I'm so sorry for being so late but I got stuck and then started obsessing over SKAM. Armin is a bit dark here because he's been through a lot and will obviously be different from his original. This is a view of how serious and how much he's changed. He tries to put on a happy and innocent expressin when things aren't serious but otherwise he's really dark. I made Levi's little speech thing in first person because the whole day was very emotional and, like the other times, he was forced to reconnect with the world. He couldn't do the out of body thing because the day was too important, too filled with memories. Basically he was stressed and sad and overwhelmed.

PS: I'm a dudette;)

Sincerely,

Shado on'nanoko.

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I studied the fabric laid out over the only level table in the house and sighed, arms folded tightly across my chest and brows furrowed. Mikasa insisted on keeping the thing though it wasn't much of a blanket anymore, more like a worn poncho who's number of knife fights it'd been through amounted to more than one, and it showed. The thing was dirty, dusty and full of tears that frayed and threatened to unravel it all and I had no fucking clue what to do with it.

I unfolded my arms and kneaded the off white bandage wrapped securely around my thigh. It was uncomfortable to say the least, wearing the bandages, but I guess that's what I got after deliberately harming myself in close proximity to oblivious and concerned humans. I had to hobble around the place, the act over-exaggerated to the point of hilarity, proven by the absurd amount of giggles it'd managed to pull from the usually silent Mikasa. I'd healed almost ten minutes after I'd removed the pole, but the bandages had already been rolled on and tied tight with orders from the stern looking girl to rest the leg until she said so.

Mikasa, in complete contrast to how I thought she would act, wasn't angry. If anything she seemed sympathetic and understanding. It was baffling. She accompanied silence and continued to sink into corners with her shredded poncho but there were the occasional times where she'd spot something in my expression and immediately mumbled about some inane thing like 'this bug was really interesting, Armin picks his nose'.

Armin was still mad, not that I think he should forget about it but...it still hurt. He refused to talk to me, would avoid being alone in the same room as me and shot scathing glares my way when he was sure Mikasa wasn't looking. I didn't know what to do about it, do I just confront him? Corner him and settle things then and there?

In all honesty, probably the best and only plan I would be able to come up with.

I shoved the blanket dilemma to the side and rose to my feet, shoulders set with determination and stalked off to find the blond boy. It took a few steps for me to remember I needed to limp and then continued on my way, swaying dramatically from side to side.

Armin was in his room, a book I'd bought for him in the earlier days on his lap, pages worn and loved. He looked up when the door creaked, his face falling and his wide eyes narrowing with disdain when he saw who it was. "Please get out," He mumbled, mouth set in a firm line. He always made a point of being polite. I stepped farther into the room, his glare heating up with every step but I ignored it.

"I'd like to talk to you about...you know..." I folded my hands in front of me, head hanging a bit as my eyes danced around the child. Armin scoffed but shut the book.

"Nothing you say will make me trust you. It won't make it okay."

He ghosted his fingers over the spine of the book, clearly wanting to get back to it. I sighed.

"Then why do you stay? There must be something there. I know this has been hard on all of us but...please, just trust me"

The look he shot me almost pushed me back, made it hard for me to stand my ground and bridge the gap between us. Armin set aside his book and slid off the bed. He rose to his full height, still a few inches shorter than me but there was something in the way he carried himself that made me tense, my guard slowly rising.

"Why," he began, stepping closer with every word. "would I trust you? What have you done that's warranted my trust?"

I couldn't step back, the intensity of his gaze causing my limbs to stiffen, freezing me to the spot.

"We were introduced when you came in this house to buy us, then proceeded to turn on the men you were doing business with and beat them mercilessly." He made small gestures with his hands, his emotions conveyed by the twitches in his fingers. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that those men got hurt, felt some of the pain I felt, that Mikasa felt, but what happened after..."

I could feel my shoulders jerk and I saw the small flicker in Armin's eyes that showed he'd seen. "Do you think I didn't notice? You don't eat with us, ever. I think I've only seen you eat once and I remember vividly how horrid your retching was after." He paused, a small smirk that lacked any sort of amusement crawled up his face. He spoke again, this time mocking.

"Where did the bad men go, Eren?"

My breath caught in my throat.

Armin advanced.

"If there was a better option where Mikasa and I wouldn't starve, where we wouldn't have to live on the streets and die from the cold or disease, I wouldn't have let Mikasa live with a sick cannibal who likes to play pretend."

I stumbled back, gripping the door frame to hold my body up but my mind was drowning. I could guess what cannibal meant, the meaning coming to me from what he'd said he knew. But how...

How did he know?

What do I do?!

"W-what...Mi-"

I didn't get to finish, Armin cutting in at the first sound of her name.

"She doesn't know"

I knew I should be feeling relieved but all I felt were my muscles tensing and my legs itching to run away.

"She adores you too much, I don't want her to realize that her 'saviour'," he paused, eyes close to rolling, "is even more monstrous than our captors."

Monster

Armin gripped the door and slowly pulled it closed, giving me one last warning not to step out of line but I didn't hear it, monster was clouding my thoughts and causing me to shake.

Or was it the hunger?

How long had it been since I'd eaten?

I hadn't thought of the taste, of the way the meat squished around my teeth, just that it'd happened.

My hands shook, what was that smell?

I sniffed the air, the sweet stench of my children filling my nostrils and my stomach growled. I was certain, it was undeniable.

My hands shook

They would be so delicious.

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~Levi~

Petra was just how Levi'd expected, exactly like her mother.

She had caramel coloured hair and soft hazel eyes paired with a gentle smile, radiating warmth and comfort. She quickly filled the role of mother hen in the Corps and no one could find anything to complain about, she was perfect in the personality aspect. It was her physical fitness that set Levi on edge.

"Your form is shit and you run like a fucking bunny is after you"

Petra's face crumpled in confusion. "A bunny, sir?"

"Yes, a bunny. You're absolute shit so do it again!" Levi shot out his arm, finger pointing sternly at the track that the young girl was trying to subtly avoid. Petra took a second to shrink into herself but quickly sprang back into gear and set off on her second round of laps, Levi belting out corrections every now and then.

By the time the candy haired girl collapsed onto the dirt the sun had set and the other cadets had already moved inside, most likely having eaten their dinners and gone to bed. Levi just stood there, observing the small girl wheezing on the ground, not offering any help or words at all. Petra glanced up, caught Levi's eye and smiled a wide smile filled with awe and satisfaction.

"I think that's the longest and the fastest I've ever run..." She coughed and spluttered on some of the words but Levi nodded like he understood.

He didn't

Petra threw him a knowing look and instead thrust a thumbs up into the air and breathed out an elated "Thank you!"

Levi quirked a smile that he would later deny and turned, chuckling a bit at how very similar yet how very different a child can be from their parent. It was the same intent, the same message but it had the taste of Petra all over the words.

Fascinating

"I'm expecting to see you on this track before breakfast is served and," he paused in his speech but kept walking, fingers itching to remove the soiled clothes from his body, sweaty from the heavy heat, "I won't go easy on you tomorrow. Your goal is to, by the end of the week, be able to keep pace with me for longer than five minutes."

He heard shuffling and then the thwap of a fist hitting fabric, followed by a jubilant yet somehow still serious "yes sir!"

Levi continued through the doors of the building, past the mess hall and on to his room. Fuck, had his last wash really been that morning? He could practically feel the crusted copper tasting substance caught underneath his nails. He knew it wasn't there, not really, but it didn't matter what he knew. His earlier carefree smile long gone, he rushed through the rest of the useless space between him and the sink, the bath, the shower, anything that would rid him of the dirt, the life on his hands. Anything that would release him from his pain, from the guilt that latched itself onto the marrow of his bones and refused to let go.

The knob squeaked as it turned and the sound of water hitting stone ricocheted painfully inside his skull.

He fell in, hands reaching desperately for the faucet placed above his head, arms raised as if reaching to the heavens, to a god he doesn't believe in. The water ran clear but it ran red and Levi couldn't breath. If he stayed, if he just waited, maybe he would be clean, maybe. That was all he had, no matter how much time passed he still had it.

Maybe

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~Eren~

The cobbled roads echoed my footsteps, frantic and off beat. My breath was heavy with anger at myself, disappointment for my own thoughts. How could I have even considered those children, my children, such innocent creatures as food? The hunger was eating away at my mind, devouring conscious thought and allowing instinct to roam free. Instinct said that all humans were food, how could I argue with that?

There wasn't an argument, all that needed to be said was a name. Levi.

Humans weren't food, not all of them at least. I wanted to quit, to go back to eating only small animals but I knew I wouldn't be able to. I'd gotten a taste again and with the humans intoxicating odour surrounding me at every hour of the day...it wouldn't be long before I snapped. I couldn't snap around the children, it would be a slaughter, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I had to find a way to keep myself in control. I had to satiate the desire before it could take me over.

But who to choose...

XXX

I hadn't heard the footsteps.

I was too focused on the corps before me of the man I'd caught doing unseemly acts and dragged into the secluded alley I was currently in. The footsteps, when they registered, were light and fast. I was unconcerned until I realized that they were too close for comfort. I tried to wipe the blood from my hands onto the cold stones beneath me but only succeeded in grinding the drying red life farther into the creases of my hands. Cold sweat beaded on my nape. I turned.

"Armin?"

Gold hair and wide blue eyes flashed in the dark and I renewed my efforts to clean my hands.

"What are you doi-" I stopped when he turned away and gagged, hand covering his moth and shoulders heaving. I stood from the stones and reached for him, asking if he was alright, but he jolted away from my touch.

"Why did you...who is that?" He asked and I shrank. I turned back to look at the scene that Armin had walked in on. A man, what was left of him, lying in a pile, surrounded by his own blood and his flesh torn from the bones. I looked at my hands, pants and arms. They were caked with blood, spotted with a few slivers of meat that I'd missed. It was the stuff of horror.

"I-I'm sorry Armi-...I couldn't..." "I don't want to hear your excuses!" He screamed, hands clenched in bone white fists by his side and the part of his face I could see was wrinkled with fury. "I asked you a question and you should answer!"

I lowered my head in shame, admitting that I didn't know who it was and I could feel the tears well in my eyes when he turned on me a face filled with anger but absent of disappointment, as if he didn't expect any less of me.

"Just get back to the house and wash up, Mikasa will notice that you're gone. And don't even think of going anywhere near her, I won't let you do anything to her."

He turned to the alley entrance but I couldn't let him just go, this would drive us apart and I'd already let it go on long enough. I couldn't let him have a reason to leave, to take Mikasa and fall into a trap that devious humans wove.

I trusted him, yes. With my life?

I was so tired of hiding.

"I'm a titan"

I'll tell Levi when I find him.

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