Civet
A small, nocturnal mammal that produces a strong musk — a private presence whose mark outlives the encounter.
A civet in a dream is the dream's image of a small, private presence whose mark on a room outlives the encounter. Civets move at night and leave a scent that has been used for centuries in perfume. The dream brings the civet when someone in your life — possibly you — has been around briefly and quietly, and the trace of that passing is now what the room is organised around. A civet seen at the edge of the lamplight is the dream affirming the discreet presence. A civet whose musk has filled the whole house is the dream noting that the small private mark has become the dominant signal, and the room is no longer reading anything else.