#seal reader

and you were on the ledge of the ice.

Below you was your mom, her body settling after slamming you out of the way. The shadow below her darkens and you see it. Jaws. Teeth. A being so much larger than even her and there’s nothing you can do. Your mom falls deep into the cavern of its mouth like the water itself swallowed her. The jaw of the creature slams into you.

Rip

Crunch

The last noises you hear before being launched into the air, the ice breaking so easily despite having felt so solid while on it.

Away

Away

Away

The ground is small, and you’re even smaller as you fall with a

THUD

On cold ice.

It hurts. It hurts so much. Your chub isn’t nearly as thick as your mom’s. She would move better, more effortlessly, but your body hurts and there’s no motivation to practice right now, so instead you crawl around; scraping your belly on the ice.

“..bllbb..” You let out a small noise. Who knows, maybe it’ll call her back to you.

…

Nothing.

_________

It’s so cold. It hurts to swim. Too much that the fish you keep chasing after evade you easily. You’re still fuzzy. It’s hard to get back on the ice after failed attempts.

Hungry, hurt, tired, your eyes close. If you meet any other seals maybe you could try to be with them but you can’t find any and your body is hurting more and more. Worse, you aren’t supposed to stay on land for long. You don’t know why, but it’s an instinct. Nothing you can do, that last attempt you tried to go in the water you almost drowned. You open your eyes for a moment just to close them again.

Is this it?

Your body hurts so much. The ice is freezing your stomach, twisting and turning in hunger while it digests itself. You’re scared, you’re alone. You’re lonely. You weren’t lonely when you were with your mom because you knew even if she left that she would be back soon, but she isn’t going to be back. You know she won’t. You feel a rumble in the ice, and heavy footsteps from far away. That must be the reason why you mustn’t stay on land.

“nnh..!” A little noise. It’ll hear you, you know it will, but it’s painful and you’re so upset that you can’t help but distress. “nnn!” You flop onto your back, then your stomach, ow. In the distance you see something. What is that? You start to crawl, it hurts but you know it’s gonna get closer. It’ll hurt if it catches you before you die, like the fish you and your mom would eat; alive as the flesh is torn apart. Maybe you’ll find a last meal or a place to die easily. After accepting death you just don’t want it to hurt, if you can really accept dying after being so alive.

You miss your mom.

Maybe you’re the only seal left in the world. Maybe those big black and white things in the water have eaten all other seals and you’re the only one left. You get closer and see.. red. Blood? Blood can be food, blood can mean food. And if it’s a puddle like that it means it's not frozen, you don’t know how this thing died but you can eat a little. You hurriedly crawl, panting. It moves and you freeze, then crawl faster. Once you’re close it goes still, and you sniff. Smells like meat, you give it more sniffs, the sniff. It’s shaped weird and is fuzzy, what is this thing? You’ll start with the blood.

Lick

?

Is it frozen? It’s not cold but it’s not.. liquid. You lick again and then start to suckle, you’re hungry… You tug, a bit of ice falls off and you see um.. uhh… meat? Maybe? You lick it, oo salty.

lick

lick

lick

“Urghh..” You flinch, the thing moves and more ice falls off of it to reveal brown. Poop!? Were you eating poop!? But it’s fuzzy, and red above. It moves more and the red floats up and shakes, then looks at you.

…

Two long flippers.. two long legs.. fuzzy coat.. exposed skin.. it’s her!

“Nnm!” You crawl on top of her lap, her head must be bleeding. “nnn!”

“Huh? A seal?” Seal! You know that word! That’s you! “Did I get buried under the ice?” You know ice too! “Man, I shouldn’t have ran off. I just wanted to take a piss but fell asleep.” Okay you don’t know any of those words but she can teach you later. She stands up and brushes herself off. “This seal woke me up, I could’ve died if I didn’t wake up. Thanks buddy.” She crouches down and puts her hand out to pet you, but stops. “Shit, you’re so cute but I shouldn’t get a seal used to human contact, huh?” She must be saying thank you for finding her and that you’re her cute seal, like she usually does. She turns and starts to walk away, you follow her. Not sure why she isn’t round but maybe her head hurts and this is easier for her. Your mom is kinda fast, though; you can’t keep up because you’re hurt.

“Bllu!” You cry out and she stops, then turns with a struggling expression. Her head must hurt really bad..the blood turned her hair so vibrantly red.

“stop making noise, you’re too cute.” She whispers. Right, stay quiet in case of predators. You forgot. She’s probably trying to stay quiet to get food, too. You continue to crawl, trying your best to stay quiet, but it’s too much and you stop to catch your breath. It hurts.. you let out a little whine, flopping onto your side. Usually mom would be careful, even try warming you up with her round body, but she isn’t. Is she mad at you for going off on your own? But you didn’t know where you were and you were launched, you thought she was dead.

“Uu..” She stops and turns, furrowing her brows.

“Are you hurt?” She mumbles, hesitantly touching your tummy. You flinch in pain, curling up. Mom sighs. “You are hurt.. urgh..” You look up at her with shiny eyes, sad. “Don’t..”

“nnuu..”

“I don’t want to leave you here to die but that’s what’s supposed to happen in nature, right? You’ll get eaten by a bear or..” You start to tremble, is she mad that you’re hurt? You’re too weak now and she’s going to leave you because you’re dying? You let out a long little cry and bite onto her leg, trying to hold onto her. She tries to gently shake you off but you don’t let go. A moment passes. “When did I care about nature so much anyway.” She crouches down and you’re gently lifted up in her long flipper. “You’re so small.. Are you preborn? You aren’t even grey.” She starts to walk with you in her flipper. You nudge and notice her other arm is gone, it must’ve been eaten by the creature. You nuzzle into her chest sadly but happy you don’t have to move anymore.

“bluuu..”

“Shh it’s okay. And stop making those noises my heart is gonna explode.” You stay silent, talking hurts anyway.

____________________

Your eyes open to bright light and you let out a little cry of surprise. You spot a figure and flap desperately.

“You aren’t in water.” A pale blonde person says to you. You start to tremble and take a deep breath.

“GGGUUUAAAHHHH!!! UUAA UAA UAA!” You don’t stop letting out cries and the figure panics before opening the door.

“Captain, get over here! It won’t stop crying!” After the yell your mom bursts into the room.

“You’re awake, and by the yell you’re doing alright.”

“uee.”

“Yeah.” She runs her hand along your fur. You stare at her. Your vision and thoughts were obscured when you were injured in the snow but now you can see well. This doesn’t look like your mom at all. The red you thought was blood looks like it’s the color of her hair, and they overall look incredibly different. This person is more sharp, your mom was more round. “What’s wrong?” This isn’t her. You’re in a den of strangers that may have either rescued you or captured you to eat, but the thing that hurts most right now is the realization that your hope is shattered. The happiness you felt when your mom was back, that she didn’t abandon you, that she didn’t die; it’s all gone. You watched your mom get eaten alive by a beast with nothing to do about it, and now.. you’re alone.

“nn..uu..” Tears fill your eyes as you tremble, hiccuping and whimpering. The person in front of you only watches.

“So you realized I’m not your mom, huh?” Words you know, words that your mother spoke softly to you with love until you learned, and now they’re used to piece together such a sad sentence. You let out a wail, even if your body still hurts. Your heart hurts more, and it cries out for your mom that will never come. The entire time your fur is gently stroked by this red haired person, eventually it turns to sniffles, then silence. You’re sad.

“I’ll bring it some food, not sure if it’ll eat though.” You aren’t hungry, even when your stomach grumbles you aren’t hungry.

The doctor comes back with a bowl of fish, putting it in front of you. You just gaze at it, your mom would like fish.

“Does it know how to eat?” The redhead asks. Of course you know how to eat, you just don’t want to.

“Of course it knows. I think. It still has the white fur so it might drink milk. Wouldn’t that mean it’s less than a month old?” You weaned off milk around a month ago, yeah. They must’ve been able to tell because you look nice and round like mama. ..Okay maybe less, but still you’ll get round like her eventually. You’ll never be able to compare, though. “Ack! It’s tearing up again!” Yes you’re crying again, so what. The redhead grabs a fish and you watch as he pretends to eat it, then puts it in front of your face. When you don’t eat he does it again.

“I’m bad at this..” He’s trying to get you to eat. The memories of your mother flash through your mind. The first one of her warm body shielding you from the cold. Her warm smile, her soft flesh. The blubber, the things she taught you. The fact that loneliness was never a problem for you because you had her, it’s all so painful..

but would she want you to starve?

No, she wouldn’t.

“It’s eating!” You tear into the fish and chew it quickly, tears stinging your eyes and stabbing in your heart. She isn’t coming back. The mom that loved you, raised you.

“You’re my cute little seal!”

“I brought back food, are you hungry?”

“I’ll be back soon, be safe.”

“I love you.”

“GUUUUUU!!!”

You yell out to the world that you’re alive, that your mom’s sacrifice wasn’t in vain. That she didn’t fully die because she lives on in the memories that you shared with her.

You survived!

You persevered!

You’re alive!

You have to live! For the mom that gave up her life for a chance of yours!

You open your mouth and take another big chomp, tilting your head up and gulping it down with a struggle. You’re still not great at eating fish, your mom used to rip it in half for you. You cough after finally gulping it all down. The redhead grabs another fish, and rips it in half for you. Just like mama. Your eyes sting from tears but you take the half in your mouth, then the other.

“There you go, eat up and live for your mom.” Right! This is a new future! You don’t know where you are anymore or what’s going on but as tears and snot run down your face you swear to your mama that you’ll grow up rounder than her!

“Guuuuu!!!!”

“I told you I’m not going to let you get yourself sick, (Y/n); you can eat later. Let the fish you’ve already eaten digest first.” He doesn’t like having to refuse food to people but it’s bad for your health to eat so much, you’ll get an upset stomach. You frown harder and start to shift into seal form, then lean back and slap your belly. Sanji’s mouth gapes. “Are you slapping your belly right now!? When I’m showing care for your health!?” You stare him down and slap harder. “I can’t believe you.”

______________

“We’re going to have this for dinner.” Sanji states resolutely, knowing that this is a food that you dislike. “I can cook it in a different way if you want but I can’t change the menu.”

“There isn’t anything else at all?”

“Perhaps I can make you…” He looks in the fridge again while humming in thought. “What about this?” He names another dish you still dislike, but less than the first option. You scowl and turn into a seal. “You can handle it, you aren’t going to die.” You roll onto your back and give a single slap to your belly before bouncing away with a huff. You’re hunting as soon as you get the chance.

______________

You and Luffy rip into the seafood prepared by the townspeople, gulping it down while the others watch in both awe and horror. Finally you fall back at the same time with a sigh of relief, full of food. You both also see that there’s more and reach for it, but a hand sweeps it away expertly.

“I can still eat!” You and the captain yell as Sanji slides it to be given elsewhere.

“Yes, you could.” Both of your bellies are basically bulging with how much you stuffed yourselves but you still crave more. Fresh and high quality seafood that’s also prepared by the best chef ever, your crewmate!? It’s a crime to not be able to eat when there’s still food! You can see it right in front of you!

“But there’s still seafood left, and cooked seafood leftovers don’t keep well!” You try to argue but it’s not working, he only stares with a firm expression. You start to tremble and, in your last show of defiance, you shift into seal form.

“You know this isn’t going to do anything; you aren’t going to get more. Don’t you slap your belly at me.” There’s a pause but before you lay a loud smack to your belly, Luffy following your example in the background. Sanji lets out a loooonng sigh.