The Adventure on-board the Maria

The Start of the Journey Back

"Sir....wait.....Captain!" Armin called out, trying to keep up with Levi as he marched across the deck of the boat. The other crew, except for Sebastian and Eren, were busy with their usual duties of controlling the ship. Mikasa was steering, Hanji was in the crows nest, while the rest were manning the sails. "Captain!" Armin tried calling out again. "What?!" Levi snapped, swivelling completely around to glare angrily at the poor boy, who was now a little frightened. Levi sighed an apology, rubbing his head a little to calm himself down. His brows were furrowed and the lines under his eyes were more prominent recently. "What?" he repeated more calmly. He already had a prediction of what was coming. Armin wasn't the first to address him since he made his most recent decision. "Hanji and I have been talking, and we're not sure going back to Trost is the best idea. The weather has been really bad over there and it might not be safe. The Maria just got repaired, so maybe its best to wait or...". "We're going" Levi stubbornly interrupted. "My decision is final. The waves would just be choppy, it's nothing compared to a full fledged storm". "But....". "Shut the fuck up and go back to minding Eren like you are supposed to". Armin lowered his head and nodded, before turning around and going down the steps below deck.

Levi turned around, and was about to go back to business, but ended up nearly bumping into Sebastian, who was patiently waiting behind him. His arms were folded, and he was giving Levi a disapproving look. "What happened to my masters orders?" he questioned, his voice quiet but venomous sounding. "What orders?" Levi answered bluntly. "The orders to....". "Oh yes those orders, well I'm sorry but I have a shitty issue with over stocking, so much so that the storage room can't contain everything and I have to keep some things on deck, and that puts them at risk of falling into the water when the waves are bad, so your bratty master will have to wait on his fucking orders" Levi interrupted. A disgusted scowl was on Sebastian's face as he looked down at him. "You have some appalling manners Mr Ackerman" he pointed out. "You're on a pirate ship, deal with it you one hell of a bitch". Levi then turned around again, about to walk away and leave it at that, until his eyes made contact with Melody's for a split second, as she watched him from on top of the masts. He huffed, shoved passed Sebastian, entered the captains quarters and slammed the door behind him.

--------------------------------------------------------

The winds and the waves was treacherous. Melody clung to the mast she was on for dear life. Although it was not nearly as bad as the storm that got them on Titan Island, it still made her worried. Boxes of loot were only just about held in place thanks to ropes that were tying them down. Levi was shouting orders here and there, Armin was bellow deck taking care of Eren still, and Sebastian was nowhere to be seen. The rest of them were trying to control the ship despite the choppy sea. She was working on the same mast as Gunther, just beside the crows nest where Hanji was keeping watch. "Melody and Gunther, Shorty says we need to lose speed, roll up your sails!" Hanji called across to them. The both nodded. "You do the one on the bottom, I'll do the one on the top" Gunther ordered, patting her on the shoulder as he stepped onto the first rung of the ladder leading up to the top yard of the mast. Melody went straight to work. She untied the rope keeping the sail attached to the yard she was standing on, and began rolling the fabric up until it reached the yard above her. Using the same rope, she tied it in place so that it wouldn't roll down again.

Levi was heard giving orders to Mikasa to turn. This caused the ship to slant to the left, making Melody sway back and almost fall. Before she could lose contact with the mast, a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back up. "Damn brat, making me move from my mast to save your sorry ass" Olua complained, helping her stand up straight. "Thanks Olua" she mumbled apologetically. It was her own fault she nearly fell. She wasn't paying attention, and didn't grab anything to keep balance when Mikasa turned. "Melody are you okay!" Petra called out to her, like a worried mother. She and Eld had stopped what they were doing when they saw what happened. Melody gave them a thumbs up to reassure them. She thanked Olua again before he swung back to the mast he was supposed to be working on. Gunther soon came back down from the top yard to check on her. She reassured him she was okay which he believed, but truthfully she was not.