tried to intervene then, slithering quickly towards me, her eyes turning
to a bright neon green and mouth opening to release what I was sure would be
some sort of sound to subdue me. I let my gaze flick over to her, my piercing
red eyes holding her to the spot as she froze, an obvious fear starting to
settle into her. My presence alone was enough to cause her to surrender.
Mid-ranks could not go against their High-rank. It was nothing but self
damaging either way, whether is be that the High-rank decide to fight and kill
the Mid-rank that challenged them, or the High-rank would disown the Mid-rank,
and would leave them defenseless as prey for other demons. 
So Petra surrendered, backing away and letting the demonic essence fade from
her eyes. Armin looked like he was about to shit himself again, so I just let
him alone. 
Mikasa sent a withering glare my way and I returned it in full. I would not let
this human tell me my worth, or who it was valid for. 
Before she could speak, I took several steps forward so that I was standing
right in front of her, but she managed to pick herself up in time as I did. I
smirked, amused by her desire to stand tall in the face of a demon. The smirk
faded as I met her gaze evenly though.
"I have a right to know, human. He is my Captor. I am his bound demon. I need
to know where Eren is. You do not have the right to refuse me." I saw her open
her mouth to object, but I cut her off before she could speak. "Not after what
I saw last night."
She paused, her comeback dying on her tongue as she realized the truth in my
words. She held my eyes for several more seconds before she deflated, running a
hand along her face as she sighed. 
"Give me a minute to get the food served. Then we'll talk."
I nodded and she moved away to attend to the food she'd left boiling on the
stove. She took the pan off the fire and set it aside for it to cool down as
she began to evenly spoon out what appeared to be soup into four bowls. 
Petra and Armin exchanged a strange look as she poured the meal she'd made for
everyone, but neither said anything. Instead, Petra simply slunk over to one of
the chairs next to her Master and impressively hoisted herself up into the
chair. I was surprised she'd managed to hoist her heavy tail up onto it for a
second as well, but I soon noticed that this chair was made of metal instead of
wood. 
Ah.
The sound of dishes clinking together caused my to turn my attention to Mikasa
as she balanced two of the bowls on her arms while she carried the other two.
She placed on in front of Armin and Petra first, and then set the last one in
an empty chair across from the blonde kid. She kept ahold of the last one,
staring into the contents within it before she glanced up and met my stormy
colored gaze. Her hand came out as she stretched out to shove the bowl in front
of me. She said nothing, her face expressionless as she held it out to me.
I narrowed my eyes a little, but reached out and took it anyways. Instead of
looking at its contents, I settled for watching the black haired girl turn and
slide into her seat across from Armin and joined in witht e other two as she
began to eat.
And that was when the smell hit me.
Blood.
My eyes shot down to the bowl in my hands, rendered completely shocked as I
stared at what sat before me.
Instead of hot soup like I had been expecting, the bowl was filled with blood
and raw meat. My mouth started salivating at the sight.
"Eat it, quickly," Mikasa said, a heavy look on her face as she watched me from
the corner of her eye. The other two had stopped eating as well in favor of
observing me, seeing what I would do.
"If you don't eat it, you will descend back into your Fall. Eat it now and save
us all the trouble."
I blinked down at the bloodied soup in my hands. I didn't need to be told
twice. After making sure that it wasn't poisoned, I downed the entire thing in
seconds, the blood washing soothingly down my throat while the raw meat slid
over my sharpened teeth with ease. 
I yanked the bowl away from my face and sucked in a huge breath of air. My
senses were already returning to their original state, and I could feel the
lingering sensation of my Fall gradually fading away. Any weakness I'd felt
previously was almost gone, but the biggest difference was how calm my mind was
now. My head was no longer swarming with an ocean of questions and whys, and
what ifs. They were still there, but my head was no longer a disorganized mess.
"Better?"
I set the bowl on the table and looked over to Petra who gave me a warm smile.
I let out a small hum in my chest to show her just how much better I felt, to
which she opened her mouth and let out a small melodic cry of happiness.
Our brief moment of contentment was short lived though.
"Well then, now that that's over, let's begin, shall we?" Mikasa questioned,
both hers and Armin's bowls empty as well. 
I let out a small growl, but moved over to sit in the chair at the head of the
table, Mikasa on my left, and Armin at my right. Once settled, Mikasa gave that
as the sign to begin.
"As you already know, Eren is not here. I don't know how much longer he's going
to be gone."
Anger was already starting to cloud over my vision. "Where did he go then?"
She spared me a short glance, but it was full of concern.
"Eren was taken by Hanji."
Hanji?
"My mentor," Armin suddenly spoke up, a soft sigh leaving his lips. "They had
finally returned last night, only two days after the incident with you and
Eren. They'd been gone for a while, out searching for any more demon related
information they could gather while conducting their research."
I glowered at the kid. "That's still not telling me much, mushroom. Why did
they take Eren, and If I've been out for two days, where has he been since
then?"
Armin sighed at the nickname I'd given him, but gave an uneasy glance across
the table at Mikasa, who gave him a firm nod.
"Well, Hanji studies demons and anything demon related almost religiously. They
can't get enough, and because of their wide range of knowledge, they know many
ways to subdue a demon if the chance is to arise. I study under them, if for
nothing more than to gain more insight on what demons we face in the world, and
how we can better understand them," he explained, his large blue eyes settling
on my icy grey ones.  "Eren had been inside the boundaries of his house until
last night, when Hanji removed him."
I froze. There was someone else who could get though the barrier? I thought
Mikasa was the only other person who could enter? 
I opened my mouth to ask, but the little blonde kid beat me to it.
"Hanji is the one that set up the barrier around Eren's house, which I'm fairly
positive by now you know about, and what extent it reaches to."
I nodded my head as understanding began to sink in. "Yeah. The barrier can let
certain things in, and those who are allowed in can leave when they want, but
the barrier can sense whether the thing leaving is sane or not. If it senses
the demon inside is about to enter or has entered its Fall, it will refuse to
let it out."
Armin nodded, not seeming surprised in the slightest. "Yes, exactly. See, I
told you he knew," he said, turning to look at Mikasa who glanced away, her
hands squeezing her arms in a deathly grip.
"But," Armin continued, "While Mikasa was able to take you out while you were
inside the barrier, you managed to slip out of your Fall when you fell
unconscious. Eren on the other hand..." He paused, a somewhat sad gleam
settling in his eyes. "Even though Mikasa knocked out Eren as well, unlike you,
Eren stayed in his Fall even when he was unconscious."
I crossed my arms over my chest, my face expressionless as I waited for him to
continue.
"And since he wasn't able to escape from his Fall, Mikasa had to leave Eren and
take you with her instead, leaving Eren inside the barrier alone. So for the
past few days while you've been asleep, Eren has been trapped inside the
barrier."
Ah. 
So the kid had been within the barrier for several days. Unable to go anywhere
or hurt anyone. But then again...
I turned my attention to Mikasa, who still wasn't meeting anyone's eyes. She
seemed uncomfortable about the entire situation. 
"How did you know that I had slipped out of my Fall and Eren was still in his,
even though we were both unconscious?" I asked, suspicion creeping along my
spine.
Her body tensed, her coal black eyes staring a burning hole right though a spot
on the table. I could hear the grinding of her teeth as her jaw clenched. 
"I just did."
Stubborn bitch.
I snorted, rolling my eyes. "Fine, whatever." On to the next question then.
"So," I started, looking back to Armin. "If your mentor took Eren away from the
barrier last night, how did this person get past the barrier?"
He shrugged, slipping his hands under his thighs before he said, "Well, like I
said, Hanji is the one that put the barrier up in the first place, so they knew
how to take it down as well. All they had to do was take the barrier down and
just make sure they had a seal placed around it before they did. Once the
barrier was down, Hanji just used Petra's sleeping ability to sing him to sleep
just to make sure the seal was activated correctly."
I'd heard of seals. Only hunters could use them, but they were often used in a
means for trapping or summoning demons. I was rather impressed actually, that
this person was smart enough to think to use trapping seals to subdue a demon
who'd entered his Fall. Something else caught my attention though, and my head
whipped over to Petra.
"Wait, you said that your mentor put demons to sleep using Petra's voice?"
Armin smiled, nodding his head. "She can use her voice to make other demons and
even humans fall asleep if she wants. It's saved me more than enough times to
count," he chuckled, an embarrassed blush forming on his cheeks. But I wasn't
paying attention to that. I was taring at Petra, who was doing everything she
could to avoid my eyes. I could heard the faint murmur of Armin saying
something else, but it was nothing but background noise to me. Petra, she...
"It was you."
She blinked, looking up at me in confusion but I knew it was fake. She knew
exactly what I was taking about. 
"You were the one that sung me to sleep. After my tail had been bitten off, you
were the one who sung me to sleep." I murmured, reaching down to gently grasp
the soft silvery strands of my tail. Now the gentle humming that I had heard
every time I had tried to awaken made sense. 
She had been there with me the entire time, healing me as she kept me under so
I didn't have to endure the pain of it. She was the one who had healed my tail.
"Well...yeah..." She whispered, fidgeting nervously in her chair. 
"You were also the one who healed me."
"Yes..."
"Thank you."
She gasped, a soft little puff that barley graced the strands of hair that fell
in her face. She looked up to me, tears clear in her eyes as her bottom lip
trembled. But instead of crying, she smiled.
"I'm just glad you're okay." 
I stared down at her for a brief moment until I finally let my eyes slide
closed. The way she worried for me, cared for me, was somewhat similar to that
of a loving sister. But that had never been a luxury I had ever had the
pleasure of. It was nice.
"Anyways," Armin mumbled hesitantly, as if he were unsure if he should
continue, but a simple nod was all it took for him to regain his confidence.
"That's how we managed to subdue Eren so we would be able to transfer him to
Hanji's lab where they will be able to observe him under close surveillance
until he awakens, and then eventually come out of his Fall."
So he was at this Hanji's place. It seemed like he was safe from all outside
forces, but the forces that were working from within...
"They put up another barrier around him, right? Because if he awakens and goes
loose, being the type of demon he seems to be, he'll tear apart-"
"Eren is not a demon!" Mikasa screamed, halting all conversation and causing
everyone's eyes to travel to her in blatant surprise. 
She straightened her back, but a furious rage was settled deep within her gaze,
unwavering and unnerving. She let out a slow breath out through her nose,
letting some of the tension leave her body as she tried to calm herself. I
looked to Armin in confusion, but he seemed rather uncomfortable at the moment,
and I couldn't bring myself to ask. 
Mikasa took in a breath now, ever so slowly, shutting her eyes for a brief
second before they snapped open and met mine levelly. 
"Eren is not a demon," she growled. 
I blinked at her, wondering if she was trying to take me for a fool. I turned
to Armin, only to see his lips twisted into a deep frown.
"...What?" 
He shrugged. "Its exactly what she said."
I couldn't believe it. I couldn't.
But fate was cruel, and pushed the few words that would throw my life into
turmoil at me with little care.
"Eren is human." 
 
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