Chapter Text
When Dottore had first been recruited into the Fatui Harbingers he had discovered two things. One: Khanri’ans were not only still alive but also made up two of his three superiors. And Two: Fae were indeed as the stories told, what with their pointy ears and noble air.
Dottore also learned that many other ‘mythical’— better yet, reclusive, as it would be better put— species existed outside of Children’s tales. Unlike the supposed Aaranara though, these species simply did not interact with humans or other intelligent species on principle due to their unique characteristics. For example, werewolves, which were most common in Mondstadt, hid in the woods most of the time; they could be met on occasion in bars and pubs. Fontaine had their melusines of course, Natlan had Harpies, Liyue had adepti on top of what were known as onryō, or gui, and Inazuma had kitsune and oni. Finally, Shnezaya had Selkies. Shapeshifters of a sort, taking on the form of a seal to navigate the frigid waters of the north, and then that of humans for chasing prey in the barren tundra.
With unrestricted access to knowledge, both forbidden and permitted thanks to his Khanri’an colleagues, Dottore had been on a bit of a kick as of late studying these different species and their innate abilities. Most were well documented, at least enough. Melusines had an affinity to water, and while no known name was on the report, there was a rather detailed drawing of the insides of one subject and that was enough for Dottore. Someone long ago too had gone around seeking the knowledge of what species wielded what elemental powers and how.
With the anatomical notes on reference, Dottore had been developing what he liked to call Delusions. All elements currently had one working prototype or another, all in various stages of polish. Except for one, ironically Cryo. Despite currently in the Cryo Archon’s service, Dottore had yet to find a suitable means to replicate Cryo emission. Fae had all sorts of affinities, some leaning one way or another, which meant only one species of the north was left: Selkies. They were not only incredibly elusive as they had a rather small population to begin with, but also an enormous aversion to sharing their identities. In short, finding a Selkie was difficult, let alone one willing to be dissected.
Little did The Doctor know, his luck would turn around soon enough.
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“The Tsaritsa has summoned you, My Lord.” One of Dottore’s current lab assistants announced, sounding oddly cheery. This one was rather young and rambunctious, and reminded Dottore of when he was a similar age. Hence why he had taken them in. The rascal likely wanted to dig through documents and old records again without his judgment. He knew his old notes held no value, but they weren’t convinced. Regardless, a summon from the Tsarsita wasn’t to be ignored.
“Thank you. Do try to focus on your current tasks, yes? They are far more pressing than the papers collecting dust in the back. Are we clear?”
“Yes, Lord Dottore.” They nodded, face falling slightly. Not of any consequence to The Doctor himself though. With that sorted, The Second left to see the Queen.
The sight The Doctor was met with was rather unexpected. The Tsaritsa was not in her usual spot, sitting on her throne and observing her subjects from up high. Instead she and The Jester both were standing near a handler with a leashed creature. Said creature was bleeding all over the floor. Said creature was also very round. Incredibly so. This was perhaps the fattest seal Dottore had laid eyes upon, not to mention the oddly black coloration. It almost resembled that of a Baikal seal, but with average-sized eyes instead. It made for quite the odd sight, really.
The Tsarista was fretting over the blob, stroking its head and muttering apologies. The Jester also looked rather apologetic all things considered, but more towards the handler.
The seal itself was making small huffing and snorting noises, whether from the nature of the injury or simply because craning its neck upwards took effort was unclear.
“Your Majesty,” Dottore greeted with a sweeping bow, before immediately kneeling in front of the seal, inspecting the wound and turning briefly to the handler. “How did this happen?” His summons were now rather clear. Who else was to treat a creature that the Tsaritsa clearly valued? The handler looked surprised, fumbling over his words.
“You see— he— it— uhm…”
“We are unsure as of right now, Dottore.” Pierro stepped in, casting the handler a notably sharp glare. “This specific seal was found off the coast near Nod Krai. It was initially being kept here per the Tsaritsa’s request, but seems to have been cut on something.”
“Yes, yes the wound tells me that much, but I would like to know the nature of the material it got cut on.” Dottore had busied himself with staunching the cut and rubbing cleaning alcohol to disinfect it. The seal naturally did not like this and began barking at Dottore, who simply rolled the blob onto its back. The creature was fat enough that this subdued it from moving much more, groans and whines aside.
“We believe it was metal from… the… habitat it was being kept in.” Rare for the Jester to stutter. Something more was afoot here.
“Well, if this thing can be transported I’d prefer performing stitches in my lab, and monitoring recovery there too. As you can imagine it won’t be terribly difficult to convert a test chamber into a safe environment for it.” The seal let out a growl that almost sounded frustrated, looking directly at the Tsaritsa.
“If that is what is required for full recovery.” She replied, gazing back at the seal almost pitifully. “He has been named Pantalone, please take good care of him. Such a fine black pelt is rare, I’d like to keep him until I can harvest his pelt.” An acceptable answer, but suspicious nonetheless. Seriously, how daft did his superiors think he was? Explaining the real situation would be significantly easier. However, feigning ignorance would give The Second a fun puzzle to solve. So he’d play along for now.
“A seal named after Pants, without legs.” Dottore hummed, turning to the handler. “Get a cart— or something to transport this thing without disturbing the patch job I did.” The handler nodded, leaving the seal off of its leash without a second thought. The seal did not make a break for it though, despite giving Dottore the death glare. “I doubt you’ll be needing this.” He muttered, all too easily sliding the collar off of its neck. It was a light purple leather, one that stood out against the dark fur. Dottore was met with another snort of air, causing the whole seals body to wobble.
The handler returned with his lab assistant, who was wheeling one of the carts they used for hauling heavy equipment. It was really just a metal flatbed. The more concerning issue was how easily his assistant got distracted by the seal. Instead of focusing on helping the poor creature they started cooing at it and patting its belly. Admittedly “Pantalone” seemed to like it, and was much more amenable to being guided onto the cart with such an enthusiastic helper. The lab assistant pet the seal's head and praised it for cooperation. Once again Pantalone let out a snort of approval at an all too timely interval. Could it understand human language? Seals were smart creatures to begin with, there were stories of fisherman who befriended them and would respond by name. This one displayed potential understanding far beyond being trained like a dog, though. He’d have to test it.
And thus, the lab assistant wheeled Pantalone back to the lab, Dottore in tow. They really did make for quite the sight. The Second had no doubt this would be the talk of the palace for quite some time, the second harbinger wheeling a black seal into his labs for treatment. But, who could refuse the Tsaritsa? It was her whim, and Dottore was all too happy to comply with her orders. On the off-chance this really was a Selkie in disguise, Dottore was quite lucky. He had his suspicions about it being at least part Selkie if it could understand human language. Perhaps the offspring of a Selkie and a normal seal? Ah, only time would tell.