SEA, SWALLOW ME, remus lupin

seachd air fichead, web of lies

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
web of lies

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  "SO, CAN YOU TURN INTO A SEAL ON command?"

   Cove shifts awkwardly in her seat, wrapping her woolly cardigan around herself tight for a fraction of comfort. She notices that it's raining, again. Condensation from the torrents bead upon the glass, slipping earthward to engrave intricate patterns that'll only be washed away come nightfall. She begins to trace her own depictions of seashells and flowers, the very same ones that she tends to draw on car journeys with her dad. The thought of him at the moment leaves a bittersweet sensation coursing through her anatomy. She wipes her drawings away with her sleeve.

  Mary, Fallon and Cove have gathered in a small nook that lies at the foot of the Astronomy Tower, the tall window beside them bringing in a glacial chill from outside. Her friends are bursting with questions about selkies, and she's trying her best to keep up with answers that actually make sense. She notices that even all the portraits have gone quiet, trying to eavesdrop on what she has to say. It makes her simmer slightly, her voice dropped low so that the discussion will stay between the three of them.

   "I mean, yes and no," Cove says, her voice just above a whisper. "Normally, I can only transform with my sealskin on me, but if I've gone too long without transforming, my body will begin to shift on its own, seeing as I haven't made the permanent decision between land or sea yet. It's a painful process, so I try not to let myself, er, dry out. I have to maintain balance if I'm going to stay undecided between a permanent seal form and a permanent human form."

  Fallon purses her lips. "Right. Was that what happened on Halloween?"

  "Not exactly. Around the festivals in the Wheel of the Year, selkies naturally transform to be closer to nature at the junction of a solstice or equinox. Something to do with our ancient ancestry. Triton, I barely even understand it myself."

  Mary and Fallon nod along in understanding, though she can tell they don't completely follow. It makes her laugh.

  Fallon's head falls back against the wall. "Rigby never told us any of this," she remarks, her mind going into overload.

   "For a teacher, she was extremely misinformed," Cove says, an edge to her voice. "You shouldn't believe most of what you learned in her class."

  Fallon blinks in surprise at the shift in her tone. She bites her tongue and refrains from saying anything more.

  "Is that friend of yours from back home a selkie?" Mary asks to casually change the subject. "Is that why we've never been allowed to meet her?"

Cove inhales sharply. She hadn't even thought about what Cordelia would think of this.

"Yeah," she says. "She's a selkie. She doesn't take kindly to human-selkie bonds, so I'm not sure how she'll react to yous two knowing. Or the whole Remus thing. She's been warning me against a relationship with him since the start of term."

   "Really?" Mary exclaims. Fallon nudges her and she lowers her voice. "Sorry. It just makes sense now. I've always thought that you and Remus are perfect for eachother. I was so confused why you fancied him one day and couldn't stand the sight of him the next."