"My grandfather told me about selkies when I was your age, Colm." he says with a smile, gently rapping his oldest son on the nose with a square-tipped forefinger. "It's rare for them to be seen anymore; most have fled the Free Marches to find safer waters. But you never can be certain a seal is just a seal, for there's always a chance it may just be a selkie what's out to see the world. It's only when they think they're alone that selkies shed their hides and walk on dry land like us, for no creature is more beautiful to a man than a selkie woman in human form. Grandda once warned me if I saw a selkie woman, no other woman would ever catch my eye again. Only then did I learn how right he was..."

Then out from the water,
From out of the waves,
Two eyes are looking at me.

At first she didn't see him, his selkie, too busy diving and dancing among the waves in her human form, laughing that same musical peal as she tossed handfuls of water to the stars only to have them slick back down over her pale skin so she glittered like a diamond in the darkness. "Maker," he whispered as she slid her body halfway out of the brine to twist backwards and dive back down, her long hair flowing around her body like a rope of seaweeds in a way that only drew his eyes to places they should never have gone. Surfacing again, she wiped the hair from her face, starting to push her way back to shore when she suddenly caught sight of him, freezing in place with her torso still exposed to his hungry eyes.

"Who's there?" the selkie called out in her sweet voice, folding her arms across her chest at his intense stare, ducking her head slightly to try and see him where he stood in the shadows. "Sebastian?"

"Hawke?" A splash sounded as she hauled herself onto dry land, footsteps crunching along the sand as she approached him, covering herself as best she could with hair and hands. Flustered, he clutched the hide garment tighter and spun away, heart beating like the wings of a bee as he tried to erase the images of her gallivanting in the water before him, wearing nothing but the silvery light of the full moon.

Quickly, aware of the rebellion such thoughts were inciting within his loins, his mind fumbled for verses from the Chant. In your heart shall burn an unquenchable flame, all-consuming, and never satisfied... He was burning, but he knew the way to satisfy it, it would be so simple... No! Focus, man! With passion'd breath does the darkness creep. It is the whisper in the night, the lie upon you...

"Now that you've enjoyed your little show, may I have my robe back please?" With a guilty grimace, he turned on his heel, practically flattening the smaller woman as he came face to face with her, arms circling around her waist to keep her from falling back onto the sand, the hide caught between them the only thing separating her wet, naked body from his own clothing.

Um, um, um... From these emerald waters doth life begin anew. Come to me, child, and I shall embrace you. "Stop thinking about the dirtiest pieces of the Chant there are!" Heat flared beneath his hands and he suddenly realized not only had he spoken aloud, but that there was no way his body's rebellion could have been missed by his companion: his pants felt so tight that he could practically hear the seams of the leather tearing with the strain. I want her I want her I want her...

"Bugger it all!" he exclaimed, setting Hawke firmly on her feet as he marched off towards the ocean, kicking off his boots and tossing his tunic over his head, stripping off all his clothes until he was dressed in nothing but his smalls.

Without a backward glance at the woman, he dove into the icy water, swimming out several lengths to try and chill the lust from his veins.

A/N: Standard "I don't own Sebastian, BioWare does; I'm just playing with his mind" disclaimer. Lyrics are from "The Selkie" by Damh the Bard.