Chapter 2: Finding One's Nature

A/N: thanks to everyone who read the first chapter/prologue of this strange story of mine. It really means a lot to me! I only hope that my story can grip any of you as much as RedCoaster's; Rogue gripped me. To be honest, it was stories like theirs that inspired this one. (kinda hope they have a gander at this story to be honest but Shhhhh!) And I also wanted to write a story that focused on a titan protagonist that wasn't Eren. Hopefully you like the confused pussycat of a titan.

By the by; if you come across any speech marked in BOLD; then chances are it was written phonetically, so if you don't fully understand what has been written, try sounding out the words the way they've been written, it might help!

He felt good, really good. Wait, not good; strong.

He had finally moved!

But he couldn't lose himself in thoughts just yet, not with the terrified woman in his palm, most likely fearing her untimely death. And he realised that his visage must have been utterly horrifying, his manic grin, slit eyes and wild red hair would most likely cause many a brave person to soil themselves. That's when he noticed the sad truth about the woman, her legs; they were mangled beyond recognition, whatever had crushed her lower half, must have been heavy, add to that the ungentle way the monster had just grabbed her. It was lucky she was even alive in all honesty. And she was… because of him!

He had saved her, and he had liked it very much.

But he could ponder later. Knowing she had no way to escape on her own, his mind recalled the trio that were simply watching him; jaws agape. But there was something hidden behind the eyes of the small male, behind the sheer terror and shock, it was barely there, but he could see it clear as day.

Hope.

By saving this female, he had given the small male hope.

And he would cherish that forever.

He rushed over to the trio, ignoring the larger males terrified scream and slowly, lowered himself onto his knees, he'd have to act quickly, this place was far too dangerous for them. He gently lowered his palm to the ground, presenting the female to the trio, this in itself caused their minds to practically explode, and if they weren't in such a dangerous situation, he'd have found it incredible amusing. He pointed at the larger male, taking note of his instinctual flinch, he then pointed to the injured female in his palm.

Scratch what he thought earlier; now their minds had exploded.

The male hesitated, he truly did, but he eventually released his grip onto the two little ones, and carefully inched his way to his open palm, the woman sitting on it, shaking, from what; fear, shock or pain, he could only guess all three at this point. He nodded his head, trying to encourage the man to hurry up, they certainly didn't have the time to mess around! That's when he felt it, the rumbling through the ground, the shaking of some of the loose buildings, another of his kind was near… very near. He almost didn't react it time, when one of his kin- one of the monsters barged out of a destroyed building, leaping towards the four small ones.

A strange one…

He didn't even hesitate, still kneeling, his free arm shot out like a bullet and ensnared the strange ones entire head in his palm, and not even given it a second glance, he squeezed. And with a sick satisfaction, he watched as the strange ones head popped like a balloon in his palm, spraying his entire hand with the red viscous liquid. He did make sure to stop most of it from splattering onto the small ones. And once he was sure the strange one wouldn't attack, he dropped it like trash, taking an extra second to rip the back of its neck out, killing it finally. With that out of the way, he looked back to the four small ones. The large male was looking at him with a mix of utter terror and confusion, as well as bit of gratefulness, the larger female held the same expression. But the little ones? They intrigued him the most. The female's eyes were 'silent' to him, of-course she was shocked, but he could see a sense of emptiness in those eyes of hers, and he didn't like it. Those were the eyes of someone who had seen horror like this before. And the male's were still hopeful, but now, they held an aura of awe around him, awe at what he just seen, awe at his mother being saved.

But they could all gasp later, he grunted at the larger male, gesturing to the woman yet again. And this time he didn't dally, hopping onto his palm, he carefully lifted the woman up.

"C'mon Carla, we need to get out of here. I'll carry you!" He hoisted the injured woman carefully into a bridal position and hopped back onto the ground. "We gotta hurry to the gate!" He motioned towards the large oppressive wall that was on the other side of the large town. He noted that is was the exact opposite wall of where his kind had broken in. He just hoped this other 'wall' was a bit sturdier than the last. It was at this point the woman spoke up; "how're we going to make it to there!? They'll be too many titans!" He almost huffed at that statement, it was almost like they had already forgotten about him. He grunted to reclaim their attentions, his eyes softening at the brief shivers of what he assumed fear run down all their spines. However, the young male gathered his courage and spoke up; "will… will you help us?" He tilted his head at the question, wasn't that what he was already doing? Did they think he would simply abandon them so soon after saving them?

From the look of almost outright pleading from the young male, it seemed so. Were little ones so deathly afraid of his kind that they would not trust him to help after showing his own hatred to his kin? He'd have to rectify that.

He glances up, peering over all of the rooftops, spotting many of his kind ambling about, some mindlessly slaughtering the little ones, and he internally weeped for their suffering, but he had his own little ones to worry about. He spotted where the supposed 'gate' would be, guarded by many of the little ones in the same piece of clothing as the large male carrying the female. Was it a kind of symbol? Are they the warriors for the little ones? Considering that before he arrived, the little one with him was running away, he didn't hold out much hope for their combatual ability. He looked back at his little ones, he'd have to be extra careful, but he could do it- he would do it, he'd keep them safe. He'd save them. Pushing himself to his feet, he stands at his glorious 15 meter height and points at the little ones, and than points to him, before waving over his shoulder in a come hither motion. The small female, who up until had been silent spoke; "you want us to follow you?" He stalled for a moment; he liked her voice, it was somehow cold to the world but at the same time; kind to him. However, he nodded in acquiescence and carefully stepped over the four, heading towards the gate, making sure to keep a pace that the little ones could keep up with, it'd be problematic if he got too far ahead after all.

His senses were ablaze, eyes scanning for any possible dangers to his little ones, most of his kind were currently occupied with the more 'vocal' little ones, and he so desperately wished he could help them, but it'd leave his ones at too much risk. So he closed his soul to their screams, to their terror, and continued onwards, determined to bring hope to his little ones. A putrid scent attacked his nostril, the scent of his kind. He sniffed…

Four... That could be an issue…

He glanced back over his shoulder, seeing the four little ones on his trail, their eyes constantly shifting from him and to their surroundings, he could hear them speaking, but could not make out what they were actually saying. And in this moment, he was distracted for only a second, but a second was all they needed.

"LOOK OUT!" shouted the little male, pointing over his shoulder. And he felt it before he saw it. Felt the sharp teeth tear into his right arm, their bony fingers grasp at his hand and forearm,, desperately trying to rip his limb from his body. He roared and brought his over fist straight onto the top of its skull, creating a sickening crack through the air as the titans skull caved inward, but it did not let go.

So he struck again; harder.

Or he would have, if not for the strange one of his kind that leapt at his free arm and did the same as the other titan. Essentially immobilising his arms for the moment. That's when the remaining two he had smelled came from around the corner of a destroyed building and head towards him as well. He growled as he felt his flesh from his arms get ripped off, how dare his kind now attack him! They had never done so before… could it be because he no longer watched, now that he acted he was no longer one of them?

Questions for another time, the last two were almost upon him. And he struggled to tear the foul creatures away from his arms.

That's when he saw the small pebble fly through the air and smack one of the new two in the face, stalling it for a second before continuing onwards… past his struggling form, followed by the second one. He managed to crane his neck to see that the small male had thrown the pebble to protect him. And all he could do was stand here; incapacitated, forced to watch at his little ones were torn to shreds by those monsters.

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HIM!" the little one shouted, before being pulled back by the little female, her arms wrapped firmly around his waist protectively, and she looked at him, looked him straight in the eyes and her cold eyes spoke a thousand words.

They were thanking him, thanking him for saving them before, and now they were pleading, pleading for him to move, to save them yet again, to not let their hope vanish into the screaming air. And he felt anger, oh how he felt it, it coursed through his entire form, how very dare they just walk past him, he was his little ones protector he had internally promised to save them; to protect them, and these… these bastards were going to try and kill them?

No…

Uncaring for his right arm, he pulled away from it hard. And was greeted with the feeling of flesh coming loose from his shoulder, but he persisted through the agony and with a final heave, tore his entire arm from his shoulder, the bastard could have it! And he didn't waste a single moment, with only the weight of one titan snacking on his left arm, he moved once again. Tensing his entire arm, he pivoted to the shambling two, arms outstretched to eat his little ones. And he swung his arm with all the strength in it, Titan attached and all, and when he felt his remaining arm tear from his shoulder and fly straight for the other two, he smirked and sprinted after his sailing arm.

His arm, titan still attached smashed right into the pair, knocking them down, leaving three titans sprawled on the cold ground. And he was there in seconds, raising his leg and bringing it straight down onto each of their necks viciously. Taking a great amount of satisfaction when he felt his foot eviscerating their napes. But he wasn't finished, he had not forgotten about the fourth one, who was happily munching on his discarded arm. He charged towards him, manoeuvring around his dumb form, and opened his maw, sharp teeth bared. And he bit right through the monsters neck, tearing it to shreds. He immediately spit it out once he felt blood reach his tongue.

His kind tasted terrible it seemed. And once he witnessed the fourth one crumple to the ground, he raised his head to the sky and roared, he roared a warning too all his kind to not fuck with him or the little ones if he was near.

With the humans...

"H-Holy shit…" sputtered Hannes, his fingers gripping Carla ever a bit firmer at the display that just occured. The bizarre titan had just torn its own arms off to save them.

What the fuck is happening right now!? Is that an aberrant? Or something entirely different.. Like the red one?

"He killed them…" Mikasa spoke succinctly, simply stating the fact of what happened, her eyes almost softening at the roaring beast ahead of them, it had saved them yet again, even at the cost of its arms. Granted they were already beginning to regrow, the billowing steam originating from its stumps proving so, it being so hot and powerful, it was blowing the titans red long hair around his head..

Eren's reaction was much different than Mikasa's; "he's going to save us…" he stated it like a fact, no hesitation in his voice at all, and at that moment, with it's primal roar echoing over the screams of dying humans, the four believed it, even if just for a second.

With HIM…

He finished roaring, letting all the anger out of his system, and hurried back to his little ones, and sighed in relief at their safety, steam seeping from his mouth. He craned his head towards them, tilting it to the side ever so slightly. And the little female responded; "it's alright, we're okay…" he gave what accounted for a smile and was about to turn back around when unexpected question hit him; "are… are you okay!?" This came from the little male, and when his eyes connected with his he saw concern, and it filled him with such a feeling of gratefulness that he had to turn his face back around before they saw the droplets of water leaking from his eyes. He only nodded and gestured his head for them to follow. Arms now having their skeletal structure fully regrown. It hurt, but didn't deter him in the slightest to keep his little ones safe. They were close to the gate now, all they had to do now was turn the corner of a dilapidated building, and they would be on a straight path to the gate. This is where he stopped, almost chuckling when the brash little one bumped into his calf. "Why are we stopping?" he asked, speaking to him almost casually, it seemed he had really been accepted into the little ones good graces with his acts of saving them. He pointed towards them, and than at the gate, guarded by the little 'warriors'. He than pointed to himself and shook his head.

He wouldn't be able to join them, he'd be attacked on sight. The small male let out a cry of anger, stating stuff like; 'we'll tell them not to shoot' and 'you saved us, you're not like the rest' and he was truly grateful for the comments, but had to hurry. He had a very bad feeling right now and needed them to go on ahead already. He crouched down and puffed out a small amount of steam to garner their attention. He pointed at the gate again and huffed sternly, not accepted any more hold-ups. The little ones, to their credit, only marginally flinched at his harshness but moved around him, and around the corner, not before the two smaller ones stopped and turned to him.

"Thanks… for saving my mum…" and the small male followed after the larger male. The female stayed for a moment longer before stretching out her small hand, and his eyes widened before carefully, almost unsurely outstretched his regrown pinky finger, and before he knew it, his pinkie finger had been wrapped entirely by her incredibly fragile and small form. And what sounded like a choked sob of shock broke from his lips.

"Thank you…" was all she said before letting go, but not before tearing a small amount of the red object wrapped around her neck and quickly tying it around his pinky finger. And then she left, right behind her fellow little ones. And he was almost thankful, as now the water droplets were pouring from his eyes, at the simple gesture, she had trusted him enough to thank him in such a soul-enveloping way. And as his eyes scanned the small object wrapped tightly around his finger, he smiled so widely that his cheeks almost tore. And this just reaffirmed his decision to no longer watch was the right one.

He peeked around the corner to see his little ones get ushered through the gate, the smaller ones giving one last look in his direction.

THUMP, THUMP.

Those thundered steps alerted him, they were far too heavy for any of his kind, and the big red one was nowhere in sight. His eyes widened in fear when he realised whose steps they were.

Armoured…

It stomped around a building, on the straight path to the gates, it gazed at the gate for a moment before puffing out a small amount of steam and lowered its form into a charging position. And his heart thundered in his chest, if it did what he assumed he was trying to do… then...then…

It shot off, feet slamming against the hard ground, breaking it apart at every step. It was heading straight towards the gate.

If he… His mind shoots to the little ones he had just gotten to safety, if this monster than broke the gate, then his little ones would once again be in danger.

He would not allow it. He crouched low, and when the armoured one passed his vision, he attacked leaping from his crouched position, he let out a furious roar and smashed straight into the armoured one, pushing it into an adjacent building, knocking it off its feet in shock. He didn't hesitate, he reared his fist back and slammed it down onto the titans face and cried in horror at his arm snapping like a pathetic twig, but did manage to make out the small indent he made in the titans jaw. Ignoring his flailing arm, he reared his other arm back in defiance to the creature beneath him, it may break his arm, but it proved he could hurt the titan, that he could kill it! Roaring right in the stunned titans face, he felt his cheeks tear at the sheer power of his own roar, he tensed his unbroken arm, and slammed it down onto the same spot.

Blood exploded everywhere.

He watched in a mixture of shock and satisfaction as his arm practically exploded on contact at the force of the punch, but also that he had knocked the armoured ones jaw clean off.

Unfortunately, his triumph was short-lived as he suddenly found himself with a fist through his chest, and then another hand grasping at the opening, and very quickly he felt fear, and as he desperately tried to struggle free, he didn't feel what happened next, but heard. He heard his body get ripped clean in half, and then he was flying through the air, crashing into a building and ending up in a utter heap in rubble, unable to move from the sheer agony coursing through what was left of his body, his eyes able to see his discarded lower body being chucked to the ground. The armoured one paying no more heed to him, before continuing its charge to the gate. And all he could hope for was that he had stalled the monster long enough for his little ones to escape, and as he heard the screams of terror from the gate guards, his eyes drooped in exhaustion, unfortunately; the last thing he saw was the small red fabric wrapped tightly around his pinky on his broken arm and then; unconsciousness claimed his destroyed form.

Later…

Eyes blared open, senses exploding outwards, fully alert to his surroundings.

Destroyed buildings, the sun had long since set on this miserable day, and he was still situated 'snugly' within the rubble of the building he was thrown into. Although; if the wiggling of his toes told him anything, it was that he had fully regenerated his body from the rather severe damage he had suffered from the armoured one.

Armoured… how? Who? What?... THE GATE!

His form shot up, what was left of the dilapidated building he was on crumbling to the stone ground. His eyes searched for the gate hoping beyond hope that the little ones had managed to push back the armoured one. But what greeted his sight dashed any of those hopes. Where the gate once stood was a massive titan sized hole leading further into the little ones territory. And his shoulders fell in shame, he had failed the little ones, he had tried to defeat the armoured one and had failed; spectacularly. But… he couldn't allow himself to wallow in self-pity in a time like this, there could still be some survivors around this chaos. So, with his resolve strengthened, he pushed himself to his feet, stone path cracking underneath his sheer weight. He was back to full strength… which did confuse him somewhat, he could not have been unconscious for more than a few hours at most and had regenerated wounds that severe, he had seen many of his kin take days to fully regenerate from wounds like he had suffered. At least, the average members of his kin took that long. Mayhaps it was different for types such as him? However, he could ponder this later, it was getting closer to night-fall, and then he would become incredibly tired, he'd need to move now if he wanted any chance to find survivors.

His best bet would be to head through the destroyed gate, sadly, any humans still in this part of the little ones territory were more than likely eaten. It was a harsh truth.

And as he passed through the gate, he finally realised just how large the settlement of the little ones was. And with no clear direction to head to besides the other giant wall ahead far, far into the distance, he headed that way. Which had a massive forest between it and him. Hmm… that would be an ideal place to try to hide from my kind… with that thought, he moved onwards at a light jog, keeping his shortening time limit before night in the back of his mind.

Later…

He was now deep within the forest, unsure of how far he had travelled, it seemed he had underestimated the sheer size of the lush woodland. To add to that, he had not come across any little ones… well, living little ones at least. He had certainly come across many of the regurgitated 'balls' that his kind would throw up shortly after eating. He could barely even look at those disgusting things, but he had, and had found many a little one. And not wishing for their remains to be left in such a horrible state, he had taken the time to carefully extract each one from their rancid 'tombs', and buried as many as he could, leaving behind a makeshift marker as a mass gravestone for the fallen little ones. It wasn't much, but it was the best he could do sadly. And yet, he had yet to come across another of his kind, an incredibly surprising turnabout, of-course he could smell their stench on the wind, but had not 'seen' any. So, certainly it was time for his ears to pick something up.

He stopped dead, ears pricking to hear clearer, it was obviously his kind, but something was different. They were moving too quickly to be shambling for their next meal. Unless… His eyes narrow dangerously into slits.

Unless they had already found their next meal. With that horrifying thought, he sprinted off, legs pounding against the woodland dirt, he was close to them. He sped around a particular large tree, which was saying something considering that all the trees in this forest were much taller than him. And came upon one of the strangest sights he'd remember for the rest of his life.

There were around 8 of his kind gnawing at something, but it wasn't a little one, but another titan, a rather small titan, with arms longer than its short legs, and a vicious looking jaw. Something smacked him in the face, scratch that; the small titan had arms and legs. His kind were treating this strange looking titan like a little one, trying desperately to devour it. He was honestly tempted to simply carry on his way, not interested in saving his monstrous kind. But then his eyes caught the titan being eaten.

They were big, but they were not dumb and empty like his kind, no, they were wild and desperate, desperate to get away, to survive… to live, to be free. And just like when he saved the little ones, his body was moving before his mind fully caught up.

He reached the titan massacre within two bounds of his feet, his hand latched onto a broken tree branch which was sturdy enough to be used as a weapon, rearing his weapon arm back, he aimed for the only 15 metre present besides himself. It cut through the wind as he swung his arm with all his might, straight into the side of the titans head, the second the head went flying from its shoulders, he redirected the branch, flipping in his hands into a stabbing position, and brought right down through the top of a ten metre skull, the branch split through its skull like a hot knife on butter and turned the beast into a dead skewer. That was two already dealt with.

6 more…

But now, the remaining had noticed him, and some began to reach out to him, the small limbless titan unable to flee anyway. Having used up his weapon, he readied his fists, one of the titans stumbled forward, hoping to get a taste of his flesh, his eyes only narrowed further as he titled to the side and watched as the mindless monster stumbled right past, not before he grasped the back of its skull and rammed it right into a tree. A sickening crack broke through the forest, and without missing a beat, he shredded the titans nape with his teeth. And turned back in time to bring his knee into the jaw of a 8 metre, knocking its head clean off. One quick stomp to what remained of its nape and it was dead.

4 more…

Something grabbed his leg, he looked down to see a 5 metre gnawing at his kneecap. He simply swung his leg as hard as he could straight into a nearby tree, the sound of its entire form being crushed creating a disturbing squelch. The last one that had decided to turn from the limbless titan approached, uncaring of its kinds easy demise, nothing but the thought of its next meal in its empty mind. It was almost laughable… one quick dodge of its clumsy grab, and he had it within a vicious neck-crank, and with a mighty heave, its nape was torn asunder. He let the carcass plop to the ground, leaving the two remaining feasting monsters. The victim titan barely remaining now. Its eyes now closed in horrid acceptance of its fate.

Not if he had anything to say about it.

With the Limbless one…

Everything hurt, it just hurt. She felt as every piece of her flesh was torn away by their horrendous maws. She hated, sheabsolutely hated it. Not because she was being eaten, but because she had found it. Had found her sanity once again, and it was about to be ripped away from her… again. It wasn't fair, plain and simple. It seemed that once a Ymir, you were always destined to suffer horribly. Her eyes were closed now, she didn't want to see it, didn't want to see her last moments as she was swallowed whole. No, she'd keep the image of her sanity returning, of the sky having colour again. Of the feeling of wind blowing through her hair. She'd remember that before she was eaten.

Not the teeth…

However, as soon as her mind accepted her demise, the pain stopped, the sound of teeth tearing away flesh halted. In-fact, all the sounds together stopped, except for the calming sound of the tree's leaves whistling in the wind.

Was she dead? It'd explain the quietness, and she almost didn't want to open her eyes, if it was only to see their teeth. But… But maybe she wasn't dead? She had to at least take a look. So, she gathered as much of her courage as possible, prayed her limbs would regenerate as quick as possible if she was alive. And with a count of three, she snapped her eyes open. And what greeted her sight was both terrific and terrifying.

The two titans that were munching on her were being held by the back of their necks, by one of the most physically impressive titans she had ever seen. He had long red hair, splayed wildy all over his head, so long it reached over the front of his shoulders. His ocean blue eyes were full of emotions, anger the most prevalent (she hoped it was directed at the titans in his grasp rather than her). His arms were lean , yet incredibly defined, like a professional athletes, and to say as easily as possible, he had what basically amounted the toughest looking abs she had ever seen (titan or not). His legs were the same as the rest of his body, lean and yet defined perfectly. And his face, his face was just awe-inspiring, lining his mouth were dagger-like teeth, basically made for piercing flesh.

She had never been so hopeful and yet so terrified in her life. However, it seemed her terror was unfounded, as her 'saviour' simply clenched his hands and tore through the back of her attackers necks, killing them effortlessly. And when he dropped their corpses, her eyes caught sight of his hands. They were bonafide killing machines, they were long, with their nails sharpened to the absolute limit. Capable of both grasping things easily and slicing through flesh easily. A titan designed to hunt titans it seemed. And it was now staring straight into her eyes.

Fuck…

She wished her damn limbs were regrow quicker, but so much of her had been devoured, it would be lucky to be fully regenerated by the next morning, never-mind the next minute. He inched closer, his 15 metre form blocking her vision, she tried to get away, she really did, but all she managed to succeed in doing was fall harshly onto her back. This made this strange titan pause and stare at her, head tilted questioningly.

Is he… is he like me?

This question invaded her mind but before anything could be done about it, she felt worrying vibrations through the ground, and from the way the strange one's head perked up, glancing to and fro, so had he. Her heart dropped… more of them, and from the sounds of it… they're the quick ones…

And as she craned her neck to where the noise was coming from, fear filled her, as the sight of many of the monsters turned round the corner of a tree, sprinting wildy towards her. She was dead, so very dead. She almost wished she had been eaten before, at least then she had somewhat accepted her fate. Now? Now she didn't want to die…

She wanted to live. To have the chance to live for her damn self.

What happened next would forever be etched in her memory. The bizarre one that towered over, strode past her and planted himself between her would-be devourers and herself. Spread his feet equidistant from each other, hunched his shoulders, reared his head back, and roared.

Roared so loudly, she felt her ear-drums pop, blood seeping from them. But that wasn't what would stay with her, it the sight of the charging titans stopping. Not slowing down, as in dead stop, their usually blank visages shifting to something she had never even thought possible before.

Fear… they're scared of him…

His roar continued, and for a moment she thought she would end up permanently deaf, healing factor or not. But suddenly he stopped. And all that remained was a deathly silence as the bizarre one, her 'saviour'? Took a body shuddering breath. And without wasting another beat, he spun on his heel, crouched down, and she found herself held tightly to his chest as he pounded his feet against the forest floor, retreating from the horde.

A horde which for a few moments longer remained frozen, then resumed their demented charge. And all she could do as she was carried safely and warmly in this bizzare titans arms was slowly let her eyes droop close, sleep finally claiming her after her harrowing survival, her last thoughts about her confusing saviour.

Later…

He sprinted through the seemingly never-ending forest, not stopping for anything, still very aware of the horde of strange ones that pursued him. Him and the one he had saved, that word sent a bizarre feeling through him, it was the same feeling he got when he had saved his little ones. But how could that be? When the one he had saved was another of his own kind? Blue eyes glance down at the slowly; regenerating bundle in his arms, then again, from the couple of times their eyes had met showed a level of intelligence far above any of the 'average' of his kind. And once again, his body had acted before his mind had caught up, a dangerous habit he'd have to curb, especially since he now realised that there were titans such as he; intelligent ones. But even then, the ones he had come across could also become little ones, which brought up the obvious question; could he become a little one? Could the bundled titan in his arms become one? So many questions he didn't have answers to, it was so frustrating!

He rounded a tree, a found himself facing a large rocky wall, but about half-way up, just out of his reach was a large hole; a cave, more important, it was somewhere safe to lay low, and let the small titan heal its injuries. He wouldn't able to reach the opening by jumping, and spotting some outcroppings on the rocks, he quickly realised he'd have to climb.

Something he had never done before…

First time for everything…

Rushing forwards, he gently holstered the unconscious titan into his right arm and grasped the first hand-held, pushing off with his feet, he managed to scale up a few holds without major issue. That's when the chasing horde decided to arrive. Spiraling into the clearing, they easily spotted his assailing form, scrambling to him, hunger present throughout their very forms. He felt something bite into his heel, and a pained gasp broke from his throat. But he pushed on, shaking the little monster off and hefted his injured foot onto a higher hold, already feeling his flesh knitting back together. He was close now, one more hold and he'd be closer enough to pull himself into the cave. But a sudden weight crashing into his back jostles him wildly, so wildly that the injured titan in cradled in his arm slipped out of his grip. And so he moved yet again.

Spinning around, he slammed his back against the rock well as hard as he could, uncaring of the disquieting squishing noise that came from whatever had been on his back.

Whatever it had been; it was paste now.

And at the last possible second before the titan fell into the awaiting clutches of the horde, he kicked his foot out, sent a small apology to the unconscious one, and essentially kicked her back up to his reach. Snatching her out of the air and back into safety. And then he climbed the final hurdle into the cave, and as he hurried as deep into the cave as he could, he noticed the crushed rib cage that he had given it from kicking it, and at that moment he felt the overwhelming urge to protect this small titan overflow at an even larger rate.

At that moment, a promise was made in his mind; he would keep this titan safe at all costs. Reaching to a part of the cave that required him to crouch and then crawl, he gently placed his unaware charge onto the ground, his eyes looking over the titans regenerating limbs, steam rising from the wounds. He took note that with how dark it had gotten outside before he entered the trees, he summerised that night must have just fallen. Which meant soon enough, his energy would begin to leave him, as well as every other titan around. Which also meant a slower time regenerating.

Huffing at the days ordeals, he leans back, head scratching against the roof of the cave, legs sprawled out and finally allows a moment to himself just to simply breath. So much had happened to him in less than a whole day and it was finally unpacking in his mind.

He had stopped watching FINALLY!

He had killed his own kind, FINALLY!

He had saved little ones- his little ones. He raised his right hand, eyes softening at the fabric still tied around his little finger, and he felt one of those strange blobs of water trickle down his cheek.

But how? The sky-water cannot reach us here… It confused him, he had felt these strange blobs of water down his face multiple times since he had finally moved. It wasn't really a bad feeling, the water itself tasted salty when it reached his lips, but other than that they didn't irritate him, so why did he feel so many different emotions when they appeared?

Like right now; his chest felt light just remembering the small act of thanks the little female had given him. How her eyes had lit up when they had reached the gate, how she had not looked at him like he was a monster, but as a saviour! It…

It felt good.

He liked that.

He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts, he missed the open eyes staring at him in wonder.

With the Small Titan…

Where was she? It was dark, not so dark that she couldn't see, but dark enough to affect her vision. Her eyes scanned where she was; cold rocky floor? Arching rock walls and ceiling?

Am I in a cave? But how? Last thing I remember is being eaten and then… Her mind catches up, recalling what happened, her unlikely saviour. How he had swooped in like in those tales she remembered being read to resting children; not to her of-course, but stories she had overheard. A hero arriving just in time to save someone in danger. And the way he had saved her amazed her, the sheer brutality he had displayed when dealing with her devourers. The way he had stalled the oncoming horde. The way he had so bravely tucked her into his chest as he ran.

It was nice… it gave her hope. Something she had not felt in long, LONG time. Now that her mind recalled her saviour, she had to wonder what had happened after she passed out. She still felt her body regrowing, as well as a new injury, what suspiciously felt like multiple broken ribs, that or a crushed rib-cage; one or the other, she couldn't tell. Then she heard the shallow rumblings, and she inched her neck to see him; her saviour simply sitting across from her, eyes glistening as he stared at… what looked like a scarf to her eyes, that was wrapped around his pinky finger.

Where'd he get that from? And… is he… CRYING?

Her eyes were not deceiving her, as she watched big fat tears fall silently down his terrifying visage, it brought to question all she knew about titans at that very second. Or at least made this specific titan an even bigger mystery. However, he thoughts were interrupted as suddenly she felt a chill overcome her body, a familiar chill that accompanied the oncoming night. And she internally growled, she had hoped that regaining her mind would have gotten rid of this specific detriment. And because it had not, her body was beginning to lose heat, and thus her healing would stop and she'd be stuck as a limbless, defenceless piece of trash for the rest of the night. It was almost amusing; she couldn't even do being a titan right, she had even managed to fail at that. An involuntary choked sob escaped her titanic maw.

She froze.

I'm such a fucking idiot!

He was staring straight at her now, glisten in his eyes long gone, replaced with a determined aura. And before she knew it, she was being hoisted up yet again, and she tried to fight, but what could she do with no arms or legs? She couldn't even angle her jaw to bite him! What was he going to do to her now? Finish her off? Eat her himself? Would her new-found-hope be dashed yet again!?

No…

Her wild thoughts overcame her mind that she didn't know when she had been placed gently against his heat radiating chest, but she had. Nor did she know when he had positioned himself; curled around her, keeping her as warm as possible, as if he knew what the oncoming night would do to her healing. She couldn't understand it.

Is he keeping me warm?

It certainly seemed so, if her rapidly increasing body-heat had anything to say.

Here she was; armless, legless in the complete submission to this bizarre titan and he was being her fucking blanket?

What had the world come to?

But even though she found herself in perhaps the strangest situation ever. She couldn't help but try to snuggle closer to the welcoming warmth, eyes once again drooping shut due to the changing from day to night. Her last thought before drifting to sleep being;

Maybe the 'luck' of Ymir is finally wearing off?

And a fitful sleep claimed her, her first fitful sleep in sixty long years.

Later…

He felt her struggle at first, before accepting his embrace and succumbing to sleep, he let a small smile cross his lips, his shark-like teeth just jutting over his lips. They were safe for the moment. And he'd make sure. As he gave another look to the sleeping titan, he realised something, he liked the feeling or keeping someone safe, not just helping someone, but as he watched the titan snuggle deeper into his warm embrace, he wanted to keep doing stuff like this, keeping someone safe through the night, taking care of them.

He felt…

Protective? He believed the word was; overly protective. He imagined the titan being replaced with his little ones; the older female would be cusped gently in his palm, making sure her injuries didn't discomfort her, the older male would be sat against the same palm, keeping extra vigil over her, he would try to stay awake, but would also succumb to his body warmth and rest his weary eyes. The younger male would be plopped onto his head, digging into his long hair, finding the perfect resting spot within his wild hair. And when he would find it, he'd whisper something into his ear and he would silently chuckle.

And the younger female…

He would watch her as she tentatively plodded over to his free hand, the one with her gift wrapped around, she would quietly ask if she could get on, he would let her, unable to keep his amused smile of his face. She would step on, careful not put too much pressure on his palm (when he wouldn't be able to feel her weight anyway). And she would clasp his pinky finger, pull it over her tiny form, hug it tightly to her small chest and finally sleep. A small precious smile crawling onto her face.

And he would be happy, he'd be content, watching over his little ones, being their constant protector.

He 'saw' all of this, and all too soon, his little ones faded away, and he was back in reality, the smaller titan clutched to his chest. Rays of sunlight barely managing to peek this deeply into their cave.

And once again, he found himself wiping away blobs of water of his cheeks.

Why?

He held back the oncoming sob, that had all been a dream, the first dream he had ever had. He should have been leaping for joy at having his first ever 'dream'! But instead all he felt was a aching deep in his soul.

All too soon he realised why;

He had 'dreamed' something he would never have, and the realisation?

It had left him filled with a yearning for something he never knew he wanted.

What all those little ones had; something a titan could never have;

A family.

Suddenly he wasn't feeling so hopeful.

He wanted his little ones…

A groaning sound reminded him he wasn't by himself, and by the slightly shaking from the titan in his arms, he could tell she was awakening. And thanks to his overwhelming body heat, her regenerative abilities hadn't stalled through the night, as both her arms and legs had regrown smoothly. This was a relief to him, he hadn't been sure if his natural heat would've made a difference but it seemed it did.

He gently unlatched himself from the smaller titan, and stretched his body, preening almost like a cat at one point to get a crick out of his back. And by the time he had finished stretching, his eyes returned to the small titan, who was now sat against the opposite wall, eyes glued squarely on him. He soon realised the precarious situation he found himself in; secluded away in a tight cave for his 15 metre height, with his only company that being an obviously agile titan of around 3-4 metres, and he finally realised that perhaps a location best suited for the smaller titan in combat shouldn't have been where he picked to rest. He could only hope his generosity would not come back to bite him in the ass.

He raised his arms in 'surrender' showing the titan he meant no harm, and if his suspicions of this agile creature being intelligent were correct, he'd hope they'd be reasonable enough, not to attack their saviour. For the smaller titans part, their only visible reaction to his surrender was their big eyes widening ever so slightly.

Almost as if their suspicions of him had been confirmed.

Neither moved after that, for how long he didn't know. But eventually, ever so slowly, the smaller titan outstretched a tiny (in relation to his) hand. He glanced over for a moment before understanding gleamed in his eyes. And in the same manner the smaller one had, he outstretched his much larger hand (the one with the gift wrapped around). And ever so carefully grasped her hand, noting how strangely smooth its palm was. The smaller one looked at him in wonder for a few moments, so he did what came naturally to him; he smiled: widely, widley and happily. And for that moment, he forgot about he want for a family, and instead realised that even if he couldn't techinquely have a family, it didn't mean he could not have friends. He only wished there was a real way they could communicate to each other.

"Ihhmm… Yhmhir…"

And then the world decided to flip him on the head yet again.

He stared at her dumbly.

Wha-how?

Chapter 2 End

A/N: So, what'd y'all think? A lot more words than the first chapters, and hopefully, that's a well received thing, it's always difficult judging whether longer or shorter chapters are best suited for certain stories. And look at that! Chapter 1 was uploaded a week ago, which meant I kept to myself imposed plan of uploading once a week! And considering chapter 3 is already around 3000 words, it's looking like chapter three will be out next monday as well! Happy days!

I really hope you enjoyed this, please leave a comment of follow/favourite if you'd like more, it really helps!