Similar Minds - Levi x OC

by Foxx21

For three years Dilan Church was simply a lost soul in the underground. Everyday was pointless and dull. Life continued to go by and Dilan continued to feel nothing until one day the Survey Corps turned her life upside down. Suddenly she started to feel again. She started to feel a burning hatred for the one they call Humanites Strongest. What will come next? (Levi x OC)

63. Chapter Sixty-Two:

LEVI'S P.O.V.

It had been 30 minutes and they were deep inside the abandoned building. There was no sign of the creature yet.

"Here Chucky, chucky, chucky!" Hanji called, cupping her hands around her mouth and the scientist's shrill voice bounced and echoed off the walls, likely warning any and all creatures to stay, the fuck, away.

"Shitty glasses, I told you to quit that. You are going to terrify the damned thing!" Levi hissed through gritted teeth. Hanji chuckled nervously.

"Whoops." She shrugged. Levi kept walking, shining the torch in dark corners.

"Didn't you mean Chicky, Section Commander?" Eren asked, flinching slightly as the fire caused a shadow to move and Levi rolled his eyes.

Humanities hope indeed.

Hanji blinked at him.

"Chicky? Why would I call it Chicky?" She asked.

Eren blinked back.

"You know… because chicken can be shortened to chick… and then you added the 'y'…" He tried to explain but the simple premise didn't seem to commute in Hanji's crazy mind.

"But… Chicky is a horrible name. Chucky sounds better…"

"You… named the chicken?" Eren asked.

"…why not?" She blinked again and they stared at each other for a moment.

Levi slapped a hand to his forehead.

What he wouldn't give to have Dilan as his partner now. The brat would have been a handful and a half like always, but he wouldn't have to deal with this incompetence on his team.

He hoped her time with Eld was worth it.

"Come on, idiots. Let's get moving." He ordered and the others narrowed their eyes at each other before following him along. Hanji skipped to his side, throwing an arm around him, her mood unfazed by the eerie atmosphere of the castle.

"Hello Levi! We haven't talked in a while." She grinned, glasses glinting in the torch light. Levi frowned and pushed her arm off of him.

"There's a reason for that, crazy shit." He scowled, looking forward as he stepped over a fallen piece of ceiling. All the windows had been blocked up when the place was abandoned.

It was pretty much pitch black down there.

"Aw, Levi, are you embarrassed?" Hanji smirked. Levi furrowed his brows.

"Why would I be embarrassed?" He asked, confused.

"Because! Obviously, I am going to ask you about you and- MOTHER OF TITANS!" Hanji gasped as Levi shoved his elbow into her stomach.

"Section commander Hanji! Are you okay?" Eren asked, wide eyed. Hanji continued to gasp.

"She's fine, Yeager. Stay here." Levi warned, grabbing Hanji's arm and starting to drag her away.

"But-"

"Stay Eren." Levi ordered, giving him a stern look. Eren shivered slightly, looking around at the darkness nervously but stayed put while Levi pulled Hanji far enough away so that Eren wouldn't be able to hear what they were staying. "I told you we're keeping it a secret! The kid's right there, how could you be so careless?!" Levi hissed, irritated.

Hanji sucked in a breath, getting over her winding to stand up straight again.

"Why are you even hiding it?" She asked, tilting her head. Levi opened his mouth, then he paused. Why were they hiding it? Technically, there were plenty of valid reasons.

"I guess… Dil doesn't want to rub it in Eld's face. And apparently Petra has a thing for me so that's complicated… And Erwin's an unpredictable bastard…" Levi supposed, frowning slightly. He understood the points, made one of them to Dilan himself, but part of him was tired of hiding. He just wanted to get it all out into the open.

Hanji pat him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, shorty. I'm sure she isn't ashamed of you." Hanji comforted and Levi looked at her with exasperation.

"Who said she was ashamed of me?!" He gritted. Hanji made a face.

"No one, Levi. Why are you so paranoid?" She scoffed, as though he was the crazy one.

Levi closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying not to kill her.

Silence.

"Levi… are you having a stroke?" Hanji whispered.

Levi sighed and opened his eyes.

"Yes, shit-face. I think I am." He muttered under his breath, desperate to find the chicken and get out of here. "Look, we're hiding it for now so that's all you need to know. In a few weeks maybe things will be different but for now you keep quiet, got it?" Levi asked seriously.

Hanji sighed dramatically and nodded. Levi nodded back in approval and moved to leave when Hanji spoke again.

"Are you happy?" She asked genuinely. Levi's eyes softened a bit. He could give her this.

"Yeah, four-eyes. I am." He answered honestly and Hanji smiled in approval.

"Great." She replied happily.

They started walking back to Eren.

"Hurt my Dilan and I will kill you, Levi." Hanji whispered darkly, eyes straight forward as they got back to Eren and Levi tensed slightly at the heavy weight behind the words.

She meant it.

"Eren! Thank you for waiting!" Hanji grinned, not giving Levi a chance to reply to her ominous threat, back to her cheerful self, throwing an arm around the boy. "Chucky, darling! Come out, come out!" She yelled and with that they were back to searching.

Levi subconsciously walked a step away from the crazy woman, glancing over at her laughing with Eren cautiously. She might not be as harmless as he once thought.

DILAN'S P.O.V.

They had been walking for a while now. And yes, you guessed it.

They were in complete silence.

It seemed to Dilan her plan was flawed. Getting Eld alone was a success but the next problem was that she didn't really know what she wanted to say to him. She doubted Eld was just going to open up and start spilling his feelings, so it was up to her to get the ball rolling at least.

The torch flickered, glowing in the darkness and Dilan took a deep breath. The silence was suffocating. She was going to do it. She was going to say something. Anything.

Just say something!

"Did you really not taste the shit in your coffee until you finished it?" She asked, breaking the tense silence. Eld stopped walking to look at her with an expression mixed between exasperation and mild judgment. Dilan cringed, mentally face palming.

Of all the fucking things to say.

"No." He answered plainly after a torturous moment and turned around starting to walk again. Dilan sighed.

Shake it off, Dil. You can do this.

"So, um. How've you been?" She asked hesitantly.

Oh god, I may just kill myself right now.

"How do you think I've been Dilan?" Eld asked in a tired voice. Dilan bit her lip.

"Fair enough…" She mumbled. Eld glanced at her.

"How've you been?" He asked bitterly. Dilan swallowed, staying silent.

Eld scoffed quietly and kept walking. Dilan took a breath and caught up to him.

"You need to talk to me, Eld." She tried. Eld picked up his pace a bit.

"Just because you have the Captain wrapped around your finger and he partnered us together, doesn't mean I need to do anything for you, Dilan. Not anymore." Eld shot back through gritted teeth.

"Shit, I know that. I'm not saying you owe me; I'm just asking for a bit of communication here." Dilan had to quicken her own pace to keep up with him. Damn that blonde and his long legs. Eld ignored her. "Eld." She tried. He continued to ignore her. "Eld! I just want to talk!" She tried again.

Eld continued to ignore her.

Dilan's face twisted in annoyance and she stopped walking, grabbing a handful of grain and throwing it at the back of his head.

Eld stopped walking and tensed as the grain hit him, rolling onto his shoulders and dropping to the floor around their feet with a pitter patter of light taps on the stone floor.

Silence.

Maybe that was a bad idea.

"Did you just throw fucking grain at me?!" Eld yelled in exasperation, turning around to face her.

"Oh look! He talks! Now will you-pfft!" Dilan spluttered as Eld threw grain back at her and some got into her mouth as she was talking. She spat it out, shaking her hair. "You dick! I was mid-sentence!" She snapped at him.

"Well I was mid-stride!" He shot back.

"If being in mid-stride didn't cause you to end up with fucking chicken grain in your mouth then I don't think you have a case here!" She yelled at him, grimacing as she rubbed her mouth with her sleeve.

"You're being a bitch!"

"You're being an asshole!"

"You never gave our relationship a real chance!" Eld hissed and Dilan paused. Both of them stared at each other for a moment. Dilan's face softened from anger.

"Eld-"

"Shh." He cut her off looking around them. Dilan's frowned in annoyance.

"Hey, don't shh me, I was trying to-"

"No seriously, Dil. Shut up and listen." He said and Dilan stopped, listening out.

There was a scuttle in the darkness, and they flinched.

"Oh shit. Is it the chicken?" Dilan whispered, subconsciously taking a step closer as they looked around. Eld tried to light the space with the torch but it was too dark to see all the corners.

Another scuttle sounded. Much closer this time.

"W-where is it?" Eld whispered.

Dilan heard a squeak and her eyes went wide. She shared a dreaded look with Eld before they looked down at their feet and saw about 6 mice nibbling at the grain they dropped.

Eld heaved a breath of relief.

"Thank god. It's just-"

Eld was cut off by Dilan's shriek of terror, effortlessly climbing up the wall to push off it and cling onto the hanging light, shaking slightly as she hung off of the swinging metal contraption for dear life.

"Holy shit Dilan! What the fuck?!" Eld said in shock. Dilan paled, looking at the mice below her.

"E-Eld get them away!" She cried. Eld made a face.

"You're scared of mice?" He asked, confused. Dilan swallowed, nodding. He raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Really Dilan?" He asked, judgment in his tone.

"Don't judge me! Everyone has things they're scare off!" She shot back, flinching slightly as the ceiling light creaked.

"Dilan you lived in the underground. You've eaten a rat before when things were tight, you told me that." Eld pointed out. Dilan scowled at him for bringing that up.

"Rats are fine! Gross but fine! Mice are completely different! What do they want!? You can't get a read on them!" She hissed.

Eld blinked.

"Do you get a read on many rodents?" He asked dryly.

"Eld! Get them away, please!" She begged desperately.

Eld sighed dramatically.

"Fine." He agreed, shaking his foot slightly and the mice scuttled away. "There, you can come down now." He informed.

"T-there all gone?" Dilan asked quietly.

"Yes, Dilan. The mice are gone. You're safe now." His tone was patronising, but Dilan was panicking too much to notice. She took a deep breath and slowly lowered her legs down and dropped the decent sized distance to the floor.

Dilan clenched her shaking fists and straightened herself out, her frame extremely tense as she nervously glanced around.

Eld almost looked amused.

"O-okay we can go." She mumbled, picking up the map she dropped in her fright.

"I can't believe I just watched the Titan Ripper parkoured up a wall to escape mice." He muttered under his breath. Dilan glared at him.

"Shut up."

---

Another few minutes later and they made it to the dinning hall. It was a massive space, tall ceilings, rows upon rows of tables that had white sheets thrown over them and the chairs in a poor attempt to deal with dust. Seemed pointless to Dilan. Perhaps they thought they may come back here one day. Whoever was worried about such a trivial thing like dust when the ceiling was literally crumbling on them would earn Levi's respect instantaneously.

Dilan snickered silently at the thought.

"Something funny?" Eld asked, setting the torch on one of the racks and bending down to check under one of the tablecloths for the chicken.

Dilan blinked, surprised he had started talking to her without provoking.

"Not really." She replied, deciding that bringing up Levi right now would not be productive. Eld nodded and the silence continued. Dilan suddenly wished she had more interesting things to talk about.

Again, against her better judgement, she decided to blurt out the first thing that came to mind.

"Josie started learning how to ride a horse, you know." Dilan informed walking over to the right side and checking under the tables herself.

Eld glanced at her.

"Oh?" He asked, interested. Dilan smiled.

"Yeah, I thought you'd want to know since you weren't there when I last visited with Nanaba. Although, I wouldn't call sitting on a pony, or rather being overly secured onto a pony, while Mrs Birch steered it up and down the garden horse riding, but the kid was really enthusiastic. It was cute." Dilan explained with a chuckle, continuing to search.

"It's a start. I remember my parents doing a similar thing for me." Eld smiled a bit and Dilan let out a breath, relaxing slightly.

"I can see that. Farm boy Eld riding his steed, turning the soil." Dilan teased and Eld sent her a playful glare.

"I'll have you know farmers do important work. We don't just turn the soil." He huffed. Dilan chuckled.

"My apologies. If farming is such a riveting trade, why are you here right now, huh?" Dilan pointed out with a smirk.

Eld sent her a deadpan look.

"What? Why did I give up farming to chase chickens?" He asked dryly and Dilan laughed.

"Big mistake." She grinned.

Eld smiled a bit, shaking his head slightly.

There was a moment of silence.

"Dil?" Eld asked.

"Hm?" Dilan replied, looking under another cloth.

"If we didn't break up, do you think we would have had kids one day?" He asked quietly and Dilan tensed in surprise, standing up straight to meet his gaze. Eld was still looking under table clothes but it didn't look like he was really paying attention to the search.

She sighed.

"Eld-"

"We could have adopted." He cut her off, refusing to meet her eyes. Dilan bit her lip. "You could have told me Dilan. From the start… you should have told me." He muttered, continuing to look under tables.

Dilan looked down at her feet.

"I know…"

Silence.

"What do you want from me, Dilan?" Eld asked with a sigh, finally looking at her. Dilan swallowed.

"I… I want…" She trailed off before her eyes hardened in determination. "I want a lot of things. I want to say sorry; I want an explanation and I want us to move forward and be friends again." She said firmly. Eld looked confused.

"An explanation?" He asked. Dilan nodded.

"Why are you so mad at me? Yes, I only waited a week and it was a bitch move but I can't go back in time. You told me you knew. You knew I was in love with Levi so how long did you expect me to wait?" Dilan asked carefully, putting effort into not being confrontational. She didn't want this to blow up like all their other conversations if she could help it.

Eld was silent for a moment.

"You know… the Captain asked me the same thing." He mumbled. "And honestly… I don't have an answer for it." He admitted with a shrug, sitting down at one of the benches.

"Eld why would you tell me to go for it with him if you weren't ready for me to move on? I don't get it. We broke up and it was mutual and your acting like I dumped you. We were both done… weren't we?" Dilan asked, not understanding.

Eld looked at her for a long moment.

He opened his mouth to reply but a loud scream cut him off.

"NO! NOT TODAY!" A familiar voice called out.

Dilan and Eld shared a look of horror.

"Oluo." They said in unison.

LEVI'S P.O.V.

"Levi! We've been searching forever! The chicken isn't in here-" Hanji whined, turning around to face Levi and she blinked. "Levi, are you cleaning?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.

Levi quickly turned around, hiding the cloth behind his back.

"No." He lied.

Hanji stepped closer, eyeing him sceptically. She pursed her lips and ran her finger along the shiny surface of the tap before presenting her clean fingertip to him like some sort of award.

"Are you certain you weren't cleaning?" She questions again. Levi scowled at her. Yes, he might have gotten a little OCD while they were checking the kitchen for any signs of the beast. Nothing had come up so far and Eren and Hanji were searching perfectly well on their own. He just thought he would touch up some of the appliances while they were waiting.

"I wasn't cleaning." He shot back, glaring. Hanji met his glare evenly.

"Oh really?" She squinted at him and Levi narrowed his eyes right back.

Levi was certain they could have been there for hours, had the kid not hesitantly intervened.

"Um… guys?" Eren asked timidly. Hanji held up a palm and continued to stare Levi down.

"Admit you were cleaning, or I'll tell Eren about your mass murdering girlfriend." Hanji whispered, grinning evilly and Levi's eyes widened in utter annoyance.

"Four-eyed bitch!" He hissed. Hanji smirked.

"Oh Eren-!"

"I was cleaning." He gritted out, folding his cloth and placing it back in his pocket.

Hanji squealed and jumped up into the air, pumping her fist.

"Alright!" She yelled in triumph. Levi rolled his eyes and tripped her up with his foot, enjoying the thud and groan as her head hit the floor. He smirked as Eren gasped and ran to her aid, idly walking around the filthy kitchen.

He grimaced, making a mental note to get the squad down here and sort this atrocity out, whether they were going to use it or not.

"Do you think anyone found it yet?" Eren asked as he helped Hanji up by her arm and the crazy scientist straightened herself out, pushing up her glasses.

Levi sighed, opening yet another cabinet and shining the torch inside. Nothing.

They had been at this for a good hour now.

"No. If any of them found it then they would be making a whole lot more fucking noise." Levi muttered in annoyance, slamming the door shut again.

"Oh." Eren sighed. Levi turned to face him.

"Although there wouldn't be a chicken to catch if someone had used some common sense." Levi pointed out in a cold tone and Eren swallowed thickly.

Hanji tutted him.

"Levi, stop being so scary. Poor Eren's going to shit himself." Hanji scolded, ruffling the boy's hair and pulling him into a hug by his shoulders. Levi frowned at them.

"Tch. I'm just stating facts." He pointed out, checking another cabinet.

The kitchen was large, the main food cooking station for the castle back in the day. Back when the scouts were brimming with members that had no fucking clue what would lie for them outside of the walls. Back when men chose to join the survey corps because they thought it would get them laid.

Levi sighed and looked at the exit. He hoped Dilan was doing okay. As pathetic as it sounded, he missed her.

"Come on. There's nothing here so we may as well keep moving. Maybe we'll be able to meet up with the others." Levi suggested, starting down the hallway.

"Levi, question?" Hanji asked, hopping over to him as the torch flickered.

"Denied." Levi replied dryly but Hanji ignored him.

"Why did you partner Dilan with Eld? I thought they were having issues." Hanji asked seriously. Levi frowned slightly.

"I was actually wondering about that too Captain, if you don't mind my asking. The squads been talking about it all week." Eren chimed in bravely. Levi raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh? And what were the squad saying?" Levi asked, intrigued. Eren hesitated but managed to move past the intimidation.

"I guess… Eld and Dilan used to be a couple, right? The squad thinks Eld wants to get back together with her and that's why he's being so weird with Dilan? Honestly, I'm not sure of the specifics. I might be wrong." He furrowed his brows, likely trying to remember the conversations between Petra, Gunther and Oluo that he was accidently allowed in on.

Levi sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"I'd say that's pretty fucking accurate, kid." Levi mumbled. Eren tilted his head.

"Do you know something, sir?" Eren asked, curious. Levi sent him an unimpressed look.

"You shouldn't gossip, Eren. Gossiping is for people so fucking bored with their own lives that they live on the drama of others. You don't want to be one of those shitheads. Trust me." Levi advised, for once giving out some pretty decent information. Eren nodded in understanding, looking pleased at the small amount of guidance.

"Yes sir."

"I don't know, Levi. Gossiping is pretty fun! I mean you won't believe the hot news I heard about training professor Brian last week!" Hanji squealed. Levi glared at her.

"If I won't believe it, don't tell me. Waste of time." He deadpanned. Hanji rolled her eyes.

"It's just an expression, you old fart. Now listen, this is so good!"

"I'm not listening to your shitty gossip, four-eyes! Tell it to someone who cares!" He snapped.

"I already told Eren ages ago! There's no one else around!" Hanji shot back.

As the pair bickered, they failed to notice a tensed Eren trailing behind them, looking back and forth nervously in the darkness as he heard the scuttle they failed to.

"Uh… guys?" Eren timidly tried to interrupt.

"I WON'T HEAR IT, FOUR-EYES! YOU THINK I ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT SHIT LIKE THAT?!" Levi hissed.

"I'M JUST STAYING YOU WON'T KNOW IF YOUR INTERESTING UNTIL YOU HEAR IT, YOU STUBBORN ASSHOLE!"

"Guys I-"

"FUCK OFF, YOU EMOTIONALLY UNSTABLE TITAN LOVING FREAK!"

"FUCK OFF YOURSELF, YOU EMOTIONALLY CONSIPATED DWARF!"

"GUYS!" Eren yelled, bringing Hanji and Levi out of their little pissing contest. Both of them breathing heavily with frustration, they turned to glare at Eren for interrupting.

"What?!" They snapped at him. Eren swallowed thickly, looking forward. He slowly lifted a hand to point ahead.

"The chicken's right there." He whispered shakily. Levi snapped his head around to look where the boy was pointing, as did Hanji.

Sure, enough the demon was before them, standing it's ground firmly, red eyes glinting in the glow of the orange flames. Levi refused to shiver but the others couldn't help themselves, a tremor running down their spine at the sight.

"So, Captain… what do we do?" Hanji whispered slowly. Carefully, Levi leant the torch against the side, keeping his eyes on the thing. It tilted his head every few seconds, eyeing them curiously to see who would make the first move.

"Eren." Levi said quietly. He could practically feel Eren's fear.

"Y-yes sir?" He whispered.

"Get a grip, it's a chicken." Levi reminded and Eren caught himself, taking a breath and standing up straight. "Good. Now unfold the net. Hanji, give it some grain." Levi ordered, eyes on the bird. He was not leaving this abandoned shithole without that bird's head on a spike. It caused too much trouble and it needed to pay. Never before had an enemy mocked him like this chicken had. He demanded the satisfaction of watching the bird be dragged away.

The pair nodded, Eren slipping the net off of his shoulder and holding it out. Hanji opened her pouch of cloth and sprinkled some out in front of the chicken.

It took a step back and the three winced, sighing in relief when the chicken stepped forward again, eyeing the grain, clucking leisurely and taking a few small pecks, stepping closer and closer. Levi waited until the bird was in range before giving his order.

"Okay Eren. Take a step and throw the net. Once it's covered, I'll grab the damn thing." Levi said, moving backwards slightly so Eren could get a good shot. Eren nodded in determination and took a step forward.

"Bwarck!" The chicken screeched and they all flinched. Levi fully stopped breathing for a second and he scolded himself for such a reaction. Thankfully, the chicken only waddled over to the wall, trying to peck the grain that had rolled off into the corner.

The three let out a collective breath of relief before looking at each other awkwardly, embarrassed that they had freaked out so badly. They seemed to make a mental pact, never to speak of what just happened again.

Levi refocused quickly.

"Fucking take the shot, Eren." He ordered and Eren jumped slightly but lifted his arms, about to throw the net when the unthinkable happened.

The chicken looked directly at them before nudging the torch with his head and it started to fall.

"Shit. Levi grab it!" Hanji exclaimed and Levi cursed, trying to grab the torch but it fell to the floor before he could, and the flames fizzled out against the damp floor leaving them in complete darkness.

Eren threw the net in a last desperate attempt to grab the thing.

"Did I get it!?" He asked hopefully as Hanji worked on lighting a match.

She struck it on the wall and the space filled with a subtle glow.

They both gasped.

"Do I look like a fucking Chicken, Yeager?" Levi growled, standing up from where he had crouched down to grab the torch, the net slipping off and collecting in a heap on the floor.

Eren visibly shrunk in on himself, taking a step back to hide behind Hanji.

"N-no sir." He squeaked.

There was a tense moment of silence where Eren honestly looked like he was about to pass out. Levi continued to glare at him as Hanji carefully took the torch from his hand and lit it with the almost crisped match, more light filling the space. Cautiously, Eren bent down to grab the net.

"I'm s-sorry sir." He mumbled, terrified. Levi narrowed his eyes and Eren flinched.

"Please don't kill the boy, Levi. You can punish him later, but we really should be catching up with the chicken." Hanji reminded. Levi hesitated but let it go.

"Fine." He sighed, pissed that the chicken had gotten the better of them, yet again. Eren slumped in relief.

"We should be careful with this torch, that was my last match." Hanji pointed out as they started moving again, searching the dark corners for the thing.

"Hm. I doubt it would have stuck around. We should-"

"NO! NOT TODAY!" Oluo yelled in the distance. The three's eyes widened.

"Damnit." Hanji hissed.

"Let's move." Levi ordered.

PETRA'S P.O.V.

"It just doesn't make sense, Petra. None of it." Gunther continued to rant, and Petra continued to agree half-heartedly.

"Uh-huh. Yeah." She mumbled, opening one of the storage cupboards with a hefty creak and extending the torch to see if the chicken was hiding in there. It seemed unlikely that the animal would be able to get inside a closed door, but she wouldn't put anything past it at this point.

They had been searching for what felt like hours with no luck.

"I mean I was surprised that they even broke up. They always seemed so happy. Didn't you think they were happy?" Gunther scoffed, shaking his head in confusion.

"Sure." Petra replied briefly but it was clear Gunther was mostly talking to himself.

"I mean, yeah, Eld was a bit of a dick to her in the end of their relationship. He was possessive if you think about it, as much as I love the guy. He never liked Dilan going off on her own on expeditions. Dilan's so independent so I can understand why that would piss her off. Then there was that time where he kissed her to see the Captains reaction. And whenever we went out, he would always keep her away from crowded areas so no one would hit on her." Gunther continued to try and make sense of it like he and Oluo had been for the last few days.

"I don't actually think Dil minded that Eld kept her away from crowds. She likes her space and she's never liked it when strangers hit on her." Petra reminded, crouching down to search under a table. Gunther made a noise of acknowledgement.

"True." He agreed. "It's just weird. They break up, fine. Maybe they were just hiding their problems. But they say it was mutual. They say they are going to stay friends. Then the next day Eld completely ignores her and treats her like she decked his mother. What am I missing here?" Gunther mumbled, ruffling his own hair in frustration.

Petra smiled sadly.

"Sometimes things just happen." She shrugged. Gunther sighed.

"Well whatever Dil did to make him act like that I still don't think she deserves how shitty he's being. I know she told us to be there for Eld but it's hard when I don't know why he's acting like this. I miss her, I don't like her isolating herself from the group just to make Eld feel better." Gunther frowned. Petra sighed, she agreed somewhat. Eld was being a bit too harsh with her but the blonde was hurting.

She knew the feeling.

"Don't be too hard on Eld, Gunther. I'm sure it'll all work out." Petra comforted.

Gunther sighed, rubbing his face.

"I hope your right." He replied. Petra smiled, looking around them.

"How long do you think we have to keep searching for? We've finished our section now we're just roaming." Petra pointed out.

"I know right. How are we even supposed to tell when someone's found the thing?" He asked, crossing his arms behind his head.

"NO! NOT TODAY!" Oluo yelled somewhere close.

Petra and Gunther shared a look of surprise before running towards the wails and groans. They weren't moving as fast as they would have liked thanks to the obstructions. They had to be careful not to trip up over anything but eventually they saw a small light in the distance that continued to get bigger with every step until Petra could make out Nifa holding the torch. Squinting her eyes, she saw Oluo lying face down on the floor, a small pool of blood by his face.

Petra gasped.

"Oluo!" She called as they ran up to him.

"Shit, is he okay?!" Dilan asked and Petra jumped in surprised, turning her head in time to see Dilan and Eld run up to them from the left.

"Is everyone alright?" Hanji's shrill voice called as she, Captain Levi and Eren came in from the hallway opposite Petra and Gunther's and looked down, seeing Oluo's condition.

"Sir!" Eren exclaimed in shock.

This was the second time in 5 hours that they had all gathered around, staring at Oluo lying with his face pressed into the cold stone floor.

"I mufephed my lonague!" Oluo moaned into the dirt.

Everyone's faces twisted in confusion.

"He's fine." Nifa scoffed in annoyance, gently kicking him in the side with her foot and Oluo flinched, starting to sit up. "He thought he saw the chicken and freaked out. In an attempt to get away from the thing, that turned out to be his own shadow, he tripped, bit his tongue and faceplanted." Nifa shrugged, not concerned.

"Oh." The group said collectively, not surprised in the slightest.

Oluo chuckled sheepishly, accepting the hand up from Eld, wiping the blood off of his face with his sleeve.

"Sorry." He cringed.

The group rolled their eyes at him.

"So, no one found the thing?" Dilan asked, annoyance in her tone.

"We found it, but it escaped." Hanji explained. "We caught a Levi though!" Hanji grinned, poking the scowling Captain's jaw and he slapped her hand away.

"Shut up." He hissed at her.

"It's my fault it escaped. Sorry guys." Eren pouted, looking at the ground. Dilan smiled and rolled her eyes, slinging an arm around Eren's shoulders.

"Shut up, kid. You're giving yourself too much credit. The beast outwitted all of us." She pointed out, ruffling his hair. The others nodded in agreement and Eren's face brightened a bit.

They sighed.

"Call it a day then?" Gunther suggested. Everyone looked to the Captain.

"Alright, lets head back, grab some food." He agreed and everyone sighed in relief.

GUNTHER'S P.O.V.

They started walking back and Gunther's eyes flicked over as he heard Dilan speaking quietly. He couldn't make out what she said but Eld didn't let her get to the end of it, brushing her off and walking ahead. Gunther frowned as Dilan's expression fell slightly and she sighed, rubbing her face.

That was the end of the line for him.

Quickening his pace, he moved past Oluo and Nifa, joining Eld at the front as he walked a decent distance ahead of everyone else.

"What the fuck, dude?" Gunther spat. Eld gave him a sideways glance before looking forward again.

"What?" He asked, confused.

"Why are you being such an asshole to her?" He gritted, annoyed. He may have known Eld for longer, but Dilan was like family. He would never let someone treat his sisters like that. Dilan was no different and he felt just as protective over her as he did over his own blood.

Eld pursed his lips and ignored him.

"No, I'm serious Eld. Explain it to me because she's doing everything right and you're being a grade A dick." He snapped as Petra caught up to them.

"Gunther-" She tried but Gunther wasn't having any of it.

"No Petra. I want to know why. They both decided to break up unless that was a lie. He has no right to treat her like that." He said to Petra before turning back to the blonde. "If you wanted the relationship to last longer, maybe you should have treated her better!" He hissed and Eld turned to glare at him.

"You-!" He started but cut himself off with a sigh. "You don't understand." He mumbled.

"So, make me understand! What, are you pissed that she's doing better than you? It's not like she's fucking the Captain!" He said in exasperation and there was an extremely tense moment of silence where neither Petra nor Eld said anything, avoiding eye contact with him.

Gunther frowned in confusion.

"Wait…" He mumbled, watching as Eld clenched his jaw and Petra bit her lip nervously.

He looked back, squinting his eyes through the dim lighting, trying to spot Dilan, surprised to see her at the back of the group walking with the Captain, talking to him. Now that he thought about it, they had been around each other a lot lately. Whenever Dilan disappeared, normally so did he.

Was it possible?

No. Of course not, he would have noticed.

Gunther's jaw fell open and he watched with wide eyes as Dilan said something to him and, he smiled. Actually smiled. A small smile but a smile nonetheless. And took it a step further by brushing his hand against hers as they walked. The Captain never intentionally touches people!

Are they- Dilan and the Captain- they're…?

"HOLY FUCK!" He exclaimed, startling Petra and Eld, as well as Nifa and Oluo behind him. Oluo frowned, taking a few larger steps towards him so he could smack him up the back of the head.

"Tch. Watch your mouth and stop being so fucking loud." He spat before falling a few steps back in pace with his partner.

Gunther continued to balk. Too surprised to be pissed at his annoying friend for smacking him. His head snapped back around to Eld and Petra for their reactions. They were looking at each other, cringing slightly.

It was obvious they both knew something he didn't.

"But- there's no way! You're joking right? Someone tell me I'm wrong!" He spluttered. It just seemed so impossible.

Neither of them spoke or rejected his allegations.

Gunther took a breath, raking a hand through his hair. His eyebrows furrowed and he thought it through as they walked in silence. The Captain had always been different around her. Dilan had always been different around the Captain. They were together regularly, even back at the Inn. Dilan used to spend hours in his office and Gunther often questioned how she could easily spend more than 5 minutes in the intimidating man's company without stressing herself into premature wrinkles. Dilan always smiled and shrugged, replying with 'he's not so bad'.

Perhaps it was obvious all along.

When he thought about all the times he had watched them interact, watched them worry about each other, defend each other… it was obvious.

It was love.

Gunther sighed and rubbed his face before looking at Eld.

"She cheat on you?" He asked seriously. Eld swallowed but looked him in the eye.

"No."

"Did she tell you, beforehand, that she was going to go for it with him?" He questioned. Eld frowned slightly.

"Well yes, but-"

"Then I still think your out of line." He decided, watching Eld and Petra's eyes widened. "I'm not staying it doesn't suck. You obviously love her, and it must be shitty knowing she's happy with someone else. But loves rare to find. It's been seven years since Stacy, and I haven't found anything like what I had with her. We were young and stupid, but it was love and I'm not sure if I'm going to find that again. Especially in this business. I might not get the time." Gunther explained, seeing both Petra and Eld's faces soften slightly at his admission. "What I'm saying is, if Dilan's found what I had with Stacy… what you feel you had with her… then I don't judge her for going for it. It's a fucked-up world. If you have happiness in your grasp, then there's no point waiting it out." Gunther finished seriously, meaning every word.

He could understand why Eld was acting the way he was, but it was time to stop.

No one can help how they feel.

"I think Gunther might be right, Eld." Petra commented softly.

Eld looked down slightly, seeming to mull over his words.

"Maybe…" He mumbled. Gunther nodded and they continued walking in silence.

DILAN'S P.O.V.

They started to move back, and Dilan noticed Eld moving away from her, panicking slightly. She wasn't done talking to him. They were just starting to get real with each other.

"Eld." She walked after him and Eld looked at her but didn't stop walking. His defences were back, and he looked at her with resentment like always. The sight made her faulter slightly.

"What?" He asked. Dilan bit her lip.

"Um… I was hoping we could talk more. I just don't feel like our conversation- we didn't finish and-"

"I think we're finished, Dil." Eld cut her off and walked away.

Dilan stopped walking and sighed, rubbing her face. They were just starting to get to the route of the problem. She needed more time alone with him. Dilan felt a hand on her shoulder and turned slightly to be met with steel grey eyes, an immediate calm filling her up.

"You alright?" Levi asked. Dilan cracked a smile, wanting nothing more than to just melt into his arms and forget her failures with Eld. And yet, that wouldn't be possible until they got back to their room, so she simply sighed and rubbed her eyes as they started walking at the back of the group.

"I'm okay." She replied softly. Levi frowned slightly, not looking convinced in the slightest.

"What happened?" He asked. Dilan sighed.

"We talked a bit. It was going alright, and I felt like we were getting somewhere… until Oluo screamed and we got interrupted." She explained, annoyed.

"You'll get another chance; things will work out. If not, I'll just beat him up." Levi shrugged and Dilan chuckled, feeling a bit better.

"You're right. But if you want to beat him up, you'll have to go through me." She pointed out with a small smirk. Levi let out a puff of amusement, rolling his eyes. She looked down at his hand and sighed. "I wish I could touch you." She mumbled, annoyed. Dilan didn't mean it in a sexual way, and she knew Levi would get that. She just wanted to be able to express affection in public sometimes. It's not like she wanted to make out in front of Oluo or anything but being able to exchange small gestures would mean a lot to her. Especially when she felt down.

Levi offered her a small comforting small.

"I know brat. One day things will be different." He comforted, lightly brushing his hand up against hers and Dilan smiled at the small affection. It wasn't much but it was enough.

"I hope so."

"HOLY FUCK!" Gunther's voice yelled out in the dark and Dilan frowned, looking over but she could barely see him over all the heads in the faint torch light. She listened for more, wondering if they found the chicken but there was silence after that.

"What's busting his balls?" Dilan questioned. Levi shrugged.

"Beats me." He replied.

"Dil! Come here I miss you!" Hanji pouted from somewhere in the middle of the group. Levi scowled in her direction which made Dilan laugh.

"I'll be back in a bit." She said.

"You prefer that crazy shit over me?" Levi question, unimpressed. Dilan smirked at him.

"What would you do if I said yes?" She asked, curious. Levi smirked back.

"Call you a liar." He replied coolly and Dilan laughed.

"Egotistical bastard. If you must know I'm going for our ears sakes." She answered. Levi made a face.

"What do you-"

"DILAN I MISS YOU!" Hanji whined loudly, the sound bouncing off the walls. Levi grimaced and Dilan laughed.

"See? Now stop being so insecure." She teased, smirking as Levi scowled at her. She squeezed his hand and sent him a smile. "I love you," She whispered, pleased at the immediate smile that appeared on his face, "Talk to you later." She added, letting go and heading further into the crowd.

It didn't take long to find Hanji. In fact, Dilan was pretty sure Hanji found her since as soon as she was in range, the woman pounced on her, hugging her tightly.

"DILLLLLL!" She smiled big, swaying them back and forth as she squeezed the life out of her. Dilan laughed, hugging her friend back for a moment before pulling her along so they didn't block up the hallway. She had almost become immune to Hanji's hugs. Almost being the key word.

"I missed you too." Dilan smiled, laughing as Hanji gasped and her eyes widened to the sizes of saucers, even tearing up a bit.

"DILAN YOU ARE SO CUTE!" She screamed, latching onto her again.

"Oi shit-face! Hurry the fuck up so we can get out of here!" Levi grumbled at the back and Dilan sniggered, rolling her eyes at the grumpy man but pulled Hanji along anyway.

"So…? How've you been?" She whispered, smirking, wiggling her eyebrows. Dilan averted her eyes, forcing down a blush.

"I… don't know what you mean." She defended stubbornly. Hanji scoffed and let out a cackle.

"Really?! That was some kiss back at HQ-"

"Hanji!" She hissed, embarrassed and Hanji laughed.

"Oh, come on, it's just us girls. Levi gave me nothing, so you are required by law to fill me in." She said seriously. Dilan made a face.

"What law?" She asked, confused. Hanji smirked.

"Best friends' law!" She replied cheerfully. Dilan chuckled.

"Sorry Hanji. Levi's my best friend." She replied. Hanji shook her head.

"Levi's your boyfriend now, meaning you have a spot open for best friend, meaning I-"

"Josie had dibs." Dilan cut in with a smirk. Hanji balked at her. "Sorry Hanji but it's true. Josie's a close second to Levi. The kid made me promise." She shrugged, amused at Hanji's distraught face.

"BEATEN BY A THREE-YEAR-OLD!?" Hanji exclaimed. Dilan laughed.

"By law of the pinkie-swear, you have been beaten by a three-year-old, yes. But just because we're going out, doesn't mean he isn't still my best friend." Dilan pointed out. Hanji sighed in defeat.

"Fine. Then as your third best friend/crazy protective aunt, tell me how it's been going. Please?" She pleaded with puppy eyes. Dilan smiled a bit; glad it was dark so the woman wouldn't be able to see the light blush on her cheeks.

"It's going really well." She admitted quietly. Hanji grinned.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, I mean it's Levi. I love him." She replied, averting her eyes and Hanji squealed quietly, shaking her shoulders lightly.

"Baby I'm so happy for you!" She grinned. Dilan chuckled.

"Thanks Hanji. And hey, I'm sorry for yelling at you that one time. You were only trying to set me straight. I was just in denial and being stubborn, I shouldn't have taken it out on you." Dilan apologised. Hanji smiled warmly.

"Don't worry about it, Dil. I'm just glad you both finally listened. I can officially breath again." She sighed, content. Dilan smiled and rolled her eyes. She opened her mouth to reply but an oomph cut her off as she was knocked into the person in front of her.

"Oluo, what the fuck are you doing?" She muttered, annoyed.

"Hey it's not me!" Oluo shot back.

"What's going on?" Levi asked as he moved passed some people to try and get a handle on what was happening.

"Guys…" Gunther whispered.

"Nobody move." Eld continued.

"The chicken is standing right in front of us…" Petra explained from the front and Dilan's eyes widened.

"Shit! Okay people, this is our chance." Dilan said seriously.

"Agreed. You three up the front, you got nets?" Levi asked. Eld, Gunther and Petra sent back confirmations. "Then throw them. Now. Trust me, the longer we wait the-" Levi tried but suddenly a strong gust of wind came down from the corridor and blew all the torches out.

They were in complete darkness.

"Fuck. Not again." Hanji whispered.

There was a moment of silence.

"Whoever's hand is on my ass, kindly remove it before I remove it at the wrist." Levi warned dangerously and Dilan's eyes widened. Who would dare to do such a thing? Even she wouldn't do such a thing.

"He-he. Sorry Levi." Hanji chuckled nervously.

More silence.

"You have a nice butt." She added.

"Back off, Hanji!" Dilan growled protectively.

"Subtle, Dil." Eld snarked.

"Oh, fuck off, Eld." Dilan shot back, annoyed.

"Eld what did we literally just talk about?!" Gunther hissed in exasperation.

"I'm sorry! It's hard to stop!" He snapped back.

"G-guys I don't like the dark." Petra mumbled fearfully.

"Who's got a match?!" Dilan asked the group.

There was some shuffling before a yelp and an oomph.

"What happened?" Nifa asked. No one had an answer.

"I found a match!" Oluo stated proudly, shuffling forward. "I found a match Captain-ARGH! SOMETHING BIT MY ANKLE!" Oluo screamed, dropping the match. "THE CHICKEN BIT ME!" He panicked and everyone moved around nervously.

"N-not the chicken. Just me, s-sorry sir." Eren's voice rang out.

Another moment of tense silence.

"Eren… why are you on the floor?" Dilan asked slowly.

"AND WHY DID YOU BITE ME YOU GREEN HORN BRAT! SHIT! I'M NOT GOING TO TURN INTO A TITAN AM I?!" He gasped.

"I fell over and Oluo stood on my hair. It was instinctive." He mumbled, embarrassment clear in his voice, as he managed to get back up again.

"YOU ANIMAL! GET UP, I'LL TEACH YOU A LESSON!" Oluo cried.

SLAP.

"Ow! Oluo did you just bitch slap me?!" Hanji yelled as there was the sound of someone dropping something. "Shit, my glasses!" She whined.

Oluo chuckled sheepishly.

"Sorry section commander." He mumbled.

"Idiot." Nifa chastised, smacking him up the back of the head.

"Ow!"

"Dilan my glasses! I can't see!" Hanji sobbed.

"None of us can see, shit for brains." Levi reminded. Hanji stopped crying.

"Oh yeah, I guess your right." She chuckled.

"Guys I r-really hate the dark. It's getting hard to breathe." Petra commented, starting to hyperventilate.

"No one has a match?!" Dilan yelled again. More shuffling and mumbling as people tried to sieve through their belongings.

Crunch.

Silence.

"What was that?" Hanji whispered.

Someone swallowed.

"I-I think I trod on your glasses. Sorry section commander." Eren cringed.

"DAMNIT OLUO!" Hanji hissed, throwing a punch in what she hoped to be his direction.

SMACK.

"Fuck! That was my nose." Gunther complained through a wince.

"Whoops. Sorry dear." Hanji apologised.

"WHY WAS IT MY FAULT?!" Oluo asked in exasperation.

"Because you whacked me!" She shot back.

"And you whacked Gunther! It's easy to do!"

"Everyone stop fucking hitting each other. 5-year-old's have better common sense then you morons." Levi scolded in pure annoyance.

"Sorry Captain." Everyone mumbled shamefully.

"Right. Now everyone stop moving and-"

"SOMETHING BRUSHED UP AGAINST MY LEG!" Petra screamed. "IT'S TOO DARK, IT'S TOO FUCKING DARK!" She snapped.

"Petra calm down!" Eld tried.

"AH I FELT IT TOO! THE CHICKEN, IT'S AMONG US!" Oluo cried, squirming in the group and bumping into people.

"Everyone fucking calm down!" Dilan tried.

"SHIT DILAN, HE'S RIGHT, IT'S HERE!" Hanji agreed, adding fuel to the fire.

"I'll throw a net!" Eren offered.

"Stay right where you are Yeager! You lost net throwing privileges a long time ago." Levi warned.

"AH! I FELT IT AGAIN! TAKE THAT DEMON!" Oluo hissed and there was a whipping noise.

"MOTHER OF FUCK! OLUO YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU NET-WHIPPED ME!" Dilan yelled, gripping her leg and stumbling back into the person she hoped was Levi.

"Sorry Dil." He cringed.

"Bozado you imbecile. Stop fucking moving. I'm going to remind everyone this once; we are dealing with a chicken not a fucking titan!" Levi yelled and everyone fell quiet.

There was a moment of realisation.

Then it was gone again.

"I FELT IT AGAIN!" Oluo yelled, a whipping noise followed. Dilan felt another searing pain shoot up her leg.

"WALLS, YOU STUPID BASTARD! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Dilan screamed at him, grabbing the net as he tried to retract it and using it to find him.

When she did, she grinned.

"Oh, this is going to be fun." She whispered darkly and Oluo screamed.

"CAPTAIN HELP!" He choked, as Dilan kneed him in the stomach, trying and failing to get away.

"No. You brought this on yourself." Levi deadpanned.

"NEGLIGENCE!" He gasped as Dilan pushed him against the wall, grabbed the net and whipped him back twice. "ARGH, SHITTING FUCKERY!" He screamed.

"Justice is served." Dilan smirked.

"GUYS I CAN'T BREATHE!" Petra reminded, fully freaking out.

"How far away are we from the exit?" Hanji asked.

"Too far to walk without tripping. There's debris everywhere." Levi answered logically.

"I could get there." Dilan decided, putting the net over Oluo's head and enjoying the man's flinch before stumbling back over to the main group.

"Don't be stupid, you'll never make it." Levi countered.

"Just watch me! Well... imagine you're watching me!" Dilan shot back stubbornly, turning and walking straight into someone. "Fuck! What was that?!" She squeaked.

"What would you do if I said it was a mouse?" Eld's voice replied and Dilan growled.

"You son of a bitch!" She gritted, raising her fist, but Levi seemed to anticipate this as he grabbed her arm before she could get too far.

"ELD! AGAIN!?" Gunther hissed, smacking the blonde. Eld chuckled.

"I'm sorry but you don't understand. That was golden." He giggled to himself.

The darkness was starting to get to everyone.

Feeding their insanity.

"WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE HERE!" Petra cried.

"OW! PETRA WHAT THE FUCK?! STOP BITING MY ARM!" Gunther panicked.

"We'll have to start cannibalising people eventually Gunther. You're the obvious choice." Petra replied, clearly having lost it a long time ago.

The others were too busy harming each other physically to focus on mental well-being.

"WHY ME?!" He yelled, holding her at an arms distance.

"Yeah, it should clearly be Oluo." Dilan agreed.

"That's your only problem with it?!" Gunther shot back.

"WHY SHOULD I BE EATEN?!" Oluo yelled.

"Because you're the weakest member of the herd." Hanji explained calmly, like it was old news.

"YOU BITCH! I HAVE THE HIGHEST KILL COUNT IN-"

"SHUT UP!" Everyone yelled.

Silence.

"I feel like that was rather uncalled for." Oluo pouted.

Dilan rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to try again."

"Dilan, stop being reckless." Levi pulled her back.

"Unless we all want to be eaten by Petra, someone has to get help." Dilan replied.

"I-I'd never eat you Dilan." Petra whispered; her voice crammed with crazy.

Dilan swallowed.

"Thanks?"

"But everyone else? Well…" She chuckled to herself.

"Oh god. Where did she go?" Gunther whispered.

"Who has eyes on Petra?" Eld asked.

"Petra honey… we don't eat people here. You had breakfast a few hours ago." Dilan reminded carefully.

"YAH!" Petra pounced and Eren screamed.

"DILAN HELP!" He cried.

"PETRA! OF ALL THE PEOPLE!" Dilan hissed, scrambling to grab the crazy redhead before she hurt Eren. "YOU BITE HIM AND HE COULD GO TITAN!" Dilan hissed, holding her arms behind her back to restrain her as she tried to lunge for Eren again.

"Fine." She sighed, stilling. Dilan took a breath and hesitated before letting her go. "Guntherrrrrrrr?" She grinned, wiggling out of Dilan's looser grip.

"ARGH!" Gunther screamed as Petra jumped on him, knocking him to the floor.

"Someone net her!" Hanji ordered.

There were sounds of several nets being throw in several directions. Dilan made a face as she felt a scratchy weight over her and realised someone must be really fucking terrible at throwing because there was currently a net over her and consequently Levi, as he was standing next to her.

"Yeager... if I find out you did this; I might just skin you." Levi growled, lifting the net off of them. Eren squeaked.

"C-Captain, I-I swear I didn't-"

"SHE'S STILL BITING ME!" Gunther choked.

"Where are you!?" Dilan asked.

"YOU WILL DIE BY MY HAND!" Petra cackled.

"When did this start being about murder?" Nifa asked, bored.

"Fuck knows. Petra, calm down." Dilan tried to soothe.

"I'm done with this crap, Oluo come here." Nifa scoffed and there was a brief sound of surprise.

"I think they're a lost cause." Dilan whispered.

"Agreed. Dilan lets escape together and get married!" Hanji gushed, pulling her closer.

"Fuck off, glasses." Levi hissed, pulling Dilan back to him.

"GUYS! SHE'S ACTUALLY EATING ME!" Gunther sobbed as everyone continued to stand by and do nothing while he was attacked.

"Hey what's that light?" Eren asked.

They all turned and sat a light coming towards them in the distance, eyes squinting at the sudden brightness.

MOBLIT'S P.O.V.

"I don't see what all the fuss was about." James commented, glancing over at the chicken in Moblit's arms. "They had a freaking battle strategy to deal with it. What's so scary about this bird?" He asked.

Moblit shrugged, petting the bird's feathers.

"I don't know. Maybe this isn't the right chicken. It isn't all like they described." He suggested.

"Yeah, I know, right? You crouched down and it basically jumped into your arms." James scoffed. Moblit chuckled as the bird cooed and snuggled into him.

"I grew up with chickens. Maybe it just likes me." He suggested.

"Hey where do you think the others are at?" James asked.

They had searched everywhere they were supposed to and went back outside but no one was around. Eventually they just decided to go to the back exit. When opening the door, they walked up the hallway and right into the thing. Moblit picked it up and they had been walking in the same direction it came, hoping to find the others at some point.

"Maybe they gave up?" Moblit guessed.

"ARGH!" They heard screaming in the distance and their eyes widened, running over in that direction.

"GUYS! SHE'S ACTUALLY EATING ME!" Gunther's familiar voice sobbed, and they moved faster.

When they got to the group, their eyes widened comically.

Gunther was on the floor, Petra straddled on top of him, biting into his shoulder. The man had tears on his face, and they were both covered by several nets.

Oluo and Nifa were to the right, having a heated make out session against the wall.

Eld stood next to them, his face twisting in disgust as soon as he saw what was happening beside him.

Hanji and Captain Levi seemed to be arguing over a very pissed off Dilan.

And finally, Eren was cowering on the floor in the corner, rocking back and forth.

"Holy shit…" James muttered.

With the newfound light. Everyone paused, looking around at each other. They saw Oluo and Nifa and grimaced.

"NIFA! WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT OLUO!?" Hanji scolded like an overprotective mother, pulling the girl away from him. Oluo blushed beat red and Nifa shrugged, bored.

"To stay away from him." She answered. "That's what made it fun." She smirked.

Everyone look at her in shock.

"We are going to have a talk when we get home young lady." Hanji huffed.

"It didn't mean anything. I was just bored." She sighed. Oluo pouted.

"I thought we had something special." He mumbled. Eld rolled his eyes but pat him on the shoulder.

"Okay… well… we found the-" Moblit started before everyone noticed the animal in his arms.

"HE HAS THE DEMON!" OLUO SCREAMED.

"GET IT!" Hanji commanded.

And with that everyone lunged.

DILAN'S P.O.V.

It was a while later and the light had done well to clear up everyone's insanity. Apologies were given for all of the smacking and whipping. Petra apologised to everyone for threatening to eat them and to Gunther specifically who had to get his shoulder bandaged. Who knew the sweet little redhead had it in her?

The darkness did some crazy things to them all.

Currently they were all gathered around the kitchen table, looking at the bird who was sitting in the cage they had found in the shed. It was a small wooden cage, designed for chickens or other small animals.

Perfect for this little beast.

"So… what do we do with it?" Dilan asked, breaking the silence they had been in for a while. Everyone glanced at her before continuing to glare at the bird.

"I say we kill it, skin it and eat it." Nifa smirked evily and everyone looked at her in shock.

Dilan was getting some very psychotic vibes from that one.

"Or… I take it back to my lab like Levi promised!" Hanji countered, giving Levi a pointed look.

Levi rolled his eyes.

"I just… I don't know guys. I know it caused us a lot of trouble and all but… I don't like the idea of it being trapped in a lab being experimented on." Petra pointed out softly.

"Says the girl who almost went cannibal thanks to this devils shenanigans." Gunther scoffed, putting a hand on his shoulder. Petra looked away.

"I said sorry."

"Sorry doesn't make the tooth marks on my shoulder disappear, Petra!" He shot back.

"Okay, okay. Let's not get into that debate again. I kind of get what Petra means. It's a demon, but it's our demon. Putting it in a lab wouldn't be right. It needs to be able to run free." Dilan agreed and everyone balked at her.

"You just want to let it go? After all that?!" Hanji asked in exasperation. Dilan shook her head.

"I said it needs to run free. I didn't say here." Dilan explained.

The group looked at her in confusion.

---

"Chicky!" Josie squealed in happiness, running around the garden, chasing after the chicken that had pure terror on its expression.

"Paybacks a bitch." Oluo grinned as Josie grabbed the chicken, hugging it and the bird shrieked.

"It's names Chucky, Josie!" Hanji complained with a huff, walking over to them. Most of the squad followed her. Mrs Birch chuckled.

"Are you sure you can handle her? She's a lot of trouble." Dilan pointed out, seriously. Mrs Birch smiled warmly.

"I've been raising chickens since I was 5. I've had a fair few troublesome ones. I'm sure we'll manage. Besides, Jo-Jo seems to have it under control." Josie chuckled, looking over at Josie who continued to squeeze the life out of the bird.

"Thanks. If it does anything demonic just let us know and Hanji will take it back to her lab." Levi said and she chuckled.

"Thank you for the offer, dear but I think we'll be fine." She smiled. Levi nodded, offering a small smile back.

"GRUMPY!" Josie materialised out of nowhere, jumping on Levi and demanding he pick her up immediately. Dilan chuckled as Levi rolled his eyes but picked the little girl up anyway.

The squad looked at him in shock.

"What?" He asked, gently ruffling the kid's hair as she hugged him tightly.

They continued to blink at their Captain.

"Grumpy why are they staring?" Josie whispered poorly, tilting her head at the strangers.

"Because. They have no manners." He answered, narrowing his eyes at his subordinates and they all jumped, averting their gazes. Dilan laughed as Josie giggled. "You missed me Jo-Jo?" Levi asked, smiling a bit while there were no eyes on them.

Josie smiled big.

"Yes! Dilly s-said you were busy!" She pouted. Dilan smiled as Levi glanced over at her.

"I was. But I'm here now, okay?" He asked. Josie grinned, nodding her head.

"Okay!" She agreed happily.

Dilan smiled at the pair before glancing over to Eld who wasn't looking directly at them but clearly felt a little down.

Dilan's eyes softened slightly.

"Jose, come here a second, yeah?" Dilan smiled, taking her off of Levi and Josie smiled.

"T-thank you for my chicken." She said sweetly, playing with Dilan's necklace and her heart melted at the cuteness of this kid.

"Don't thank us yet." Levi grumbled and Dilan shot him a look.

"You're welcome, baby. Can you do me a really big favour?" She asked. Josie tilted her head.

"What is it?" She blinked.

"Can you go and give Eld a super big hug?" Dilan asked with a smile. Josie's eyes brightened and she gave an enthusiastic nod.

"Yep! But-but why?" She questioned. Dilan smiled, smoothing down some of her crazy hair.

"I just think he needs it. Go make him smile, yeah?" Dilan asked and Josie grinned.

"Okay!"

"Good girl." Dilan praised, kissing her forehead and setting her down. She watched with a smile as Josie ran over to Eld and jumped on him, giving him a big hug.

Eld smiled almost automatically, crouching down and talking to the little joy and Dilan sighed in relief.

"That was nice of you." Levi commented. Dilan smiled a bit.

"We all need a Josie hug some days." She replied. Levi gave a subtle smile and squeezed her hand while no one was watching.

"I was right, wasn't I?" Someone whispered from directly behind them and they both jumped, swivelling around.

"Holy fuck Mrs Birch!" Levi hissed.

"What the hell do you think you're doing sneaking up on us like that?" Dilan put a hand over her heart, trying to calm down. Josie snorted, laughing into her hand.

"Sorry, dears. It's nice to know I haven't lost my touch." She smirked, glancing down at their hands that had interlocked again at some point. Damnit. Why does that keep happening?

They balked at her as she walked away.

What a fucking weird day.

---

A few hours later and Dilan was outside a bar in Sina. She clenched her fists and took a deep breath before pushing open the stained-glass mahogany door and entering the space. A warmth immediately filled her bones as the smell of overly priced beer and other fancy liquors entered her lungs. All she could think about in the moment was how shitty she knew the beer would taste compared to the simple mixture at Brandon bar. God, she missed that beer and the company of Joel and Pete that came with it.

Shaking her head slightly of the thoughts, she scanned the place that was packed with respectable and average class alike, sipping on their drinks while engaging in social conversations. Some drank alone, some drank with friends, some drank while trying and failing to pick up beautiful women that passed them by.

Dilan rolled her eyes and continued to search for her friend. She found him at the back of the bar, drinking alone at the bar counter. Dilan swallowed before walking up to him, siding onto the stool next to him.

Eld clearly saw her but didn't look at her.

"How'd you find me?" He asked.

"I'm an assassin, Green. I've tracked down sketchier people. I think I can manage to find one Eld Gin at his favourite bar." Dilan joked lightly. Eld cracked a small smile of amusement, taking another sip of his beer.

"What's your poison?" The barmaid asked, looking terribly bored. Dilan could relate. Sometimes her shifts at Brandon Bar felt like they took days.

"Whatever's cheap, in your closest glass." She answered. The girl smirked and nodded, grabbing her a pint and sliding it over. Dilan thanked her and took a sip.

It was indeed shit.

"What'd you want Dilan?" Eld asked once the barmaid walked off again to tend to other customers. Dilan shrugged, twisting her glass on the coaster.

"Same thing as before." She supposed. Eld sighed.

"It's not fair." He mumbled. Dilan looked at him but the hand over his face hid his expression. She bit her lip.

"Do… you want me to go?" She asked, fearing the answer. Eld sighed and straightened up.

"No. But sometimes you don't get what you want." He replied, dropping some coins on the bar and standing up. He adjusted his jacket and walked away.

Dilan struggled to stay on the stool, tapping her finger on the glass.

She should stay.

Any normal person would stay.

Any normal person would not follow him out there and keep trying to talk to him.

"Shit." She hissed, downing her beer and taking off after her friend.

She wasn't normal.

"Eld!" She called, running down the alley he had stalked off down.

"WHAT!? I CAN'T GIVE YOU WHAT YOU WANT!" He snapped at her, turning around, Dilan could see the tears in his eyes.

Dilan took a shaky breath.

"Yes, you can. We've been through too much Eld! You can't just throw it away!" Dilan yelled back.

"YOU threw it away. YOU did that when you chose him over me!" He shot back, hurt.

"Eld we broke up! We broke up! Stop acting like I cheated on you!" Dilan cried, tears building up in her eyes.

Eld looked down.

"The way I see it, we were never even together." He mumbled. Dilan's eyes widened.

"Why would you say that? Do you think it meant nothing to me?!" She asked angrily.

"I don't know what it meant Dil! But if you thought it was going to last you would have told me what happened to you! I mean, walls, Dil! What the fuck did you think I was going to do? Did you think I'm that shallow that I would judge you? Think your worth less?" Eld ranted, walking closer to her.

"No, Eld it wasn't like that-"

"You never trusted me; you never gave me a chance. I was just some way to pass the time until the Captain up and decided he wanted you." He spat and Dilan looked at him in shock.

"It wasn't like that and you know it! You fucking know I'm not like that Eld. Why are you acting like this?!" She yelled.

"Because I love you!" He yelled back.

Silence.

"I love you and every time I fucking look at you all I can think about is how you will never love me back." He admitted and Dilan's eyes glossed over.

She didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. Eld scoffed.

"Sorry for what? Not loving me?" He asked bitterly. Dilan licked her lips, keeping her eyes down.

"No. I'm sorry… for starting a relationship with you… while I was in love with someone else." She admitted, a tear slipping down her face. "It wasn't fair to you. It wasn't right a-and I'm sorry." She added, quickly wiping away her tear. She wasn't intending on playing the sympathy card. Eld had a right to be mad and if he wanted to yell at her then she would take it.

There was hesitation before Eld realised a heavy sigh, sitting down at one of the crates in the alleyway, running a hand through his hair.

"I'm… sorry too." He replied. Dilan looked up at him in shock. "I knew. It was obvious all along that you would never be able to commit. A nagging in the back of my head but I ignored it. I asked you out anyway, I kept asking you. I guess I hoped that one day you would change your mind. I guess I thought that one day… I could be the guy that makes you smile like that. The way you smile at Levi." He muttered, rubbing his face.

Dilan sighed and walked over to him, sitting down beside him.

"You make me smile, Eld. No… it's not in the same way, but… I do love you. You're my squad, my family. We've been through so much and I don't- I can't lose you." She whispered shakily, a tear dripping down her face. Eld sighed, taking her hand.

"I can't lose you either." He admitted and Dilan cracked a smile.

"I'm sorry I never told you what happened. I guess I was scared. I know you would never think I was worth less but… it's always going to be a struggle for me. It's a struggle to remember it doesn't decrease my value, it's a struggle to admit it even happened. B-but you deserved to know. And I'm sorry." She apologised. Eld smiled sadly and shook his head.

"Don't apologise, Dil. Honestly, I wasn't mad that you didn't tell me. I was mad at myself because I never should have pushed you, regardless of your past. I was an asshole." He sighed and Dilan chuckled.

"We were both assholes." She countered and Eld smiled.

"He treats you right?" Eld asked. Dilan smiled.

"He does." She answered truthfully. Eld sighed.

"Course he does the perfect bastard." He mumbled and Dilan laughed.

There was a moment of content silence.

"You really think we can go back? To how it was before?" Eld asked, a slight worry in his tone. Dilan smiled, standing up.

"Course, Green. We're in the perfect place for step one on the road to re-friendship." She said in determination. Eld looked at her in amusement.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yep. Let's get wasted." She grinned.

ELD'S P.O.V.

An hour later and Dilan was completely hammered. Eld had forgotten what a lightweight this girl was. She never normally drank this much with the group, but she had made a vow to out-drink Eld tonight. A vow she had broken terrible and still ended up shit faced.

"Eld… my h-hands feel like paper!" Dilan hiccupped, holding her hands out straight and looking at them with wide eyes. Eld snickered to himself as he held her shoulders to keep her upright, leading them up the stairs of the base.

Getting her back from Sina was a dangerous task. Drunk Dilan was very curious about everything. When she saw a sign about an acrobats circus, she exclaimed that she 'must see', even though it was the middle of the night and the circus was very much closed. Eld chased her what felt like a mile before getting them back on track to go home. Even drunk that girl can run.

Dilan pouted heavily and was on the verge of tears until Eld promised he would take her to the circus another day.

"Is that right?" Eld asked, amused. Despite her condition, Eld found that Dilan was right. Drinking and talking and having fun was just what they needed. It was nice viewing Dilan as a friend again and it gave him hope for the future. He didn't think he would be getting over her just like that but if the last few days taught him anything it's that getting over Dilan without Dilan was much harder than getting over Dilan with the help of said crazy woman.

"Yeah?! How do your hands feel?" Dilan whispered, poking the centre of her palm with fascination. Eld chuckled.

"Like hands, Dil. You're such a light-weight."

"That-oody I am to-ody, Trudy! Eld do you know anyone called Truuuuudddyyy?!" She asked loudly. Eld laughed, shushing her.

Everyone was likely to be asleep.

"No. Shit, Dilan!" He struggled to keep his laughing quiet as Dilan climbed over the banister and he grabbed her before she could slide down.

"Eld." She huffed, looking at him with narrow eyes. "Let me s-slide. I was born to SLIDE!" She demanded. Eld choked on a loud laugh.

"Dil. Please, you can slide tomorrow when you aren't drunk." Eld compromised, holding on to her.

"Buttttttt it won't be fun tomorrow." She pointed out. Eld raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

Dilan smirked.

"Because I'll be hungover l-like a rover, stupid!" She flicked him on the forehead and Eld sighed.

Even drunk she had a point.

"One slide and you go to bed, okay?" Eld asked seriously. Dilan grinned.

"Deal!" She exclaimed. Eld cringed as he let go of her.

"Please don't die, okay? The Captain will kill me." He begged. Dilan scoffed, waving him off.

"I'll be fine." She hiccupped, reading herself before loosening her grip and sliding down the banister. "WEEEEEEEEEEEE!" She yelled and Eld burst out laughing.

"Oh my god." He shook his head. Dilan rolled off the banister and fell onto the floor with an oomph.

"Ow. Eld, I hurt myself." She mumbled into the floor. Eld chuckled and walked down the steps to help her up.

"You'll be fine." He assured and Dilan sighed in relief as they started slowly moving up the stairs again.

"Eld I-I'm your friend, right?" She asked tiredly, rubbing her eyes. Eld smiled.

"Yeah, Dilan. You're my friend." He agreed happily, his heart warming. Guess the Captain was right. She never gave up on trying to get him back. He was grateful.

"You'll be there?" She asked hopefully. Eld nodded.

"I'll be there." He assured as they got onto the right floor. Dilan smiled drunkenly.

"Good." She said happily. Then she made a scared face.

"What?" Eld asked, worried, looking in her direction but he saw nothing. Dilan's head snapped around to his.

"ELD MY TONGUE FEELS LIKE PAPER!" She squealed and Eld burst out laughing.

---

With a lot of effort and persuasion, Eld got Dilan to the right door. He had to drag her up the stairs yet again when Dilan decided she simply must go and find Eren so she could ask him if he knew a 'Trudy'. Eld promised that she could ask him in the morning. Dilan was reluctant but eventually gave in.

"I want a pet fish." Dilan pouted. Eld smirked, rolling his eyes.

"You won't look after it." He replied, knocking on the door.

"Yeah I will!" Dilan countered.

"No, you won't, brat." Levi replied as he opened the door.

"Levi!" Dilan grinned, stepping forward, more like falling forward to hug him. Eld saw his Captain's eyes soften and he barely repressed a smile.

That was good enough for Eld to know Dilan would be in safe hands.

He nodded to his superior before walking down the hall.

"Oi, Gin." Levi called. Eld glanced back. "Thanks for getting her back safe." He said, his voice bored as usual but Eld could see he was grateful. He nodded again and walked away, smiling at the whines of Dilan asking if she could get a pet goat.

LEVI'S P.O.V.

Levi watched Eld walk away for a moment, pleased to see things between them had obviously been resolved, before diverting his attention back towards his very wasted brat.

"Come on, idiot." He mumbled fondly, picking Dilan up as she stumbled and bringing her in the room, closing the door behind him. He had been waiting up for her even though she told him she might be late. He didn't feel he would be able to get a proper sleep until he knew she was safe, so he was glad Eld decided to bring her to his room instead of helping her to her old one.

That was big of him and Levi appreciated it.

"Leviiiii, have I ever told you… that you are a sexy man?" Dilan asked in a slurred voice as Levi sat her down on the bed. He laughed.

"No. But I will definitely be teasing you about that tomorrow." He smirked, crouching down to help her take off her boots. Dilan scoffed.

"Goooooo ahead, I shan't be embarrassed. S-see, I'm not even that drunk. What dru-unk person uses the word shannnn't?" She asked, completely gone.

"Every drunk person." Levi answered, gently taking off her boots and setting them to the side.

"Aw." She pouted. Levi smiled and helped her up.

"Why do you always drink more than you can handle?" He asked, steading her as she stumbled and helping her into the bathroom.

"B-becauseeeee! It's totally fun. Ah!" She screamed suddenly. Levi flinched.

"What?!" He asked. Dilan burst out laughing.

"N-nothing! You're face!" She choked out between loud laughs. Levi sighed in annoyance.

"I forgot how fucking irritating you are drunk." Levi rolled his eyes and managed to sit her down on the edge of the bath. Dilan wiped the tears off her face and managed to compose herself.

"I like stealing- wait, did you-you say I'm irritating?" She sniffed, suddenly upset and Levi's eyes widened.

"Shit, no Dil, don't-"

But it was too late. Dilan was already crying.

"You h-hate me." She sobbed. Levi sighed and crouched down, wiping the tears off her face.

"I don't hate you. I love you, stupid. It's embarrassing how much I love you." He reassured, pleased as Dilan cracked a wide goofy smile.

"Really?!" She asked happily. Levi rolled his eyes and stroked some hair behind her ear.

"Yes. Now brush your teeth and we can go to sleep." He refocused, passing Dilan her toothbrush. Dilan pouted.

"I don't want to go to sleep." She complained. Levi gave her a stern look.

"Tough shit, brat. Go on." He encouraged. Dilan poked her tongue out at him but did as she was told, reluctance clear by how slow she was brushing.

---

An unbelievable amount of time later and Dilan's teeth were brushed, she was dressed baggily in some of Levi's clothes and she was ready for bed. Getting her changed was a battle and a half. He had to talk her through what to do outside of the bathroom since he knew Dilan wouldn't want him to see her naked, even if she didn't mind in her drunk state. The girl was so smashed she forgot how to operate a t-shirt and from what Levi could tell, tried to put her head through the arm sleeve and then proceeded to freak out, thinking her head had grown as she couldn't get it through.

But in the end, they got to where they were now. Levi opened the covers for her and Dilan fell in the bed with a giggle. Levi smiled and rolled his eyes, getting in with her before setting the covers over them both and pulling her close to him.

Dilan smiled at him.

"What?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You're cute." She grinned. Levi frowned.

"I'm not cute. I'm sexy, remember?" He smirked and Dilan laughed.

"Yep, that too. Very sexy indeed." She agreed and Levi chuckled, stroking her cheek.

"Have fun tonight?" He asked. Dilan hummed and snuggled into him.

"Eld is my friend again." She stated proudly. Levi stroked her hair.

"I'm glad." He replied softly.

"Me too." She sighed in content.

There was a stretch of silence where Levi was pretty sure Dilan had fallen asleep before she spoke again.

"Levi?" She whispered; her voice nervous.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"W-will you hate me… I-if I can't have sex with you?" She sniffed and Levi's eyes widened, pulling her back slightly to look her in her teary orange eyes.

"No, brat. I'll never hate you." He answered gently. Dilan bit her lip.

"Never?" She asked, her voice thick with emotion. Levi smiled, pressing a reassuring kiss to her lips.

"Never. We don't need to have sex, Dilan. All I need is you to make me happy, okay?" He assured, wiping away her tears gently. Dilan cracked a shy smile.

"Promise?" She whispered. Levi tried hard to ignore how adorable she was being.

"Promise." He agreed. It saddened him that Dilan could ever think he could hate her for such a thing, but he had to remind himself she was drunk and that everything that happened with Eld must have given her some concerns about whether their relationship would last without intimacy. He knew she was unlikely to remember any of this tomorrow so they would have to have this conversation again sometime but for the moment it would do.

Dilan sighed in relief and snuggled back into him.

"Love you, sexy." She mumbled. Levi chuckled, blowing out the oil lamp.

"Love you too, dumbass." He mumbled back.

There was a moment of silence.

"Levi, do you know a Trudy?"

---

A/N: Damn that was a long ass chapter. Think of it as my way of apologising for being gone so long. I've been okay but school has been so busy, I just haven't had the time to edit! But I'm back, dont worry. I will never give up on this story. That is a promise.

Finally, Eld and Dilan talked it out. For the second time. They really needed to lay everything on the table. Thank god Dilan's a stubborn brat. No one else would have been able to come out of a scenario like that with both her relationships to Eld and Levi still intact. She does the impossible.

I can sympathise with Eld. It makes sense how he would feel like Dilan was just passing the time with him, but while I didn't actually touch on their relationship, I wanted to point out that they have been happy. Dilan was never as comfortable with Eld as she is with Levi but she felt safe enough with Eld to let him sleep in her bed and that shows a lot. They just weren't meant to last.

I hope you are all pleased with the chicken's big finish in this story. I worked hard on making it as crazy as possible for all of those chicken fans out there. Who liked it when Oluo bitch slapped Hanji, lol. Yes, it's pathetic but I cracked myself up a bit with that line. Maybe I'm just completely insane, idk. I can't believe that this Chicken, that was supposed to be a small part in one chapter, has been going on for the last 6 chapters. I'm glad so many of you have said you like it. I feel like we should have named the chicken. I guess Chucky the demon is fitting, lol. Don't worry though, Jo-Jo and Mrs Birch will not go through what the squad went through. They are proper chicken owners and they don't scare as easily as the special ops, lol.

For those who are interested there are going to be 2 more sappy chapters before we get back to the main plot of the story. Damn it's going to be dramatic. You know me. I'm going to wreck them. God, I hate myself, lol. Is it just me who enjoys angst?

By the way... next chapter may have some adult themes but I'll put a little warning at the top.

Angie200116: It was a fucking close one, but the chicken was not made into chicken soup, lol. It will be forever tormented by a hyper three-year-old. I'm glad you liked the talk with Eld and Levi. I am also proud of him for not losing his temper, lol. There were a few times there where he was a little too harsh but he was aiming for Eld to come to a realisation, so he said what he needed to. I'm so glad you mentioned the "haunted house" anime episodes theme because... thats exactly what I was going for! I hope I did you proud. We needed darkness, torches, people splitting up, a creepy non-threatening enemy and the characters crumbling to slight insanity. Did I miss anything? Let me know, lmao. I don't like how Dilan thinks of herself either but they touched on the talk a bit this chapter. But next chapter Levi will really try to get through to her. Thank you for commenting! And yes, I do enjoy torturing Oluo. How did you guess? Lmao!

Lunaserinda: I'm glad you're loving the chicken scenes! Hope I did you proud. Thanks for commenting!

Bernard.f: I actually didn't plan the chicken scenes. It was the weirdest thing because it just came to me in a dream and I found it funny so I ended up writing it down, deciding we all needed a little bit of a break from the angst. I did not expect people to like it as much as they did. The madness kind of blew up from there, lol. I'm so glad you're enjoying it! It's kind of you to say too. In the past I have found humour hard to write but this with this chicken it was too easy, lol. I'm sorry for your past chicken trauma, lol. I've never owned them so I have no idea if they can be this mean in real life! I thought I was pushing it a bit with what chickens are capable of, lmao. Maybe this could provide as some sort of therapy for your chicken trauma as this one got the payback it deserved, lol. Thank you so much for commenting and following along all this time!

MordredVisor: It really is AOC. Attack on Chicken, lol. I'm glad you liked the Levi and Eld talk. It was very necessary. Sorry about the cliff-hanger last chapter but I hope this chapter has wrapped everything up for you. Thanks for commenting as always!

vain-gl0ry: I agree that Dilan's previous relationship has mislead her in some ways. She's still putting pressure on herself to be 'ready' even though she feels safe with Levi. In a way she's scared because she wants to be ready with him, she wants to make him happy and she doesn't want to lose him. Levi isn't that kind of person though. He isn't obsessed with sex and he doesn't need it in their relationship to make him happy. He's such a cutie. Part of the talk was in this chapter but it doesn't really count because it was with drunk 'i want a pet fish' Dilan instead of coherent sober Dilan, lol. The talk will happen next chapter perhaps along with some other things... no spoilers. And yes. The chicken is 100% Humanities greatest enemy. But unfortunately... this was the end of the demon. She'll be happy in the birch family, dont worry. Thanks for commenting!

Mia: Hey! I'm glad you liked the chicken and the talk with Eld and Levi. He was very straight forward. I'm sure deep down, a part of him wanted to gloat but he was very respectful of Eld's feelings and related best he could. Thank you for following along and commenting! Hope to hear from you again!

Sodabo: Hope I did you proud! The chicken fought well but was bested by Moblit in the end. The unlikely hero of the story, lol.

Adripadher: I loved your comment lmao! Honestly I was tempted to do exactly as you said. The chicken deserves an official post and more for besting the special ops more than once. I wish it could hang around but they wont be staying at the castle that much longer. Hopefully with it's new home at the Birch house, it will appear in the story again one day. Maybe they'll have lunch round there one day and it'll steal Levi's sandwich, lol. Idk, we'll have to see. Thanks for commenting and dont worry about cursing. I'm the same, lol.

Kikimari: Hey! I'm so glad you commented! It's impressive that you made it through, there are a lot of chapters there and I understand that long stories aren't everyones cup of tea. I'm just obsessed with updating lol. I write too much, got to put it somewhere. It makes me so happy to know you like the plot line and the way Dilan and Levi's relationship was developed. I worked especially hard on that last one, wanting them to really mean a lot to each other before I started getting them involved romantically. If I was writing about any character other than Levi, I'm not sure waiting so long would have worked but he's got trauma and after Isabel and Farlan, he's scared to get close to people. Dilan managed to worm her way into his heart though through stubborness and insults alone, lol. I'm so glad you like Dilan too! I'm very pleased with how her character turned out. She's been through some shit but shes come out the other side and she's better for it. I'm happy you like the chicken, lol! Thanks for following along!

Thanks for reading everyone! Stay safe! Xx