When Vali and Narfi left their new apartment, they decided to go down to the beach.
They arrived and noticed Maeve relaxing under the shade of two trees, laying on top of Lugh's pelt as if it were a soft towel. Lugh was shirtless massaging her back to apply sunscreen. Their hair was wet like they'd been in the water.
Vali's face got red. He looked like he was about to storm over there.
His jaw tightened as he saw Lugh's hands on her shoulders, applying sunscreen with an easy familiarity that made Vali's blood boil.
"Vali, hold up," Narfi murmured, grabbing his arm. "Maeve seems… happy with him. Let her be.
But Vali shook his head, glaring at the scene before him. "He doesn't know anything about her. He doesn't deserve to act so comfortable with her." His voice was low, restrained but simmering with frustration. Narfi hesitated, feeling the weight of Vali's unspoken knowledge but unsure of how far the werewolf would go.
Before Narfi could stop him, Vali marched across the sand, a forced smile on his face as he called out, "Maeve! Didn't expect to see you down here so early."
Maeve looked up, surprised but pleased. "Vali! Hi!" she said, giving him a warm smile. She sat up, letting Lugh's hands fall from her shoulders. "We're just enjoying breakfast by the beach." She gestured to the remains of their picnic, oblivious to Vali's tense posture.
Lugh watched him with a wary expression, picking up on Vali's mood. "Want to join us?" Lugh asked, his tone polite but edged with challenge, sensing Vali's disapproval.
Vali forced a tight smile. "No thanks. Just wanted to make sure Maeve was alright. You know, not everyone can be trusted as easily as they seem," he said, giving Lugh a pointed look.
Maeve frowned, sensing the tension. "Vali, Lugh's been nothing but kind to me," she insisted. "He even made us breakfast."
"Oh, I'm sure he did," Vali replied, folding his arms. "But don't forget Maeve, Lugh still has competition and you're going to have to tell him about that sooner or later."
Maeve blinked, confused by his words, but Vali offered no explanation. Instead, he gave Lugh a final, hard stare, as if daring him to make a move. Then he turned and walked away, hoping they would have less fun on their date.
What does he mean by that Maeve?" His mind went back to the picture of Maeve with the black and white haired boy. Vali seemed to be dropping hints at something every time he saw him, but Maeve simply frowned at Vali as he left.
"I don't know what he's upset about." She said. "He's super emotional."
Yes Vali was clearly emotional, he was a werewolf that clearly wanted Maeve as his mate. Lugh didn't have to be a werewolf to understand that. Selkies too were very territorial, though less loyal to a woman than a werewolf would be. They didn't mate for life the same way because selkies were more solitary creatures and often considered prey by every other beast around them.
Lugh decided to just leave it alone for now. Maybe he's just saying that because he likes her too, that's all.
After relaxing a while longer on the beach, Lugh decided to go back to the island.
"I'm not going to live there yet, but can I go?" Maeve asked suddenly when he said that. "I want to swim as a seal with you again." She added excitedly.
Lugh smiled, it really was fun having someone else to swim with. If she were a selkie too that would have been amazing.
He frowned though at one complication to their adventure. "I have to return the wavesweeper to the island." He said, "I'm sorry." He added.
Maeve looked a bit disappointed about this. Then she perked back up,"Can't I just swim alongside you then?"
Lugh wanted to laugh at that, in that storm! He thought.
But the question hung in the air beteeen them as Lugh hadn't expected her to ask that.
He removed the coat from the sand and wrapped it around himself a bit more cautiously. "I think it's not a good idea that you swim with it very often." He said, "it's very important to me."
"Oh." She answered. "Oh that's ok. I'll just see you tomorrow then! Maybe we can hang out in the forest then." She added.
Lugh felt a bit relieved that she took his concern so well. His smile returned to his face, "I shall seek you out again then." He said pleasantly.
Maeve once again melted at this boy. "Oh Lugh you're very dreamy." She said. It wasn't meant to be said out loud. But she said it.
Lugh smiled, "you're very beautiful too." He said.
And then Lugh got an idea.
He was a bit nervous about it because technically he would be taking away her agency, but if he let her come with him, she might choose to stay wouldn't she?
"Hey, on second thought, sure." He said, "let's go to my island."
He put his coat onto her and in that moment, he poured some water onto her head.
She expected to turn into a seal so she closed her eyes, but instead of magic helping her to feel free, she began to fall asleep. Lugh had used his magic to.....wait!...Lugh…..
"Selkies are gentle creatures." Lugh said in a tone she hadn't expected, "but they still have to catch a fish because it runs or somebody else will."
Then she felt the coat removed from her head and Lugh picked her up. More water splashed on her face, putting her to sleep completely.