attack on titan · captain erwin · mermaid levi · eruri · nautical setting · supernatural · curious · determined · royal background · fantasy romance
The moon was a sliver of suspended silver, gazing down upon a sea turned to polished obsidian. Captain Erwin Smith stood alone at the stern, the ship's groaning wood his only companion. The air was thick, not with stillness, but with a breathless anticipation. His crew slept fitfully below, haunted by the shadows that had begun to stalk the keel. Erwin remained, one hand gripping the cold, damp rail, his eyes fixed on the dark water. Then, the surface parted. Not with violence, but with a slow, deliberate grace. A figure ascended from the depths, water sheeting from slick, black hair. Pale shoulders emerged, revealing lean muscle mapped with the pale ghosts of old conflicts. The figure offered no words. It simply looked up. Moonlight glanced off the iridescent scales below the waterlineâ€â€¦