The Selkie and the Merman
Feb. 16th, 2010 12:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anteros_lmcTitle: The Selkie and the Merman
Author: Anteros
Characters: Hornblower, Kennedy
Rating: G
Notes: Hey look I managed to find time to nail a plot bunny! I know it's cheating but this is in response to the![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
following_sea crack meme. I did try to post it anonymously over there but it's too long to go in the comments and I only have this account. So anyway here's my response to "Creature fic, AU or bookverse: Archie as a merman". Enjoy, you strange people!
I
Scuttlebut ensured that within hours of their return to the Indefatigable the story of Hornblower's exploits on the Marie Galante had spread throughout the frigate. And as the story progressed from stem to stern the tale grew taller with each telling. By the end of the day, and much to his great amusement, Archie had heard several more or less embroidered versions of events.
He had heard how Mr Hornblower had calmly dropped the compass over the side of the ship's boat and told the french Captain to "fish for it". He had heard how the French sailors had only overpowered the Indy's men after a desperate struggle in the tiny boat, during which Mr Hornblower had laid the French captain out cold with a single blow. (Archie didn't believe a single word of that particular telling of the tale, but he didn't let on.)
The wildest stories all revolved around Hornblower diving into the sea to locate where the Marie Galante had been hulled and to place and secure the fothered sail. Few of the seamen could swim and indeed many believed it unlucky to learn, tantamount to tempting fate. In light of this fact the young officer's willingess to go over the side was deemed extraordinary. In one version of the story he had been lowered over the side of the brig tied to a bowline. In another he dived off the gunwale like a dolphin. He was variously wearing his full dress uniform, stoically refusing to remove even his jacket; or he stripped to his breeches; or he dived into the sea naked as the day he was born. (Archie wasn't sure which version of events he believed but he knew which one he preferred.)
II
The bell had just tolled to mark the second dog watch. Along with those midshipmen not on watch, Hornblower and Kennedy were below in the gunroom. Archie was sitting in his usual corner observing Horatio who was kneeling at feet rummaging in his sea chest.
"Have you got a pair of sealskin breeches in there Horatio?" Archie asked with a broad smile.
"I beg your pardon?" Horatio looked up in surprise.
"Sealskin breeches Horatio. From the stories I've heard today I am beginning to wonder if you are in fact a selkie."
"A what?"
"A selkie, an enchanted shapeshifter. Haven't you heard of the seal people Horatio?"
Horatio was sitting back on his heels now, looking up at Archie. "What on earth are you talking about?" He was growing used to his shipmate's flights of fancy and was happy to indulge him under the pretense of skepticism.
"Ah well, the selkies, you see, are half-man half-seal. It's said that they can shed their skin and take human form to come ashore to meet their lovers. But the selkie must conceal their sealskin beause without it they are doomed to remain on land and can never return to the deep." Archie concluded with a grave nod.
"Fiction Archie! Children's tales." Horatio attempted to look disinterested but was making a poor show of it.
"Perhaps, Horatio, perhaps." Archie lowered his voice. "It's also said that selkie men are darker and more handsome than any mortal men who walk the earth and that they come ashore to seek and to satisfy those that have been betrayed in love."
Horatio could feel his cheeks beginning to colour under his friend's intense blue gaze. "Archie I have never heard such nonsense."
Archie sniffed and lifted his chin in a semblance of affront. "No word of a lie Horatio. When I was a boy my nanny told me all about the selkies. She even taught me how to call them."
"And how would you go about summoning such a fantastical beast?"
Archie looked cautiously over his shoulder as though he was about to impart the whereabouts of the French fleet "Well. You must go down to the shore at high tide and shed seven tears into the sea."
That was too much for Horatio. "Really Archie you have an over-fertile imagination. Next you'll be telling me that you're a porpoise or some such nonsense."
"Don't be ridiculous." Archie snorted, before adding with considerable gravity "I, of course, am a merman."
Horatio eyed his friend for a split second before dissolving into helpless gales of laughter. "A fishy tale indeed Mr Kennedy" he spluttered.
Archie was laughing now too. He was actually starting to suspect that Horatio Hornblower might be hiding a fine sense of humour under that grave facade.
"Of course if you really are a selkie Horatio, all I have to do is steal your sealskin breeches, hide them away, and then you'll be mine forever." Archie's eyes were gleaming as he gazed down at Horatio.
Horatio shut the lid of his chest with a loud snap. "Well Mr Kennedy I had better make sure you never manage to relieve me of my breeches then!"
Getting to his feet to stow his sea chest away Horatio Hornblower smiled to himself. There were worse fates he could imagine.
Author: Anteros
Characters: Hornblower, Kennedy
Rating: G
Notes: Hey look I managed to find time to nail a plot bunny! I know it's cheating but this is in response to the
following_sea crack meme. I did try to post it anonymously over there but it's too long to go in the comments and I only have this account. So anyway here's my response to "Creature fic, AU or bookverse: Archie as a merman". Enjoy, you strange people!I
Scuttlebut ensured that within hours of their return to the Indefatigable the story of Hornblower's exploits on the Marie Galante had spread throughout the frigate. And as the story progressed from stem to stern the tale grew taller with each telling. By the end of the day, and much to his great amusement, Archie had heard several more or less embroidered versions of events.
He had heard how Mr Hornblower had calmly dropped the compass over the side of the ship's boat and told the french Captain to "fish for it". He had heard how the French sailors had only overpowered the Indy's men after a desperate struggle in the tiny boat, during which Mr Hornblower had laid the French captain out cold with a single blow. (Archie didn't believe a single word of that particular telling of the tale, but he didn't let on.)
The wildest stories all revolved around Hornblower diving into the sea to locate where the Marie Galante had been hulled and to place and secure the fothered sail. Few of the seamen could swim and indeed many believed it unlucky to learn, tantamount to tempting fate. In light of this fact the young officer's willingess to go over the side was deemed extraordinary. In one version of the story he had been lowered over the side of the brig tied to a bowline. In another he dived off the gunwale like a dolphin. He was variously wearing his full dress uniform, stoically refusing to remove even his jacket; or he stripped to his breeches; or he dived into the sea naked as the day he was born. (Archie wasn't sure which version of events he believed but he knew which one he preferred.)
II
The bell had just tolled to mark the second dog watch. Along with those midshipmen not on watch, Hornblower and Kennedy were below in the gunroom. Archie was sitting in his usual corner observing Horatio who was kneeling at feet rummaging in his sea chest.
"Have you got a pair of sealskin breeches in there Horatio?" Archie asked with a broad smile.
"I beg your pardon?" Horatio looked up in surprise.
"Sealskin breeches Horatio. From the stories I've heard today I am beginning to wonder if you are in fact a selkie."
"A what?"
"A selkie, an enchanted shapeshifter. Haven't you heard of the seal people Horatio?"
Horatio was sitting back on his heels now, looking up at Archie. "What on earth are you talking about?" He was growing used to his shipmate's flights of fancy and was happy to indulge him under the pretense of skepticism.
"Ah well, the selkies, you see, are half-man half-seal. It's said that they can shed their skin and take human form to come ashore to meet their lovers. But the selkie must conceal their sealskin beause without it they are doomed to remain on land and can never return to the deep." Archie concluded with a grave nod.
"Fiction Archie! Children's tales." Horatio attempted to look disinterested but was making a poor show of it.
"Perhaps, Horatio, perhaps." Archie lowered his voice. "It's also said that selkie men are darker and more handsome than any mortal men who walk the earth and that they come ashore to seek and to satisfy those that have been betrayed in love."
Horatio could feel his cheeks beginning to colour under his friend's intense blue gaze. "Archie I have never heard such nonsense."
Archie sniffed and lifted his chin in a semblance of affront. "No word of a lie Horatio. When I was a boy my nanny told me all about the selkies. She even taught me how to call them."
"And how would you go about summoning such a fantastical beast?"
Archie looked cautiously over his shoulder as though he was about to impart the whereabouts of the French fleet "Well. You must go down to the shore at high tide and shed seven tears into the sea."
That was too much for Horatio. "Really Archie you have an over-fertile imagination. Next you'll be telling me that you're a porpoise or some such nonsense."
"Don't be ridiculous." Archie snorted, before adding with considerable gravity "I, of course, am a merman."
Horatio eyed his friend for a split second before dissolving into helpless gales of laughter. "A fishy tale indeed Mr Kennedy" he spluttered.
Archie was laughing now too. He was actually starting to suspect that Horatio Hornblower might be hiding a fine sense of humour under that grave facade.
"Of course if you really are a selkie Horatio, all I have to do is steal your sealskin breeches, hide them away, and then you'll be mine forever." Archie's eyes were gleaming as he gazed down at Horatio.
Horatio shut the lid of his chest with a loud snap. "Well Mr Kennedy I had better make sure you never manage to relieve me of my breeches then!"
Getting to his feet to stow his sea chest away Horatio Hornblower smiled to himself. There were worse fates he could imagine.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-02-16 04:20 am (UTC)There were worse fates he could imagine.
No kidding! To be Archie's forever wouldn't be the most terrible fate on the planet ... :)
no subject
Date: 2010-02-16 10:02 am (UTC)(Why am I envisioning a sequel in which said sealskin breeches are found, and Archie hides them away???)
Please! I'm having enough trouble with the plot bunnies as it is! ;)
To be Archie's forever wouldn't be the most terrible fate on the planet ... :)
Yeah, I think it would be bearable.... :)
no subject
Date: 2010-02-16 10:13 am (UTC)Well of course Archie's first clue that Horatio is half seal should be those big brown
spanieleyes.no subject
Date: 2010-02-16 10:30 am (UTC)Good :D I was just itching to write this all day yesterday!
Well of course Archie's first clue that Horatio is half seal should be those big brown spaniel eyes.
Of course. Horatio sooo is a selkie!
no subject
Date: 2010-02-16 11:43 am (UTC)(Archie wasn't sure which version of events he believed but he knew which one he preferred.)
The fully-clothed version I guess? Because the thought of all those sailors drooling over naked Horatio... wouldn’t he die of jealousy!?
And since you posted it under your own name, I reveal myself too and admit that it was me who made the request. :o) This is not at all the kind of thing I would have expected and quite a surprise. Lovely!
no subject
Date: 2010-02-16 01:49 pm (UTC)I love cheeky Archie and how he’s teasing Horatio.
It is Archie's prerogative to tease Horatio. No one else is allowed to do so.
wouldn’t he die of jealousy!?
Suspect he might be torn between jealousy and other ...ummm... feelings ;)
no subject
Date: 2010-02-17 10:04 am (UTC)Of course! Wasn't that the point of it? To let yourself be surprised? :)
And who would have thought: it was educational, too. I didn't know about selkies until yesterday. They don't appear in our folk tales.
no subject
Date: 2010-02-17 11:06 am (UTC)And who would have thought: it was educational, too.
HH fandom is nothing if not educational! ;)
I didn't know about selkies until yesterday. They don't appear in our folk tales.
I'm fascinated by regional folk tales! Do you have any equivalent tales where you come from? There are lots of fantastical beings associated with water in the north of Scotland. As well as the selkies there are the blue men of the Minch and most fearsome of all the Each Uisge or Water Horse, another shapeshifter of inland lochs who lures men and women to their death.
no subject
Date: 2010-02-17 12:31 pm (UTC)There are certainly more that aren’t widely known. I’m sure there’s some kobold or another living in Lake Constance... But there’s no famous story about it. Perhaps because we’ve never really been a seafaring people, such tales have never been of more than local interest.
Hey, this is an interesting topic. I’ll look into it some more and see if I can get a book on water spirits of Germany.
no subject
Date: 2010-02-17 08:18 pm (UTC)Hey, this is an interesting topic. I’ll look into it some more and see if I can get a book on water spirits of Germany.
Fascinating! If you ever find out any more do let me know. I'll maybe post something about the water horse later :)
no subject
Date: 2010-02-16 05:32 pm (UTC)*No, don't. Keep writing, pretty pretty writing...
no subject
Date: 2010-02-16 08:21 pm (UTC)Sorry sweetie! I'll try harder to keep those plot bunnies in check. ;)
no subject
Date: 2010-05-19 11:13 pm (UTC)*I've been reading angst all night. The relief of reading this was fantastic!
no subject
Date: 2010-05-20 09:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-17 06:55 pm (UTC)How do you do it? :D
no subject
Date: 2010-02-17 07:29 pm (UTC)Yay! My favourite kind of comment! ;)
How do you do it? :D
What? Write daft fluff? Oh y'know, you tap away at the keyboard and nonsense appears on the screen. Magic!