Gifted Pelt

Chapter 19

When Astrila manages to force her eyes open once again, she can see Kōri's chin right above her eyes. She shifts, causing him to look down at her. His deep brown eyes have little hints of a lighter, rich gold just scattered around his iris and she stares at them, fascinated. He smiles.

"Look who's back to herself."

Astrila winces. "Sorry."

He stops to let her try to get back to her feet, especially as they have reached the opening of the tunnel.

"What are you sorry for? You didn't want your magic to take control, and knowing you, it was a struggle every moment."

She slides down the tunnel and stops at the bottom, looking down at her feet. She waits to speak until Kōri slides down after her.

"I tried so hard, but I couldn't break back through. I did once, for just a moment, but then my magic locked me up in a corner of my mind."

Kōri's eyes widen. "That's what your magic had to do to stop you?"

"Yes, but it wasn't enough."

"Astrila, even for selkies who are fully acclimated to their own magic, that is a mighty achievement if their magic takes over. To fight back so much that your magic does that, it shows your strength. Especially when you haven't fully adjusted yet."

Astrila looks up at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears. She opens her mouth but hesitates, closing her mouth when she hears a noise from the tunnel. Kayi comes sliding through the tunnel as a black harbor seal. He is followed by Tonraq, also in seal form. Astrila frowns and looks up at Kōri in confusion.

"I'm clearly out of it, because I have no idea what's going on."

Kōri laughs. "They're going to stay in here with us until the storm passes."

"Okay?"

Tonraq shifts first and approaches Astrila, frowning slightly. "How are you feeling?"

"Disoriented and weak."

"Did you fight back?"

She nods. "I did, and I broke through for a moment, but then I was locked up inside my own mind."

He nods thoughtfully. "Did your magic give you any indication as to why it took over your body?"

Astrila nods again. "Yes, my magic said that if it didn't take over, he would have died." She jerks her chin to indicate Kayi.

"Why didn't your magic make you help him first, then?"

"It said that if it had done that, then more selkies would have died."

A hint of fear takes over Kayi's face. "You're sure of that?"

"Absolutely."

He collapses to his knees and runs his hand over his face with dismay. "This is the worst storm of my entire lifetime, then. What are we going to do?"

Astrila frowns thoughtfully, then her eyes light up. "Rebuild the igluit."

"What?"

She sighs. "We all know how to build an igluvijaq. It isn't too much of a stretch to rebuild them on the top of this snow layer. Just wait for the storm to pass and rebuild the igluit then."

Kayi frowns. "We don't know if we have good building snow. We have to wait for that."

Astrila beams. "I've been building with the snow we have. It's briktla."

Kayi sits back on his heels. "This is the best plan we have?"

She shrugs. "I can't think of any other ideas."

They fall into a silence that quickly turns awkward, so Astrila sighs and shakily gets to her feet. Kōri looks up at her. "Where are you going?"

"I'll be right back. I'm just going up to the top for a moment."

"Let me come with you."

Astrila shakes her head. "I'll be fine, Kōri."

"I know that, but it hurts if you're that far from me, remember?"

Astrila hesitates, she does remember that fact, but she doesn't know the exact boundaries. Her signals are when he tells her it hurts. Her voice is quiet as she informs him of that. "Kōri, I don't know the exact distance I can go from you without hurting you. I know I can't go too far, but I don't know when too far begins. I don't feel it. But if you think it's too far, then alright, you can come with me."

He bows his head slightly. "Thank you. What are you going to do?"

She gives him a small grin as she starts to crawl up the tunnel, her voice echoing slightly. "You'll see."

He laughs from behind her as she reaches the top of the tunnel and grabs a handful of snow. She brings it back down to the iglu with her, careful not to let any of the snow fall out of her hands. She emerges back into the rest of the iglu, and Kōri frowns at her handful of snow.

"Why exactly did you find it necessary to bring that in here?"

She grins. "It's infinitely better than awkward silence."

"What's better?"

"Snow pictures, of course!" All three of them give her blank looks. She scowls. "Are you telling me that selkies don't have snow pictures?"

"Yes, we don't know what those are. Unless you mean the detailing on the outsides of the igluit."

She shakes her head at Kōri's guess. "No, that's not what snow pictures are, not exactly."

Astrila spreads her handful of snow out on the floor between them and pulls out her snow knife, beginning to carve pictures into the layer. The images she draws don't last long before they are wiped away in order for her to continue with her silent story.
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How long do you guys think the storm will last? Will the other selkies be okay? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading, and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.