Neatly packing any necessities into Zazel's saddle, Arden glanced around the castle grounds. Scouts were up an about, doing their morning training or furiously cleaning, as per Levi's orders.
She was currently on her way to the Scouts HQ in Trost, ready for the meeting with the greater demon: Drystan Daine. His request to meet intrigued her. The two parted ways almost 7 months ago on bad terms, yet he was still keeping tabs on her, sending spy's to watch her and her brother and formally requesting to meet.
There was also a part of her excited at the chance to feed. For the last 7 months, she would make sure to hold back on feeding for as long as possible. Even then, she would only drink enough blood to keep her surviving and never enough to actually quench her hunger. So she was starving.
Closing Zazel's satchel, she turned to her right to see Tobias walking out of the stables with a majestic silver horse. The silver perfectly matching his own striking silver hair.
With a shy smile, Tobias led the horse by its reigns and stopped next to Arden.
"Where are you off too?" Arden questioned curiously with a small smile.
"I-I'm going with you to HQ. Section Commander Hange is going to show me some of her research. I'd really love to see it." Tobias responded whilst trying to contain his excitement. His right hand was shyly rubbing up and down on his left arm.
Raising a brow at him, Arden questioned, "Are you sure that's a good idea? The last time Hange showed her research on the Titans to someone it was Eren. And he was exhausted for a few days."
"D-Dont worry about that." He shyly smiled, raising his hands and waving her off, "She promised to give me the condensed version so I'll be fine, I think."
"Hey, Tobias!" Hange called from across the courtyard, "Ride with me. And I can start telling you about my research on the way. There's so much I need to show you!" An almost terrifying glint of excitement shone in her eyes.
Tobias chuckled nervously before calling out to her, "Okay!"
Ruffling his hair, Arden mumbled, "Good luck with that one, Toby. I'll save you if you need me to."
"Thanks Arden." He gave her a small smile before walking over to Hange with his horse.
Taking a step back, Arden could feel a familiar presence behind her and instantly smirked. Turning around she came face to face with a stunning, pitch black horse with a long glossy mane. Sat on top with his usual blank expression, Levi stared down at Arden.
"Oh. Hi beautiful... And Levi too." Arden teased whilst stroking the stunning horse's head, who neighed in satisfaction.
"Tch. Come on, let's go. We need to get to HQ." Levi spoke, his tone no longer cold like how it was yesterday. After their little interaction last night, the two returned to normal. Sitting in a comfortable silence whilst making small talk every now and then. She was happy that he seemed to have returned to normal now.
"Yes, sir." She playfully mocked. Easily swinging herself up onto Zazel before the two rode side by side to HQ. Every now and then, Levi would find his eyes flickering to her hands, remembering how warm they felt when they held his.
~•~
Now walking through the halls of HQ, Hange whisked Tobias off to her office, overly energetic and ready to show him her extensive research on the Titans.
That just left Levi and Arden walking side by side with Eren trailing behind them. "Erwin wants to plan a schedule of training for him. So we can take him out somewhere secure and he can practice training his Titan abilities." Levi informed her when she asked why the two had came to HQ.
"Is that safe, sir? I mean, I don't want to hurt anyone." Eren worriedly asked, now interested in the conversation happening infront of him.
Levi glanced over his shoulder at the worried Titan shifter before speaking in a dead serious voice, "I'd kill you before you get the chance to."
Elbowing him in the side, Levi received a glare from Arden. He just looked at her blankly, "What?" He asked.
Sighing, she turned to face a shocked Eren, "Don't worry, you won't hurt anyone."
Eren was shocked that she had given him a small, reassuring smile. But he was also shocked that she had managed to elbow the Captain without a punishment, or being yelled at. If anyone else did that, they'd probably be bed ridden, or stuck cleaning and running laps until they were bed ridden.
A soldier appeared before them, saluting the three before talking. "Captain Levi, sir. Commander Erwin is ready for you and Eren Jeager in his office. Team leader Arden, ma'am--"
"Never call me that." Arden spoke sternly to the soldier, her blank eyes boring into his.
The soldiers calm demeanour faltered as he gulped at her expressionless yet intimidating face, "Y-yes, sir? Drystan Daine is waiting for you in the reception room. I am to escort you there, sir."
Arden hummed in satisfaction, she really did hate being called 'ma'am' or 'miss' or anything along those lines. Turning to face Levi and Eren she gave them a quick nod of her head before following after the Scout to go see Drystan.
Levi watched her as she left, her long raven hair bouncing down her back. Questions of why she was visiting the merchant famous for never getting caught for his illegal dealings swirling in his mind.
~•~
"Here we are, sir." The soldier saluted her before leaving Arden stood infront of a wooden door.
Behind the door, she could detect his familiar presence. Drystan Daine was a greater demon, that meant his aura was dark, powerful and overwhelming. A half breed like Arden should've been terrified, yet she's never felt fear once when in the man's presence.
Lazily opening the door, she calmly entered, her eyes immediately finding his vibrant green one's. His strawberry blonde hair was neatly combed, with not a single hair out of place. A delighted smirk graced his face as he saw her. The two held eye contact as she closed the door.
"Hm. My favourite half breed." He hummed in pleasure, his glasses almost sparkling as he eyed her. He didn't need glasses, they just helped him to blend in.
Arden folded her arms over her chest, "You only know two half breeds. And I thought my brother was your favourite?"
Drystan chuckled, taking slow, collected steps toward her. He smirked widely before gently grabbing her chin, leaning forward to talk to her, "Your adorable little brother doesn't visit me. So you'll be happy to know that I've set my sights on you." His tongue slowly dragged across his bottom lip as he eyed her hungrily.
She felt oddly relieved. She'd rather have him incessantly bugging her compared to Kain.
"But first things first..." He started, walking away from her to stand in the middle of the room. "As always, this room is spelled: none can hear our conversation and none can see inside. The spell will be broken if something opens the door which unfortunately, has no lock." He grumbled the last part in annoyance before glancing up to meet Arden's blank expression.
Another hum left his lips as his devilish smirk returned. Clapping his hands twice, a purple mist swirled around his hands, before gracefully gliding through the air. It twisted and turned through the space, floating down to the floor before spinning like a tornado. As if from thin air, a bound man materialised from the purple mist which retreated back to Drystans hands before being absorbed into his skin. "A peace offering. For our last misunderstanding."
Arden eyed him suspiciously, though her face didn't show it. A peace offering? Drystan doesn't do those. She thought as she took slow, cautious steps toward the bound man.
He was kneeled on the ground, a dazed, distant expression on his face as he stared off into nothing. His hands were bound in chains infront of him, resting limply on his lap. He must've been in a trance, one that made him unresponsive and easy to feed from.
Drystan never tore his eyes from her as she now stood infront of the human, looking down blankly at him.
"For free, ofcourse." His husky voice called out to her, "And with a corrupted soul. I remember how you don't wish to feed on the innocent. This little creature was caught after murdering two children. He had planned to sell them but, circumstances change." He finished vaguely, causing Arden to send him a slow, pointed look. "You're free to check if you like." He gestured elegantly with his hand down to the human.
Turning her attention back to the bound man, she gripped his throat, pulling him to his feet so he stood infront of her. Placing her fingertips on his chest above his heart, she could feel the dark energy pulsing from his soul. A corrupt soul. So he really had done something terrible, whether it was what Drystan had said or not, this man had still done something to corrupt his once innocent soul.
Drystan walked behind the man, taking a hold of his shoulders, his vibrant green eyes never once leaving hers. "Do you accept?" He questioned hungrily before bringing his mouth down to the humans neck. Long, sharp canines elongated from his mouth, sinking into the humans skin before pulling back out.
He hummed in satisfaction, dragging his tongue over his now blood soaked canines. Arden took a deep breath as the sickly sweet smell filled the air. Her throat clenched and immediately dried in hunger. Without wasting a second, she sunk her now long and pointed canines into the man's bleeding neck. A satisfied hum vibrated from within her as the warm, thick liquid ran down her throat. All her senses heightened, and the more she drank, the more satisfied she felt. It was euphoric.
Her eyes closed at the feeling of bliss as her teeth sunk further into the humans warm skin. She gripped onto the man's upper arms as he started to slip backwards, holding him in place as she continued to drink every drop of his blood.
Long, warm fingers began gliding across her left hand. She could feel as Drystan began seductively rubbing his thumb across her knuckles, playing with her fingers. But she was too absorbed in the delicious liquid she was drinking to pay him any mind.
A pleasured, animalistic growl sounded from her when no more blood came from the man's body. She had completely sucked him dry.
Releasing him, his body fell limply, lifeless. Drystan flicked his wrist and before the corpse could hit the ground, it was engulfed in a swirl of purple mist. When the mist cleared a second later, the body had vanished, almost like it had never even been there.
Drystan watched in delight as Arden lightly panted, her eyes closed and lips parted, perfectly displaying her blood stained teeth and sharp canines that rested on her bottom lip.
His eyes narrowed on the single drop of blood that trickled down her jaw, then down to her neck.
Taking a step forward, he bit his lip before grabbing her chin and tilting her head upwards. After a demon feeds, they fall into a trance like state for a few seconds, completely consumed by a euphoric feeling, a state that Arden was currently in. Taking advantage of this, he leaned down to her neck, kissing it before licking away the blood drop that had spilled down to her neck. He trailed his tongue slowly upwards to her jaw, licking away the blood. His tongue leaving a wet, warm trail behind it.
He had been able to glide his tongue up to the corner of her now bloodred lips and was just about to kiss them until Arden woke from her trance like state. She jerked her head back out of his reach, her hand grabbing a death like grip on his wrist, forcing him to break his hold on her chin.
Her blank, crimson eyes bore into his as he feigned upset. "Aw. You tease me too much, my dear." He said as he gazed down at her.
She released her harsh grip on his hand, turning away from him to sit on a chair a few feet from an unlit fireplace. "You expect too much." Came her stern reply as she poured herself a glass of water. Taking a sip, she swirled the liquid in her mouth, clearing away all the blood from her teeth and tongue before sitting back in the chair.
Drystan chuckled deeply from behind her, and she heard his slow, calm footsteps approach her until she could feel him stood directly behind her.
Arden never looked at him. Instead she kept her gaze focused ahead of her. Even when he picked up a strand of her silk like hair and began twirling it around his finger. He leaned down to her, whispering huskily and seductively in her ear, "Is it too much to expect the attention of a beautiful woman?"
With her strand of hair still in his hand, he circled around to her, stopping directly infront of her before letting the long raven lock go. His frame towered over her as she sat in the chair.
"It is when she's not interested in you." She boredly fired back.
Drystan placed a hand over his heart, "You wound me, my dear."
"I speak the the truth." She immediately fired back, her blood red eyes piercing coldly into his vibrant green one's. His heart jumped with excitement.
"I will now ask one thing of you." He started, folding his arms smugly over his chest.
She stared at him blankly, refusing to show him any emotion, "You said there was no cost." She accused.
"And I'm a man of my word." He chuckled before leaning down to her. His right hand resting on the arm of the chair as his left hand rested on the back of the chair, behind Arden's head. He was completely trapping her in. "This is just something I desire... I would like... to have a taste of your blood."
Arden was surprised. A demon drinking another demons blood is a very intimate and personal tradition amongst demons. It induces an aroused, trance like state and is usually only done between demonic lovers. Since a demon can only be killed by removing and consuming their soul, its impossible to completely drain a demons blood. Meaning the aroused trance like state lasts for a long period of time. There really was no other reason for a demon to drink another demons blood unless they wanted to be intimate.
So to think that Drystan wanted to do it to her was absurd.
"No. There really is no benefit in that for me." She immediately yet calmly fired back.
But Drystan didn't back down. He leant down closer to her, whispering huskily. Yet Arden remained completely unfazed by his shameless attempt to seduce her. "There are plenty of benefits in it for you, my dear. I can show a wondrous world full of excitement and pleasure, one that you'll never receive from anyone else. And if you become mine, I'll teach you how to properly control your abilities. You're strong for a halfbreed, Arden. Yet you haven't even tapped the surface of your power. With me by your side, I could make you truly powerful. None will be able to beat you and all will fear your strength. All it takes... is just a single drop of your blood."
He leaned in closer, his warm breath fanning across her cheeks. "I'd rather not." She whispered smugly at him.
Drystan chuckled before leaning in even closer, so their faces were now only two inches apart, "In due time, you will." He suddenly hummed in annoyance, but his vibrant green eyes stayed fixated on hers. "It seems we have a visitor." He stated sourly right before the door swung open. Yet even then, Drystan still stood leaned over the relaxed Arden, his face hovering only inches from hers as she glared coldly at him.
"What the hell is going on here?" An angered voice called out from the door. Arden didn't have to look to know who it was. She knew that voice, that presence.
Levi stood at the door, his steel grey eyes narrowed into a hard glare, his right hand gripping the door handle so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. Seeing this random man's face so close to Arden's as he stared at her hungrily, filled Levi with an unexplainable sense of anger. He'd felt anger before, but not like this.
"It seems our little meeting is over, my dear." Drystan said smugly before glancing over at the seething Levi. Drystans eyes lingered on his form, how he was still with anger, much like how he had seen Arden a few times. He wouldn't admit it, but the icy glare he received from Levi unsettled the greater demon.
"It would seem so." Arden stared as he finally leaned away from her and stepped back, allowing her to stand up. Once on her feet, she started walking towards the deathly silent Levi who was still staring daggers into Drystan.
"I'll see you soon, my dear." Drystan's smug voice called from behind her. She stopped. Her blood red eyes connected with Levi's steel grey ones for a second before she spun on her heels to face Drystan.
"Oh, and Drystan." She called sweetly. The greater demon smirked when the red eyed woman gently grabbed his hand and gazed into his eyes.
He seductively hummed in response as she softly stared at him, her fingers rubbing across the skin in his hand. "The next time you try to seduce me with that mouth of yours..." She gently bit her lip as she leaned forward slightly. Drystan smirked wider. Until she suddenly gripped his hand with so much force that the bones almost cracked under the pressure. Her expression quickly changed to a harsh, blank glare. Drystan visibly winced and had to press his lips into a thin line to suppress the pained yelp that almost escaped. His hand was burning under her strength, he'd never actually felt pain from another demon before, until now. Arden continued "...I'll tear your tongue from your throat and then force you to eat it."
An excited yet frightened shiver ran down his spine at her terrifyingly calm threat. She left him to squirm for a few seconds under her death like grip before finally releasing him.
After gaining his composure, he cleared his throat, "Ahem. Yes. I'll keep that in mind." He spoke through gritted teeth as his hand throbbed in immense pain.
Levi watched with a proud feeling as she swiftly walked away from Drystan and approached him. He smirked as she walked out the room before him, sending him a nod before she left. Levi glanced back at Drystan, the smirk instantly dropping and being replaced with a glare so deadly that the greater demon recoiled back in fright. It was the first time he had ever felt scared of a human.
Satisfied, Levi walked out of the room, following after Arden. She stood a few feet away from him as she had been waiting for him to leave the room. When she saw him, she began walking away. But a hand grabbing her wrist caught her attention.
Levi stood a little behind her as she turned around. His scowl immediately softening as she stared at him. Her blood red eyes captivated him, removing any anger he felt. "What was that?" He questioned.
She glanced down at his hand that was still holding her wrist, a peaceful aura surrounding them. "Nothing I couldn't handle." She replied softly as she glanced back up at him, a small smile on her soft expression.
Levi's face relaxed as he nodded his head at her. Walking away side by side, with his hand still gently wrapped around her warm wrist.
~•~
Okay so....
That was an oddly sexual chapter. I hope you felt just as uncomfortable reading that as I did writing it.