Selkies are skinchanger fae, able to assume the form of a seal thanks to a chimerical sealskin.
Selkies are neither fae of the Overwater (like most Kithain) nor of the Undersea (like the Merfolk or Morganed), but of the continually shifting shoreline. They are also caught between two forms: seal and human, never precisely one or the other.
They are creatures of contradictions. Playful and practical; shy and outspoken. They are highly sexual but practice neither the lusty promiscuity of the Satyrs nor the courtly love of the Sidhe. Their appeal is both sensual and romantic, and once they chose a mate, they will stay with that one until called away by their other love and other nature. A selkie is at once both seal and human, and if taken too far from the shoreline, they will pine away and their faerie portion will die.
Unlike pooka, or even other shape changers like werewolves, selkies are skin-changers. When one takes human shape, they physically put aside their sealskin. Selkie skins, like all fae things, have mortal seemings, appearing as everything from a sealskin belt or stole, to a greatcoat or even a wetsuit. A selkie's skin contains their Glamour, as well as their fae essence. If that skin is lost, stolen, or taken by force, they can use no fae magic until they regain it. If someone destroys a selkie's seal skin, their fae self will die, and the mortal may as well. Luckily, seal skins are resilient things and the life and Glamour within may only be destroyed by Cold Iron or fire. Cold iron, in fact, does no damage to a selkie's fae aspect unless it damages their sealskin, though it may still do considerable damage to their mortal form.
When a selkie dies, their sealskin is passed on to someone else, usually a kinain or someone who loves the sea, who then becomes a new selkie. The new selkie soon learns the trick of changing their skin, as well as how to pass the Glamour on to a skin of their own choosing. Occasionally a seal with selkie ancestry learns to shed its skin and take on human shape, but this is less common. Such fae are greeted with great joy, not only because of their rarity, but because their coming ashore creates a new sealskin to keep the Glamour of the kith alive.
Selkies are are only found on the coastlines. In older days, they tended to take jobs as sailors or fishermen but modern times have made surfing, sunbathing, and beach-combing far more popular. This, of course, is when they're not spending their lives as seals.
