Silver Jungle

Chapter 17

Dani opened his eyes, blinking in light of the fading sun. He looked around for the Selkie girl, who was few yards away from him. "Amber, do you know where the hell we are?" Dani asked, his hands grabbing at dirt as he tried to stand. "Because this sure as hell isn't Canada."

Amber look up from where she was lying on her stomach, her orange eyes dull and glassy, like she was too exhausted to even respond. Slowly, she began to slip back into the water that they had evidently come from. Dani stumbled to his feet and managed to grab her shoulder before she could slip back into the water, and pulled her on to her wavering feet.

Oh, big mistake.

She was completely naked, and too tired to attempt to cover herself. Dani blushed, looking over her pale shoulder. He remembered something Dra had said about Selkies. 'They don't do long journeys, and if they do, almost always in groups, so they replenish their magic faster.' Dra had smirked, her short fingers drumming a tattoo against the sink basin.

Is this what happened when Selkies exhausted their magical supply? How could he help her? Amber leaned against him, and he could feel her body heat through his clothes.

Why did he still have clothes and she didn't? When she'd wrapped him in the brown spotted sheet, she'd been fully clothed. So, why wasn't she now? Dani's ears felt hot as Amber shivered, her eyes totally glazed, and her mouth close to his ear. There was a breath of warm air.

"What?" Dani said, convinced she'd said something. He leaned in closer, feeling her against him even more. 'No, bad Dani, do not think about the naked women pressed against you.' he thought, blushing like fool.

"Pelt." she whispered, her eyes half closed. "Need... pelt." she then gave a little sigh, and her whole weight pressed against Dani. He grunted. She was heavy.

"What the hell does that mean, Amber?" he hissed.

No response. She was already asleep. He hissed under his breath in Spanish, then dragged her a little further inland, before looking back at the shore line. Not seeing anything, he sat down on a log near where Amber was, resolutely not looked at her.

What did she mean by pelt? A literally skin, or what? The skin of what?

'Selkies aren't like us,' a voice echoed in his head, like the whisper of the wind. 'They can shift from birth, but they need their skin to do it.'

Dani nearly fell off the log. Oh, he was such an idiot. She was looking for her Selkie pelt, the pelt of her seal form, to regain energy. Looking back to see if there was anyone behind him, Dani made his way to the shore, cautiously. In the light of the setting sun, he saw it.

Flaxen and spotted, it lay, forgotten halfway in the water. Dani gave a great gasp of relief, and ran down to get it. He reached out to grab it, but his fingers only met sand and surf.

"I was wondering when you would figure it out. It took you long enough."

Lightly accented English.

Dani looked up, already knowing who he was going to see. He took a deep breath, preparing himself.

"Hi, Zaza."

***

Zammi Coatl looked battle worn and exhausted, her eyes honey brown again. She handed him the pelt with a flash of a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

She looked like one of those portraits of old-time soldiers, ones who knew people that didn't make it back home. Gone, was the perfectly done hair, the impeccable mask of distasteful disinterest, the clean hands. Cuts and bruises covered her face, and what looked like dirt, but was probably blood, turned the crescents of her nails black.