Pretty Little Liar (Aruani Element Shifter AU) ✔️

Finale

(Armin)

"Wait, so you've been working with them?"

Ymir frowned while she drove. "Yeah. We were all sworn to secrecy, like your dad. I worked in communications, thinking of ways to ingratiate their abilities in the community."

"Like?"

"Well, like they all work in the council right now, playing a part somewhere, but they could be great assets to the community. The water shifters are great healers and a few of them are going to train to be nurses, and the earth shifters can use their powers for building, excavating and landscaping and stuff."

"It's really cool. How did you even get that job?"

Ymir raised her eyebrows. "Long story," she said, but didn't say anything else as we arrived at Christa's house.

We both got out of the car and I helped Ymir bring in her birthday presents. It had been a week since the news of the shifters had been broken to the world, and surprisingly nothing had changed. The shifters just lived among us, like normal people. They spent most of their time at the council though, and I never saw them.

Christa hugged us fondly when we arrived and we joined her in the garden with the rest of the group. Not many people had arrived yet, and the place was mostly full of Christa's friends from work and a few faces from high school who were all interested in speaking to me about university and about my parents in the council. We sang for Christa and stood around drinking in the heat of the late summer while Christa bounced around everyone.

The group of shifters Christa had invited from the council turned up later than everyone else, and Ymir and Christa went over to say hello while I carried on talking to one of Christa's workmates. It still felt surreal that they were actually real. I ignored that they were there until I heard Christa call my name.

"Hey, Armin!" Christa motioned her hand for me to move towards the new group, two earth shifters and two water shifters.

"This is Reiner and Bertholdt, and Eren and Mikasa," she said. "Mikasa just started working as a nurse at the hospital with us," she said. Mikasa smiled at me. I nodded at them then looked at the guy I met last week, Eren.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," I smiled, trying not to stare too much at his strange bright eyes.

There was something off about them, as if they were still uncomfortable with new people or something, as if there was something I was missing out on. They looked on-edge and nervous. Christa tried her best to make small talk and ingratiate them into the rest of the party, but the whole evening went by with them standing separately together, not really saying anything. Occasionally I'd look up and see Eren or Bertholdt looking at me.

I was sat down with Christa on a table covered in drinks when I saw Reiner walking over and tapping Ymir on the shoulder. They were looking over at us and I raised my eyebrow confusedly as Ymir got up and walked over to the rest of them, leading them into the house. Christa wasn't looking and just carried on talking to the group who sat around the table.

"Where are they going?" I asked.

"Probably just getting them some drinks and showing them the toilet," she said. I just shrugged it off and agreed.

As the night went on, the intrigue took over me. They had been gone for at least half an hour. Christa had moved to talk to some people at the bottom of the garden, so I slipped away into the house. They weren't in any of the rooms downstairs, but when I stopped to listen I could hear muffled conversations coming from behind the front door. They were in the drive in front of the house, talking in hushed but agitated voices.

I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I heard Ymir say "he should know," and Eren say something about "it being too complicated." They mentioned a "she" a lot. I didn't know what or who they were talking about, so I walked away and left them to carry on talking.

They came back soon after that, and Eren and Mikasa walked over and stood close to me, talking together.

When they stopped talking, I turned around to fill the gap.

"So, what's it like at the council right now?" I asked Eren, who nodded at me welcomely as I walked over. Ymir and Reiner were sat down and in deep conversation a few feet away while Bertholdt and Mikasa were being pulled over by Christa to talk to the nurses who had a million questions for them.

"It's good," Eren started. "We're busy, but the councilmen are doing really good things, your dad too. They were having a meeting a few days ago with neighbouring counties about merging their council with ours and making this council the base for Element Shifters."

"That's so cool," I started, looking up at the stars. "So there's gonna be even more shifters emerging, I'm sure. Are there others? You know? Is there an air shifter, and a fire shifter?" I asked.

Eren shrugged. "There's a few air shifters, not as many as we used to have though. There used to be a fire shifter but we haven't seen them in a while."

"Oh, right, cool."

They nodded awkwardly as the conversation died.

"Sorry, I'm just so interested in you guys! It's pretty fascinating stuff," I started.

Eren laughed nervously. "Yeah, I guess it is for someone who's never met a shifter before."

"Ah true, I guess you lived with shifters your whole life?"

Eren nodded. "Yeah, basically," he muttered, then looked up. "Do you want me to show you some shifting?" he asked unexpectedly. Mikasa looked at him nervously for a split second before looking away.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Just this trick," he said, holding out his hand. "We can teleport," he started, and I looked at him in disbelief.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'll show you," he said, then motioned for me to touch his hand. Everyone at the party was looking at us excitedly.

"Okay," said Eren. "Ready?"

"Yeah!"

He blinked and in a split second we had disappeared. I looked around me and we were in the park by the river. The sun was just setting in the distance but it was still light outside. The place was empty. I laughed with excitement.

"Eren! That's so cool," I started, turning around to face him.

But Eren wasn't there.

She walked over to me slowly, staring at me with bright red eyes. I didn't recognise her at first, not until she was standing in front of me. I didn't move, I was stuck in place with shock and disbelief.

Then when she spoke it felt like no time had passed at all.

"Hi Armin," said Annie cautiously. "I guess I have some explaining to do."