#it was supposed to be longer and at the end zeke accidentally pushes him towards the camera

[drawthething]

They're shooting a music vid

Song - HOT TO GO! by Chappell Roan

[shreddedleopard]

Thoughts on chapter 137, and why it makes complete sense and cements the themes and lessons of Attack on Titan.

I have so many thoughts, I just want to word vomit them out at a million miles an hour, but I’ll try to do this in some sort of order and not my usual chaotic mess.

Attack on Titan is about family and belonging, and THIS is the dream that Ymir was drunk on. This is ‘that scenery.’

Ymir, the founder, just wants to belong somewhere. With someone. She wants to be loved and valued as a person, not as a slave; not as someone who merely fulfils a role. In the latest chapter, Zeke explains how he failed to understand her, but Eren did.

Look at Eren’s words to Ymir in this moment, several chapters earlier:

All Ymir has ever wanted is to be held. To be loved like a person. To feel that connection because of who she is, not the role she fulfils.

Eren understands this, in contrast to Zeke, who once again tries to impose her role upon her:

Ymir has been hanging around in paths all this time, unable to fully die and let her consciousness pass on to the next world, because she needs to find this thing that she’s been searching for since the start of the story.

It’s not just about romantic love. It’s about connection. That sense of being understood and belonging with someone else, whether that be romantically, platonically, as family ... we keep seeing the same theme brought up throughout the entire manga.

Who else is a character that constantly searches for the same thing? Mikasa.

She has so many parallels and yet also opposites with Ymir. Ymir is told she is a slave, she obeys the king, that is her role. And she accepts it. Because she believes that it’s the only way to find happiness; to find this belonging she’s been craving. However, unlike Ymir, who does not truly love the king, I believe that Mikasa does truly love Eren - what form that takes doesn’t necessarily matter to me at this point. It’s just about connection.

Whether Eren feels the same, tragically for him, doesn’t matter. Because Eren knows he is destined to be the one to end the cycle of hatred and free Ymir. And that will ultimately cost him his life. That is why, when Zeke asks him what he will do about Mikas’s affections - which have nothing to do with her bloodline and everything to do with him - Eren cannot answer. That choice has sadly been taken from him.

When Eren asks Mikasa what she is to him, I think he genuinely wants to know at that point. I think he cares about her so deeply and wants to know she feels the same way, and it’s not just about him being ‘her saviour’. But as we’ve seen before, Eren cannot afford to stop for too long and dwell in the moment, because he must push on towards freedom - the freedom of Ymir and the Eldian people from the curse of the Titans.

This brings his conversation around the table with Armin, Mikasa and Gabi into a whole new light. Eren insults his friends in an attempt to push them away from him - because he knows he won’t be around to live that ‘long, happy life’ with them. So instead, he wants to push them to confront their feelings in the arms of others. He pushes Armin to really consider what Annie means to him, and for Mikasa, I believe that Eren intends her to perhaps look towards Jean, who is truly willing to give her the love she has always sought from Eren. Because again, so tragically, Eren will not be around to provide that for her - regardless of whether it’s something he wants or not. His own wishes no longer matter on the path he has been set upon.

Back to Ymir. Eren tells her, he will put an end to this world:

He doesn’t mean the human world; the living world. He means the world of paths, where Ymir is trapped, unable to let go of the souls of dead Eldians, because she’s still searching for that connection she craves so much. Her paths world is an attempt to quell that feeling of loneliness she’s been plagued with, but ironically, she’s more lonely than ever, stuck there, serving the bloodline she’s created from a place of misery and duty, rather than love.

The rumbling and the destruction of Marley is a very tragic consequence of what Eren has to do to put an end to the curse of the Titans. He’s searched for another way to no avail; we’ve seen his remorse when he apologises to Halil or Ramsey in chapter 131:

I think the anger and devastation that’s unleashed in the rumbling, is a result of the hurt and mistreatment both Eren and Ymir have felt at points in their lives.

Eren understands that to destroy the paths realm, first this devastation is necessary, because he’s seen it in his future memories, despite the conflicting feelings it’s evoked from him - he doesn’t really want to destroy humanity outside of the walls, but his own future is telling him that he must and he will. But it’s not Eren’s emotions that drive this initial destruction - it is Ymir’s. These emotions are no different in nature than the ones that Eren felt in response to Armin’s childhood bullies - that sense of unfairness and need to lash out at oppressors - but tragically, unlike Eren who in that moment of intense, irrational emotion had only his fists to vent and release, Ymir is in possession of one of the most terrible and destructive weapons there is - hordes of colossal Titans. And in that moment where Eren finally gives her that validation she has been searching for, and allows her that feeling of release from the duty she’s felt she needed to fulfil for thousands of years, Ymir releases that frustration and anger too and sends them walking.

This theme of the oppressor and oppressed switching places in an endless cycle of revenge and stealing from others what has been stolen from you is a theme that we see repeated throughout not only the AOT manga, but also soundtrack and additional content too.

Eren was right that it would be Armin that saves humanity - because Armin is the one that makes the connection in paths - he understands what is being shown to him with the leaf - and tragically, it actually highlights how, even up until the very end, Eren and Armin knew each other very well. Eren trusted Armin to make sense of what he’s had to do - even if it’s only Ymir that he understands, because while Eren is the one to give Ymir her freedom and unleash this terrible devastation, Armin is the one who must stop it.

But how does this idea of family and connection tie in to the rest of the events in the chapter, and wider manga, and what’s up with Historia’s pregnancy? And how is paths going to be destroyed, if the rumbling has been stopped and Ymir is free, but the Titans are still around?

This is where the rest of our cast fit in - namely Zeke, Levi, Historia and Reiner. If my theory is correct.

Eren gave Ymir the validation she needed and that sense of connection, freeing her from her role, and this bought that final bit of time needed for Historia to give birth to her child. Why is Historia’s child important? Because it is the ‘new dawn’ we’ve seen foreshadowed repeatedly throughout the series. The birth of a new history. And this comes in the form of a new bloodline, no longer infected with ‘parasite’ of the founding Titan.

Unlike Ymir’s bloodline, which stemmed from a place of duty and slavery - as she was ordered by the king to take ‘his seed’, and carried the parasite of the creature that bound to her within the depths of the tree, creating the paths realm and an almost purgatory type space free of death or heaven or earth or anything, Historia’s bloodline will be ‘cleaned’ because of the genes of the child’s father. And not only this, it will be born out of a moment of love and connection, rather than duty. This new combination will make it impossible for a child of the royal bloodline to become a Titan. There will be no coordinate - no link for Ymir from her paths realm to the living world, because the last link to her bloodline - a Titan with royal blood - will no longer exist.

This really brings home the gravity of the moment where Levi cuts Zeke down - he’s the last of the royal Titans, but the reader knows Historia’s baby is about to be born - will they inherit the Titan, and the cycle will re-start?

They will not. The cycle will be broken with them, because - and here’s where it gets wild - Historia’s child is not a Fritz, or a Reiss - they are an Ackerman. They physically cannot turn.

Why does all this fit in symbolically? Let me draw your attention to the genre of Seikaikei.

Attack on Titan uses this idea with our two Ackermans.

We have both endings. Eren and Mikasa, our bittersweet ending, where Eren ultimately chooses the fate of humanity over his relationships with Mikasa and Armin, and Levi, who, in a moment of selfishness, allows himself to put aside his role for a night - probably at the railroad banquet, where he was supposed to be making sure the likes of Eren and Yelena were kept apart - and indulges in this connection that he’s formed with Historia. You can read my 10 reasons post if you want to for why the heck I would think these two would form a deep bond - it’s all there in the Uprising Arc. They have been the same as Ymir - yearning for a sense of love and connection, but bound by roles neither of them asked for or particularly wanted - reluctant heroes comes to mind. Remember how freckled Ymir’s parting wish was for Historia to live for herself?

The result is an accidental pregnancy which, ironically enough, is what is going to annihilate the curse of the Titans and save the world. How poetic that the Titans will not be ‘driven out’ by hate, violence, and destruction, but instead by love, connection and new life.

Remember Kenny and Uri’s miracle?

Kenny and Uri’s chapter, ‘Friends’, was exactly halfway back into the manga. History moves in repeating cycles in AOT, and we see things change slightly each time, on this journey to freedom. At this point, the Ackermans and royals were one step away from where they needed to get to in order to build this paradise - and Levi and Historia complete the cycle by becoming ‘lovers,’ tragically, the thing that Eren and Mikasa could not become, because Eren had to undertake the rumbling and be the one to free Ymir from her sorrow and loneliness. She can make the choice now - will she fight to be reborn as Historia’s child - fight for dominance with the Ackerman bloodline - or will she concede, finally laid to rest because the cycle has been broken by two people that love one another, just like the couple Ymir saw long ago and wished for.

Remember how Eren asked Zeke whether the ackermans act the way they do from a place of duty or genuine feelings? He needed to check it was the real deal that would break the curse, and finally lay Ymir to rest peacefully, after 2,000 years of hatred and searching. She will see that her descendant, Historia, finally has what she always dreamed of. That idea of dreams pushing us onwards - Ymir’s dream is realised through Historia and Levi.

As for the parasite itself? I believe Reiner will be the one to lock it in a Crystal prison with himself, deep underground.

A new dawn will come, and a new world will be built from the ashes of the old.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

🏰⚔️ DMODT- 9 start... do I keep writing this? Is it ok? I don't know anymore

Levi was preparing for bed when he noticed something wrong. It started with a fear that filled his stomach, then progressed to pain in his hands. Dropping his blankets, he cried out in surprise as long thick wounds appeared in his palms "Erwin?" Turning from his bed, he raised his hands to show Erwin. Rushing to him, Erwin took his hands, as Levi sank down on the edge of the bed "What happened?" "I don't know... It's freezing" It felt as if his whole body had plunged into a frozen lake. Shivering, he only seemed to grow colder "We need a healer!" Opening his mouth to contradict Erwin, Levi choked. Coughing and hacking hard, something seemed to be lodged in his throat. Pulling his hand from Erwin's, he shoved his fingers down his throat, trying to catch the edge of whatever was there "We needed a healer in here!" His whole frame heaved as he finally caught the forgein object, coughing as he pulled it from his throat, lubricated as he vomited. Across from them, there was a flurry of movement. Erwin grabbing whatever was in his hand as the royal healers rushed to his side. Fussed over, the healers couldn't tell him what was wrong with him. His hands were healed by magic, but the chill wouldn't leave. Bundled up in thick furs, he was finally left to rest in peace when he started snapping over how shitty he felt. If someone had wanted to kill him, wasn't there a nicer way to do so? Like a simple sword to heart? Or a good old fashioned decapitation? Not freezing him and choking him to death, like a goddamn coward. Sitting up on his bed, he glared at Erwin. The man was supposed to be his bodyguard... and he hadn't stopped whatever attack this was from happening, instead the man had backed off and had been staring at his hand rather intently for the past hour. Coughing, his chest hurt from effort. His voice a rasp "What the hell are you looking at?" Holding up the diamond shaped object, it was about an inch long, and as thin as hair. Sparkling in the light, he could make out the colour green "What is it?" "A dragon scale" Why the fuck would he be coughing up dragon scales?! How the hell did that even happen?! Eren... They'd only encountered one dragon, and the damn thing had been dead "That little shit. I'm going to fucking kill him" "L-Erwin. What do you mean?" Dragging himself out of bed, he shuffled over to snatch the scale out of Erwin's hold. The sharp edges of the scale cut into his palm. His scent filling with anger as growled "First Eren's playing with a dead dragon, now I'm coughing up a dragon scale! I'm going to kill him" "We don't know..." "Oh come off it. There's something wrong with him! This stinks of him and his fucked up fucking magic!" Dissolving into coughs, Erwin rose from his bed, lifting him like he was a child and carrying him back over to his bed "We don't know this was Eren. Zeke has his own mages" "You think Zeke tried to kill me?" "Or a spell went wrong?" "It's a dragon scale!" "Keep your voice down. It's suspicious enough that Zeke didn't come to see what the noise was about" "This is clearly Eren getting his revenge for being sent away" His throat hurt like a bitch "Do you really think he's so vindictive?" "He's gone and I'm coughing up a fucking scale" "Stop saying "fucking". It makes it hard to have a civilised conversation" "Some body guard you are. The brat tried to kill me" "You may be a tremendous arsehole, but I doubt Eren would try to kill you. He took his vows to the kingdom, and for him to against your word is to go against the kingdom. Which would cost him his life. No. I think there's something more than that. We should cut the hunt short and head back to the castle as soon as possible" "And how do you intend to pull Prince Zeke from his hunt? No. Our healers won't mention this, and the hunt shall continue as if nothing happened. We'll watch and wait... if Eren thinks I'm dying from one shit scale, the kid has another thing coming" Erwin sighed heavily "You're not going to budge, are you?" "Would you? If this is Zeke, he may well have formed a plan to kill me. If this is Eren, I won't give him the satisfaction of me ending the hunt" "You're a thoroughly unpleasant man" "I am your prince. You will do this" "Fine. But I still don't think Eren is responsible" "For his sake, he better not be" The hunt continued another three days before Zeke declared he was bored with the lack of game. The alpha had enquired after his health the morning after his choking incident, which he had played down as his bodyguard completely over reacting after he'd accidentally caught his hand on his sword. The alpha had laughed at him, and mocked him over his "boo boo", but didn't seem to have been involved. In a lot of ways Zeke was a brilliant actor, yet his surprise seemed genuine enough, reinforcing his belief that Eren was involved. The kid was in for a major arse kicking once he got back to the castle. * The castle was still standing when they returned. Hanji and Moblit were waiting to greet them, along with one of the mages of the castle. He wasn't in the mood to deal with anything that wasn't a hot cup of tea, or a warm soapy bath, but Hanji wouldn't even allow him that. Climbing off his horse, she was lead away before he could even protest. Hanji waiting until he moved towards the castle doors, before falling into step with him "We have a situation" "I gathered by your greeting. What happened?" "Moblit and Eren were attacked" "Of course they were. No offence Moblit, but Eren is trouble" "It wasn't Eren's fault. There were bandits near Shinganshima" Levi came to a stop. Hanji may be in control when both he and Erwin were absent from the castle, and she knew she was supposed to report shit like that immediately. Beside her, Moblit looked pained. An arm wrapped around his waist as he looked to his feet "If bandits were an issue, why have I heard nothing?" "Because they were taken care of. Moblit was there" "Moblit, speak" The man cleared his throat "We were attacked in the inner walls, passing near Shinganshima on our way back to the castle. Archers felled the first soldier, the other two fighting while filled with arrows. Eren was hiding under the cart when he was pulled free..." Moblit looked to Hanji, then over to Zeke and his party "Is this something we should be discussing inside?" "Most definitely" "Talk while we walk. I need a hot shower" Hanji and Moblit kept their silence until they entered Levi's chambers. The sheets and blankets had been freshly changed, while a warm fire burned in the hearth "Now. Explain this attack. And Eren's part" "Eren killed them all" Hanji covered her mouth as if it took back her outburst. Groaning, Levi could feel an Eren induced headache forming "How? Why? What happened to the soldiers?" "All three died. One giving his life to push Eren out the way. I'd left to relieve myself, they'd attacked in my absences. Eren and the group were exchanging words... but they refused to heed his warning to leave him alone" "Moblit, you're starting to sound like Hanji. What did Eren do?" "He turned them to stone. The man who seemed to be the leader pointed his blade at him. Eren wrapped his hands around it, then the world shaked. The sky turned red as wind built around him..." "So he used his magic to turn them stone?" "He doesn't remember doing so, but there was something more to it. I'm not a magic user, but even I felt the sinister presence in his magic" "Sinister?" "His eyes glowed black. It was the dead of night, yet it was as clear as day. His eyes grew black as his body seemed to flicker for a moment. When the spell faded, the bandits were stone" Levi sighed, moving his hands to massage at his temples with his fingers "And you?" "Copped a blast of what seemed to be wind magic as I tried to move closer to Eren. It is nothing more than an uncomfortable bruise" "That's good. It was smart of you not to make yourself known" Hanji nodded, starting excitedly "We have the statues moved here, and Levi, it's the most incredible thing. Their whole bodies are stone. Their clothes. Their weapons. Their boots and belts. They all look as if they were carved from stone" "And the no longer live?" "Definitely not" "How can you be so sure?" "One lost its head during transport. That's how we know the inside is also stone" Eren certainly didn't do things in moderation "And where is Eren?" "He's locked himself in his quarters and won't come out" Levi closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Holding it, he counted to three before releasing it "Why?" "Because he's scared of his magic. He knows I'm not his actual master, and begged to be locked away where he couldn't hurt any one" "And you did?" "He was quite agitated. His magic kept flaring and he was hurting himself" "How? Was it sparks of fire again?" "It started as spinning winds slicing at his arms... but..." Hanji sucked her lips in, trying to school her features "Spit it out" Letting out a snorting laugh, Hanji was all smiles "He accidentally created a thunderstorm that hovered over his head and small bolts kept zapping him. It was hilarious" "It was only hilarious until Eren accident zapped her with it" "Well, duh. It's not like I want him to be hurt, but it was his own personal storm" Levi had a fair idea of what that was like. He'd seen it when mounting the teen, the way the storm had appeared from nothing, and the way the lightening strikes had flared out across the room "Moblit, when did this happen?" "The night we left camp. He passed out on the way back to the castle. I'll never forget how cold he was" Cursing under his breath, he straightened himself up "I'll need the report delivered to me. And not a word of this to Marley. Did you send a dragon to Draecia?" "Yes, sir. They sent a falcon thanking us, and have collected the skull and diamonds" They did? They'd been right there in the forest, yet he hadn't seen any dragons or heard anything out of the ordinary... "Did they say anything?" "No. I still can't believe there was a dragon corpse that far south" "You and me both, Moblit" Moblit was the only one he trusted to send a message through to Draecia. If they hadn't said anything, then nothing had been missing from the remains. Erwin had been right. He'd been too hard on Eren without knowing what happened "You're both dismissed. Leave Eren where he is for now. If his magic is out of control, it's better he can't unleash it on the castle, or its inhabitants" "Levi, what are you going to do? He needs a real master to draw out his powers. This isn't working" "I'll think of something... right now, I wish to bathe. Our tents might be expanded with magic, and have basic facilities, but nothing compared to clean bath and bathroom" Bathing until his skin had turned pruney, Levi loved the feeling of being clean. What he didn't love was knowing he'd have to face Eren. He didn't see why the teen would be so upset over the death of trash. Erwin wasn't waiting for him when he left his room, so Levi was left to walk through the castle alone, ignoring the maids and servants that bowed as he passed. He might have been playing the prince for over a decade, but he still didn't enjoy people bowing at him, or addressing him as "sir". It wasn't until he was on the servants side of the castle, that he realised he couldn't actually remember where Eren's room was, with one hundred percent certainty, and as the prince he wasn't about to suffer through a bout of embarrassment for choosing the wrong room. Every shitty hallway looked the same with its smooth stone walls and red carpets. If he wasn't so pissed off at the omega, he might have been able to stop and take breath, then realise he wasn't even on the same floor as the teen. Where was Shitty Sir Fluffybrows when he needed him? Closing his eyes, it slowly dawned on him, he was supposed to have a bond with Eren... which meant he should be able to find the kid... what else was this stupid bond useful for? Right. Now... Eren. It was weird and uncomfortable, Levi standing in the hallway long enough to fell well and truly stupid as he tried to concentrate on the kid. There was a slight tingling in his nape, a cold feeling in his chest and whole lot of no idea where he was going as he took his first step back down the hall. Letting the tight self control he had slip was hard, as was ignoring his instincts to follow something that seemed so stupid to him. After another dozen set of halls, and a set of stairs down, he finally found himself out the omegas door. The tingling had spread to a warmth, though his lungs still seemed as if someone had shovelled ice cubes down his throat. Knocking on Eren's door, he raised himself to stand taller, to play the role of the prince he was supposed to be. When the omega didn't answer, Levi sighed to himself as he tried the door handle, finding it locked as Hanji had said "Open up!" He could feel Eren on the other side of the door. He knew the brat could hear him "Eren, open this door at once! Or I'll kick it down" Trying the handle again, this time it gave. The shit could have at least opened it. Opening Eren's door, he let himself into the dark room, before closing the door behind him. Sitting in the frame of his window, Eren was wrapped in a thin blanket. The kid staring out across the castle grounds, as he pointedly ignored looking Levi's way. Filled with discomfort, his alpha was demanding the attention of the omega "I heard about the attack. You have my thanks for saving the life of Moblit" That sounded princely enough, didn't it? "Eren, I hear you've locked yourself away. Why?" Looking to him, Eren's eyes were blank. The kid looked deathly ill, with such a pale complexion and deep bags under his eyes "If you are ill, why..." "I don't care anymore" Sliding from the window frame, Eren sagged. Rushing to him, Eren swung out before he could him "Eren..." "No. I'm a magic user without a master. I killed those men... That wasn't what I came here to do" "So you're throwing a tantrum?" "I figured it out... it must have been fun..." Coughing, Levi could smell the blood in the air as Eren covered his mouth with a wrapped hand, the bandages a dirty creamed, striped with way too much brown-red. The omega was seriously ill... why hadn't anyone noticed? Why hadn't Eren tried to help himself? "Why! Why do you hate me?! I never hurt you... you took it all away... why couldn't you let me die?" As Eren's eyes rolled back, Levi hefted him into his hold.

[dylanobrienisbatman]

In A Galaxy Far, Far Away, There Were S’mores

A Pirate Mechanic Fanfic, based on THIS post ! 

Raven and Zeke find each other in this new world, and when they’re wrapped in each other, legs tangled up, all soft skin and warmth, he tells her stories about his life, in the 21st century. 

Ill post the Ao3 link as soon as it lets me post on there, so if you prefer reading on that... sorry i hope itll be up soon? <3 

When Raven landed on the ground, surrounded by hulking prisoners with an ax to grind, a shock collar around her neck and fear burning up her spine, she wasn’t sure ever leaving the arc was a good idea. They had been safe, well fed, surrounded by people they loved, they could have lived there until a ripe old age and been perfectly content. Instead, they had hoped over to a giant prisoner transport ship, woken a literal sleeping beast, killed a man for the first time in almost a decade, and she had been separated from her friends as they hurtled towards some unknown earth while she and Murphy stayed behind to maybe commit another genocide, maybe not, depending on how Bellamy’s admittedly sort of ridiculous plan went when he got to earth. She ended up in a hacking war with some dickhead who was already on earth, trying to fight her for dominance over the cryosleep containers, and when they couldn’t beat her, Bellamy had made some sort of semblance of peace, enough to prevent her from having to kill 283 people, and the people on the ground had woken up the sleeping prisoners, and the next thing she knew, she and Murphy were chained up, hurtling towards earth, and she thought maybe… they should have just stayed in the Ring.

They had shocked her twice before they realised that she wasn’t really too bothered. She grunted in pain, and then snarled at them with bared teeth. But then they turned on Murphy, and she had yelled, anger laced with fear, because he was her person, and he couldn’t bear to see him hurt, and they realised her weakness was him, and started lighting up his collar every chance they got. She was sobbing, crying out for him, when the ship settled onto earth. The feeling of real gravity on her bones would have been something she revelled in, if they hadn’t been captives again, and then the door to the ship opened, and a mass of people she didn’t know swarmed in, taking the remote from her captor, dragging her and Murphy along. A man they kept calling McCreary shocked John again, seeming to almost enjoy it, and she saw a younger man, tan skin and a buzzed head, turn away from the display of angry violence. She would take the chance to be mildly interested in that when the damn collar was off and she and Murphy were safe again. They were dragged along, through the woods, and she tried to take a minute to appreciate the trees, the sound of the wind through the leaves, the grass beneath her feet, and the taste of fresh air in her lungs after 6 years, tried to appreciate what the earth smelled like and sounded like and looked like again after so long, but it was a little difficult with the collar around her neck and some unknown fate awaiting them.

They were pulled into a village, bright and colourful, and dropped in front of Bellamy, who immediately ordered the collars off their necks.

“You really need to stop doing that” He said, his voice gruff, glaring at this McCreary character. Raven was about to laugh when she saw her, bright blonde hair with streaks of red, and her words and her breath caught in her throat.

Her reunion with Clarke was heavy, full of tears and hugs and soft touches across each others cheeks, like they were trying to memories these new faces, these new versions of each other. Hell, Murphy even cried, one tear running down his cheek when he hugged her, tight, and laughed into her hair when she told him he wasn’t any uglier than he remembered. They were moved into a big house, just the 7 of them, plus Clarke and a little girl, who called herself Madi, and she sat on the edge of her bed while Clarke wrapped a gauze bandage around the burns on her neck. She noticed similar ones, fading across her neck, and reached up absentmindedly to tap one of the scars gently. Clarke nodded almost imperceptibly, and finished the wrapping. She watched as Clarke wandered back to her bed, which was pushed flush up against another. Raven wondered vaguely if it was Madi’s, but the little girl was tucking into another bed in the corner, and then Bellamy walked in, walking right to the other side of Clarke’s bed, and she couldn’t hide her smile, earning her an eye roll from Bellamy.

She fell asleep almost instantly, finally safe, with her people again, and was woken up the next morning to the door slamming shut on an empty room. She wasn’t sure where everyone else had gone, but she took the minute to stretch, leaning over and plucking her brace from the floor and starting to strap it on, revelling in the silence for second, before the door opened and the mysterious, seemingly sympathetic prisoner stepped inside.

“Charmaine asked where you were, and she wouldn’t let your man Bellamy come back to find you, so he asked me to go.” The fact that Bellamy trusted him to be alone with her made the tension crawling up her spine lessen, just a little. “Get some good sleep?” His voice was nice, soft, with a bit a lilt to it. She glared at him instead.

“Sure. If you think rolling all night trying to find a way to sleep where my neck burns don’t hurt counts as good sleep.” She gave him a pointed stare, testing him.

“Yeah. Sorry. McCreary is a dick, but he’s too valuable for Charmaine to kill him, so she just mostly keeps him as contained as she can.” He seemed unphased by her directness, which she found… startling, and interesting. “You alright, tho?” She nodded, begrudgingly.

“I’ve been through worse than this.” Gestured to her brace, half way strapped on, abandoned when a potentially threatening guest had entered the room. She leaned over to restart, and found him kneeling in front of her, strapping above her knee.

“How’d it happen?” Bold first question, when he didn’t even know her name. She admired his tenacity.

“I dont need your help.” She said, fierce and defensive.

“I can see that.” He snarked back, but kept helping. “How’d that happen?” He repeated. She rolled her eyes, but answered him.

“The guy your friends dragged me in with? He shot me in the spine like… 7 years ago?” Her nonchalantness made him laugh through the shock on his face.

“If i remember right, you were pretty concerned about him. How’d that happen?”

“You ask a lot of questions for someone who’s friends held me and mine hostage.”

“Hey. I didn’t chose this life. And if i want to live i don’t really have much of a choice.” She tossed him a look, one that was her attempt at conveying understanding.

“It was an accident, this whole thing.” He looked confused.

“How does someone accidentally shoot you in the spine?” She laughed. That story would take a long time to tell. She told him as much.

“That story comes with a lot of other information, would take a long time to tell. Just… Murphy was a dick… Is a dick. But we spent 6 years in space together, with only 5 other people. Forgiveness is kind of essential to that. I’m Raven… by the way. Raven Reyes.”

“Wait… so you were on the ground, and you went BACK into space? Ill have to get more of both of those stories sometime. I’m Zeke. Zeke Shaw.”

“You’ll have to earn them.” He smirked, and tightened the last strap, high up her thigh, and she ignored the warm feeling that spread up her thigh and the base of her spine when his fingers finally grazed the part of her skin that had feeling. He helped her stand, and led her outside.

The next week or so, her mornings started like that. He would come into the room when the whole group was gone, and help her strap on her brace, asking her one or two very personal questions, letting his fingers graze a little longer, just a little higher every time. She started trading questions of her own, asking about his team, about what he did to end up in a prison transport ship, about where they came from. He was about as short with his answers as she was.

Weeks turned into months, and the morning traditions stood. The morning she found out he was the one who had tried to hack into the ship she had yelled so loudly Bellamy had come running to her door, and his expression when he found Zeke, kneeling on the ground hands on Raven’s calf, was nothing short of hilarious. Her respect for him after that was unwavering. Anyone who could compete with her and almost win deserved it, after all. She might even be starting to like him. She even let herself admit he was cute, sharp cheekbones, a bit of stubble, a nice square jaw, tall and broad and well built. She’d never tell him that though.

She eventually got her own space, a small hut off on the edge of the camp, next door to Murphy (and Emori, in the night, when they thought no one else was paying attention. They didn’t want anyone to know they had rekindled whatever it was, until they were sure, but she was always up well into the night, tinkering with whatever mechanics she could get her hands on), but Zeke still made an appearance, every morning, helping her strap on her brace. Sometimes, she found herself waiting to put it on when she woke up earlier than normal, lounging around, picking through some dried fruit in her room and reading a bit until he showed up to help tighten the straps up her leg. Everyday, he’d help her, lead her outside, to whatever place, to do whatever she was supposed to be doing, and they’d end up in the mechanics lab, tinkering away, casual conversations tossed back and forth, never delving too deep when other people were around. Two months of that, on the ground, early mornings with this stranger, learning little bits and pieces about him and his life, getting to know him slowly and in private. His fingers would linger on her leg, and he’d bring her treats sometimes in the early morning, tea or dried fruit or little toys to play around with, and her interest only grew. So, one night, sitting around the fire with everyone, she decided she wanted to know a little more.

He caught her eye from across the fire, and she held his eye contact while she got up, dragging her bum leg towards her hut, pressing a kiss into the top of Harpers head as she walked by as a goodnight, letting her fingertips graze the shoulders of the rest of her friends, tugging Murphy’s hair last as she passed him, and made her way to her house. She looked over her shoulder when she got the door, and found him watching her. She held his gaze for another moment, and then opened her door and went inside, lighting the candles around her room for light and settled on her bed, leg outstretched, brace still on, and waited. It only took him about 5 minutes to slip in her door, leaning back against the door frame, pretty in the candle lighting.

“I’m assuming you don’t need help with that.” He nodded towards her leg, teasing her with her own words from their first encounter.

“Actually, my fingers are a bit stiff today…” She let her voice trail off, and he came up close to her, kneeling in front of her. He started near her ankle, untying the first of 6 straps slow and easy like, letting his hands run easy up her legs while he did it. She couldn’t feel it, but she could see it, could imagine what it would feel like, and she appreciated that even though he knew she couldn’t feel it, he took his time, exploring her skin with his hands while he undid every strap. When the brace was off, he set it on the floor, but left his hands on her thigh.

“Still got stiff fingers?” His voice was low, and his eyes dark, and she nodded, a bit breathless. He slid his hands down, and untied her boots, one at a time pulling them off her feet and setting them to the side. She never took her eyes off his face.

“Still got stiff fingers?” He asked again, sliding his hands up her leg towards her hips. She nodded again, letting him slid his hands over and undo her button on her jeans, leaning back on her elbows to lift her hips and let him slide them off, folding them once and setting them on the floor. He put his hands on her thighs again, letting the pads of his fingers trace the skin there, tiny movements that had heat pooling in her belly. He slide his hands up just a little more, to the hem of her underwear, letting the tip of one finger slide under the elastic on her right hip, his eyes never leaving hers. She let her eyes find his mouth, darting back up to his eyes and then back down, and then she just… kissed him.

She surged forward just enough, and he met her in the middle, like he could read her mind, and he tasted like dried cherries and monty’s moonshine, and she smiled into his lips causing him to laugh a little, and they sat with their foreheads pressed together, eyes closed for just a second.

“This is… a real thing, right?” He was cautious with his words, letting their noses brush.

“Yeah… it feels real.” He was her equal, just as smart as her, just as witty and bright and driven. He didn’t agree with his people, and had become HER people over time, only listening to Charmaine when it suited him, following Bellamy and Clarke, and being her partner, in the lab and out of it, always around to help even when he knew she didn’t need it. He challenged her, when he could, but never questioned her, or doubted her. It felt real. “It’s real. Whatever it is… its real.” He leaned back in, coaxing her mouth open with his tongue, kissing into her so hard she had to use one hand to stay propped up on the bed, and the other to anchor herself to him, holding his jacket in her fist to keep him close. He slid his lips across her cheek, over under her jaw bone, biting at her ear before licking down her throat.

“Still got stiff fingers?” He asked again, all teasing, as he slid her jacket from her shoulders and found purchase on her collar bone with his mouth, biting softly into her skin, and then he pulled back. She tried to chase after him, but he went too far, leaving her sitting, in nothing but her panties and a t-shirt, a small bruise blooming on her clavicle. He slid his hands up her thighs again, finding the elastic of her panties, his eyes dark, and she swore her soul left her body. She leaned forward, and he caught her int he middle again, and she kissed him, all warm pressure but heavy, wanting, needy almost. He slid his hands under the elastic, pulling them down, laying them on her jeans, and brought her good leg up to his shoulder, kissing from her ankle, slow, wet kisses up to her knee, up to her hip, before lifting her bad leg up to his other shoulder, sliding her to the edge of the bed, and licking into her. She took her time, slowly letting herself lean back onto her bed, letting him bring her to a soft, rolling peak, until she couldn’t handle it anymore, too sensitive for his persistent tongue, tugging on his jacket to bring him up over her to kiss the taste of herself out of his mouth.

“Stiff fingers?” She whispered into his mouth, and he laughed into her neck, letting her start top strip off his clothes, his jacket and shirt shed, his jeans shucked down until they hit his boots, and watching him stumble around trying to untie his boots and shuck his jeans at the same time brought her almost to tears, trying to laugh into her hands to keep from making too much noise, and then he was stumbling out of his pants and falling into bed, crawling over her sliding her up to the head of her bed, finding all of her new skin with her mouth as he went, until he found her mouth again. He settled in on top of her, kissing her soft and easy, letting his hands slide over her, finding new skin, travelling down until his fingers found purchase on her centre, sliding into her, his other hand threading into her hair, tugging just enough to expose her neck, letting him bite gently into it, his fingers in her heat bringing her up, up, up, and then backing away, up, up, up, and then backing away, until she was shaking, and then he lined himself, using the hand in her hair to lift her as he slid in, easy, until she was sitting up, letting her wrap her arms around his neck, using his hand to help move her hips, until she was falling apart around him, and he followed her only a few moments later. They stayed like that, for a moment, her fingers tracing patterns on his scalp and down his neck, over his shoulders, their feverish kisses slowing to soft, gently ones, until they were just breathing into each other, noses brushing. She stepped off him, finding his t-shirt on the floor, tossing him his underwear and sliding on her own, before tucking back in next to him on the bed, propping herself up on her elbows, tangling their legs together. He leaned up, kissing her softly.

“So… have i earned your story yet?” She smiled. He knew most of their story, they had shared as a group over moonshine one night. He knew about them being sent to earth, about their war with the mountain men, about their fight against ALIE, about her going to space with her friends, but she never really went into her own personal story with the group. She let Bellamy tell it, let Clarke tell it, let Murphy be snarky and Harper tell jokes, and Echo and Emori tell their own stories about Grounders. She kissed his shoulder.

“Tell me about you, tell me about life in the 21st century,” she smiled, biting into his shoulder, “what was it like?”

“You know what i miss the most?” She urged him on, smiling. “The music. There were so many artists, so many great bands. There was so much great old stuff, and the ship still has pretty much anything you could want in its old library, but man… new music? All the time? Sometimes i even miss the radio playing the same 3 songs over and over again.”

“tell me more…”

“When i was a kid, my family and I used to watch these really old movies, Star Wars they were called. There were like 11 or 12 of them, and we used to watch them over and over. The first three came out in the 70’s,” she looked puzzled, “the NINETEEN seventies! They were super old, but so good, about this group of magical people, of all kinds of alien races, it was set in space you see, who fought with laser swords and The Force, this like… magical power that they could control, that connected them all. Carrie Fisher, she played Princess Leia… man. What a babe.” She laughed into his arm. “We used to go on to the Great Lakes, up in Michigan, we’d take these weekend trips, me and my moms. Drive up to the lakes, with sleeping bags and camping stuff, and sleep out on the beach, under the stars. We’d build these huge bonfires, making sausages and s’mores-“

“Whats a s’more?”

She heard him mutter “you’re killing me, smalls” under his breath. “Movie reference, sorry. Ill explain later.” She smiled. “It was this awesome dessert. These sweet crackers, with cinnamon in them, and chocolate, with a marshmallow, which was just this puffy sugar ball basically, you’d catch it on fire and once it was all toasted, you’d squish it between the crackers… it was sticky and so sweet too many would make you sick, but man… Anyway, we’d go out to the lake, and spend all day swimming and playing in the sand, and then we’d build the big fire and eat and sleep under the stars. We’d go until it was too cold to go anymore.” He was reminiscent, and it was so endearing.

“Sounds delicious, tell me more about the food! I’ve heard stories that it was all terrible for you.” She tried to make it not so obvious that she was avoiding talking about his family, but he could tell. He looked soft, and grateful. He had told her before that the thing he missed most was his bike, which meant whatever stories there were about his family, they wouldn’t be happy stories.

“Oh man, SO terrible. Well… not all of it. We had vegetables and normal food, obviously. But fries… potatoes, sliced into pi.eces and fried in hot oil, man I could eat my weight in those. And tacos, you’d get them from trucks, slow cooked meat with all kinds of spices, served on warm corn tortillas with cilantro.” She didn’t know a lot of the foods he was talking about, but his nostalgia was so cute she couldn’t be bothered to stop him and ask about any of it.

He told her about his favourite movies, his favourite television shows, his favourite books, sang (terribly) a few bars of his favourite songs, until his voice was slurring with sleep and their bodies were heavy together on the bed. She tucked her face into his neck, and they fell asleep that way, surrounded by each others warm skin, the the soft memories of his life, a life she’d only ever dreamed about, only ever read about in books. She’d share her own stories later.

When they woke up the next morning, still wrapped around each other, his lips found hers again, and the rocked against each other, all warm and slow, easy and gentle, soft crests following each other, and they were pulling on clothes, helping each other, giggling into each others shoulders when he couldn’t tug her jeans up, and when they were fully dressed, he knelt in front of her, and laced up her brace, one strap at a time. He lifted her up off the bed, giving her a chance to wrap her arms up around his neck, kissing him with all she had in her.

“Would you look at that,” she said, zipping his jacket up, “no more stiff fingers.”

“I’m glad i could cure you” he laughed, lacing their fingers together, and walking out into the light, together.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

🏰⚔️ DMODT- 9 full

Levi was preparing for bed when he noticed something wrong. It started with a fear that filled his stomach, then progressed to pain in his hands. Dropping his blankets, he cried out in surprise as long thick wounds appeared in his palms "Erwin?" Turning from his bed, he raised his hands to show Erwin. Rushing to him, Erwin took his hands, as Levi sank down on the edge of the bed "What happened?" "I don't know... It's freezing" It felt as if his whole body had plunged into a frozen lake. Shivering, he only seemed to grow colder "We need a healer!" Opening his mouth to contradict Erwin, Levi choked. Coughing and hacking hard, something seemed to be lodged in his throat. Pulling his hand from Erwin's, he shoved his fingers down his throat, trying to catch the edge of whatever was there "We needed a healer in here!" His whole frame heaved as he finally caught the forgein object, coughing as he pulled it from his throat, lubricated as he vomited. Across from them, there was a flurry of movement. Erwin grabbing whatever was in his hand as the royal healers rushed to his side. Fussed over, the healers couldn't tell him what was wrong with him. His hands were healed by magic, but the chill wouldn't leave. Bundled up in thick furs, he was finally left to rest in peace when he started snapping over how shitty he felt. If someone had wanted to kill him, wasn't there a nicer way to do so? Like a simple sword to heart? Or a good old fashioned decapitation? Not freezing him and choking him to death, like a goddamn coward. Sitting up on his bed, he glared at Erwin. The man was supposed to be his bodyguard... and he hadn't stopped whatever attack this was from happening, instead the man had backed off and had been staring at his hand rather intently for the past hour. Coughing, his chest hurt from effort. His voice a rasp "What the hell are you looking at?" Holding up the diamond shaped object, it was about an inch long, and as thin as hair. Sparkling in the light, he could make out the colour green "What is it?" "A dragon scale" Why the fuck would he be coughing up dragon scales?! How the hell did that even happen?! Eren... They'd only encountered one dragon, and the damn thing had been dead "That little shit. I'm going to fucking kill him" "L-Erwin. What do you mean?" Dragging himself out of bed, he shuffled over to snatch the scale out of Erwin's hold. The sharp edges of the scale cut into his palm. His scent filling with anger as growled "First Eren's playing with a dead dragon, now I'm coughing up a dragon scale! I'm going to kill him" "We don't know..." "Oh come off it. There's something wrong with him! This stinks of him and his fucked up fucking magic!" Dissolving into coughs, Erwin rose from his bed, lifting him like he was a child and carrying him back over to his bed "We don't know this was Eren. Zeke has his own mages" "You think Zeke tried to kill me?" "Or a spell went wrong?" "It's a dragon scale!" "Keep your voice down. It's suspicious enough that Zeke didn't come to see what the noise was about" "This is clearly Eren getting his revenge for being sent away" His throat hurt like a bitch "Do you really think he's so vindictive?" "He's gone and I'm coughing up a fucking scale" "Stop saying "fucking". It makes it hard to have a civilised conversation" "Some body guard you are. The brat tried to kill me" "You may be a tremendous arsehole, but I doubt Eren would try to kill you. He took his vows to the kingdom, and for him to against your word is to go against the kingdom. Which would cost him his life. No. I think there's something more than that. We should cut the hunt short and head back to the castle as soon as possible" "And how do you intend to pull Prince Zeke from his hunt? No. Our healers won't mention this, and the hunt shall continue as if nothing happened. We'll watch and wait... if Eren thinks I'm dying from one shit scale, the kid has another thing coming" Erwin sighed heavily "You're not going to budge, are you?" "Would you? If this is Zeke, he may well have formed a plan to kill me. If this is Eren, I won't give him the satisfaction of me ending the hunt" "You're a thoroughly unpleasant man" "I am your prince. You will do this" "Fine. But I still don't think Eren is responsible" "For his sake, he better not be" The hunt continued another three days before Zeke declared he was bored with the lack of game. The alpha had enquired after his health the morning after his choking incident, which he had played down as his bodyguard completely over reacting after he'd accidentally caught his hand on his sword. The alpha had laughed at him, and mocked him over his "boo boo", but didn't seem to have been involved. In a lot of ways Zeke was a brilliant actor, yet his surprise seemed genuine enough, reinforcing his belief that Eren was involved. The kid was in for a major arse kicking once he got back to the castle. * The castle was still standing when they returned. Hanji and Moblit were waiting to greet them, along with one of the mages of the castle. He wasn't in the mood to deal with anything that wasn't a hot cup of tea, or a warm soapy bath, but Hanji wouldn't even allow him that. Climbing off his horse, she was lead away before he could even protest. Hanji waiting until he moved towards the castle doors, before falling into step with him "We have a situation" "I gathered by your greeting. What happened?" "Moblit and Eren were attacked" "Of course they were. No offence Moblit, but Eren is trouble" "It wasn't Eren's fault. There were bandits near Shinganshima" Levi came to a stop. Hanji may be in control when both he and Erwin were absent from the castle, and she knew she was supposed to report shit like that immediately. Beside her, Moblit looked pained. An arm wrapped around his waist as he looked to his feet "If bandits were an issue, why have I heard nothing?" "Because they were taken care of. Moblit was there" "Moblit, speak" The man cleared his throat "We were attacked in the inner walls, passing near Shinganshima on our way back to the castle. Archers felled the first soldier, the other two fighting while filled with arrows. Eren was hiding under the cart when he was pulled free..." Moblit looked to Hanji, then over to Zeke and his party "Is this something we should be discussing inside?" "Most definitely" "Talk while we walk. I need a hot shower" Hanji and Moblit kept their silence until they entered Levi's chambers. The sheets and blankets had been freshly changed, while a warm fire burned in the hearth "Now. Explain this attack. And Eren's part" "Eren killed them all" Hanji covered her mouth as if it took back her outburst. Groaning, Levi could feel an Eren induced headache forming "How? Why? What happened to the soldiers?" "All three died. One giving his life to push Eren out the way. I'd left to relieve myself, they'd attacked in my absences. Eren and the group were exchanging words... but they refused to heed his warning to leave him alone" "Moblit, you're starting to sound like Hanji. What did Eren do?" "He turned them to stone. The man who seemed to be the leader pointed his blade at him. Eren wrapped his hands around it, then the world shaked. The sky turned red as wind built around him..." "So he used his magic to turn them stone?" "He doesn't remember doing so, but there was something more to it. I'm not a magic user, but even I felt the sinister presence in his magic" "Sinister?" "His eyes glowed black. It was the dead of night, yet it was as clear as day. His eyes grew black as his body seemed to flicker for a moment. When the spell faded, the bandits were stone" Levi sighed, moving his hands to massage at his temples with his fingers "And you?" "Copped a blast of what seemed to be wind magic as I tried to move closer to Eren. It is nothing more than an uncomfortable bruise" "That's good. It was smart of you not to make yourself known" Hanji nodded, starting excitedly "We have the statues moved here, and Levi, it's the most incredible thing. Their whole bodies are stone. Their clothes. Their weapons. Their boots and belts. They all look as if they were carved from stone" "And the no longer live?" "Definitely not" "How can you be so sure?" "One lost its head during transport. That's how we know the inside is also stone" Eren certainly didn't do things in moderation "And where is Eren?" "He's locked himself in his quarters and won't come out" Levi closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Holding it, he counted to three before releasing it "Why?" "Because he's scared of his magic. He knows I'm not his actual master, and begged to be locked away where he couldn't hurt any one" "And you did?" "He was quite agitated. His magic kept flaring and he was hurting himself" "How? Was it sparks of fire again?" "It started as spinning winds slicing at his arms... but..." Hanji sucked her lips in, trying to school her features "Spit it out" Letting out a snorting laugh, Hanji was all smiles "He accidentally created a thunderstorm that hovered over his head and small bolts kept zapping him. It was hilarious" "It was only hilarious until Eren accident zapped her with it" "Well, duh. It's not like I want him to be hurt, but it was his own personal storm" Levi had a fair idea of what that was like. He'd seen it when mounting the teen, the way the storm had appeared from nothing, and the way the lightening strikes had flared out across the room "Moblit, when did this happen?" "The night we left camp. He passed out on the way back to the castle. I'll never forget how cold he was" Cursing under his breath, he straightened himself up "I'll need the report delivered to me. And not a word of this to Marley. Did you send a dragon to Draecia?" "Yes, sir. They sent a falcon thanking us, and have collected the skull and diamonds" They did? They'd been right there in the forest, yet he hadn't seen any dragons or heard anything out of the ordinary... "Did they say anything?" "No. I still can't believe there was a dragon corpse that far south" "You and me both, Moblit" Moblit was the only one he trusted to send a message through to Draecia. If they hadn't said anything, then nothing had been missing from the remains. Erwin had been right. He'd been too hard on Eren without knowing what happened "You're both dismissed. Leave Eren where he is for now. If his magic is out of control, it's better he can't unleash it on the castle, or its inhabitants" "Levi, what are you going to do? He needs a real master to draw out his powers. This isn't working" "I'll think of something... right now, I wish to bathe. Our tents might be expanded with magic, and have basic facilities, but nothing compared to clean bath and bathroom" Bathing until his skin had turned pruney, Levi loved the feeling of being clean. What he didn't love was knowing he'd have to face Eren. He didn't see why the teen would be so upset over the death of trash. Erwin wasn't waiting for him when he left his room, so Levi was left to walk through the castle alone, ignoring the maids and servants that bowed as he passed. He might have been playing the prince for over a decade, but he still didn't enjoy people bowing at him, or addressing him as "sir". It wasn't until he was on the servants side of the castle, that he realised he couldn't actually remember where Eren's room was, with one hundred percent certainty, and as the prince he wasn't about to suffer through a bout of embarrassment for choosing the wrong room. Every shitty hallway looked the same with its smooth stone walls and red carpets. If he wasn't so pissed off at the omega, he might have been able to stop and take breath, then realise he wasn't even on the same floor as the teen. Where was Shitty Sir Fluffybrows when he needed him? Closing his eyes, it slowly dawned on him, he was supposed to have a bond with Eren... which meant he should be able to find the kid... what else was this stupid bond useful for? Right. Now... Eren. It was weird and uncomfortable, Levi standing in the hallway long enough to fell well and truly stupid as he tried to concentrate on the kid. There was a slight tingling in his nape, a cold feeling in his chest and whole lot of no idea where he was going as he took his first step back down the hall. Letting the tight self control he had slip was hard, as was ignoring his instincts to follow something that seemed so stupid to him. After another dozen set of halls, and a set of stairs down, he finally found himself out the omegas door. The tingling had spread to a warmth, though his lungs still seemed as if someone had shovelled ice cubes down his throat. Knocking on Eren's door, he raised himself to stand taller, to play the role of the prince he was supposed to be. When the omega didn't answer, Levi sighed to himself as he tried the door handle, finding it locked as Hanji had said "Open up!" He could feel Eren on the other side of the door. He knew the brat could hear him "Eren, open this door at once! Or I'll kick it down" Trying the handle again, this time it gave. The shit could have at least opened it. Opening Eren's door, he let himself into the dark room, before closing the door behind him. Sitting in the frame of his window, Eren was wrapped in a thin blanket. The kid staring out across the castle grounds, as he pointedly ignored looking Levi's way. Filled with discomfort, his alpha was demanding the attention of the omega "I heard about the attack. You have my thanks for saving the life of Moblit" That sounded princely enough, didn't it? "Eren, I hear you've locked yourself away. Why?" Looking to him, Eren's eyes were blank. The kid looked deathly ill, with such a pale complexion and deep bags under his eyes "If you are ill, why..." "I don't care anymore" Sliding from the window frame, Eren sagged. Rushing to him, Eren swung out before he could him "Eren..." "No. I'm a magic user without a master. I killed those men... That wasn't what I came here to do" "So you're throwing a tantrum?" "I figured it out... it must have been fun..." Coughing, Levi could smell the blood in the air as Eren covered his mouth with a wrapped hand, the bandages a dirty creamed, striped with way too much brown-red. The omega was seriously ill... why hadn't anyone noticed? Why hadn't Eren tried to help himself? "Why! Why do you hate me?! I never hurt you... you took it all away... why couldn't you let me die?" As Eren's eyes rolled back, Levi hefted him into his hold "You stupid brat. This isn't easy for me either..." Using his knees to balance Eren, Levi moved an arm up over his shoulder, tucking the omega's face to his neck "It's not like I don't feel anything for you... but I can't... I can't give you what you want from me. I can't give you love, or open affection you fool" Why was he explaining when Eren was unconscious and couldn't hear him? Probably for just that fact. He was too much of a coward to tell the teen to his face that he was the one who was supposed to be his master, and that each time he was with Zeke, he felt a jealousy burning inside of him. He was a puppet prince. Only a stand in until either war came, or the people who'd killed Erwin's parents and their associates were bought to light. He owned no land of his own. His name was forced upon the real prince. All he had with his temper, and the power to make Erwin's words into reality. That was it. He couldn't give Eren anything, or everything he wanted and needed. Plus. Whoever he took as a lover wouldn't stay secret. They'd be expected to take their role by his side... He couldn't give the people a false princess, or prince in this case... which was even if Marley approved the relationship, something the doubted Zeke would do given the man's own interests in Eren. * Taking Eren to his chamber, the guards both stared as he sent them to find both Erwin and a healer. In his arms, Eren still hadn't regained consciousness. The omega felt way too fucking light, and as if he were to let go, the teen would simply fade away. Laying Eren down on his bed, he pulled his furs up to cover him, before pulling his hands free. He needed to see the damage. He needed to know what Eren had been trying to hide from Hanji and Moblit. Starting with Eren's left hand, the smell from the wounds was putrid. Small open sores oozed, but the sword wound in the teen's palm looked revolting. Angry red lines ran from it, infection had clearly set in. The stupid boy should have been healed when he'd returned the castle, as Moblit should have known better than to allow the kid to tend to them himself. Or maybe Eren had told Moblit that he would heal himself? He'd prefer to think that Eren had tried to heal himself, rather than that the kid felt he deserved the pain and injuries. "Is that Eren?" Looking to Erwin, Levi realised he probably looked suspicious as he knelt by Eren's right side. Attending to unwrapping Eren's right hand, he'd had to move to the other side of his bed, and climb up "Throw the bandages in the fire. And is the healer coming?" Erwin wrinkled his nose as he took the two piles of soiled bandage away from Eren's side, to throw them in the hearth "What happened?" "He left his wounds to fester. Clear sword cuts, in the same places as mine" "Shouldn't he have been healed?" "Apparently not. I thought he would have been too. And it's not just his hands" Seeing a scratch on Eren's wrist, he'd slid the sleeves of Eren's thin tunic up, to find them running right up both his arms "Why did you bring him here?" "Because he knows. Or suspects... he asked me why I didn't let him die, and why I did this to him" Erwin returned to the side of Levi's bed, sinking down to turn Eren's left hand palm up. The man staring at Eren's wound as he spoke "What will you do?" "I don't know. You know the situation" "And you know how I feel" "Do you?" "You're allowed to develop feelings" "Feelings are a luxury that will only lead to danger" "Then take him as a lover" "I couldn't do that. You know as well as I do, why" "I'm not telling you to marry him" "And if Zeke were to find out, can you image how that would go down? He'd stop at nothing to destroy him" "You're making excuses" "Because I seem to be the only one who's thought this through" "He's your omega through the vow of magic" "And how does that affect him? Does that mean he could never choice a normal lover? Never have a normal family? I'm sure his adoptive sister feels more for him than that" "Court mages have both their masters and families..." Levi growled. Erwin was the prince! He should understand why it couldn't be! "And how would that work? Him being treated as a whore by the prince, and going home to his real family at the end of each day" "He cares about you, and you care about him" "He couldn't give two shits about me. He hates me..." "He knows it was you saved him" "And he knows I fucking bonded with him and then passed him on to Hanji. You're not stupid" "Sirs?" Interrupted by the healers, Levi and Erwin both moved back from Eren "Eren requires healing. He's wounded and quite ill" The head healer walked to Eren's side, taking Eren's left hand with both hands "He was seen to after the incident. These wounds should have healed" "You saw to him?" "He was seen to. Magic put in place to heal his injuries, but these wounds have been infected by magic" "Infected?" "Mmm, yes. His own magic turning against the healing magic" Levi sighed to himself. Magic was so fucking confusing "His magic has never been stable" "His master should be seeing to that" Which would technically be him... he didn't know how to go about asking what he wanted to know, without giving the old healer a heart attack "How would his master do that? As you know, both the prince and I aren't magic users" "I know our ways seem strange to you, but with wounds like this, his master should be feeling affects. I need to examine him completely before I can tell you exactly what is wrong with him. Shall we remove him from your chambers, sir?" Yes. No. He didn't want Eren to be moved from his bed, not when the kid wasn't alright. Eren was liable to faze him out completely if Levi let him be moved from his side "No. He has a stubborn streak, deeper than any mule. I know his master, so you will report the best course of action to us" "Very good, sir" Erwin had his "dad" look on his face as they stood outside his door. Levi turning his back to the man, before turning back to him "I don't want to hear it" "I said nothing" "I don't know what comes next" "And we won't until the healers pass their decision" "I can't give him anything..." "Has he asked for anything?" "No. But... this feeling thing is shit" "Well, why did you mount him? What did your alpha tell you?" "What every alpha thinks of an omega in heat, to breed him. To make him mine... he even fucking called me his alpha" "When I saw Eren, I admit I wanted to fuck him, but I didn't feel that he was mine" "Don't..." "Levi, you can't deny it. He started your first rut" "What bit of "don't", didn't you understand? Besides, he started yours too" "And as sweet, and charming as he is, I haven't ever once had the thought that he should be mine" Levi's eyes narrowed as he hissed "We can't be a thing!" "It's not unusual for an alpha to take an omega to relieve their urges" "You really have a way of butchering words" "Maybe that's why you're so short? Height deprivation through sexual frustration" "And that's why you're so tall? Because you fuck everything you can?" Erwin shrugged "I'm careful, and there's no reason to deny pleasure if it's safe and consensual" Levi didn't like to admit he didn't know how safe sex with Eren would work. He didn't know if Eren was fertile... Shit... he didn't know how to do the do... would it be awkward if... or what if... what if it was bad and Eren didn't like it... what if he didn't like it? What if he did something wrong? What if Eren's magic hurt either of them? "You're panicking" "Shut it" "You have fucked someone before, haven't you?" "Yes!" Seething, and defensive, his scent flared with his anger. He'd fucked Eren. Twice... and had wanted to do it a whole lot more. Did dreams count? Because he'd definitely had some pretty intense dreams about Eren too... Oh, fuck... he really did have it bad for the brat with the bright green eyes... How could this have happened?! He usually kept such a level head... He knew his role. He knew he had to be the prince everyone wanted him to be... and now he was in love?! Love?! Hold up. Was it love? He didn't know Eren all that well... shouldn't he know him... better? And know more about him than his magic was crazy, and his arse felt like it was made for him?! Pfft... he couldn't be in love... was he? "Then what are you worried about?" "Just shut up!" Erwin chuckled lightly, enjoying his discomfort. Levi's heart was racing so stupidly hard, he couldn't stop himself as he slid down the wall to the floor, gripping his hair as he continued to mentally freak out. He wasn't supposed to be falling for Eren! "Hey..." "Don't. Ok. I can't right now. We need to wait for the mages to tell us what to do next"