7. Elspeth
Chapter seven
Elspeth
IN WHICH SELKIES REQUIRE CLOTHING, REGARDLESS OF HOW THEY’VE SHOWN THEIR brEASTS IN THE PAST
S everal hours later, Elspeth pulled herself ashore. Aegir was affecting her in ways she could have never anticipated. First, she was self-conscious of the rolling, galumphing motion that she made on land even in her partially-shifted form. For the first time in her life, she realized how undignified it looked. Next, and perhaps, most alarmingly, she found she was embarrassed about her nakedness. For some reason, she waited until she was wearing Aegir’s long shirt as a dress before shifting back. If Aegir grew up in a community of shifters, the odds were that he was as nonchalant about nudity as she normally was, and yet, exposing herself in front of him felt incredibly intimate. Once they were ashore and dressed, Aegir started when he turned toward her, blinking, his eyes wide. After a moment, he shook his head, careful to wipe off the smile that had been growing on his face.
“I’ve changed my mind. I think it would be best if you hide in the forest here, and I’ll bring the clothing back to you. I worry if you are in the forest close to town, someone might see you."
“Isn’t the point of the clothing so that people can see me? You weren’t planning on hiding me this entire trip, were you?" she asked. An ache grew in her throat and she cleared her throat trying to dislodge it.
“No, of course not, it’s just that—” He looked to the sky before rolling his eyes back down to her body. “It’s just that you’re… you don’t have any shoes. And I don’t want you walking through the forest and hurting your feet. The town isn’t far, but it’s far enough that you could injure yourself. Your leg is already healing as it is, I don’t want it getting any worse."
“How do you know that? I have spent plenty of time out of doors without shoes on. I appreciate your concern, but I assure you, I will be fine."
Aegir threw his hands in the air with a sound of frustration. “All right, fine . The real problem is that my shirt is see-through on you, and if someone were to come upon you in the forest outside of town, they’d see your breasts."
Elspeth squinted her eyes at him. “You’ve been seeing my breasts for the last several hours…"
“I know, and they're glorious. It's a testament to my control that I didn’t spend the entire time staring at them," he snapped.
In her mind, a few connections snapped in place and Elspeth bit her lip, trying to suppress a smile." Aegir…” she said. “Are you jealous?" She wiggled her eyebrows at him.
Aegir scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous, I’ve never been jealous a day in my life. Or at least never been jealous over a romantic interest."
She was not going to get excited about the fact that he called her a romantic interest. She refused. “A romantic interest? Is that what I am?"
Aegir turned from her, hands on hips as he blew out a breath. “I don’t know,” he bit out. “It seems silly to deny the attraction we have to each other. This bond seems to be doing things to us—making us feel things that we have no control over. So maybe, it is making me feel like I want to tear out the eyes of anyone who might see your breasts. And so, for their safety and our need to be inconspicuous, I am requesting that you stay here while I fetch you clothing that is safe for all parties.”
Elspeth couldn’t help the blush that crept onto her cheeks. They’d been bonded from the very first second she’d seen him, considering that she’d bitten his finger before even opening her eyes. As such, she couldn’t rightly say what she’d have thought of him without it, but she had her suspicions. Surely if they were not bonded, she wouldn’t be so focused on that corner of his mouth, and the way that it lifted into his cocky smile. Certainly, if they weren’t bonded, she wouldn’t have been so obsessed with the way his muscles moved and flexed beneath his skin, or have been quite as fascinated by the way his legs split so effortlessly from his tail when he shifted. And she certainly wouldn’t have felt a wave of disappointment when, before her eyes, his skin transformed until it was green, his beautiful, wild hair fell out onto the beach around him to be replaced by short strands that were all black. As fascinated as she was at how quickly he changed, she preferred the appearance that she had grown to associate with him. She must have screwed her face up, because he frowned and crouched, briefly flashing his face back black and white as she’d known.
“It appears it’s affecting you too, a murúch. You needn’t worry, I’m still in here, I promise. Though, I will admit that it is gratifying that you like how I prefer to look. But, almost no one has seen me with my orca coloring, so, I’ll likely need to use other forms, at least when we are in public. The good news is, at the inn, they’re used to seeing me as an elf, which is essentially my human form with elf ears and a little extra."
As he spoke, his face continued to morph and shift, the features she was growing to know, shifting into another face entirely.
“Though, that is how I actually look, minus the pointed ears… so do me a favor, and don’t look horrified when you see me that way." He smiled sheepishly, and Elspeth's stomach gave a little flutter. She liked vulnerable Aegir. There was something appealing about him sharing a weakness with her.
Honestly, it was unfair, how good-looking the man was. With as much control as he seemed to have over his body, she sincerely doubted that he ever looked unattractive. Even now, though his face was a completely different color and his ears were pointed, he would be hard pressed to be anything but handsome. “How do you do that so quickly, or is it normally that fast?"
“It’s faster than normal. 1 Practice… but really, practice and conscious modifications. My abilities allow me to change the way the cells of my body work. Part of my mission here is co llecting DNA samples from all of the peoples of the Empire, so that I can mimic how they look and train others to do so as well. The Yewande people of the midland jungles have color changing skin to camouflage into their surroundings. I’ve incorporated that ability into each of my skin cells, though it’s not quite such a time-consuming process as that might sound. 2 For my hair, I usually try to stick with black or white, as long as it's a viable color for the race. Because those are my natural hair colors. Then, I usually prefer to add bulk rather than shift my bone structure. I obviously can shift my bone structure if I need to, considering the whole orca thing, but I find it easier to add and dissolve muscle, fat or bones in their entirety, rather than tiny bits or shave them away."
Fascinated, Elspeth watched as he demonstrated by adding or removing bulk to different places of his body.
His hands flew around as he spoke, face morphing constantly, though the smile that graced his face persisted throughout. Elspeth liked hearing him speak in this way. There was an effervescence about how he held himself and his speech was quicker and higher pitch.
“For example," he said, touching his cheek. “My cheekbone is quite far under here right now. I've added several layers of muscle, to change how it appears, and if you pinch my cheek or push against my chin, you would see that they are the same cheek and chin you know, even if it appears that I have changed my bone structure."
As he pushed and prodded at his face, he had made his chin appear rounded, rather than the sharply squared off chin she was used to. When he was done, it settled back and he was, once again, simply pale, pointed-ear Aegir.
Astonishingly, Aegir blushed. His human coloring allowed her to see it for the first time. She couldn’t help but smile, something about him had shifted, and she found she quite liked that. He was more open now, not striking as many poses, and his smile had lost its previous cockiness.
“Sorry, I tend to get excited when I’m talking about things like this. Anyhow, I should be off. If you wait just in here, you should be relatively hidden." He walked inside the edge of the forest, indicating a boulder.
“And what am I to do while I wait patiently for you?”
“Whatever you’d normally do when waiting I suppose…” He grimaced. “I’m sorry, I swear I wouldn’t leave you if I wasn’t genuinely worried about what I would do, I don’t—uh, feel quite myself around you.”
“Well, considering I have nothing to draw with, I suppose I’ll just have to occupy my mind some other way.”
Aegir reached out, his strong hands enveloping her shoulders. He leaned down, and for a moment, Elspeth thought he would kiss her. Instead, he pressed his forehead against hers. “Stay safe," he whispered.
Heart hammering in her chest, Elspeth could only nod.
Aegir cleared his throat, and turned to walk into the forest. His steps were shockingly quiet, and in seconds, she could neither see nor hear him. She was no stranger to her own company, but she usually preferred to have something to do.
Though now, it felt exceedingly quiet as she waited without Aegir’s ramblings to keep her company.
A fter what felt like at least an hour sitting in the forest alone, Elspeth began singing softly to herself. She didn’t project far, worried about being overheard. But she did want to be occupied. She sang the songs of her childhood, silly ditties about tricking land-folks, or soul-wrenching laments for selkies who had been trapped. The loss of one's pelt was a common theme, though some were triumphant at the end, reclaiming their freedom and returning to the sea. In the cases where the selkie had had children while ashore, their descendants always seemed to have some sort of affinity for the sea, or were freckled in a way that matched their parents' pelt.
Elspeth startled when Aegir stepped between the trees, as she’d had her eyes closed, lost in the song, tears running down her face. When she looked up at him, she noticed that his eyes were glassy and unfocused, his mouth hung slack in an empty headed sort of smile. Snapping her mouth shut, she pushed her hand against her mouth, whispering between her fingers “Aegir, I’m so sorry! I forgot about my song!”
Aegir, who carried a large package in his hands, shook his head and his eyes refocused. “Is that what that was? Do you have some sort of singing magic?"
Elspeth would have expected him to be upset, but his eyes were bright, and she could hear the excitement in his voice. He sounded intrigued more than anything.
“I suppose I do," she said, shaking her head. “I’d always heard that we did, but selkies are immune to it, so, I suppose I forgot. Are you all right?"
“All right? I’m wonderful. Your song was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard, I’ve never felt anything like it."
“Yes, that’s what I mean! I promise, I wasn’t trying to bewitch you, I was only trying to pass the time.”
Aegir ducked his head, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “I think we both know that you don’t need a song to bewitch me, you’ve done a pretty good job of it already."
Had he said it in any other context, Elspeth would have been convinced it was a line. Aegir was just the sort of man to have a witty compliment for everything. But instead of a joking tone and striking a pose, like she might have expected, Aegir spoke so softly, she could barely hear it, and looked away. He cleared his throat, the vulnerabilities fading to give way to his usual patented confidence.
“Well, I don’t think we need to worry about activities for passing the time," he said, untying the twine holding the bundle in his hands together. He unwrapped the brown paper packaging and revealed a small blue journal and a selection of drawing implements. Elspeth gasped, her eyes roaming over a set of pastels, a selection of charcoals, and even what appeared to be a pen, nibs, and a small pot of ink .
“Aegir! I can’t believe you bought this!” Her words came out strangled as she blinked back tears.
“You mentioned that normally you’d draw... I don’t know your preferred methods, so I just bought what they had," he said, shrugging, as if they hadn’t cost a small fortune—as if it wasn’t one of the most singularly thoughtful things someone had ever done for her.
He sat them down on the boulder, and pulled out several other items. A new shift, followed by what appeared to be several pairs of stockings, a selection of ribbons, stays, and two petticoats.
“I meant to just buy you one outfit, and then take you with me to purchase the rest, but I got a little excited, I think. So, why don’t you put that on, and I’ll show you my impulse purchases.”
Overwhelmed, Elspeth peeled off her now dry stockings, and sat them to the side, fingering the new, impossibly smooth stockings between her fingers. She’d never felt a knit so fine, and was shocked that they’d wasted it on stockings. Turning away, she quickly removed Aegir’s shirt, and slid the new shift over her shoulders. It was light and airy, though tighter woven than the linen shirt she’d just removed.
When her fingers fell on the stays, she was relieved to find that they, at least, felt like a sturdy fabric she was used to wearing. At home, when she knew she’d be out and about, but wouldn’t need her pelt for warmth around her shoulders, she’d often secured it around her waist, against her skin, so she could feel it. She put on her stays and then tucked her pelt underneath her shift, using the stays and one of the petticoats to keep it in place. That done, she turned back around to find Aegir holding a pair of leather shoes.
“Apparently your feet are quite small, at least around these parts. The fauns don’t wear them and the closest people around are trolls much taller than you, so I might have told them you were a child in order to get the sizing on everything right."
Slipping the shoes on, Elspeth scrunched her nose. " These fit shockingly well. "
“I tried to get them as close as I could,” he said.
He picked up two options of dresses for her. The fabric was unlike anything else she’d ever worn. It was smooth and shiny, reflecting the beams of light that shone between the trees.
One was a deep, rich green that when she touched it, she noted that there was a raised pattern on it, flowers of the same color. Somehow the fabric had been woven in a way that they stood out in relief. The second was a dark purple. It was woven in a similar fashion though instead of flowers it had a pattern of stripes in two thicknesses. 3
“These are gorgeous,” she said. "I don't know if I can wear something this fine. I'll trip and ruin it.”
Aegir smirked and tipped his head to the side. "I hate to tell you, but I'm a bit of a fop. If I can, I prefer sumptuous things. So, almost everywhere I go, I'm either some sort of elvish officer or filthy rich merchant. It wouldn't do for me to travel with anyone who didn’t match my station.”
Aegir handed her a pair of pockets and she tied them around her waist. Then, after a moment's hesitation deciding between the two, Elspeth reached for the green one. She adored the raised flowers and thought the color might look well with her skin. The skirt went on the way that she would expect, as did the bodice and the sleeves.
Turning back to Aegir, she blushed at the look on his face.
"Perfect," he breathed. "Now all we need to do is deal with your hair!" He twirled his finger, indicating that she should face away from him and patted the stone. What on earth was he going on about? Her hair was perfectly normal.
"What’s wrong with my hair?"
"Your hair is just fine, and it’s not that there is a problem, per se, other than the fact that I don’t think we want anyone realizing you’re a selkie. The Empire could’ve put word out, and people could be looking for you." He carded his fingers through her hair, scratching her scalp and making her shiver. The tingles traveled down her spine, prickling her skin and senses awake. "So, if we just—" Aegir cut off, seeming caught up in his work. She didn’t know his plan, but he obviously seemed to have one, and it wasn’t like she knew anything about the fashions around here, if the fabrics were anything to go by.
Periodically, he would make noises of approval or consternation, gently plaiting her hair into whatever design he needed. Eventually, he patted his hands soundly on her shoulders, and announced it complete. With tentative hands, Elspeth explored his handiwork.
The front of her hair, he’d divided into two braids, which swooped down her forehead to incorporate her eyebrow whiskers. It felt strange, having their movement and sensation hindered, but she supposed that perhaps people around these parts didn’t have eyebrow whiskers. The back, he’d twisted atop her head, in a complicated mess she could never hope to replicate. Finally, he pinned the two braids back so that they held her floppy ears aloft, which she assumed made her look decidedly more elfin.
Elspeth blinked rapidly. She didn’t quite know what to make of this man. "So you’re a hairstylist too?" she asked.
He shrugged his shoulders, and she thought she could just see a hint of a blush working its way onto his cheeks. "I’ve got a gaggle of sisters,” he said. "I’m smack dab in the middle, so I learned a few things. Now, let’s see about getting some information and a room for the night."
1. Faster than normal is a gross understatement. Aegir acknowledges his talent, but until him, no one in Sanctuary had really thought to attempt to morph to multiple forms. Years of practice means he is the most adept shifter I have ever met, able to assimilate and assume a form from a minute amount of genetic material in seconds.
2. Small modifications like this are what allowed Aegir to be so talented. He saw that reconfiguring his skin color each time at a genetic level was less cumbersome than instead modifying it once to be mutable.
3. The fashions of the Pathian Empire and Caihalaith at large serve as further evidence about my cultural stagnation theory. There is no reason that two continents, separated as we were, should share such details as similar fashions after a thousand-year separation, but we see it again and again.