Eren says:
Ohhhh, nice question there.
That happened several months after I started working here. By that time, he was much more agreeable with me, I’d like to think we were friends and I really enjoyed spending time with him, but we were still tip toeing around each other. I had started trying to go into his tank to check that his tail and fins were healthy, since it’s a lot more difficult to naturally assess their state outside of the water, and evaluate his overal physical condition; that he’s getting enough excersice, etc. But I hadn’t dared to fully dive in yet. Petra had encouraged me to, ‘cause she can’t take care of him on her own all the time, she’s also responsible for a good number of the Dolphins, while I mainly care for Levi (And Mikasa now) and the odd case here and there when other doctors are busy.
I knew about his ability to “sing”, I had been told such merfolk tales were true to an extent, but that I shouldn’t expect him to suddenly burst out into song The Little Mermaid style. He can’t really speak, you see. Imitate some sounds, and some times manage to get words accurate enough to be understandable, yes. But speak? Nope. Sing a cover of Part of Your World? Much less.
During one of his routine check ups, I grew the courage to actually go in with him, approaching him just enough to look at his fins. I was incredibly nervous and you can’t blame me, he’s got sharp teeth and claws, because so far I had only managed to sit by the edge with my feet in the water and he’d come to me if and when he wanted. He’s a territorial being, and the tank is his home, one can’t simply swim around in it.
And, well… Somehow this may have been the right move? Because next thing I know, he’s right in front of me, at less than arm’s reach, and for a split second I thought that was it, I screwed up, angered the merman and I’m about to die. But instead, I started hearing this low, rumbling sound, typical of him when he’s trying to catch your attention. Then the sound began to fade into an impossibly… Human-like sound for him… But airy, almost hissing at times; it slowly softened into a humming voice the closer he got to me, until we were chest to chest and I could feel the vibrations coming from him. It was incredibly soothing. And that’s when I finally got the hint that, yep, he was singing. He was singing to me, never taking his eyes off mine, and now that I think about it, it would have been so easy for him to drown me, I was so lost.
I’m not gonna lie, at that point I was already nurturing a little bit of a crush on him, so this situation only helped feed it more and make a monster out of it. I was reduced to a brainless, babbling meat sack. I think I even forgot how to swim and was probably just hanging off him by the end of his lovely performance. When he was done, he just blinked a little, gave my arm a squeeze, and fled to his cave, leaving me to remember how to move my limbs. Now that I know him better, I’m pretty sure he was embarrassed.
[[Link to the song Levi would sort of sing (not a 100% accurate to how I hear it in my head): Siren call ]]
