At Sea
((repossessing @kappa776‘s mermaid au, and decided to turn it into a selkie one. character death and angst warning!))
Kyr Velafi of the Fiore pod kept his eyes on the sea as he walked along the beach, carrying a heavy bundle wrapped in his fur.
He’d always come up here, hiding his skin- in the guise of a heavy furred cloak when he took it off- amongst the rocks. Being human was cold sometimes, and not at all suited for the beaches in winter, but he needed human hands to craft the devices he so loved. Ever since he’d found wreckage of some machinery in the shallows, he left the sea more and more often, trying to learn how humans made such marvelous items. He remembered warnings from his pod, that trips to the beach should be sparing, but they weren’t here anymore, were they? He’d needed something to take up his time.
One day, a light-haired man had approached up, wearing light clothes, seemingly unbothered by the cold. “Markus Velafi,” he had introduced himself. “I see you all the time, and thought I’d come say hello.”
“Kyr,” he had answered, shaking the stranger’s hand. They’d sat and talked for a while, Markus regaling him with stories while he worked on this or that, his attention always jumping between projects.
And Markus was there the next day, and the next, always arriving after Kyr, so he didn’t have to worry about leaving the water undetected. One day, as the sky was heavy with clouds above them, Markus had gestured at the various contraptions Kyr spent so much time on. “Do you have a place to store these?” he’d asked. “To keep them safe from the rain?”
Kyr had indicated a rocky shelf behind them. “I usually hide them there. It works well enough.”
“I see.”
When Kyr returned the next day, there was a heavy tarp over the space the shelf overlooked, and wood planks had been set over the sand. He’d hugged Markus when he arrived, picking the human up in his enthusiasm. “Thank you!”
"Anything for you, buddy,” Markus had said.
The next week, the blonde brought him a coat. “You always look cold,” he had said. “I thought this might help.”
Kyr, in an instant, made his decision. He’d been wondering about it, over and over, but decided that if he could trust any human, it was this one. “I actually have a cloak,” he’d said, conspiratorially. “I’ll show you.”
He’d fetched his fur, and slipped it on, taking his native form of a seal. Markus had been bewildered, and then curious, asking him all sorts of questions. “I never thought your kind existed!” He said. “Thank you for showing me this.”
Kyr was ready, after that day, for Markus to try and steal his fur- there were plenty of stories of humans kidnapping selkies that way. But he never did. He simply came to the beach, and told his stories, interrupted now and then by coughing fits, and asked Kyr about his life in the seas, and invited him back to his own home for a meal or two now and again. Kyr didn’t always accept the offers, but he could tell the human was exceedingly happy when he did.
One day, when Kyr arrived on the beach, there was a small box laying in the spot where he kept his fur. He had opened it, confused, only to find a small gold ring inside, and a note.
I can’t come to the beach anymore, the note said. But I can’t give you up. If you accept this, I’ll be waiting for you in my cabin. If not, throw it into the sea, and I’ll still come to keep you company tomorrow.
Of course, there was only one answer to that. Kyr had slipped the ring on, folded up his fur, and walked away from the beach.
Happy years followed, but Kyr knew something was wrong. Markus’ health kept deteriorating. All too soon, he couldn’t even tell a single tale without having to stop every few sentences, coughs racking through his body. He could barely eat.
The day came far faster than either of them wanted. “Kyr,” Markus had said.
“Yes?” he had answered, trying to hold back his tears.
“You don’t have to stay here,” the blonde said. “Go, and do what you can to be happy.”
“But how will I be, without you?”
Markus had smiled weakly, and grasped his hand. “You were before me, I’m sure, and you will be again. Just. Take me with you, alright? However you can, I don’t want to be left behind.”
Kyr’d nodded, kissing him gently. “Of course. Anything for you, buddy,” he had said, repeating the words that first made him fall in love.
So here he was, finally returning to the sea, Markus’ body wrapped in his fur. He stopped at the water’s edge, and set his burden down. For the first time in years, he put his fur on, stretching into his seal body like the most intimate of homecomings.
Then he nudged Markus’ body into the ocean, taking him to the place where the remains of his pod lay covered by the waves, and giving him a place of honor amongst the selkie graves.
