"The Case Of The Fire Inside."

There are certain things you ask of me 2

In the long list of rules that Dream gave him, there were four that stuck out as the most important. Three that he had to follow pretty much daily. Four rules that would probably mean his downfall if he didn't follow them.

Stick close to the island when swimming. Always be back before seven. Never complain or hesitate to give Dream his pelt. And never, ever interact with humans.

There were many more, smaller more inconsequential rules that Tommy lived his days by, but those were the ones that Dream would be the most pissed if he broke. Normally, Tommy had no issues following them.

He had never been in the open ocean before, never straying further than a hundred feet from the island. He knew there were dangerous things out there, sharks and whales that would tear him apart if they wanted to, wild selkies that would shun and attack him if he showed up. Staying close to the island was more common sense than anything.

Coming back at seven was also just the easiest way to do things. It was the easiest hour for him to change, and although swimming at night technically was the safer option with fewer people to see him, it also meant that Dream couldn't track him down as easily if he needed something. And Dream needed to sleep and couldn't do that worrying about Tommy all the time.

The pelt rule sucked. But it was just the way it was. Dream would hold onto his pelt nightly for safety measures, just in case Tommy's instincts overwhelm him and he decides to run away. They didn't want that. Sure handing his pelt over whenever Dream wanted it felt like tearing off his own arm and tossing it to the wolves, it was just another one of those things. It was easier not to protest.

The human rule was self-preservation. Humans didn't really like people like him, things like him. Tommy knew that interacting with humans was dangerous, Dream told him many stories of selkies washing up on shore, their pelts being taken and sold, the selkie themselves being carted off to the highest bidder to do whatever they wanted them to. Tommy had seen enough poachers in his life to know that he wasn't really safe in either form.

Tommy didn't break any of those rules often, and if he did it was a one-off thing, a mistake.

There was a poaching boar circling the island. He saw them out with their large spears and nets, searching for the seals that lived around here. Tommy had a few issues with that. The first being that he was one of those seals that lived here. The second being that he was friends with the other seals that populated the island.

Sure they weren't selkies and would never be able to form a pod with him- not that he needed a pod he had Dream and that was more than enough- but they were fun to play with, and really the only social interaction he was allowed to have. Going out and swimming with them was some of the most fun he had been able to have in ages, and now that the poacher was around they were either fleeing or refusing to go in the water with him. It was downright annoying.

He had talked to Dream about it, but he had brushed it off. As long as it stayed away from Tommy, he was fine. Which was sweet and all, but not very helpful in Tommy's case. It had been a problem for weeks, but luckily the seals were slippery. None of them were caught.

Until now.

He was just out for his regular swim when he heard it, a pup whining and barking for help on the side of the island. He swam over as fast as he could, panic racing through him at the cries. A deep-seated part of him, the one that cried out every time he tucked his pelt away, begged him to help the baby as if he wasn't already planning on that.

The little guy was stuck in a net, squirming and crying out pathetically, the cries growing louder when she saw Tommy approaching. She looked to only be a few months old, a pup he had played with only a few times due to her overprotective mother. Tommy flopped up onto the rocks where she was stuck, letting out a soft chuffing noise to try and settle her down. It sounded stilted in the way that all his noises were, having had to learn them second hand once he got older. It was almost annoying to him, to not be able to speak properly or fluently in either form.