To The Ocean... | Levi Ackerman

1

Ava rushed over to the body of Armin curled up on the ground after pushing away her twins many tormentors. He leaned against the wall, his little fists soaking up the tears gathering in his blue eyes, "it hurts, Ava..."

"I know, brother, I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner. One day I'll be strong enough to fight back against them for you." She took her brothers body in her arms and he buried his head in her shoulder, shaking it and mumbling the words "no, you can't resort to violence like them."

"You're right," Ava pulled away from the hug, "my brain isn't the size of a pea," she smiled at him. It was enough for Armin to let out a small laugh in between his tears, the two tended to have that effect on each other. When one of the twins was sad, it didn't take the other long to cheer up their sibling because they were both like rays of sunshine to each other.

"You..." Both of them snapped their heads to see the shadow of a boy their age peak from around the corner, "why don't you fight back?" Armin looked up at him as he continued, "they look down on you because you don't do anything. Is it okay for you to keep losing?"

"I don't lose," Armin replied while Ava smiled weakly at him, wiping away the residual tears under his baby blues.

"What?"

"He didn't run away." Ava tried to clarify and looked up at the boy who now towered above them, he was tan, had scruffy brown hair and teal eyes. Eren was somewhat taken aback by the reaction of the two, "you two... what are your names?"

That was how three of the four outcasts of Shiganshina met, things hadn't change much since then. They hadn't made any friends other than each other, Ava and Armin because of their fascination with the world outside the walls, Eren because of his slightly antisocial tendencies – he had never gotten along with the other kids – and Mikasa because of her devotion to Eren, would never leave his side most of the time.

Nonetheless, Ava was glad this way, even after her parents had been executed and she spent most of her time tending to her grandfather, not being able to go out with her friends all that often, she had faith in Eren and Mikasa to ward off Armin's bullies.

Today was one of the times her grandpa took pity on her, telling her to 'go on outside,' it was already early evening, the sun casting a warm glow over the district and it wasn't long before she found her friends. They were sitting beside the river and listening to Armin tell them what had happened before Eren and Mikasa rescued them from the bullies that day, "Oh, they just heard me rattling on about how mankind's future lay beyond the walls.
I doubt they understood half of it, but still."

"You're too smart for your own good when it comes to them, Armin." Ava walked up behind the three and was greeted with a small smile from each of them, Eren's quickly turned to a scowl though.

"Idiots." He spat venomously and threw a rock into the river, creating a large ripple. "Why's it gotta be this way? Why can't people just let us dream?"

Armin responded with his usual wisdom, "the walls are a powerful idea. We've survived a hundred years because of them, no one's keen on tempting fate. I may not agree with them but I can see where they're coming from."

His twin agreed with him, nodding, "It's human nature, Eren. When all is said and done, the government's policies are a reflection of our fear."

"Yeah, the rest of the herd's, maybe. I say to hell with them!" Eren had carried this same attitude ever since the two had showed him the banned book about the outside world their grandfather had gave them. The twins lives had been changed by the book too, for now they had their only dream of going to the ocean that seemed to be reflected in their matching blue eyes and sandy blonde hair. So, Ava understood his sentiment as well, once you knew 'the truth' it was hard to ignore, but she feared one day their dreams might get them all killed, just like it did her parents.