Ravensblood Forest I Will Fall Asleep

The youth is quick to stop all movement when she notes the stranger refer to the Sea as a he. She smiles, her entire being reminiscent of a Southerner bringing their palm to their heart, shaking her head, and cooing, Oh, bless your dear heart. In her eyes, the girl did not know any better. Some were new, and this was what Leucothoë believed. For the moment, she did not think ill of the other. She corrected her politely, not knowing that the other had been brought to believe the Sea was a male in gender.

She, she corrects gently, Mother Moon and Mother Sea are both women. We are born of Her womb, expelled from Her depths. This she said with a nod, reciting words told to her thousands of times with the conviction of one who would not be told otherwise. Leucothoë thought herself the teacher in this moment; but the Mother would not forgive her if she allowed the other to refer to Her as, well, a he. Leucothoë was friendly in her explanation, her tail wagging slightly, happy to share this invaluable knowledge with the other.

Leucothoë nods at the other. She would take her. As Leucothoë was corrected, she grimaces—not at the others explanation, but at being wrong—and listens closely. Selkies. When the other finishes, Leucothoë finds herself wanting to know more. Selkies. I have not heard of your kind, Leucothoë admits, but also does not pry. Perhaps if the other would have wanted her to know, she would have shared more. What would happen if you were to lose it? Or, if it were taken? Would she never be able to return to the Sea? Would she be barred from it, forever? Internally she shudders at the thought.