'The Hand of Sedna'

27 min read

Deviation Actions

Ysabetwordsmith's avatar
Published:
1.5K Views
Below is my entry for "A Fat Female Superhero" contest. kxhara.deviantart.com/journal/…


Naartok scooped up a handful of muddy sand.  Kesuk held out the white bowl full of water.  Naartok squeezed, muscles rippling under the copper skin of her arm, and a stream of murky liquid splashed into the bowl.  Rainbow colors flashed across the surface, glinting in the thin Alaskan sunlight.

"Test pit #10: heavy sheening, visible oil stains but no cohesive droplets," said Hamako, as she recorded their findings in the notebook.  "That's the last one for this field trip.  We're doing well on this; we'll get the college credit for sure."

"Good," said Naartok.  She flung the nearly-dry handful of muck back into the pit.  "I don't think I could take much more of this."  Around them, the beach plants sighed in the breeze and a few birds sang, but she could feel  the wrongness in the soil and the water.  They all could.  

"Miss Polzin doesn't look very comfortable either," Kesuk observed.  

Naartok followed her friend's gaze.  The teacher's aide stood a short distance down the beach, shifting restlessly from foot to foot.  "You're right," said Naartok.

"We've completed the assignment; we should get away from this sick ground," said Hamako.  "Let's head back to the bus."

Naartok lumbered up, straightening from the crouch with a grateful sigh.  Then she realized that she couldn't move her feet.  Her 300 pounds of muscle and insulating fat had driven her boots deep into the soft beach.  "Problem," she muttered.  "I seem to be sinking."

Kesuk giggled, holding a plump hand over her mouth.  "Maybe the beach wants to keep you!" she said.

Naartok rolled her eyes.  "Hamako, can you get me loose?"

Hamako scanned the area, but no other students stood near.  Carefully she spread a forcefield under Naartok's feet to keep her from sinking further.  Then she spread another one at ground level.  "All right, pull your feet out one at a time and step to your left," she said.

Naartok heaved herself onto the upper forcefield.  "Thank you," she said.  They headed for the bus, Kesuk scampering ahead, Naartok and Hamako following at a more sedate pace.  

Pakak sidled up to them, his black hair falling in his eyes.  "May I carry your notebook?" he said to Naartok.

"Hamako has it," Naartok pointed out.  

"But you can carry it for all of us," Hamako said smoothly, handing the notebook to Pakak.  He nudged his shoulder against Naartok.  She bumped him gently back, and he almost fell off the edge of the parking lot.  Naartok caught him and set him back on his feet.  He was just a little wisp of a thing.

"Heh ... guess I'm a bit clumsy," he said.

Miss Polzin sent Pakak to the back of the bus.  "A word with you girls, if I may," she said, drawing them aside.  Their teacher was tall and imposing, a solid weight of expectation.  "I noticed what you did out there."

"We know, Inna," Kesuk said, using the personal name they reserved for private time.  "Naartok was sinking, though.  Hamako had to do something."

Miss Polzin glanced down at Naartok's boots, peering over the top of her black-framed glasses.  Naartok followed her gaze.  The mud reached almost to the upper edges of the bootlegs.  "Understood, just try not to do anything too conspicuous," Miss Polzin said.

"It would've been a lot more conspicuous if you had to blast her out with a sonic pulse," Kesuk said.

"Well I didn't know the bad guys were trying to submerge the victim in quick-drying cement, so will you lay off about last summer?" Naartok grumbled.  But Kesuk's chirruping laugh brought a smile to her face anyway.  She could never stay annoyed with her friend for long.  Besides, Kesuk had gotten tangled in an anchor cable that required Naartok's super-strength to break, so they were even.

Naartok climbed into the bus.  She moved with care, acutely aware of how tiny and fragile everything was.  Gingerly she settled into the seat beside Pakak.  He was a head shorter than her and weighed barely half what she did.  She could have lifted him with one hand.  Naartok knew that Pakak adored her.  She liked him, but she worried that she might break him.  Pakak reached up and draped his arm over her shoulder.  Surely it could do no harm to let him cuddle against her.

Kesuk flung herself exuberantly into the seat in front of them, making the springs squeak and groan in protest.  For all her speed, she was plush and curvy.  Hamako sat beside her more gracefully; she was taller and looked more svelte than Kesuk but weighed even more.  Power such as theirs did not lie lightly on the body.

* * *
That night they gathered at Kesuk's house to turn their notes into a proper paper.  The special class would help them prepare for the college science program that they all coveted, but it took a lot of extra work.  Kesuk turned on the computer; her super-speed made her their preferred typist.  Hamako sat cross-legged on the floor, paging through their notes.

Kesuk's mother Chu cooked supper in the kitchen while the girls worked.  Fragrant steam drifted through the air, making Naartok's stomach growl.  There was bannock baking in the oven, and caribou steaks brought by an uncle who hunted inland.  Naartok could hear the brisk rhythm of the ulu  knife preparing vegetables.  Resolutely she dragged her mind back to their homework.

Naartok leaned over Hamako to see the research notes.  "It's hard to believe that the Exxon Valdez spill happened before we were born  and it still does so much damage to the beach," she said.

"Ajurnamat," murmured Kesuk's grandmother Ahnah, as she came into the room.  "It cannot be helped."

Anger bubbled up in Naartok, thick and black as the oil that had risen in one of their intertidal pits.  "Someone  should have helped it," she said.

"Grandma, didn't you say that you volunteered on a cleanup crew right after the spill?" Kesuk asked.

Ahnah nodded, her white braid swaying.  "Yes, I did," she said.  "We hosed down the beach with hot water to clean it.  We washed the sea birds in dish soap.  We did what we could, but there was no undoing the spill, and it was not the kind of thing even superheroes could prevent.  By the time anyone knew about it, much of the damage had already been done."

"People should be more careful," Hamako said.  "They should not make messes that they cannot clean up.  Look at what happened in Fukushima!"

"I agree," Ahnah said.  "Let us concentrate on what we can do here and now, though.  This class of yours will help you get into a good science program.  So show me your notes from today's field trip.  Maybe I can add something from my own work with the spill."

Kesuk spun around in her chair, twirling on its five wheels.  "That would be great!" she said.  "We're allowed to use interviews in writing our report."

So Hamako interviewed Ahnah about volunteering for cleanup, while Kesuk's fingers darted across the keyboard.  Naartok began collating the findings from the different test pits they had dug.

"Oh, drat!" came from the kitchen, followed by "Naartok!"

"Excuse me," said Naartok, and went into the kitchen.  

Chu was peering at the crack between the end of the counter and the refrigerator.  "I've dropped my ulu  down there again, Naartok," she said.  "Could you help?"

"Of course," said Naartok.  She picked up the refrigerator.  "Got it?"

"Yes, dear, thank you," said Chu.

It was nice to spend time with a family where enough people had super-powers that nobody had to hide theirs.  Naartok set the refrigerator back down.

"Why do you even bother using a knife?" Naartok wondered.  Chu had the beaver gift of cutting.

The older woman laughed.  "Because then my cutting boards last longer," she said.  "Go back to your homework."

Naartok juggled the numbers from their test pits.  Thoughtfully she doodled several different charts, experimenting with different ways to illustrate the data.  Hamako could pick one and turn it into a nice graphic later.

Presently Chu called them all to supper.  The caribou steaks tasted delicious, and the bannock soaked up their juices nicely.  A casserole of mixed vegetables topped with cheese was a recipe from Chu's husband George, who was working late tonight.  There was even salmonberry pie for dessert.  Naartok and Kesuk waged a brief fork duel over the last piece, which of course Kesuk won.

"Here, Naartok, you can have the leftover pie filling," Chu said, handing her a mason jar with thick pinkish preserves at the bottom.  She knew that super-strength and super-speed both burned more calories than some of the other, less physical abilities.

"Thank you," Naartok said, shamelessly grabbing the remains of the bannock to go with the preserves.

After supper, the girls went back to work on their paper.  Kesuk printed out the interview.  Then she and Naartok crouched over it with highlighters, picking out the best quotes.  Meanwhile Hamako used the computer to make illustrations.

This time when Ahnah came in, she looked so grim that the girls instantly abandoned their homework.  "We have a problem," the old woman said.  "Shell just got final approval for their arctic drilling."

Kesuk gave a sharp bark of dismay.  "But it's too dangerous," she protested.  "They obviously don't have the technology to clean up a major spill in these waters.  Look how badly BP did with the Deepwater leak, and the Gulf of Mexico is warm."

"Did you have a vision?" Naartok asked Ahnah, whose primary gift ran to clairsenses.

"No," Ahnah said, "a little bird told me."  She held out her smartphone.  "I've been keeping an eye on #savethearctic.  The bad news is spreading fast."

"Actually, there is worse news," Hamako said, tapping away at the computer.  "Look at where  they filed plans to drill."  She brought up a map on the screen.

"They have no idea what they're risking there," Naartok said.  The oil company executives would have no way  of knowing.  They weren't Alaskan.  The knowledge lay in her belly like a block of ice.

"You girls had better think of something to do about that," said Ahnah.

"We may be superheroes, but we're still only teenagers," Hamako pointed out.  "This isn't just a few people fishing out of season or trying to mug the tourists.  Shell is a major oil company.  This is something really big."

"Nobody's going to help us.  They'd be on Shell's side, because of the permit," Naartok said.  "Besides, most of the famous superheroes are white men.  White people don't care what happens to us."

"My relatives can't help being Irish!" Kesuk protested.  She was self-conscious about the way her wheat-blond hair contrasted with her copper skin, legacy of an Irish grandfather and a half-Irish father.

"Can we please not  have this fight again?" Hamako said.  She had the huge tilted eyes and pale golden skin of her Japanese father, who had fallen in love with an Inuit woman.

Naartok sighed.  It bothered her to see her people's bloodlines slowly dispersing into the wider population.  Even Inna Polzin was mostly Russian, though she carried the straight dark hair of her Aleut grandfather.  The old tensions were always there, written into their bones by ancestors on both sides of several different altercations.  Wherever the fish went, so the fishermen went, and they did not necessarily get along with each other.

Resolutely Naartok shook herself and pushed the thoughts away.  There was no point in aggravating her friends.  They needed to work together, and besides, she cared about them the same, regardless of their ancestors.  Everyone had some horrible ancestors -- one of Naartok's great-grandfathers had murdered a girl, and he  had been pure Inuit like herself.

"I'm sorry," Naartok said.  "I just meant that I don't think we have other superheroes to ask for help."

"There's Katsina," Kesuk said.

"He's Hopi," Hamako said.  "Naartok is right; he probably wouldn't come all the way up here.  Plus he has his hands full trying to keep genetically engineered corn from contaminating his people's traditional seed stock.  Oyuki is Japanese, but she's busy helping to clean up after Fukushima."

"All right, let's try to come up with a plan," Naartok said.  "This may be a bigger challenge than our previous ones, but we'll think of something."

* * *
The plan involved several stages.  First, Hamako asked her girlfriend Michi for help hacking into the Shell corporate computer system.  Michi, who was over a year older and already in college, gladly obliged.  Between Hamako's search of public information, Michi's hacking, and Ahnah's clairsenses they managed to piece together what the company officials intended to do, and where, and when.  From this they calculated how best to make contact with the relevant people.

The next stage took them to an ugly office building attached to a factory.  Shell had bought out the facilities, intending to adapt them for assembling parts that could easily be shipped north and for manufacturing other parts.  They would find the project supervisor working inside.

Kesuk tested the door.  "Locked," she said, shaking her head.

"So not a problem," Naartok said.  She casually wrung the doorknob off its flimsy aluminum stem.  Then she poked a finger into the hole and wrenched the door open.

Kesuk darted inside.  Inna followed more cautiously.  "Stay here," Inna said to the others.  We'll be right back."

"We'll be waiting," Naartok assured them.  Hamako and Ahnah nodded.  The cooling breeze plucked at their clothes but could not cut through.

They talked quietly as they waited.  Hamako reviewed the schematics for the office building, and for the ship they intended to visit shortly.  Ahnah scanned for interlopers with her clairsenses, but kept reporting all clear.

Naartok's stomach growled.

"You should eat something," Ahnah said.  She still made her own pemmican from dried meat, fat, and berries.  She pulled out a ball of the stuff wrapped in wax paper, round and wrinkled as her own body.

Naartok preferred powerbars, although she took care to tuck the plastic wrappers back into her pocket.  She felt vaguely guilty about eating something so commercial, but well, pemmican was bland  and powerbars came in chocolate.

Then came the rapid patter of feet.  Kesuk dashed along the corridor in a blur of super-speed.  Hamako cast a forcefield just in case extra speed was needed.  Kesuk eagerly flopped onto her belly and slid the rest of the way, gaining velocity from the reduced friction.  Hamako curled the end of the forcefield to catch Kesuk.

"Did you find the right guy?" Naartok asked.

"Oh, yes," Kesuk said as she bounded to her feet.  "In fact, the hardest part was going slow enough so I didn't lose him, while still evading the security guards."  She pulled three tiny bottles of energy drink from her fanny pack and chugged them.

Naartok peered down the hall.  "I don't see him.  Are you sure  you didn't lose him?"

"I thought he was right behind me!" said Kesuk.  "Well ... not too far behind, anyway."

More footsteps sounded, but it was Inna who trotted into sight.  "I locked the security guards in a closet," she said.  "They won't be getting out any time soon."  Then she looked around.  "Where is Mr. Moore?"

"I guess I better double back and look for him," Kesuk said glumly.

Just then a tall, thin man loped around the corner.  One hand pressed against his side.  Kesuk waved at him cheerily before ducking out of view.

"Come back ... here, you ..." he panted as he staggered after her.

"I don't think he's kept up with his stairmaster workouts," Kesuk said to Hamako.  "It sounds like he's been faking his sessions in the corporate gym."

Mr. Moore finally reached the doorway and sagged against the frame.  Naartok simply tucked him under her arm.  "Let's go," she said.

Hamako furled a forcefield around their whole group.  Ahnah reached out with her power of teleportation and whisked them all away to the survey vessel.

They landed softly at the stern of the ship.  Around it the water shone a brilliant blue, waves tipped with white, under the paler blue of the sky.  Naartok set Mr. Moore on his feet, and Hamako kept him contained in a forcefield.    

"Okay, this research vessel has a length of 187 feet and a maximum draft depth of 16 feet, so that's a lot of space to search," Hamako said.  "Its standard complement includes three commissioned officers, two licensed engineers, and six general crew.  It can also hold up to two dozen passengers."

"How many of those are we likely to find today?" Naartok asked.

"This early in the project, probably half the workers -- the captain and his assistant, one of the engineers, two or three crew -- but not passengers," Hamako said.  "They don't need as many people for the preliminary work."

"We can handle that many, right, Hamako?" said Kesuk.

Hamako nodded.  "I can carry that many in a forcefield, if you can get them out here where I can reach them."

Once again, Kesuk darted away to lure their opponents into the open.  The officers appeared first, to be neatly scooped up by Hamako.  Then came the crew.

The engineer announced himself with a crack of gunfire, barely missing Hamako.  He hurried to reload his rifle.  Naartok stomped hard on the metal deck, rocking the ship and knocking him off his feet.  Inna screeched a sonic blast that warped the barrel of the gun.  Hamako popped him into the forcefield with the others.

Kesuk skidded around a corner, her copper face blanched pale.  "What happened I heard a gun  is everyone okay?" she said all in one breath.

"He missed," Naartok said, jerking her head at the engineer.

"So that's where he went I couldn't find him I'm sorry I'm sorry," Kesuk panted.

"It's okay," Naartok said.  "It was a close call, but nobody got hurt.  Calm down."

Kesuk took a deep breath, then said more slowly, "That seems to be everyone on board.  Are we ready for the next phase?"

Hamako lifted her forcefield and the men inside it.  "I'm ready," she said.  

Everyone looked at Naartok.  The large girl clambered up the safety railing at the edge of the ship and sat on it.  She met the captain's eyes.  Then she kicked off into the air.

Naartok hit the water, transforming as she sank.  Now she could take her true form, her body as large and strong as her soul.  The ocean around her was vast and durable.  At last she did not have to worry about breaking  things.  A layer of insulating fat made the cold water feel quite comfortable.  The great blue whale groaned in pleasure, the world rippling into shape as her echolocation brought back a three-dimensional image.

Inna appeared, morphed into the sleek torpedo of a common dolphin.  Her sharp clicks went off like firecrackers alongside the sweeping searchbeam of Naartok's sonar.  Hamako streaked past in her harbor seal form, flying underwater.  Kesuk paddled in circles as a sea otter, chittering happily, then rolled onto her back.  The keen spiral of Ahnah's horn pierced the surface as the pure white narwhal breached and spouted.

The human men were blurred by the sphere of Hamako's forcefield and the air it held.  Naartok could just detect the faint thrum of their bodies and the hard bright pinging of the metal fillings in their teeth.  There was something else, too, thin and wavering.  Oh yes.

They were screaming.

Naartok laughed, deep and booming as a tidal wave scraping along a beach.  The men were safe inside Hamako's forcefield; they would not be injured.  But soon they would have far more to scream about than a little superpower and a dunk in the ocean.

With a graceful sweep of her flukes, Naartok turned downward.  Inna led them deeper into the water, seeking the landmarks told in the old stories.  The sunlight dimmed behind them.  The ocean floor sounded like a blend of soft, muffling sand over a crisp layer of stone.  Here and there the sharp clear shape of boulders protruded.

It was Ahnah who pointed out the correct rock, touching it with the tip of her horn.  The thing stood as high as a house.  Around it the water shimmered and hummed with something not quite sound, not quite light.  Here lay a thinning of the boundary between the ordinary world and the spirit world.

Naartok looked around at her friends.  Today they were called superheroes, but in times gone by, people with their gifts had been called shamans.  What they were about to do was dangerous.  Sometimes, what you awoke would not return to sleep again.  Of course, that very risk had brought them down here in the first place.  Still she hesitated.

Ahnah nudged her in the flank.  Naartok shook herself out of her daze.  Nobody else could move that rock.

Naartok swam into place and pressed herself against the massive boulder.  It felt different, exerting her strength down here, without the ground beneath her feet.  She had the whole ocean to push against, though, and a body dense with muscle.  Her flukes stroked through the water and her power heaved against the stone.  Slowly it rolled aside.

The water gleamed with swirls of blue and green energy.  They rippled past like the northern lights in the night sky.  Strange sounds came too, ghostly songs of whales and sonar images of countless seals.  The ocean seemed to teem with life that was not actually there.

Then She appeared, slowly emerging from the light and the
sound, dark tangles of hair hiding Her face, powerful arms that ended in odd blunt hands.  Her command throbbed through the water: Comb my hair, girl.

Kesuk swam forward, clutching the magic comb in her clever paws.  It was a lovely thing carved from walrus ivory and decorated with images of many different sea mammals.  Kesuk's family had passed it down for generations.  Now Kesuk put it to good use.  Wherever it touched, the black tresses untangled and flowed smoothly through the currents.

Come to me, She called.  Her arms waved, beckoning them.

Slowly Naartok swam into Her reach and rubbed against the scarred edges of Her palm where fingers should be but were not.  We are working to take care of the ocean and its creatures, Naartok thought.  We are trying as hard as we can!  The others, too, came forward to pay their respects.  

Suddenly the vast arms swept past, scooping up the forcefield with its cluster of cowering men.  A cavernous mouth opened.  Sharp white teeth glinted.  

If these men died, Shell would send more -- but the project would be delayed, and it might prove difficult to hire qualified help after such a loss.  Naartok wavered.  This wasn't what she had intended at all.  It wasn't what superheroes did.  She couldn't just let them die.  Naartok started forward.

Ahnah flashed past, knocking the bubble out of reach.  "Qaigit!" she clicked, the sharp consonants of Inuit transferring quite clearly in whalesong.  Naartok came as commanded, interposing her vast bulk to protect the men inside the forcefield.

Hamako swam after them.  She and Ahnah would get the fools safely back to the surface.  Inna sang, her dolphin voice a spangle of bright notes.  Naartok joined her, deep voice carrying the tune of an Inuit lullaby.  Kesuk plied the comb in long, soothing strokes.

Gradually the motion subsided.  The eerie play of light and sound began to dim.  Naartok moved to the boulder and slowly, reverently returned it to its place.  

They were alone in the ocean again.  

Far above them, the ship floated, a shadow against the faint light of the sun.  Its metal hull sounded a clear belling note when Naartok's sonar bounced off it.  She turned and swam toward the surface.  Kesuk and Inna followed her.

When they reached the ship, Hamako and Ahnah already stood on deck, back in human form.  Hamako had not yet released the men from her forcefield.  Naartok breached and transformed in the air.  Hamako scooped her up with a forcefield, then set her gently on the deck.  A moment later, Inna and Kesuk joined them.  The last forcefield popped as Hamako let go of the men.

"What was  that thing?" the captain demanded.

"And why didn't she have any fingers?" Mr. Moore said.

"That was Sedna," Naartok explained.  "According to legend, she was a beautiful maiden once.  Her father gave her to Raven as his bride, but she ran away and tried to follow her father home.  Then Raven caused a mighty storm.  In fear, Sedna's father threw her out of his canoe and chopped off her fingers when she clung to the side.  Her fingers turned into whales and seals and all the other sea mammals.  Sedna became a goddess."

"She's always angry," Kesuk added.  "I don't blame Her.  Sometimes She raises storms, or makes earthquakes, or drives away all the fish.  Then somebody has to go comb Her hair.  That makes her calm down for a little while."

"Who are you people?" the captain said, scowling at them.  He seemed less intimidated now that he stood on his own ship again.  But his crew still cringed, and the engineer tried to hide himself.

"We are the Hand of Sedna," said Ahnah.  "It is our duty to protect the ocean and all its creatures."

"Unless, you know, you'd rather deal with Her yourselves," Hamako said sweetly.  The men shuddered.

"Why are you doing this?" Mr. Moore asked.  His voice had gone quiet.

"We just told you," Naartok said.  "We are the Hand of Sedna; we protect the ocean.  You can't drill here, anywhere near here.  It's a bad idea to drill for oil at all, but in this area you'll upset Sedna for sure -- especially when you spill the oil, and you will.  So we took you down there to show you why it's not safe.  You need to find a way to kill this project, before Sedna kills the lot of you."

"She won't be sinking this ship," the captain said.

"Sedna has sunk bigger ships than this," Inna said.  "Do not think your technology will save you."  The captain blanched.  These were hazardous waters.

"Enough," Mr. Moore said, and the captain stopped arguing with them.  He turned to Naartok.  "You brought me here; I expect you to return me to my office when you're through."

Naartok sighed.  If the trip hadn't made enough of an impression on him, mere words certainly would not.  "We're through," she said.

Ahnah teleported them back to the compound where they had found Mr. Moore.  "Think about what you have seen, young man," she advised.  He was hardly young, but Ahnah was much older.

"I liked my job," Mr. Moore said abruptly.  "I'll miss it."  He shook his head.  "I'm not stupid enough to go drilling next to that.  I'd sooner risk puncturing a live volcano.  I'll have to falsify some of the survey results and rig a few other things to indicate this as unsuitable territory, and that's going to get me fired for not following through on the development plans."

"A wise decision," Ahnah said.  "Perhaps you will find a better job."

Mr. Moore gave her a short nod and then disappeared into the building.  Naartok pushed the door closed behind him.  She bent the discarded doorknob into a wedge to hold it shut until someone could repair it.

"I really hope this works," Hamako said.


"Well, we tried," Naartok said.  "That's all anyone can do."
"Tayma," Ahnah said firmly, "That's all.  If this does not work, we will think of something else."  Everyone nodded.

* * *
Everyone gathered at Kesuk's house for a celebratory party, and they had a lot to celebrate.  Naartok, Hamako, and Kesuk had their college acceptance letters.  Pakak had lined up an internship at a company that supplied wilderness guides to tourists and scientists.  

Even Hamako's girlfriend Michi was visiting for the weekend, with news about green energy.  "Several companies in the field are looking for opportunities in Alaska, because drilling for oil has gotten really  unpopular after the Deepwater Horizon disaster," she said.  "The computer science department is all over these terrific programs to predict what kind of yield the different technologies could produce up here."  Michi showed a few examples on her laptop.  "See, we have wind on the coasts, geothermal heat near the hot springs, and solar everywhere during the summer months."

"Oyuki did a documentary on green energy in Japan recently," Hamako added.  "I think Japan has had it with nuclear reactors."

"Good," Naartok said firmly.  Then she thought about another story she'd been following.  "I think we should try getting in touch with Oyuki.  There are First Nations people protesting the tar sands and pipelines and drilling, all kinds of things.  If we can get people to cooperate on green energy plans, we might manage to overwhelm the opposition with alternative resources."

"That's a good idea," Ahnah said.  Just then, her smartphone whistled the sweet notes of a song sparrow.  She glanced at it and smiled.  "According to #savethearctic,  Shell just cancelled the drilling plan for our area in hopes of finding a more promising oil field elsewhere."  Cheers filled the room.

"I guess that means Mr. Moore is out of work," Kesuk said.  "I didn't really like him, but he came through anyhow."

"I still have his home email address from when we hacked his company database," Hamako said.  "I'll send him the information about the companies researching green energy here -- maybe he can find a new job with one of them."

"This calls for cake," said Kesuk's mother Chu.  From the kitchen she brought a three-layer chocolate cake frosted in dark chocolate, and a cheesecake topped with lingonberry preserves.

Pakak hurried to scoot the heavy coffee table into position.  He'd been lifting weights.  Naartok grinned at that; he wasn't quite the wisp he was before, with his muscles starting to show.  Springs creaked faintly as she sat down next to him.  Kesuk's family had a hide-a-bed couch so that the metal bedframe would provide extra support; it could take their combined weight.  Naartok looped an arm around Pakak and pulled him close.

Chu dished out the cake and then refilled everyone's glasses.  "To the future," she said.

Naartok clinked her cranberry juice against Pakak's glass.  "To the future," they chorused.


************************************************

Ahnah is Kesuk's grandmother and Naartok's mentor.  Her alter-form is narwhal; her super-powers include clairsenses and teleportation.  She is pure Inuit, with copper skin and straight white hair.  Her body is short and round, weighing about 275 pounds in human form.

Hamako is Naartok's friend.  Her alter-form is harbor seal; her super-powers include forcefields and moving objects with them; she also excels at cooperation.  She is half Japanese and half Inuit, with huge tilted eyes, straight black hair, and golden skin.  She is taller than Naartok, svelte, and weighs around 250 pounds in human form.

Inna Polzin is a classroom aide.  Her alter-form is common dolphin; her super-powers are sonic and she has high intelligence.  She is mostly Russian, with an Aleut grandfather; she has straight dark hair and fair skin, and she wears black-framed glasses.  Her body is the tallest, svelte, and weighs about 200 pounds in human form.

Kesuk is Ahnah's granddaughter and Naartok's friend.  Her alter-form is sea otter; her super-powers focus on speed and tool use.  She is also the clown of the group.  She is three-quarters Irish and one-quarter Inuit, with straight wheat-blond hair and copper skin.  Her body is on the short side of average, and curvy, weighing around 175 pounds in human form.

Naartok is the most powerful and the younger girls look up to her.  Her alter-form is blue whale; super-powers include strength and endurance.  She has a temper.  She is pure Inuit, with copper skin and straight black hair.  Her body is short and round, weighing about 300 pounds in human form.
© 2012 - 2024 Ysabetwordsmith
Comments1
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
RobynRose's avatar
entry recieved!