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It had been a tiff between lovers that sent her to the beach, her bare feet sinking into the sand as she kept herself swathed in the large speckled fur that was her own. Lyall muttered and paced as she went over the fight in her head; he had found it, Christopher had found the pelt and had suggested the damnedest thing: that she sell it. Lyall knew that her lovely sailor had no idea at all what he had suggested, but she did and her temper flared for it. "Damn fool he is!" with a yell Lyall gritted her teeth in frustration before she huffed and swore again. She couldn't really be upset with him, he only did as humans often do: make suggestions with the information they had. It only made the woman carry on her verbal tantrum further, however, she was angrier at herself than at the man she wanted to marry to terribly. Lyall had never told Christopher about what she was, what her family was, she had not right to yell at him as she had. But Lyall's temper, like the temperaments of many Selkies, ran hot and sometimes short.

     With a pout Lyall stood at the shore where she felt the sea splash over her toes and looked out into the inky blackness, and walked further into it. She held no fear of the sea for it was her first and true home more than anything she ever had on land. Quietly Lyall shuffled the pelt about her shoulders before pulling it up and over her head like the hood of a coat before wading in deep and diving into the saltwater.

     The change was quick and effortless as her body changed from woman to seal, there was no true description for what she felt for it simply was. Lyall twisted and turned in the night-time waters, breaking the water only for a snorting breath or to bellow at the sky before ducking back under the waves. The sea calmed her nerves.

     Yet the scent of the tide and the feel of water underfoot calmed another as he walked along the shore: Christopher Andarsan. He was a tall and lanky man, with sandy blond hair that he hid under a baseball cap and bright brown eyes which were worried and rather puzzled at what had happened at his fiancé's apartment only a little while ago. If she had just told him that the stupid seal skin was important to her (maybe it was from an ancestor, who knew?) he would have dropped the subject. But his dear Lyall, being fiery as she was, let her temper burst like a firecracker. She went on a tirade that reamed him up onside and down the other, and Chris yelled back before slamming the door on her before she could get out anymore or he would say something he would further regret. He took a walk; a long walk to the corner store to buy a case of beer and a pack of smokes, then further to the docks, and finally strolling down the sands of the beach. It wasn't long before Christopher plopped down in the cool sand with his small case of beer beside himself and pulled off his shoes.

     "Christ, we aren't even married yet and the lass is already getting me to drink. Shit—" Christ grumbled as he pulled a dark brown bottle from the cardboard case and fished his keys from his pocket to use the cheap bottle opener keychain attached to the ring. With a hiss and a pop, he pulled off the cap and stuffed it into his pocket along with his keys. No use in losing those in the sand. Chris took a long drink from the bottle before noticing something more than a little odd: a seal coming right up on the shore, flopping its body about on the sand and—sweet baby Jesus it was heading right for him. Christopher scrambled back, having seen what angry seal did to each other let alone a person. He was trying to get up when he noticed that it had stopped just short of him and stared with great dark eyes before it made a quiet noise. A thought crossed Christopher's mind at that point: 'was it laughing at him? He sure as hell wasn't drunk yet...'

"Well... you're... a weird one, aren't ya? What you want? A beer? You've already done made me spill the one I had open."

     Lyall, knowing full and well that Christopher had no idea at all that it was her heading for him, scooted her seal-body onto the beach and watched as Christopher practically crab-walked backwards in his effort to escape the "angry seal" that was lunging towards him. She bellowed a quiet laugh (as much as a seal could do anyways) and flexed her whiskers at him in her own amusement. She looked down at the spilled bottle and then nudged the box that held the remaining five bottles. It was now or never it seemed, and if Lyall was going to marry Christopher, she needed to trust him with what she was. Not all humans were like the ones in the past, not all humans stole pelts and forced Selkie women to be their brides. Selkies were nothing more than myths to them now.

     Again, the change was quick and the pelt split down the belly as it draped loose over Lyall's wet and naked frame. Lyall pulled the pelt from her head so that Christopher could see her face—

"Lyall?! Y—you!!"

"Chris, calm down it's not that...damn."

     Lyall watched as the color drained from Christopher's face and he fell back limp on the sand. He had watch as the seal that had flopped towards him looked like a teddy bear without out its stuffing and his fiancé just popped out like this was something one did every Friday evening. It was understandable that he fainted from it. Though his falling back had caused Lyall to scurry to her feet to rush to Christopher's prone form to kneel beside him. "Oh, it's not that bad! Come on now! Snap out of it Chris!" She spoke tersely as she patted his cheeks lightly (though with enough force to leave his skin a little red). It took him a moment but Christopher groaned and batted at the hands lightly patted at his face like a small drum. "Stop, stop. 'm awake now." At Christopher's small urging Lyall pulled her hands from him, instead pulling her pelt around her further to made herself somewhat modest as she watched him sit up, take his hat off and ruffle his hair.

"So... first question. You didn't walk here naked, did you?"

     Lyall laughed and shook her head. "Really? You're going to ask if I walked about town in my birthday suit?" Chris shrugged as he spoke, "well I mean seems completely normal. I want things to stay at least a little normal because this—" he motioned to her and her seal pelt for the moment, which caused Lyall to burst out laughing. "Don't you worry! I'm not that stupid, I have some clothes in a garbage bag other there," she pointed towards a black garbage bag that was plopped near the underside of the dock. "I change under the docks after checking for, you know, drunks and the like. No one here tonight, probably a little cold for them."

     Christopher smiled and laughed in turn, Lyall's laughter had always been infectious and seemed to lighten the confusion that had settled on Christopher's mind enough for him to get up to grab both the beer and his shoes before plopping down net to Lyall again. He repeated his motions from earlier, only this time he opened two bottles and handed one to Lyall as he tried to relax.

"So... a seal?"

"Yes, a Selkie to be exact."

"No shit?"

"No shit, Chris."

"So that's why you screamed about the pelt?"

"Well, I mean obviously. It's my skin after all."

"Shit."

     "Take another drink love." Lyall laughed and shook her head and tentatively took a swig of her beer, but nearly choked when she saw Christopher quietly chugging from the bottle. "It's not that bad!" Lyall spoke through the giggles and the coughs (which resulted from her beer going down the wrong pipe) as she pressed the cool bottle to her heated cheek. She watched as Christopher suddenly fell back onto the sand. He was quiet of course but he was smiling, and for Lyall that was all that mattered to her. He watched her lean down and felt her lips press to his own (she tasted a little bitter, like salt water, but he found it soothing in a way) in a gentle kiss. Christopher grinned and laughed and looked at his bride-to-be and touched a thin lock of her damp black hair. "You're right, it's not bad at all I think. In fact, I think It might just be the best thing that ever happened to me."

     Lyall pressed her beer bottle into the sand, grinned and slowly stood up. She took hold of Chris' arms to pull him up with her as she did so. "I would hope so!" Lyall spoke in a mock tone of exasperation, though it was betrayed by her laughter. "How about I get dressed and we head home? I'll make some cheese toasties, we'll finish this water you call beer, and we'll talk some more. No more secrets on my end, I promise."

"You promise? Well then how about this—when's your birthday? Year and all."

"Uh..."

     "You promised Lyall." Christopher pursed his lips as he followed Lyall to the space beneath the docks and leaned against one of the thick posts that held up the pier above them. "You're a Selkie, okay, that's going to come with its own mess of, well, everything. You need to trust me with—"

     "I know!" Lyall shouted suddenly. "I know, alright?" She was well and truly irritated. Her sailor certainly knew how to grate on her: he knew how to push all her buttons and just when she was mad enough to bite he was sweet as pie and she couldn't stay mad for long after that. "The month and day I gave you was right, May 24th and all that but—well the year wasn't 1987 it was 1853." Lyall sighed as she made sure her pants were pulled up before sliding a dark hoodie over her head and wresting with it for a moment. "Chris? Are you... you're not upset about that right?" She was worried of course, he was quiet and she didn't like it. Christopher Andarsan was not a being of silence, he used his words and his actions to get his point across. He was too expressive for silence. But actions always did speak louder than words.

     Chris wrapped his arms around Lyall and kissed her cheek before her whispered "1853? Well then... does that make you a cradle-robber my bonnie seal?" He grinned and let her go, nearly cackling before feeling a foam sandal slap against his shoulder. "Hey! Hey—ow! Lyall!" Chris covered his head and could help but just continue to laugh as he felt her repeatedly hit him on the shoulder with her flip-flop. "You deserve every bruise Christopher Andarsan, you little shit!" She shouted before finally she huffed and tossed her sandal on the ground and slid her foot into it. "What do you have to say for yourself?" Lyall watched as Christopher uncovered his head and grinned that big, dumb grin. "Nothing at all," he said before leaning over to collect the garbage bag from the sand and opened it up for her. "Well, other than you're adorable and we should probably get home before you decide to jump in the sea."

     Lyall pouted and rolled her eyes, "you're a biggest ass I've ever met." She said as she picked up her pelt from and brushed away the sand from it before carefully placing it into the bag. She watched as Chris wrapped the excess plastic around itself and handed it to her with a smile. "Here you go ma'am, I'll go grab that beer and then we can head off." He kissed her cheek adoringly before running off to grab the bottles.

~*~

     Their walk home was hardly quiet, as Christopher pestered her with so many questions about what she was and what she had done in her long life, but he seemed hesitant about one subject particularly. She had decided to bring it up when she had him sitting down and herself cleaned of the sand and the seawater. "So," Lyall spoke as she set down the plate of toasted cheese sandwiches on the table and took one. "Were you ever going to ask me about my family? My parents?"

"Oh, well I didn't think..."

"Chris, you're going to need to meet them eventually. They're my family. In fact, you've already met one already."

"Oh? And who might that be?"

"Toby." Lyall said before taking a bite of her food.

     Toby had been the young man that owned the sea-side diner with Lyall, Chris remembered him for being too kind for his size and the fact that he thought that Toby and Lyall had been together at one point. "That big fella? What is he, your brother?" Lyall laughed and covered her mouth before shaking her head. She swallowed the bite in her mouth before proceeding to laugh again. "No! No, he's my nephew! My oldest sister is his mother, and he's got an older brother too. He's a dear really, just a bit shy about humans really. Took him a while to get used to them again."

     "Used to them? Why you say that?" Though almost as soon as his words left his lips Chris regretted it. Lyall's face seemed pained but she sighed a little. "Because his mother went missing for a decade because of humans, a man stole her pelt and she couldn't leave."

     "Wait so you're say that all those stories about the Selkies and stuff, that's true? Like, if someone walks off with a Selkie pelt you can't leave? At all?" It was distressing to know that all those old myths, where a man stole a Selkie woman's pelt and made her be his bride, were all true. Chris had thought they were just tales but seeing Lyall as he had. Him knowing that she was as real as anything—it made him regret that he had brought it up to begin with. "I'm sorry, I see you're uncomfortable and I—"

     "No, no it's alright. She's safe now and much better than she was when had first came home to us. But yes, it's all true. It's our skin, it's who we are inside and out. It would be like tearing yourself in half and leaving a piece behind. You can't do it without dying eventually." Lyall felt Chris reach across the table and take her hand, his finger a little greasy from his sandwich, and it mad her smile how his thumb caressed over her knuckles to try and sooth her. "I love you, Lyall Bowline. I earned your love fair and I'll never force you to stay should you want to leave—"

"Christopher—"

     "No, let me finish: if you ever feel unhappy and we can't make it work you tell me, alright? You tell me and I'll do what I can but if we really can't I'll never force you to stay here. I'm no cheat or thief and I want to keep your trust. More than anything." He saw her smile warmly and it felt like he was melting (if only a little). "I know, if I didn't trust you I would have booted you in the ass a long time ago." They both laughed at that, both knew it was true. Lyall was sensible and sweet but she always had a way of things, she didn't tolerate those that had proved that they couldn't be trusted as far as she could throw them. Christopher was glad he earned it from her.

"Now eat before the sandwiches get cold and your beer gets warm!"

"It'll be find don't worry about it. I'm sure it would be alright."

"Oh, no you don't! I know how much you complain when your beer gets warm mister."

~*~

     Morning came too quickly and Christopher woke to half the bed empty and the smell of breakfast coming down the hall. Bacon, he could definitely smell bacon in the skillet. And sweet, merciful Lord, coffee too. Christopher groaned a little as he untangled himself from the sheets and made his way from the bedroom to the kitchen. He pulled at seat of his pajama pants for a moment before automatically making a bee-line for the coffeepot. He looked on the counter for a second, his mind still foggy from sleep.

"Mug... mug, mug, mug—"

"Here you go."

      "Thank y—" Christopher froze with the mug in his hand and looked at the woman that had given it to him, who was currently preoccupied with pouring more pancake goop onto another skillet on the stove. "Who the hell are you!?" He nearly yelled before looking over towards the laughter that had erupted form behind him. Chris turned to see that Lyall held her stomach with how hard she laughed. "Lyall!" He piped again and pointed at the other dark-haired woman (who was currently snickering). "Who!?"

"Calm down and get your coffee. That's Murdina."

"Murdina?"

"Mmhm, Toby's mother. She came to see her boy and thought she would stop by to see her little sister."

"Oh! Oh, well... uh hello Murdina, I'm Christopher. But you can call me Chris."

     "Oh, I know a lot about you already!" Murdina grinned as she looked over at him, the lines at the corners of her eyes becoming prominent as she smiled. She was similar to Lyall, but held herself different and her face held sharper features compared to Lyall softer ones. But both women had that black hair and dark eyes. "Lyall's told me plenty about you, and it's all very juicy, gossipy type things."

     "Murdina! It was not and you know it! I told you I was dating a good man!" Came Lyall's sudden complaint from the table. It was Chris' turn to laugh though he more or less chuckled and shook his head as he filled his mug with steaming hot coffee. Lyall watched as her lover approached the table to sit down and she pouted at him. "Chris, she's picking on me," she whined softly before she felt him kiss the top of her head, which caused her to smile with content.

     "Well it's about time someone did." Chris muttered into Lyall's hair before and quickly moving to avoid the swat aimed for his leg. "Watch it, I have coffee!" Murdina looked over at the both of them and rolled her eyes, "I swear, you're rotting my teeth by the minute!" She loved her little sister and was glad she had found herself to love for a good long while, but she was leery of him being... well... not a Selkie. "So, how long have you two been together?"

"Feels like forever, honestly." Chris spoke first.

"About three years now. Doesn't even seem that long."

"To you maybe. You know, considering."

"Yes, but the point I'm trying to make is that you know what she is?" Murdina spoke, her tone was stern.

"Of course, he knows!"

"Lyall, you hush and let me be your big sister, now then—you know, don't you lad?"

     Christopher nodded to the older woman, taking a sip of his coffee before watching Murdina set to work on getting all the pancakes on a single plate and the bacon on another before setting it on the table. He watched her busy herself with searching cabinets. Both Lyall and himself were about to stand to help Murdina find plates and syrup and the like but were promptly told to sit down.

     There was a conversation between Lyall and Murdina then, one that Christopher couldn't quite understand. It sounded like a language he knew, and he could pick out the words as being Scottish but other than that he right had no idea. It was old. Gaelic like his grandfather used to have books in but couldn't understand it. "You know, I don't appreciate you two having a conversation I feel is about me and I can't understand a lick of what you're saying."

     Both women paused. Lyall pulled one of Chris' hands from his mug and held it in her own. "Sorry," she said with a gentleness, "Christopher, tell Murdina what you told me last night. For me? She's uneasy."

     Chris nodded and looked at Murdina from his seat, her gaze made him far more nervous than he had been before. "She showed me last night, and told me about people who steal pelts to keep ladies like yourselves from going off. It's not right. I told her that I don't ever intend to hurt her like that. I don't even want her to feel like she's trapped. I love her too much to do something that would make her hate me. I don't even want to think about it." Christopher stole a glance at Lyall. He had been afraid of Lyall's family not approving of him before but learning what he had (and his mind was still reeling a little) during the night it made him all the more worried. He felt small under Murdina's discerning gaze, she was judging him and it made him terribly nervous.

    Murdina sighed and rolled her eyes. "Gods around, Lyall what are you getting yourself into lass? But, if he makes you happy, I don't see why I shouldn't call him brother-in-law." Lyall jumped up from her chair at Murdina's words embraced her older sister, thanking her for her blessing but Murdina laughed and pulled away with a grin. "Well I hope he can use those words to convince Da."

"Yes, but that's a while off."

"Three days."

"What?"

     "I called him! He misses you dearly so I invited him to stay with Toby and I, figured we can all have dinner here! Since, you know, he's one for family dinners and is probably going to invite everyone."

     "Murdina you are absolutely—" the sound of a thud distracted the both of them. "He fainted again..." Lyall rushed over to Chris and light pet his face. This was going to be so much more difficult than she had first thought.