Astrila is a normal girl in her Inuit tribe, but is left alone by her mother's death. She runs to the cliffs that overlook the sea and grieves, before she slips and falls off of the cliff into the icy sea. Something saves her, but what is it? Join h...
"Can you teach me how to make this," She holds up her pelt, which is currently a bundle of fur in her arms, "into a coat now?"
Kōri laughs. "Yes, I can help you with that."
He motions for Astrila to take a seat. She instantly plops onto the floor and looks at Kōri expectantly, the pelt bundle sitting in her lap.
"What now?"
He has to stifle another laugh. "Maybe unwrap the pelt. Otherwise, we can't see if it works."
Astrila nods and releases the pelt from its crumpled shape. She lays the pelt out on her lap and strokes the short, soft fur. It is softer than that of normal seal fur, but only just.
"Astrila."
She looks up from the pelt, having been staring blankly down at the black fur. When she places her hand on it, the edges of her hand seem to be melting into the fur.
Kōri smiles at her. "The shift between pelt and coat is relatively simple. Just imagine the pelt as a coat. It will be long, past your knees, and it will also have long sleeves and a hood. It may help if you close your eyes for this."
Astrila nods and lets her eyelids slip closed, submerging her in darkness. She pictures a coat similar to the one that Kōri had described and was wearing in her mind. It would be black like her pelt, and it would be slim and streamlined, going down to her mid-calves and her wrists. When she thinks of the hood, two tiny gray spots appear on the fur. She is confused by this, she hadn't imagined these spots. She tries to remove them from the image in her mind, but they are stubborn and won't go. After several tries, she stops and turns to something else.
"Astrila."
Her eyes snap open to look at Kōri, and the image in her mind fades away like smoke.
"What is it?"
She notices the barest hints of a smile in the upturned corners of Kōri's lips, and frowns in confusion.
"Look down."
When Astrila looks down at her lap, she sees that the pelt has become a coat just like the one had imagined, even with those strange gray spots. A smile blooms across her face and her eyes light up.
"I did it!"
"Yes, you did."
Astrila touches the spots of gray and frowns slightly, murmuring to herself. "I wonder where these came from."
"Hmm? What is it?"
Kōri had heard what she was saying, but not enough to make out the words. "I'm wondering where these gray spots came from."
He leans closer to examine the spots, not touching the pelt. "It's almost like the opposite of a harp seal pup, black with light spots instead of white with dark spots, which is what my pelt is like."
Astrila grins and her voice takes on a teasing note. "Why is your pelt like a harp seal pup? Is that what you look like in seal form? A baby seal?"
He laughs. "No, my seal form isn't a harp seal pup. It's just the same pelt pattern." He gets to his feet. "Come, let me show you around Nattiq Island."
Astrila raises an eyebrow, getting to her feet as well. "Nattiq Island? Seal Island? Really, that's what was chosen?"
He laughs and shrugs. "What can I say? I didn't choose it. This island has been named Nattiq Island for several centuries. Blame your ancestor, not mine. They probably liked the sound of the word, and with its meaning, that was that."
Astrila sighs and shakes her head. "Still. It's not very original."
"It may not be, but you'll come to love it. Come on, winter is still in full force, so we don't have much daylight. Which means we need to go now if I am to show you anything."
She laughs and slips her coat on, leaving the hood down. Once the coat is settled comfortably around her body, she follows him out of the iglu to join the rest of the community. Selkies are bustling through and around the igluit, carrying baskets, some with weapons, presumably to hunt, and some of the selkies are sitting before their iglu to prepare clothing. Many of them stop to stare when they see her, causing Astrila to be quite glad that the redness of a blush doesn't show up well through her dark skin. She waves sheepishly at them and wishes desperately for them to go on with what they are doing, but they don't stop staring until she is out of sight. Kōri leans toward her to whisper conspiratorially as they pass one group of staring selkies.
"They aren't trying to make you nervous, they're just used to knowing everyone in the community, and they've never seen you before. This makes them confused, because they see you with a pelt of your own, but they've never seen you before." ________________________________________________________________________________ What do you think she'll see on the island?Tell me your thoughts! I have a question for you guys. Would you like me to put a dictionary of all these Inuit words in these author notes for you guys? I know the words can be confusing. Please tell me if you want me to do that!
Now that Astrila has shifted her pelt, I can show you the last picture! What do you think?
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
