That afternoon, Stephen, the sea lion chieftan, sent forth two seal from the pack-one north, one south. They were instructed to swim along the coast and spread the word, asking for aid from every piniped they came across.
The group brought the boat into the small harbour on the island, and set up camp for the night amongst the sea lions.
"Pah! It stinks!" Helen Lovejoy complained.
"Hey, this our home! How'd you like it if we flopped on into your home and told you it stunk of artificial cleaners and foul popouri?" one of the sea lions objected. One of his fellows sniffed the air.
"Do you smell something?"
They sniffed. They turned in the direction the smell: Homer Simpson.
"Ugh!"
"Yecch!"
The refugees fashioned a tent from driftwood, tarp, aluminium pipes, and duct tape. They set up one tent for the women on the one end of the cove, and another for the men on the opposite side. In between, they started a fire for cooking.
"What do we have to cook?" Skinner asked, sitting down by the fire.
"Let's see…saltines…condensed milk…energy bar for women…and a mouldy piece of beef jerky," Marge said morosely.
The sea lions saw their predicament.
"Should we offer them some of our catch?"
"Them? No, certainly not!"
"They're the ones who poisoned our waters and stole our fish. Why should we help them?"
"Because it is what we must do," said one of the older females, the chieftan's sister, "Are we not God's creation? Are these not our caretakers?"
"Pretty good job they've done so far," one of the younger males barked, "Look at them! They can hardly care for themselves." He watched as Homer slipped on some bird faeces and fell into the water. "Morons. Who put them in charge?"
"Shh! Dare you question the Creator's choice?"
"Well…"
"We can spare some. The fish have been plentiful this year."
"But they can't eat our foods! They have to eat everything from tin cans or those crinkly packages," said a small yearling.
"Not true. They lived differently once. They ran about like us Beasts, naked and wild. They ate uncooked flesh and the fruit of the earth. They came to cook their foods over fire, and as it made them safer and, to them, better tasting. They can live as that once more."
The old sea lion cow flapped and slid down to the camp fire, where Marge and Ruth were tending the flames. She set several fish down before them, and barked softly to get their attention.
"Here. These are quite good."
"Thank you," Marge said sincerely.
"There is some sea cabbage along the rocks. I'll go gather some. It makes a good soup."
"Thank you so much."
That night, the Springfielders had the first true meal they had had in weeks.
"Yum. Marjorie, you must tell me what's in this exquisite soup!" Helen Lovejoy laughed as the others slurped heartily from their bowls.
"Seaweed."
Beat.
"Seaweed?"
"Yes. Seaweed."
"Nothing else?"
"Water."
"Oh. Well, its good."
"It was Tinia's idea. She gathered the seaweed, and told me to boil the water then add it slowly while stirring. Its quite simple, really."
The sea lions watched the humans eating from the shadows.
"You shouldn't have done that!" one of the cows scolded Tinia.
"Why not? They can't swim well, and they didn't know where to find it."
"We don't serve humans!" growled one of the bulls. "Just because Stephen finds it in his heart to allow these barbarous two-leggeds on our island doesn't mean you have to go and gather meals for them! I suppose you think we should all balance balls upon our noses and prance about for their amusement as well!"
The humans went to sleep almost immediately after dinner, though Marge made sure that they all thanked their hosts for their kindness and hospitality. Full with hot soup and mackerel, they drifted off to sleep with the crashing of the waves as a lullaby. All of them, except Jessica.
Jessica tried for many restless hours to sleep, tossing and turning in her grimy sleeping bag. She finally gave up and decided to take a walk around the island. As she climbed up the rocks, Bart awoke, and followed her, silently, to the top of the island. He found her standing, staring at the sea, her long dark hair blowing in the breeze.
"Hey Jess."
She turned with a start.
"Oh. Hey Bart," she said airily.
"Pretty out, init?" he said, feeling stupid and awkward.
"Yeah," and she tilted her head up to the skies. "The stars are so beautiful!"
"Yeah. They're really bright."
They stood for a while, a electric madness running between them. She looked at him, and he looked back, terrified.
A sea lion cow intruded upon their silent exchange. She flopped across the rocks. Both children looked, perplexed. The sea lion looked up at the heavens, the stars reflected in her black pearl eyes.
"You are one of us," she crooned.
"Pardon?"
"One of us. Our kind. A child of the sea."
"Whachootalkinbout?" Bart snapped.
"Not you, pup, the young female. She is one of own. She is why Stephen agreed to help your people."
"I'm…a seal?"
"A Selkie."
"A what now?"
"The descendants of the king's children. Long ago, in the days when an Irish king sat upon the throne of Eire, there was a good and noble king, who had many children by his beautiful queen. She was a glorious woman, with dark, gleaming eyes and ebon hair, and all her children inherited her features. But she died, and her husband's advisers urged him to remarry. He married a chieftan's daughter, a wretched, spoiled woman. She hated her adopted children, and was urged by her father to kill them, thus, ensuring that one of her line would be the next king. She was a student of the Dark Arts, and, one day, while at the shore with her children, she turned them into seals. They were trapped in their seal forms, only to shed their skins briefly in the light of the full moon. They lived and had children by the normal seals, but all their children had human souls, and shed their skins to take human form in the moonlight."
"If a human can steal the Selkie's seal skin while they are in human form, then that Selkie can not return to the sea, and will be at the human's command. The children of such a union all bear the sign of the Selkies: darks, shinning eyes and dark, dark hair. And in them all is the love of the sea, and good fortune."
She paused, and looked at Jessica. The seal twitched her whiskers. She looked alien in the dim starlight.
"You are the child of the Selkies. Your mother is not Helen Lovejoy, but me. Your father caught me on the beach years ago. He seized my skin before I could put it back on, and I bore you. I loved you, Jessica, but every minute I spent away from the sea was maddening. The second I could, I took my skin and returned to the water. But I never forgot you, nor did I stop looking after you. Even when your father married the harpy he calls his wife."
Jessica stood, silent in the darkness.
"I am Stephen's sister. He saw the Selkie in you, and knew that he could not turn away one of his family."