Gangster Hybrid

Aldric and Lyriana stood quietly, watching the scene unfold.

Draven was seated, gazing down at the tiny, sleeping face of his baby sister nestled in his arms. She was so small. So peaceful. My baby sis, he thought. Big name for someone so...

He paused, turned to his mother.

"Mom... what's her name?"

His mother brought a finger to her cheek thoughtfully.

"Hmm... we haven't thought of names for either of them yet," she said gently. "We were thinking... maybe you should be the one to do that."

Draven's eyes lit up. "Me? You want me to name them? Are you sure?"

He turned toward his father, who was cradling the newborn boy.

His dad gave him a sideways look and said, "Yeah, brat."

Then, with a smirk: "Your mom and I already talked about it. It's your turn to come up with a good name for your new little brother and sister."

Draven squinted slightly. Okay... what's going on with the old man? he thought. He actually sounds kinda serious about this.

Then his father added, crossing one arm:

"I was gonna name them myself. I want to. And I still might—so don't take too long."

Ah, Draven realized. So that's what this is. He doesn't really want to give it up. He's giving me a shot... but he's ready to swoop in if I mess it up.

His dad continued, "You've got a few days before I step in and use the names I've already picked out. And let me tell you — I've got some good ones."

His mom chuckled and shook her head, gently brushing Draven's hair with her fingers.

"Don't mind your father, sweetie. He's just a little grumpy he didn't get to name them."

She smiled. "You don't have to rush. Take your time... just don't take too long, honey."

Draven looked up at her, eyes shining with quiet confidence.

"No need to worry, Mom," he said, almost proudly. "I already have names in mind."

She raised an eyebrow, a curious smile touching her lips.

"Oh? Is that so? What are they?"

With a soft grin, Draven replied:

"Elenya. That's what her name will be."

His mom repeated it slowly. "Elenya…"

Draven nodded. "'Elen' means star. And 'ya' is a suffix used to form names of days. So... Elenya."

His mom tilted her head slightly, letting the word sit on her tongue.

"Star day..." she murmured, smiling.

Draven looked between them. "What do you guys think?"

His father was the first to respond.

"That's a beautiful name. And what it means? I really like it."

Draven blinked. "Really?"

His mom added, "Yeah, honey — I love it too. It's graceful. How did you come up with such a beautiful name?"

Draven paused. It's not really a big deal, he thought. I just saw it online once and really liked it.

He was about to say "I read about it" when—

"Honey," his mom interrupted softly, "what about your little brother?"

"Huh?" Draven blinked.

"What's his name?"

His eyes widened.

Crap.