PandaG's contribution to the APH Rarepair Exchange on tumblr, based on the prompts mermaids (kind of) and magical stuff (definitely), as well as a multicultural mix of folklore.

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays, TZ! I hope you enjoy it!

Skins

There was a small stretch of the coast of Estonia where the tree line came almost to the water before giving way to sand, rocks, and the Gulf of Finland. Just beyond was a rocky island favored by the grey seals, since there were plenty of fish between the island and the mainland for marine and woodland animals alike. It was also less than a mile from a small fishing village, which made it an equally ideal location for a selkie – a seal that could remove their skin to become human.

Tino was one such creature, and that coast was one of his favorite places in the world. He enjoyed a quiet life there. He was part of a friendly pod, and the little village was the perfect place for him to stretch his legs among the humans when the call of the land tugged at him. He told the villagers that he was a fisher from a lonely island father out in the gulf, and always brought some fish and pretty trinkets to sell. There were plenty of places to hide his seal skin among the rocks, so he never feared that someone might steal his skin. If any of the humans even suspected the truth of his nature, they had never mentioned it to him and he was usually welcomed among them.

In spite of the villagers and his pod, Tino had begun to feel lonely. He thought about letting a human in the village keep his skin for a while; he had a few friends there that he wouldn't mind loving for a while. But he didn't like the idea of being bound to anyone away from the sea, and he had a feeling none of the humans would really understand that. He was constantly in between the song of the sea and the call of the land; between the lithe, slippery body that let him swim and dart through the water and the legs that let him dance.

He knew there must be other selkies somewhere; he had a mother of course, who'd loved a sailor for a time. She left the sailor with a kiss and a pearl, and the sailor had left her with Tino. She taught him how to hunt and swim, then how to leave his skin behind and run. Then she'd fallen in love again and left him to a pod on his own.

Tino hadn't seen his mother in a long time. He thought about going to find her, or any brothers or sisters that he might have. On the other hand, it was the middle of the mating season and if he left now, he'd have to wander all alone. He didn't know if he could bear that, so he decided to wait until the season ended. The seals liked to hunt on their own, but some of them might go with him for a while.

It was not long after deciding this that Tino made a curious discovery. He'd just finished breakfast and hauled himself out of the water when he heard a whimper. He pushed himself up on his flippers to look around. A pup had gone missing the night before. He'd thought it was already too late; there were predators in the woods and in the air around the coast, after all, and pups who wandered were easy prey. Perhaps this one was only lost.

Tino couldn't see anything nearby, but the crying continued. He'd have to go and look for it, so he slipped off his seal skin and folded it neatly into the crevice between two large rocks. His human form might frighten the pup, but if he kept the skin on he'd have to wriggle around on his belly. It would be easier to search on his legs, and easier to carry the pup home if he had arms instead of flippers.

He followed the cry farther inland, surprised that a pup could have gotten itself so far. Maybe it was taken by a predator after all and then left behind alive and injured. Tino wrinkled his nose; as he got closer to the noise he could smell blood, and some of the rocks were smeared with it. He paused briefly to inspect the tracks, in case he ran into whatever it was that dragged the pup away. His eyes widened: huge paw prints were pressed into the sand and dirt, bigger than any he'd seen before. Could it be a bear? He should have thought to grab one of the knives he kept hidden with his hoard of human things.

It was too late now. He needed to find the pup. He crouched low among the rocks, almost back on his belly as he snuck closer until he could see-

A boy?

There was no beast ahead of him, but a naked human boy leaning over something on the ground. Tino could see his back shake, and there was blood all around him. Not wanting to scare him, Tino stood slowly and held his hands in front of him. He crunched the sand beneath his bare foot and cleared his throat.

The boy whipped around, a wild look in his blue eyes. Tino took a step back, shocked by that feral look and the blood on the boy's mouth. "Eey…" he swallowed. He hadn't been out to the village in a while, and his human speech was rusty. "I'm not going to hurt you. I heard you crying; I came to help."

"Stay away!" the boy shouted. "Stay away, you can't help!"

"I'll stay over here," Tino promised. He'd had a few confrontations with humans while drinking in the village, but this boy seemed to be more frightened than angry. "Are you hurt? Can I bring you some water?"

The boy shook his head. "It's not…I didn't want to hurt it, I just – NO, go away!"

Tino frowned, thinking of the prints he found. "Was there a bear? If you hurt it in your own defense, then I would say you are blameless, and very lucky too. It must have been monstrous!"

"No," said the boy. "The only monster here is me." He moved back, and Tino stared in horror. The body of the missing pup lay before the boy – or at least, what was left of it. Tino didn't understand. Humans killed seals sometimes for their fur or their meat, but never like this. At the very least, he was sure humans did not eat their meat raw.

"Impossible. That was done by an animal," he said. "I don't even see hunting equipment on you – or clothes, for that matter!"

The boy blushed and looked away. "You're naked too."

"I was swimming," Tino replied with his usual half-truth.

"I was running," the boy said. "I suppose I'll run forever now. I can't go back."

"Why not? Even if you did kill that pup, you're no worse than some other humans," Tino said. He'd seen men do cruel things before; he stopped them, when he could, and sometimes lured the worst of them out to the gulf. Yet as angry as he was about the dead pup, he knew there was something more than cruelty going on here. The boy looked devastated, and he'd never seen a human cry over a seal before.

The boy pulled his legs up to his chest and buried his face in his knees. "I'm worse," he mumbled. "I'm a monster, and I don't want to hurt anything else. You should kill me, or I'll throw myself in the gulf and drown."

"Don't say that!" Tino rushed over to the boy and put a hand on his shoulder. The boy scrambled back, and it was only then that he noticed the second pile of fur. This one was even stranger than the pup's body. It was crumpled on the ground like Tino's seal skin might be, but it certainly did not belong to a selkie. The skin had claws and teeth like a wolf, but it looked much larger.

"You see?" said the boy. "I'm a monster. It's all that…that thing's fault! It was the big hunter who came to the village last month. He wasn't a hunter at all – at least, not the kind he said he was. He stayed in my family's house, offered to take me and my brothers to the woods to teach us to make better traps. But that night, he turned into that." The boy pointed to the wolf skin, his entire face scrunching up in revulsion. "I shot him with my bow, saved my brothers. I'm proud of that. But now, who's going to save them from me?"

"I'm not sure I understand," Tino said quietly.

"I'm a werewolf!" the boy cried, grabbing the wolf skin by the scruff of its neck and tossing it at Tino. "The hunter bit me, and now I'm like him! I can't control it; the skin grew around me and I couldn't take it off until morning. My mind blanked out. I didn't want to hurt anybody, but all I could think about was how hungry I was."

"You can take off your skin?" Tino asked, staring at the wolf pelt at his feet. He knew he should have felt horrified, or perhaps frightened, but instead he felt the beginnings of a common connection.

The boy shook his head. "Only in the morning. I didn't even know it would come off like that. Once the moon was gone, I could just slip out."

"Like you're taking off your clothes," Tino added. "At first it's cold and strange, but once your feet are under you it feels like stretching."

The boy glanced up again, surprised. "Are you a werewolf too?"

"No," said Tino. He hesitated a moment. He'd never told a human his secret before, and if the boy chose to spread that around or to take his skin he could have been in trouble. However, it seemed to him that the boy was already in enough trouble of his own. "I'm a selkie."

"Oh," the boy said. Then he looked at the pup and turned pale. "Oh! I'm so sorry!"

"No, it's alright!" Tino said before the boy could run or bash himself against the rocks. "Well, no, it's not alright, but it happens. You don't know how to control the wolf skin, do you?"

"No," said the boy. "I feel like I can't control anything."

Tino knelt down beside him, thinking for a moment. He did not know much about werewolves besides a few legends from the village, and none of those were happy. The boy had already admitted to killing the pup, and it was clear he had no control over his newest form. Yet the legends talked about werewolves hiding their skins and using them for their own needs; clearly, the hunter did, so couldn't this boy learn too? Tino could remember feeling out of control as a human at first, a long time ago. He still felt that way sometimes; uncomfortable and out of sorts, no matter what skin he was wearing.

Yes, the boy killed the pup. Yes, the boy was dangerous. But he was also frightened, and he was the most interesting thing Tino had encountered in months.

"I'm Tino. What's your name?" he asked, holding out his hand.

The boy stared at him for a moment, then took Tino's hand. "Eduard."

"Alright then, Eduard. Let's get you cleaned up, and then we'll figure out what to do." Tino helped Eduard to his feet and handed him the wolf skin. "By the way, I don't think you're a monster – as long as you don't think I am?"

"No," said Eduard. "I think you're wrong about me, but you must be an angel."

Tino laughed. "Certainly not. But not human, either. We're somewhere in between. How's that, for now?"

"I don't know what I am," said Eduard.

"Let's start with a swim, then," Tino offered.

XXX

It took Tino over an hour to get Eduard cleaned and calmed. He chatted pleasantly the whole time to keep the boy comfortable, telling him about little things: how good the fish were today, how nice the sun felt, the golden ring he'd found in the gulf last week. Eduard was quiet at first, but as he relaxed and started to respond Tino learned that he was very intelligent. He liked to read - something Tino had never learned, since he had little use for it and always seemed to dampen the paper. It was a hobby that served Eduard well, though. He already knew a lot about selkies, and he was full of questions.

"So you never lured someone to the sea, or let them take your skin?"

"No," Tino replied as he continued to dry Eduard off with a blanket. Humans were rather prone to catching colds if they stayed wet, and he had a feeling the same applied to werewolves. "Well, I may have encouraged one or two folks to take a particularly long swim, but only the ones who beat the pups."

Eduard looked down. "Oh."

"Ah – they did it on purpose, just to be cruel," Tino added. "You didn't mean to kill that one, right?"

Eduard shook his head. "Never. I always liked the seals. But I was afraid I'd hurt someone in the village, and I thought there would be fewer people or animals out here."

"Well," said Tino, turning Eduard around to face him, "that means you've already got some control over your wolf skin, doesn't it?"

"I suppose," Eduard replied. "Only a few of the stories talk about it, and they usually say that they're witches who talk to the devil. I didn't do any of that! I didn't even believe in werewolves until last month."

Tino smiled a little bit. "Humans often call evil what they don't understand. It's so much simpler than that, and so much more complicated. Not that I understand werewolves, mind you. I've only heard about them from your village."

"That's probably true," said Eduard. "I didn't believe in selkies, either, and none of the stories talked about them being so helpful."

Tino's smile grew. "I like humans, most of the time, and I wasn't going to leave you to die out here."

Eduard sighed. "I almost wish you had. I have nowhere to go."

"Why not go back?" Tino asked. "Your brothers must be worried."

Eduard shook his head. "I don't want to hurt them. If anyone found out what I was…"

"Then don't let them find out," Tino suggested.

"They probably know already!" said Eduard. "At least, my family must. They were with me when we were nearly eaten by the other werewolf, they know I got hurt. I tried to tell them I'd just fallen on some rocks, but I don't think they believed me. Raivis might have, since he's still so young, but Toris is too clever. Now I've gone missing right at the same time as the full moon. There's no way they'll believe anything else."

Tino frowned. The more he spoke to Eduard, the more he liked him and wanted to help. The boy was a confusing and curious creature; he was dealing with something horrific, yet he was polite and kind in every word. Tino didn't want to see anything worse happen, and he was sure that if Eduard tried to run away on his own he would get into trouble. Eduard couldn't stay with Tino and the pod either; he was dangerous as a wolf, and as a human he needed a different kind of shelter. But Tino was not about to give up on the first skin changer he'd met since his mother.

"Well, what if I go with you? You tell your family that you were afraid that something might happen, but it never did. You got lost, and I found you," Tino offered.

"And my clothes?" asked Eduard. His ears burned red and he tugged the blanket closer around him. "My glasses, too. They must have fallen off when I first transformed. I can't see too well without them."

That did explain the squinting, and the fact that Tino had needed to guide him along the beach. "You can borrow some of my clothes for now. As for your clothes and your glasses…um, perhaps you fell and they were ruined?" Before Eduard could protest, Tino put a hand on his shoulder and turned him so that they could see eye-to-eye. "Hey. Your family loves you, right? It's just like my pod. Even when I go away for a while, even if I do something stupid, they always welcome me back. We take care of each other."

"Yeah, but you don't turn into a monster that could destroy them," Eduard retorted.

Tino raised his eyebrows. "Don't I? I once led trappers right to the mating grounds by mistake. I've sold fish that I could have shared with my pod. I've led fishers to our territory when your village was struggling to find food, and they nearly starved us instead. I am the greatest danger to my pod, but I'm also the only one who can speak for them and protect them. Maybe you can do the same."

"Maybe," said Eduard. "What if I just gave you my skin? Do you think it would grow again?"

Tino blushed and quickly put up his hands. "No, no, no! I can't take your skin! If I did, you would be mine to keep until you got it back."

Eduard's ears burned. "I'd forgotten about those stories. Those who hide a selkie's skin usually marry them or something. Well…does it work the same way for werewolves and selkies?"

"I don't know. But skins are precious things, and they should only be given to someone you love. Not that I don't…I mean, I just met you!" Tino groaned and buried his face in his hands.

To his surprise, Eduard laughed. Tino peaked through his hands just to catch a glimpse of the boy's smile. "That's true," said Eduard. "Is it alright if I hide it near here, then? I don't want my brothers to find it, or anyone else in the village."

"Yes, I think that would be alright," Tino replied.

"Thank you."

Pleased with the progress, Tino smiled. "Good. Now, I'll get you back to the village and stay for a while, to make sure it all works out. Next time you feel the call of your skin, you'll know it's here. You can come here and learn to control the wolf; we can practice together."

"I don't want to hurt you," Eduard said.

Tino scoffed. "I'm not going to let you. I'll have my own skin, and if you so much as snarl at me I'll just get in the water and swim away. Wolves may swim, but not half so well as I can."

Eduard seemed to consider all this for a moment, his eyebrows drawn together as he squinted towards the gulf. When he turned back to Tino, he nodded solemnly. "Alright."

XXX

As Tino had expected, Eduard's brothers welcomed him home with open arms. The older one kept giving Tino suspicious looks, but by the time a week had passed no one seemed to remember that Eduard had been gone at all. Tino made sure to loudly invite him on a fishing trip in a few weeks' time, then went back to his pod and his seal skin.

It was strange, but just knowing that there was someone close by who was even a little bit like him made Tino feel less lonely. Eduard must have felt something similar, because instead of waiting for the full moon, he appeared on the coast just five days later with a book and a bucket of fish. Tino watched him look out over the seals for a few minutes, brow furrowed in confusion. Finally, he gave up and called out, "Tino! I'm sorry, I don't really know which one you are. But, um, I wanted to thank you."

With a hum and a soft seal-smile, Tino hauled himself out of the water and onto the coast behind Eduard. He slipped out of his skin and hid it among the rocks; he liked Eduard, but he wasn't about to risk his skin. Then he walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder, making Eduard jump and nearly fall over.

Tino laughed. "Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you."

"That's alright," said Eduard, adjusting his glasses. Then he got a better look at Tino and whipped around again. "Sorry! I'll wait for you to get dressed."

"Does it bother you? I only wear clothes when I go to the village, so I didn't think about it," said Tino. "I can get them, if you want."

"I just don't want to be rude," Eduard replied to his shoes.

"Don't worry about it! It's just a different skin, and like this we look the same."

"Not exactly," Eduard mumbled, but he straightened up and held out the bucket of fish. They were good ones, too, Tino noticed; nice and fat. "I wanted to thank you," Eduard explained.

"Oh! How kind," said Tino. He took the bucket and set it aside, intending to share it with some of his pod later – especially the mother who had lost her pup.

"I also brought a book," said Eduard, holding up the volume in his other hand. He still wouldn't quite look at Tino. "It's silly, I guess. Just some legends and stories – well, I thought they were just legends. But there's selkies in some of them, and I thought you'd like to hear them, if you're not busy."

Tino grinned. "Any about selkies and werewolves?"

Eduard shook his head. "Werewolves tend to be the bad guys."

Tino took his hand and squeezed it. "Then we'll have to make a new one."

After that, Eduard visited Tino's beach regularly. He stopped bringing the fish once Tino assured him that he could find plenty on his own, but he brought books and news from the village. In exchange, Tino told Eduard stories he'd learned from his mother and from his pod, and taught him the secrets of the sea. They learned a lot about one another, too, during that time. Eduard told him about his dreams to see more of the world, to learn everything he could and perhaps write a book of his own. Tino shared his own plans to look for other selkies once the season was done, and he thought he saw a hint of sadness in Eduard's eyes before they were laughing and singing once again. Eduard, he'd found, loved music most of all.

Just before the full moon came, Tino and Eduard slung their skins under their arms and walked to a more isolated stretch of coast. Eduard threw his skin down as soon as they arrived, then began pacing back and forth over the sand and rocks. "I can't do this," he said. "I can't be a beast. I should just-"

Tino grabbed his hand and pulled him close. "Stop. You will always be you, no matter what skin you wear. This isn't going to be like the first time; this time, you're not alone."

"I shouldn't have let you come," Eduard said, hanging his head.

"As if you could stop me," said Tino. "Don't let the fear control you, that's what my mother said. You are you, you decide what you want to be and when. When you feel the pull, don't resist it. Decide."

"Decide what?"

"To be what you need to be in this moment," Tino replied. He pointed to the wolf skin, crumpled on the rocks a few paces away. "Decide to wear your skin, instead of letting it wear you. Then you will be in control."

If Tino was honest with himself, he'd have to admit that he had no idea if what he was saying was true. After all, a werewolf was not a selkie. Eduard had not removed his true skin to find a wolf underneath, but had been transformed by force. The only time Tino could be forced to keep one form was if he couldn't find his skin.

Eduard swallowed. The day was fading fast and the night was likely to be a long one. If he did not choose now, he might never have the chance again. He turned to Tino. "Please, stay back a little at least. Get ready to swim away, in case…well, in case."

Tino nodded. "Alright. But I'll be here." He let their hands slide apart and picked up his seal skin, wrapping it around his shoulders. He didn't let it envelop and transform him just yet, however. He settled himself at the edge of the water and crouched down so that he was slightly protected by the rocks.

Eduard took off his clothes and folded them neatly to one side, gently placing his glasses on top of them. Then he approached his wolf skin cautiously, as though waiting for it to get up and bite him (which, Tino had to admit, was not entirely out of the question). He lifted it by the head, holding it far away from himself and squinting for a moment into the skin's empty eyes. "You are my skin," he whispered, "and we will not be a monster."

Then Eduard pulled it around himself, lining up his arms and legs and finally drawing the head over his face. He bent lower as he did this, until he was on all fours. His limbs stretched and bent at odd angles, and he let out a groan that made Tino worry he was hurt. But the groan quickly changed into a howl, and a moment later there was a huge grey wolf in the place where the boy had been.

Tino watched the wolf warily, wondering if his friend was still there. He didn't dare to breathe; for all the confidence he'd offered Eduard, he really was not sure this would work. The wolf stretched, then sniffed at the air. Immediately its bright blue eyes turned to him. Tino almost smacked his head on the rock; of course it would come after him. There was no one else around and he smelled like fish!

With the wolf prowling towards him, Tino was tempted to slip into the water. But he'd promised to stay with Eduard unless he was in danger, and he wasn't sure about that just yet. With a deep breath, he decided to take his own advice and make his decision before the wolf could. He sat up a little straighter and looked the wolf in the eye. "Eduard?"

The wolf growled and came closer. "Eduard, it's me!" Tino said, pushing down the instinct to flee. "It's Tino, your friend. Are you there, Eduard?"

The wolf was nearly on him now; Tino could see the breath rising from its snout, could smell the overpowering scent of the animal's breath and fur. Yet underneath that was something more familiar, something of salt and wood and fire – Eduard, and the village he came from. Tino steadied himself one more time. "Eduard, listen to me! You are not a beast. You have two brothers back home and you need to keep them safe. We have a new story to write, and I need you because I don't know how to make your letters. I need you, because I need to know that there's someone else who understands me."

The wolf paused. It studied Tino for a moment, sniffing around him and getting those teeth far too close to his face. "Eduard," Tino said again, because some of Eduard's stories claimed that calling a werewolf by name would make them return to themselves. "Eduard," he sang, because his friend loved music above all. "Eduard, it's Tino. Come back!"

The wolf drew away and shook his head. He looked at Tino again, his gaze much softer than before, and then lay down on the ground with a soft whimper.

"Eduard?"

The wolf's tail thumped.

"I knew you could do it!" Tino shouted. He threw his arms around Eduard's neck and hugged him. Eduard wagged his tail and he licked Tino's face. Tino laughed and kissed the top of his head before pulling back. "Look at you! No wonder I thought you were a bear when I saw the prints. You look like you could eat a whole school of fish!"

Eduard whined and scratched at the edge of the water.

"Oh, I guess you really could. Well, I could get you a few. Just enough so you're not tempted to turn me into a snack!" said Tino. Eduard whined and nudged him forward. With a light laugh Tino leapt into the water while tugging on his skin. By the time he was submerged, he was a seal once again.

Tino returned a few moments later with a mouth full of fish, which Eduard consumed as soon as they were dropped in front of him. He gave Tino a baleful look, but this time Tino refused to be swayed. "If you're going to learn to control this, then you need to hunt for yourself. I guess wolves usually hunt in packs, though – don't look at me, I'm no good on land."

Eduard whined, and Tino sighed. "Well, I suppose I could go with you anyway. Just stay away from my pod, ok?"

Eduard hung his head in apology, and Tino rubbed him behind the ears. "Come on, then. Let's see what you can do!"

XXX

The next morning Tino found himself back on the beach, his seal skin folded neatly at his side and a blanket over his body. The sight of the skin jolted him into full waking as he realized just what that meant; he'd forgotten to hide it away. Anyone could have taken it – no, not anyone. This part of the beach was almost always empty, and only Eduard had seen him drop the skin. Yet here it remained, neater than when he had left it.

Tino sat up and looked around; Eduard was sitting a few feet away, looking out over the water. He was human again, fully dressed with the wolf skin folded beside him. Eduard was gently running his fingers through the wolf's fur. It was a far cry from their first meeting.

Before Tino could say a word, Eduard half-turned to him and spoke. "Thank you, for everything. I don't think I have it all under control yet, but you were right. I can learn."

Tino smiled. "I knew you could. You have a good soul, Eduard, and that remains true no matter what form you choose to take."

"I have you, too. It's your voice that kept calling me back," said Eduard. He frowned then, and looked back towards the gulf. His hand on the wolf skin stopped moving, and he suddenly pulled it back into his lap. "I suppose you'll be leaving soon."

Tino blinked, surprised by the sudden turn in the conversation. "What?"

"I've lived here my whole life, I know when the seals come and go. The mating season is almost over, isn't it?" Eduard explained. "A lot of them will be gone before the end of the month, and then you can go look for your family."

"Oh," said Tino. He couldn't think of another response. With all of Eduard's visits this past month, he'd completely lost track of the time. April was nearly over, and many of the seals would wander away on their own once it was done. Tino had planned to leave as well, yet with Eduard here the idea sounded much lonelier than it had before.

"It's alright," said Eduard. "I think I understand it a little more now. Living in between always involves a choice. You have to decide who you need to be."

Tino was quiet for a moment longer, watching Eduard and the water beyond him. The gulf called to him, of course; it would always be his home. But there was a new tug on his heart, one that smelled of salt, wood, and fire; one that sounded like a song and a howl. He moved to sit by Eduard and reached for his hands.

"I think I may have been wrong about that. It's not about deciding to be one or the other. It's about finding the thing that helps you balance between both," Tino said quietly.

Eduard's ears turned red as he turned to look at Tino. "And…did you find it?"

"I don't know," Tino replied. "But we've found something, don't you think? I don't want to leave it just yet."

Eduard's fingers linked with Tino's. "Neither do I. I need a teacher, after all."

"You need a friend," Tino insisted. "Or…"

"Or?"

Tino grinned. "Or something." Then he pecked Eduard on the lips and raced into the gulf, leaving a beat-red Eduard to chase after him. They abandoned their skins on the beach, the seal and the wolf left to watch for trespassers while their souls found balance between the land and the sea.