The Sudden Storm
Author: 
gilli_ann
Title: The Sudden Storm
Rating: PG
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Character/s: Merlin, Arthur
Summary: Caught in a storm, his boat sinking, Arthur is rescued by a Selkie
Warnings: None
Word Count: 700
Prompt: 461 Mayday
Author's Notes: Modern magical AU.
The Sudden Storm
This was it, Arthur realized, icy dread settling in the pit of his stomach as another enormous wave crashed across the Camelot. He wouldn't survive this.
His boat somehow managed to right itself, but was listing severely now, a mere toy-ship tossed around by the raging sea. Her engine wasn't functioning, and the pumps had given out. She would be gone before too long.
The wind howled, whipping rain and salt water across the deck, stinging Arthur's face and stealing the air from his lungs. There was nothing for him to do but hang on as long as the vessel would keep afloat.
He'd been so sure he could weather this sudden and unexpected storm. The sleek and dependable Camelot had never let him down, and Arthur was a very able sailor, his spare time frequently spent along the rugged Welsh coast. He knew he'd waited too long to send his Mayday call. No rescue vessel would be able to reach him in time, even if the crew were to risk leaving port.
Another wave flooded the deck, leaving behind a dark shape when the water thundered back into the frothing sea. The object started wriggling towards him down the slanting deck. It was a large seal, its coat unusually dark.
Under other circumstances, Arthur would have been intrigued. Now he was too exhausted and too cold. At least someone would be with him when he drowned, he thought with a burst of bleak humour.
The seal seemed to study him. For a moment, between two waves that shook the foundering boat, Arthur could see his own reflection in the liquid depths of the animal's eyes.
What happened next was too strange to be believed. The seal's head tipped back, and the skin, head and all, slid down the pale taut torso of a young man with blue eyes and hair as slick and black as wet fur. This mysterious being reached out to grip Arthur's arm and moved close, the seal skin pooling around his feet like a discarded coat.
"Hold on to me," the man called, his words ripped to shreds by the wailing wind. "I will carry you to shore. My kin tell me the sea sorceress conjured this storm to kill you, Arthur Pendragon, but now that I see you, I don't want you to die. Hold on to me and don't let go!"
Arthur knew he had to be hallucinating. He was probably already drowning, his mind fracturing under the strain. But it all seemed so real! He believed it to be truly happening when the man pulled the skin bak up and became a seal again, when Arthur slung both arms around the animal's neck and held tight, when the two of them plunged overboard and cut at speed through the towering waves. With every move of the seal's strong and muscular body, Arthur felt transported into a magical realm, - salt, wet, wild, and strangely wonderful.
They reached shore at last, landing on a small strip of land shielded by dark cliffs. Prone on the beach, Arthur released his frantic hold on the seal and dug his fingers into the sand, reveling in how solid, real, and safe it felt.
"I'll guard you until your own kind reach you," the seal told him, having once more shed its skin to become a handsome young man. "Rest. No harm will come to you here."
"Thank you." Exhausted and barely conscious, Arthur was sinking rapidly towards the welcoming darkness of sleep. Perhaps he was dreaming already. "Who are you?" he managed.
"I'm Merlin," the seal-man said, his voice calm and pleasant. "We may meet again."
"Are you— are you a selkie?" Arthur whispered, bewildered wonder filling him even as his eyes closed and his mind went blank. If there was a reply, he didn't hear it.
Arthur slept.
He was located by a rescue team later that day. It was counted a virtual miracle that he had survived.
Those who discovered Arthur sleeping on the sand also noticed a large seal leaving the beach and disappearing into the sea. But it wasn't unusual to see grey seals resting along the rocky shores, and the rescuers thought nothing of it.
gilli_annTitle: The Sudden Storm
Rating: PG
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Character/s: Merlin, Arthur
Summary: Caught in a storm, his boat sinking, Arthur is rescued by a Selkie
Warnings: None
Word Count: 700
Prompt: 461 Mayday
Author's Notes: Modern magical AU.
The Sudden Storm
This was it, Arthur realized, icy dread settling in the pit of his stomach as another enormous wave crashed across the Camelot. He wouldn't survive this.
His boat somehow managed to right itself, but was listing severely now, a mere toy-ship tossed around by the raging sea. Her engine wasn't functioning, and the pumps had given out. She would be gone before too long.
The wind howled, whipping rain and salt water across the deck, stinging Arthur's face and stealing the air from his lungs. There was nothing for him to do but hang on as long as the vessel would keep afloat.
He'd been so sure he could weather this sudden and unexpected storm. The sleek and dependable Camelot had never let him down, and Arthur was a very able sailor, his spare time frequently spent along the rugged Welsh coast. He knew he'd waited too long to send his Mayday call. No rescue vessel would be able to reach him in time, even if the crew were to risk leaving port.
Another wave flooded the deck, leaving behind a dark shape when the water thundered back into the frothing sea. The object started wriggling towards him down the slanting deck. It was a large seal, its coat unusually dark.
Under other circumstances, Arthur would have been intrigued. Now he was too exhausted and too cold. At least someone would be with him when he drowned, he thought with a burst of bleak humour.
The seal seemed to study him. For a moment, between two waves that shook the foundering boat, Arthur could see his own reflection in the liquid depths of the animal's eyes.
What happened next was too strange to be believed. The seal's head tipped back, and the skin, head and all, slid down the pale taut torso of a young man with blue eyes and hair as slick and black as wet fur. This mysterious being reached out to grip Arthur's arm and moved close, the seal skin pooling around his feet like a discarded coat.
"Hold on to me," the man called, his words ripped to shreds by the wailing wind. "I will carry you to shore. My kin tell me the sea sorceress conjured this storm to kill you, Arthur Pendragon, but now that I see you, I don't want you to die. Hold on to me and don't let go!"
Arthur knew he had to be hallucinating. He was probably already drowning, his mind fracturing under the strain. But it all seemed so real! He believed it to be truly happening when the man pulled the skin bak up and became a seal again, when Arthur slung both arms around the animal's neck and held tight, when the two of them plunged overboard and cut at speed through the towering waves. With every move of the seal's strong and muscular body, Arthur felt transported into a magical realm, - salt, wet, wild, and strangely wonderful.
They reached shore at last, landing on a small strip of land shielded by dark cliffs. Prone on the beach, Arthur released his frantic hold on the seal and dug his fingers into the sand, reveling in how solid, real, and safe it felt.
"I'll guard you until your own kind reach you," the seal told him, having once more shed its skin to become a handsome young man. "Rest. No harm will come to you here."
"Thank you." Exhausted and barely conscious, Arthur was sinking rapidly towards the welcoming darkness of sleep. Perhaps he was dreaming already. "Who are you?" he managed.
"I'm Merlin," the seal-man said, his voice calm and pleasant. "We may meet again."
"Are you— are you a selkie?" Arthur whispered, bewildered wonder filling him even as his eyes closed and his mind went blank. If there was a reply, he didn't hear it.
Arthur slept.
He was located by a rescue team later that day. It was counted a virtual miracle that he had survived.
Those who discovered Arthur sleeping on the sand also noticed a large seal leaving the beach and disappearing into the sea. But it wasn't unusual to see grey seals resting along the rocky shores, and the rescuers thought nothing of it.