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1. Clint and Suzannah: Red Spitting Cobra (Naja pallida)
Clint was 12 when Zannah settled.
“The only thing more phallic,” Barney had said, “woulda been a sea cucumber.”
Clint didn't speak to her for a few days. She finally cornered him in bed one morning, hanging down from the top bunk.
"Talk to me or I will fuckin' blind you!"
"Jesus! What the hell's wrong with you?!" he spat out.
Zannah hissed. "Why are you bein' such an ass about my form?! This is the best thing that ever happened to us!"
"Lemme up." She uncoiled her tail and dropped down next to him on the mattress.
"It's bad enough I'm a freak," he said, looking at the ground and not his daemon. "Now I'm a freak with a goddamn red snake for a soul."
“Clint, don't you get it? People’ll know not to mess with us now," Zannah hissed, soft but urgent. "Clint, they’ll leave us alone.”
2. Kate and Wilber: Margay (Leopardus wiedii)
Kate's daemon was named for the first female Olympic gold medalist in archery. Yes, Kate has an autographed photo.
Wil often picks up and carries Mia's daemon by his scruff, although he's let Samson ride on his back when the baby's daemon was in a scruffless form.
3. Phil and Luna: Border Collie (Canis lupus familiaris)
Zannah was unexpectedly tactile, especially considering her species and her human. Luna discovered this the first night Phil stayed in Clint’s bed. She had settled on the floor next to the crib when Zannah slid down beside her.
“The floor's cold,” the cobra said. “Wouldn't you rather be on the bed with Phil?”
"Not enough room for the three of us,” Luna replied. "And here it'll be easier to hear the baby."
Zannah seemed to consider this. "Um, mind if I join you? 'Cause, y'know, cold floor?"
"Sure."
Luna had expected the cobra to stretch out alongside her back. She was pleasantly surprised when Zannah instead coiled up against her stomach.
4. Mia and Samson: unsettled
During Clint’s pregnancy, the cobra had usually wrapped herself around Clint’s torso. She’d hiss at anyone who got too close—reaching distance, usually. While Clint held Marian Jean for the first time, Zannah had coiled around the baby’s daemon.
Usually Mia’s daemon took the form of a beagle; but when Clint and Zannah came home Sammy shifted into a red-headed krait for two weeks.
