A tail for an eye - Eren x Levi

Chapter 22

'Sailing'

After that sweet but short kiss, Levi had placed himself within the boat and the mer-people helped him push the boat away from the island. Not many words had been spoken yet and all but Mikasa were smirking in Eren and Levi's direction. The sun still shone, barely high over the horizon. The view looked pretty as Levi swayed in the boat, hearing the splashing as all the mer-people moved their tails beneath the water, getting at high speeds quicker than expected. It caused the breeze to pull back Levi's hair at his parting, which made him decide to look back towards the island behind, which got further and further away at a rapid pace. Strangely, none of the mer-people appeared out of breath. 

"This is way easier than I thought," Mikasa spoke, being one of the mermaids who pushed the boat by the front, opposite Gisela and in front of Mia. Eren worked behind Gisela and Klaus pushed from the back of the boat, likely being the one with the most weight. However, he certainly had the natural strength.

"You say that now, but don't forget after this we have to come back," Gisela responded to her, talking louder to be heard as they didn't face each other.

Eren turned his head a moment to Levi, who felt his gaze and returned the look. Eren blushed and they both moved their heads away, that amused Levi who kept a momentary gaze on Eren once he turned his head, "We might make it before it's night."

Levi's shock at their ability to speak in casual talk whilst performing such a strenuous activity took over a lot of his emotion. However, in his seating position, he managed to feel the badge in his pocket digging into his skin a little. He felt around for it, easily grabbing it and pulling it out to look again. Although it didn't offer much in appearance, nor did it actually do anything, just staring at it made Levi feel something he didn't quite know how to explain. The only explanation provided could be that despite knowing they were all dead and wouldn't be returning, he knew they'd lived a fairly full-filled life and got to explore more of the planet than most people. A feeling of knowing that even though they weren't going to be there anymore, Levi would always remember them as his friends as well as his crew mates. A feeling that they weren't gone metaphorically because in a way, their presence was unforgettable. Sure, nothing would match up to what they meant to him, but he'd move on one day and maybe get to feel happiness again. Deep inside, he knew he would, but it didn't seem easy to admit yet. 

"That's a pretty object," Mia spoke, gazing down at the reflecting badge in his hands, "I've never seen anything like it."

"It's called a badge. It's like an accessory," Levi briefly explained, now knowing it didn't exist in their own society.

"Cute! Do you think I'd be able to get one once we reach land?" Mia asked with a hopeful tone.

"It's not a holiday we're going on, you know?" Klaus shook his head from behind the boat, screwing his face up at her.

"That will probably be too dangerous, your mother would kill me if she found out I let you all scavenge around for silly little decorations," Gisela said with dismissal in her voice, shivering at the thought of her sister's reaction when Eren and Mikasa returned, "we have plenty of things in the sea."

"Yeah, but I bet nobody has a badge." Mia's passion for fashion shone through amongst everything else, her eyes barely leaving the badge, even shimmering in delight whenever the badge reflected the sun's beam.

"It would be pretty cool," Mikasa admitted after taking a tiny glance back at the object before returning her head forwards. 

"Exactly!"

The conversations continued to rise and fall without a pattern as time passed in the most agonizingly slow way possible. To them, it was like the sun refused to move. However, time had passed, but the boredom of being stuck in a boat with cramping legs and nothing to focus on certainly took a toll on their minds. Although, the mer-people did have determination which motivated their swimming and allowed time to pass with more ease. Plus the conversations they had weren't a bad thing in any way, shape or form. Levi got to learn a lot more about life for these people, on how much it differed from his own life back at home. He truly realised now just how similar mer-people were to humans, their developing skills were practically equal with humanity, just using objects that resided within the sea, and their communication was on par with that of his own language, not to mention they functioned actually better than his own society. No money meant no need to work until their dying day, instead they chose to work because they all played their own contribution to each other as a sign of respect and peace. It was nice to hear about.