It is said that selkie get their opinions from the tide. They don't think long or hard about any topic and after making a decision they are just as likely to choose the opposite within the hour. This is reflected in their stilt villages, which often appear to landlocked mortals to change significantly between visits. However, this is more likely due to selkies building on sand bars and the surf zones of constantly changing coastlines than any fault in their mentality. Buildings are forced to relocate, additional supports are added, and the village grows and shrinks to match the lay of the beach. Most visitors never notice due to the tranquil beauty of selkie structures of wood and palm, decorated with flowers, shells, and polished stone.

Selkie communities are highly adaptive and practical. houses are designed to be disassembled or floated short distances, communal platforms can be shifted with the tide, and docks are intentionally modular. Their daily routines, economic strategies, and holidays all follow lunar and tidal cycles. Selkie settlements can be found scattered along tropical and warmer coastlines with wide beaches and calm surf. They act as intermediaries, trading between merfolk and humans, ferrying information, rare sea-sourced materials, and the diplomacy that keeps coastal communities mostly peaceful.