AURORA
"I'm sorry captain I don't know how I -" Eren broke off in a gasp, his face turned white as a sheet and turning around slowly, I saw Eld, Oluo, Petra, Gunther, and Rian surrounding us with their blades drawn, eyes wide in terror.
Oh, fuck.
"The situation is complicated, now calm down." Levi dictated, but from the looks on all their faces, that wasn't happening anytime soon.
"Eren! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Eld raged, taking the lead for the opposition Eren now faced and meeting my brother's eyes, I felt my temper rise at the stupidity of the entire situation.
"Who are you pointing those at?" I demanded from Rian as I jumped back to the grass and drew my own blades. Rian faltered and hesitantly took a step back at the look of fury on my face. Just when I thought we were getting somewhere; he pulls this shit.
Rian, don't do this.
"No one gave you permission to transform!" Eld screeched, and I took a step towards him to draw his attention to me instead of Eren and faltering in his stance, Eld lifted his blade to me without realising to whom he was threatening.
"You gonna run me through Eld?" I asked, hands gripping my blades tightly "Worse have tried and look how that turned out for them."
"Aurora" Eren whined from behind me, his anxiety clearly rising at the dire situation we were in.
"Don't worry, they won't touch you" I reassured him, never once taking my eyes of the scouts surrounding us "Not while I'm here."
"Bold of you to presume you can take us all on" Oluo snarked, overconfident in himself. Any average person wouldn't stand a chance against them all but I wasn't an ordinary person, I had been trained by Rowan Sparhawke to eradicate my enemies mercilessly, I was trained not just in Titan slaying but in killing men too, and judging by the looks in Eld's and Petra's eyes they knew it too.
"Go on, underestimate me, that will be fun." I dared; my eyes wild with anger as they darted between them all and after assessing each of my opponents, I found my way back to Rian who was watching me with wide, alarmed eyes, his blades shaking in indecision.
Come on, Rian. You know what's right here.
"What the hell has gotten into you Eren!" Eld screamed as he took a determined step forward, eyes darting between Levi and me, the tension so thick now that a knife would have trouble cutting it.
"Leave it, the questions can come later. First, you need to persuade us that you're not hostile like your life depends on it." Gunther growled as he circled tactically around the rear, I couldn't get to him quickly if he chose to engage, my only hope lied in Levi who was closer, but would he attack his own team to save Eren?
"Take another step closer, and it won't be him being hostile you need to worry about" I threatened, trying to turn their focus to me again and failing miserably.
"So much as twitch an arm and I will lob your head clean off. This is the first and only warning you will receive; I can end you in a heartbeat do you understand?" Oluo stormed as he shook his blades in a flurry. Push comes to shove; he would be the easiest to take out, Petra next then Eld and Gunther. My eyes skirted over Rian again as I refuse to take him into account in my assault plan.
"And this is my last warning, back the fuck off!" I snarled as my temper finally reached its breaking point, sweat rolling down my neck as my body itched to act.
"Captain I need you to back away, your standing too close!" Petra begged as she looked to Levi with wide, fearful eyes.
"Right now, you're the ones that need to step away. Do it" Levi barked at his subordinate but Petra did not listen and took another step forward, her face full of disbelief.
"Why on earth-"
"Gut feeling." Levi cut her off. A movement to my right caught my eye, and I shifted my defensive stance to square off against Rian who had taken a bold step forward.
Don't make me do this.
"Aurora move now" Rian challenged, and I tilted my chin up in defiance. He of all people should know that I wasn't moving from this spot until I was sure Eren was safe.
"No"
"So, help me. I will drag you out the way if I have to, now move," he swore, but something in his eyes told me he was fighting a battle within himself and suddenly the words uncle Alert said to us the day we left for training rang in my ears.
"Do you remember Shiganshina?" I insisted as I sheathed one blade and held my open hand out to him "How when the wall fell, and the Titans came pouring in, I was so afraid that I couldn't even move. Do you remember what you said to me?"
"Aurora..." Rian whispered as a single tear rolled down his cheek and I knew then that he was with me, he just needed to be reminded as to why.
"I need you with me, our family needs you. Don't go where I can't follow" I pleaded. Closing his eyes, Rian took in a deep breath before opening his eyes again, face determined and walking forward, he came over to my side, before turning around to face Gunther, blades raised and cutting of his advantage.
There you are.
"Rian?" Petra called out to him in disbelief as he blocked Gunther's path to Eren and pride soared through my veins, I had my brother back.
"You heard them. Back off." Rian ordered resolute in his decision.
"You've got to be kidding me! You can see this, right!" Oluo ranted as he gestured to Eren with his blade.
"Don't care. I said back off" Rian commanded, face hard as stone and I flinched at his tone as an image of Grandfather came to mind.
"We will kill him if he can't explain himself," Gunther promised, his eyes fixed on Eren.
"This is deadly serious. I'll do it I swear to god!" Eld swore, his eyes darting between Rian and me, clearly seeing the threat we presented. Taking a step forward, Eld feigned right to test my resolve and I moved to show him how deadly serious I was.
"AURORA NO!" Rian commanded, and I stopped in my tracks before I sent him a seething look. Rian shook his head as his eyes pleaded with me, no doubt, understanding precisely what I intended to do. We were going to have to engage if they got any closer to Eren; otherwise, he would have no escape.
Find a better solution Rian, or I'm taking them down.
"ALL OF YOU JUST STOP!" Eren's voiced boomed across us all and everyone, including myself, froze in shock. Casting my eyes back towards him, I saw Eren's eyes wide in panic as they darted between everyone surrounding him before landing on mine with desperation.
I'm sorry, Eren.
"EEEEEREEEEN!" Hange's catawalling caused us all to turn and watch as the Section commander came bounding out of the woodland, Moblit hot on her heels, with a deranged look on her face. Skidding to a halt in front of Eren's partial Titan, Hange jumped up and down on the spot like a kid in a candy store, eyes wide with wonder.
"I wanna touch the arm! I wanna touch the arm!" Hange begged dramatically "Pretty please with sugar on top! I want to touch this glorious thing!"
"I don't think that's such a good- wait no!" Eren panicked as Hange ignored him and touched her bare hands to the steaming Titan flesh and screamed.
"Oooow, son of a bitch! That mother is hot when there is no skin! This is the best day in the history of science!" Hange squealed so loudly I suspect the dogs in the nearest village heard her.
"You're a maniac, do you hear me!" Moblit shouted in distress, and I had to agree with him "A maniac!"
Crying out in frustration, Eren began to wriggle his arm around as Hange bombarded him with a million questions.
"Are you ignoring me! Don't try anything stupid!" Oluo shrieked as he took a step towards Eren and acting without thought, I moved and used my left arm to redirect his blade away before throwing my free fist forward and punching Oluo in the throat. Kicking his legs out from under him, I watched him to fall to grass coughing as I kept my body in a defensive stance, closing the gap I left open to Eren, my eyes on Eld daring him to try me.
"AHHHH!" Eren screamed suddenly and fearing Gunther had attacked, I spun on my heel to watch as he ripped his arm free from the half-formed Titan body and tumbled backwards towards the ground. Diving forward, I caught Eren in my arms and took the brunt of the impact as we both fell to the floor, grunting with his surprisingly heavy weight.
"I'm sorry, Captain" Eren whimpered from the confines of my arms. His body was burning so much so that I could feel the heat all the way through his uniform and brow drawn in worry, I glanced at Levi, who nodded once to let me know he understood.
"So, you feeling okay or what?" Levi asked watching Eren warily as the colour drained from his face and shot me a look of concern.
"Not....exactly...." Eren muttered weakly before his eyes rolled into the back of his head, passing out in my arms.
"Eren?!" I fretted as I shook him like a rag doll trying in vain to get him to open his eyes. A large hand clasped my shoulder, and I startled before I realised it was Rian who then gestured for me to let go and reluctantly releasing my hold on Eren, I watched sadly as Rian scooped his limp body up into his arms before walking with him to the horses, Hange and Levi at his rear.
Standing, I watched in mild horror as the partial titan body steamed and crackled as it disintegrated into nothingness knowing that we didn't have a single clue what we were doing.
We're stumbling around in the dark like infants, grasping at straws without knowing the consequences.
"Would you really have killed us if we refused to back down?" Eld asked softly as he came up beside me and sheathed his blades. Looking at the tall man, I saw the betrayal he felt at my actions and the lingering feelings of affection as his eyes locked onto mine.
Would I have killed them all?
"I don't know" I answered honestly, the words feeling dirty in my mouth.
***************
"Are you okay?" I asked for what must have been the hundredth time today as I escorted Eren back to his 'room'. He had been silent since we had left the meeting and no doubt it was playing on his mind.
The entire Levi squad with the addition of Hange and Rian has been present to hear Hange's hypothesis of Erens inability to transform. Turns out Eren needs a distinct goal in mind to transform, and can't just will it happen just because he feels like it. The act of picking up the spoon, coupled with his self-harm, had been what caused the partial transformation to occur, all in all meaning that what had happened had been a complete accident.
Of course, this had struck deep with the Levi squad who had threatened to kill him for something that wasn't his fault and I had to bite my tongue as I watched them justify themselves as to why they treated Eren like a monster. What had surprised me, however, was what the Levi squad then did in apology for their shitty behaviour. Every one of the Levi squad including Rian had sunk their teeth as deep as they could stomach before turning to Eren and praising him for his resilience. I had looked at Rian then and seen the adoration in his eyes as he began to finally understand what Eren had gone through and It gave me hope that even though things would never be the same again, they would on that front at least get better.
"Rian hates me" Eren sniffled making my heart drop as he pulled my thoughts back to him, sadly he now knew why Rian had been avoiding him since Trost, I couldn't shield him from it any longer.
"Rian doesn't hate you" I consoled as we turned into Eren's room/cell "He's just struggling with what this all means"
"He pointed his blade at me," Eren said dolefully as he sat down on his bed and stared at his now healed hands. Sighing, I took a seat next to him and placed my hand on his, though he didn't look up to meet my eyes.
"I know, but he came around, didn't he?" I encouraged because, at the end of the day, Rian did come around and stood with us. My brother may be wary of Eren and his Titan powers, but when it came down to the nitty-gritty, Rian stood where he always would, with his family.
With me.
"Because of you." Eren sulked, fixing his woeful teal eyes to mine as they began to fill with tears.
"Rian loves you Eren, he's just scared. Fear makes people do things they wouldn't normally do; it makes us our worst selves." I smiled sadly as I realised how true that statement was. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to have this much-needed talk with all us, Armin and Mikasa too, that way we would all know where we stood and could move forward as one.
"You didn't," Eren said accusingly, his brow furrowed in anger and turning my head sharply, I fixed Eren with an irate look. It was one thing to lament over Rian's actions but a different matter entirely to compare him to me. Rian was good and kind and afraid. It wasn't his fault that he acted that way, no more than it had been mine when I acted the way I had. We were both very different people, it had just taken all of this to happen for us to see how different.
"That's not fair" I argued before taking a deep breath to calm down. We had both had a trying day, Eren more so. It wouldn't be fair to lose my temper now, and frankly, I didn't have the energy.
Eren's face crumpled again as the tears began to fall from his eyes and I could tell he was trying to be strong but right here, he was safe with me and if he wanted to cry, then he damn well could.
"Rian will always look out for you even when he doesn't realise it, and I promise, no matter what happens that I will always be there for you. No matter what form you take, your still my Eren and I will always love you" I swore solemnly as I held his eyes in mine and lifting my hand to his face I cupped his cheek before leaning forward to place a kiss to his forehead.
A heart-breaking sob broke from Eren's chest as he flung his arms around me and buried his head into my chest, crying with everything he had.
"Ssssh it's alright, I've got you." I whispered into his hair as I clung to him tightly and allowed him to cry, afterall there was only so much a person could take before they caved, better here with me than out there where everyone would tear strips from him.
So much had happened to us since the last time I had held him like this on the night I had awoken after Shiganshina had fallen, our strength had been tested time and time again and each time a little bit more of the people we used to be was chipped away to the point where I wondered if Carla and Grisha would even recognise us anymore.
What has the world done to us?
Pulling us backwards to lay on the bed, I curled myself around Eren and began to gently sing to him as I stroked his back and lulled him, hopefully, into a peaceful dream.
LEVI
The soft singing of a woman's voice rang through the stone halls making my heart clench as memories of a time before Kenny, Farlan and Isabel slammed into my mind. Following the soothing melody without realising I was moving, I found myself in the corridor that housed one room, Eren's cell. There was only one woman in this entire castle that would down in Eren's room at this time of night, and the closer I got and listened to the soothing melody the more my heart ached.
Aurora.
"I'd a pluck a fair rose for my love
I'd a pluck a red rose blowin'
Love's in my heart, I'm tryin' so to prove
What your heart's knowin'
I'd a pluck a finger on a thorn
I'd a pluck a finger bleedin'
Red is my heart, wounded and forlorn
And your heart needin'
I'd a hold a finger to my tongue
I'd a hold a finger waitin'
My heart is sore until it's joined in song
With your heart matin.'
My heart is sore
Until it joined in song
With your heart matin'"
Aurora's lullaby ended, and I couldn't stop the tear that rolled down my face as I remembered a beautiful woman with long black hair and kind grey eyes singing that exact song, running her fingers through my tatty hair.
Mother.
It had been so long since I had thought about my mother in more than a simple passing, the memories being too painful to dwell on, but as the words of Aurora's song rang in my ears, her voice morphed into the velvet tones of my mother's and I pondered on the odds of Aurora singing the exact song my mother used to soothe me during the endless days of hunger to comfort Eren.
Fate has its mark on her as surely as it does on you, boy.
"Carla, Eren's mother, used to sing that to us when we were little, and then Aurora sang it to the kids." Rian said softly, startling me "They always did bring out the best in her"
He must have followed Aurora and Eren down here and judging by the look on his face, as he leaned against the corridor wall with tears streaming down his face, he was as affected by that song as I was. I wondered what is it that he sees when he hears that song?
Pushing off the wall, the tall man moved to stand and looked at me with a grave expression on his angular face.
"You're in love with my sister, and for better or worse I think she is in love with you." he said sadly as he turned to glance back at the only closed wooden door in the corridor. Joy filled my chest when I heard that he thought Aurora loved me only to darken as I realised what he had actually said.
"Worse?" I growled. Did he really think I was that bad for her? I only had to look at his face to know the answer to that.
"Aurora is full of life, and she burns brightly, she always has regardless of what has done to us over our short lives. Our Grandfather saw this and tried to twist something dark into our natures, and it appears to have worked on Aurora more than I thought it had, so much so that sometimes I barely see the girl I grew up with and it breaks my heart. You are like him, and I fear that you will snuff out the last of her light, taking away all that she is." Rian said, his pain filled eyes fixed on mine.
He's afraid I will take his sister from him, that I will corrupt her beyond recognition.
How many times had I mused about the darkness inside of her? How it called to my own but hearing it from Rian's perspective brought the memory of that night Aurora and I sat upon the rooftops talking about her Grandfather and I found that though the bastard was dead, I wanted to resurrect him and kill him again.
He used to say that if you wish to know peace girl, you must come to know pain. It was the first lesson he ever taught me.
"That is the last thing I want" I declared, and I meant it. Aurora deserved better than the abuse of her Grandfather to continue, and it wouldn't, not from me. I couldn't promise that this world wouldn't leave it's stain on her anymore that it already did but I could promise to make sure that it wasn't by my hands.
"I believe you" Rian sighed in relief, as he saw the vow in my eyes "Just Promise me one thing, that you will do right by my sister, no matter how ugly things get. If I've learnt anything these past five years is that I may not always be able to be there for her and I know she is more than capable of protecting herself, but whether she believes it or not, she does need someone to stand by her, even if it's just to love her."
That must have tasted bitter coming out of his mouth.
"Well, no pressure. I think I've already said what I would do to you if you fucked with her." Rian said with a humourless smile as he ran his hand through his messy strawberry blonde hair.
Ah, yes I had almost forgotten about his threat.
"Broken bones, right?" I drawled unamused.
"Seems like we've come to an understanding" Rian smiled sadly as he looked down the corridor one last time before taking his leave.