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It didn't take a genius to figure out that the natives of the town abandoned it after the giants attacked them. The town was in ruins, the buildings were destroyed, some were completely crushed. And with out maintenance the structures were falling apart and crumbling. Decaying limbs were found on random spots and big splashes of blood decorated the walls.
It was obvious that they could not use the town as a home base.
Their actual home base was done in two weeks.
The tree house, which they were all strangely proud of, was perched on the top of one of the tallest trees in the forest. The tree they chose was old and sturdy, with strong wide branches to support their house. It was hand picked by Gon himself.
It was also close to a little stream they could use.
The materials they used were taken from the abandoned town. They used the already processed timber they found in the town, the gathering and assembling was simple.
It didn't take them long to settle in the house they put together. Everything they needed was in the town and they didn't hesitate to take what they thought was necessary. Tools, utensils, furniture and even clothes were supplied from the abandoned town.
Gon and Killua took over hunting for food. Drinking water was from the well in the abandoned town as well. Alluka, not wanting to be a burden, made herself useful inside the house since she couldn't move around the surface with out the other two.
Alluka took over the chores around the tree house, the cleaning and preparing the food, she made it her purpose to do those chores perfectly and regularly. She even figured a better way to prepare the Anti-giant herbs.
The raven haired girl also took interest in the many books they found in the town, she made it her job to read them and rely the information to her brother and his friend. The books held vital information about the humans that lived in the town and the giants that they now call Titans. Her favorite books were the herbal books, she found herself being fascinated with the plant life around her.
Thanks to Alluka's research they found an easy way to kill the titans, they learned that the giants die if their napes receive great damage. Gon and Killua used to destroy everything above the neck before but now all they had to do was cut the nape. Injuring only one spot was a piece of cake for them.
They also learned that the humans live inside big walls to defend against the Titans. Although they couldn't see the humans or the walls, even if they wanted to.
Their lives were peaceful to an extent. The boys found it amusing and Alluka felt like she was living the adventure she fantasized her entire life about. They were enjoying their primitive life, hunting from the forest to eat, pulling water from a well to drink, bathing out in the wilderness. The could never get this kind of experience in their technologically advanced lives.
They were glad to an extent, it felt like they were on a vacation or as if they were playing a game.
Gon and Killua took over the hard work and of course they took care of the Titans if necessary. Maintenance of the house, mobilizing their stuff, gathering food and bringing water from the well all which they did on day.
Alluka even went as far as planting a small garden for wild vegetables and herbs after acquainting herself with the local vegetation thanks to her research.
At night they would all eat together and lounge around on their hammocks telling each other what they learned and achieved during the day. They would wake up early to see the sun rise from their balcony and then go their separate ways.
They loved their routine.
It was a lazy and a laid back life, compared to their original chaotic one. It was the break they needed from it. They were enjoying it, they were having fun.
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"Something is off." The pale haired boy said, landing next to his friend.
Gon nodded, cupping his ears to listen to the sounds that echoed around the woods," Yeah, the Titans are gathering north, why?" he inquired with a frown.
"May be they found humans?" Killua said making his friend nod again.
"Probably, let's go check it out, they might need some help." he said.
They took of to the direction the greenette relied. They were excited to see a human after twelve long months of only seeing Titans. They were eager and enthusiastic to meet a human after a year of living in the forest. They skipped and swung in a route that was almost overused, in a rush to see what the commotion was about.
"What the-"Killua stopped midsentence when his eyes fall on the sight in front of him.
Humans were flying around in the air with some kind of equipment as they fought with the Titans. The humans were flying around the forest in a fast pace, they swarmed the Titans like a mosquitoes swarming their host.
Sadly the Titans swatted them just as if they were actual insects, snatching them from mid air. Humans were dying and getting eaten left and right and the duo didn't know who to save.
"All soldiers retreat!" A strong voice yelled making the humans that were lucky enough to live abandon the Titans that they were fighting and making their way to their horses.
"Killua look!" Gon said pointing at a woman who was pulling a man out of a Titan's mouth just before he was swallowed.
"Wow." the greenette muttered watching as she anchored her equipment on a nearby tree to make her escape from the giant that was trying to eat her and her subordinate.
"Shit!" Killua muttered as the Titan grazed her equipment and brock it, making her spin out of control, dropping her subordinate in the process" Take care of the man." Killua ordered, bolting to catch the woman.
He made it just before the woman ended up slamming head first into a tree and breaking her neck. The titan reached out to catch it's prey, unfortunately for it Killua had already disappeared with the brown haired woman.
"Wha-" The pale haired boy cut the woman off by dumping a full vial of Alluka's anti-giant fluid on her head, which was basically the anti-giant plant boiled with water and lightened to make it easy to apply and use.
The brown haired woman gagged," What is this? It's so stinky?!" she whined childishly closing her eyes and trying to clear her glasses.
"Don't worry your nose will go numb after a moment and you won't be able to smell it." Killua said keeping an eye on the Titan that was following the woman's scent," The Titans won't smell you either."
The woman stared at the white haired boy," What?! Who-"
Killua's eyes widened as he clamped his hand around the woman's loud mouth and pulling her out of the way just as the Titan slapped down the tree they were hiding behind. The pale haired boy held his breath taking cover under a fallen tree trunk, hiding under it with the woman.
The woman kept squirming and fidgeting trying to escape from his iron grasp, she kept saying something which he couldn't hear because of his hand covering her loud mouth.
The pale haired boy snapped being fed up with her antics," Would you please shut up?! Or would you rather be Titan lunch!" he hissed." Those things have sensitive ears so please shut your damn mouth." he ordered.
The woman's brown eye widened behind her glasses but she reluctantly nodded in agreement. The pale haired boy kept his hold on her mouth just in case and waited until the Titan walked past them before he let go of her mouth.
She dramatically huffed out a breath, she was about to loudly introduce herself but stopped midsentence when her eyes fell on Killua's finger that was placed on his lip and the chilling glare he sent her.
She smiled awkwardly and settled for a wave instead, she tried to take a step back but let out a yelp in pain when she applied pressure on her foot.
"You have twisted your ankle, stop moving around." Killua ordered looking around the area for other Titans.
"It's only-"
"My sister can treat that for you, don't move around and make it worse." he said his voice cold and daring her to defy him.
"Your sist-"
"Hop on." he ordered, gesturing for her to ride on his back.
The woman only took a step back," I can-"
"Look," Killua said, exasperated," I went out of my way to save your life so I would appreciate it don't make things harder for me. I said 'Hop on' which means that I can handle it." he said.
Reluctantly and hesitantly the brown haired woman followed his order, climbing on his back. She was mind blown by the fact that he could indeed handle it. Killua wasted no time to jump on the closest branch, skillfully avoiding any Titan that crossed his path. The woman's eyes were opened wide in wonder, she was still recovering from the first shock.
Almost getting herself killed.
Meeting someone that wasn't a solider outside the walls.
It was shock after shock and her brain was trying to process it all.
"Is that a house?!" The woman harshly whispered, her eyes wide.
"No, it's a freaking elephant." Killua said rolling his eyes.
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I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter just as much as I enjoyed writing it!
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