Your steller's sea lion selkie bodyguard isn't technically a lifeguard, but you suppose he sort of is.
He wasn't supposed to be doing any sort of bodyguarding today, if you had any say in it. The only goal for today was to sit underneath this beach umbrella and do nothing remotely taxing, other than a dip or two in the ocean and maybe a walk to comb the beach for shells.
But now, the sandcastle that he has spent the last two hours painstakingly constructing sits forgotten, his attention now fully fixated out at the shore.
"See what?" You look up from the spot in the saccharine romance novel you brought with you specifically for this trip.
He points a sandy finger out to one of the white capped waves, just in time to catch a glance of a swimmer bobbing under the water.
"Looks like someone can't swim very well."
"Nope." He says, grimly. "Sinking like a rock."
"Someone will help." You wave your hand. You didn't come to the beach to deal with more problems, you have enough of your own.
He sighs, restlessly squeezing tense handfuls of sand at his sides.
"Looks like they're on their own…"
"Don't tell me you want to go save them." You say with an exasperated huff. "This is supposed to be a chance to relax. For both of us."
"Yeah, but- someone's gotta, or-" He grits his teeth together just a bit at the thought. "Well. Y'know."
"That's what the lifeguard is for-" You groan, shielding your eyes with your hand and squinting at the white wooden tower in the distance, but finding the well-oiled musclehead that was there mere minutes ago to be missing from his post, now that someone actually needs their life guarded.
Meanwhile, the substitute lifeguard next to you might as well be a golden retriever with the sad, wet look in his eyes and the discomforted half-whine that gets caught in his throat.
You let out a long, withering sigh. He perks up immediately.
You can't say no to such a selfless request, when all he wants to do is help. It's good enrichment.
"Okay, okay, geez-" You stretch out your arm back, feeling around for your bag on the towel behind you. Your fingertips connect with the canvas and you pull it towards you. "Just stop with the puppy dog eyes…"
After a bit of rummaging, you manage to find what you were seeking- the rich, velvet-soft brown fur of his sea mantle.
He nearly barks in glee, already reaching out for it.
"Here, but-" You hold it out to him, with the caveat; "Don't take too long."
The grunt of affirmation is barely audible over the commotion of him grabbing the fur cape and scrambling to his feet, though he is still conscientious enough to not kick a spray of sand back in your direction.
Despite being tall, broad and densely built, he is surprisingly agile, and easily clears the distance between your beach towels and the water line quickly, despite running in sand.
By time he hits the damp sand, he's draped his mantle around his shoulders, and after a split second of magical transformation, there's a massive sea lion diving into the undertow, where just a moment ago there was a tank of a man crashing into the surf.
And of course, he manages to retrieve the swimmer almost immediately. The desperate clawing of a drowning person to stay above water not impeding his ability to swim in the least.
Soon enough, he's pulled the rescued swimmer back onto the sand, with the lifeguard conveniently reappearing.
You don't even realize that you've completely lost focus on your reading material, and instead are now fully absorbed in the event unfolding in front of you.
At least you get to watch it all from your comfortable spot on the beach.