There wasn't exactly consent between Billy's mother and her marriage to Neil Hargrove. She was just a selkie whose pelt got stolen. For a while she tried to make it work. Back then Neil was charming, he was warm. He was a good partner. Surely he would give her pelt back, he could love her enough to let her go.
He did not. And having a child only complicated it. Billy became a second anchor around her neck. Still, she tried. She taught her son of the seas, taught him to swim and enjoy it. He even got a few brief, shining years with his pelt, watched over by his mother in a secret cove.
At last she could take it no more, and whispered to her son to hide his pelt where his father could never find it, outside of the house. She promised to come back when he was old enough for her to take to the sea, to head north, to get away from Neil.
Billy never saw his mother again. And his attempt at hiding things went poorly. His pelt even more so. So of course his father got his hands on it. And by the very nature of the magic locked in the skinchanger's pelt, it wasn't like he could steal it back. Nor was he willing to just run away like his mother had, doom himself to a human life.
But there was another problem. Because of course there was. Selkie are irrevocably bound to the oceans they are native to. Salt water is their essence, something they normally commune with in their seal forms. That was their home, that was how they were supposed to find their place in a pod, that was supposed to be their safety. Which it could never be for Billy. He didn't look like the average Selkie, with his golden brown pelt and his piercing blue eyes. They would never taken him away, shelter him in their community, help him figure out how to live as a human bound to the surf and cursed never to be a creature of it because of his father.
At least he had the shore. Swimming in the ocean, surfing, Billy spent every spare moment in the water he could. While it was no perfect replacement for his other form, the water around him sustained him, fed him in a way. Something Neil seemed to know. He would punish him with forbidding beach trips at first. Just a day or two. Then a whole weekend. Weeks at a time.
It's brutal, being a selkie who has to get by with only the water of brief showers in the house and at school. Skin gets easily damaged and dried out, hair gets limp, tempers rise. But he had the ocean. He could go there. He could have his moments.
Until he couldn't. Until moving. Until the worst punishment of them all. Inland. Far from seas, with a lack that could barely be counted as such. Billy was suddenly on a timer. Because while Selkie's hearts might languish in captivity or away from the ocean, their bodies can break down even worse as heartbreak starts to overwhelm them. For a time Billy staves off the degradation because he plans on going home. Becomes the top dog of the school, makes people see him, finds excuses to go to parties near the lake to get some water around him. Even becomes a life guard.
But truly, Billy's on a timer, and the longer he is away from the ocean, the more he's going to break down. And if, perhaps, he survives Starcourt and can't get home... Well, there just isn't enough hope anymore. And wasting away grows more and more likely with time, especially with Neil gone, his pelt MIA, and no one aware of Billy's secret...
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Date: 2024-08-11 02:41 am (UTC)From:He did not. And having a child only complicated it. Billy became a second anchor around her neck. Still, she tried. She taught her son of the seas, taught him to swim and enjoy it. He even got a few brief, shining years with his pelt, watched over by his mother in a secret cove.
At last she could take it no more, and whispered to her son to hide his pelt where his father could never find it, outside of the house. She promised to come back when he was old enough for her to take to the sea, to head north, to get away from Neil.
Billy never saw his mother again. And his attempt at hiding things went poorly. His pelt even more so. So of course his father got his hands on it. And by the very nature of the magic locked in the skinchanger's pelt, it wasn't like he could steal it back. Nor was he willing to just run away like his mother had, doom himself to a human life.
But there was another problem. Because of course there was. Selkie are irrevocably bound to the oceans they are native to. Salt water is their essence, something they normally commune with in their seal forms. That was their home, that was how they were supposed to find their place in a pod, that was supposed to be their safety. Which it could never be for Billy. He didn't look like the average Selkie, with his golden brown pelt and his piercing blue eyes. They would never taken him away, shelter him in their community, help him figure out how to live as a human bound to the surf and cursed never to be a creature of it because of his father.
At least he had the shore. Swimming in the ocean, surfing, Billy spent every spare moment in the water he could. While it was no perfect replacement for his other form, the water around him sustained him, fed him in a way. Something Neil seemed to know. He would punish him with forbidding beach trips at first. Just a day or two. Then a whole weekend. Weeks at a time.
It's brutal, being a selkie who has to get by with only the water of brief showers in the house and at school. Skin gets easily damaged and dried out, hair gets limp, tempers rise. But he had the ocean. He could go there. He could have his moments.
Until he couldn't. Until moving. Until the worst punishment of them all. Inland. Far from seas, with a lack that could barely be counted as such. Billy was suddenly on a timer. Because while Selkie's hearts might languish in captivity or away from the ocean, their bodies can break down even worse as heartbreak starts to overwhelm them. For a time Billy staves off the degradation because he plans on going home. Becomes the top dog of the school, makes people see him, finds excuses to go to parties near the lake to get some water around him. Even becomes a life guard.
But truly, Billy's on a timer, and the longer he is away from the ocean, the more he's going to break down. And if, perhaps, he survives Starcourt and can't get home... Well, there just isn't enough hope anymore. And wasting away grows more and more likely with time, especially with Neil gone, his pelt MIA, and no one aware of Billy's secret...