~RANKED 1 in #attackontitan 11/07/19~
"Insanity is relative. It depends on who has who locked in what cage."
-Ray Bradbury
Walls, gates, cages...Wood, bricks and iron...
These are what caged her, and these were what she hated the most...
(Y/N) (L...
"If that's what you want...Just don't take too long, okay? Everyone should be together..." Jean offered me a soft smile, and I reciprocated, making sure to include Levi so he wouldn't get bitter and say something passive aggressive, or just plain aggressive. "Go on. Git."
Once I was alone, I didn't rush to complete my task. Two by two, I led the horses down the dunes, making sure they were all happily grazing before I finally turned back to the sea.
Boots off and pants rolled up to their knees, everybody was standing in the water, and the sight of such unbridled joy made my chest ache. It was only a fraction of the happiness they deserved, but it had come at a cost that no person should ever have had to bear.
Slowly approaching the water, my attention was drawn to Conny, Sasha, Jean and Floch, who were having an absolute blast. The latter two had obviously tried drinking seawater, and were choking on gags and laughter as the other two howled in amusement.
To my other side, I watched as Hange chased Levi with something strange and wet that they had plucked from the shallows, their excited squawks drowning out the man's panicked curses.
Straight ahead, I wasn't quite sure what I was seeing. There was Eren, pointing out into the oblivion of the horizon with Armin and Mikasa watching him closely. I couldn't see his face, but I knew it was void of all emotion. There was something brewing there, but I left it well alone.
Unwilling to try and insert myself into any of the three groups, I wandered a little further down the beach, the faint cries of a foreign bird above me a calming addition to the rhythmic lap of the waves. I didn't walk too far before I decided to test the waters for myself, kicking off my boots and rolling up my pants.
It was a sobering kind of cold when it first struck my skin, but it soon became a dulled chill as I waded out further, stopping to look out over the endless blue. How much were we really missing, having been imprisoned on Paridis for so long? How many worlds were waiting for us, far past Marley? How many of them wanted us dead?
How many of them are Devils too..?
Standing there in silence, the ebb and flow of the ocean carried the memories of the past back to me, causing them to wash over me all at once.
Dimitri's self sacrifice in order to protect me.
He would never get to see this.
Marco's murder at the hands of those who we had trusted without question.
He would never get to see this.
Eld's final moments, taking my place within the jaws of Annie Leonhart.
He would never get to see this.
My father's dying breath, the life draining from his eyes as he was returned to the devil he was surely born from.
He would never get to see this.
Countless people had ended their lives never knowing the truth of our world. They met their fate believing this was it, that we were all that remained. I couldn't decide whether I pitied or envied them.
What was the point? What good could possibly come from taking on the entire world? Every man, woman and child on every corner of the earth wanted to dance upon our corpses, so why? How could we ever compete? Why couldn't we have just lived our lives, blissfully ignorant to the hell outside of our own until our time was up?
What's the point of surviving now..?
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My yelp came out more like a startled honk when I was suddenly knocked off my feet from the side, having been deaf to the frantic splashing approaching. Once I regained my thoughts and returned to the land of the living I realised I was cold and soaked to the bone, my hands gripping the sand beneath the water as I held myself up.
Sasha was straddling me, a scene I recalled from early on in our friendship, her tongue sticking out of her mouth and her brow creased. "(N/N), whatever you do, don't eat the green stuff in here! It's nasty! Do not recommend!"
I blinked up at her, ignoring the tickle of water droplets trailing down the sides of my face, and the way my soggy hair stuck to the back of my neck. Slowly, my lips began to curl upward, then I just let go of everything.
This. This is the point.
Laughing loudly, I pushed Sasha off of myself gently, snorting at the way she flailed in the water. Conny waded up to my side and helped us both to our feet, slinging his arm over our shoulders and dragging us in to bump our heads together, Jean and Floch approaching, still spitting out salty sea water residue.
"I hereby declare this day to be forever known as Ocean Day! It shall be a day of merriment! Frolicking is mandatory! Ya hear me?! Man-Da-Tor-Eeeeeee!" He announced in a terrible attempt at a posh accent. "Can I get a here here?!"
As I laughed, Jean and I found each other's eyes, and finally I felt as though things were right. Sure, there was a rough road ahead, not only for the island of Paradis as a whole, but for our personal lives as well, but that wasn't a problem for today. This day was the bright beginning of a new chapter.
"Here here!" We all chorused, solidifying the decree with a splash-fight, laughter all around. All except...
For a brief moment, I turned my gaze back to Eren, a dark, pained aura seeping from his very existence, threatening to creep up and into my skin the longer I looked.
Whatever it is that's eating at you, Eren...I have a feeling we're all going to get dragged into it eventually...
