1 nightingale

Eren quietly grumbled as he squirmed impatiently, in his sleeping bag. A bead of sweat dripped down the side of his lightly tan forehead and onto the scratchy fabric of his pillow. He cursed underneath his breath as he turned over, unable to find a comfortable position. The thin fabric of the tent and the ragged second-hand sleeping bag did very little to shield his back against the rough ground. Sharp stones and sticks beneath the tent jabbed into sensitive parts of his body, no matter how he adjusted his position. Falling asleep at this point was practically impossible for someone as picky as Eren.

Although the blanket was far too thin to properly serve its purpose, the combined body heat of his best friends, Mikasa and Armin, lying by his two sides was enough to make Eren sweat. Armin, softly snoring, laid with his back turned to Eren. His hair fanned out like a halo across his pillow, his spine was pressed snuggly against Eren's arm. Mikasa softly whined in her sleep, as if she could sense Eren's movements and snuggled closer to him, resting her head possessively over his shoulder and burying her nose into the crook of his neck, like a feline marking her territory. Her soft breaths tickled his sensitive neck in a rather comforting way.

Eren gazed up at the sprinkle of stars painted upon the twilight canvas, partially hidden behind a thin veil of clouds, through the transparent material of their tent and turned his focus to the silent symphony around him. The delicate snores coming from Armin's direction. The dim chirping of the crickets. The rustle of the wind against the bushes. The scampering of bugs as they burrowed beneath the ground. The thundering sound of the waves crashing onto the shore. The flurry of sounds formed a sweet melody of the night that Eren found himself relaxing to, closing his eyes to intensify to the song. Lying on top of sharp rocks and scuttering insects wasn't exactly his idea of fun, but he might as well make the most of the fresh air.

A few days ago, Armin had stumbled across an article on the beautiful reefs, just a few miles off of the shore, and all the exotic wildlife that resides there. He had insisted on bringing Mikasa and Eren with him and they unwillingly let themselves be dragged into another spontaneous camping trip, this time along Arcarres cove. Mikasa and Eren had spent the whole day watching Armin's breakdowns over the creatures he found in the tide pools, but he has to admit, the cove was breathtaking by day. The way the delicate sand sifted through his toes as he and Mikasa paced along the shore. The small spatters of seawater on his skin as the waves slammed upon the soft sand. The refreshing scent of the sea and the cool air against the back of his throat. The delicate ivory seafoam that trailed behind as the water withdrew from the shore. The indignant squawking of seagulls and the brilliant laughter of the tourists who chased after them. The entire image was exuberant and stunning, ingrained into Eren's mind.

But now, between the intolerable heat and the roar of the tides, there was close to no hope of Eren ever falling asleep. Releasing a resigned sigh, he carefully pulled off the cover of the sleeping bag and slowly crawled out, careful to not disturb his friends in the process. He heard Mikasa groan and shifted further in her sleep, but almost instantly returning to her original state, and released a breath that he didn't even know he was holding in. Grabbing his jacket and a flashlight from the foot of the sleeping bags, Eren crawled out of the tent's opening, careful to not make too much noise. Almost immediately as he stepped outside, the frigid damp air clung onto his skin. Eren pulled on his jacket and sneakers, before turning on the flashlight and heading his way towards the beach. The trip took mere minutes and Eren made the most of each one, allowing himself to sink into the soft whispers of the leaves as they brushed against each other, almost as if in a daze.

Eren was pulled from his trance by the flecks of seawater that landed on his exposed cheek, cool and chilling. Goosebumps began to reveal themselves and a chill ran down his spine, as he admires the dark majestic scenery around him, basking in the beauty of the waves as they washed over the shore. He noticed the clouds beginning to gather, hiding the twinkling light of the stars. The soft glow of the moon emerged from behind a cluster of particularly dark clouds, imposing, imperial, and imperfect. The moonbeams reflected upon the surface is the water appeared distorted by the rippling of the waves and the scent of seaweed tainted the air with nostalgia. And, other than the thundering of the waves crashing onto the sand, there was silence.

Eren heard a soft pitiful sound, hidden behind the howling of the wind. Almost a whine, so breathtaking, so sad. He scanned his surroundings with the flashlight, but Eren couldn't find anything that could have caused the sweet harmony. I should get more sleep. That was probably just a trick of the mind. It's probably just the violent wind brushing against the rocky cliffs. Eren didn't know much about what the music was or where it came from, but the one thing he was sure about is the bliss that flowed through his body when he heard it. Like he was floating on thin air, as if he was filled with air and light as a feather and drifting away, away. It was almost as if the song pulled him into a trance, some kind of spell.

Like sharp hook, it pulled something inside him, before quickly disappearing as the direction of the wind shifted. The silence returned and filled Eren's head with… sorrow. Overwhelming waves after waves of pure, unadulterated sorrow, laced with poisoned words and poisoned thoughts as if his broken memories washed over his mind over and over. Eren doubles over in white-hot agony, his hands desperately entangling with and pulling at his hair, anything, anything to make the pain disappear. A few droplets of rain fell upon the back of his neck, unnoticed by Eren. He threw his head towards the sky, now filled with darkening and foreboding clouds, and released a gut-wrenching screech of pure terror. Of pure desire. The sensation that coursed through his bloodstream could only be described as empty. He was filled with a need for more, to hear the strange song again.

As if responding to his thoughts, the song crept out from between the waves and the pain almost immediately subsided, his mind gradually cleared. He released a lung full of air he didn't even know he was holding onto. Eren found himself rapidly pacing towards the direction of the lingering mourning melody as if the directions were whispered into his ears. His pupils dilated at the sound of the tinkling voice and his ears strained, determined to not miss a single note of the haunting song.

The tide pools stank of brine and salt. chunks of rotting seaweed dried out from the sun were stuck between the shallow crags, waiting for the ocean to pull them back out into the sea. The song appeared to be coming from the direction of a cluster of several large jagged rocks. The closer that Eren got to the rocks, the more defined and loud it grew. Reaching the rocks, he discovered a narrow opening in the rocks that appeared to be the opening of a cave. Eren supposed that the low tides were probably the only reason why the opening was even visible.

Eren turned off his flashlight and tossed it into the ocean. He was sure that Mikasa and Armin would make him pay for the damage done later, but he couldn't risk alerting whoever was singing so beautifully of his presence. The moonlight was bright enough to guide the way and even pitch darkness was better than not being able to hear the haunting song. Just the thought of it made him feel slightly nauseated.

Eren carefully fitted himself through the narrow passageway. The tone of the song is so mournful, almost as if the person is calling out to someone. Desperate and so, so full of pain, the manifestation of pure, unadulterated loneliness. The winsome voice reeled him in and blurred his conscience. He followed the soft teal glow emitting through the cracks of the cave and the haunting song lingering in the back of his mind. He hardly noticed himself subconsciously humming the sweet melody as he struggled to fit through the narrow opening of the cave. The grotto was cavernous, the song echoing off the stone dome, much clearer despite the growl of the waves barricaded against the structure. A soft cerulean glow emitted from the unusually deep tide pool lit the cave and intermingled with the few tendrils of moonlight reaching in through the breaks in the rock enclosure.

Eren blinked in surprise, allowing his eyes a moment to adjust to the sudden light. His glaze almost immediately found the pale visage half-submerged in the water. He did a double-take when he noticed the fishtail that appeared to be attached to the young man's torso, the ebony scales shimmering in the moonlight and reflecting the pool's light. N o fucking way. the scales trailed up the young man's body before seamlessly merging into pale skin. The person - no, the creature - lounged upon some of the ragged stones along the opposite edge of the tide pool, with their tail dipped into the glowing water. The creature had a mane of long straight obsidian hair, almost hip level and flowing gracefully in the soft breeze. Light and trim, their lean muscular back was revealed by a strip of particularly bright moonlight.

"He-hello," Eren stuttered out the words, hesitantly and breathlessly, almost as if the sight of the strange man had robbed him of the ability to speak. Only then did he realized how long he had been holding onto his breath, lungs, and throat now aching with pain.

The dark song cuts off almost immediately and the young man quickly jerked his head in Eren's direction. From afar, his features were rather blurry, but there was no mistaking the expression of pure shock frozen on his face. Before Eren could get a better look at him, he pushed himself off the rock and dove into the water.

"Wait, no! Wait! Come back, please, come back!" A look of horror washed over Eren's face, as he hurriedly pulled off his jacket, preparing to jump into the tidepool after the strange young man. Panic wrecking through his mind, he climbed onto a short stack of rocks by the side of the tidepool and scanned the entirety of the cave. He noticed a hand, breaking the surface of the water and clutching onto the edge of the tidal pool closest to him, and his head popped out of the water. The tightness in his chest unwinded as Eren noted the man's webbed fingers and pointed nails. Eren stumbled towards the young man, his legs still weak and his adrenaline still high, and came to a stop a few feet away from him.

"I'm so sorry for scaring you. I didn't mean to." Eren did his best to hide how his voice quivered from nervousness and how petrified he felt. He took in a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut before taking a few steps closer. dropping down onto his knees, Eren leaned forward and leveled his face to the young man's. He took notice of the few dark scales trailing along the side of his neck, just over a few flaps of skin - gills? - and the intricately webbed ears that extended from the side of the man's face, emphasized by the way his wet onyx hair clung to his figure. "I heard your song and I was curious, I guess." Eren found the courage to look up into the man's intense silver stare, almost immediately wincing at the ferocity behind it. He gulped and dug his fingernails into his hand to keep himself from looking away.

"I'm Eren. Eren Jaeger." Eren gave the strange man a small, encouraging grin. The man stared back at Eren, unresponsive, sending shivers along his spine. "was that you singing?" Noticing a quick glimpse of pain flashing over the young man's face, Eren's eyebrows furrowed out of concerned. "I'm so sorry. That was insensitive. You don't have to answer that. Just please don't leave me."

"Levi. Levi Ackerman." The man whispered just loud enough for Eren to hear him, his voice strangely melodic, even behind his thick accent. Eren could glimpse of a set of sharp pointed teeth from between his blue-tinted lips. "Eren Jaeger. stay here, Eren Jaeger." Levi dove back into the water.

Eren's heart skipped a beat at the sound of his name being said with that strange accent. W hat is it? that accent. It's unlike everything I've ever heard before. Russian almost. It's so pretty. It's so melodic. Like everything else about him. He waited patiently, as directed, until Levi's head popped out of the water, this time his face painted over with sorrow. Eren looked closer at the young man and noticed that Levi was holding another limp figure in his arm. Swimming over to the side of the tidepool, he carefully laid out the figure onto the stones, taking the time to caress the person's cheek. Eren took a few steps closer to the figure and carefully observed him, a look of horror over his face.

The person was clearly of a similar species as Levi, but, while Levi was so full of movement, this man laid limp and still. He was stripped almost completely naked, save the shiny black scale - clearly one of Levi's - hanging by a delicate silver chain around his neck. His sandy blonde hair, despite being wet and limp with water, was clearly once a stylish haircut. Eren couldn't help but notice that the man's slim build and pale skin did little to hide deep gouge scars on the sides of his torso and the bruises on his neck. His eyes glimpsed over at Levi's sharp claws and Eren involuntarily shuddered at the thought. Like Levi, the man also carried a similar mesmerizing aura to him. However, while Levi's tail was more like that of a fish, or dolphin even, the man's tail looked like that of a blue whale. Sleek and navy blue with wide tail flukes and covered with smooth, slippery, wet rubber-like skin that merged flawlessly with his torso. Eren glanced over at Levi and, noticing the look of intense pain on his face, realized the truth.

"Is he why you were singing?" Levi released a few soft notes, filled with so much suffering, so much grief, that Eren felt a heart-wrenching twinge in his own body. Levi's glance averted to the limp figure in between them and a single tear poured out from his left eye and trailed down his nose. He reached up a single claw and gently stroke the man's cheek with it, taking the time to caress his jawline, so tenderly making sure he doesn't accidentally hurt the man. "I'm so sorry. I really am, Levi. Levi Ackerman."

"Erwin. Erwin Smith. My Erwin Smith," Levi croon softly, leaning down to nuzzle his nose against Erwin's, an action laced with more agony than affection. He pushed himself onto the shore and carefully pulled Erwin's head onto his lap, using his silky hair to cushion his head against the hard scales. Levi sadly stroked Erwin's wet hair and resumed his singing. Eren couldn't help but notice the heartache behind the evocative melody.

"Was… was he your lover?" Eren watched as Levi's song faded away, as his webbed hands reached up and laced through his hair. Levi's head dropped, his hands holding his hair, and a soft hiccup-like sob bursted from his lips, so quiet that Eren was sure he wouldn't have heard it if he wasn't listening for a response.

"My Erwin Smith. My fault. My fault, my fault, my fault. My Erwin Smith. I'm sorry, my Erwin Smith. I'm sorry, my fault, all my fault." Levi's voice raised a full octave, as he threw his head back, his hair whipping the glowing water behind him, and released a woeful screech. "Erwin Smith! Come back, my Erwin Smith! Please, please, please! Erwin Smith, please come back to me!" He doubled over at the waist, weakly bending over Erwin's corpse, wrecked with tears.

Eren softly walked over to Levi's hunched over form and threw his arms over his shoulder, embracing his quivering body.

No, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry, Levi Ackerman.