And here it is, chapter 4! I'm still in the process of editing chapter 5, but it should hopefully be up within the next few weeks or so if everything goes smoothly. This one's a little shorter compared to the other 3, and it also serves as more of a filler or break from the main storyline, delving more into Lyra's head. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy!

Getting used to having a fifteen meter titan following her around like some kind of attentive guard dog was something Lyra could never imagine herself getting used to.

No matter where she went, the beast was determined to follow.

Having the ground shake with every step usually had her struggling to keep her balance, especially since the titan tailing her wherever she went refused to keep an appropriate distance behind her. It also didn't help that her strange sixth sense–which she had often relied on to avoid any potential ravenous titans–was now permanently skewed and activated. Already, she had failed to notice three titans when venturing out to find food because he was always close by.

Lucky for me Eren went ahead and disposed of those monsters...but it's still annoying. Rubbing her sore temples, she tried to think about something else. Then again, it was hard for her mind to focus on anything really. She had hardly slept within the past few days. With her instincts constantly on edge, and a titan sleeping within the same enclosed space as her, it was no wonder that her body couldn't properly shut down.

This is getting ridiculous. I don't know if I can take much more of this...Something was going to give soon, and she was hoping that it wasn't going to be the last remnants of her sanity.

"Honestly…" She whispered aloud go herself, running a hand down her sweaty and bony face.

Coming up to a small break in the maze of trees, Lyra came to a stop. Setting down her supplies, she got to work, checking her snare traps to see if she had managed to catch anything overnight.

Of course I didn't. She sighed in agitation. Two of the traps had gone off, but either the animals had avoided capture completely, or something else had come and snagged her catch. Regardless, it looked like she was going to have to live off the few leftover berries she had picked the day before.

The ground shook as the titan moved in closer, letting out a low whine as he paused just a few meters behind her.

Craning her head back, her exhausted blue eyes met the warm and almost worried gaze of the intimidating giant. "What, Eren?" She drawled out, barely having any energy to hold up conversation.

He pointed towards the few snares and cage traps.

"No, I didn't catch anything." She replied, assuming the original question that he was trying to convey.

The titan snorted, his already angry-looking brow furrowing even more. Grumbling to himself, he scanned the area, looking both above and below the treeline before turning around and heading further into the trees.

Just where the hell is he going? Resetting one of her traps, the brunette stood up once more, straining her eyes and ears as she tried to figure out where the beast had wandered off too. Why do you care anyways? You should be glad that he's finally gone. At least now you can maybe get more sleep, and try hunting without a fifteen meter titan scaring away all the wild game.

But knowing Eren, even if he did wander off, she knew it was only temporary. Whether it was a few seconds or several hours–she knew he'd scale the wall of her small cove and come back eventually. Still, there was a part of her that held out hope that he would eventually grow bored of her and move on. At least then she could go back to living the life of solitude that she was used to.

As she continued to reset her small traps, there was a sudden loud bang. The abrupt sound had been so loud that it nearly made Lyra jump out of her skin. Immediately, she whipped her head around, only to see a flock of birds fleeing the canopies of a falling fir tree in the distance.

What the...?

The ground began to shake again, and although she figured it was just Eren returning, Lyra drew her knife just in case, allowing the pent up electrical energy beneath her skin to manifest along her arms.

It didn't take long for the familiar muscled form of her devout follower to step out from the shadows of the forest, his pointed ears perked forward. Warm teal eyes were visible through long and shaggy strands of dark brown hair, and making a verbal noise somewhere between a growl and a croon, he lowered himself onto one knee, extending a hand towards her like he had done in the past.

The teen jumped slightly as a full deer carcass was suddenly dropped at her feet with a loud thud.

Concealing her powers once more, the brunette slowly relaxed and lowered her knife. Her shocked gaze flickered from the animal's obviously crushed neck to the giant beast above her and back again. Did he seriously…?

When she gave no response, the titan grunted, using the tips of his fingers to push the freshly killed carcass closer to her feet.

He still never ceased to amaze her. Although this wasn't the first time he had given her food–she recalled just a few weeks ago, when he had dug up the cooked rabbit from the embers of her campfire and handed it to her after she had asked about food. But this?

Her wide eyes could only stare down at the large animal. This was the first time he had actually gone out on his own accord and brought her food from an external source. The first time he had killed something for her.

And she didn't even ask him to do it.

"Umm…" She lifted her head again, her blue orbs meeting his gaze. "T-Thank you."

He didn't respond verbally, but instead gave a small nod–a sign of recognition and reassurance that he understood her.

Getting down on one knee, the girl quickly put her knife to good use, slicing open the animal carcass and harvesting as much meat as possible. By the end of it, she had gathered enough meat that, when properly stored, could last her for well over a week. Placing it all in her old and worn burlap sack, she hoisted the heavy bag over her shoulder, and got to her feet once more. "I'm going to head back now...are you coming with?"

He nodded.

"Alright then. Let's go."

Coming up with a set of ground rules for a titan was easier said than done. Lyra still had a hard time grasping that this was her new reality, and not just some weird fever dream brought on by some kind of hallucinogenic berries. It was like having a giant dog with the mental capacity of a ten year old constantly following her around everywhere she went. The continuous restless nights and constant discomfort of her sixth sense being activated, it was only a matter of time before she snapped. And eventually, she did.

By all accounts, it wasn't intentional. In fact, it had merely been a visceral reaction that made her realize just where the line was drawn. When she had been in her half-comatose state, just barely awake as the first rays of morning awoke her from a quiet and almost peaceful rest, the first thing she had laid eyes on was a giant hand coming towards her.

A scream, a slur of insults and warnings, and an electrical shock so powerful that it had Eren pulling away with a painful shriek of his own.

The line was clear and drawn, and there was no crossing it. He seemed to understand at least that much. Even after Lyra had apologized amidst her fear and shock, she kept her distance from that point forward, making their one rule that much more concrete.

Look but don't touch.

He was quick to adapt and oblige–anything to prevent another reaction like that. Not to mention the painful jolt that her mysterious powers had inflicted, though he realized that was more bearable than hearing her horrified screams.

Days were quick to turn into weeks, yet their mutual understanding remained. Neither human nor titan pushed the boundaries that had been put in place. Their relationship was somewhat of a symbiotic one–though Lyra was arguably the greater benefactor. On the days where she failed to find food, Eren would be quick to seek some out. Whether it was another animal carcass or a literal bucket of various berries and mushrooms, food was always provided by him one way or another.

Out of curiosity at one point, Lyra had offered him some of the food that he had helped catch, seeing it only fit that she at least show some sort of kind gesture towards the creature that helped keep her alive. But he refused. In fact, whether it was meat or fruit, he seemed completely uninterested in the idea of eating.

But surely he had to eat at some point? After all, it seemed every other titan she came across was practically frothing at the mouth to devour any human unfortunate enough to cross its path. Then again, Eren was a curious case. Maybe he didn't need to eat. Maybe every time he ventured off on his own, he went to hunt down some other human that just so happened to meet the grizzly fate of ending up in titan territory.

The bottom line was that she didn't know, and she figured she was better off not knowing. But there was something that she did want to know.

Why bother at all?

It was obvious that she was the one benefiting here. She couldn't think of any logical reason as to why a titan would want to be in her company to begin with, especially after she had used her powers on him. Was she some sort of entertainment for him? If all he had been doing was wandering the abandoned walls for however many years, she could see why a creature of his size and strength was rendered bored. Nothing really posed as a threat to him, and it's not like there were any other people or things to do out here.

Maybe he found her interesting? The brunette recalled several instances where he looked at her as if she was the most eye-catching thing on the planet. Whether she was dicing up one of the animal carcasses he had brought her, humming a familiar tune, or throwing scraps to the few animals that lived in her small cove–Eren always seemed to find a reason to stare, gazing at her with such interest and admiration that she often ended up turning away in order to conceal the increased pigmentation in her cheeks.

Or maybe it was the third option, which she had come to suspect over the course of their entire time spent together.

Maybe he was just lonely.

It's not like there were any other intelligent titans in Wall Maria's desolate landscape. At least, not that she had seen. Eren was definitely unique, and there were times where she wondered if he was even a titan at all. Apart from his size, he really didn't have anything else in common with the other mindless and monstrous members of his kind. His actions were far too human-like.

To think that a titan could be lonely…As absurd as it was, she couldn't dismiss the possibility that a need for contact and companionship was the reason he started following her to begin with.

A low whine from the towering giant brought the brunette out of her thoughts, snapping her back to reality. Rolling onto her side, the brunette's blue gaze lazily drifted towards the behemoth leaning against one of the trees at the other end of the small cove. The familiar look of concern was evident in his eyes. Even in the dark cove–with the only sources of light being the cosmos above and her dwindling fire–those captivating pools of green were visible, as if they had their own form of bioluminescence.

"I'm fine." Lyra mumbled, her eyes still exhausted beyond belief. Her pondering thoughts were the only thing keeping her occupied, as she knew her chances for a long rest were slim to none. "Worry about yourself for a change." She suggested, rolling back over as she tried to fall sleep.

But as she lay there, listening to the white noise or the crackling fire and the chirping crickets, she heard the titan shift, followed by the ground shaking. The thunderous footsteps drew closer, and rolling back over, the exhausted teen lazily looked to see just what he was doing.

Much to her surprise, he had moved closer, pausing mid-stride once she had laid eyes on him.

The normal sense of uneasiness she expected to feel was nowhere to be found. Then again, maybe she was finally too exhausted to even care. "If you're going to try and devour me in my sleep, can you at least try to be creative about it?" She mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

Eren leaned back, his eyes widening as her blunt and uncalled for response caught him by surprise. But the shock slowly faded, replaced by an angry brow and an incredulous snort. Collapsing onto the ground, the titan leaned against the tree closest to her, grumbling to himself as he closed his eyes once more.

"Was that a, 'you caught me, thanks for spoiling my dinner' kind of snort or, 'you're stupid if you still think I'm going to eat you'?"

He grunted in response, draping his long arms over his lap as he appeared to be trying to fall asleep himself.

It's like I'm talking to a kid. While she had a feeling her latter assumption was correct, she couldn't help but wish that it was the former.

Maybe she was crazy or just suicidal, but there was a part of her that finally wanted this nightmare to just end. She didn't want to go back to Wall Rose, out of fear that she would be shipped off to be a lab rat once again under Project Immunity. And it wasn't like she had anything to go back to there. The people she cared about–her parents, her older sisters, her baby brother–they were all dead. Venturing further into Wall Maria's titan infested territory would be suicide in and of itself, and there was no telling just how dangerous the world outside the walls was either. And living day to day with danger always just lurking outside her small cove was a life she honestly didn't want to continue living.

Maybe I'm just hoping that if I do die, it's by Eren's hands. At least there's a chance he'd make it quick and painless…

Curling into a ball to conserve her own body heat, Lyra closed her eyes, hoping that sleep would find her soon.