[buckle up 'cause it's going to be a long one. please do comment as well.]
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844.
"Eren, behave when we get there, alright?" Grisha made sure to tell Eren while standing in front of the ferry that would be taking them to the port leading to the outskirts of Maria. The man looked at the girl beside his son with softer eyes. She was clutching her stuffed doll, yawning even though it was way past lunchtime. "If you feel awkward around a new face, little Aurora will help you. She is friends with the Ackermans' eldest daughter after all."
Eren nodded at his father's instructions before glancing at the redhead dozing off after a hearty lunch. He snickered lightly, lifting a hand to poke her on the tummy. "Wake up, Dawn."
Aurora stirred, letting one hand go of her doll to rub her eyes. It was adorable that even Grisha chuckled at her. The man lightly patted her head and stood up straight to lead the children up the boat. "I'm sorry I'm too sleepy today," Aurora murmured, following close behind the doctor, with Eren's hand covering her free one.
"Don't apologize," Eren replied with his head facing forward, not letting his father out of his sight. The man was tall so locating him in this small crowd of travelers was an easy feat for a sharp-eyed child like Eren. Taking his chances, the boy looked away from the back of Grisha's head to fix a reassuring gaze at Aurora's drowsy countenance. He tightened his hand around hers ever so slightly. "You can always sleep on my shoulder while we go where Dad is visiting his patient. Let's hurry though, Dad will scold us if we take too long."
Eren kept dodging adults on their way to Grisha, occasionally looking over his shoulder to check if his best friend was still on her feet. Excuses came out of his mouth for the sake of basic human decency but if someone bumped into him or onto Aurora, he'd glare at them with such disdain that the adult would grumble about children learning manners as a must. Eren rolled his eyes at that. He had enough of that from their other neighbors — he didn't need another reminder of his brash personality. He felt perfectly fine the way he was right now. Aurora didn't drift away from him despite having this attitude so why should he change?
Grisha was located on one of the benches in the canopied middle of the ferry. He was reading one of his more complicated books, as seen from the engraving of a human skeleton on the cover. He looked up over the rim of his glasses and saw the two children bouncing over to him. He waved them over, patting down on the vacant seat beside him. "Glad the two of you are here now."
"Yeah," Eren answered.
"You two can sleep, I'll wake you, kids, when we get to the port."
He plopped himself on the bench, placing Aurora in the middle of him and his father. That way, he could keep an eye on her at the same time, his dad would, too. Eren let Aurora rest on his shoulder. The breeze was cool enough for him to bury the bottom half of his face onto his scarf. The gentle caresses of the wind even carried Aurora's scent closer to him. It was a mixture of sweet and wholesome, almost a blend of the wildflowers found around their tree, the purest vanilla one got from the capital and a hint of berries. She smelled like home to little Eren's senses — like summer. Way better than anything else. He felt his whole body relax while he inhaled the subtle fragrance she blanketed them over.
