There were four classes of aquatic semi-humans present in the waters around Neverland. They were all distinct, each having their own strengths and weaknesses. Their habitats varied, as did their diets and personaliies. They were different. Unmistakably so. So why Pan insisted on referring to her as an 'Overgrown Fish' when she was clearly a Selkie was beyond her. She'd explained it dozens of times to him, but he refused to understand. There were Sirens, beautiful women covered in scales and feathers who sang sailors to their demise, forcing them to crash their ships on jagged rocks. There were the Nokken, their male counterparts who'd lured many a young mermaid to the shadows of their caves and drowned them. There were the Merpeople, shallow, dull creatures who held little room in their heads for anything save their vanity and intense hatred of humanity. And then there were the Selkies. Her people. They were a noble race, and the only ones capable of physically changing their form. They were better. She was better. She...
She was bound to land.
For all of the novelty that came with stepping out of her skin and walking on the land, if she couldn't find her seal skin, she was stuck. The water would reject her as one of the land dwellers and she would not be able to return home. She hadn't been able to go home for some time now. Still, she held out hope. One day, Pan would become lax around her and let slip the location of her skin. One day, she'd don it once more and leap into the embrace of the waves. One day she'd return home triumphant, the Demon and the Scarred One and their Hounds far behind her. That day was not today. Today, she was just the Pied Piper's toy Tiger. Today she was whatever her owner wanted her to be.
And what was she really? Certainly no longer a Selkie, she'd been without her skin too long. Without her seal skin she had no right to call herself a Selkie. But she wasn't a human, either. No. She'd spent to much time below the waves for that. Seen too much. She was an inbetween. A half-breed. One of the mongrels she and her podmates had chased around as cubs, those unfortunate creatures who'd been born of two worlds. She was the same now. As Tiger stared up at the stars, lost in her mind, she felt someone take a seat beside her. It was likely Peter. He was the only one who spoke her language, and she couldn't be bothered to learn his.
"What are you looking so pensive for? You should be dancing with the others." The drawl was unmistakable.
"Pan, what am I?" He snorted and rose, walking away. Tiger's expression turned sour. He always mocked problems unless they were his own.
"Don't be ridiculous, Tiger." She frowned in confusion, not quite sure what he meant. If he was playing a game, she was going to roll over and go to sleep. She was in no mood for games. The boy looked over his shoulder, seemingly bothered that she hadn't read his mind. "Isn't it obvious? You're lost. " He turned round and continued walking. "We all are."