Hey, I love the book Leviathan, and I noticed a distinct lack of fic for the fandom. So I wrote a little scene that was knocking around in my head after I finished Behemoth. Enjoy!
Lilit smirked to herself as she floated down to her uncle's boat, momentarily distracted from thoughts of her father and the revolution.
If it wasn't for Bovril, she never would have guessed -never have even suspected- but because of Bovril, she saw it all too clearly. The first time Bovril had said it, she realized it had some importance, it was the only reason he would insist on repeating it. So she had started paying attention, and as soon as she did that, she began noticing all the little things that the others dismissed out of hand. Some of it was things only she and perhaps Nene, as the only females with any significant contact, would know, but others were as clear as the nose on her face. The slightly baggy clothes, the concerns about privacy, the short and scrawny stature, the overall attitude, the everything! Dylan was a girl. The expression on his- no, her - face just now; wide-eyed shock, a little disbelief, and a touch of fear, had confirmed it.
She had first realized it during their night-time excursion to the Hotel Hagia Sophia. She had been spending as much time with Dylan as possible, trying to figure 'him' out, and as such had developed a relatively good grasp of 'his' various expressions. When she had accused her two companions of wanting to leave her behind because she was a girl, Dylan had refuted it with a strange look on 'his' face. So while she sat in the dark, waiting for them to come back, she pondered the expression until -with an almost audible clunk- it had clicked into place. The realization cascaded through her mind, sending it racing, confirming (and being confirmed by) the quirks and discrepancies she had noticed before, as well as pointing out the occasional one she had missed. She had laughed for a good minute after the shock had worn off.
As she watched Dylan later on, she berated herself for not noticing sooner. But then, Dylan had tricked the entire crew of her airship into thinking she was a boy, which was not such an easy feat. The crew had seen only what they wanted to see, a human failing that was all too common. At least she had made the mistake of not truly looking at what was in front of her now, with a secret that had little to no bearing on her - she wouldn't make the same mistake again.
As she lighted on the deck of her uncle's boat, Lilit smiled - Alek was clueless, and it was rather funny. She had no doubt that he would figure it out eventually, but she was betting that it would take a while.
She had seen a glimmer of realization in Dylan's eyes when she had stated that she know Mister Sharp better than 'he' knew, and an understanding had passed between them. Dylan knew Lilit knew her secret, and also knew that she wouldn't tell a soul. She didn't feel guilty about leaving them behind, as she had no doubt that Dylan -whatever her real name was- could handle anything that was thrown at her, be it by Alek or the military. Hopefully she'd see them again someday, but until then...
"Good luck..." she whispered, stealing one last glance back at the approaching airship before turning back to her city.
And they you have it! I hope you enjoyed my modest contribution to the Leviathan archive!