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Idate didn’t like kids.
Believe him here because in all serious pure truth, he didn’t. Maybe it’s because they didn’t quite understand a lot of things yet or because simply they were all too immature for him and too playful, but one thing he knew is that he just didn’t work well with them. He’s never really liked to bully the younger ones even if their frightened reactions gave him a burst of pleasure and happiness. But he avoided that sort of situation for some reason. A mother trying to comfort a screaming child while he was terrorizing them was lame, annoying and plainly, too loud to deal with. Idate never really handled kids all that well so to say. He sometimes let the thought cross his mind how much his neice actually liked him but beyond that, he found himself wondering why the hell he was here, doing something like this for Rocma.
She didn’t ask willingly either. She went around asking for someone to please watch her little seal so she didn’t have to be worried but it seemed convineintly that no one could watch Mafuyu. And he’d met Mafuyu before as well, and the little seal didn’t seem overly fond of him on the first meeting. He was somewhat confused and thought if he did something wrong, even going as far as to ask Rocma if the kid even liked him. Rocma said Mafuyu seemingly had a neutral opinion of him and that brought Idate to believe that the little seal just didn’t care for him all that much (despite the fact she should, but if he brought that topic up in front of Rocma then he’d surely find a cigarette up his ass).
But here he was, sitting at the table, watching little Mafuyu play with some odd toys in the corner of the room. It was the same reaction as he’d gotten before; uninterested in him. Mafuyu was frightened of him before but now that she’d spoken to him and understood at the best of her ability at that age that Rocma and Idate were “friends” then she’d become more comfortable with him. Somewhat. She didn’t really seem to care whenever he visited, or if Rocma took her with her to see him at the Orca Danger Zone or if they met up anywhere else. Either way, the child was highly disinterested. It bothered him somewhat despite the fact he knew he really didn’t care.
Rocma came to him to ask if he could watch Mafuyu for the day. She didn’t explain much about where she was going but she couldn’t take Mafuyu with her, and no one else could watch her. She was sure to tact on to the end of her question that he was the very last person she’d want to ask for this, but Mafuyu couldn’t be left alone. Idate somewhat interrogated her on just exactly what she was going but it had to deal with hunting for food. Rocma didn’t give a specific location but she was sure say it was a place that she didn’t want Mafuyu coming near just yet. Idate took some convincing from her and eventually, with Rocma obviously getting irritated at him, he agreed.
Rocma had set ground rules before he even stepped foot into the house. One being the most definite that he is not to smoke around her. She doesn’t want Mafuyu getting curious and trying to play with them, so absolutely not. He asked if he could go outside and away from her for a minute or two so he could have one but Rocma said no. That nearly killed the deal with him.And two being no trying to scare her or mess with her. If Rocma came back to a crying Mafuyu cause Idate scared her then she’d kick him where it hurt and hurl him back down to his little zone. The cigarette part he wasn’t too happy about, and knowing Rocma he knew better then that when it came to the second one, so he agreed with reluctance seeing as Rocma really needed this hunting trip.
No smoking, no scaring the kid. It was going to be a long day. He could already feel a headache coming on because of the lack of nicotine.
Mafuyu was building something weird with her odd little blocks and Idate let his eyes trail around the room. It was covered in toys and such on the floor and Mafuyu had told him when he came inside that she’d clean before Rocma got home. He played along and replied, though Mafuyu had seemingly stopped listening after she said that and went into her own little world.
He frowned to himself, hoping that Rocma would walk through that door any second now. It’s been hours and she hadn’t come back. She must be doing a lot of hunting. Hopefully not getting hurt either (likely because that’s what he planned for later, but oh well).
“Mr. Idate?”
Idate’s eyes shot towards her, realizing he’d looked away at some other part of the room. The little seal looked down at the floor, not willing to look up.
“Hm?” He answered.
“Um…” She hummed, her little paws coming together in front of her. Idate waited a few seconds, watching her. He assumed she just wasn’t going to say anything until her little voice piped up again.
“I’m hungry…”
“Eh?”
“I’m…uh…I haven’t eaten in a while…”
“…Ah,” he said. He flicked his eyes out the window. It was well into the morning now, likely nearing the afternoon and Rocma showed no signs of coming back. He frowned, then glanced around the room. Rocma didn’t give him instructions for this, he thought quickly and wondered what he should do. He didn’t know if there was anything to give her in the house but likely since Rocma left to go hunting, then his chances were low.
“Your caretaker should come back with lots for you to eat,” he said, Mafuyu’s eyes meeting his for a split second before she nervously stared down at the floor.
“I’d go get you something but she might not be too happy I took you outside without her permission…"
That and someone would surely see them together and immediately think Mafuyu needed to be rescued from the big scary orca. The little seal stared up at him with big eyes, as if silently pleading for him to do something and again he wasn’t sure what to do other then just stare back. She looked somewhat upset but maybe just pouting. She shuffled to turn around back to her toys and suddenly Idate felt his chest drop because he was sure he saw her little lip quiver. Like an ‘oh shit’ moment abruptly happening. He was quick to think what to do, knowing that if that face was showing when Rocma came back then he’d be in a hell of a lot of trouble.
"Hey now, don’t get so down,” he tried. “She’ll be back soon.”
“I know.” The little seal responded. Even the tone of her voice said that she was somewhat upset. The lack of a cigarette made him obviously more irritated and on edge but he found himself restraining from telling the baby seal to deal with it. No scaring her, he reminded himself, and that was all the more reason not to go outside to find a tiny fish for her to munch on. If he came out of the house and someone saw, they’d think Mafuyu was in trouble. If he brought Mafuyu with him, they’d think he’s kidnapped her. If he went outside in general at this moment and someone saw, it’d just be a bad situation.
No one really knew the recent bonding Rocma and Idate had but those details were trivial to them. Rocma didn’t want anyone to know, and while Idate didn’t care, he supposed he understood where she was coming from on that. Somewhat.
Rocma gave him strict instructions not to leave Mafuyu alone. Idate knew those were the rules, and he considered it again: go outside with Mafuyu and get the little seal something to eat. Or more so help her catch one. Rocma had told Idate once while they were casually talking (rare, honestly) that Mafuyu couldn’t catch fish very well on her own. Rocma had to help and had to teach the baby seal many times what to do but Mafuyu couldn’t wrap her head around it most of the time. She proudly eats what she catches though is what Rocma said.
“…Hm,” Idate hummed to himself. Mafuyu didn’t look up. She placed a pointy cone on top of her blocks, her building becoming complete. He contemplated what would be worse: let the seal be upset and Rocma kick his ass when she got back or going outside and risking others seeing them together.
Idate knew better.
And before he knew it, he gave in.
xxx
“Careful,” Idate said, grabbing the little seal by her waist just to be sure she didn’t fall head first into the freezing water. He’d brought her down to his zone safely, being sure no one was looking his way whenever he did. Mafuyu brightened up a little by then, even taking Idate’s hand when he held it out to help her down the rocky mountain slope. He took it at the little seal’s pace, which wasn’t too slow. She was pretty happy whenever Idate said that they’d have to be sneaky if they wanted something to eat. The little paw in his hand felt soft. Even through his gloves he could just barely feel how soft the little paw was. He’d thought it many times before but he couldn’t get over how Mafuyu was so small.
Not in the odd way, but more so he’s never really dealt with a kid this young. He guessed in some sense he was amazed. He could hardly remember when he was just a child but seeing one and interacting with her normally was odd so to say.
“You have to be still,” Idate reminded her as her paw touched the surface of the water. “If you move then they’ll know you’re there. When you see one, snatch it up quickly.”
“Mhm,” Mafuyu responded happily. Idate glanced over his shoulder, watching up the mountain to be sure that Rocma hadn’t made a surprise return quickly.
Idate turned his attention back to her, holding her, somewhat concerned she’d slip out of his hands anyway and fall in. That’d probably be a foolproof way to make her cry and that was the last thing he wanted. The little seal’s eyes were trained on the water, focused in on the rippling movements and the things moving below. Idate knew there weren’t many fish around here due to certain circumstances (aka, his own stomach and appetite and likely why Rocma was going elsewhere to hunt) but otherwise he knew some tinier ones might be around. He just hoped one surfaced soon so Mafuyu wouldn’t be disappointed when they went back to the house.
“Oh…aha!” Mafuyu squealed, leaning even further forward. Idate tried not to grasp too hard as she jerked forward but the next second, all he could hear was something flipping out in the water and Mafuyu giggling happily. Mafuyu had something in her little paws. He peered over the tiny seal’s shoulder and sure enough, she had a very small fish in them. No bigger then the size of a gold fish but if it would do her over till Rocma got back then he’d take it.
For some reason though seeing the little fish in her hands made Idate felt successful.
“Hah, good job,” he said, the little seal paying him little mind. Despite that, he patted her on the back as she straightened herself back up. Idate watched as the baby seal ate up the very tiny fish quickly, swallowing it in one big gulp, the smile on her face never leaving as she ate it up. Idate’s eyes flicked to the mountain again, feeling oddly nervous as he reached out once more to lift the baby seal into his arms. Mafuyu seemed surprised, licking at her tiny paws before Idate settled her into a comfortable carrying position on in his arms.
“Let’s go back up,” he said, quietly adding on to the end of that for himself, “…before she kills me.”
Mafuyu nodded happily, lapping her lips and leaned her head against Idate’s shoulder. He’d just begun to walk up the mountain whenever the small seal glanced up at him.
“Mr. Idate?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you and Rocma like each other?”
He didn’t say anything right away. He could sense the big eyes staring at him in curiosity. He wondered how he should put this because “friends” wouldn’t be the right term, or anything else out there in the world. It was an odd, odd “friendship” they had going on (friends with benefits he wondered? It fit the bill somewhat).
“Lots,” he replied, making sure to give the seal a smile to reassure her. “Why do you ask?”
Mafuyu stared down at the ground below them.
“Umm…you didn’t really before…”
“Now why would you think that?”
“Rocma came back hurt a lot…said you did it to her, but she always said she made sure you were the same way. Did you guys fight lots before too?”
“We still do, kinda,” Idate replied. He wasn’t all too sure if he should be telling Mafuyu this but she seemed to already know a lot just from Rocma. “But it’s mostly just…playing around,” he said, bringing down the actual truth to a very low minimum. It wasn’t a lie either; they did it now mainly because lashing out at each other and fighting is what they had always done for fun. Before it was more 'live-or-die’ fights, the ones that he was positive Mafuyu was talking about.
“Like a game?”
“…Yes, exactly like a game.”
“Can I play too sometime?”
Idate had to hold back from snickering. “Don’t think your caretaker will be happy about that. This game gets a little rough, and she - we don’t want you hurt.” He didn’t mean to say 'we’, but he did anyway.
Mafuyu nodded, a small smile coming onto her face.
“Ooh, okay, I think I get it."
Children were always so easily convinced of things, Idate thought.
Idate said nothing in return. In fact he was expecting the seal to talk more but she said nothing. The walk up the mountain was longer the walk down but he managed skillfully even if he didn’t take this path very often. He made sure to keep a safe grip on Mafuyu, and when they got inside he’d have to remind her she couldn’t say anything about taking her out to catch a fish to eat.
Originally Idate planned to catch the fish for her but Mafuyu asked him to teach her how to catch one. It was kind of odd, teaching what’s supposed to be prey to him how to catch prey but he didn’t really view Mafuyu like that all that much weirdly enough. Of course the first time Rocma had brought Mafuyu with her he couldn’t help but wonder why she would bring a seal of all people with her when he remembered that she took care of an abandoned baby seal. Maybe it was because he associated Mafuyu with Rocma, or if in general he’s spent so much time with the kid he’s become somewhat fond of her, but either way he knew one thing:
This wasn’t like him.
Really, look at him. An orca carrying a baby seal in his arms up a mountain after he’s taken her to fish. The orca really wants a smoke but because of the baby seal he won’t. He’s got other things to do but because a polar bear asked him to, he’s watching the baby seal for her. It was really ridiculous over all and he couldn’t help but think he’s changed a little. He’s just as fucked up as before, no doubt, as his ideas of fun haven’t left him but he couldn’t really bring himself to believe he was doing all of this.
When they reached the house and Idate pushed the door open and walked inside, he went to go put Mafuyu down when he realized she wasn’t stirring. He glanced down at her face and realized her eyes had shut, and a paw was placed over her mouth. Her breathing was soft and her body was relaxed against Idate’s.
She fell asleep.
Idate didn’t know what to do again. He wondered briefly if he should go lay her down on the bed but for a split second he - and get this - actually feared he’d wake her up. He guessed eating something put her at ease and of course after all good meals you’d have to have a great nap. He considered once more perhaps laying her at least somewhere comfy but he stopped himself before he did so. He almost saw it as a chance to go smoke seeing as she wouldn’t see him but otherwise he decided that maybe letting the little seal cling to him while she slept wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
”…This isn’t right,“ he mumbled to himself. Although he agreed with himself, he also didn’t find himself rejecting the idea.
So he slowly sat himself with Mafuyu still clinging to him on the couch. He was stiff and careful of movement and only stopped when Mafuyu stirred a little herself but resumed snuggling his shoulder and her nap.
Idate sighed, tilting his head back to rest comfortably to rest against the back of the couch. And once more he thought this isn’t right, but he was also quick to think:
Maybe this wasn’t so terrible.
xxx
Idate was woken up when a small source of heat was being pulled off of his side. When he opened his eyes, jolting awake, a familiar polar bear gathered the small, now awake seal into her arms, brushing some of her now messy hair into more neat places as she gave Idate a look.
"I can guess you didn’t screw up somehow,” she said to him. Idate rolled his eyes, rubbing at his forehead. He couldn’t quite justify how long he’d been out but it hadn’t been too long he concluded now that he looked outside to bright daylight.
“…Yep. Guess I didn’t.”
“Didn’t think you’d actually do it.”
“I did. Wasn’t that hard,” he replied, though soon paused before he let anything else come out of his mouth. Rocma waited for him to say something else; seeing his hesitance made her pause.
“…She ain’t a bad kid,” Idate said finally. “She’ll give me a good one up the head someday, probably.”
“Won’t doubt it. Anyone would take that chance,”
“Well aren’t you in a great mood.” He teased as he let his head roll back agaisnt the comfortable position it had been on the back of the couch. He supposed he could be honest just this once and he had no doubt about it either; that kid could probably knock him out one day if she tried hard enough. He was kind of anxious to see it.
“Shut it. And, Idate, why are her arms wet?”
Idate’s eyes shot open. Rocma glanced at him for an answer, waiting, though it soon registered in Idate might have over looked a small detail when he took her fishing earlier.
Shit.