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Near a vast ocean in the corner of some unknown country was a small village. Its population was scarce, less than a hundred villagers. Despite its beauty and proximity to the ocean, it saw very few visitors. That was no problem though as the villagers had their own thing going which they liked. However no one cared about what happened in this village, any interesting stories would be suffocated by the lack of attention. Even a story many could learn from would fizzle away, only being remembered by the wind spirits that gently murmur a faded version through the gales.
One of the residents of this isolated place was named Elliot. He was the sweetest boy you would ever meet. His family was rather well off, by the village standards, as they owned a successful bakery and even a pizza place that everyone loved! They never fell into the hands of greed, always helping others and not taking advantage of what they had. This was a nice change from the brutal aristocrats that lived just miles away in the flourishing town.
Elliot saw the good in everyone. He always found some way to forgive a person, unless their actions are unforgivable. Though nothing insane ever happened in the village. It was far too peaceful for that. Elliot would walk into work and smile. Builder brothers' pizza was his second favourite place in the village. He loved his job and was ecstatic to bring a smile to peoples faces. Although there was another place he loved more. The beach.
He loved the ocean. Everything about it was so interesting; how it changes depending on weather; how it can be warm and welcoming one day but brutal and ruthless the next. There was no doubt that when you would not see him at Builder Brothers, you'd see him at the beach. Mr builder, his dad, found Elliot and his sister at the beach. See Mr builder never had a wife nor wanted kids. But the day he found the two siblings on the beach, alone, he couldn't resist helping them. He raised them as his own and they accepted him as their father. They loved him. The two however were not human, at least not fully. They were selkies, a form of shape-shifting that allowed a being to switch between human and seal form. Mr builder knew this but still took them in, even hiding the fact they are selkies from the other villagers. If anyone found out the reactions would either be dull or absolutely horrific. Mr Builder wanted to keep Elliot and Mia safe, so he took it upon himself to make sure no one saw them shapeshifting when they were kids. However he never denied them access to the ocean or the skins.
Elliot couldn't really remember his mum. He was young when he last saw her and doesn't know what happened. Honestly he just assumed she abandoned them. It wasn't too far-fetched but he really does wish there is a different more promising explanation. In a way he misses his mum. She was everything to him; he still remembers her soft voice as she sang lullabies to soothe Mia to sleep. Then she would often spot Elliot lurking behind her and read him a story. It was little memories like this he could remember, before the darkness that swallowed him whole and he awoke alone in a new person's house. Elliot did love Mr builder, but was it so wrong to miss his mum?
And so our story starts on the rocky beach, the same one that the pair of tiny selkies was once discovered and saved. Elliot just stood there, watching the waves roll in as the sun dangled just a bit above the horizon. He was hoping to see the sunset today. It may seem a bit silly, considering he has seen the same sunset a million times before, but the beautiful hues of pink and orange fascinated him.
“Waiting for something?” A sudden voice cutting through the near silence, startling the poor boy. He frantically turned around just to see a familiar face. Two Time. Elliot was rather fond of Two Time, they always lingered around in the pizza place either just being present or quietly talking to Elliot about a random topic. If asked, Elliot would say he considers them as a close friend. They are a constant presence in his life that he accepts wholeheartedly. Two Time did seem a bit eerie sometimes, and it was clear that they carried a heavy weight in their heart. However Elliot would not treat them as no less, everyone deserved to receive kindness.
“The sunset. I like its glow.” Elliot simply replied. He wasn't sure what else to say, just smiling warmly at Two Time.
“It's pretty, isn't it? I like to go see it too, especially after a long day working at the church.” Oh did Elliot mention Two Time was the child of the person who owned the only church in the village? Around half the people in his village were religious, most believing in the Spawn. Elliot honestly doesn't think the Spawn has any chance of being real, but still respects whatever makes the people happy. Especially seeing how happy it makes Two Time when they talk about it. They try to convince him to join but he just can't bear to join a religion. At least not the Spawn. He maybe would believe in the sea god his mother used to talk about if he remembered just what his name was.
“Really? Never see you here.”
“Ah i usually go a bit further up there, i just saw you here today and wanted to visit my dear friend.” That made Elliot's chest warm up with indescribable happiness. Friend. They called him their friend.
“Glad you did. I like your presence." A subtle confession to a possible deeper emotion welling up in him.
“You do?” They seemed almost doubtful. Like Elliot should hate them.
“Am I supposed to hate you? Why are you surprised Two?”
“The others don't like me very much.”
That made Elliot's heart ache. Two Time was obviously isolated, possibly due to their deep religious nature. It was so stupid yet it was an issue even Elliot couldn't resolve.
“That doesn't matter! I like you! You can always stick with me.”
And that was all they needed before they threw themselves onto Elliot, hugging him tight. The boy squeaked in surprise before returning the hug. They felt oddly comfortable.
“Thanks Elli.” Elliots's stomach suddenly felt weird, like it was being squeezed and forced to do backflips. Maybe it was the nickname? Maybe Two Time had a much greater effect on him than he thought.
The two then sat down on the rocks, not caring about the discomfort, and watched the sunset. Both would say that it looked better when watching it together.
~🍕~
“Elliot! Can you go pick up my order from the lady at the cake shop? I already paid and I'll get Mia to cover for you.” Mr builder called out from the back. It was a simple request so Elliot had no point in denying.
“Sorry Two Time.. need to go do this.” Elliot simply said. He didn't bother replying to his dad. He would assume Elliot would deal with it.
“May i come with?”
“Huh. Yeah come on.” Elliot said before grabbing Two Time’s arm and leading them out of the building. After the meeting at the beach, Two Time seems to have been appearing more often. They always are around Elliot even though he doesn't even know how they find him. That might be a problem for whenever he wants to go back and swim as a seal again. He was told to keep his other form a secret.
The Two chatted along the way about the most basic stuff, before Two Time got back onto the topic of religion once again, this time taking a new approach.
“Why won't you give The Spawn a chance?”
Elliot stopped walking and stared and Two Time. How could he phrase this without sounding disrespectful.
“I'm sorry… I find more comfort in a different deity.” He said slowly, trying his best not to gravely insult Two Time. “Im glad the Spawn makes you haply though.”
“The church. It protects this village you know? From any evil that may lurk. I've heard horrendous stories. Especially one about a cruel woman who tricked a man. They deal with those. In the name of Spawn. Why won't you believe in Spawn.” Two Time seemed sad. Not mad. Disappointed. It seems like they wanted something more than they would let in on.
“Two.. We can still be friends if we differ in religions you know? No religious book ever speaks of separating people due to religion.”
“Yes but if you don't believe in The Spawn then I'm not allowed to lo…” They trailed off, not finishing the sentence and instead looking down at their right hand. “Nevermind. Yes you're right. I apologise for pushing my religion onto you.” They looked so sincere, and it was clear that they truly meant this. Two Time was not a bad person. Just clearly misled. Elliot started walking again
“It's fine. Everyone makes a few mistakes. It's what makes us humans. And keep talking about the spawn if you so wish. I like listening to you.” Maybe Elliot's eyes were deceiving him or there was actually a faint blush spreading on Two Times cheeks.
“But you never seem to make mistakes. Are we sure you're human?” Two Time joked, closing their eyes and giving a small chuckle. Elliot was glad they closed their eyes. They missed the split second his expression twisted into terror. He wasn't human. Not fully. They didn't know that though, and they hit it too close to home. Instead he quickly laughed, trying to play it off. He didn't need to have Two Time find out his secret. Not yet. Maybe he'd tell them later. He could trust them.
~🍕~
Two Time was busy. That's what they said at least. Some sort of religious festival they said. Apparently every so often, they needed a blood sacrifice for their religion. Elliot found this creepy. Why would a god ever want blood? It made his skin crawl. Luckily it was just rabbit blood, hunted fresh by Two Time themselves. Those poor rabbits.
However this was the perfect time for Elliot to shapeshift. Two Time was no longer clinging to him and he could swim without revealing his identity. He quickly snuck his skin out of the bag and ran to the ocean, putting it on. The sea was nice. It was chilly but the blubber from the seal body kept him nice and cosy. He loved it. He swam further and further away from the edge, fearing that if any human saw him he might be clocked as a selkie. See, People usually assumed any seal that was slightly bigger than usual was a selkie. Elliot was in fact quite a large seal. Luckily Mia was just average seal size. He was grateful for that. His sister was his greatest priority, as long as she was safe and wasn't easy to find, he was okay. He can take care of himself but despite her protests, Mia was still too young. Elliot at least knew how to hide and run away.
Then Elliot spotted a figure at the beach, he quickly dove down below the water in a panic. He soon realised the figure was not leaving any time soon. Peaking his head above the waterline, he took a look at who the figure was. It was Two Time. Luckily they didn't seem to be looking at the water, rather searching for something closer. Perhaps they were searching for him? No, that was silly. They had their own life and religious tasks to fulfil. However, that did remind him he should get out now. He swam over to the rock and quickly shifted behind them. This area was just behind the corner of the main beach area, out of anyone's sight. Stuffing his skin in his bag, he quickly started walking around just to be met with a very frantic looking Two Time.
“Oh my Spawn! Elliot, I could find you. I was so worried and scared. I looked everywhere. I thought I'd find you here.. I knew I just needed to wait. Thank Spawn you were here.” Two Time just kept rambling on.
“I'm sorry Two, just went for a little walk. I'll try not to wander off in a place I don't usually go to with you next time.” This was becoming a problem. Elliot had to tell Two Time he was a selkie soon. Or else they'd find out another way, and from his experience people preferred to be told the truth instead of it being held back for a long time.
“Can we please go to the church? I'm not trying to recruit you, I just made soup from the rabbit I drained the blood of! I also have cake. Mia said you liked cake.”
“Of course we can. Poor rabbit though.”
“It was a necessary sacrifice.” Two Time responded, looking dead serious. They then looked down at their right hand again. Elliot just hummed as a response.
“Mia told you I like cake? Strange. She usually shys away from people.”
“Does she? She talked to me?” Two Time looked genuinely confused. Elliot just shrugged and started walking to the church.
“Maybe she likes you. I talk to her about you, you know?. She probably trusts you at least a bit by now.”
“You talk about me to others?” Two Time fell into step beside Elliot, Elliot could swear he saw Two Times eyes light up and his cheeks flush a bit. He didn't say anything though. Not yet.
“Of course I do! I talk to my dad and sister about my days, and occasionally my elderly neighbour. I always have to mention my bestest friend… YOU! Only the good stuff dont worry ” He chuckled and threw his arm around them, pulling them closer for a second before letting them go. “Anyway… RACE YOU TO THE CHURCH"
Elliot said before bolting off. Two Time quickly followed like a wolf chasing a rabbit.
~🍕~
This time the two were in the forest on the east of the village. The village was surrounded by forest at the east and west, the North being the sea and the south being just plains. It was a rather weird set up, not very good for keeping safe. The forest was dangerous and filled with creatures. That's why Elliot avoided the forest actually. He was scared of it but he felt safe with Two Time near. They had their trusty dagger and the skills of a hunter. He ignored the fact their hand shook whenever they held the dagger.
The two were currently sprawled out on a patch of grass in a clearing, the sun beaming down at them. They sat in a comforting silence. None of them talked, just listened to the sound of the rustling leaves and the active wildlife. Breaking that moment of still silence, Two Time went and grabbed Elliot's hand, interlacing their fingers with his. They squeezed it tightly, not wanting him to let go. And Elliot didn't let go. Instead he squeezed their hand just as tight. Two Time left out a soft giggle.
“I love you Elliot.” Their confession was simple. Four words that held so much significance. Elliot loved them too. Of course he did. Ever since that day, watching the sunset on the beach, his love for them slowly grew, welling up inside him threatening to spill and make a mess everywhere. He still had to tell them his dirty secret. But that could wait for another moment. This one was too precious to ruin. But maybe the stalling would ruin everything.
“I love you too.”
“Im not supposed to love you.” This confused Elliot, he turned his head to look at the other. They looked guilty. “My religion says I can only love people who also love the spawn. And at first I did. I loved ##### but he doubted the Spawn. One time he doubted it. And I was told to stab him. and I did. I regret it. I hate myself for it.”
Two times lifted their right hand, looking up at it. They closed their eyes as tears welled up.
“Is there really no way for us to be happy together then?”
“You still love me? After I told you that.” It was now Two Time’s turn to look at the other. Their eyes were wide and the tears were now proudly falling down his cheeks.
“Of course. It wasn't your fault. You did what you were told to and it was their fault for making you do such a thing. I don't blame you. I blame them.” Elliot scooched closer to them, gently taking hold of their face before kissing the tears of their cheek.
“You could join the Spawn and we could be together. But you would believe and that would be dangerous. We could run away?”
“Two, I love you but I can't leave my family. At least not as long as I know my sister isn't old enough to protect herself properly.” Two Time nodded but was slightly confused. Protect herself? Wasn't this place safe enough? Didn't the church protect them well enough?
Two Time couldn't take it anymore, they leaned in and pressed a soft kiss against Elliot's mouth. Elliot pressed back, deepening the kiss. For now the two were okay just being with each other, even if their relationship had to be a secret.
~🕑~
“Two Time!” a horrific screeching voice called out. It was Two Times's dad. “Come quick, we finally got a mission you can witness! We found dirty creatures, one has already been dealt with. We saved the other for you.”
Two Time was excited now. Were they finally going to kill their first supernatural being? The Spawn church specialised in protecting this city, even from the beings that weren't human! They always wanted to complete the true ideal of protecting the people in the name of Spawn!
They ran off after their dad. Elliot was going to love to hear about this later! He would be so proud of them and would kiss them and they would cuddle and talk about stupid plans of running away in the future!
But their heart almost stopped as their dad slowed down in front of Builder Brothers pizza, and entered. Was someone caught there? Was Elliot in danger? Two Time followed behind. They were immediately hit with a metallic smell and their eyes widened in horror.
Mia was dead. Her guts splattered across the floor in a cruel and violent display. Her fingers were torn off, showing bone and muscle. Her head was almost decapitated, hanging on by just an inch of skin. It was a slow death, a death meant to torture and punish. But what did the shy, awkward teen do to deserve this? Another member of the church pointed to something beside her.
“Shes a selkie! Those cruel tricksters! They trick humans you know? Making them love them just to leave after. For fun! The lads one too. Their dad isn't though, probably the poor soul who got tricked.”
Two Time looked over to the right. Elliot. Their love was there. His eyes were wide and shell shocked, tears streaming down his face but no noise came out of him. Did he really mean to trick them? They didn't believe that one bit. Elliot wasn't like that.
Their dad pushed them towards Elliot.
“Go on kid. Make Spawn proud.”
This seemed to get Elliot to snap out of his trance, he looked at the other church members with pure hate but when his eyes landed on Two Time his gaze softened. Elliot didn't hate him. They didn't want to do this. They didn't realise how deeply indoctrinated they were. Why did he believe that only humans were good, innocent creatures? However they had to listen to their father, so they stepped closer to Elliot until they were right in front of him. Elliot was praying. Praying to Poseidon. An ocean God. Not to spawn, thankfully so. But Two Time couldn't bear to see this. Elliot was so desperate that the only source of comfort he had after witnessing his sister's death was prayer. Something he never bothered to do. They wanted to drop to their knees and hug him, whisper sweet nothings to him and kiss away the pain. But they couldn't. Not with everyone watching. Not with them waiting for the gore and violence.
“I was going to tell you today. That I was a selkie. I wasn't going to keep lying to you. Maybe I was right to lie to you. I'm sorry. I truly do love you. I was just born in the wrong body and we were born in the wrong place to love each other.” Elliot whispered, quiet and defeated. He didn't even want to fight back anymore. Mia was dead. He had nothing left to fight for, considering he thought Two Time hated him now. That comment just added salt to the wound for Two Time. They didn't want to do this. Not again. If they were so loving to the spawn why didn't they love them back? Why did it take everything they loved away from them?
“Dont listen to it! It wants to trick you to save itself!” Another Spawn believer shouted at Two Time, clearly not even knowing what the selkie was saying. His was now strangely horrible towards Two Times ears. They didn't see the others as humans anymore. Not now. Not with this.
They raised their dagger, tears streaming down their face while their hands shook. Elliot tilted his head to the side and smiled. It wasn't one of his warm ones. This one was a tired one, a silent goodbye. Two Time didn't say anything back. They couldn't.
Two Time tried to bring the dagger down, but stopped mid way, and raised the dagger again. Their hands were shaking like crazy now. They couldn't do this. This wasn't okay. Could they maybe save Elliot? Elliot needed to live, they needed him.
The Spawn isn't kind though, it likes its sacrifices.
And the members are just as equally blood thirsty.