Despite her unexpected new form, Captain Pelagos is still considered to be an otter under Valinonian law. Hans is an otter too, because he was abandoned by his human parents and adopted by the Pelagos clan. If Hans married a luta and they wanted kits, his closest adult male relative would be asked to serve as surrogate father. That luto would be Vortex: Skritch’s biological father and Hans’ adopted father.