𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 | 𝐞. 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫

{ thirty-eight } the home she made

"Oi, Hange!" Levi called over the sound of the water crashing against itself. "It might be poisonous, so don't touch it."

"Yes, be cautious," Kira agreed with a smirk, her left arm reaching up to slowly untie her cloak from where it sat on her collarbone. "Levi is very uneasy about this water."

"Shut up, you brat," Levi grumbled, and Kira didn't dodge his hand when he smacked the back of her head. He never put any force behind the hits anyway.

Turning to him, Kira handed Levi her regiment cloak. He took it gently, folding it neatly and tucking it under his arm. She bent down to untie her shoes next when he gestured to her feet, easily slipping out of them, and tucked her socks into the shaft of her boots while she rolled up her pants.

"The sand is warm," she noted mindlessly, letting her feet sink into the grainy textured ground.

"Then get in the water," Levi retorted.

"But, you said–"

"You're annoying," Levi cut her off, bending down to grab her boots and walking towards a tree that had enough leaves to make a decent cover for shade. "Don't try to eat that, stupid horse." Kira watched Levi place her shoes down, keeping her cloak under his right arm as he lightly moved Poncho's head out of a nearby bush.

"Kira!" Connie called out to her, waving his arm so she could spot him. He was already much deeper in the water compared to her, pointing at something below the surface. "Come check out this rock!"

She wasn't exactly sure what could be so interesting about a rock that was submerged in water, but he seemed delighted at the sight of whatever was under the passing waves. She took her first step into the sea, and was instantly met with a rush of cold after standing in the hot sand. When the water pulled back from the shore, it felt like she was being pulled with it despite not moving at all.

Kira wobbled on her next steps, like some newborn horse walking around for the first time, looking around in confusion when she heard a splash that sounded like it was right beside her. Only, the sound had come from underneath her because her feet were creating small craters with every step. She was the one making noise as she walked, and it was unavoidable.

No matter how she turned her feet, or how slowly she moved, she was making more noises just by walking in this water than she ever had just by moving in her whole life. It was unnerving, but it sent a rush of adrenaline through her whole body as she purposefully stomped her foot into the water to hear the sound again.

"Do you see it?" Connie asked as she finally stood next to him.

"No," Kira answered, trying to inspect what he was pointing at as she pushed her hair back. The glare from the sun on each individual ripple of water was not helping her case, nor was the fact that there were literally about a hundred rocks that he could be pointing to at the moment.

Suddenly, her shoulders were shoved forward and her body jolted before she could ground herself. Her body was submerged into the cold water, the world completely mute for only a calm moment as the water climbed above her ears.

The noise of the world around her returned as she swiftly stood up, her clothes clinging to her sides as she spun around. Instinctively, she slammed her clenched fist into the stomach of her attacker, using her left hand to comb back her soaking wet hair.