Good day everyone! I bring you chapter two of the newly revamped "Shadows", and genuinely hope you enjoy every moment of reading it as I have writing it. We get a little more into the depth of who and what Levi is, and a little more backstory on Eren himself. I'm incredibly proud of how well this re-write is turning out and am thrilled to share what is to come. For those of you not so well versed in French (I totally admit Jen was the one who wrote the French in ... I can't speak a full sentence of the language.), there will be a small guide down at the bottom.

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Chapter Two

Levi was still there when Eren woke the next morning. He had barely moved from his spot in the chair next to the bed, only having stretched out just far enough for his legs to rest against the foot of the bed. Levi had covered his legs with a blanket and had a book in his lap, one finger rested against a bookmarked spot, but his body was leaned against the back of the chair. His eyes were closed, and his chest did not rise and fall the way it should have been. Eren felt himself jolting completely awake at that and he sat instantly, reaching out to touch his arm. Levi's skin was ice cold and Eren shivered in response.

"Levi?" Eren prompted, patting Levi's arm lightly. Levi did not respond - he didn't even move - Eren's heart leaped into his chest in alarm. "Levi?!"

Something in Eren's voice must have finally stirred the other man, for he started and his eyes popped open. They looked around wildly before settling on Eren, his body simultaneously relaxing while his face took on a confused expression. "Eren? Quoi? What is wrong?"

"You were not breathing," Eren said, bluntly.

"Ah." Levi's legs moved from their position on Eren's bed to settle underneath his body, curling into the chair. "That … happens occasionally."

"It occasionally happens that you do not breathe?"

"Occasionally." Levi looked amused, as though he was privy to some kind of private joke only he knew. It annoyed Eren, for he was used to people sneering and laughing at him behind his back as though he were some kind of joke himself. He bristled, and found himself becoming defensive. Levi looked toward him and noticed his reaction, and his face softened a little.

"I am not making light of you, Eren." He said, softly. "I laugh because you are correct. I was not breathing … the reason being that I do not technically need to breathe."

Eren blinked, not entirely certain how to respond to that. "You do not have to breathe?"

The other man took a deep breath, running a hand over his face. "I wish I knew how to explain this to you without you instantly believing I am insane."

"Perhaps you could try and let me decide?" Eren suggested, sitting up further on the bed, letting out a small moan of discomfort as he did. He hadn't stood in almost four days and his body let him know its protests by straining his muscles and emitting small waves of pain. Levi's eyes instantly moved toward Eren, and his brow furrowed in concern. Eren raised his hand to stop him from moving. "Nothing is wrong." He assured Levi. "My muscles are just very tense."

"Do you need help standing?" Levi offered, holding his hand out.

Eren took his hand and allowed the other man to help him scoot toward the edge of the bed where he slowly began to stretch his muscles, feeling the tight and sore muscles give under the pressure of his movements. When he finally managed to loosen them up, he grabbed his pair of pants off the floor and pulled them on. He sat on the edge of the bed and stared Levi in the eyes. "Okay," Eren said. "We are going to have this conversation. You are not going to run from it, and you are not going to hide anything. You have been giving me riddles in the form of answers since I woke up and I think I deserve a straight answer. Please, Levi. I do not know why you saved me, or why I am even alive … but I do know it is because of you. I want to know why."

Levi was very still, meeting Eren's eyes before flicking them away to stare at the wall across the room, his eyes seeing something far away from either of them in that moment. "Eren," he started quietly, so soft Eren almost had to lean forward to hear him. "Do you believe in monsters?"

"Monsters?" Eren raised an eyebrow, now uncertain as to where this conversation was headed. He lifted one arm in a shrug, unsure of how to respond to Levi's question. "I believe there are monsters in this world, yes, but they mostly appear as humans. There is far too much violence and hurt in the world for monsters not to exist. The men who stabbed me were such."

Levi gave a soft laugh. "Très vrai , You are certainly right."

"Why do you ask? Do you believe you're a monster?"

"I know that I am."

Eren was unable to stop himself from rolling his eyes. "You're not a monster. A monster wouldn't go out of his way to save a dying man that he hardly knew. That alone gives you some kind of humanity."

"A monster can sometimes bring up what is left of their humanity," Levi spoke quietly still, his fingers moving nervously over the arm of the chair. Finally, his eyes moved back to meet Eren's. "However, we are not speaking of monsters that are human, but ones that most certainly are not. Ones that are more dangerous than you can ever imagine."

Eren was still as he thought out his answer, finding and choosing his words carefully. Levi was finally beginning to open up to him, but Eren was no fool. He knew the moment the other man felt as though he was treading on dangerous territory, he would shut as quickly as a clam. "I was taught stories as a small child, but so are most children. We are told stories of monsters who preyed on small children who disobeyed their parents, or were unruly. Mostly silly stories to scare a child into behaving correctly. My father, however … he never told us stories like that. He would tell us about patients he had that had been ripped apart. Ones who had no obvious wounds to their body but had been completely drained of blood. Those were the stories he told us, and those were the ones that scared us the most."

There was a growing tension in the room as Eren let out a deep breath. "To answer your question, Levi, no. As for actual monsters, I do not believe in them. I think there is a legend and reason behind every scary told throughout the ages, but I have never been given any solid proof they actually exist. That's what I would require, anyway."

"What kind of proof would you require?"

A strange question, Eren though, but not completely uncalled for. "I am not certain. How would you go about proving you're a monster?" He gave Levi a smile.

Levi did not give one in return. "There are ways. However, Mr. Jaeger, I will let you know one thing. You are wrong. You are very wrong."

"Wrong?"

"Monsters exist, Eren. They very much exist. There are things all around you, just outside your line of vision, that would terrifying you if you were made aware. You notice them, but your brain cannot quite comprehend what it is seeing. So you trick yourselves. You say it was just a shadow or a trick of the light. But I assure you, Eren. Monsters do exist, and you are near them constantly. We do exist, and we can harm you."

Sitting slightly in the shadows, Levi's eyes looked piercing and intense … and slightly terrifying. A shiver ran down Eren's spine at Levi's words and he felt his heartbeat flutter a little. "You are telling me you are a monster."

There was a slight pause before Levi answered. "Oui."

Eren swallowed, his throat feeling tight. He asked what he assumed would be the most logical question. "What are you?"

He did not expect Levi to answer right away. Eren was correct in his assumption that he would not, and he watched as Levi's eyes darted from his when to the ground, shuffling a little in his seat as though he were uncomfortable. The silence was only punctuated by the sound of Eren's breathing (Levi was either not breathing again, or his breaths were so shallow and quiet, they could not be heard in the silence of the room) and Levi's movements.

Finally, Levi spoke. "Vampyre."

Eren's heart skipped a beat. "A what?"

"Vampyre." Levi's voice was quiet as he spoke and his eyes returned to gazing at the floor.

There was no easy way to reply to this - how could someone reply to this? Eren stared at him with wide eyes, feeling his chest tighten slightly in fear. He did indeed know legends of vampyres - inhuman creatures who rose from their graves at night to feed on small children and unsuspecting prey. He had heard stories of people digging up graves to find the body in strange, inhuman positions or of people who drove stakes through the hearts of the dead to ensure they would remain that way.

In the back of his mind, Eren once again heard his father's stories of the patients he'd autopsied, whose bodies had been completely drained of blood without an obvious wound that could provide such blood loss. Still, Levi seemed nothing like the bloated, pale, blood dripping monsters he had heard about in whispers and read about in books.

Across from him, Levi seemed nervous. "Eren, please. Say something."

"Are you certain?" The question sounded as stupid aloud as it had in Eren's mind, but there was no way he could take it back now.

There was a light chuckle. "Oui, I am quite certain. Trust me, Eren, this was not something I chose or would have ever wanted for myself. I have been cursed, you see."

"Like by a witch?" Witches were common amongst children's stories as well - men and women (sometimes even children) burned alive or drowned for the mere suggestion they might be something unholy. These stories, his father took no part in. Grisha Jaeger had always found so-called "witchcraft" to be superstitious and ridiculous.

"Nothing like that. I meant that my soul is caused." There was a small pause. "That is if I even have one."

"Why would you not have a sou-"

He had not finished his sentence before Levi interrupted him. "Because I am a dark creature, Eren. God does not allow dark creatures within His presence, as we've all been taught for centuries. No, I am certain that when I was turned, my soul was ripped from me. In return for the bite, and in return for my own foolishness, I am doomed to live forever. I can never sleep. I can never die. I will watch every single person I know and love grow old and pass on without me. Worst of all, I have to kill to continue my existence." He took a deep breath, his hands fidgeting in his lap.

"You said you couldn't die … if you cannot die, why would you have to kill in order to survive?"

Levi looked uncomfortable now. "I would starve. Despite my current … state of being, I can still feel starvation, and I promise it is just as deeply unpleasant undead as it is while living. The longer I go without feeding, the worse I become. So many vampyre attacks we have seen are simply from those who have tried to cull that instinct inside of them until it became too strong. They simply became feral at that point, and caused more death and pain than they would have in the first place."

There was a small pause before Levi spoke again. "I did not want this, Eren. I honestly do not know who would want this. It is a miserable existence."

A heavy silence filled the air as Levi finished explaining. Eren's thoughts, feelings, and instincts were all over the place - all of them telling him to run far, far away. Levi continued burning a hole in the floor with his gaze and the two simply let the silence do the talking for them.

Eventually, Eren broke the silence. "You don't look like what I was warned about as a child. There is a distinct lack of bloated features or blood dripping from your body. I must say, I am a little disappointed."

A barking sound Eren could only describe as a laugh left Levi's mouth, and he tilted his head back and laughed hard. Eren joined him, unable to stop himself. It was an old habit of his, breaking the tension with humor, but it was one Eren found to be most effective.

"Non, we do not," Levi answered, a smile still on his face. "We look like humans, mostly, just paler. There are hundreds of us walking among you every day, but no one ever notices. My brother mentioned I smell different to him now, however. More … appealing than I used to, apparently."

"You said you could harm me."

"I could kill you before you even noticed what was going on."

"You won't." Of that, Eren was sure. "Why?"

"I can't. I am drawn to you … Only God knows why I imagine. I do not enjoy hurting people, Eren. I do my very best to avoid it at all costs."

"You mentioned a brother." There were so many questions filling Eren's head, he wasn't sure where to begin. He figured the best start would be to get to know Levi himself - as a living, sometimes breathing being - and not as the monster he was attempting to paint himself as. "Do you have any other family? Or did you lose them when … well, when this happened?"

"I have one older brother, Jean, who is nine years my elder. I also have two older sisters, Adeline and Rosette, who are eight years my elder. They are twins. Jean is married to a wonderful woman named Brielle. They are a wonderful pair. She is highborn - smart, funny, and incredibly quick-witted. It took Jean many months of attempting to win her hand before she finally gave him the time of day … once she did, they fell in love very quickly. I wanted to marry her myself when I was younger, but I do not think she would have been okay marrying a ten-year-old." Levi chuckled to himself. "They have two children, Michelle and Alexandre.

"Adeline is married to Henri and they have two children. Rosette is a widow." A dark look crossed over Levi's face at the mention of his late brother-in-law. "It is for the best. He beat her horribly during the time they were married. Had my family known … well, let's say we are not a family you want to become enemies with."

"Are you parents still alive?"

"They are. We moved from France ten years ago, not long after I changed."

France. Well, that explained Levi's accent and all of the French at least. "Why did you move? You mentioned your family was not someone to become enemies with … was it due to that, or the current unrest in France?" It was common knowledge France was on the verge of war, possibly with England itself, but was quickly becoming one of the more dangerous places to go. If Levi's family were highborn, there was a decent chance they too had been run out of their home by those who wished death upon the aristocrats.

"It was more the former than the latter … the family profession is hunting."

"Hunting?"

At this, Levi looked slightly uncomfortable. "Yes, they … hunt vampyres, actually. My father and brother are hunters, as well as both of my sister's husbands. My grandfather was, and his father before him. It is something we have always done. I was the only child who was not raised in the lifestyle. Mother wanted one child who she did not have to worry about being brutally murdered by some monster." He gave a sarcastic snort. "That worked well."

"Were you attacked?"

"Non," Levi said softly, his eyes distant. "I brought this upon myself." He stood then, moving across the room toward a small basket on the table. Eren hadn't noticed it there the night before - Levi must have brought it in while he was asleep. "You must be starving. Here, mon ami, mangez."

Inside was a variety of treats ranging from more cheeses, a loaf of bread, and a small helping of meat. Eren ate it ravenously, not realizing how hungry he truly was until the food was in his mouth. Levi watched him curiously, almost enviously, as he ate. "I miss food." He stated sadly.

"What happens if you were to eat regular food?" Eren asked, swallowing down his bites as he spoke.

"For one, it does not taste right. Meat in particular tastes … almost rancid now. If I were to consume it, the only thing that would happen is it would simply sit in my stomach. Since I do not have any sort of digestion anymore, there is nowhere for it to go." Levi made a face that was thoroughly disgusted. "I have to vomit to make it go away. I assure you, if it was unpleasant going down, it is certainly worse the other way."

Eren's stomach turned just slightly at the thought. "I can only imagine."

"I've gotten used to it over time. Trust me, solid food is in no way appealing. Liquids are a different story, however. I can drink as much as I like. I am quite fond of wines, especially red."

This spurned a conversation that lasted well into the morning, with both opening up to each other. Eren opened up about how inadequate he felt around his father, a brilliant doctor who had cured a small but rapidly growing illness in their small town before the move to London and was well known as respected. Even with his own studies and current apprenticeship under Grisha, Eren felt as though he could never measure up to what his father was. It was disappointing. It had to be disappointing to his father … and his wife.

"Are you positive they are actually disappointed?" Levi asked, swirling his wine around his glass for a moment before taking a small sip. "Or is that something you decided for them because you are disappointed in yourself?"

It was a question so simple, but one Eren had never thought of before. Grisha had never acted disappointed, and Antoinette had never actually said or even shown dissatisfaction with his career. "Perhaps … I am putting my own insecurities on them." He stared at Levi with wide eyes. "How did you know?"

Levi smiled. "I am something of an expert on the subject. When you are the youngest, very small, and unable to do the one thing our family was meant to do …" He gave a shrug. "You learn to live with the insecurity, n'est-ce pas?." He placed his glass on the table, reaching across to take Eren's as well. "You should get more rest, Eren. Tomorrow, we return you home."

'Hopefully to an empty house' Eren thought to himself. He could not even imagine how angry Antoinette would be if she'd discovered he had been missing for so long. Still, she said she would be gone all weekend …

"I don't want this to be over," Eren mumbled, settling into the bed and pulling the sheets tight around his body. Across the room, Levi made a small, almost sad noise which Eren translated as an agreement. Though determined to say more on the matter, he suddenly found the events of the past few days catching up with him and soon, sleep took his body.