Fledgling

After the Council of Judgement is complete, the Silks and Katharine Dahlman must verbally accept their sentences in order to make them official. Although this process simply requires saying “I accept” aloud, the Silks initially refuse, before grudgingly uttering the words. They understand that spoken language has the power to affect reality and set things in motion. Likewise, Shori understands the severity of making a verbal commitment to Daniel Gordon. Without speaking the words, it is an informal intention to mate with him and his brothers; the commitment only becomes real when spoken aloud. Human compulsions must also be verbally given by an Ina in order to make them real; words literally have the power to make humans act or reveal things that they would not otherwise.

Labels also have the power to influence or reflect relationships. Wright initially gives Shori the name “Renee” to convey their close, developing relationship—and his (attempt at a) hold over her. Shori later goes by her birth name as it connects to her past, but fondly remembers being “Renee.” Later, we learn that symbionts are referred to as “[their name] sym [their Ina’s name]” when spoken or written, indicating to whom they belong. Additionally, the novel refers to its iteration of vampires as “Ina,” differentiating them from the traditional monster. Thus, the novel demonstrates that labels reveal character traits and power dynamics.

Upon waking in a cave, a vulnerable Shori survives by hunting and feeding on wild Deer. She does not know what or who she is, but instinctually knows that she needs meat to heal from her injuries. Later, when Iosif’s safe house is attacked, Shori thinks of the assailants as deer: “He was like the other deer I had killed—just prey. He was my first deer that day…It was almost a relief to use my speed and strength without worrying about hurting someone” (115-16). In dehumanizing the assailants, she dehumanizes herself. She becomes a wild animal intent on protecting her family by killing would-be predators; she is the predator, and they are her prey. In both instances, Shori listens to her Ina instincts and kills to survive. Therefore, deer highlight the lengths she will go to protect her new family. She is both human and Ina, familiar and alien; as such, deer fuel both natural sustenance and inhuman violence. Overall, killing literal and metaphorical deer shows Shori’s growing physical and emotional strength.