Selkie Storm (Open)

((ok i'm posting this before i go to sleep for the night, so i'll link this up to the posting board thing tomorrow if no one has jumped in...this is open RP, only rule i have at teh moment is no killing my character...other then that feel free to join me...anyway night for now))

Maili felt the sudden shock of cold water pressing around her torpedo shaped body. The insulating blubber offered warmth and protection from the churning sea. She could hear her heartbeat echoing hollowly beneath the still calm of the waves and the strange metallic sounds from the world above the waves.

The water varied from jade green to turquoise darkening where the weed was thicker or where the weak sun failed to filter. A fish flashed past her and sped after it with a flick of her tail and flippers, disappearing in a stream of silver bubbles that escaped from the fur surrounding her insulated skin.

She dove deeper, twisting and turning with a twitch of her flipper. She lost her quarry and rose to the surface. Bobbing with her dark head just visible above the dark sheet of shifting water, droplets dripping like pearls from the whiskers, she drew in a deep breath of air, while her dark, almost sad eyes, stared at the beach and cliffs before she dove under again with plop, healing the rift she had made in the water with her presence.

In the deeper water she could hear minkie whales calling to each other with their sweet yet mournful song that haunted the underwater realm. Maili loved their voices, but wouldn’t stray too close. Deeper water harbored risks more dangerous than just orcas now that humans plagued the ocean for its bounty.

She had no intension of becoming entangled in their nets like so many other unfortunate animals, although she had sliced a few of their nets to free others of her kind on more than one occasion. Drowning was a soft and pleasant death, she was sure, but what would fisherman do if they found a selkie dead or alive?

She no longer desired to hunt for fish, so she twisted and twirled enjoying the rush of water past her ears and eyes made cloudy by second eye lids. She ducked deeper into the salt water, skimming past rocks and shooting like a rocket beneath a stone arch, scattering fish in all directions.

There had been a storm the night before, she heard the splintering of a ships wooden hull, as it was crushed on the fangs of the rocks near the shore, and now she wanted to explore the wreck. The value of human treasure meant very little Maili, like a magpie she was only attracted to the shiniest and prettiest objects, if they turned out to be valuable, what difference did that make to her?

The sea provided her with food, protection, fun and company if she desired it, money meant nothing to her. It didn’t take long to locate the ship, a looming shadow in the depths of the cold sea. A gaping whole to its side like a shark’s gaping jaws. The mast was broken and the torn sails blew gently in the current as though they were caught in a ghostly breeze.

She swam closer, the timber was groaning as it was battered gently against the land that had brought about its ruin. She dipped through the whole, and was met immediately by a pale and bloated face. She blinked twice at the body trapped inside the ship. There was nothing she could do to help the drowned human now.

It swayed gently to and fro and for a moment she followed it with her head, taking in details, while the eyes stared back at her without focus, white with gaping black irises. She watched a while longer then dipped past the ghostly protector of the ships hoard, her slip stream pulling the corpse into a deranged dance.



It didn’t take long to find what she had been seeking, even in the dark of the ship, jewels and gold shone like little bursts of sunlight, in rainbow colours.
There wasn’t much. She’d seen better hauls, here, there were mainly chests that she couldn’t open or lift to the surface with her, but there was one that had been split open like an oyster, spilling its contents across the floor. There were coins that she ignored, but she found bracelets and necklaces studded with multi colours that caught her eye.



A while later she emerged next to the beach, she didn’t bother checking if anyone was around, there was no time. A storm was already brewing; she could feel its angry beat in the ocean, sea birds where taking to the cliffs and fish were moving further down towards the ocean floor, everything was preparing its self for when the seas rage would break, showing no mercy on any that dared to stand in its path.



The day was still clear above her head, but on the horizon dark clouds were forming and it wouldn’t be long before the sea began to boil. She flopped her, now, cumbersome seal body on to the beach, stones and sand digging into her round belly.

Carefully she shed her pelt, the soft, oily skin slipping from her, until she stood in her human shape. Long dark hair fell down her back in wet tendrils as though she had stepped from the sea, not her seal body.

Her face was delicate and the emotions that flickered over it where hard to decipher. Her eyes remained the same dark pools of the seal, although now they at least had whites around the edges.

She gathered up her treasures, slipping the bracelets over her writs and the necklaces around her neck to make them easier to carry. Then carefully and tenderly she attended to the seal pelt.

She laid it out flat on the sand, before carefully rolling it and carrying it like a mother carrying a new born child, up the beach and away from the water. Her feet sunk into the sand, where it stuck to her glistening skin, scraping her bare legs when the wind shifted the fine crystals.

She knew exactly where to go to wait out the storm, the same place she always returned to when it was too dangerous to remain in the ocean. The mouth of the cave was hard to find, it seemed like no more than a crack in the rock, but it twisted sharply to the right, revealing a large cave.

The floor was covered in sail cloth and scraps of clothing Maili had found when searching wrecks, or combing the beach. Her bed was a pile of clothes she didn’t know how to wear lying on top of each other, and from the ceiling and walls hung her horde.

They sparkled and caught the light, casting coloured beams over the otherwise drab walls. Her land home resembled a dragons den and stank of salt water and seaweed. She dumped her latest finds just inside the entrance and lay her seal pelt next to them, gently stroking the fur, caressing it with a gentle smile creasing her mouth.

She spent little time in human form these days, the sea’s pull was too great to resist, but when ever she returned to arms and legs, she loved to touch the skin she had shed, to marvel at it’s delicate, yet light weight endurance, before she turned and went to the centre of the cave.

A small pool bubbled up from the rocks, the water was fresh, despite being so close to the sea, and provided her with drinking water, though she also used it for bathing, which was what she intended to do now.

She didn’t like the away the sand clung so uncomfortably to her human body, how could they stand to live like this? To miss the beauty and breath taking fury of the sea, the lullaby music of the waves over head as you dove seeing things others couldn’t even dream of…they missed so much.

She lowered herself slowly into the pool and felt the sand lift from her skin. She dipped her head for a few moments under the freezing water, and came up gasping, dripping, and red skinned from the cold she clambered out.

She wrapped a blanket around herself as she shivered bitterly and her teeth chattered so loudly she thought they might rattle loose.

With goose bumps raised on her skin, and the blanket wrapped around her body like a shawl she crept to the entrance, she could hear the boom of thunder like a dragon’s roar and the slash of lightning illuminating the entrance.

The pool was shining brilliantly, the way it always did when a storm broke. Her trinkets shook on the walls as the sea beat against the cliffs that formed the cave. Maili pressed a hand to the rough rock, her water wrinkled fingers gripping it tightly when thunder rolled by so close it could have emanated from the cave mouth.

Another flash of lightning ripped open the heavens, illuminating her face and reflecting in her dark eyes, which where momentarily blinded by the sudden light. And with the rip the sky tore open, bleeding rain, gently at first then in torrents that punished the earth like spears.

Carefully she let herself emerge. She loved storms. She knew they were dangerous, but it was so exhilarating to be under the pounding rain to have it beat a rhythm on your skin while the sky fought its battle against the world.

She slipped a little further on to the beach, keeping close to the cliff, but far out enough to feel the rain on her skin; she stretched out her arms and arched her back, letting the shawl fall to the floor behind her feet, already drenched with rain water.

She turned her head to the sky, scrunching her eyes shut as it hurtled down towards her, heedless of the innocent victim, even though she was exalting its powerful touch. She drew her head down again and opened her eyes, watching the sea tossing and turning like a restless god.

It was stunning to watch, but she was glad she wasn’t out in the ocean at that moment. She sat down in the sand, completely naked now; she just wanted to watch for a while.

Violet gasped and gripped onto a piece of the deck that came off the boat. She couldn’t even believe what just happen. A shark came and then everything went blank. She shivered as tears filled her eyes. She was freezing cold from the water and scared of the roaring storm that was happening, especially the thunder. She hated thunder storms. Violet jumped and had to grip tighter onto the wood as huge waves wash over her, seeming to want to drag her down to the bottom of the unknown sea. She was on the boat because she snuck onto it and got tied up and thrown into the storage room.

She was tried by the time she saw land, it seem to be a beach and Violet sighed in relief, but her wrist and ankles were tied up. She was still crying and jumped every time she heard the loud roars of thunder. She seemed a few miles away from shore and gave just gave up hope, thinking she just ended up dying soon anyway. No one would even miss her so why care if she was to die. Violet cleared her throat wincing. She seemed to have swallowed some slat water and now her throat seemed parched, like she just swallowed a gallon of sand. “Help…” she said in a small whisper knowing no one would hear her. She closed her eyes and gripped once more onto the piece of the deck wood she still held.

Violet got hit with another wave and finally let go losing mostly the rest of her strength. She looked human, but wasn’t human; she didn’t know what she was just that she wasn't human. She had hit her head and now she couldn’t remember, she thought going out onto a boat, and then into the ocean would help her remember, but it just caused her lots of misfortune. She cough some water up and began to sink into the sea only her head popping up once in a while, as the waves hit her over and over, but she stopped popping up and just began to sink into the ocean.

Ian struggled for control of the small rowboat he was manning. The paddles barely skimmed the water before the current would try to rip them out of his hands. If he pushed hard, he could make a little wake in the water. But as Ian pushed against one paddle and his brother pushed agianst the other, he knew they were going nowhere, and fast.
"We're never gonna to get nowhere." John, Ian's brother said. "We're nowhere near land, in a storm, an' in a bloody pa'le boat!"
Ian gave a withering glance at his older brother, but couldn't keep up the energy needed or argue with him. He knew just as well that they were as good as dead, but he tried not to show it as he grunted against the oar again; making what little headway he could.

"He's right." Said someone else who was on the dinky little liferaft they were on. "There's no way we can survive this! The storm's-."
The man's sentence was cut off as the rowboat was tossed by a wave and thrown sideways, sending the man into the water without so much as a chance to yell. Ian tried to call out into the storm and reached out uselessly, but was hit by his brother in response. Looking at his brother through the rain, Ian saw John shake his head, signaling that it was no use. He was gone and probably 20' under by now.

Ian hung his head and pushed the oar into the wake again, mourning in his own way. Really, Ian shouldn't have felt so sad for the man. He didn't know him and the only relationship with him was that they had gotten into the same lifeboat when the storm had overtaken the ship.

Another huge wave sent the boat rocking and Ian followed his brother's lead again, pulling his oar in and letting the wave toss them around. This time, a wave came down ontop of them; covering them with the salty wetness of the ocean. Amazingly, both of the brothers had stayed in the boat.
Again John gave into dispair and yelled at no one, "We'w this is i'! We're finally gonna die. Ain' that jus' beat i'-" John cut off his sentence as his eyes suddenly widened and he pointed past Ian.
"You see that? That's land!"
Ian gazed along his brother's hand and faintly saw in the distance a landmass quickly lighted up by a flash of lightning. Smiling, Ian put his paddle out and started rowing with even more strength, his spirits lifted by the hope of survival.

It wasn't much longer before John pointed again, this time at the water. "See that splashin'?"
Ian stopped paddling and squinted at the water, wondering how John could see anything in the storm that was raging around them. John immediately stood up and said, "It's someone. I go'a save 'em!"
For the first time since they got into the storm, Ian spoke and said what was probably his last words to his brother. "Are you fuckin' crazy?!"
All Ian got was a salute and the mischevious look he always gave when he was doing something he wasn't supposed to.

After a few anxous minutes, John came back up to the boat with a massive gasp of air, saying in a hoarse voice, "Help me!" Ian reached into the stormy water and pulled out John, who in turn pulled out a large bundle of someone. "Why did you do that, you sodding idiot!" Again John just smiled and said, "I know her! She was-"
The boat twisted and John got thrown from the boat. Ian frantically reached into the water to grab his brother, but as soon as he thought he had a hold, he saw hands grab his brother's shoulders and drag him under.

"Joooohhn!!" Ian tried to yell over the storm. There was nothing else he could do. If he tried to jump in after his brother, he'd be sucked in right after him. Sitting down in despair, Ian looked at the bundle of rags that his brother said he knew. If she had water in her lungs, he couldn't do anything for her. Hopefully, John's life was not wasted for nothing.

Violet coughed and sat up coughing more, she was mostly coughing water up. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. She jumped as the thunder roared in the air. Violet glanced at the person near her who looked sad. "Umm...Thanks?" she said awkwardly not knowing what to say when she didn’t know why he was sad. She coughed more and jumped again to the thunder as tears filled her eyes. She sniffled and shook her head. Violet then picked the paddles up and began to row. She shivered and gritted her teeth as waves washed over them. After a while, she stopped and began to breathe hard tried and her eyes were filled with tears. Violet rubbed her eyes and sighed looking around. Violet just wanted to curl up into a ball and just cry, her heart was beating so hard she swore you could hear it. After a while she wiped her face, as more waves washed over them. They still had like a mile or two to go before they reached land. She was glad the rope came off when she was well about to die. Violet cleared her throat and closed her eyes; they were sore and red from all the crying she was doing. She sighed and began to row again. She was tried, but wasn’t planning on stopping till they were safe or on land.

She shivered and jumped again. Violet really wanted all this dam thunder to stop, she wince this time as a wave hit them. She inhaled deeply and glanced at her right leg. It seemed to be bleeding because of a bite mark; the bite was on the lower part of her leg. She sighed and guessed it was the shark. Violet guessed she was lucky to just be living right now. She would treat her leg later because the waves already seem to be washing the bite mark painfully with all the ocean water that was coming in. Her eyes widen as she seen a nude girl on the shore. Violets cheeks turned a light shade of pink and looked at the male next to her. "Okay some people are just random..." she mumbled and began to row harder. They just like had about half a mile left to go. She jumped again and stopped rowing. The thunder was too much for her. “C-can you row the rest of the way?…” she asked her voice shaken and winced as a wave hit them. Violet then put the paddles down and laid down curling into a ball. After taking a few deep breathes, she began to cry shaking. She was wearing a tore and baggy shirt with some dark shorts in the same condition. She had underwear and bar on of course, but her feet were bare. Violet shivered and sat up running her fingers threw her wet long curly blond hair. Her emerald green eyes looked around as she shook violently. She was soaking wet, her creamy skin was ice cold, and her rosy lips were a light shade of blue also.

Ian laughed cynically to himself as he sat on the bench of the lifeboat, watching the waterlogged girl start to row the boat when she had just coughed up half the ocean. She was a tough little thing, that was for sure. Unfortunately she had to live a bit longer to only die of exhaustion from rowing the boat, seeing as Ian had given up the will to live. The girl continued to row even though Ian made no attempt to help her. He saw her strength start to fade as they got closer to the island, even with the storm bashing them around.

A few moments later, the girl spoke for the second time after waking up. She asked him if he would row the rest of the way, but Ian just laughed again, shaking his head and sending spray from his shoulder-length hair around. "What's the point? I ain't got nothin' left ta live for. My brother's dead, I'm in the middle of a storm and have just a slim chance of survivin' on an island that might or might not have life on it."

Ian spoke with a slight Scottish accent that he had picked up from the months onboard a ship full of Scottish seamen. His original accent was probably something like his brother's Cockney, but that was long gone now, along with his brother. That thought brought on another thrashing pain on the inside as he realized he would never hear his indistinguishable talk again.

Shaking his head, he looked at the girl with his hazel eyes and actually saw her face for the first time. She was pretty, and slight, which both were surprising because she was rowing a boat through a storm. Smiling a little, Ian said, "What's your name, girl? While we're out here, I might as well know the name of the person my brother saved before he died."

Ian made a small attemt to sit up, almost as if he was going to take the oars.

"There's life on the island...don’t you see that naked girl?" she asked in a whisper. She couldn’t believe what she just heard and it must have been her fault his brother die. She was glad she was already crying because this news just made her cry harder. Violet wiped her eyes and stared off as a wave hit them again and she jumped because of the thunder. "Violet, that’s my name...yours?" she asked still whispering. She swallowed and looked down wrapping her arms around her waist, shaking still. After a while of thinking of everything that happened she sniffled and coughed up some more water. Violet wonder if she should start rowing again and guess she would soon, very soon.

"Look your brother died, right? So you now have to live for him and you, also you can't forget him, just remember him for all the good times you had with him never the bad, so don’t stay sad for too long or you'll never be able to move forward and live life..." she told him and jumped again at the thunder. Violet rubbed her hands and picked the oars up once more. She was determined now to get to shore even if they only did live for a few days. Once her mind was set on something it was close to impossible to change her mind. Violet was tried, but hell it was the only thing keeping her from thinking about that she just killed somebody who saved her life. Violet had to stop to wipe rain away from her face. After that she went back to rowing quietly.

Maili was enjoying the storm, she loved the anger and the passion of the waves, she was so closely attuned to it that she felt a rush as the water climbed the cliffs and swallowed the sharp rocks, then her sharp eyes caught a shape on the waves.

It looked like a small boat. Maili stood up, that couldn’t be right, surely no one would be silly enough to be rowing in a storm? But there it was, a small boat riding the waves heading for the beach with the sea tossing and turning beneath it. Maili couldn’t be sure if it was playing with it, or trying to help it reach shore.

Either way Maili couldn’t stand by and watch. There was little she could do in human form, her human limbs were weak and she didn’t know how to swim with arms and legs. She slipped into her cave; the light from her rainbow pool was wild and dancing, the water bubbling.

She took her pelt gently, running a hand over the smooth second skin. Then catching herself she rushed back outside. The thunder was booming like a thousand cannons. The last time Maili had been out in a storm she’d been tossed around like a doll. Selkies knew better than to risk angering the sea.

She watched as the boat drew closer, she could just make out two people fighting for their live, that tiny vessel their only hope of salvation. Preying they couldn’t see her,, she stood as close to the water line as she dared as tiny waves reached for her. She slid the seal skin up over her body; it was hard to explain that feeling of regaining her other self.

It was like being complete again, and she could remember just why she had spent so long in seal form and less as a human. The only problem with being a seal was lumbering into the water. Her sleek body and flippers were meant for water, no struggling on land.

The wind howled around her, mocking her, but the sea was welcoming her back, for the moment she was in favour. Maili couldn’t fathom why she wanted to save those people; she only knew that her over powering instinct was to get them to land.

She forced her way into the sea, and was tossed around in a dizzying way on top for the waves. She might be in favour, but there was nothing that could calm the sea when it was like this. She forced her way beneath the waves and the storm above faded.

She pushed herself gently beneath the water, having no idea how she was going to help them get to land, it wasn’t like she could shout encouragement! She swam deeper, under nether the waves was a whole other world. She swam into deeper water, she avoided when possible.

The small shadow slid over her head, oars dipping into the water as it struggled past her. She pushed for the surface and took a deep breath of storm air. With her body anchored below the waves she was less susceptible to being tossed like a rag doll. She could see them clearly now.

Neither looked in good shape, but was that surprising when they were fighting a storm? She swam around the boat, could she push them? Hardly. She felt useless floating in the water. Her dark eyes blinked slowly as she tried to think of a way she could help.

In the end she just decided she’d have to follow them, if someone fell over board, she knew she could save them. The storm showed no signs of abating. Maili shivered, she could feel a shark waiting in the deeper water, waiting for the boat to capsize. Now she was preying she wouldn’t have to save them, she wasn’t sure she could out swim a shark.

She was slightly surprised it hadn’t gone for her, but when there was a choice of flailing drowning humans, or a super fast selkie, she guessed there really wasn’t much competition.

Maili did another swim around the boat, avoiding the oars and feeling dizzy. They were almost there; just a few more metres and they’d be safe on land…and then what? She had shelter, and food, but how to tell them that when they she would still be a seal.

She blinked her large dark eyes again and chastised herself, she had to think of the now, not the future. She studied the humans as they rode on the waves. Human’s were dangerous, maybe she should leave them as soon as they reached shore…but she was fascinated.

Curiosity fought with instinct as they made their way slowly threw the shifting sea water. She bobbed up and down in the toiling water. She felt like a dark guardian angel. Waiting to save them if something happened, but unable to intervene in the mean time. She swam back and forth between the tiny boat and the shore, gauging the distance, trying to show them the safest way to shore.

Maili was shocked the little boat was still in one piece, she’d seen the sea tear apart ships 100 times as big as this, but maybe its small size was saving it. It skimmed above sharp rocks that would have ripped out the hull of a larger ship. A wave lifted over Maili’s head, shoving her down like a fist.

She spun around in a summersault before righting herself and remerging. She needed to get out of the water soon, she just hoped they all made it.

Again Ian sat amazed at the girl he had just met a little bit ago. She was telling him to be more positive now? To forget that his brother had somehow been pulled underwater by some unknown mermaid? Who the hell did this girl think she was? Ian started to get mad.
"Hello Violet, me name's Ian O'donnel. 'Live for both of us', you say? 'Remember only the good times and never the bad'? For me and me dead brother?"
Ian had an angry look on his face as he slowly stood up and towered over the girl, his fists clenching in anger.
"You're telling me to just try to be happy now? This isn't a sodding film, you know. This is real! Words are not going to help me just get over my brother's death! And what are you doing?! Stop rowing!"

Emotions got the best of Ian as he suddenly lunged at the girl he knew as Violet, pulling the oars from her hands and then proceeding to throw one into the water. Angrily, Ian raised the last paddle they had over his head and started to yell something, but not before a bolt of lightning crashed a little ways from their boat.

Whatever Ian was about to say was completely forgotten as the energy of the lightning created a giant titlewave that started to tower over Ian's small boat. He stood motionless with the paddle still raised over his head as the wave lowered onto them. He felt helpless as he was thrown off the boat, feeling the oar in his hands splinter and a searing pain in his thigh.

Barely, Ian was able to open his eyes and see a large shard of wood peircing his leg, while the water turned red. It wasn't much long after that that Ian's head hit a rock and he knew no more.

Violet stopped and looked at him and turned a bit pale. “I-I-I didn’t say just be happy you can be sad just…” she stopped talking her voice shaking. She jumped when she seen the lightning. She gasped when she got throw into the ocean and the boat flipped over. Violet groaned and went to the surface gasping for air. After looking around she saw Ian in red water, her eyes widen and she swam over to him. She held him best she could and swam to shore, getting hit by waves that made her go under. She finally got to shore and dragged Ian to a safe spot on the sand and started to breathe hard. She then went and pulled the wood out of his leg, gritting her teeth as it bled more.

She ripped off a piece of her shirt and soaked it into the ocean were the small waves were. Violet did her best to clean the wound out, and then she wrapped his leg up tightly with her shirt to stop the bleeding. She ran her fingers threw his hair gently and went to the edge of the waves, as only small ones hit her legs. She stood on the ball of her feet and looked around and waved the seal over. Violet was curious now because she just seen the seal awhile ago, but as a human get into a seal skin. She glanced at Ian once in a while to make sure he was okay. He seem okay, the bleeding has seem to stop.