Pretty Little Liar (Aruani Element Shifter AU) ✔️

Twenty Two

(Three months later)

I jumped from a tree branch, the sounds of the men drawing closer.

With the cloak hiding my face, I shot fast winds from my palms, into the direction they were coming from, then made a tornado form around my body.

I heard the horses first, then they all came into view. Before they could land a single shot at me, I faced my hands to the floor, sending currents that pushed me up. I grabbed a branch, pulled myself up, and vanished from their sight.

I joined Eren in a nearby tree, watching Reiner dodge all the attacks, forming rock walls and making the earth shake, without so much as raising a finger. Effortlessly, he ran, unrecognizable under his cloak, hitting a few of the Military members, then disappearing into the earth.

Then, Bertholdt appeared, sending powerful shots of water thin air, then using an incredible trick from the book - turning into water, and moving violently into a group of people. This new trick had now put him from a grade five to a powerful six, with Reiner. I was on a four, while Eren was now on a five.

I nodded at Eren, who then jumped down and made rocks from the ground shoot towards somebody, forcing them to the ground with pain.

I jumped down, and sent as much power as I could to ripple out of my hands. I could make the air move, and made it circulate around the group of military members, then shoot straight through the middle of them, forcing a majority of them to fly off of their horses.

I heard Reiner's impressed chuckle, and mentally thanked Ymir and her constant yelling. Then, I repeated what I did before, and landed back on a tree branch, watching Reiner and Bertholdt fight the men face to face underneath me.

By now, none were left on their horses, and guns were pulled out. They aimed at the two of them, only to have them knocked out quickly by their attacks. Any bullets were only stopped quickly by Reiner's wall of bolders.

Reiner chuckled again. "Listen. Can't we work things out?"

I shook my head, Eren watching carefully.

"Monsters!" Somebody yelled. Another gunshot.

"That's not very nice," Reiner started, making the earth shake threateningly.

Then, as though we hadn't even been there, we teleported out of the place, and landed in the hills where we train. Ymir was sitting on a tree stump and Mike was scowling at us.

"What was it this time?"

"That second group. They've been injured pretty badly," Reiner grinned.

"Right. Well, no-one got hurt, so it's okay. I should have thought about them before sending you in there."

"Don't worry. They looked like they were on a patrol. I don't think they were ready to attack us properly. We helped them out by leaving to be honest."

Ymir smirked, then stood up and walked over to us.

"How was the Council today?"

"Team Levi are back in town. They're going to go looking around the forests tomorrow. They're sending more guards out to search the city tomorrow, so I wouldn't travel in a group, and the ten council members had a meeting today with the police over it I think."

"Okay. Thanks Ymir."

She nodded. "Armin?"

I looked up. "Yeah?"

She walked towards me. "D'you remember when you told me about that book and how you found it in the library?"

I blinked, surpised at such an unexpected question. "Yeah?"

"Well, I heard some people talking. People from the museum. They said that the book had been stolen, and they still can't find it."

"Thats what my mother said ages ago," I tried to remember. "But I definitely got it from... a friend."

Ymir didn't really care. She continued. "Anyway, my point is, the council members go to the museum for meetings. God knows why. I think it's more private. There's that big conferencing room at the back. What if we stirred things up and attacked the museum?" She grinned, once again pitching a reckless idea.

"No," was all Bertholdt and Mike had to say.

"Urgh, why not?" She almost yelled behind her, to them.

"It's too public. Come on. I don't want the whole world to know."

"Then hurry up and attack the council!"

"Maybe if you were better at getting information..."

Reiner and Ymir started engaging in a swearing fight. Eren tapped my shoulder, and gestured towards the bottom of the mountain, by the stream, where we spent most of our time.

He had something on his mind, and it was obvious. No prompting needed from me, he started.

"You know, I don't know how effective this fighting in the forest is."

"No?"

"Like, we hide and train, then occasionally go into the forest for a little brawl between the Council's men."

"I know. I really just want to know what's going on inside."

"There's something happening in there. Someone. Out of nowhere this new Council just decide to turn on the tiny population of us. I just want to know why, you know? Why my parents were killed, why Mike's wife was killed, why Mike was experimented on. I just want to find this all out."

"I hear you," I sighed.

Eren frowned, looking out over the river, then leaned back, taking a deep breath into the autumn breeze.

"I'm sorry about all of this."

That was unexpected. I looked at him.

"What? You don't have to be sorry..."

"You know. I'm sorry this happened to you. You had plans, a family, friends. A life. It was all taken away from you."

A few months ago, that line would have left a lump in my throat, but not now. I nodded. Eren was the most normal shifter I knew. It was hard sometimes to see him as one. I think he was just a boy, trying to fit in in a world that he doesn't understand, left alone by his parents, forced to live with Mike, who's backstory was just as bad as his.

"We'll get through this," is all I said, as I fondled the swallow, the lock and the key in my fingers.