Turquoise Depths [Ereri]

Chapter Three

"I can smell it. Cinnamon, Sasha!"
A dark purple-scaled female mermaid swam quickly in the direction of the scent, followed by a younger mermaid distracted by a fish.

"Mikasa...you're insane. I don't smell anything." The other mermaid, a yellow-scaled female, retorted.
"Shut up, Sasha. It's there."
"Whatever," Sasha said,"If you say so, Mikasa."
The two female Mer swam quickly, following whatever Mikasa smelled.
Sasha had learned to trust Mikasa. Once, she had saved her from a large shark she was supposed to kill when she was playing in a pod of dolphins.
"Mika, why are you so obsessed with this smell?" Sasha asked, annoyed that the other mermaid was dragging her with her.

"It's different. Special." Mikasa said.
"That was almost poetic. Actually, it was beautiful," Sasha said,"But I have to go, probably. I haven't seen Connie in like two days."
"You and your mate, huh?" Mikasa laughed. For as long as she had known Sasha, she had never tried to settle down, or do much of anything. But when she met Connie, it clicked. The question was, how did Sasha get a life partner before Mikasa?
"Shut up, Mikasa!" Sasha laughed with her podmate.

Meanwhile...
"Anyways, Eren, are you sure he said that you were HIS MATE?" Jean asked.
"If he said he did, Erwin definitely said that." Marco replied quietly.
"Thank you, Marco! Finally someone who understands!" Eren said, exasperated.

"Well, I mean-" Jean tries to say.
"I think what Erwin means is that he could be a potential mate for Eren," Armin interrupted. "Which means, there's more than one."
"WHO?!" Eren, Jean and Marco all said in exasperation.
"Definitely Erwin....he wouldn't have smelled the smell, otherwise. And I think I know the second mate..." Armin added.
"Who?" Eren asked.
"Isn't it your own job to find your mate?" The blonde asked, and it was bittersweet. Armin would never find his mate. He had his chance a while ago. He looked at Jean and Marco, Jean protectively having his arm around his life partner.

That could've been him.
"Lunch is over, kids!" Hanji yelled from the doorway. "We have important things to do!"
"Gotcha, Aunt Hanji!" Eren remarked.
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Hanji yelled back. She exited, and they all got up and swam towards the exit.
"I feel like today is going to be a very long day..." Armin said quietly.
"You're right." Levi appeared behind the group, scaring most of them except for Armin.

"L-Levi, how did you get here?" Eren asked.
"Through the door, loser. I did that thing called swimming." He sarcastically remarked.
"Where did Hanji want us to go?" Marco said nervously.
"The questioning room you were just in. The final verdict will be reached there." Levi boredly stated.
Eren walked ahead, and Jean and Marco were in the middle. They held hands and Jean squeezed Marco's.
"Armin, I'm not sure I want to see Erwin again." Eren said nervously.
"Trust me, he won't do anything with you here with us." Armin replied.
"You never know," Levi clicked.
"Erwin is unpredictable."

They reached the questioning room, finally. Eren entered and saw Erwin staring at him. Hanji was beside him, and she gave him a tiny thumbs-up.
"Armin Arlert. Marco Bodt. Jean Kirschtein, and Eren...Jaeger." Erwin stated.
"Yes?" The group nervously said in unison.
"You have committed trespass. Anything you have to say for yourself?" He looked at Eren hungrily. Eren nervously looked away. He didn't want any part of Erwin Smith.

Armin sighed, finally noticing Erwin.
"And for your punishment, you all are forced to work on the Human Surveillance Regiment." He finished.
"I'm just glad our punishment isn't eyebrows like Erwin's." Jean whispered to Marco, making the freckled Mer laugh nervously.

"So, you're telling me they're just going to join the HSR, and that's their punishment?" Levi asked incredulously.
"Yes." Erwin finished.
Hanji decided this would be a good time to talk about humans.
"They might be a myth, but I think they're real! How do you explain boats? A net just magically catches things? And for what reason?" She goes on and on, until Levi stops her.
"Hanji, shut up."
"Oh, Levi, you're so sweet." She snapped.
"Trial dismissed." Erwin swept his hand, and rolled his eyes.

The four filed out of the room, followed by Hanji and Levi.
"Han, I don't know where Erwin was going with that..." Levi clicked quietly, when the four were out of earshot.
"I saw Erwin try to pin Eren today." She said quietly, fixing her goggles.
"YOU WHAT?!" Levi yelled at her, and resisted the urge to slap his pod-sister.
"I wanted to tell you, but Erwin was on my back all day!" She said quietly.
"Whatever. Just make sure it doesn't happen again. For some odd reason, that brat isn't on my shit list." He said, and Hanji chuckled.
"Classic Levi...." She muttered, and walked away.

Eren, Marco, Jean, and Armin were walking the other direction, however. Towards their rooms. The four had to share two rooms, so naturally it was split up to Jean and Marco, and Armin and Eren. No one questioned it. That's how mates, and podmates, worked.
"Armin, do you think Erwin is going to try to kill me or something?" Eren asked, as the younger, more intelligent blonde was sitting on a small ledge in the room.
"No. He just wants to mate you." He answered.
"I don't like that." Eren said.
"I know."