Balancedbetween his tiny front paws, like an offering, is a pale green pebble
It’s notthe stone that catches my attention, but what shimmers inside it—veins of opalescent silver, threaded like vines around a pale white stone.
A ring.
Lumi stares at it,wide-eyed.
“For me?”
The otter nods enthusiastically. She gently takes the ring from him, and rubs the paw that held it.
Of all thefingers she could have chosen, she slips it onto the one humans use to signify mating.
Something warm spreads through me.
“Well,aren’t you just the forest’s cutest little jeweler?” she teases.
He lets out a happy trill,then vanishes beneath the surface in a puff of lavender-scented bubbles.
I chuckle.“Snow-otters are born of river frost and the sweetest sap from our oldest trees. They are emotional warmth-bringers, and they love to snuggle.”
“Do I name him?”she asks. “Or is he like Saevel?”
“Saevel isthe only one who comes with a name. He chose his when he was born from my soul,” I murmur.
She turnsback to the little otter, who has resurfaced nearby.
“I thinkI’ll call you Toffee,” she whispers. “You remind me of caramel. Warm, sweet, and impossible to hold onto.”
Toffee jumpsfrom the water and plants a kiss on her cheek. She wraps her arms around his tiny body, and they sit there like that— hugging, for a long moment.
“I’m goingto go back downstairs and grab your tea and your snack now that Toffee’s found you,” I say softly.
“He could have gottenthrough the window if you hadn’t boarded it up like a crazy man the other night,” she laughs.
I know she’s joking,but the image of her in this very tub... touching herself for him, flashes through my mind anyway. My chest tightens. A few bones in my spine crack under the pressure.
“Wait,”she calls out, looking up at me. “I named all the animals today. And Saevel already has a name...”
She pauses,biting her lip.
“Doesyour other form have a name? Your beast?”
I go still.
“No,Rhavari don't typically name our shifted forms. It's just... us.
“I know it's you,but it feels different,” she says softly. “When you shift... It's like meeting a different part of you.”
My chest tightens.She sees us. Understands us.
She's quiet for a moment,then shakes her head with a small, confused laugh.
“There's justthis name I can't get out of my head. Ever since you shifted earlier.” She murmurs. “I'm sorry, that was probably a silly thing for me to ask?—”
“No!”I interrupt her. “I want—what name?” My voice comes out rough. Kal’vresh mai—thrû’nak. (Impossible—she wants to name him.)
“Rhûven.”She says it hesitantly, like she's not sure if she's pronouncing it right. “I don't know where it came from. It just... keeps calling to me.”
