The impromptu concert that Eren delivered turned out to be a great idea as more and more children gathered on the beach. Boys and girls sat down on the sand and slowly a small crowd was beginning to form. As the dark-haired boy kept on playing, Armin was checking on everyone, asking small questions and getting their names.
It turned out that almost all of the survivors were eleven. The one exception was a freckled girl with a curious look on her face named Ymir. She was twelve and from what Armin had gathered, she was raised by nuns in a monastery. For whatever reason, the girl didn't seem to be bothered by their absence on the beach. Rather, she listened to Eren's concert with agitation, occasionally giving him thumbs up.
Slumped right behind the older female, was a blonde girl with a small frame. For a change, her attitude seemed to be completely different. She was frantically looking around as if to check if all of this wasn't actually a dream. Almost as if she was expecting that this new reality wasn't exactly what it was.
Eren lowered down his conch and took a deep breath. As it turned out, playing a seashell wasn't exactly the same as playing any musical instrument that he had come across before and now his lungs were burning from exhaustion. He used this moment to look at his fellows.
Aside from him and Armin, there were two more males here. There was Jean, a lanky boy who was eyeing him with a raised eyebrow and there was Connie.
Connie seemed interested in making fun of Sasha, a brunette girl who was currently laying in the sand, muttering about meat. Next to her a small girl with braids named Mina, was worriedly fanning the laying female with a big leaf, probably thinking that Sasha was actually agonizing.
"Alright!" Eren exclaimed at last, getting everyone's attention.
Immediately after, words disappeared from his mind. He had never been in such a situation before. All of them were kids stranded in an unknown land, with no possible rescue anytime soon. They desperately needed some hope to cling on to, something that could bring them out of their distress.
"I called this gathering" Eren spoke again, raising the conch "we really need to discuss things! Does everyone agree?"
Their uncertain faces were suddenly filled with a focused, interested expressions and soon, all of them were nodding their heads and giving sounds of accord.
"Great" Eren continued "it looks like there are no grownups here…"
"We're all alone…"
Everyone looked towards the blonde girl who had until now remained silent. The gravity of those words weighed upon the kids. This wasn't some play anymore, they were actually facing an extremely dangerous scenario.
"So, it seems" Eren replied, not wavering for even a second "there are no grownups here, so until they come and save us…"
"How are you so sure that's going to happen?" Jean asked suddenly.
The dark-haired boy could feel that Jean was really worried about the future. He may have come off as cynical and fractious, but the slight jitter in his voice gave it all out.
"Armin has a dad in the navy" Eren explained "until then, we have everything we need to survive."
They didn't seem too convinced, so he tried to elaborate.
"Our position isn't that bad. This land is probably an island and that means we can easily find food here and make shelter. How about treating this as a once in a lifetime adventure?"
That seemed to have filled their hearts with newfound positivity and soon, he could see their smiles and affirmative nods.
"Alright" Eren expressed, deciding that his pause lasted long enough "how about…?"
"There!" Connie exclaimed suddenly, as he jumped up from the sand to point his finger towards the other side of the beach "more are coming!"
As if on command, everyone turned around to see just who those people were.
Eren could count six, all of whom were apparently of the same age as him. Four boys and two girls. They were wearing matching outfits, seemingly school uniforms. But something else had struck Eren. Whereas the initial nine all seemed to have that unique, rustic appearance, the new six definitely came from a city.
"I'm Marcel" The brown-haired boy, which seemed to be their leader spoke, once they arrived "who called?"
"I did" Eren responded showing off the conch.
The two boys looked each other in the eyes.
Someone once said that the eyes are the mirror of the soul. Eren had read so once in a book. If that was true, then it seemed that the two of them had very similar souls. Something about his static glare screamed to Eren that the other boy was a threat, however they reminded him so much of his own, that he desperately tried to ignore it.
Marcel smiled mischievously and nodded at him, motioning for his companions to sit down.
"As I was saying" Eren resumed "we need to decide on what we're going to do first…"
"It's obvious" Marcel interjected suddenly "we need a chief."
The eleven-year-olds started looking around, murmuring about this new idea.
"A chief?" Jean asked raising both eyebrows this time "like in a tribe?"
"Yes" Marcel affirmed "we'll be like pirates!"
"Like Vikings!" Connie exclaimed with enthusiasm.
"Yes!" The brown-haired leader replied, "we'll statute laws and conquer lands and there won't be any grownups here to stop us!"
Nods of agreement spread among the small gathering. It seemed that Marcel's idea really took off and the need for a chief became the most important issue for the moment. Soon, chaos ensued, and everyone began giving their own ideas on how things should be run.
"Everyone, please!" Armin exclaimed, before taking the conch from Eren "we won't be able to decide upon anything if you keep talking…"
But none of his cries made it past the uproar that Marcel's idea caused among the small crowd. With all that around, Eren was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed.
What should he do? He looked towards Mikasa. She was constantly watching him. Come to think of it, she was the only one who stayed silent for the entire ordeal.
Suddenly Eren remembered the day he saved her from the wolves. After coming back home, he received the greatest reprimand of his life. His father who usually stayed silent, had made him feel so small, almost as if his own mind and will, didn't exist.
And he achieved that by a very simple and basic act…
"SHUT UP!" Eren yelled at the top of his lungs.
Instantly, the gathering fell silent. Everyone looked towards him, some shocked that he was capable of yelling so loud. With their attention on him, the boy took a deep breath.
"Let's make a first rule" he spoke, before pointing towards Armin "the conch brought us all here. So, the person holding it, shall be the only one to speak and everyone else will listen. That's how we will proceed with gatherings."
The formal tone of his statement somehow brought the children to earth. One by one, each of them raised their hand in an overly parliamentary, almost comical way.
"Aye!" The crowd chanted before looking towards Armin.
Upon the attention, the bespectacled boy got all anxious. He nervously raised the conch.
"We should vote for a chief…" He explained slowly, "anyone who wishes to be the chief, please get over here…"
Immediately, Marcel stood up and walked over to Armin. But something inside Eren didn't sit quite right with that turn of events. Almost as if some unknown force pulled him over, he walked towards the two boys, standing in the middle.
Seeing that he made up his mind, Armin smiled at him. Then, the blonde boy turned towards the rest of the kids.
"Who votes for Marcel?" He asked.
Almost all of the brown-haired boy's companions raised their hands. The only exception was a quiet blonde girl with a characteristic nose.
"Four votes for Marcel" Armin expressed "who votes for Eren?"
The dark-haired boy looked around. He could see that Mikasa was the first to raise her hand. It truly touched Eren, how much the girl cared for him. Then, Ymir raised her hand, somehow half-heartedly. After that, hand after hand would raise up. After everyone from the initial group had their hands up, Armin hesitantly raised his own.
Eren looked at Marcel in triumph. Their first clash had been won by him, and for some unknown reason, that put a smile on his face. The other boy did seem a bit shaken by this, but after a moment of silent stupor, he simply shrugged and sat down with the rest of his group.
"Eight votes for Eren" Armin exclaimed slowly "I think it's already decided."