A Different Path

Chapter Eleven: Waiting

   Levi made his way home, still covered in blood from his kills. 'I don't want her to see this,' he thought to himself. He was bloody all over.

Levi landed in front of the house, hoping Lilith wasn't near. He slowly opened the door,

"I'm back."

"Welcome ba- LEVI!" Isabel quickly threw a blanket over Lilith's head.

"Sorry, only way to get in the house." He wasn't sorry.

"Furlan, a warning woulda been nice." Isabel snarked at the idiot leaned against the wall.

"Like I woulda known, I wouldn't expect him to be so messy with it." Furlan said with a sigh and nervous smile.

"I had to be quick. Isabel, come with me." She followed Levi into the other room, gesturing to Furlan to stay with Lilith.

"Where the hell were you guys??" she asked with great concern.

"Something you should know, sellers are after Lilly." Only he used this nickname for her.

"What!?" Levi started to undress and continued to explain,

"I got a lead a few days ago about a certain place on the far end of the city, a place where sellers might be gathered. Furlan and I found it and went in. We found two guys, a high and a low, talking about a certain someone that's 'one of few,' left in the walls." He quoted while continuing to clean himself up. "At first I didn't think it was her, until they said the name of the guy I dealt with. They also were going on about a girl. It could only lead to one down here, and those guys had to have been with them by how irritated the higher ranked looked." Levi adjusted his cravat. When he looked up he noticed Isabel's glossy eyes, slowly filling with tears. An extremely rare sight.

"Oi, don't go cryin," Levi said while ruffling her crimson hair.

While looking down, she answered, her voice breaking,

"But, Lilith, what if-" She was stopped by an slight embrace from her comrade, he had pulled her head to his shoulder and spoke softly,

"I'm not gonna let that happen. We, aren't gonna let that happen." Levi held his worried comrade tighter, wrapping his free arm around her back. "She's too special."

Levi and the others grew very attached to the growing girl, too much to let such a thing happen. They could never live with themselves.

"Okay." Isabel answered as she begun to calm down. Levi let go and bopped her head with his hand. She let out a wince.

"Don't make me get all soft, it's gross." Isabel let out a small laugh while he continued,

"Come on, I miss my kid," He said, leaving the room with Isabel following.

. . .

"Levi, why you hiding?" Lilith asked, walking up to Levi.

"Sorry kiddo," he said as he knelt to her level, he put a hand on her head, "it's a secret."

"Why?"

"Because I said so."

"But why?"

"Because," Levi sighed, he knew exactly where this was going. This was Lilith's new game.

"But why because," Lilith continued to ask.

"Shush" Levi said, placing his hand right onto Lilith's face and covering it, making her let out an adorable giggle. This put a smile on Isabel and Furlan's faces. Levi let a small smirk creep onto his face.

Lilith stuck her tongue out and ticked Levi's hand, he flung his hand to his pants,

"Ew! Disgusting!" He dramatically said. He grabbed Lilith, picked her up and tickled her. She laughed hysterically, causing everyone to join in. He truly loved this girl.

. . .

It was getting late now, three of the four grew tired.

"Come on cutie, time for bed," Furlan said, he picked up Lilith and brought her to her room, then set her down to sleep. She was out once she hit the pillow, all that playing must have made her tired.

Furlan came back from the bedroom and sat on the couch with Levi, Isabel laid on the floor in front of them.

"So, nothing?" Isabel asked the others while keeping her eyes fixed on the ceiling.

"What?" Furlan asked, confused as to what she was talking about.

"You two go out, don't bother to tell me where you're going, find where the sellers are, think they're after Lilith, and what? That's it? No plan? No 'let's go kill em'?" She said in Levi's tone, her temper rising.

"I wanted to, but there was no way it would've worked. There's more of them than there are of us." Levi replied.

"When has that ever been a problem for us?" Isabel's temper continued to rise.

"Are you-" Levi was cut off by Furlan.

"We don't know what to do. It's only been a few hours." Furlan said, being careful to watch his tone with Isabel. She cracked, shooting herself to face the boys seated on the couch.

"That should be long enough! You guys know where they are, we should've already gone there and killed them! They're low-life sellers, they aren't gonna just stop because you killed off a few of them! They won't stop until they get what they want or they're dead! They-" Isabel was cut off by Levi pulling her ear.

"Keep your voice down dumbass, she's asleep. And calm down while you're at it. You're not the only one frustrated about this." He said. Isabel rubbed her, now red, ear.

She tried to calm herself, "So again, now what?" She asked with attitude, hoping she would get some sort of answer.

"We wait," Levi answered. This wasn't what she wanted to hear.

"Wait for what?" She and Furlan asked.

"We wait for them to make their next move. We'll lay low for a while and see if they come to us. If not, we go to them."