The village she was currently staying at was still sleeping when Tikaani slipped out of the plush tent she'd made her home and picked her way down to the seashore, thick furs bundled around her form. It was still dark out, though the sun was beginning to rise and cast just enough light to see by, but for her it was the perfect hour. Few people would be out and about, the ocean was calm and still, and there was a chance that she might run into the familiar whiskered faces of those early risers who liked to take advantage of hunting early before the others awoke.
She walked along the shore for some time before she reached the cliffs where she had stored her skin the night before. Pulling it out from a deep crevice, she unrolled it, smoothed out the crinkles, and for a moment just relished in the familiar smell and feel of it, the sense of connectedness, of wholeness. It was getting more and more difficult, wandering the tundra and spending less time at sea, and she relished these moments.
Shedding her clothes--her human skin, in a sense--she slipped back into her sealskin and took to the sea.
She lost track of time, hunting fish the old fashioned way and catching up with her kin, and when Tikaani returned the sun had risen almost completely. Fish guts! The village would be awake and moving now, and if she wasn't quick, things could get awkward fast.
Reaching the shore, she waddled her way onto land, dragging her body through the sand, and began to wriggle free of her her skin--which looked easier than it was, for it was a tight fit. She kicked free of it, hissing at how bloody cold it was as a naked, hairless human, grabbed it and rolled it up quickly, and then scrambled for her clothes to dress.
Mathew had watched the seal swimming, meditating and losing himself in the beauty of her movements.
It only startled him a little bit to watch her come on land and shed her skin.
Maybe the Sidhe were right. Maybe the answers he was looking for really were to be found in this frozen wasteland.
He approached and reached out to hand her clothes to her by way of greeting.
Tikaani had turned to reach for her clothes--but froze when in doing so she came face to face with a human child. She blanched, surprised--she thought she was alone!--and quickly snatched them away from him. But instead of covering herself with them, as was often the reaction of many human women she'd seen, she hid her rolled-up skin behind them instead.
"Oh! Er. Hello!" she got out awkwardly, shivering badly now until her teeth chattered, goosebumps rising on her skin. "W-what are you d-doing out here? Sh-shouldn't you be h-home?"
Mathew opted for the truth. Or some variant of it. "The cold keeps me grounded. Keeps me safe. I have no home. Not any more."
Somewhat reflexively, he put his hand to the clasp of the elven cloak he wore. 'The only protection we can offer you any more.' they had said. At least it was warm. The poor woman looked so cold, but he didn't want to part with it; it was all of the elves he had left.
He cocked his head and asked innocently, "Are you afraid?"
"N-no, little one. But I am f-freezing my fins off!" Tikaani froze, her eyes widening. "...My f-feet. I'm freezing m-my feet off!"
Clutching the bundle of clothes-and-skin to her chest, she made a little twirling motion with one finger. "C-could you look away f-for a moment? So I can dress? Thanks!"
If Mathew noticed the miss-speak, or thought it was odd, he didn't show any reaction.
He turned around obediently and squatted down.
And promptly landed on his butt. With a resigned sigh, he kicked his boot-clad feet out in front of him, so he was sitting atop his cloak on the cold rock.
"Does it feel nice?" He asked, "The water, I mean? It-you-swimming looks so beautiful. I've never...." Mathew's voice was a bit wistful as he spoke, but he was a perfect gentleman and kept his head facing away from Tikaani and toward the sea.
While the boy was looking away, Tikaani jammed her seal skin into a crevice in the cliff face and then scrambled to put on her clothes before she started freezing her parts off! It was a miracle her nipples didn't slice through her shirt! Being a human was fun, certainly, and it came with its benefits, and walking around on land was certainly easier, but she missed the extra insulation!
She was half dressed when the boy said something that made her freeze, and not from the cold.
"...You saw me swimming?"
Mathew wanted to turn around at the sound of her voice, but if the elves had taught him one thing in the last 100 years, it was manners. He continued to stare at the sea.
"I didn't mean to offend." He said. "You just looked so peaceful, so... free. It's been a long time since I've felt that way." He pulled the cloak a little tighter around him - an action made all the more awkward by the fact that he was sitting on it - and tried to settle both his body and his mind.
Tikaani finished dressing, her heart pumping a bit quicker.
"Me as in...a seal?"
Mathew drew the cloak around himself tighter. He'd made a mistake again, it seemed.
"Yes. I mean. Was I not supposed to say-? You didn't know-? I mean. That is. Um?" His words were tripping over themselves as he fought to maintain control of himself.
At least nothing major had happened. Yet.
Tikaani sank her face into her hands, groaning lightly. Of course. With the way the kid had shown up, there was no way he could have missed it! But gods, to think he'd seen the whole thing?
Stepping around the kid to face him, Tikaani squatted down to be more on his level. "You, uh, you didn't do anything wrong!" she said, grimacing. "But, yeah, that...that's kind of a secret. Do you think it can stay that way?"
Secret? Secrets he could handle.
Mathew let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Yeah, sure." he said. "No problem."
He scrambled up, not liking having anyone that close in his space; not trusting himself with another person that close in his space.
But he forgot he was sitting on his cloak. He tripped. Caught himself. Tripped again. And landed hard, scraping his elbow.
The cut wasn't bad, but it was bleeding. For a moment he just stared at the blood.
Tikaani had been about to ask if he was absolutely positive that he would not tell a soul about what he'd seen--
But then the boy ate it.
She winced sympathetically and rose to her feet so she could cross over to him. She couldn't help it! Though she'd never had children of her own, she couldn't deny a certain maternal instinct, and though the kid was by no means a pup, he was just barely into adolescence. Still a child in her eyes!
"Well, that was graceful," she said, inserting humor to try to take away any potential embarrassment. She leaned down to look at his elbow, her hands resting on her knees. "Seems I'm not the only one here that's awkward on land. Are you okay?"
"This size is confusing." Mathew said, by way of explanation.
He refocused himself. The cut was minor. It didn't need attention. But the woman was in his space again. He backed away. More carefully this time.
Tikaani blinked blankly at him with her large, black eyes.
"...'This size'...?" she repeated.
"I'm... I'm not used to being this size." he flailed for an explanation. "Like your shape, I guess... But different."
Ilvenath struggled out of bed after his brother had relentlessly shaken him awake. 'Don't be late, Boss wants his fish!', he had warned, to which Ilvenath had replied with a disheartened grunt, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. After getting dressed and grabbing his knifebelt, he snatched half a loaf of leftover bread for breakfast and headed down to the nearby shore. The sun was just about to rise and his mind was still half asleep, so he barely took notice of the fellow sitting in the freezing cold, staring out onto the waves. Prob'ly freezin' his bollocks off, Ilvenath thought to himself, tossing his tools halfheartedly into the canoe and taking a good stretch while chewing the rest of the cold bread, disappointed in the stale taste. He then pushed the little boat into the water and jumped in, angrily paddling against the incoming waves. He made his way until he reached a swimming marker and began to pull the net in which had been left out all night. The wet rope was heavy, but not as heavy as it should be and Ilvenath already expected the minor catch that he pulled in. "Tunnarkhiel, did somebody eat this stupid ocean empy?!", he swore under his breath, spitting into the water. At least it wouldn't be as meager a meal than the last badge, but the Danaan worried that Boss might still try and make him and his brother go hungry.
The sun was finally up and he took a moment to catch his breath after pulling in the net, breathing in the cool air and enjoying the warm rays on his face. He quickly untangled what little fish and crabs were caught in the net and threw it back into the water, then rowing down the shore to the next marker and repeating the whole ordeal.
It didn't take that long for him to check all the spots, but time seemed to drag on for an awfully long time until he finally made it back on land. After the initially disappointing catch, there now was a satisfying amount stored in his two linen bags. Ilvenath decided he'd earned a moment's rest, looking out onto the glittering waves. He unwrapped a small wooden figure, little more than a carved face in a piece of driftwood, displaying Mother Earth - Or what his people believed her to look like. He knelt before the tides, bowing his head and silently speaking his thanks and praying for the safety of his family, wherever they might be. He then threw the little figure out into the sea, carrying his prayer to the otherworld beyond the horizon. "Please, give me a sign of them...", he whispered as he watched the little figure drop into the water and get carried away by the tide. He turned around and began his walk home when he realised the sitting fellow was still where he was, only that now a woman had joined him. He only recognised her briefly, one of the travellers that put up their tents around the houses in Hyoite. He decided he didn't want to return home just yet, so he walked over to them.
"Hey there, havin' a chat? Mind if I join in?", he called, heaving his two bags full of fish over his shoulders.
Tikaani stared at the boy, wondering what he was going on about, and had been about to question him more (for she didn't quite have the social graces to realize that was rude!) when another person approached.
A man, big and barrel-chested, with a strange, bright eye. Tikaani looked up at him and blanched, her first thought being, How long has HE been here?! before she calmed herself. No, she was just being paranoid--which, she supposed, made sense after being caught!
She glanced at the boy and gave him a pointed look, a remember that you promised not to tell look, before turning her attention to the newcomer with a smile.
"I can only speak for myself, but I don't mind at...all..." She trailed off, suddenly distracted as a strong, familiar scent hit her nose. A fishy scent. Her eyes went from the man's face to the bags he carried, and her stomach growled. Even though she'd eaten plenty, she couldn't help it! She had a voracious appetite, and she so rarely got the fresh, raw fish she so enjoyed.
She'd learned early on that humans tended to look at you funny when you took a bite of uncooked fish.
Realizing she was staring, she shook herself. "Ah. Went fishing, I see?"
Ilvenath dropped the bags and nodded proudly. "Aye, been a good catch this morning. Shame though", his face turned into a snarl, "but most a'them is going to the local innkeep. I do all the work and the old bugger repays me with half a bowl of stew of this. An' don't get me started on his cooking! The only reason that old fart is allowed anywhere near a stove or a a cooking fire is 'cause everybody worth calling a cook has longsince packed their things and left south."
While he ranted on, the Danaan took off his cap and slumped to the floor, crossing his legs and wildly waving his arms in an infuriated fashion. Only after after catching his breath did he realise that his peers might not be all that interested in his troubles and, clearing his throat, waved to the woman and her companion. "So, uh, what're you two doin' out here? You don't seem like you've had a single catch all mornin'. 'Specially you, fella", he mused, pointing to the young, elf-like boy.
"...'m not hungry." Mathew said, avoiding eye contact, and pulling his cloak around him. Something about this newcomer made him uncomfortable.
Ilvenath gave him an irritated look and thought to himself: 'Well, maybe not now, but later, you willl...'
He turned back to his bags. "Y'know, I should jus' keep a handful of 'em for myself", he muttered while picking a fish from the catch, "who'll find out? Not that old fart, for sure!"
He slowly began his rant, anew, and this time started to wave the fish in the air, making it flutter as if it was still alive.
"That doesn't sound like a fair deal," Tikaani said, as she watched the fish wave through the air. She swallowed, finding that she was starting to salivate, and tore her eyes away.
"A bowl of soup for pounds of fish? How is that a fair trade when you've done all the work?"
Pointedly, she ignored his original question. She wasn't sure how to explain what she was doing out here, and wasn't a good enough liar to come up with a good excuse!
"I know, right?! Th' bastard is a slavedriver, I tell ya! Jus' th' other day, he kept buggin' my lil' bruv 'bout re-stockin' th' food but he ain't given 'im any coin to buy it! When my bruv tells him he can't, the innkeep jus' yells at 'im for another ten minu- Whoops!"
Ilvenath's angry handmotions became so immense that he let his grip go on the fish in his hand, letting it slip out from his grasp and sent it flying through the air, splatting against Tikaani's leg. "Oh, ah, uhm... Sorry 'bout that?", he apologised with a slight wince in his voice.
PLOP! The cold wet fish plopped onto her leg, and Tikaani stared down at it with wide, dark eyes for a moment. It was not a look of horror, though, but hunger. Oh, dear ocean mother, it smelled so good! Fresh caught and plump, she could already taste the blood and fat and oil on her tongue, and she wanted nothing more than to just scoop it up and take a bite from its soft belly.
Her stomach rumbled loudly again, and Tikaani realized she was staring down at the dead thing with saucer-wide eyes--and that that might be kind of weird! And so, swallowing hard, she picked the fish up slowly by the tail and, reluctantly, held it back out to the man.
"You want it back?" she asked, while chanting in her head, please say no, please say no!
"Well, actually...", Ilvenath began, but then he noticed the stressed look on Tikaani's face. She seemed awfully tense and he felt reminded of a poor fellow who literally fell into the inn's door. The sod had been lost in the tundra after a snowstorm and ran out of rations, barely surviving by eating snow the whole way until he managed to make it to Hyoite, completely starved and thin like a twig. Ilvenath was at a loss as to why a healthy looking woman with such close proximity to the ocean would feel such a hunger, though, and felt a slight discomfort.
"Y-You know what? You can have that one. As I said - Boss won't find out if any a' the catch is missing if he didn't ever see th' full catch", he replied, the words coming slowly as he regained focus on the covnersation. "Say, you look awf'lly hungry. Are you ill? Something th' matter with you?"
Mathew watched the conversation between Tikaani and the strange man with interest, but said nothing. Maybe he could learn something about how to get on in this world by watching, he thought to himself.
"Ill? Me? Oh! Ahaha! Oh, not at all!" Tikaani said with a laugh and a dismissive wave of her hand. "I'm healthy as a bull elephant seal! I just...uh...."
She glanced down at the fish she held and smiled sheepishly. Ocean goddess, was she so transparent? Well, she had never claimed to be an actress, and her family had always told her she wore her emotions like a second skin, brightly patterned and shining. She never was good at subtlety.
"I just really like fish?" she finally managed, and wanted to smack herself.