ulanaa

Usually, he had it slung across the back of his chair or around his neck with his Dorm scarf when in uniform. Sometimes, he’d tuck it in his bag, and it would stick out whenever he took his things out. A reminder to anyone that, while he was a menace on land, he was still from the ocean.

It gave him a twisted kind of amusement to watch the look in others’ eyes. The desire to take his eel skin, to hold it in their grubby little land-folk hands and steal it from him. It would be so easy. One quick swipe from the back of his chair, or a quick pick-pocketing from his bag, and then they held the power.

It would be so easy to control Jade Leech - to have something over him, to take something so important to him. To finally have the upper hand over Jade Leech. To trap the charming moray himself.

If only they’d work up the courage.

He’d deliberately make a show of it, drawing the skin slowly from his bag and shaking it out. The slick, shiny, smooth teal pelt that meshed perfectly with his human body would drape over the chair back tantalizingly. The same pelt that allowed him to return to his home in the ocean, that gave him the power of returning to his natural eel form, hung over the chair as if it were nothing but a mere jacket.

He’d usually feel the weight of others’ gazes upon him while he did his work, but today Azul gave him a large stack of papers to work through. Something about a deal of his again. Being Octavinelle vice Housewarden certainly had it’s busy moments. And despite being a menace, Jade was still an accomplished student, so he put his head down and got to work.

Quietly, over the hours he worked, the pelt slid soundlessly from the chairback to the floor. Jade didn’t even notice - just as the skin allowed him to move through the water without a ripple, it fell without so much as a sound. He must have been so focused on his work, or perhaps half asleep, that he didn’t even notice you come behind him.

His head snapped to you when he felt your fingers brush against his back. You flinched backward, fingers clutching his pelt.

“What are you doing?” Jade’s eyes bored into yours, face slack. You tried not to gulp as you gingerly tucked the teal ‘jacket‘ back onto Jade’s chair.

“You dropped your jacket onto the floor, I was just putting it back,” you explained. “It just looked really pretty with the colors and trims and stuff, so I figured you didn’t want it to get dirty…” you rubbed the back of your neck, trailing off.

Something like shock swirled in Jade’s eyes as he looked at you. You had already taken your hands off the pelt, but you could’ve very well run off with it. He searched your face for any sign of foul play, but found none. His heart skittered a beat, amused. You had no idea what you’d just done, had you? You hadn’t even realized you’d declared your intentions to him, earnest and sweet. How cute.

A selkie coat already was a valuable thing, but an eel selkie coat was very uncommon. To take a selkie’s coat was one thing. To return it to them was practically a declaration. And you gave it back to Jade without a second thought, with honesty in your eyes as you called it a jacket. A jacket.

“Welp, I should probably go,” you felt awkward under Jade’s gaze. His pupils were smaller than a pinhole, and despite being helpful, you somehow felt like you did something big. Still, Jade wasn’t biting your head off, so it couldn’t have been that bad?

You shouldered your bag as you trudged out of the library, Jade’s gaze still haunting you. You willed it out of your head once you entered Ramshackle, and didn’t think about it until the next day when Jade approached you.

Imagine your surprise when you saw a strangely soft-gazed Jade looking down on you, seated in the cafeteria, hastily eating your lunch. “(Name),” he said fondly, his ‘jacket’ draped around his shoulders. You swallowed your food in a hurry, eyes falling on the teal ‘fabric.’ You could’ve sworn it was a jacket or something, with how large and long it was. Come to think of it, you’d never seen Jade actually wear it, and it seemed more suede-y than soft…

Jade grinned cryptically, “I must say, you surprised me in the library when you made your intentions known. But I do accept them.” You opened your mouth but no words came out. You were flabbergasted. What on earth…?

Jade’s voice took you out of your thoughts. “I must thank you for returning my pelt to me. Perhaps I can repay you with a complimentary Mostro Lounge meal?” You gawked at him, feeling bewildered.

You managed a confused nod, “I-I mean, sure? But I didn’t really do anything-“ “Splendid. You will join me for dinner later today after classes. Please do not be late.” Jade gave you a cryptic smile before smoothly walking away,

Beside you, your friends gawked. Grim nearly choked on his tuna, “what jus’ happened?!” You shrugged, eyes wide as you stared into space trying to understand, “I don’t know! I just gave Jade back his green shoulder-thing, and now he wants to pay me back or something? What, is it a big deal?”

Ace looked at you like you were stupid, Deuce looked at you with pity, Jack looked shocked, while Epel’s jaw dropped. “You just made your shot at one of the creepiest guys on campus!” Ace spluttered. You looked at the others helplessly, “what?”

Jack pinched the bridge of his nose. “Prefect, I know you come from a different world and all, but do you at least know what a selkie is?” You nodded hesitantly, and Jack continued. “Did you touch his pelt?” You frowned, “you mean that green thing on his shoulders? I thought it was his jacket. I just gave it back to him when it fell?”

You laughed nervously as your friends stared at you. “He didn’t declare war on me or something right?” Epel sipped his apple juice, “nah. The opposite, actually.” You choked on your food.

Guess you’ll be dealing with a besotted Jade for the foreseeable future.