infringe | Prompt - Something Lost, Something Found

From her own seat, Kate puts the hat she'd been working on aside, clearly listening to the conversation. For his part, Percy seems unconcerned, selecting yet another block and frowning down at it, clearly more interested in what he is building than Alecto's question.

"'m still growing, Momma," he replies, standing up on his tiptoes to carefully place the block on top of the slightly uneven but seemingly steady stack.

Automatically, Alecto reaches a hand out behind Percy, not quite touching him but present nonetheless to steady or catch him if needed.

"I know," he says, watching Percy determinedly try to balance everything before him, "and every day you're getting bigger, aren't you? You'll be just like your father very soon, strong and tall." He pauses, knowing he unconsciously and yet intentionally left out a comparison to himself.

He pauses at that and puts the block down, turning an almost pitying expression on Alecto. "Momma, don't be silly. Even Av'ry's so much older'n me an' he's still not as tall as Papa!" He turns around again and heaves a huge sigh, sounding more like a sententious old man than a child of less than four years of age. "S'going to take forEVer."

Kate bites her lip to muffle a laugh.

“Mm, yes, momma can be quite silly sometimes.” He sighs in agreement, glancing at Kate and sharing a little smile with her as they listen to Percy huff and puff about.

Idly, he strokes Percy’s small back, absolutely charmed by him in the moment. Maybe, Alecto thinks to himself, he didn’t have to worry just yet. It seems that Percy hasn’t been particularly hurt or concerned about the obvious divide between himself and his siblings. Yet.

Edited 2022-05-23 03:41 (UTC)

He keeps a hold of one of the blocks that hadn't gone into any of the buildings and flops over into Alecto's lap on his stomach, curling up there against the familiar, beloved warmth. "Momma, if you wan' hug, just say. 'm done with the light house!"

He laughs, a twinkling sound, as his arms automatically come around his son and hauls him up into a large, warm hug.

“And what a wonderful job you did,” he says, nuzzling into Percy’s hair, tickling his sides just a little as the boy squirms with joy. He’s so amused by Percy’s positioning, noticing how similar it is to the way seals generally flop about.

“Percy, sweetheart, would you like to go for a swim with me? As long as you hold onto momma’s fur tightly we can go.”

He laughs and yelps with faux outrage, even as he nestles even closer to Alecto, wriggling involuntarily at being tickled. "Mm, right now?" He grabs Alecto's hands in his tiny ones, as though determined not to let himself be tickled any more. "Just me and Momma?"

He nods, his hair falling into his face as he smiles down at his son. “Yes, sweetheart. Just the two of us. We can go to the shallow waters near the caves and practice together, hm?”

Alecto takes Percy’s tiny, chubby hands and squeezes them gently.

“Come on now, let Momma get his sealskin and we’ll go.”

He gets up and leaves for just a moment before returning with his furs, slinking it on to his shoulders before bending back down to pick Percy up into his arms.

“Kate, would you mind helping me with the evening chores while we’re out?”

She nods immediately, giving Percy a small wave of her fingers; he automatically returns the gesture over Alecto's shoulder, his face buried in the soft sealskin with only his eyes and one small hand visible. "Of course. Have a good time, both of you."

Even without a full moon, it is still bright at night. Percy stays well-behaved and still on Alecto's arms, hearing the barking of seals in the distance. He can pick out Daphne and Avery's voices, but he had only ever seen a few of the cousins in passing while in their seal forms, though he'd met Aunt Pippa a few times. "Momma, you usu-ushu-ushu-all-ee go swim when the moon is big," he observes, sounding curious."

He chuckles, patting Percy's back as he walks them to a relatively safe area of a nearby sea cave. The waters here were less violent and more relaxed and shallow. Even if Percy were to fall off of Alecto's back or decide to cause unrelated mischief, he couldn't really hurt himself or risk getting lost out at sea.

"We do, sweetheart. It's so that Momma and your siblings can stretch our fins." He sets his son down softly so he can test the waters with him, letting the boy dip his feet in and get comfortable.

He kicks at the water, and the sand he's sitting on. He knew how to float and turn himself over in the water if he should get washed out to sea, and a few simple strokes on the surface, but compared to Avery and Daphne, he really was very slow, even with the difference in age. "But Papa an' Auntie don' go with you," he says.

Alecto nods solemnly, stroking back Percy's hair. "No, they can't. They aren't...like me. Just like you aren't like your brother and sister. We're selkies, sweetheart. And when Momma gave birth to you -" he stops, feeling an unspeakable sadness and a tinge of guilt rush over him. "Well, you didn't get any of that magic."

He leans forward, pressing a long and deeply-felt kiss to the top of his son's head. He doesn't know if he should apologize, if the child before him would even truly understand the sentiment.

"That's why I have two forms. And I can do this." He slips the hood of his coat over his head and completes the transformation, blinking down at Percy with the wide, dark gaze of a white, spotted seal. He barks and trills gently, pushing his snout into his son's arms to nuzzle him.

He gasps with delight; he'd seen this before a few times, but generally these transformations happened slightly away from him. "Momma!" he greets, throwing his small arms around the seal's neck and squeezing, rubbing his cheek and nose against the soft fur. "You really are magic, like Papa says."

He honks happily, licking the side of his son's face as he feels those little arms squeezing him tight in a hug. Unable to speak, he nods in response instead, and nudges his son to climb onto his back before easing them into the water. He glides slowly, allowing Percy to get comfortable, before going a bit faster, dipping in and out of the surface for short periods of time, trying to teach his son how to hold his breath for longer and longer.

Now and again, he pauses, just to do something cute in order to hear his son's darling little laugh and together they play about in the shallows until Alecto smells a familiar scent on the wind and perks up, lifting a single flipper excitedly when he sees his husband approaching them.

Edited 2022-05-23 20:46 (UTC)

He'd walked down from the top of the tower to find only Daphne and Avery sleeping soundly - Kate having corraled them into bed for the night before turning in herself - and heads along the path to the sea caves to see if he can locate his wife and their third child. He notes the faint, musical peal of childish laughter carried on the wind, and follows the sound down to the shallows, hearing the barking of a seal and catching sight of a white furry coat and water splashing. He smiles to himself and stops to take off his socks and shoes and to roll up his pants, carrying them with him as he picks his careful way down to the sand.

"There you are," he says warmly, the water swirling around his feet as the wave breaks on the sand. "It's getting a bit late."

"Papa! Look! Momma is magic!" Percy greets with an earnest, eager wave, one hand grasping Alecto's fur tightly while his other hand is waving in mirror to the flipper Alecto had raised.

Alecto honks loudly in acknowledgement and slips back up onto the land, letting his son scramble off his back and run to his father, colliding with his legs and throwing his damp around them. Alecto inches forward and extends his neck to press his damp, briny snout to Joshua's chin in lieu of a real kiss before he flops over onto his side, content. He's listening to his son babble on and grunts comically when the boy jumps back onto him, burying his face into Alecto's soft, wet fur.

He ruffles Percy's wet hair - not an easy task - and bends automatically so it is easier for Alecto to reach him.

"Hello, dearest," he murmurs, as affectionate and loving as always, then stands back up, watching the two of them interact with a soft smile on his face.

"Percy, you'll need to dry off before bed," he warns, holding out a hand for Percy's; unusually for him, Percy pouts and burrows even closer to Alecto, his face pressed against white fur.

"'m not tired, Papa," he claims, his words a muddled mess, whispered against Alecto.

Prompt - Something Lost, Something Found

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