Archie Kennedy (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
betteralready) wrote2018-12-01 11:40 pm
betteralready) wrote2018-12-01 11:40 pm
Entry tags:
i will build a lighthouse there somehow } selkies au
He's glad this is his life now.
He's glad he doesn't have to live his life in fear. He's glad he isn't constantly looking over his shoulder waiting for disaster to strike. He's glad that most of his days involve tending to the lighthouse and its grounds; involve walks on the beach and swimming and fishing.
Involve loving and being loved by so many very good people.
Elliot has been adjusting well, though he still seems just a bit nervous. Archie is giving him some space as the young man reads in the lighthouse; instead heading outside to see if anything interesting has washed up on the shore.
His gaze, as always, flickers on occasion out into the water and towards the horizon. He's never sure when something (or someone) might come out from the deep and surprise him.
He's glad he doesn't have to live his life in fear. He's glad he isn't constantly looking over his shoulder waiting for disaster to strike. He's glad that most of his days involve tending to the lighthouse and its grounds; involve walks on the beach and swimming and fishing.
Involve loving and being loved by so many very good people.
Elliot has been adjusting well, though he still seems just a bit nervous. Archie is giving him some space as the young man reads in the lighthouse; instead heading outside to see if anything interesting has washed up on the shore.
His gaze, as always, flickers on occasion out into the water and towards the horizon. He's never sure when something (or someone) might come out from the deep and surprise him.
TAKEN THERE AND BACK BY MERCHANTMEN. also probably 5, yeah!
It's oddly familiar. All that's missing is Horatio, hand settled on the back of the boy's neck.
"Hullo." Staying still feels unnatural. Settling back slightly in his chair is better. "Elliot, isn't it? I'm Henry."
...a fair and compelling point. also o7
He'll approach a little closer, tucking the book he's been carrying under one arm, just over where his skin is hiding. One hand will be offered with a hint of uncertainty.
That's probably not the way to greet a fellow selkie, but he's not entirely sure.
Archie will quietly maneuver his way around the conversation, moving silently to go put some tea on-- the boy certainly looks like he might need it.
"'s nice to-- meet you," Elliot continues.
/hairflip forever
"You as well."
Henry takes care to move his hand slowly to the pup's, squeezing only briefly and without insistence. The safety of contact wasn't inherent, after all; it came from years of living in the comfort of one's own kind.
"How's the cove treating you?"
silly <3
And that does have him smiling a little more properly as he settles into one of the other chairs.
"I like being able t'wake up and-- know 'm by the sea."
The house he'd lived in was still technically in this coastal town, but it wasn't on the water. He'd never felt as able to breathe as he does now.
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"Nothing like it, yeah? Well better out here." Which is surely part of why Horatio had been drawn to the lighthouse in the first place. "Getting some good swimming in?"
Under, one had to assume, the fretfully protective and incredibly watchful eye of the older selkie.
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"I am, yeah. That's really nice."
It's been so helpful to be able to get properly into the water so often.
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"Thinking of trying the big drink soon?
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If clearly a bit nervous about it, still. It's something that he properly feels the pull towards, of course, but also something he's not sure he's ready for.
"'ve never been."
So it's scary.
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It isn't actually the same, but it's close. It isn't actually giving Elliot his life back, but maybe it's helping make the late start less confusing.
"I grew up on a cove like this. First time out in the deep-- I was petrified."
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That has him brightening just a little bit, his expression looking more hopeful and interested.
"What-- helped make it better?"
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"Taking it a little step at a time. With someone you trust." It's a simple thing, but simple things could be massively helpful. "My da took me out--a little further every time, then back in again. Until it started to feel normal."
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"I trust-- Mister Horatio."
So that's a good start.
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And thank goodness Horatio had been the one to find Elliot. Thank goodness that Elliot hadn't been so far gone as to not begin to relax into this new home.
"He'll keep you safe. Honest, he will."
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Looked after other selkies, at least. Helped them find their way home again.
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"They've gotten quite good at it, yeah."
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It'd be nice, to talk to someone else who had ended up being stuck for so much of their life.
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And there's no helping the brief flicker of strain that passes over his features. The healing process was never pretty--and the scars marking their kind were always much fiercer from land than from sea.
"Takes time."
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They heal, as best they can?
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"They do. They get... control."
And what they did with it varied wildly, but that's hardly the encouragement Elliot needed just now.
"That can take getting used to, hm?"
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"But it must be-- nice. To have-- choices."
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The reminder can't hurt.
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"I guess-- I guess I will. Yeah."
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Just another marathon. Just another long season of slowly moving into deeper and deeper waters.
"But you will. Honest."
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“—Thank you.”
It does help a lot to hear.
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It's an easy, thoughtless affection. It might even be one that Elliot had picked up by now, if others have passed through particularly often.
The sentiment will surely get through regardless.