Chapter 18: Bonded
Stirring, Nalah didn’t feel the cold and hear the crackling of a fire. She didn’t feel the thrumming vibrations of war drums and healthy body that were promised by the Hunt Mother, nor the chilling embrace of the void as some agnostics claimed there would be, assuming there was anything at all.
She felt warm. Dulled pain radiated from everywhere she had been cut or bit, but it was suppressed through something and she felt pressure on every wound. Not unpleasant, just...pressure. As if someone was gently holding each injury to assure her that they would heal. Several ribs on her right felt much less tended to, so this wasn’t a hospital nor the ship’s medical ward. A shame, seeing as it would be nice if it was all a prolonged dream after an accident.
She kept her eyes closed, smelling the air to draw out any additional details. A light scent of meat that had been fried without spices some time ago. Two scents she had never encountered before and one that tickled the back of her memory, as if she had caught a passing whiff some time ago. The smell of adrenaline, some fading traces from herself, a touch from Harrow, and a much stronger version was stained into her fur from someone else.
Wood, plants of unknown variety, sweat. A lingering taste she couldn’t place danced along her tongue. Emotions, muted but existent through the scant pheromones. Fear, urgency, determination, and a cocktail that still stirred her own with no clear direction. A cacophony of purpose and motivations. She could smell the scarred signature of Pan, a neutrality that never ceased no matter the intensity of the emotions she actually displayed. The soft pressure on her left paw eased up as someone awoke next to her, presumably from a seated position. The muted smell of relief radiated. It was Harrow, and a single eye opened to confirm it.
The room they were in was a fair size, a bit larger than their camp. Light brown wood lined the walls in flat strips and a faint yellowish color wood covered the floor, both bearing scratches and gouges of moderate use. Occasional stains suggested machines had one occupied the space some time ago and have since been scrubbed down many times but it wouldn’t quite come out. Small traces of silver on the exposed corners betrayed the humble wooden facade and told of metal underneath.
There was a silver wood shelf next to the open door, several plants and an assortment of vials and needles neatly arranged on it in various packaging, its construction was well done with no obvious nails or screws as well as looking like a recent addition. A large window behind her bed bled in ambient light with a number of sky lights about as wide as her paws allowing more direct light into the room from above, though several had been covered so that the beams didn’t shine into her eyes. She turned her eye to Harrow, who had started to blink out of her sleepy daze.
She was still dirty from the time they hadn’t gotten to wash, though still lacked any unpleasant odour. Her eyes were red, presumably from crying and strain. Her deep orange fur was stained red with blood around her shoulders, a pool of it having run down her back at some point. She was sat on a silver stool, the seat itself made from an off-white wood that curved with her modest thighs, the three legs of it were braced about half way down with cross-bars of alternating height for stability. Harrow’s face lit up when she noticed Nalah’s gaze, quickly bolting forward to embrace her. A grunt of pain at the pressure reminded her that her ribs were broken, causing her to call out in a laboured breath. “Harrow. Ribs.”
Harrow jolted back, arms held up and to the side to keep them as far away from the injury as possible. “Sorry! I’m just glad you’re awake. They said they didn’t know how long you’d be out for.”
“They?” Nalah cocked an eyebrow, shifting to her side slightly to get more comfortable. She noticed the material she laid on formed around her, slowly firming as weight accumulated on specific areas, the same color as Harrow’s seat. A cursory glance confirmed she was on a bed of some description, as well as inside a full building instead of back at the camp. “We’re at...”
“The biped’s den.” Harrow finished with a nod and forced smile. Her paws laying one on top of the other on her lap. “And we will be for a little while.”
Nalah closed her eyes and furrowed her brow while she pulled up one of her legs to a less uncomfortable angle. “’We’? I’m the injured one. You could go back and-”
“We.” Harrow cut her off firmly, raising her right leg and gesturing to it. It was wrapped in several spots with a yellow plant that seemed to bleed light and supported two straight pieces of wood that fixed her leg and foot at a specific angle. The same plant was plastered over Nalah’s own body in a few areas, but was harder to immediately notice due to the similarity in colour to her own fur.
“Beasts got you too, huh?” Nalah asked, opening both eyes now.
“No,” Harrow blushed slightly. The smell of embarrassment cut through stronger than she would have expected. “I kind of ran through a few snares on my way here. I can’t walk without a crutch for a while.” She finished by pointing to a fairly well-made example of the item against the wall, its ashen silver and precisely cut shape still alluded to its origins on the planet but spoke of much higher finesse than anyone in her pack could accomplish.
“You definitely strike me as someone who ignores their surroundings under pressure.” She huffed mirthfully, settling herself on her left elbow with a wince. “So how long have I been out?”
Harrow thought for a moment. “I passed out when I got back too, but I think a little over a sun. It was low when we got here and its currently right above us. So, either it’s been a full sun or just a longer moon.”
A set of footsteps was accompanied by a near silent partner, hushed conversation in a foreign language drew Nalah’s attention. A deep voice spoke from the doorway, shortly followed by Pan translating. “Joseph says you’ve been asleep for about fourteen hours. If that means anything.”
Nalah turned to face the entryway that was currently host to the biped who stood cross-armed and leaning against the frame, as well as Pan, who was peeking from behind him. So that was the smell she couldn’t place.
“Hours?” She sized up the biped, starting from the head and working her way down. Longer black head fur, with some riding his jaw and neck, circling around his mouth. It looked somewhat dishevelled, as if it hasn’t been tended to in a while but was still cleaned regularly. A dark brown cloth started around his shoulders, extending down to his biceps on his arms and the full length of his torso.
A woven looking blue fabric was fitted around his waist and covered the entirety of his legs that lacked the high ankle of the Lilhun. It was stained and had several small tears and frays that seemed a mix of intentional and regular wear. A leather strap with a metal buckle seemed to keep it in place, fed through small loops of fabric placed evenly around the waist. White fabric peeked over his black and dark grey foot coverings, rolled down to the ankle instead of covering higher. The feet coverings seemed to rest below the low ankle, thick rubber that had been worn down coated the bottom with small ropes to secure them to the foot. It all contrasted wildly with his pale, pinkish skin. She noticed some light black fur over his arms, though not enough to provide any real insulation. His Brown irises were surrounded by a white sclera, black and round pupils focused lazily on both of them. The eyes were mostly open, slight discoloration below them telling of some mild health deterioration and the scent spoke to a lack of sleep being the cause. Curious how she could tell so clearly.
“Measurement of time that Humans use. Twenty-four in a sun, though Joseph has stated he believes the suns here are closer to twenty-six.” Pan elaborated, nodding to confirm that Nalah had heard correctly. Pan herself looked like she had spent a week at a spa, her complexion below the fur seeming much healthier than she had ever been. The fur itself was a near pristine white and glimmered in the sun rays. She wore a fairly standard top and bottom, though made from some leather that Nalah had never seen commercially available. Some leather strips were wrapped between her fingers and over her knuckles in a way Nalah couldn’t easily follow. The usual downcast look had been replaced by a sure and forward gaze. Straightened posture with relaxed legs spoke of confidence that had been absent before. She seemed to have been undergoing exercise before coming as there was a bit of a pant that was slowly dissolving as she spoke.
“Well, that explains that, I guess.” Nalah nodded at Harrow before returning to look at Pan. “Harrow says we’ll be here ‘for a while’. How long is ‘a while’?”
Pan looked up at the ‘Human’, translating the question. Hearing his response, she turned her attention back to Nalah. “He said that you guys are free to leave as soon as you’re healed enough, but suggests resting until then. He thinks Harrow should be okay to leave in a few suns but you, Nalah, should rest for at least a ‘week’ before you start to think about it. A ‘week’ is seven suns.” She answered Nalah’s follow-up question before it was voiced.
“Seven!? We just stabilized ourselves! They need me to gather wood or they’ll freeze to death!” Nalah shouted, ignoring the pain as she tried to force herself up. A gentle yet firm hand from the Human forced her back onto the bed as he stepped forward, his steeled glare demanding she not try that again. For some reason she felt slightly compelled to obey the command, despite her outburst mere moments before. Nalah smelled the worry that oozed from him, as well as some irritation. It would have to be extremely strong emotions for her to smell them this clearly. He spoke in his language, pausing to allow Pan time to translate.
“He said that you’re more likely to die of internal bleeding from your broken ribs trying to help than you are to actually help. I agree with him, you are in no condition to walk out there, let alone strain yourself working.” She said confidently. Nalah glanced at her, a passing curiosity at the change is demeanour from a quiet and anxious female to a firm and confident one. Her scent was as useless as always, leaving her emotions unreadable.
Harrow raised a paw, asking permission to speak, as well as smelling slightly nervous by the controlled show of force. The Human nodded at her, raising his hand from its placement on Nalah’s shoulder. “How do we tell them that we’re here?”
“Joseph says that Tel was by earlier and likely seen you two in here through the window, since she left much earlier than usual.” Pan answered after a quick trade between her and the Human.
“Did you tell her what happened?”
“No, she was gone before we got a chance to talk to her.” Pan spoke quickly, not conferring with Joseph this time.
“Shit. Jax is going to lose it.” Harrow swore, the scent of anxiety coating her.
“What’s this have to do with Jax?” Nalah asked.
Harrow rubbed the bridge of her nose with a paw. “He has been waiting for a reason to storm this place for a while now. Two of his pack-mates are seen here with unexplained injuries and being ‘confined’ to a single room will give him more than enough.”
Pan’s eyes widened as she quickly translated the conversation, eliciting a groan and the smell of dissatisfaction from Joseph. “He asked how big of a threat Jax was.”
Nalah spoke up before Harrow. “Enough to take me and Sahari and still probably win. Might not live for much longer, but he’d still win.”
Joseph sighed, saying something that Pan simply shook her head at. A brief conversation between the two followed, then Joseph left the room, leaving Pan behind. Curious stares from Nalah and Harrow reminding her to translate for them. “He asked if Jax was likely to talk things over instead of ‘losing his shit’. Also, he’s going to get Violet to get you two something to eat and let Mama know you’re awake to change your bandages.”
Nalah looked at Harrow. “Insects. They patched us up.” She replied to the unvoiced query. Nalah nodded and laid on her back. She was useless until she got better, so she better hurry up and wait.
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Harrow watched as Nalah fell back asleep, still worried about their situation. No conversation about repayment nor what happened has been had yet. Pan said that Joseph wanted to let them rest before bringing anything up, but Harrow was beginning to convince herself that it was all an act. That as soon as they were about to heal, he would put them to work or take them on the spot. It would be his right, in a way, after saving their lives twice now. It wasn’t like either of them were in a position to refuse.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
She absentmindedly ran her claw over the wooden splint that held her twisted ankle, lost in thought over how the others would react to them having gone out and not coming back. Would it be met with the same guilty relief as when Pan left, happy that they each got a larger portion of the supplies but a sickness inside of them at the thought that it had cost them one of their own to get it? Would they blindly charge in here to take them by force, posing a danger to their saviour? Would she even get the chance to do anything, to explain that she was the one to ask them for help?
Her thoughts were disrupted as the massive insect known as ‘Mama’ entered the room, the form towering over all else in the confines of the space. She looked at the sleeping Nalah before turning her head and gesturing for Harrow to lay her leg on the edge of the bed. Harrow complied, a flit of thought about the blades as long as her torso were about to perform medical aid instead of piercing her from rear to head.
Mama deftly removed the wooden splints, pealing the plant off her legs to reveal shaved portions on Harrow’s legs. She hadn’t been awake for that, so the scene surprised her, but she couldn’t bring herself to be upset by it as it likely gave access for the bandages to staunch her bleeding and ensured a clean work area. There were three rings of gouged flesh going around her angle and foot, presumably she had hauled on an additional snare she hadn’t noticed in her rush. Each cut was deep but didn’t sheer any muscles or tendons, instead they mostly severed a lot of capillaries. A thin membrane was left over the cuts from the plant bandages, assisting in keeping the blood flow minimal.
Mama grabbed a few more of the illuminating plants from the shelf, cutting several into long even strips before placing them in her mouth. Harrow didn’t have time to fully process what Mama was doing before the plants were removed and secured around the injuries, the two splints replaced and secured further in place. Her shocked expression lingered, causing a laugh from Pan and a chittering sound from a purple insect that accompanied her. Harrow guessed that that would be Violet.
Both held silver trays with food and water, Violet laying hers near Nalah’s bed as Mama repeated the process on her. Pan continued the light giggle as she handed Harrow the tray. The meat smelled freshly cooked, if unseasoned, and wisps of steam flowed from each piece that had been cut into bite sized chunks. Pan walked over to the wall, crossing her arms and resting against it before talking.
“Joseph vehemently endorses the medical properties of ‘Mantis spit and glow-weed’, so you shouldn’t be too worried. He says it speeds up the recovery process.” She mirthfully quoted the Human, a light smile playing at her lips. “You two would take much longer to recover otherwise, it seems.”
Harrow gave Pan a dubious look, lingering on her before glancing down at her food and selecting a chunk to eat. “I don’t think Nalah is going to be too happy about having half her body shaved. It’s a bit of a shock.” She said pointedly.
Pan shrugged off the annoyance in Harrow’s voice, nose-blind to the lack of supporting emotion. “It’s necessary for the healroot to adhere.”
Harrow hummed in response, giving Pan an unimpressed look as she took a long drink from the bowl, emptying it in a few gulps. Violet walked up to her, refilling the bowl with a water skin she had over her shoulder before producing another bowl for Pan and filling that as well.
Pan took the offered beverage, thanking the insect who shortly left the room. Pan’s own deep gulps reminded Harrow of her somewhat strained breathing when she initially entered with Joseph, curious, she asked. “What were you and Joseph doing before you came to... The med bay?” She paused to look around and offered guess. Pan nodded in affirmative.
“We were doing combat training. Violet and I practice pretty often and spar once or twice a week.” She offered offhandedly, waving a paw to dismiss the importance of the topic. Harrow, however, nearly choked on her food for a moment, quickly swallowing the food.
“You fight with them? You?” Harrow demanded with her question; her voice incredulous.
Pan shook her head. “Just Violet. Joseph doesn’t wish to compete, so he merely guides our training.”
Harrow stared slack jawed for a moment. “But... You can’t fight! I mean, sure, you’ve been trained in basic personal deterrence, but I can’t see you actually fighting against them and still standing here.”
“I do, and am.” She stated with another shrug, uncrossing her arms and using her hips to bump herself off the wall. “It’s fun. Joseph has been teaching me techniques specifically tuned for my body.”
“Oh, so he knows a lot about your body, huh?” Harrow quipped before she could catch herself. Pan’s face turned a bright pink, mouth slightly open. Yep, don’t need a scent to catch that emotion.
“No. He took my physiology into account when adapting his teachings. He has done the same for Violet.” She spoke quickly, diverting her eyes so as not to look at Harrow and instead take interest in the wood grain of the floor.
Harrow felt the tension melt as she laughed, her worries easing at Pan’s turn in personality. “Relax, I know what you meant. Just... Had to, you know?”
Pan glared at her for a moment before giggling, nodding lightly. “So, how is the pack doing?”
“Good,” Harrow spoke between bites. “Jax just finished the shelter, it’s pretty good all around. Nalah had a decent stockpile of wood collected before we got here so they should be okay on that front for a while. The snares let us start drying our meat using the ‘drying rack’ that Tel learned how to make. Me and Tel were in charge of the snares, and Sahari is still swooning over the idea that Joseph would take over being Grand Hunter so she doesn’t have everyone's lives on her shoulder.”
Pan raised an eyebrow. “She wants Joseph to take over the pack?”
Harrow tilted her head with an ‘it’s complicated’ expression. “Sort of. She’s planning to either offer a contract or merge. It’s still uncertain but it looks like things are headed that way.”
Pan paused for a few seconds before laughing, holding a paw up to ask Harrow to wait a moment. Once she recomposed herself, she spoke through the giggles. “He wouldn’t be amenable to either, sorry to say. Not if he treats it the same as when I came as a servant.”
“Why not?” Harrow asked. “He gains either vassals or a mate. Seems like a pretty good deal to me.”
Pan shook her head, a large knowing smile plastered on her face. “He doesn’t want servants, nor people obligated to bed him. He certainly doesn’t care about the power.”
Harrow narrowed her eyes in confusion, laying down a chunk of meat she had selected. “So, he’s going to just... What? Take us out? Leave us to our own devices when we come begging?” Her voice turned sorrowful.
Pan walked up to Harrow, placing a paw on her shoulder. “Harrow, Joseph doesn’t want subservience of any type.”
“Then what does he want? What could we possibly offer? We’re slowly reaching the end of our rope and every step forward we can feel the futility.”
“He wants family. Friends. People who will do as he asks, not because he is their leader, but because they trust his judgment, and him, theirs. People who stay with him because it makes them happy to do so, not because of an obligation.” Pan explained softly.
Harrow furrowed her brow. “You speak as if you know this for a fact.”
Pan nodded. “I had this conversation with him twice already. He made it very clear that I am expected to do nothing but be respectful, but it would be appreciated if I were to assist where I am able. I thought about what he said, trying to find the dishonesty. He sounded sincere. He even smelled sincere, if a little anxious that I kept asking. Strong enough to affect me, anyway.”
Harrow snapped her head to meet Pan’s eyes. “You smelled sincerity? Anxiety? Affect you? Pan... Did...” Her voiced died out to a whisper. “Did you bond to him?”
Pan froze, her eyes wide as she thought. Her pupils expanded to swallow her yellow iris as her expression shifted from disbelief to an enraptured joy. “I think I did! Harrow! I bonded to someone!” She launched herself into Harrow, knocking the both of them to the floor. A quick lift of Harrow’s leg prevented it from being smacked against the floor as Pan started bawling with tears of joy. Mama glanced over at the two, taking a moment from her bandaging to ensure nothing big had happened before chittering and returning to her work. “I bonded! I can’t believe it. Oh, I'm so relieved, they said I couldn’t. I shouldn’t be able to!”
Thunderous footsteps preceded Joseph running into the room, looking to see what was wrong. He oozed worry enough for it to be palpable for Harrow. Pan turned to look at Joseph, her own enthusiasm faltering as his scent reached her, quickly replaced by renewed joy that it had. She got off of Harrow and threw herself onto him instead, the male being put off balance by the impact as Pan cried into his chest. A few moments ticked by until Pan pushed herself off of him, turning to Harrow with a confused expression. “Harrow, why can I bond to him?”
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Joseph was thoroughly confused. He had heard crying from the med bay and rushed to check and make sure Nalah hadn’t made her ribs worse or that Harrow hadn’t strained her ankle, he knew full well how painful that was, only to be tackled by a sobbing Pan who seemed to be overtaken by joy and was in the process of burying herself as much as possible into his t-shirt. He faltered, hovering his hands while absorbing the flurry of events that had been thrown at him. He was glad everyone seemed to be okay, but the rest of his emotions stalled at the unexpected and uncharacteristically forward embrace from the Lilhun.
Just as he was about to return the hug to reassure the overwhelmed Pan, she bluntly pushed off of him and said something to Harrow. Harrow worked herself to her feet from her flattened state, using the bed and a helping blade from Mama, before speaking back, pointing to him. Pan looked back at Joseph, taking a second to realize that she was very much still firmly placed against his body, before distancing herself with pink cheeks. “Harrow and I think I have bonded to you.” she stated flatly, wrestling her own enthusiasm down enough to speak clearly.
“Bonded... You mean like you vowed to spend your life with me or something? I thought that was a consensual thing?” Joseph asked, a little caught on the back foot at the suggestion he had somehow accidentally gotten remarried. Harrow asked something of Pan, who faltered before translating what he had said. Harrow pressed both hands into her eyes, muttering something under her breath, before looking at Pan and saying something more firmly than before. Pan looked confused for a moment before flushing pink again and taking a moment to translate it for him.
“It seems I have failed to communicate what a bond was.” She offered sheepishly.
Joseph blinked. “So... What is a bond and why are you so excited about doing it to me. I’m not going to be pregnant with alien babies, am I? I don’t think this place offers paternity leave.” He added dryly.
Pan started to speak but was cut off by Harrow interjecting something. A few trade-offs occurred before Pan continued speaking to him. “Harrow suggests that the two of you talk and I would act purely as the translator, since she is much more informed in this area than I am.”
Joseph shrugged, taking a seat against the wall across from Harrow as she spoke with Pan translating from a cross-legged seat on the floor between them. “A bond has a strong influence to den structures, but is not the sole influence. A bond, strictly speaking, is a connection between two compatible people where they can feel a portion of the other’s emotions through the pheromones they produce. This is obviously a large part of why people choose to form family units and mark each other.”
“Okay, pause. Few questions and points. Humans don’t really use pheromones; I've told Pan that already. As for questions, one,” He counted out the question on his fingers. “How do you feel the other person's emotions? Two, what is a ‘mark’ and how do you ‘mark’ someone? And three, how does Pan not know about this to the point where she presented all of them as mostly a single concept?” Pan fidgeted as she repeated the questions. Harrow rested her chin on her wrist as she answered.
“Harrow says that because I'm defective, I wouldn’t have a very instinctual understanding of a bond, nor would others explain it to me due to the condition.”
Joseph raised an eyebrow. “I know I said I wouldn’t ask, but this seems like a pretty important time to understand what the hell you two mean by ‘defective’.”
Pan answered without translating, less hesitant that she had been previously, though still not looking him in the eye. “I’m insensitive to pheromones as a whole, as well as am unable to reproduce them. I was told it’s due to developmental or genetic damage of my vomeronasal organ as well as a part of my brain that governs such functions. Most claim to be able to detect strong emotions, but only bonded individuals claim that their bodies react to them. It led to a lot of awkward social interactions in my life and difficulty finding a mate.” She finished her explanations looking crestfallen before Harrow asked something, likely a request for translation. Harrow nodded to him when Pan finished, confirming what Pan had said before speaking more.
“To answer your other questions; the body secretes the hormones and chemicals involved with the perceived emotion. If your bonded one is jubilant, for example, you would produce more oxytocin and serotonin to match the emotion somewhat. Physical sensations like pain are conveyed on a more instinctual level. There is likely more going on but Harrow says she isn’t a medical professional.” Pan amended for her.
Joseph nodded in understanding and prompted her to continue.
“As for the mark...” Pan’s cheeks flushed slightly as she looked away. “A mark is a pheromone that is produced and imparted upon the other when partners bed to designate their mate. One person may bear the mark of many as well as mark many themselves, but it is socially seen as an instinctual way to identify those that are already mated so as to prevent advances. Occasionally, those who are unable to mark others are born, so the other party would mark themselves as such. It’s also used to deny advances in environments where you wish not to pursue a relationship, but that is mostly people who are abusing the intrinsic properties for themselves.”
“Oh, like a wedding ring but for smell.” He mused. “Well, a ring in a poly relationship, I suppose.” Pan translated his explanation of what a wedding ring was after Harrow asked and confirmed that the two shared enough similarity for the comparison, though circumstances and application differed the two enough for it to be a loose one. “So, that brings us back to my first question; Why have you bonded to me? We don’t use pheromones like you guys seem to, if much at all.”
“She says that technically i shouldn’t have been able to at all, so she can not wager any concrete suggestions. As far as your secretion comment; her best guess is that your olfactory isn’t equipped to detect the pheromones of others of your kind.” Pan offered for Harrow. “Even I felt the intense worry when you came back, enough to curb my own emotions.”
“I wouldn’t say intense worry. Mama is here and would be able to handle pretty much everything I could, If not more. I would say I was more moderately concerned if anything.” He stated flatly, gesturing to the Atmo who was finishing up.
Harrow wore a knitted expression when Pan translated, biting her thumb claw in thought before mumbling something to Pan. “Then she hypothesizes that your secretions are many levels of magnitude higher than our own. Normally, Lilhuns can only detect strong emotions of one another. Average or small emotions are completely transparent. A bond skews that downwards so that they can detect even average emotional states, and anything beyond that starts effecting their own emotion. How worried were you, on a scale of one to ten?”
Joseph shrugged. “I don’t know, three? Four? Enough to jog here in case Mama needed help but not enough to freak out in any capacity.”
Harrow’s eyes widened before booming with laughter. Joseph and Pan exchanged a look before she calmed down enough to speak again. “She said it’s no wonder why I seem so much healthier, I've been given a steady dose of pheromone antidepressant since I came here.” Pan spoke a little softer. “She said your default emotional state gravitates towards mild contentment. The reason I hadn't assumed I was bonded before was that the emotional skew was directing me towards that instead of anything more intense.”
“Wait,” Joseph held up a hand. “What emotions can you guys detect?”
“Pretty much everything. We wouldn’t know what causes those emotions, not without context, really, but everything from joy, to anger, to depressed, to lustful.”
He stalled for a moment, taking and releasing a breath, taking a quick glance at Pan. “Lust?”
Harrow caught the look, roaring again and struggling to catch her breath. “Yes, it’s to ensure all participants are on the same page when it’s important.” Pan translated with her own giggle.
He tented his fingers over his nose, speaking into his cupped hands. “I am never getting peace, am I?”
“Harrow said that she can tell you’re more curious than embarrassed. As can I!” Pan added cheerfully. “She also says that you shouldn’t need to worry about the rest of them bonding, since deep trust and time spent together is required for our bodies to adjust to you and recognize you as a possibility. This is in addition to the rare rate of compatibility, making it an extremely unlikely event.”
Joseph shooed them with a wave of his hand, a smirk playing at his mouth. “So, how long does it take? What signifies deep trust?” Harrow shook her head, not needing a translator to say that she didn’t know. “How do you know if you’ve bonded to someone? Or is it just; BAM! Emotions!” Pan translated, throwing her hands slightly for effect, causing Harrow to giggle.
“It depends. Effects can be as subtle as light mood changes to as intense as fully experiencing the emotion itself. Physical manifestations have been documented in extremely influential cases but she doesn’t remember what exactly. It’s mostly subconscious, so it’s hard to actively detect. Like your heart pumping when you’re scared, you don’t really notice it in the moment.”
“That’s fair.” He conceded with a nod. Mama clicked to get his attention, pointing to Nalah to indicate that she had finished her treatment before bowing to Harrow and leaving. Nalah mumbled something as she stirred awake from her extra nap. Joseph got to his feet, offering a hand to help Pan up. “Looks like Nalah is up and ready. Let’s talk about why the hell you two were in such a state.”