She trudged through the snow, rather pleased that the depth of the banks weren't nearly as deep as she had expected. Still, the biting cold was ferocious, forcing her gait to hasten, trying her best to speed the entire operation, not simply for her own sake, but for whomever was out here in this madness. It wasn't the first time she'd done this, nor the second or third - each time the result of wayward adventurers or hikers, all with rather vapid excuses for their being out here. Maybe this one would be different, though Eilidh didn't have high expectations; three idiot men, this being the fourth - all believing themselves better than the elements.

"Alright, you little-" Eilidh grumbled to herself, fueling herself with her abject irritation as she approached the dither in the hill where she supposed she had seen the figure collapse, raising her eyes to examine the immediate area, speaking to herself rather than expecting a reply, "Where are you...?"

Tarpaulin and musket at her side, Eilidh felt her hand began to numb. Her eyes tensed, finding nothing, though, on a hunch, recalling the figure's collapse. She lowered her eyes, stepping forward and examining the ground as best she could as the flurry overtook her vision, until she found the faintest trail of a path, like somebody having dragged themselves across the snow bank.

"Gotcha," Eilidh quickly turned back toward her home, catching the cozy glimpse of firelight in the distance, knowing the man had almost certainly been approaching her. She followed the trail, increasing her speed as the snow collected atop the cylindrical divot, covering the tracks, her lips twisting in frustration. Her steps grew even quicker, nearly running into one another until-

Her eyes widened. There, in the ground, beneath the thinnest sheet of ice, concealed within what appeared to have been an alcove that had once been home to a puddle before the freeze settled in, lay what appeared to be-

"A seal?" Eilidh's eyes went narrow, wholly shocked by the sight. She looked around, dropping the tarpaulin and raising her musket, the situation so incredibly beyond the pale, she supposed it had been a trap of sorts. A moment later, she sighed, recognizing the impending frostbite threatening her extremities, returning to the creature trapped within the shallow body of water than had frozen over, trying to work the logistics in her mind when, not moments earlier, there had been a creature walking, stumbling, and collapsing here.

She spun the musket around, shaking her head as she cursed in exasperation, "Gods damn..." Without a moment to spare, she began slamming the butt of the rifle into the sheet of ice, careful not to hit the seal, repeating her blows as the icy surface began to crackle under the weight of her work. Eilidh's face winced angrily as she raised the gun, throwing her weight into each volley, again and again, until finally-

Nearly falling over as the musket flew into the puddle, Eilidh collected herself, reaching for the tarpaulin and muttering aloud, stretching the hearty material out and grabbing the creature's tail, rather roughly yanking it and dragging it onto the tarp, "Okay, you fucking- Gods you're heavy!"

She finally tugged the seal onto the tarpaulin, falling onto her ass once it breached the edge of the alcove, cursing to herself as she slowly forced herself up to her feet, "What the fuck are you eating down there?!" She glanced over her shoulder toward Loch Lomond, her brow furrowed for a moment before carrying on, the luxury of time not at all on her side. She grabbed the edge of the tarp and began pulling the animal behind her. "I don't think I've ever seen a seal in the Loch? Where are you from?"

As though expecting a reply, she caught a stare over her shoulder as she pulled, glancing at the seals hefty body for such a small thing, its spotted grey pelt nearly acting in camouflage amidst the ferocious, dark snow of the encroaching darkness.

"Surely you're not supposed to be hibernating in a frozen pond- thing," Eilidh shook her head, "If you don't dry out or whatever, I'll get you back to the Loch after this storm, alright?"

The seal wordlessly still, it remained in place as Eilidh approached her home. She opened her door, sliding the creature inside before forcing the entryway shut once again, falling to the floor as exhaustion set in, dropping her head back over her shoulders as heavy breaths escaped her.

"Gods," she exclaimed, "This is definitely a first." She glanced at the unconscious seal. "Surely you're not a female. You'd know better."

Pulling her musket closer, Eilidh examined the butt of the rifle, frowning as she noticed the damage caused by the icy surface, turning to the seal, "Oh, well. You can pay me for whatever Finn charges me to fix this. Maybe in- fish, or whatever."

Gasping for relief from the aching pain, she forced herself to her feet before shedding her coat, stepping toward her bedroom and removing her clothes, drenched with sweat as they now were. In silent complaint, Eilidh tossed them aside before swapping to some nightwear, reaching up to work her hair into a knot.

"Fuck, Eilidh," she scolded herself as she stared at herself in a mirror, "Well, at least you're helping animals now. Surely they deserve it more."

Rolling her eyes in droll revelation, she collected herself before resigning herself to the task at hand, needing to somehow prepare, somehow, for a seal sleepover. Eilidh stepped out from her bedroom, turning to where she had dropped the tarpaulin, thinking on her feet as best she could.

"Okay-" she thought to herself, "Okay... Okay-" Unable to conjure much of anything resembling a coherent thought, she simply wondered aloud what might have compelled such a creature to come ashore in such weather, "Food? No, you eat fish, right? Shelter? No. Rabies?" Her teeth tensed at the possibility.

"Injury?" she tilted her body in distant examination, running her eyes over the silky-smooth blubberous skin of the creature, unable to find anything injurous, but that didn't mean it didn't exist.

"Any other sort of distress?" she surmised, unable to truly figure out what sort of distress any sort of sea life within Lomond might ever truly experience. Surely it didn't have to purchase goods or hold a profession...

Slowly, she approached the animal, its body slowly breathing as it lay there on its side. Eilidh winced at the possibility of touching the feral being, slowly dropping to her knees beside it, giving it a once-over now that she could better examine the creature's pelt.

"Surely nobody's out hunting in this weather," she shook her head, frowning, utilizing immense care in lifting the seal's tail, "I swear, if somebody is, I'll- Oh, fuck."

Sure enough, there sat an open wound; not the most grotesque thing, but still something that caused Eilidh to shudder upon noticing. She cursed once again, rushing to her feet and rushing to her bandages, "Fucking bastards!" She returned in good order, quickly yanking free a large swatch of bandage. "Didn't even give you a chance, I bet. Monsters."

Shaking her head, she made her distaste known on her face as she scowled, quickly wrapping the bandages around the seal's tail, ensuring she covered the whole of the wound though it used up the last of her stores. Once completed, she fell back into a seated position, watching the sleeping seal with a mixture of pity and confusion, having not the faintest clue this morning that, by now, she would be party to such a thing.

"Well, you'd better be kindly," she sighed, "I don't think you're going anywhere while that's healing." Her eyes turned toward the creature. "How essential is water to you?"

Silent breathing was the reply, the seals thin whiskers fluttering as it did so.U

Eilidh turned to Elunore, "Now I know how you felt when those scale insects moved in. It wasn't fun..."

Rising to her feet, Eilidh began toward her room, pausing at the thought of the animal awakening in the middle of the night and terrorizing the room, carefully considering her next course of action.

"Oh, lord..." she dropped her shoulders, knowing her hours of sleep were to be slim, beginning the laborious process of collecting and stashing away her things for fear of a nighttime terror.