Honeyed Pasture [m] epipremnum aureum

that was a mouthful, but he wouldn't judge. she'd probably think the same of some of his own family. tytonidae, he repeated back, pronouncing each syllable with care. 

and just like her name, she proved she wasn't easy.

but he did follow.

c'mon, chi— chikni raat. the words died in his throat. that name was for coelacanth, and for her only. an ache found its way into his chest, and were it not for the enticing smell before him. . .

aditya cleared his throat. chaiyya. but that, too, was reserved, and that by alya—

suddenly consumed with self-loathing at all the women he'd forsaken, he bore down upon tytonidae, hoping to add her as well to the lengthy list of lovers won and lost.

but there was no room left in his heart for love.