Selkies Skins section two
installment 33
Chapter 20
Finnol's Hunt part two
Several hours passed, and the hold was filled, replicating previous trips that Captain Murphy had had in the area. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. The fish all seemed normal enough. While the other two were busy with their tasks, Finnol took out his wand and managed to test the fish with various charms meant to dispel Apparitions, in case they were ghosts like one of the fishers' theories had been.
The fish still remained, so they were either real, or really good illusions.
One theory down.
It wasn't until nearly sundown that he noticed anything unusual in the area. By the rocks, down low where the waters broke and sprayed over the sort of outcrop that Etain had liked to drape herself over when they were younger, he saw movement. A sleek brown head bobbed beside it, followed by a body that heaved itself up onto it with the next swell. Wide black eyes stared back at him for a moment.
Finnol stayed still, scented the air though it blew away from him.
"Da, want to watch out. Looks like a seal over there."
"Don't want to catch one of those" Captain Murphy agreed with his son. "Might be one of those recently drowned souls from that ship sinking in that last big storm."
"Da, don't you think that's stretching the old stories a bit? I'm no lad naemore."
The so called seal continued to watch them. It twitched now and then, lifted itself and curled its tail off to the side in a mermaid-like fashion now and then when neither of the fullhumans were watching.
"Rather have a soul wind up a selkie than a soulfish lad."
Finnol flinched a bit at Captain Murphy's comment, then tore his gaze from the seal - certain that it was in truth a selkie by its actions - to check the humans.
"Soulfish?"
"Ah Lawd. Don't ask, you'll get Da started on those too now." The lad complained through the strain of muscles, pulling in his net, now filled with silver fish.
"They're real. I saws 'em once." The Captain commented around his pipe. "Like flyin' fish, but with red eyes and human faces. Moaning and crying about what they were going to do whilst alive, to get yer pity. Then they eat you and turn you into one of them. Those be the Devil's work, I'm sure."
The sun set, and the other two were too busy with their bickering about what was and was not real or possible to notice the seal slip her skin off. Nor did they notice the lightly furred dark brown haired woman stand up on the rock and begin to sing.
Quietly at first, then steadily louder, her song rose and wove with the changing tide. The side closer to the boat began to rise, the rock seeming to grow... or perhaps be thrust up. Once it was loud enough to catch the human's ears, their movements slowed. A face came up on the side the lad was on, another woman opening her arms to him from in the water. She giggled and displayed herself, flashing large brown eyes and a gleaming smile from under her reddish-blonde hair. A similar form broke surface near the Captain, this one slightly older, and redder haired, but still young and winning. The Selkie women worked together, trying to sing the men into the water, one way or the other.
Finnol stunned both men, then sent them swiftly into the cabin. They sulked momentarily, then tried to turn their charms on him.
"Sorry ladies, I'm well mated and satisfied. This isn't a traditional clanground, so why don't you tell me what has you in such a frequented area?"
The eldest frowned up at him,bothered that he had no scent spike from any of them. "Why would we be talking to the likes of a halfling like yourself? We can take you out other ways."
"You could." He agreed carefully, nodding a bit as he chose his words. "But I might be able to help on the other hand. I'm with the Order of Fisheries and Water Conservation." He continued over her snort and sneer. "The other one, not the one with the Crown."
"Maybe then, but I doubt it." The eldest tucked a stray hair behind her ear.
"Our fishing ground got taken over. Most of our men were taken by trawl nets. We could get some of them out before hauled in or drowned. Not all. Not our husbands." Interjected the youngest. She twisted a strand of reddish blonde hair around her finger as she looked at him.
"Trawler nets?" He thought, trying to remember the lay of known Selkie fishing grounds and the areas approved for trawlers. Eventually he gave up and conjured a crude map of just the approved human fishing grounds and types. "Show me?"
"Just here." The eldest gestured after picking up a piece of driftwood that had floated into reach. The boat drifted closer to the sprouted rock, but still was not close enough to be a danger unless he dropped his vigilance.
The area indeed was squarely inside the boundaries granted as unfishable by treaty by human entities, according to the map.
"Why didn't you send word?"
"We don't know where to send it to. Our Emissary was one of them that we couldn't rescue. Not that our herd or our clan have much use for human ways of doing things." The eyes of the Selkies were wet, especially the brown one that had been on the rock and since put her skin back on to join them.
"What about asking a gull or a tern, or some other Messenger?"
"Too saddened to be able."
"Yet you can plot ways to torment men. Was it one of these?"
The nut brown seal glared up at him accusingly now while the eldest scowled.
"No." She replied. "But they are human, they use nets, and they are taking the food from where we had to move to."
"How about you let these two go, I do what I can about taking care of those poachers, and for the time being you frequent the sea around my home. Seal Point is kept safe from the two so-called ministries and the Crown. It'll be iffy enough if you stay here with what I had to do to them to have this talk and protect you."
The youngest snorted while the nutbrown one sneered. "Protect us? From what? Being drowned in nets ourselves?"
"Scientists are still wanting to prove the existence of sea people, for good or ill. Do you really want to risk what sort of tests you'd be put through? Have your skins stolen? Allow men to put their hands on you and have no way to fend them off or run away?"
"The halfblood is right. We can't know what they'd do if we were Netted and survived. We'll take you up on your offer of refuge, for now." The eldest replied. "But we would like a say in what happened to the the men that killed our husbands."
"Fair enough ladies..." He sighed, then pointed to a spot on the map, changing it a bit so that they could see. "That is where Seal Point is. If you have any trouble with the herds around there, go to the house above the docks and talk to those inside. They're family, and will help you if I'm not currently there."
The three nodded, the younger two more reluctantly than the eldest, then pulled the heads of their skins over their heads. For a moment, the sealskin faces sate over their human ones like masks before settling and melding. Soon, there were three brown harbour seals, one a reddishblonde, one more of a certain red, and one regular dark brown... all swimming away in the direction of safe refuge.
Finnol rubbed his head and leaned on the railing a moment more.
"Mara, what is going on? If this keeps up, the merfolk will be known again within the generation... And then more humans will know about magic, and we'll have countries and religions fighting over who's got the strongest magic all over again."
The ocean continued with her regular waves, and no tingle of Mara's attention touched him. He expected none, yet since he never knew when she or any other listened... he had no problem with voicing his thoughts to the Winds.
He was just about ready to turn and Revive the men he'd knocked out, when he felt the chill of one of the Ministry's things prickle the edge of his senses. He could feel the licking tongues of dread, and rather than wake them, instead he sought to drive the boat away and back to port.
The fish still remained, so they were either real, or really good illusions.
One theory down.
It wasn't until nearly sundown that he noticed anything unusual in the area. By the rocks, down low where the waters broke and sprayed over the sort of outcrop that Etain had liked to drape herself over when they were younger, he saw movement. A sleek brown head bobbed beside it, followed by a body that heaved itself up onto it with the next swell. Wide black eyes stared back at him for a moment.
Finnol stayed still, scented the air though it blew away from him.
"Da, want to watch out. Looks like a seal over there."
"Don't want to catch one of those" Captain Murphy agreed with his son. "Might be one of those recently drowned souls from that ship sinking in that last big storm."
"Da, don't you think that's stretching the old stories a bit? I'm no lad naemore."
The so called seal continued to watch them. It twitched now and then, lifted itself and curled its tail off to the side in a mermaid-like fashion now and then when neither of the fullhumans were watching.
"Rather have a soul wind up a selkie than a soulfish lad."
Finnol flinched a bit at Captain Murphy's comment, then tore his gaze from the seal - certain that it was in truth a selkie by its actions - to check the humans.
"Soulfish?"
"Ah Lawd. Don't ask, you'll get Da started on those too now." The lad complained through the strain of muscles, pulling in his net, now filled with silver fish.
"They're real. I saws 'em once." The Captain commented around his pipe. "Like flyin' fish, but with red eyes and human faces. Moaning and crying about what they were going to do whilst alive, to get yer pity. Then they eat you and turn you into one of them. Those be the Devil's work, I'm sure."
The sun set, and the other two were too busy with their bickering about what was and was not real or possible to notice the seal slip her skin off. Nor did they notice the lightly furred dark brown haired woman stand up on the rock and begin to sing.
Quietly at first, then steadily louder, her song rose and wove with the changing tide. The side closer to the boat began to rise, the rock seeming to grow... or perhaps be thrust up. Once it was loud enough to catch the human's ears, their movements slowed. A face came up on the side the lad was on, another woman opening her arms to him from in the water. She giggled and displayed herself, flashing large brown eyes and a gleaming smile from under her reddish-blonde hair. A similar form broke surface near the Captain, this one slightly older, and redder haired, but still young and winning. The Selkie women worked together, trying to sing the men into the water, one way or the other.
Finnol stunned both men, then sent them swiftly into the cabin. They sulked momentarily, then tried to turn their charms on him.
"Sorry ladies, I'm well mated and satisfied. This isn't a traditional clanground, so why don't you tell me what has you in such a frequented area?"
The eldest frowned up at him,bothered that he had no scent spike from any of them. "Why would we be talking to the likes of a halfling like yourself? We can take you out other ways."
"You could." He agreed carefully, nodding a bit as he chose his words. "But I might be able to help on the other hand. I'm with the Order of Fisheries and Water Conservation." He continued over her snort and sneer. "The other one, not the one with the Crown."
"Maybe then, but I doubt it." The eldest tucked a stray hair behind her ear.
"Our fishing ground got taken over. Most of our men were taken by trawl nets. We could get some of them out before hauled in or drowned. Not all. Not our husbands." Interjected the youngest. She twisted a strand of reddish blonde hair around her finger as she looked at him.
"Trawler nets?" He thought, trying to remember the lay of known Selkie fishing grounds and the areas approved for trawlers. Eventually he gave up and conjured a crude map of just the approved human fishing grounds and types. "Show me?"
"Just here." The eldest gestured after picking up a piece of driftwood that had floated into reach. The boat drifted closer to the sprouted rock, but still was not close enough to be a danger unless he dropped his vigilance.
The area indeed was squarely inside the boundaries granted as unfishable by treaty by human entities, according to the map.
"Why didn't you send word?"
"We don't know where to send it to. Our Emissary was one of them that we couldn't rescue. Not that our herd or our clan have much use for human ways of doing things." The eyes of the Selkies were wet, especially the brown one that had been on the rock and since put her skin back on to join them.
"What about asking a gull or a tern, or some other Messenger?"
"Too saddened to be able."
"Yet you can plot ways to torment men. Was it one of these?"
The nut brown seal glared up at him accusingly now while the eldest scowled.
"No." She replied. "But they are human, they use nets, and they are taking the food from where we had to move to."
"How about you let these two go, I do what I can about taking care of those poachers, and for the time being you frequent the sea around my home. Seal Point is kept safe from the two so-called ministries and the Crown. It'll be iffy enough if you stay here with what I had to do to them to have this talk and protect you."
The youngest snorted while the nutbrown one sneered. "Protect us? From what? Being drowned in nets ourselves?"
"Scientists are still wanting to prove the existence of sea people, for good or ill. Do you really want to risk what sort of tests you'd be put through? Have your skins stolen? Allow men to put their hands on you and have no way to fend them off or run away?"
"The halfblood is right. We can't know what they'd do if we were Netted and survived. We'll take you up on your offer of refuge, for now." The eldest replied. "But we would like a say in what happened to the the men that killed our husbands."
"Fair enough ladies..." He sighed, then pointed to a spot on the map, changing it a bit so that they could see. "That is where Seal Point is. If you have any trouble with the herds around there, go to the house above the docks and talk to those inside. They're family, and will help you if I'm not currently there."
The three nodded, the younger two more reluctantly than the eldest, then pulled the heads of their skins over their heads. For a moment, the sealskin faces sate over their human ones like masks before settling and melding. Soon, there were three brown harbour seals, one a reddishblonde, one more of a certain red, and one regular dark brown... all swimming away in the direction of safe refuge.
Finnol rubbed his head and leaned on the railing a moment more.
"Mara, what is going on? If this keeps up, the merfolk will be known again within the generation... And then more humans will know about magic, and we'll have countries and religions fighting over who's got the strongest magic all over again."
The ocean continued with her regular waves, and no tingle of Mara's attention touched him. He expected none, yet since he never knew when she or any other listened... he had no problem with voicing his thoughts to the Winds.
He was just about ready to turn and Revive the men he'd knocked out, when he felt the chill of one of the Ministry's things prickle the edge of his senses. He could feel the licking tongues of dread, and rather than wake them, instead he sought to drive the boat away and back to port.
~~~~*~~~~
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Copyright 2012 by Teresa Garcia
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Installment Uploaded here: Jan 24, 2013
Uploaded to Dreamwidth: Jan 23, 2013
Happy birthday to my Mate and my Son
Live Journal
Dreamwidth
Copyright 2012 by Teresa Garcia
Like the story? Vote here at Top Web Fiction. Don't forget to check out the other great stories at the Web Fiction Guide.
Got a question? Ask it and maybe the answer will be revealed in the story, or in a comment on the extras page if not part of the story itself. Spy a typo? Website code broken? Would you like the episodes to be longer or shorter? Please let me know!
Installment Uploaded here: Jan 24, 2013
Uploaded to Dreamwidth: Jan 23, 2013
Happy birthday to my Mate and my Son
