Bertholdt and Reiner, his lifelong pal with the golden tail and sturdy frame, used to stay close to the people and ships. It was risky but handy - the sailors would occasionally toss out scraps of food from the ships that the sirens could eat, saving them from having to hunt for fish or lure humans into the water. And simply because they were simply fascinated by those two-legged creatures - the shanties were addictive to listen to, and the ammunition they displayed was as captivating. People were fragile and vulnerable animals in this world, but their inventions brought them to the top of the food chain.

It was hard to see the crew from the surface of the water, but Bertholdt would sometimes see people dumping stuff into the water or scouting the horizon with their monoculars. Sometimes, he would see a girl sitting on the handrails and eating or studying the map. She never interacted with the sirens, nor even noticed them but for some reason, he would feel all excited just by her presence. Bertholdt wanted to be noticed by her, to have their eyes meet and even a thought of it would turn his cheeks bright red but anytime there would be a chance for it to happen, he would immediately hide underwater. What if she got scared and tried to kill him? What if she would hate him? The siren wasn't sure if he could live through such heartbreak.

For a couple of years, they secretly followed one of the ships who seemed to be stealing the loot from the other crews. Mostly the others would surrender and give it away but sometimes, the other crew would take out their weapons and fight back. That's when the water would get bloody. That's what happened one summer morning. The ship that both sirens followed was attacked. The battle was intense - both ships used canons to blast each other's sides, which blasted the wooden planks and some people on board. The whole air was slowly getting covered by a smell of gunpowder and the thick smog. People were screaming commands or begging for mercy, everything was chaotic.

Reiner tugged his friend's hand as if he was telling him to move away but he refused to hide. A few moments later, some wooden part of the berth dropped into the ocean, dragging a person with it. Reiner tried hauling Bertholdt away again but he refused. His eyes were following the body of a person. The waves plucked the human around until one of the ships started swimming over them, causing the person to be pulled underwater. Bertholdt recognized the body - it was the same girl he would see up on the edge of the deck. Before Reiner would back away or do anything he had planned, Bertholdt advanced with his own idea. He rushed towards the woman, grabbed her body and swam away from the ship's keel, making sure it didn't push them down even deeper. The girl was way smaller than Bertholdt thought but he could feel a muscular strong body hiding under the thick layers of clothes. As he looked down, he noticed that her eyes were open but not responding to the terrors of the outside world; her lips were parted, letting out the bubbles and making her lose air from her lungs. She looked so intimidating but somehow cute… but he didn't think about it so much - if he wasn't faster, she would die. Besides, she had a wound on her chest and he didn't know if the salty water was making everything worse.

"Bert, are you crazy? Let her go!" Reiner shouted and swam after his friend. Bertholdt was a skittish type who usually refused to be initiative but this time, he was determined with what he was doing. So one of a few times Bertholdt was getting out of his shell was when saving a human.

"I'll be okay, she's not cautious," he replied and kept swimming up. More shots were fired, the cannons were launching the metal balls into the ships and water, but it didn't stop the tall siren from bringing the little pirate into the surface.

But when he finally peaked his head out, he faced the sight of how he imagined hell - all the sky was now covered in the gray layer of smoke, one of the ships was now set on fire and the sailors from the burning ship were jumping off board into the sea, hoping that the flames would stop eating them alive once they hit the water. Bertholdt felt his heart sinking into the end of his tail. It was truly hell, his instincts were begging him to swim down and hide so the war between people would end up without getting himself hurt but he couldn't. He was throwing himself in front of all the dangers, just so he could save this little blonde. Why was he doing this? He couldn't tell even if he wanted to.

Bertholdt quickly found a big wreck and laid the woman on it carefully so she would lay on her stomach. He couldn't tell if she was breathing or not, so he moved his head close to her face, trying to feel a soft breeze that should be coming from her breathing. But no response was there.

"How is she?" Reiner asked after peeking his head out, but mostly being more worried about the ships and people spotting them. His fins were puffed up, eyes focused on this woman's crew that was trying to kill the last living enemies.

"I don't know. She's not responding, and she got hurt…" Bertholdt replied. Not knowing what to do, he trailed his arm over her back. At first he petted it a few times but then smacked it. Initially, he was afraid he hurt her, until she finally started coughing out the little bit of water she had stuck in her lungs. But even her coughing in the middle of hellfire's torture sounded so releaving. He couldn't help but smile to himself. "There there, you'll be okay," he whispered and started caressing her cheek with his thumb softly, trying not to hurt her with his sharp nail by accident.

Bertholdt couldn't help but find the girl pretty. She had a soft oval-shaped face, a Roman nose, slightly chapped lips, and blonde hair that was usually put in a bun but was now messily undone after a long fight and nearly drowning. But the siren still found her endearing - even if she was frowning and not looking particularly feminine, it merely highlighted her strength. And he adored it.

To calm her thoughts and ease her sorrow, he did what his kind did to kill people: he opened his mouth and began singing gently, only for the woman to hear. Screaming and shooting were painting the picture of the cruel reality, but Bertholdt continued singing as he was swinging his tail slowly, keeping his head above the water and soothing the lady in front of him. He closed his eyes for a time to collect his thoughts and find confidence to continue what he was doing. 'Gosh, why is it easier to kill someone than to sing for her?' he wondered to himself as he opened his eyes to meet her blue ones. The siren was alarmed at first, but when he noticed how drowsy and quiet she was, he swallowed a lump stuck in his throat and continued singing.

Alas, the song was not completed. Reiner had to swim over and point at the ship where some sailors were already lowering the boat into the water. Bertholdt stopped singing and, somewhat reluctantly, smiled farewell to the girl before diving down underwater to allow the ship crew to save their injured partner in crime.

It was the closest Betholdt could get to that lady for a couple of years, but that night, when her crew was staying in one of the seaports and she was patrolling alone, he worked up the nerve to approach her again. He was scared she might flee or, worse, kill him. But she did not only not harm him, but she also revealed her name to him. Annie… that name was pretty. It was very easy to remember and pronouce it outloud. Even though sirens spent most of their time underwater, they still had their own language. Annie sounded like any - a word in his language that meant pearl. It made him adore her more, even if it was just a name that made him feel this way. All mighty dangerous sailor going by the name of Pearl in the siren language… that's too adorable.

Bertholdt swam down to the bottom of the water, where Reiner was staying, and looked in the direction of his comrade. He really wanted to go and see his friend interact with the human lady, but Bertholdt told him not to because she might be terrified by both sirens. She could've thought it's a trap.

"How did it go?" Reiner asked and, when he spotted Bertholdt's blush and a tiny simper, he couldn't help but smirk. "Someone's blushing. "Did you get smooched?" he teased, making Bertholdt blush even more.

"N-no, of course not. She only told me her name. Annie."

"Like pearl, eh? That's nice. What do you plan to do next?"

"I thought about bringing her a gift or something. Or show her a reef - she probably haven't seen one before, since she has never gone for a swim, at least I didn't remember the time she did so." Bertholdt said, looking at Reiner, who's grin just got wider. Why is he smirking so much?

"You like her, don't you?"

"What?! No!.. Well, yes but, I mean, I just want to know her. You should join me and meet her when she feels comfortable, then you'll feel the same way!"

"Humans aren't my type, but if that will make you feel better, then I'll pretend that they are." the blond nudged his friend who was turning red as a ruby. "Okay okay, don't worry, I won't tease you around her, for now."