In Which Araminta Visits Her Relatives!
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Flightless Bird  ∕  Chapter One

THE AIR IN MARLEY WAS DIFFERENT. ARAMINTA COULDN'T REALLY tell you how it was different, but she just knew that it was. It was something she noticed the first time she visited the country, and she had noticed it now.

After the last time she came to Marley, she didn't think she would ever come back. Not unless it was to attack them to get revenge for all the atrocities they had committed against the world, which was inevitable, but she thought she had some time before that happened.

And that was sort of the reason she was here now. Well, it was more like she was here to try to prevent the conflict from reaching that point. She hadn't even come on her own accord, he was the one who had reached out and invited her out to meet with him. She wasn't sure if that made the whole situation more or less nerve wracking.

There were a few things helping to ease her nerves, though.

She was standing on the port, so she had the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks below the boardwalks to bring her comfort. And, in the pocket of her jacket, she brought her lucky pearl with her, which she was rolling around between her pointer finger and thumb. What made her feel most relaxed, though, was the fact she wasn't here alone.

"He said he was sending someone to meet us here, right?" Jean asked her, his hands stuffed into his pockets and his eyes darting around. "Wow, this place is still as crowded as it was the last time we were here."

Araminta nodded. "Yeah, he said one of his kids was coming to get us, or something..." She replied, and pulled the letter he had sent to her out of her pocket to check one more time.

Jean peered over her shoulder, and she quickly folded it back up. "Hey! This is for Tybur eyes only, don't you know?" She scolded him, and he held up his hands in defense.

"My bad, Your Majesty." He bowed over, and she took it as an opportunity to smack the top of his head with her letter. Except he'd grown so tall now that she still had to stretch up to reach it.

She huffed, turning to look back at the sea. The longer their guide was taking, the more nervous she was starting to become.

"He doesn't know you're here, does he?" Jean asked, and she knew this time he was referring to a different he.

"No." She snapped back at him. "I haven't wrote to him in weeks, and I doubt Hange said anything in their letters, so there's no way he knows."

She wished he hadn't brought him up at all. Because every time she started thinking about him, it just made her angry all over again, and today she was meeting some very important people, so she didn't want to be too angry when she finally arrived.

"A flower for the pretty lady?" An old man passed by and held up a rose, giving Jean a gummy grin. Araminta rolled her eyes, prepared to tell the man they weren't interested, but Jean spoke up faster.

"Sure." He gave the old man a coin in exchange for the flower, and turned to hold it towards her. "For you, pretty lady."

Her eyes grew wide as they darted between him and the flower. If it wasn't for the smiley old man standing there, she would smack it out of his hand. Instead she gently took it from him, giving him a fake smile. "Thank you, sweetheart."

The old man seemed satisfied enough and moved on to get other tourists to buy his flowers.

"You're so dumb." She hissed at Jean once the old man was out of earshot. "Save your money for important things like food or shelter if they kick us out of their house."

"It was one coin, Min. Besides, you like flowers, don't you?"

"Not roses." She waved it in his face. That was a lie, she had learned to like roses, but she was currently mad at the person who made her like them, which meant she didn't like them.

He rolled his eyes and took it from her. "You're so ungrateful. I'll go give it to someone who will actually appreciate it." He told her, and she watched as he walked over to some girl who looked to be about their age. He tapped on her shoulder and she turned to face him, then got all red and bashful when he held it out to her.

Araminta scoffed, turning away from him. He was so annoying, she was starting to regret inviting him to come to Marley with her.

"Araminta?" A voice asked, and finally, a teenage girl was standing behind her.

"Uh, yes! That's me."

"I'm Lina. I'm here to bring you back to meet with my father." She gave her a soft smile. "Did you bring a companion with you, or...?"

Araminta sighed. "Yes, he's over there." She gestured to him, and he was still talking to the same girl.

"Oh! You're just letting him flirt with other girls...?" She asked slowly, and Araminta furrowed her eyebrows.

"Um, why wouldn't I?"

"Well, I would get pissed if my boyfriend was flirting with other girls in front of me." Lina laughed.

Araminta shot her a glare. "He's not my boyfriend." Although, even if he was, it's not like her actual boyfriend hadn't done worse things than that. "Jean! Come on!" She called out at him.

He gave the girl one last polite smile before jogging back over. "See that, Min? Most girls would be grateful for a pretty rose from a handsome guy." He told her smugly.

"Remind me, where's the handsome guy?" She asked, and he wasn't smiling so much now. "Anyways, Jean, this is Lina. Lina, this is Jean. My friend."

The two exchanged quick greetings, and it was then that Araminta noticed two men standing a few feet behind Lina, their posture stiff and their hands held tightly behind their backs. If she didn't know any better, she might assume them to be personal guards under cover.

"Okay, are you all ready?" Lina asked Araminta. She turned her attention back to the girl and nodded.

She dipped her fingers back into her pocket, and immediately felt herself relax a bit when she found her pearl waiting for her.

Thank god, she thought. She was going to need all the help she could get to relax today.

WHEN EREN FIRST TOLD HER WHAT HE KNEW ABOUT THE NOBLE TYBUR FAMILY, she never realized that they were this well respected in Marley. She had expected a nice enough house outside of the internment zone, and maybe a car or something, nothing too crazy.

Her jaw nearly dropped to the floor when she saw the size of the house in front of her — no, this wasn't a house, it was a castle. At least it looked like it was about the size of the palace Historia resided in back in Paradis. And these people weren't even royalty!

"Holy shit, Min, your family is rich." Jean whispered to her, and she just nodded along with her mouth open in amazement.

Lina must have found their surprise amusing, as she started to giggle. "Come on, they're waiting for us inside."

Sure enough, there were two guards placed on either side of the door, and there were even more inside, lining the hallway. They weren't wearing the same uniforms as the rest of the Marleyan military, which meant they were privately contracted just to serve the Tybur family.

Araminta couldn't believe how fancy the house was on the inside. The floors were made of the same polished stone she saw in the palace, and the walls were covered in intricately hand painted designs. It was beautiful. It was hard to believe her great-great grandfather had given up this luxury to go live in Paradis.

A man stepped out of a room off to the side of the hallway, and he immediately lit up when he saw them. He was tall with long, blond hair and wearing a black suit that reminded her of the one Eren wore when they visited Marley the last time — only much fancier.

"You must be Araminta." He greeted her with a wide smile, then held out his hand for her to shake.

"Yes. That's me." She smiled back, then shook his hand. "And I'm assuming you're Willy, right?"

He nodded. "Yes, that's me. I'm the head of the Tybur family." He paused for a moment, his gray eyes scanning her face. "Wow. You are the spitting image of Grandma Irma. I mean, aside from your eyes, but otherwise you could be her twin."

She laughed nervously, glancing over at Jean for help. "Oh, thank you... Wait, Grandma who?"

"Here, come sit and have some tea with me. I'll explain it to you." He looked over at Jean, who had been standing there awkwardly behind Araminta. "Your..."

"Friend." Araminta answered.

"Yes, your friend can come join us." He gestured for the two of them to follow him into the room he just came out of, which appeared to be some sort of sitting room made especially for times like these.

There was a nice couch in the center of the room, and across from it a low table where a tray with tea was sitting. And just like the room outside, there were some guards posted in the corners of the room, ready to protect Willy if they tried anything. Araminta and Jean sat down on the couch, while Willy sat in a very comfy looking armchair across from them.

Just as Araminta moved to pour herself a cup, a woman dressed in black and white appeared by their side and grabbed the pot before she could and started pouring into one of the cups. She must have been some sort of servant to the Tybur family, Araminta assumed.

Once their tea was all poured, Araminta started to sip her tea as Willy cleared his throat. "So, how was your journey from the island?" He asked, hesitating slightly when he said the island.

"It was fine." Araminta said. "So, Mr. Tybur, I — "

"Please, Araminta, we are family. Call me Willy." He laughed, and she flashed him a polite smile. She set her cup down on its matching plate, and brushed her hair behind her ear.

"Sorry, Willy. I wanted to talk to you about — "

"Oh! Your ears!" He exclaimed suddenly, which caught her off guard. "It's just like they said, you have Grandma Irma's pointed ears."

She reached up, touching the tips of her ears. "I do...?"

"I told you they were pointy!" Jean told her, and she shot him a glare.

"Yes, it was one of her most recognizable traits. She passed them down to her son, Otto..." He turned to the side, gesturing to a row of portrait paintings lining the wall that she hadn't noticed before. "His younger brother, and my great grandfather, Jakob, didn't get them, he took after his father."

Araminta couldn't believe she was related to all of these people. She couldn't help imagining what her life would have been like if her great-great grandfather had never left Marley, and if she grew up in this house like Willy or Lina.

"Jakob used to tell me stories about Otto when I was just a little boy. He told me that Otto was supposed to take over as the head of the Tybur family, but he was always a bit of a rebel. He was... Unhappy, with the way Eldians were punished. One day, he decided he wanted to go live with his people, snuck onto a ship headed towards Paradis, and he never came back."

Araminta nodded as she listened to his story. "Before she died, my mother would tell me stories about her family... And how they came from beyond the walls... I never would have believed she was telling the truth." She said, and Willy smiled.

"Yes, and we never believed we would have found one of Otto's descendants on Paradis, but we are so glad we did." He told her, then reached over and set a hand on top of hers. "You know, family is something very important to the Tyburs. We value it very much."

"I understand." Araminta replied, glancing over at Jean who was looking a bit uncomfortable.

Willy followed her gaze, then looked back to her. "Araminta, would you mind it if I asked your friend to stand in the hallway for a moment? I just have something I have to talk to you about."

Jean narrowed his eyes. "I would rather stay here with her, if you don't mind."

"You don't have to worry." Willy assured him. "She is completely safe. I just want to discuss some family matters with her."

Jean looked over at Araminta, like he was waiting for her to ask him to stay, but she just nodded. "I'll be fine, Jean."

He didn't seem convinced, but he stood anyway, and let two of the guards guide him out of the room. They shut the door behind them, and now it was just Araminta and Willy. Well, them and the guards, but they were so still, she was starting to think they were statues.

Willy took a long sip of his tea, then set it down on the table. "Araminta... I told you, family is important to us, to me..." His voice trailed off, and his charismatic demeanor from before had shifted into something more serious. "I shouldn't be telling you this, but I will. Marley may or may not be planning an attack against Paradis soon."

Araminta straightened up. "What do you mean, may or may not? It's either they are, or they aren't." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I can't say." Was all he said. "But... I am going to offer you something, and I'm only going to offer it to you once. I like to take care of my family, Araminta, and since you are my family, I am willing to take care of you, too. We can offer you protection, if you would like to move to Marley permanently, and live as a member of our family."

She nearly dropped her cup of tea.

"Wh... What? You would let me come live here? Even though I'm a filthy island devil?" She gaped at him.

"You are not a filthy island devil, Araminta. Otto Tybur's blood flows through you, which means you are one of us."

Araminta looked down at her cup, unsure how to react.

You are one of us.

Here was one of the most powerful families in the world, offering her home and protection just because of one of her relatives she had never even been alive to meet. It all seemed far too good to be true.

"Mr. Tybur..."

"Willy."

"Willy." She corrected herself. "I came here... Because I was hoping you would be willing to help Paradis — to help the Eldians. I'm sure you guys are as unfit to handle a war right now as we are — "

"I'm afraid I can't, Araminta." He shook his head and heaved a sigh. "Marley has made their choice already. There is no room for peace between our people and the Eldians."

"No, they are not your people." Araminta glared at him. "Your people are the ones stuck out on that island, or in the internment zone, being punished for something they had no part of."

As she started to raise her voice, she noticed the guards in the room tense up, ready to attack her if needed.

Willy waved them down, though, and they relaxed again. "I understand why you feel that way, I do. But the thing is, as long as Eldians live, there is always a chance history will repeat itself."

"No. History is going to repeat itself because we keep fighting! If we just came to a place of peace, we might be able to end this conflict once and for all!"

"I can see we're not going to agree on this." Willy cut her angry rambling short, seeming a bit disappointed. "But, I am still going to ask you one more time. Would you be interested in coming to live with us? As a member of the Tybur family?"

Was she crazy? Because who wouldn't want to live here? They were beyond rich, and never had to worry about where their next meal might come from, or whether or not a Titan might get through the walls and eat her. This couch was comfier than any bed she'd ever slept on, and the entire mansion was cleaner than any house she'd been in.

But... She knew there was no way she would be able to. She could never just run away from the war going on, and live amongst the enemies that were responsible for her years of suffering. These people were responsible for the deaths of her family, and for the death of all her comrades who had fallen because of the Titans.

So, she just shook her head.

"I'm very sorry, Willy, but I don't think I can. It's like you said. Family is important, and the people back home on Paradis are my family, too." She told him, and set her now empty teacup in front of her.

He stared down at the cup, and nodded. "I understand." He said. "If you ever change your mind... Come find us. I can't promise you we can give you what I offered, but we might be able to find other ways to take care of you."

They both stood up, and as he was leading her to the door, he suddenly pulled her in for a hug. Araminta froze, uncomfortable with the feeling of a stranger hugging her, but let him do it nonetheless.

After about a minute, he pulled away from the hug, scanning her face one last time. "Really, it's incredible how much you look like Grandma Irma... And would you like to know another one of her well known traits?"

Araminta nodded.

"She was also known for being incredibly fierce." He smiled at her. "And I can tell you are, too."

She felt her heart swell. It wasn't very often she got to hear anything about her family past her parents. Her mother's parents died young, before she had been born, so she never met them. Her father's parents lived in some village inside Wall Rose, so she had never seen them, either. All she had ever known about her family was her father's dad was oriental, and her mother's family came from beyond the walls.

So, to hear about her grandmother she had never met, and to learn that she was so similar to her was something so special. Even though she didn't really like Willy, and she was sure she wouldn't like any of the other Tyburs, she was thankful to him for giving her that.

"Thank you, Willy." She smiled at him.

"You are welcome, Araminta. I hope we're able to see each other again in the future." He patted her cheek, then opened up the door.

TOMORROW, ARAMINTA AND JEAN WOULD BE RETURNING TO PARADIS WITH THE BAD NEWS. The Tybur family wasn't going to help them negotiate peace, so it was starting to look more and more like their only option was to follow through with Eren and Zeke's plan for the attack in Liberio.

Still, they had one more night stuck on Marley. Luckily, even though they'd had a bit of a spat, Willy had put Araminta and Jean up in a nice hotel. And even more luckily, it seemed like he actually listened to her when she insisted her relationship with Jean was just friendship, and booked them a room with two beds.

Araminta felt horrible. Since they were going to do the attack, she was going to have to eat whichever one of the Tyburs was holding the War Hammer Titan. She hoped it wasn't Willy, not after he'd been so kind to her. Or Lina, who was also a sweetheart.

She thought about Eren's letter. I don't want you to ever have to deal with the burden of being a Titan like I do. God, he pissed her off so bad. If he really didn't want that of her, he should have never forced them to be in this position in the first place. He should have just stayed on Paradis with her.

With a frustrated groan, she finally forced herself to sit up. Ever since they arrived to the hotel, she'd just been lying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling while thinking about her conversation with Willy over and over. If she spent any longer in that hotel room, she was going to go crazy.

She looked over at Jean, who had spent the whole time reading some book on strategy or something boring like that — the same one he'd been reading on the boat when they came here. He had shed his dress coat, and was left only in his white collared shirt. He'd undone the first top buttons, and rolled up the sleeves. He looked very comfy.

"Jean?" She called out his name, and he immediately looked up.

"What?"

"Are you hungry?" She asked him.

He shrugged. "Kind of." But he glanced over at the window, and realized it was starting to become dark out. "Don't you think it's a little dangerous for us to go out so late?"

"I don't think so. It's not like there's military soldiers actively searching for us or anything."

He nodded, and set his book down on the bedside table. "Fine. Let's go get something to eat."

Araminta grinned at him.

Soon, they found themselves outside, walking around the streets of Marley to find some open food stalls. It was December, which meant it was a bit chilly outside. They were wearing coats, but Araminta still found herself clinging to Jean for warmth.

His cheeks were pink from the cold.

"I don't even know what half of this stuff is." Araminta confessed as the two of them walked, narrowing her eyes at a strange contraption that seemed to make some sort of edible cotton.

"I know. What happened to good old fashioned meat and potatoes?" Jean huffed, which made her laugh.

"You sound like Sasha." She told him, and he shrugged.

"Maybe Sasha has a point. Sometimes. But god, what I wouldn't do to eat one of my mom's omelettes right now..." He let out a faraway sigh, and shook his head.

"They're really that good?" She asked him, raising one of her eyebrows.

He nodded. "They're amazing. You'll have to come visit home with me one of these days, I'll have her make you one."

"Ooh, I like the sound of that. And then I can get her to tell me embarrassing stories about you as a baby."

"No. You can eat the omelette, but you're not allowed to talk to her."

She rolled her eyes. "Mean. How am I supposed to thank Mrs. Kirstein if I can't talk to her?"

He didn't reply. She took that as a win, since she had managed to get the last word in.

The more they walked together in silence, though, the sadder she started to become. It was nice to be here with Jean, but the pathetic voice in her head kept nagging her and asking her what it would be like to do all this with Eren. Walking arm in arm, admiring the city streets at night, just like all the other couples she noticed walking by.

Suddenly, she felt guilty. She unwrapped her arm from Jean's, and took a step away from him. This was something she should be doing with Eren. Her boyfriend. Not with Jean Kirstein.

Though she kept her eyes glued to the street in front of her, she could see Jean give her a puzzled look out of the corner of her eye.

"You okay?" He asked her.

It was a stupid question. Of course she wasn't okay. All she could think about was Eren, no matter how hard she tried not to. She was starting to wonder if she had told him she was coming today, would he have made time to come see her?

"I'm fine." She replied. "I'm just hungry."

"Are you sure?"

She snapped her head over to look at him, narrowing her eyes. "I told you, Jean. I'm fine. Just drop it."

There was a stall up ahead, and she noticed a man was selling bottles of alcohol. She'd only ever drank alcohol once in her life — the last time she was in Marley — but she remembered how good it at had been at calming her down after her fight with Eren. Without a word to Jean, she made her way over to the booth to pick herself up a bottle.

"Woah woah woah, I really don't think we need that." Jean appeared behind her, just as she was giving the man his payment.

"We don't. I do." She muttered, then gave the man a polite smile once he handed her the bottle.

"I thought you were hungry." Jean said flatly as he followed her back into the street, where she started to walk back in the direction of their hotel.

When she didn't respond, he ran up behind her, and grabbed her wrist to spin her around and face her. "Hey, what happened? You were fine a few minutes ago. Now you're acting all weird. Was it something that Willy guy said?"

She let out a frustrated sigh, looking away from him. "Nothing happened, I just... I don't know. I was looking at all these couples walking by, and it just made me think about..." She didn't need to finish the sentence for him to catch onto what she was saying.

He pressed his lips into an "O", then looked down at the bottle of alcohol in her hand. "So, what, you think if you get drunk enough, you'll forget about him?" He scoffed.

"No. I just... Want to relax. Ever since he left, it's been nonstop stress, and I'm getting sick of it." She held up the bottle to look at it. "It's worth a shot, isn't it?"

Jean stared at her, eyebrows pulled tightly together like he was thinking hard. He looked at the bottle, then back to her, then back to the bottle again. "Fine. Let's go take it back to the hotel and drink it. Let's relax."

She smiled. "Right. Relax."

ARAMINTA WAS DEFINITELY RELAXED NOW. It was like her mind had detached from her body, and with it she was detached from all her problems. No more War Hammer Titan, no more Tyburs, no more war, and definitely no more Eren Jaeger.

All that was left was the bottle, the hotel room, and Jean Kirstein.

The two of them were leaned against their own beds so they could face each other, with the now empty bottle of alcohol laid on its side between them. She didn't even understand how the two of them had managed to finish it so fast, but then again, she couldn't call it fast because she had no perception of time anymore.

"Jean... Be honest with me..." She barely managed to get the words out of her mouth, each one felt like it got stuck on her tongue on the way out. "Do you like Mikasa?"

His eyes widened. "Wha-a-a-at? No. Definitely not." He shook his head.

Araminta hummed. "Mm, I don't believe you. I've seen the way you look at her. You're love — in love with her. I know it."

"No. I'm not." He told her firmly. "Maybe back when we were cadets... All those years ago... But not anymore, nope!"

"What? Why not! Mikasa is so cool and smart and pretty and nice and badass and so cool. If I was into women, she would be my first pick." Araminta told him with a frown.

He shrugged. "I dunno. I just grew out of it. I like someone else." He said, then froze, like he just revealed Paradis' greatest secrets or something.

She gasped, leaning forward. "Wait, you like someone?! You have to tell me who!" She crawled towards him and shook his shoulder.

He laughed lazily and looked away from her. "No way. I'm not telling you. You can't keep secrets."

She pouted. "What the fuck?! Yes I can! I kept Annie's crush on Armin a secret!"

"That doesn't count. Literal — literary — literally everyone knew about that." Jean rolled his eyes.

"Are you seriously not gonna tell me?"

He shook his head. "Nope. I may be super drunk right now, but I know better than to tell you."

Araminta couldn't help but feel offended, so she shoved his shoulder hard so he fell onto his side. "You're so mean, Jean-boy. Do I need to punch you again? Then will you be nice me?"

He rolled onto his back and blinked up at her, shaking his head. "Please don't punch me again. You left a bruise last time."

She let out a loud huff, and fell onto her back next to him. Her gaze was locked on the ceiling, which looked like it was swirling all around. She didn't like that. So, she turned onto her side to look at him.

She realized she'd never looked at him so up close. He had a really pretty face, now that she thought about it. Maybe it wasn't so horse-like after all. He had a strong jawline, but it was softened by his facial hair he'd grown in. As much as she liked to make fun of his attempt at a beard, it suited him. And then he had eyelashes so long that she found herself jealous of them.

"You know, Jean-boy, you're really pretty." She told him. She reached out to trace her finger along his jawline, making a soft swoosh noise.

He smiled, then turned so he was facing her, too. They were so close, their noses were almost touching. She found herself lost in his eyes, wishing she had taken the time to look at them earlier because they were entrancing. Maybe it was just the alcohol in her system, but she found herself longing to get closer.

But, then he had to open his mouth.

"You're always pretty, Min."

You're always pretty.

She blinked, and there was Eren, confessing to her in the middle of the woods under the cover of the night sky.

Eren.

She blinked again, and Jean was back.

She pulled her head back, clearing her throat.

"Araminta?" He called out her name.

"Jean."

"You're going to take the War Hammer Titan... Aren't you?"

She shrugged. "I'm going to try to. If everything works out... Then yeah."

He nodded slowly. "What if I told you I don't want you to?" He whispered.

"It wouldn't matter. Zachary already approved. It's been decided." She whispered back. "Why don't you want me to?"

His lips parted, and he looked like he was ready to say something. But he just pressed them back together, and shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Let's get some sleep. We have a boat to catch tomorrow."

She watched him stand up, then flop down onto his bed. Nausea erupted in her stomach as she stood up, but luckily she managed to keep any sickness down. She crawled onto her bed, and rolled over so she was facing away from him.

He turned the lamp off.

"Goodnight, Min."

"Goodnight, Jean."

That night, for the first time in months, she didn't dream about Eren, or the War Hammer Titan, or the war. When she awoke the next morning, she was horrified when she realized she'd dreamt of Jean Kirstein.

guys idk what this chapter is i just wanted
some araminta and willy meeting but it just
turned into something crazy idk but i lowkey
love jearaminta sorry! don't worry though
ereminta is my number one forever.

anyways next chapter will be the start of the
actual liberio raid or whatever the arc is
called so be excited 😈😈 sm fun stuff is
gonna happen in this arc ahahahaha