Title: Ireland's Selkie of Death
Author: Nim Fea Edainme
Genre: Romance
Rating: T for Alcohol reference, violence, and suggestive themes.
Summary: Watari meets an Irish stranger at a bar, who weaves magical tales of seal people. She doesn't belong in Japan.. She just doesn't fit in. She belongs in Ireland. But why is she in Japan?
Bartender, why don't you hook me up? Bartender, please.
Watari looked into his glass. A dull, aching throb came from his head at the sudden movement. The amber colored liquid swirled aimlessly. Through it he could see the bar top and his pale figures slightly obscure. He drowned it, trying to numb Tsuzuki's eyes and Hisoka's words. The headache receded a bit. Some one entered a bar and sit next to him. Whoever she or he was, she or he was wet. Soaked is more liked it. He glanced at the person.
She was pale with slender hands. She ordered her drink and glanced out the window. Something about her was remotely… seal-like. Her long dark hair was tied back by a dark green ribbon with intersecting lines. They looked like a spell, but he couldn't tell. His vision was blurry, even with his glasses. She received her drink and said thank you. It was quiet, but he could tell she wasn't from around here. There was an accent he couldn't quite place…
The pounding headache returned as he thought. His vision swirled. The stool started to slip from him. Two hands, slender, strong, and slightly damp, grabbed his arm and waist, helping keep his balance. He turned to thank whoever it was, but felt bile burn his throat. He shut his mouth quickly.
It was the person sitting next to him. She smiled and returned to her drink. She took a large sip only a skilled drinker could've. Watari stared, and then returned to his own empty glass.
"You're a skilled drinker," marveled the bartender.
"I've had practice," she said. She held up a hand. "Irish."
"Really? You don't look it."
The person laughed. "I've had several of my own people say I look like a selkie."
"Selkie?"
The person laughed again, tucking a free strand of hair behind her ear.
"A selkie is really just 'seal' in old language. The myth says that selkies are part seal part human and are much more beautiful than average humans. Of course, it is debated when a selkie can go into its human form, but how is commonly spread. The seal has to cast off its skin in which there is magic that can turn the wearer into a seal, and thus can go to the sea. With out its skin, a selkie is powerless."
Watari, entranced by the stranger's accent, listened helplessly as she began to weave a tale about a man who fell in love with a selkie. He captured her and stole her skin, hiding it so she could never find it.
"The selkie woman had no choice but to marry her captor and everyday she looked for it. She was searching for something that could never possibly be found," she said. Something about that made him shiver. The woman paused, a sad look in her eyes. Then she smiled and continued. Watari paused to think about that look. He lost interest and paid his dues. He swaggered out the door.
A/N: Please R&R. The song titles name is Dancing Nancies by Dave Matthews Band. It is only in the live version.