the cure for ennui

[Anonymous]

A seal and a boy played "toss-the-fish" at the docks.

The toddler laughed as the half-eaten piece of scales and bone sailed back over his head, and he reached back to grab it. The seal dove back under the water only to leap back up and catch the tail in its mouth when it was tossed back toward it. With a bark of mirth, it surged out of the water to land halfway on the dock, the claws of its fins scraping the wood. The child ran to hug its nose while it wolfed down the fish, and then the seal slipped backwards into the water, bringing the toddler with it.

"Skel!" a woman's voice called from one of the canoes. "We need to go. Is'oz, come grab your things."

The seal popped its head back out of the water, the boy wrapping his arms around the blubbery neck. He patted the creature on the head and said, "I guess we gotta go. Bye, Skel!"

With a soft grumble, the mammal swam over to the canoe and gently deposited the boy, Is'oz, in the canoe. The toddler patted her head again and then gathered the ropes and bags of clothing he was responsible for. His guardian smiled and waved at the seal before starting to row, striking out toward one of the other many isles of Yoreiq.

Sighing, the seal watched them go with a bored expression. She flicked her tongue over the piercings in her mouth and then turned back to the docks, swimming quick as a flash underneath. There was a hollowed area, secure and reasonably hidden, where she disappeared. Wriggling about, she loosened her skin; slender but callused human hands pulled the pelt off the rest of the way.

The naked girl swam back out from underneath the cluster of rocks, her dark head breaking the surface with flashes of pale neon blue. She smiled and slicked her nearly-shoulder-length hair back before climbing onto the docks. She grabbed the pants left there and pulled them on before looking toward the rest of the village.

With the little boy gone, Skel had nothing left to do, and generally that meant havoc. Her dark eyes scanned the Yoreiqi people going about their lives, walking from hut to hut, and she plastered an innocent expression on her face as she walked among her adopted people.

The selkie searched for her next victim.

[XIII]

A young looking girl of the most ghostly swirling white color treaded daintily through the streets of Ainu, in a simple brown dress. Behind her she dragged a load which looked to be quite heavy, despite the ease with which she moved it. The load itself was a cart of boxed items, each labeled to be taken to various people around the village. The cart itself was stamped with the logo of some obscure shipping business stationed in Serendipity. By the wear on the wooden parts of the vehicle, it was obvious that it had traveled far over a very short span of time. Belafay glanced around her, flicking her eyes occasionally to the list in her small hands. The rope that she towed the cart with was lashed casually across her body, from left shoulder to right hip.

Stopping in front of a particular hut, the girl stepped out from inside the rope loop and grabbed a rather large box from the back of the cart with no effort. After checking once again that she had the right place, the golem placed the crate gently on the ground near the entrance and knocked on the doorway of the hut. Once the recipient came out and took notice of the delivery, Belafay smiled and bowed, then returned to her cart and picked up the rope to resume walking. Scanning the crowd of faces and huts, she glanced again at the paper in her hands. Half singing to herself, she wondered aloud, "Alrighty then, that was just dandy. Now where to next?"