Not understanding the words spoken by either, Vanora could do nothing more than to look back and forth between the two men. Her pulse raced with anticipation. Perhaps now she would at last find her beloved coat and return home to her people, to where she belonged. Being among the humans was different and interesting but she was more than ready to leave this adventure behind. She missed the feeling of the current cradling her as she floated beneath the surface, the songs of her people offering her solace and comfort even in her dreams.
When Idris gripped her elbow, she thought nothing of it and followed eagerly to where the men led her. The closer they got to the beach and places she recognized, the faster she walked and harder she pulled to be there again. With sand under her feet again, Vanora wobbled ungainly but she did not let that deter her as she began to speak excitedly in a mix of her own tongue and the few words she was already learning of Common.
"Baile! Home!" she cried, pointing out towards the water with jerky motions. She looked back several times to see if the other two followed her though their paces did not deter her as she pushed forward. She stopped only once she reached the place she had last seen her beloved coat. The rock where it rested remained as cold and empty as it had the last time she had seen it.
Running her hand dejectedly over the cold and craggy surface she commented forlornly, "tá mo chóta fós ar iarraidh. Coat." Vanora shook her head as she gripped arms about herself again. "Coat, bhí sé anseo. Stephen, cabhrú? Tá Vanora ag iarraidh dul home."
With watery eyes she turned her eyes to Idris and shook her head at him. It was not there. Was this what he wanted to show her? That it was gone? That there was no hope? Vanora hung her head low, letting her hair form a curtain in front of her face to hide her sorrow and grief. Maybe the stories about humans were true. They really did just want to keep the Selkie for their own without regard for the lives and families they were forced to leave behind. How cruel!
Yet, a deeper part of Vanora could not believe that sweet Stephen could do such a thing to her. He had been nothing but kind to her. Even Idris who was rather strange and intimidating in perspective had not done anything to harm her. They certainly seemed like they wanted to help. At this point, she didn't know what to think. It was all so overwhelming. It felt like the waves of the ocean were too strong for her, that she would had grown up swimming them her whole life would finally be drowned by them. Would the sea not allow her to breathe? Would there be no reprieve from this horror? Time would only tell.