Kalanthia regards her cub seriously, her body-language hard to decipher. Her tail has stopped lashing; her ears are no longer pinned back. Her hackles are still somewhat raised, but not as much as they were. While her domain is still present, it’s not pressing as much against me as it was before, and is far less sharp.

Is this the calm before the storm? The moment of consideration before she decides to eliminate me once and for all, or is she actually being convinced to allow this?

Markus Wolfe, Kalanthia starts, and it takes me a moment to realise that she’s speaking directly to me this time. If you continue to hold the chain you have wrapped around my cub, what will you do with it?

A brief moment of glee sweeps through me – she is genuinely considering letting the status quo continue. Then I quench it, focussing on her actual question.

“You mean, what will I do with Lathani?” I clarify.

Yes.

“Well, I’ll treat her the same as any of our party. As one of us,” I offer.

Expand, Kalanthia orders, her tone implacable. I bridle a little inside at her high-handedness, but oblige: this is no time to get offended.

“I’m not sure what to tell you,” I confess. “My Bound are my companions, but not only that. We’re a team, a…family, of sorts. It’s not just about helping me, but us all helping each other. We offer each other advice, and I take it as much as I give it. We help each other get stronger, sharing resources and time. We hunt together, and face enemies together, either in small groups or with everyone present. You saw what happened when Fenrir was taken – we went after him and saved him.”

And many others, I notice, Kalanthia comments dryly. I incline my head in a brief nod.

“Yes, because I couldn’t leave all the other creatures who were there to die.”

Don’t pretend that you acted purely out of a sense of altruism, Kalanthia chides me. I’ve been in your memories; I’ve seen your thoughts.

“Then you’ll know that those who chose not to form a Bond with me were allowed to go their way after I got the larvae out,” I point out, a little piqued. “And that I did not put any demands in the Bonds I offered regarding the permanency of the Bonds themselves. They chose that themselves. I’m not denying that I sought to find some element of benefit for myself and my group, but I still benefited the creatures more than I have yet benefitted myself. And you’re a fine one to talk about that – did you not want to wipe out an entire group of creatures to keep your cub safe?”

That seems to silence her as she doesn’t respond for a few moments, her tail-tip flicking, her eyes piercing.

You swear to protect Lathani, while she remains under your care? The question is unsurprising except in that it indicates that Kalanthia is on the point of accepting our Bond.

“As much as possible, I do,” I say. “I cannot guarantee her safety anymore than you can,” I warn, “but I recognise that the Bonds mean that the lives of my party are held in my hands. I do my best to keep them safe, even when that means letting them face danger: only by becoming stronger can they keep themselves safe.” Thank you Spike for teaching me that. May your memory mean that I don’t make the same mistake again. “I think you understand that,” I say shrewdly.

I do, the adult nunda sighs. It is the nature of the world: those who do not challenge themselves cannot advance. And it is with advancement that we protect ourselves and lengthen our lives, making ourselves more able to face the next challenge. She pauses for a moment, eyeing me. But what will happen when you must leave this world? If the connection between the two of you must be sundered in less than a cycle, why not break it now; it would be less harmful.

I hesitate. She has a good point there, one I haven’t actually considered up until now. What will happen in a year’s time? I’ve been so focussed on working out ways to survive the year at all that I’ve barely given any thought to what happens at the end of it.

Nicholas sent me a Tamer Class stone; he must know that I would create Bonds with creatures. So surely that means whatever I’m gathering Energy for takes into account the Bonds I make?

Except that the Energy I must gather appears to be static: despite forming twenty new Bonds, I’m still sitting at eighty-four percent progress towards my debt. Nicholas talked about the power to move me through worlds being great, hence why he made it as part of my ‘test’. In that case, wouldn’t pulling other creatures through space be even more demanding?

So the fact that it’s static, does that mean that all Bonds will be broken when I leave here? Willingly or not. A bolt of fear goes through me at the thought – arriving once more in an unfamiliar land with no one else, losing those I have come to care for once again.

But surely Nicholas wouldn’t expect that? Wouldn’t expect me to either put time and effort into Bonds and then abandon them at the drop of a hat? Or not even use the two core Skills of my Class?

Then again, I don’t know enough about how magic works to even begin to guess. Maybe establishing the connection takes the most Energy, not actually transporting me. Perhaps it is more like a bus than a bicycle: the majority of the ‘fuel’ goes into simply moving the vehicle; the number of passengers on board is relatively immaterial.

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“I don’t know,” I admit to Kalanthia out loud. “I don’t know how the transportation system will work. I don’t know how many of my Bound I’ll be able to bring with me, if any. But I can’t let that control me,” I decide, putting words to my thoughts as I process them. “If it turns out that I can’t bring anyone with me? Yeah, that’s really going to suck, but if I can leave everyone stronger, longer lived, and more able to face the future and achieve their objectives? Then that’s better than assuming the worst and just breaking all the Bonds now, right?”

Kalanthia tilts her head to one side.

And what if the Bond is not sundered at that point? Would you take Lathani with you into the next world? Force her to leave me?

I suck in a breath, having not thought of that either. My mind races, I look at Lathani herself. She doesn’t seem to have any idea of the question I’ve just been posed, though seems rather anxious about the conversation. I don’t blame her: I am too.

“I think that by that point, it would have to be Lathani’s decision,” I say slowly. “I don’t want to force her to choose between me and a parent, I never want to do that,” I emphasise, looking at Kalanthia.

After all, that’s one major reason for me coming back, despite knowing that the mother nunda would take the Bond between us badly. I risked my life – technically am still on the knife’s edge – to offer Lathani and Kalanthia the opportunity to remain together even after the juvenile nunda had decided to Bond so deeply with me.

“However,” I continue, “it’s true that I will be leaving this world at the end of the year, which guarantees that either the Bond will be broken by necessity, or she will have to choose whether to continue with me or stay with you.” I shift to my knees, then reach out to cup Lathani’s neck. “Lathani, did you hear enough of what we’ve been talking about to understand?”

I did, she confirms. Mother wants me to stay with her, to break our Bond so that I will not be hurt later.

“Yes, and if it turns out that you can come with me to where I’m going, you will then have to make a choice of who to go with.”

It’s easy, she says, sounding like it should be obvious. I frown.

“What do you mean?”

If mother comes with us, I need make no choice, she says, with the emotional equivalent of an eyeroll, in typical teenage style.

“I doubt that even if my Bound can come with me, that anyone else will be able to,” I comment, my eyebrow raised.

Then Bond with mother, Lathani, suggests earnestly, as if it’s that simple. I can’t help but laugh a little incredulously.

“Uh…” I dart a glance at Kalanthia who probably heard exactly what Lathani said, message through our connection or not. “I doubt she’d be open to that. Lathani, please think about it carefully – do you want to continue with the Bond now, despite knowing that it may forcibly be broken in less than a year’s time? Or that you may have to choose between your mother and me? You can still hunt with us, even without a Bond.”

I can’t believe that I’m arguing against having a nunda Companion, but I want to be sure that she’s not going to regret this later. Well, as much as I can now – she might say one thing now and then change her mind, but at least if we’ve broached the subject now, she’ll be hopefully more prepared when the situation occurs.

But would you let me join battles like the one we just had? Would you take me with you to face the…those who caged me?

“No,” I say without hesitation. Because it’s true – without the advantages of a Bond between us, I wouldn’t be able to trust her in dangerous situations like that.

Then I want the Bond, Lathani says firmly. I do not wish to be left back at the cave like a cub when you are doing exciting things. I wish to face those who attacked me at your side and prove that they were mistaken in what they did to me.

“We aren’t planning on committing genocide,” I warn her. “Though I fully expect some of the lizard-folk to die, I’m hoping to minimise the loss of life. If you want to Bond with me out of wanting revenge, then I suggest that we end it there.” She shakes her head firmly.

It is not just for revenge. I like feeling the emotions of you and my elders. I like the sense of connection between us. It is as I said to mother: I feel like my path lies in a different direction from most nundas. That I am not born to be a solitary predator, lonely at the apex. I crave the companionship that I have found with your group. And you have proven yourself to be a capable leader.

“That’s a good point,” I say seriously. “You have challenged me before, disobeyed me intentionally to test how I would respond. If we keep this Bond, you mustn’t do that. Moreover, you won’t be able to – the Bond will prevent it. I imagine you can sense the limitations of the Bond; don’t think that I won’t use all aspects of it if necessary.” I hope she understands what I’m saying there – if the safety of one of us is at stake, I won’t hesitate to force her to obey.

I trust you, she says simply, the words hitting me in the chest with the force of a crowbar.

As must I, Kalanthia interjects, having clearly followed the conversation closely. If Lathani is so determined to maintain the Bond, I shall not gainsay her. I am satisfied that you have not sought to chain her from malice or pure selfishness. I recognise that the second Bond happened on her instigation, without your intention. But I must trust my precious cub – the fruit of so many years of labour and dedication – to your hands, trust you to take her into dangerous situations, and give her the means of coming out of them.

Her words are solemn, her tone even more so. Once more, I feel the weight of responsibility settling on my shoulders. I push myself to my feet and look her in the eyes, treating it with the seriousness the situation deserves.

“I can only promise that I will do my best,” I say. “And surely you will still be there? You’re not going to suddenly disappear, are you?” I wonder, abruptly concerned.

Of course not. But there can only be one highest authority. That is now you.

“Then I hope you will not hesitate to give me advice or your suggestions if you think I need them,” I tell her. For the first time since we’ve returned, I feel warmth from her side of things.

With pleasure. Then her gaze narrows on me once more. And on that note, I wish to know what you are planning on doing with the vermin infesting my territory. I have stayed my claw for now, but I shall not for much longer. I frown.

“What vermin do you mean?”

Vermin like them, she answers, nodding towards where River and Catches-leaves are still tense and ready to attack or defend. My eyes widen as I realise exactly what she means.