Lexicon:Modern/Slyva
| Slyva | |
|---|---|
| Stage | Modern CLT |
| Pronunciation | /ˈslɪ.va/ |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Etymology | from Middle slivā, from Proto sliva |
| Related words | Poena, Naev, Gyrska, Eldershore |
Slyva — the harbor beast. Long, sleek, and entirely at home in the water.
Notes
Sinuous and thick-tailed, with dense fur that sheds water and feet built for swimming. It works in family groups and cannot be persuaded to work alone, which every keeper learns early and stops fighting. Eldershore’s harbor runs on them. A Slyva group retrieves cargo dropped between hull and quay, carries light lines between vessels moored too close for a boat, checks moorings and cable below the waterline, and drives fish toward a net when there is nothing better to do. Work no person can do quickly and no other animal can do at all. Intelligent past what is convenient. A Slyva that has decided a task is finished considers the matter closed, and a group that has decided this collectively cannot be argued with by anyone. Harbor groups belong to the docks and are worked by keepers who have generally inherited the position. Households keep them too, in numbers, and a family Slyva is a pet and nothing else — it is not hired out and the suggestion would be taken poorly. Affectionate, playful past all reason, and entirely capable of opening a door it has been shown once.
A low ridge of bone runs along the spine beneath the fur, worn smooth in older animals.