The woman cried, wanting the simplicity of her otter life back. Yet the allure and complexity of these new senses would never allow her to be happy as the otter she was. Her stomach growled and snapped her out of self-pity. She went to a table and sat without another word. Fish beyond imagining adorned the table, and she picked one up and ripped through the flesh and tore apart the bones.
Piv put his hand on hers to slow her down. "You can't eat the bones. Just a friendly warning. It's very uncomfortable." So she ate only slightly more daintily, making sure to pick out most of the bones before finishing the meal.
Ishku gave into all the delights of the night. She ate a little bit of everything, until she ate a lot more than she should have. Feeling uncomfortably full was a strange sensation, something she could never acquire in the wild. She drank juices and spirits until her head was light, and everything made her laugh. The dancers invited her to join them. Overly long limbs flailed, a new born in comparison to the practiced performers.
Moments before dawn, Piv took her into a back room with a bed, and she took part in mating as a human woman as well. Entwined with Piv, every pleasure melted away the apprehensions.
The next morning Piv woke Ishku. Every chirp of a bird was a hammer to her skull. Piv's touch evoked cringes instead of thrills. He gave her a drink and said, "Take it. It will ease the pain." There was no humor in Ishku's heart, no matter how much Piv smirked and chuckled.
The pain from the night dulled, and Ishku got out of bed. Piv said, "I am a craftsman. I make some of the most beautiful jewelry in all Jaya, and my creations are worn by nobility and priests. You are the most beautiful of our clan, and your heart is immense. They say you would delight in children, and I need children. Will you be my mate?"
The formality didn't exist in nature. Ishku's father and mother met, it felt natural, and mother was added to his harem. Pairing led to horrible scarification on her face. Yet here, Piv spewed words with little meaning to Ishku, but they seemed kind and considerate.
"I would be honored."
MAIDENS TOOK ISHKU to the temple courtyard and dressed her in a red sari with golden threads at the trim to make a pattern appropriate for the otter clan. Henna marked along her arms and on her forehead, creating elaborate patterns, which intimidated the poor bride. Delicate gold links formed a circlet which adorned her head. A broach sporting a massive emerald, sapphire, ruby, and diamond, nestled in her hair. Pearls wrapped around her neck.
One of the handmaidens said, "This is all crafted by your soon to be husband, Piv. He is beyond talented, and with you, beyond affectionate. You two will have a beautiful life filled with making lots of children."
Ishku blushed as she went on to think of Piv's body, then her and the girls giggled.
When Ishku was fully decorated, they escorted her outside. There was a canopy tethered to branches. Below the canopy there was a fire, a mound of rocks, a bowl of water, and a bowl with smoldering incense. Piv rested under the canopy in front of the four elements, and Ishku was led to join him, sitting elegantly on the floor.
Piv whispered, "You look more beautiful every time I see you."
"You've seen me twice," she said, smirking. "I fear I'm marrying a flatterer."
"You are marrying a craftsman and a poet. May the words and jewelry I lavish you be equal to your beauty. Do you like what I made for you?"
People filed in, though Ishku knew none of them. They all sat on the ground, leaving a path in the center for the priestess to walk down. Rubek stood at the other end and winked at Ishku. The familiarity, the only face she recognized in her short time as a janaav, filled her breast with warmth.
"They are stunning, but I preferred last night." Her fingers gently brushed his. "One can feel quite lavish when wearing nothing at all." She took joy in him swallowing hard and turning red as if sunburned. It was the first time he was silent.
Rubek approached the couple. Music strummed in the background. Rubek reached the canopy and lifted her hands, "To the spirits—the Ashtadash—I present Priv and Ishku, two who walk the dharma of the otter janaav, having known life as both otter and janaav, for it is only right to mix the blood of like generations." The crowd murmured a chant. Ishku couldn't make it out, though she wasn't sure if it was because the chant was so quiet, or they used a different language.
"Do we have the consent of the spirits to marry these two?" Rubek continued.
Ishku gasped and leaned back as the four elements in front of her came to life. The water came together to form a toad, which croaked, "I consent."
The rocks cobbled together into a little statue, and the lips moved to groan, "I consent."
The wisps of incense wrapped around each other until lips formed to whisper, "I consent."
The top half of a woman with red skin came out of the fire. "I consent."
"The spirits, on behalf of the Ashtadash, bless these proceedings. Priv and Ishku, take each others hands." And so they did, though Ishku felt the incense in her nostrils, and the world blurred. Her lungs and head were not used to the poignant fragrance.
Rubek put a lotus in their cupped hands and poured oil over it. "You are anointed into your new life. May you follow the path of dharma, so that you may be reunited in all subsequent lives, until you are no longer bound to this
