Levi P.O.V.
Levi took a breath and looked around the corner of the alley, cursing to himself quietly as he saw that the brat was gone, and the others were walking away. Damnit. The brat was good. She must have noticed his fuck up and realised someone was following her. He had been following her all day without any problems, other than boredom. How many shops does one need to go into? It was completely ridiculous, and he had made a mental note to complain heavily to Erwin about what a waste of time this was. The brat had been good all day, not attempting to sneak off anywhere. If anything, Levi was feeling the guilt from when he discovered she didn't have an ulterior motive on the roof start to resurface and that in turn made him pissed. He hated feeling guilty. It wasn't an emotion he thought he could possess because of some girl that he barely knew. No. guilt was reserved for his friends, for his regrets. Not this brat. And yet, he felt it anyway and it was incredibly annoying.
He had been without problems all day and was trailing them leisurely, acting like he belonged in this high-class street until he had heard his name and stupidly decided to get closer, letting his curiosity take a hold of him. When he heard what they were talking about he didn't think he could have been more shocked. He had never seen the brat look so flushed and embarrassed before and it stirred up something inside of him. Something he didn't like. When he heard Tabitha ask her if she would rather fuck him or Brand, Levi wasn't sure what to fucking think. He wanted to be mad since it was unprofessional but in their defence they weren't in the workplace and it was just two girls gossiping. They didn't know they were under surveillance. Even if Levi didn't think Dilan was like that, guess Tabitha managed to pull it out of her. Despite himself, Levi was intrigued to the brat's answer. He wasn't sure why, but he found himself desperate to find out. Perhaps he wanted to make sure Dilan didn't have a thing for him since that would make things awkward, but he knew it was probably something more. But he didn't dare go down that thought process.
In his eagerness to find out the answer he failed to look where he was going and walked straight into a chair outside a store front, getting himself noticed and annoyingly not hearing the answer too. Levi had watched, slightly impressed as Dilan's ears pricked and he had barely managed to escape around the corner of the alley before she turned around and noticed him. The brat was observant, he'd give her that.
And now here he was. Frustrated that he had fucked up over something so utterly ridiculous, as he searched his eyes for the brat in the crowd. Nothing. She was gone. Meaning she was either trying to lose him in the city or leading him away from the squad since she didn't want to endanger them. Seemed like the Dilan thing to do instead of asking for help. He had noticed over the past few months that while it was obvious Dilan didn't care for them in the beginning, she had grown to care about the squad and wouldn't want to put them in harm's way if she thought someone dangerous was tailing her. That meant she hadn't figured out it was Levi yet otherwise she would have just confronted him. So now the question was, where would she go to get the edge? Levi rolled his eyes at the obvious answer. The underground. If the brat was going to fight, she'd do it on her terms.
Levi made his way to the underground entrance, careful to keep a look out for the brat on the way. as he got to the stairs the MP cadet gave him access after seeing his uniform under his cloak. Levi rolled his eyes as he descended into the darkness. If it was always that easy to get in and out of the underground, he should have just stolen an MP uniform years ago. Although he figured that the guard would recognise, he wasn't from their regiment and neither the scouts or the garrison ever came down.
Levi flicked his eyes around the place as he came out into the main part and a shiver ran down his spine. He never liked coming back here. Too many memories. Bad and good but they all hurt the same. Any reminder of his friends felt like a sharp punch in the gut. Still, he shook his head of the thought and got on the move. The brat was nowhere to be seen meaning she was likely somewhere high, doing what Erwin thinks she came here for. Curious, Levi wanted to know too. What was the brat up too? Before he could even stop it, his paranoia was back, and he was eager to locate her. She wouldn't get away from him this time.
DILAN P.O.V.
Getting into the underground had been easier than expected. Before she could even open her mouth to spew some elaborate lie to the guard he looked her up and down and let her past. Dilan was insulted for a moment before she realised what he had looked at was her uniform and sighed in relief as she hurriedly desended into her home. She had really missed this place but didn't allow herself the time to take in the nostalgia. She needed to get an advantage point and find out who was following her so she could figure out her next move. So as soon as she entered the dark space she ran into the first alley way she could find and parcored up the side. She managed the task with a little effort. She hadn't used these skills for a while. She made a mental note to practice more since she couldn't allow herself to get something so valuable as survival rusty. Dilan waited on the roof of the building, comtemplated whether she should steal some things to practice pickpocketing as well before she snapped her eyes open at the intruder. He came down a few minutes after her and she narrowed her orange eyes at him. He was wearing a cloak so she couldn't see his face but it was obivious he was searching for something. Or someone.
The cloaked man continued down the streets and Dilan tailed him, deciding what to do. She could confront him but she would prefer to know who he was before she did that. Was he one of the mobsters from the house she attacked on her last night here? Was he one of Kenny's men? She wasn't sure.
A while went past and Dilan watched with mild curiousity as she saw some kind of mugger hiding in the shadows, waiting and watching for someone to walk by. The cloaked man was about to walk right into his trap and most likely get stabbed. Should she stop him? A ridiculous thought really. Why should she care? The man was stalking her? Were the decent people at the survey corps starting to make her into a good person or something? Dilan barely resisted a gag at the thought and watched with intrigue as the mugger jumped round the corner and thrust his weapon in the cloaked mans direction. Her eyes widened as the man didn't even flinch. He blocked the arm snapped his hand back with an audiable crack and the mugger yelled out, dropping the weapon. The cloaked man then processed to twist on his foot and deliever a perfected round house kick to the crooks head as he tried to stab him with another weapon. The mugger was out like a light and the mysterious man walked on. Dilan scrunched up her nose in confusion. She felt like she knew him... where had she seen someone fight like that before...
Dilan groaned quietly in annoyance at her own stupidity and practically face palmed. The man was as good at fighting as herself leaving only two people aviable. Kenny, which seemed rather unlikely as the man wasn't the type to do grunt work and was a heck of a lot taller than this short stack meaning the mystery man was none other than her Second in Command. Levi.
"Fucking piece of shit. Still doesn't trust me." Dilan grumbled in absolute annoyance. To be fair to the grumpy man, he shouldn't trust her at all. She was planning on murdering his superior in the future but there was no possible way he could know that. He was just working on assumptions. Assumptions that she was a dirty ass criminal working for some sort of gang who had paid her for the commission. Well, he was wrong. She was working for herself and she was doing it for herself. Erwin Smith deserved to be put down. And people call her the mass murderer. He kills thousands!
Dilan huffed, having nothing to hide. If Levi wanted to follow her all day and watch her run some errands that was fine with her. She just hoped he was feeling stupid by the end of it.
Still, she needed to get some stuff from her home, and she didn't want Levi to follow her there. that was her and her brothers' space. He didn't deserve the information of knowing where it was. Dilan ran over the buildings to her space and smiled unconsciously as she crawled into her home, sighing in relief. She felt safe here and it did wonders for her mental health. She could still feel her brother's presence here sometimes, watching over her. Dilan blinked back the tears and grabbed a rucksack, jamming open the floorboards and shoving about half the cash she had saved up over the last few years into it, zipping it up and slinging it over her back. She replaced the floorboard and spared her home one last look before sliding back down again and parkouring to the earth. She had some things to do. One being, giving a fuck load of money to the orphanage. She hoped they had managed to survive so long without her, and she hope the large amount of cash on her back would help them make it through the winter. Or at least until she could come back again and scrape up some more for them. The money was a lot more than what she usually left on their doorstep, but they deserved it more than her. Besides she had a paycheck now apparently. Dilan wondered how hard it would be to get Erwin to deliver her paycheck directly to the orphanage. She didn't want him to know they were important to her. What if they tried to use them against her? She couldn't risk it.
Dilan sighed and shook her head, making her way through the dirty streets. She had to bite back a smirk as she walked straight past the person, she knew was Levi, feeling bitchy enough to even brush her arm against his in the busy street. She felt him tense and had to stop from laughing. This was too fun. Maybe she was a psychopath. She wasn't exactly sure.
Dilan ignored him from that point on. She had to admit, he was great at tailing people but know she knew what he looked like it was easy to locate him. Still, she had more important things to do and couldn't stop herself from jogging those last few meters to Mama P's pawn shop and throwing open the doors. She grinned as Mama looked up from her desk and the frown turned upwards into a smile of pure delight.
"DILAN! MY BABY, YOUR BACK!" She screamed in happiness, bounding over to her like an excited puppy and smothering her in a hug as she continued to ramble about how much she missed her and how she thought she was dead. Dilan hugged the large woman back just as tightly, refusing to cry. It had been really hard without her. She had almost killed herself a number of times and the number of depressive episodes she had were insane. It was a good thing Levi had laid off her and she had friends now otherwise she knew she wouldn't have made it long enough to come back here. "Dil, baby, are you crying?" Mama P asked, her face twisted in concern as she pulled back and wiped the tear off of Dilan's face that she didn't realise she had let fall. Dilan shook her head and took a breath before smiling.
"I'm just happy to see you again." She replied honestly. Mama P smiled and stroked her hair.
"Me too, sweetie. Come, come. Tell me everything. Have a sweet." She urged, leading Dilan over to the counter and bringing out an extra stool for her before offering her the sweet jar. Dilan smiled happily her eyes growing slightly glossy again as she took her green lollipop and took a breath to calm down as she unwrapped it. Mama P waited patiently for her to speak.
"The survey corps found out I was using military gear and captured me. Hence the uniform." She explained simply, popping the sweet in her mouth. She watched as Mama P's face darkened in rage.
"THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS! THINK THEY CAN TAKE MY BABY, I'LL FUCKING SHOW THEM! I'LL- I'LL-" She yelled in a rage, pacing the stop in anger and frustration. Dilan chuckled, her heart-warming at the woman's protectiveness.
"I appreciate it but you can't do anything." She interrupted and Mama's face morphed into sadness.
"But it's not fair. They shouldn't have the right to take you. They shouldn't have had the right to take your brother." She said sadly, sitting back down again. Dilan sighed in agreement. Mama P was the only one she ever talked about her brother with without freaking out. After a while of coming here Dilan discovered she knew him way back when since her brother used to pawn items here as well to get money.
"I know but what's done is done. They watch me like hawks, this is the only chance I've had to escape back down here so far, and they will expect me back before nightfall. I mean I have someone tailing me right now for walls sakes." She chuckled humourlessly and Mama P frowned, taking her hand.
"It's got worse hasn't it?" She asked softly. She didn't need to clarify what she was talking about. Dilan nodded anyway. With Mama P, her only confidant in the world, she was also the only one she ever talked to about her depression. Well apart from the few forced conversations with Levi.
"Turns out surface life isn't that great. I've had 8 depressive episodes so far, 5 panic attacks and 2 suicide attempts. It's eased up a bit though lately." Dilan admitted and Mama P's eyes widened in surprise. Fair enough considering Dilan normally only had 2 depressive episodes a year down in the underground and she hadn't attempted to kill herself in the past two years.
"Honey, I'm so sorry." She comforted, rubbing her back. Dilan took a breath and forced a smile.
"It's not so bad. Like I said, it's eased up a bit and being here, seeing you... it's really helped." She reassured. Mama P smiled.
"I'm glad. When do you plan on escaping for real then?" She asked seriously. Dilan smirked. the woman knew how she worked.
"I have something to do up there but then I'll be back. I'm not sure how long it will take but faking my death will be relatively easy in titan country and then I'll make it back to the walls, come back down here and all will be well." She said determined. Mama P sighed in relief.
"Good. Hurry back, I miss you every day." She huffed, annoyed. Dilan chuckled and stood up.
"I will. By the way, eggs, are laid." She informed. Mama blinked.
"Laid?" She questioned. Dilan nodded.
"By chickens." She explained. Mama's eyes widened in curiosity and disgust.
"Ew." Dilan chuckled.
"I agree. I also tried apples. They are amazing. I'll try bring you some back when I escape." She promised with a smile. Mama P smiled back and stood up, hugging her again.
"Stay strong, Dil. Don't let them break you." She whispered comfortingly. Dilan breathed out and hugged her back tightly, feeling a strong wave of relief from her words. The woman was right. She couldn't let them break her. She blinked back the tears yet again and pulled back.
"I won't. See you later then." She smiled, cheekily grabbing another lollipop before running out of the store, laughing as she heard Mama P yelling at her to come back and pay for that.
Dilan walked down the streets and had to physically wipe the smile of her face. Her mood had skyrocket from that short interaction. She hoped she would get more chances to come back down and talk with the woman in the future. It did wonders for her mental health.
After perusing the markets and lifting a roll of bread for her lunch she munched it idlily, snickering every now and then as she thought of Levi's annoyed face. She smiled when she reached the Brandon Bar and entered happily walking up to the top and sitting on a stool in front of Joel who was hunched over concentrating on cleaning something.
She coughed to get his attention, but Joel didn't look up.
She coughed again and she smirked hearing a huff of annoyance.
"Yeah, yeah. One minute-" his annoyed voice sounded as he stood up and cut himself off in shock, seeing her. Dilan smirked devilishly.
"Really, Joel. Is that how we treat customers?" She raised an amused eyebrow. Joel stared at her for a moment longer before cracking a wide smile and laughing loudly as he hurried round the side of the bar and pulled her into a hug. Dilan chuckled at the sap and hugged him back. "You miss me then?" She teased. Joel scoffed and pulled back, slapping her up the back of the head. "Ouch!" She pouted.
"You have been late for 2 months!" He scolded before getting a good look at her. "What's with the uniform?" He questioned. Dilan sighed.
"Can I have a drink?" She asked, chuckling. Joel smirked in disbelief and ruffled her hair before moving back around the bar and poring a beer out into a glass. Dilan took an eager sip and sighed in relief. Nothing was better than Brandon bar beer.
"Long story short I'm in the survey corps now. Sorry for leaving without telling you. Didn't get much choice." She explained, tracing her finger round the rim of the glass. Joel frowned slightly but was smart enough not to ask.
"So, I'm guessing your days working here are over for now eh?" He asked sadly. Dilan sighed and gave him a smile.
"For now. How's Pete?" She asked, changing the subject and hoping to lighten the mood. Joel laughed.
"The bastard got another cat." He informed and Dilan laughed.
"No way!" She grinned. Joel nodded happily.
"Called it Dil." He explained and Dilan's heart warmed at that.
"Aw, that's so cute. And a little creepy." She added and Joel laughed.
"Yeah, the guy missed you. Hell, half the regulars in the bar have asked where you were. They call you scary bartender." He snickered. Dilan laughed, twirling a bit of fringe round her finger. She had broken up a lot of fights in this bar and intimidated a lot of customers.
"Well, I've missed this place too." She admitted, glugging down the rest of her beer and sighing in relief as Joel chuckled.
"Haven't changed then." He teased. Dilan rolled her eyes but smiled anyway.
"You know I will always be a fan of this beer. Why do you think I keep coming back?" She smirked. Joel faked a pout.
"It's not for my delightful company?" He feigned hurt, holding a hand over his heart. Dilan laughed as she slid of the stool.
"Sure. Definitely more for the free beer, but sure." She grinned cheekily and Joel frowned.
"Oi! Who said it's free!" He protested as Dilan walked towards the exit.
"I'll pay you back, promise. And I will be back as soon as possible. Make sure the bitch that fills my shift doesn't get too comfortable." She warned with narrowed eyes. Joel laughed.
"You got it. Visit soon, kid. We miss ya here." He admitted kindly. Dilan smiled back and nodded firmly before exiting the bar and sighing happily. She had missed the bastard.
After speaking to Mama P and Joel there was only one more thing left on the agenda. Glancing around her subtly she noticed Levi wasn't on the ground anymore meaning he must be tailing her from the roof. She didn't care though. Whatever makes him more comfortable.
It took her a while to get back to the orphanage. She didn't want to run since her bag was rather heavy, plus a random as stranger had pulled her into an alley and tried to rape her. She had made a quick job of snapping his neck, but it had freaked her out, so she was still getting over that. She wondered if Levi would scold her for killing him. She wondered if he even cared that she had killed scum like him.
Shaking the thoughts from her head she made her way up to the orphanage's door, blinking as she noticed the door was kind of busted up and one of the windows was broken. Needing more information since it was likely just some vandals, she left the bag of money on the door and knocked before taking her usual space in the bushes. The door opened and Callie stepped out. she was a tall woman, long blonde hair that was slightly curly and flowed down to her waste. She was always dressed nicely despite the dirty placed she lived in and had pale skin and big blue eyes. Although something stuck out about Callie today. The frantic expression on her face after seeing the bag and the massive black eye on her normally perfect complexion.
"DILAN!? DILAN ARE YOU THERE?! PLEASE I NEED YOUR HELP!?" She yelled in a panic, tears already streaming down her face. Dilan wasn't sure how she knew it was here that left the money but didn't deem this a good time to question it and came out of her hiding spot to run up to the distressed woman who sighed shakily in visible relief after seeing her.
"Callie what's wrong?" Dilan asked quickly, concerned. She had never seen the woman this distraught before. Callie choked out a sob and Dilan rushed to bring her into a hug.
"Dilan they took them!" She cried in pure anguish. Dilan's heart lurched at the pain in her voice and she rubbed the womans back to calm her down.
"Took who?" She asked carefully.
"The children!" She whimpered. "They took the children!" She shook with torment and Dilan's eyes widened in realisation. Then they hardened as a white hot rage over came her whole body. The bastards were not going to get away with this.
"Callie I am going to get them back. I promise you but you need to do me a favour and take a few deep breaths. Calm down and give me all the information you have." Dilan said seriously, pulling back. Callie nodded, biting her lip to muffle another sob as she took a few shaky breaths and calmed down enough to speak.
"T-they came in the night. I didn't see their faces but t-there were 5 of them." She stuttered out. Dilan nodded for her to go on. "They b-broke down the door a-and the children were screaming." She blinked out a few more tears, shaking her head of the horrible memories. "I tried to stop them but they kn-knocked me unconscious. When I woke up 6 of the children were gone a-and the others were heavily traumatised hiding around the house. 6, Dilan! 6! I was supposed to protect them!" She cried in pain. Dilan put a calming hand on her shoulder.
"This is not your fault. Remember where we are. Now answer these questions for me. What were the men wearing? When were they taken? And did any of the other children see where they went?" Dilan asked seriously. Callie took a breath to calm down.
"They were all w-wearing black. B-but I think I saw that they had matching tattoos... ugh I can't remember!" She rubbed her head in frustration.
"It's okay. Keep going." Dilan encouraged.
"W-well... they were taken last night, around 8 and I'm not sure if the children saw. They are really shaken up." She sighed, trying to wipe away the heavy stream of tears. Dilan nodded in understanding.
"I'd like to talk to them, if that's okay?" She asked and Callie nodded. "Thanks, I'll be gentle. Go back inside and give me a moment. I'll be back in a second." She explained. Callie nodded and gave her a grateful smile before heading back inside the house. Dilan sighed and rubbed her face.
"Fucking bastards." She gritted out before looking around her. She knew Levi was here even though she couldn't see him. "YO, LEVI. ENOUGH WITH THE STALKING I COULD USE YOU ON THIS." She yelled out. Tracking down these children will be easier with his help as much as she hated to admit it. A few moments of hesitation later and Levi landed in front of her using the 3DMG, pulling off his hood to show his heavily annoyed face.
"How long have you known?!" He growled. Dilan ignored his aggressions.
"Since you fucked up that mugger. But that's not important. You hear what we were just talking about?" She said seriously, crossing her arms. Levi refocused and nodded, a slight sadness in his usually cold eyes. "Then you know we have to get them back."
"Brat, finding them will be impossible. Surely even your dumbass knows that." He retorted. Dilan glared at him.
"I am finding those kids Levi. Whether you help me or not." She warned, narrowing her eyes.
"Finding those kids will take longer than curfew." He pointed out. Dilan tensed slightly, readying herself to grab the knife she had stuck in her boot from her home.
"You suggesting you're going to drag me back?" She questioned, gritting her teeth. Levi stared at her blankly and Dilan couldn't get a read on him. "These are your people too. How could you abandon them? We have the skills to find them, you know we do. Can't we just put aside our differences for one fucking second and help these kids. You're not that cold to just leave them to get raped and tortured for the rest of their lives without even trying to save them, are you?" She asked, accusation clear in her tone. Anger flashed in Levi's eyes before he looked away. Dilan scoffed. "Fine. Go. Run back to your commander and the surface and forget about all the shit the underground people are still facing. Just don't expect me to come with you without a fight." She hissed, disappointed. Levi clenched his jaw.
"If we can't find them by morning, we drop it and go back." He offered, his steely gaze locking with her amber. Dilan bit the inside of her lip in thought. Would that be enough time to find them? That's around 10 hours. Perhaps with Levi's help it would be enough time. Still, she sure as hell wasn't leaving without them when the time was up but Levi didn't have to know that. She was a fox after all. He shouldn't put so much trust in her to stick to her word.
"Deal." She said firmly, taking her hand away from her boot. Levi nodded.
"So, what's the plan?" He asked.
"Talk to the kids, find out what they know. There's a lead that sounds promising to me, just depends on if they can remember it." Dilan mumbled the last bit under her breath in thought.
"The tattoo." He said and Dilan nodded in confirmation. "Let's go then brat." He added and walked past her, opening the door. Dilan glared at him but followed anyway, coming inside the house. It was small and modest but nicely decorated and Dilan always felt comfortable when she was in here. She looked down at the 10 children Callie had gathered in the lounging area and blinked as they looked up at her.
"DILAN!" Johnny yelled in delight and ran up to her, hugging her legs tightly. Dilan chuckled and ruffled his hair as the rest of the gang gasped and yelled her name too running up to her. She couldn't believe they still remembered her. It had been a long time.
"Hey bud. How are you doing?" She smiled, crouching down to Johnny's eyelevel, ignoring Levi for the moment who was looking at her with mild shock. Johnny's face saddened and he sniffed.
"N-not good. S-some bad men t-took Charlie." He sobbed and Dilan was pretty sure her heart broke as the other children looked close to crying too. Dilan remembered Jonny and Charlie were best friends the last time she was here. She sighed and pulled the teary boy into a gentle hug.
"Shh, it's okay bud. I'm going to do my best find all of them alright. But I need you kids help, you think you can be really strong and answer my questions?" She asked the kids with a smile and their faces brightened.
"Yes Dilan!" They replied happily. She chuckled and picked the boy up as he refused to let go of her. They were only 6-8-year olds. They weren't meant for such a harsh world. Dilan sat down on the sofa and pat Johnny's back while he calmed down. The rest of the children gathered around her eagerly. She smiled at them.
"Okay, good. Now while Miss Callie goes and write me down a list of everyone that was taken-" She paused to look up at Callie and she nodded, going into the kitchen to write the list. "You guys are going to be super helpful and answer my questions. Now only answer honestly, okay?" She said kindly and the kids nodded. She smiled in approval. "Miss Callie thinks she saw the bad men with a tattoo, which is like a drawing on skin. Can you put your hand up for me if you think you saw a tattoo as well?" She asked and about 7 of the children put their hands up. She looked over to Levi and he nodded. It was good odds. "Cals, can you bring a few sheets of paper out here?" She asked.
"Yeah, one sec." She replied and Dilan refocused on the kids.
"So. Did anyone see any of the men's faces?" She asked. The children shook their heads.
"T-they had masks o-on." Missy replied, tearing up a bit. Dilan pat her head for reassurance, and she calmed down.
"Right. Thanks, Mis. Were these men in matching outfits?" She asked. some of them nodded while the others looked unsure. "It's okay if you don't know. If you don't know just don't answer, okay?" She smiled and the unsure ones nodded happily. Now for the million-dollar question. "I know it must have been scary but try to think back. Did any of you see where the bad men took your friends?" She asked carefully. The children looked upset and no one answered for a minute. Dilan was about to ask them again when she felt a tug on her pant leg and looked down into the big eyes of Amber.
"Johnny saw where they went." She whispered. Dilan smiled gratefully before trying to get Johnny's attention.
"Hey bud. How are you doing?" She asked, rubbing his back. Johnny hugged her tighter and all she received was a sniff in response. She sighed. "Johnny, I know it must be scary, but I can't get Charlie back if you don't tell me where they went." She said gently. Johnny sobbed a bit.
"B-but w-what if they get mad an-and come back! what if they take us t-too!?" He cried in an obvious panic and some of the others started to freak out too. Dilan pulled the kid back to wipe the tears off of his face.
"I won't let that happen. I'll keep your safe okay. You trust me, right?" She smiled and Johnny nodded, his lip quivering slightly. "Then you'll trust that I'll keep you safe. So, can you be a really big boy for me and tell me where they went?" She asked hopefully. Johnny took a moment but nodded again.
"I-I ran out onto the street after and I-I saw them running towards the market." He replied quietly. Dilan sighed in relief. It was a lead. Some of the venders at the market would have been packing up at that time. They might have seen something.
"Good boy, you were very brave." She smiled and Johnny smiled back looking a little more relieved. Callie came back and passed her the sheets of paper as well as the list of names. Dilan saw her give a nervous glance to Levi.
"Dilan, who is that?" She whispered. Dilan gave a glance in Levi's direction.
"Oh him? That's just Levi. Grumpy but harmless." She shrugged with a smile, getting a dangerous glare from the man as a few of the children giggled. She smirked in amusement and started passing the sheets out to the children. "Okay guys. Now try to think back. Can you do me a massive favour and draw the symbol you saw on the bad men?" She asked, passing a sheet to Johnny too as he slid off her lap and joined the others on the floor. They nodded and Callie passed them a pen each.
"Brat, this isn't going to work." Levi hissed quietly as the children started drawing. Dilan rolled her eyes at him.
"It doesn't need to work. I just need to see what they remember." She replied and Levi gave her a curious look.
"Done!" One of them said happily and gave her the paper. She bit back her smile at the unicorn as Levi gave her a deadpan look.
"Don't give me that look, I didn't think all of them were going to be useful." She replied quietly as the other started finishing them too. Dilan collected the sheets and flicked through them. The amount of horses and ponies and unicorns were astounding.
"See. I told you, this is a waste of time. let's follow the market lead." Levi said gruffly, tapping his foot impatiently. Dilan ignored him.
"Callie, do all of them have some sort of weird obsession with horses?" She asked, getting a gut feeling. Callie blinked at her.
"Dilan these are children from the underground. Half of them don't even know what a horse looks like." She pointed out and Dilan's eyes widened a fraction. It was true after all. She didn't find out about horses' appearances and other animals until she was 12 and her brother found her a book about the surface. Sharing a look from Levi showed he had realised the same thing. Dilan looked through the pictures again, pausing at one of them.
Where had she seen that before...? Suddenly Levi snatched the page out of her hand and looked at it.
"Oi." She protested but Levi ignored her.
"I know the gang, let's go." He said simply after a moment and left the house without another word. Dilan rolled her eyes at his terrible manners and turned back to the kids.
"You did really well guys. I promise I will do my best to bring your friends back. Look after miss Callie for me, yeah?" She smiled and the kids smiled back, nodding eagerly and hugging her round the legs. She patted a few of their heads as a goodbye and smiled reassuringly at Callie before exiting the house and shutting the door behind her. She raked a hand through her hair and sighed. She hoped she could actually get these kids friends back.
"Shouldn't have promised them." Levi commented from beside her. Dilan gave him a half assed glare.
"You don't think I know that, asshole?" She snapped. Levi shrugged. "Let's go. Tell me what you know on the way."
