“Hmm,” a soft hum rumbled in his throat, and the vibrations and noise intrigued their girl, who perked her ears toward his neck and stared quizzically at it. Zevulun grinned, almost wanting to make the noise to tease her curiosity again, but he was still thinking of what her mother had just said. He had named a few of his children, most plucked from the litany of names Mariael had often recited as family names their father had passed to her. Leliel. Miriella. Lior. But there were others he had drawn inspiration from names he’d heard in passing or come across during his years of travel away from the islands. Jasper. Eudora.

Trailing thoughts of family and memories, he thought of a time he and his cousin Maia were young trouble-makers running amuck together. They’d come across a small herd of multiple families coexisting and, true to their nature, hadn’t taken them long to cause trouble. There had been an older mare that had scolded him something fierce, and remembering her made him grin a little deeper. She’d been a fiery thing and frightening in the moment but, years later, the entire ordeal seemed comical. That mare was one of many who’d tried and failed to knock sense into Zevulun’s head when he was young. Perhaps naming his daughter after her could be some sort of overdue apology or metaphorical extension of an olive branch to the mare’s memory.

“What do you think of Dolores?” Zevulun asked, “I don’t think I’ve heard a name like that around these islands.”

After he’d asked, his gaze drifted back toward their daughter, who’d decided the warm bodies of her parents were lovely to be sheltered by, but no longer interesting to look at. She had her little nose pointed up at the sky, seemingly fascinated by it. “Curious one, isn’t she?” He asked with another smile. “Something tells me we’re going to have our hands full keeping an eye on this one once she gets her legs under her and can go exploring.” His smile didn’t fall away as he said it, instead, it only seemed to settle more concretely. The thought of chasing after their inquisitive little girl was a lovely one, and he could only hope there were many moments like that in the near future.