SEA, SWALLOW ME, remus lupin

seachd, beneath the fireworks

CHAPTER SEVEN
beneath the fireworks

                           𖦹 ⋆｡˚⋆ฺ ⋆｡˚⋆ฺ˚⋆˚ 𖦹

  THE NIGHT IS CRISP AND COLD, hailing the end of '77 as gulls cry their final laments into the clouds above. Stars begin to poke their bleary heads out from beyond the cosmos, stretching and yawning as a long night lazes out before them. Critters scuttle along the coast, dipping in and out of the water to breathe in the final dregs of the year before another begins anew, clicking and clacking in an animalistic orchestra that hums against Cove's ears pleasantly. Remus is utterly clueless to the messages from the sea creatures, yet he feels like he can almost understand from the contented way her mouth curves up at the sunset soundscape.

   Cove and Remus had spent the final day of December by the sea. She led him outside that morning with the intention of introducing him to her friend, who in turn took one look at him and promptly refused to don two legs, sinking back beneath the wild blue currents. He told Cove to just go in without him — the combination of freezing temperatures and a selkie with a lethal glare had put him off of actually going for a swim, anyways, so he simply curled up next to the rock pools with a good book and hid himself away behind the thick layers of his winter clothes.

  Though, he didn't exactly get much reading done. His eyes were too busy following her. He's enraptured at how easily she sinks back into her transformations, a tiny bolt of jealousy flaring in his chest at the lingering sight of her so at home in her other form. He brushed it off as quickly as it sparked, yet the sentiment still dangled over his head like a guillotine.

  Regardless, Remus watched in awe as she glided across the waves, splashing flecks of water at him with her tail as her friend with the snowy coat clung to the safety of the shallows, her big black eyes narrowed in accusation. He doesn't think that he's ever felt so intimidated by a seal before — well, excluding Cove. The fear that you experience when she's cross with you over anything, big or small, is visceral.

   He's hoisted out of his daydream at the sight of Cove approaching him. She wrings her hair out onto the cold sand, shrugging a woolly jumper over her dress as she slips her sealskin back to the bottom her satchel. She makes quick work of tying her bootlaces, the seashell patterns on her fluffy socks poking out from behind the wrinkled leather. Cove turns to him fully, pausing when she spots the strange look on his face.

   Remus squints slightly, taking in the familiar pattern of her jumper. "Is that mine?"

   Cove freezes. "...No?" she says slowly.

He raises his eyebrows. "Cove," he drawls.

   She sighs. Cove lifts her hands up in surrender, moving them to tug at the neck and pull it over her head when he rushes to stop her. His cheeks colour a violent pink at the look of surprise he's met with, clearing his throat sheepishly and smoothing the fabric on her shoulders.

   "It's fine," he says in a small voice, eyes pinned to the ground. "Keep it. You wear it better than I do, anyways."

Cove raises her eyebrows but she doesn't say anything mocking, intertwining their fingers and beginning to walk away. "Alright. So, do I get to know what the surprise is, yet?"

   "No," he says with a smile coating his voice. He stumbles over the dunes slightly as he's pulled, brushing past his mild embarrassment to fall into step with her. "That's why it's a surprise, lovely."