-3rd person POV-
Good pulling on his large coat, flipping the hood up. He walked out of the house, knowing it was his day to fish. You see, Good was a boy who lived in a small village in the antarctic. Life was cold but they managed. They ate fish and the few crops they could grow. The village was small, but that just made everyone closer. Everyone there knew each other, and were on good terms with everyone. Everyone but Good.
Good was a bit of a dick to people. He'd push them away and do almost anything to get people to leave him alone. The only person he didn't treat cruelly was his grandmother. She was always a great listener and a source of comfort to Good. He may have loved her for her ability to accept him as he was, and maybe it was her stories that entertained him. Whatever it was, Good knew that she was the only person he could trust.
Good stopped at the edge of the ocean, putting down the large basket he had been carrying. He opened it, grabbing the large net from inside. He took it over to the water, throwing most of it in. He never really understood fishing. He was always just taught to throw most of the net and wait a few hours and then pull it out. He sat down, looking out at the water. He cursed under his breath for forgetting to bring a book.
His gaze shifted around the ocean, watching glaciers floating along the area. He tensed when he saw the net being pulled at. He got up, running over. He looked into the water, seeing a sleek creature tugging at the net and the few fish in it. He grabbed a piece of ice off the ground, throwing it at the creature. It collided with the creature's snout, making it swim away.
' ' Damn seals. ' ' Good always hated seals, they're just fish stealers. Good walked back over to where he was sat before. ' ' Those seals are nothing but pests... ' ' He was very open with this opinion to his family and everyone in the village. Most ignored him or agreed with him. But his grandmother was different. When he first shared his opinion with her, she told him an old folk tale.
A tale of a species that was both seal and person. Good thought it was a stupid idea, and the creatures were probably ugly as hell. But his grandmother continued by saying that they were only found in the antartic oceans, much like the ones they lived by. They used to interact with humans before they were attacked and hunted for sport. They apparently left back to the water for good. Never to be seen again.
It was such a dumb story.
Even as a kid he knew there was no way that something so strange could be real. It was like his grandmother had made up a bootleg mermaid. And mermaids were even more believable than seal people.
Good looked up at the sky, seeing that it was already noon. How long had he been thinking? The brunette stood up, walking over to the edge of the water. He grabbed the net, going to pull it up. Why was it so heavy? How many fish could be in it?
Good pulled up the net, closing his eyes as he struggled to get it onto the ice. He breathed heavily and let go, hearing it thump onto the ice. He opened his eyes, looking over to the net to see how many fish he had caught. His eyes widened and his body froze. A large creature was caught with the fish in the net. It looked like a boy with raven hair from the torso up, but from waist down it had the sleek tail of a seal.
There was no way his grandmother was right. He had to be dreaming. Maybe he had fallen asleep while waiting on the ice? Before he could continue thinking, the creature moved. It turned its head and stared at Good. The brunette could see a fish hanging out of its mouth before being spat out. The creature's stare didn't break, was it even blinking? Its eyes looked almost human. Almost.
Something was off about its eyes. Instead of being blue, green, or brown, they were black. They looked empty and emotionless. Good picked up his hand, rubbing his eyes. He looked back, hoping his eyes had been playing tricks on him. The creature was still there, and seemed.. closer? Had it moved? Good suddenly tensed and yelled out,
' ' MONSTER! ' '
The creature shot its arms up, covering its ears. Good knew he was too far from the village for anyone to hear him, but he wasn't exactly thinking now. The creature curled up into a ball inside the net, still covering its ears. Good stood a slow step forward, not knowing what exactly he was doing. The creature's eyes were closed as it twitched, tangled in the net.
Good slowly leaned down, reaching out his hand. He grabbed the net loosely, slowly untangled it from the creature. He pulled it off, the fish falling onto the ice. The creature noticed the loss of weight, taking its hands off its ears and sitting up. It stared back at the brunette, who fell back onto the ice.
The creature crawled slightly closer to the boy, its tail dragging behind. It stopped near the brunette's legs, staring down at them. It quickly grabbed the boy's knee, lifting his leg and examining it with awe.
' ' wow... ' '
' ' You- you can talk- ' ' Good stuttered out. The creature turned its head to him, its elf like ears perking up. It moved inches away from Good's face, a large smile appearing on its own.
' ' Oh My Tail- You can talk too! This is so cool! ' '
' ' w-what are you... ' ' He asked, nearly mumbling the words out. The creature pondered the question for a moment before answering.
' ' Oh.. um... I'm a selkie? What in tail's name are you? ' ' The selkie asked, poking Good's cheek with his index finger. Good swatted the webbed hand away.
' ' I'm a human! And there's no way that you're a selkie! I have to be dreaming ' ' The brunette got up, beginning to pace.
' ' If anyone's dreaming, it's me! I was just swimming with my sister before I ended up in that dumb trap ' ' The selkie let out a huff.
' ' If you are real, which I doubt, you need to get out of here before anyone else sees you. ' ' The brunette stated, turning back to the creature.
' ' Seriously? I literally just found out an entire new world exists up here and now you want me to leave?? ' ' The selkie questioned, sounding slightly offended. ' ' No way! ' '
Good walked back over to the selkie, flicking it in the forehead. He pointed in the direction of his village.
' ' My village is over there and everyone in there would want to fucking kill you and use your tail for damn decoration ' ' The brunette was just saying anything that came to mind, not taking a second to filter anything.
The selkie went silent, eyes widening at the human's words. It lowered its pointed ears, slipping back into the water with the soft sound of a water splash. The brunette turned away, picking up the fish that were left and putting them in his basket. He swung it over his shoulders, ready to walk back home.
' ' By the way, my name is Jef... ' ' Good heard the selkie say behind him in an unamused tone. The brunette turned his head to look but the selkie was already gone. He let out a sigh, beginning his walk back to the village.
After the short walk back to the village, the brunette walked quietly into his house. He put the basket on the ground next to the door, walking to his room. He laid down on his bed, completely exhausted from the strange day he just had.
He was probably just going crazy, maybe some sleep will help. Good closed his eyes, letting himself drift off into a deep sleep. He never really had dreams. He barely even daydreamed. He always just did as he was told. Doing his part in the village to survive. Never truly living.
-Time skip-
Good sat up in bed, looking out his window at the rising sun. Same as always. He got out of bed, realizing he hadn't taken off his coat last night. It didn't matter. It was cold in his house anyway. He got up, walking into the kitchen. He saw his mother at the table, sitting with his grandmother. She turned to him with a smile, giving a small wave before continuing her conversation with his grandmother. He grabbed a thick book off the table, getting a small glance from his grandmother in return. Good put up his hood, heading outside. He didn't have any work to do today so maybe he would just read by the sea.
The brunette walked by the other boys who were currently playing hockey on the large area of ice. Good never found a reason to join. All of those boys are boring and they're just hitting around a smooth rock with sticks. He sat down next to the water, opening the book he had taken. He opened it, flipping through the pages that held everything you would want to know about mythical creatures. He flipped through quickly, reaching the 'S' section.
'Sea serpent... sea wyvern.. Seko... Selkie! '
He focused his eyes on the page, reading through the information.
In Celtic and Norse mythology, selkies (also spelled silkies, sylkies, selchies) or selkie folk (: selkie fowk) meaning "seal folk" are mythological beings capable of therianthropy, changing from to human form by shedding their skin.
'Sheading skin? But that thing didn't exactly look human when it was out of the water..'
Good suddenly felt something hard hit him in the head, making a serge of pain run through his body. He put his hand on his forehead, looking up from his book. The group of boys were facing towards him, one's face pale and eyes wide. The boy tensed when Good shot a glare towards him.
' ' Pass it back! ' ' One of the other boys yelled. Good grabbed the puck in one hand, throwing it backwards into the ocean. One of the boys stomped over, his face turning red with frustration.
' ' What's your problem, dude?! ' ' He yelled at Good, jabbing his index finger into the brunette's chest.
' ' You guys shouldn't have hit me in the head.. ' ' He responded in a cold tone, shooting a dirty look at him.
' ' It was accident! You're just an asshole! ' ' The boy yelled, stepping on the brunette's hand. Good gritted his teeth, not willing to yell in pain.
' ' Stop is Fundy- let's just get another puck.. ' ' Another boy said, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder.
' ' No! He has to pay for losing out puck! ' ' Fundy suddenly looked like he got an idea, a devilish smirk appearing on his face. The boy grabbed ahold of Good's hood, pulling him up roughly.
' ' Since you lost out puck... ' ' He began, his grip tightening as Good tried to push him off.
' ' Then why don't you go get it....?' '
Before Good could react, he was shoved backwards, landing in the freezing water with a large splash. His eyes struggled to adapt to the water, leaving his vision fuzzy and warped. He could feel himself sinking as muffled voices yelled above. He wanted to swim up, but he was sinking and his body felt heavy and stiff. The voices went silent as the brunette began to see small fish swimming above him. His vision began to get darker, was it just him sinking further from the sun? Or him passing out? Whatever it was, it was getting worse.
He saw a blurry movement out of the corner of his eye, the blurred figure getting bigger as it quickly got to him. The last thing he saw before going unconscious was two black eyes staring at him.
Everything was black.
Everything hurt.
His breath was gone.
His lungs felt like they were going to explode as water filled them.
But...
What was happening?
It's over, right?
He's meant to be dead and lost in the freezing abyss that is the ocean.
So why does he hear someone yelling at him.
get up.
Get up.
GET UP.
Good sat up quickly, coughing up water that made his lungs burn. His body was soaked and he felt like a block of ice. His eyes slowly opened, adjusting to the bright sunrays reflecting off the ice. He was shivering in his wet coat. Wait. No. His coat was gone. He was wearing something else. Animal skin? Whatever it was, it was warm. He looked around him, only to realize that he was back on the ice. His village was nowhere in sight. Where was he?
' ' You're awake! ' '
Good turned his head to see a smiling boy staring at him. The boy was wearing his coat that was dripping with freezing water. The boy had ebony hair and black eyes. Wait. There was no way.
' ' You- you're that selkie, aren't you... ' ' Good questioned, eyes wide at the now human looking selkie.
' ' Yup! A selkie that just saved you from freezing to death in that water ' ' He responded, seeming proud of what he had stated.
' ' Where am I.. ' ' Good asked, looking around once more.
' ' Oh, You're not too far from that village of yours, and, any more questions? You seem quite confused ' '
' ' Oh um- What am I wearing? ' '
' ' Well, you see, I'm letting you wear a polar bear coat that my family made. My mother loves to sew ' ' Jef said happily ' ' And I decided to wear your coat so I wouldn't lose it' '
Good's eyes traveled to the boy's legs. Wait, legs?
' ' Where's the tail you had last time? ' ' The brunette pointed to Jef's new legs.
' ' Oh, they'll come back once I'm back in the water. I guess I got a bit too dry up here ' ' The boy still had seal like spots all over his skin, one prominent one on his nose.
' ' So that's how you work...' '
' ' That's not a creepy sentence at all... ' ' Jef said jokingly. Good rolled his eyes, standing up.
' ' Where are you going? ' ' The selkie questioned.
' ' Home ' ' He answered dryly.
' ' Well you're going the wrong way ' ' Jef responded, Good being able to hear the smirk in his voice. ' ' If you want to get home, you're gonna have to let me take you~ ' '
' ' I'm not letting you go to my village ' ' Good stood there, narrowing his eyes at the selkie.
' ' Too bad, guess you'll never get home. ' ' Jef said, shrugging his shoulders. ' ' because I'm going back to my home, and without me, there's no way for you to find your village ' '
Good stood there for a moment, furrowing his eyebrows. He let out a groan before giving a small nod to Jef.
' ' Show me where the village is.. ' ' Jef's eyes lit up and a smile spread from ear to ear. He grabbed the boy's hand, dragging him away from the water. Jef continued to drag him until they were at a snowy hill. He turned to look at Good for a moment before letting go of his hand and running up. Good followed, struggling to climb the hill that he had underestimated the steepness of. He eventually did make it to the top, standing breathless next to Jef, who was looking down at the village that was now clearly visible.
' ' Let's go! I can't wait to explore! ' ' Jef grinned, grabbing Good's hand again and sliding down the hill. Good felt his stomach flip as he was pulled down by Jef and gravity. He couldn't stop a small smile forming on his face. They reached the bottom much quicker than when they climbed up, Jef stopping in place as if he didn't have any fucking momentum behind him. On the other hand, stumbled with the force, almost falling in the snow. Jef stopped him, pulling him back up.
Jef let go of Good's hand, beginning to run towards the village. Good ran after, yelling at him to slow down. Jef was giggling happily when they made it to the edge of the village, hearing the voices of other people inside. Good grabbed Jef's arm roughly, making sure he didn't go exploring. He walked slowly into the clearing, noticing the boys were silent, some whispering to each other while other fought with Fundy. One of the boys turned, noticing that the brunette had returned.
' ' It's Good! He's Back!' '
Fundy turned his head, along with the rest of the boys. Some of them looked towards Jef, but most of their eyes were on Good.
' ' How did you survive?! ' ' Fundy yelled, more worry in his tone than anything else. Good merely shrugged, too tired to play with the boy and not really wanting to start anything. The boys continued questioning Good about his survival, if he was okay, and who Jef was. Good continued hold roughly onto Jef's arm, pulling him into his house, away from the boys. Good took a moment to catch his breath that he didn't realize he was holding.
Jef was already looking around the area, seeming in awe of all the objects. Good let out a dragged out sigh.
This was going to be a LONG day.