I thought Furn would offer me some kind of magical process to determine which dog belonged with me, but he only stood there, patiently waiting like the dogs. So, I stepped forward.
All of them were beautiful, their silky coats in shades of gray, black, and even white. There was only one white dog, and it was beautiful. It certainly stood out from the others, but it wasn't the one I was drawn to. Maybe Mivi was haunting me, but my steps led me to a dark gray animal. I knew it was a female, just knew it. Something about her felt right.
I crouched before the animal and looked her in the eye. “I'm Galin,” I said. “I think we're meant to be together. What do you think? Would you like to be my companion?”
The dog stepped forward and sniffed me, her wet nose brushing my cheek and going into my hood to smell my hair. She nuzzled me, and I was hers. That's all it took. One brush of a long, sleek, furred face against mine, and my heart expanded yet again to welcome a new resident.
The dog sat down, pressed its body against me, and laid its head on my knee.
“Dear Gods,” Furn whispered.
The other dogs whined.
“Yes, go on, all of you. Dismissed.”
The dogs dispersed. All but mine.
I heard Furn's footsteps but couldn't look away from the dog. She, however, straightened and looked up at him.
“Well done, both of you,” Furn said.
“She called to me.”
“How do you know she's female?”
I pushed back my hood and looked up at him. “I just feel it. Am I right?”
“Yes.” Furn shook his head. “It's as if you're part Ricarri. I've never seen a dog and man align so quickly.”
“I assumed it must always be so.” I stroked the dog's head and stood up.
Furn snorted. “No. Often, I must help the buyer choose. They pick a few, and I determine which would be the best fit. Only Ricarri choose their dogs as you just did, through instinct.”
I looked down at the dog and found her staring at me. “Maybe Rontor left a little more of himself with me than I thought.”
Furn grunted. “Love can do that.”
“Love,” I murmured. Maybe it hadn't been as one-sided as I thought. Maybe Rontor did mean it when he said he careddeeply for me. And maybe it was all right to love more than one man.
“So, what shall you name her?” Furn asked.
I looked at Furn in surprise. “She doesn't have a name?”
“Not yet. That is your right.”
I looked at the dog.
She looked at me.
In my mind, I saw something glitter. Something found deep within stone, but not a rock. Something transformed by pressure from crumbling darkness into pale strength. Absently, I asked, “What's the Ricarri word for a diamond?”
Furn cocked his head at me. “It is Vashond. But if you wish to use it as a name for a female, it would be Vashana.”
“Vashana,” I murmured.
The dog yipped.
I chuckled as Furn gaped again. “Yes, that's your name, isn't it?”
