New pack’s leader
You felt pretty comfortable with the people you have bonded with so far on the trip, but the new group seemed exciting to you as well. You realized that you hadn’t found much time to really get to know some of the other pack. You kind of felt bad about yourself- a bit selfish even, but hey, now both of these packs had merged seamlessly together. At least as far as what you had seen.
Just wandering around, you see all of your friends from the original group you had made along the way- well actually they did feel a bit more like acquaintances but it was whatever, you had a really really large friend group now and you really enjoyed it. Still, you wanted to spread yourself socially even thinner by trying to spend some more time with the new band of seals. Particularly the leader.
It just crossed your mind to initiate strong ties with the other group of seals, though it took a bit of time for you to actually be a bit less reclusive with the others, you figured it was long enough before you started warming up to them.
You see the leader sitting on a rock, sunning himself as his large body splayed out on some rocks. He watched you as you approached- as a selkie, your shape was a bit larger than the average seal so you quickly caught his eye.
“Hello there.” He mentioned, keeping his reply short, and indicating to you that he was watching.
“Greetings. Are you enjoying yourself sunning up there?” He pats the wet rock next to him, a neutral invitation for you to come and take a rest.
“It’s one of my favorite spots.” He replied, closing his eyes as you clambered up next to him. The sun felt nice and warm against your back and you could feel the water cooling you as it evaporated on your skin. “Is everyone adjusting well?” He asked you. “Everyone seems to be tolerating things nicely.
“Yeah, it’s great to see everyone getting along well.”
“Getting along may take time…” He mentioned. “Though I do know there are a few really nice members of this new group.” He continued. You thought nothing of it and just continued your conversation with him.
“Oh? I didn’t seem to notice.”
“Sounds about right.” He replied under his breath. “Hey, I’m going to go for a swim, I’ll talk to you later.” The new pack’s leader disengaged pretty quickly and wandered off before you had much time to process or even reply to him.
Laying there you couldn’t help but fall asleep. You drifted off and actually had a really nice dream of you almost finding the next outfit. You actually thought you did for a moment until you were rudely awakened by the sound of splashing- muffled screaming.
Your eyes blinked open rapidly and you could see bodies flying around underwater. Bubbles cascaded around their bodies as they moved swiftly through the water. You instantly knew something was wrong and after a moment of staring down into the deep blue sea, you saw a large black shadow cutting through the water. You could have screamed when you saw it barrel towards a thin slab of ice and crash right into it, sending some of the seals into the air.
Suddenly, an enormous orca shot out of the air, snapping at one of the seal’s tails. In a frightened state, you leaped into the water to see what was going on. It was utter chaos and you could see at least seven massive orcas swimming around you all in a pod. They worked well to round all of the seals up and one by one the megapack was picked off until the water around was almost completely silent.
Before long, you were alone again. It was the last time you had seen your pack, and in the chaos, it seemed as though a few of the seals had gotten away, mostly those who were from the new pack- as they knew the land a bit better, but to your surprise, you also saw one or two of the other members from the original pack as well. Still, in the chaos, you were hurt. You were unable to swim properly from getting knocked around in the water. It was impossible for you to catch up with them and before long you were stuck in the middle of the ocean, exhausted, and alone.
Your eyes slowly stopped focusing and you could see spots in your vision. Somehow, you started to become so exhausted when the adrenaline started to fade. Your fins were sore and it almost started to feel like your body was no longer your own as you started to fade out as well. You stared feeling like your game was about to reset as you started blacking out- you started having a bit of an out of body feeling as your limbs started sinking down into the deep, at some point, you thought you could sense the orca coming up from underneath you, but anything else after that, you couldn’t quite seem to remember as you were ported back to the start.
Written by Drifting Dragon on 06 December 2023
The end (for now)