Chapter Eighteen: A Question of Species
Dginnie went straight to her adviser after lunch.
Adviser Merrow listened to her explanation with admirable patience.
When Dginnie finished, the adviser brought up her compatibility profile.
"Your scent profile has indeed become strongly associated with Kael Veyr."
Dginnie wanted to disappear.
"Can I fix it?"
"Certainly. Scent association is not legally equivalent to a matebond. However, it may influence how other beastmen interpret your relationship."
"How?"
"Some clans regard persistent scent association as a sign of established courtship. Others interpret it as evidence of a close personal bond."
"And Kael's clan?"
Adviser Merrow paused.
"Kael belongs to a particularly traditional feline lineage."
Dginnie leaned forward.
"Which one?"
The adviser smiled faintly.
"I think you should ask him."
Dginnie stared.
"You're all doing this on purpose."
"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."
"Everyone knows what species he is except me!"
Adviser Merrow's smile widened.
"Perhaps you should pay closer attention to your zoology studies."
Dginnie covered her face.
"I hate this academy."
"No, you don't."
Dginnie lowered her hands.
"You're right. I don't."
The adviser gave her a sympathetic look.
"Miss Inlost, I want you to understand something. You have not done anything wrong by accepting affection that you genuinely wanted. You are not obligated to become Kael's mate because you have allowed him to touch you, or because you have touched him."
Dginnie exhaled.
"Thank you."
"However, if you care about him, you should discuss your intentions honestly. He may have interpreted your behaviour as a sign of romantic interest."
Dginnie looked down.
"I think he has."
"Then you owe him clarity, not a commitment you aren't ready to make."
She nodded slowly.
That was fair.
She could talk to Kael.
She could explain that she had not understood the cultural implications.
She could tell him that she cared about him but was still trying to understand her own feelings.
And she could ask him what his boundaries were.
Properly this time.
She would not make assumptions.
She would not dismiss what mattered to him.
She would listen.
That evening, she found him in the common room.
He looked up as she entered.
"How was your day?"
Dginnie sat beside him.
"Complicated."
"Mine too."
She looked at his tail.
Then at his ears.
Then at his face.
"Kael?"
"Yes?"
"What species are you?"
He stared at her.
Then his mouth curved into a slow smile.
"Still trying to solve that mystery?"
"Yes."
"How's your research going?"
"Terribly."
"Perhaps you need a better textbook."
"Perhaps you need to stop being so cryptic."
He laughed.
Then he looked at her more carefully.
"What's wrong?"
Dginnie hesitated.
Then she told him about the conversation with her classmates.
She told him about the scent marking.
She told him about the mating sessions.
She told him that she had been worried she was accidentally encouraging him to expect a commitment she was not ready to make.
Kael listened.
When she finished, he was quiet for a moment.
Then he said, "You don't have to decide anything because of scent."
"But people are going to assume—"
"Let them assume."
She stared at him.
"Is it really that simple?"
"No. But their assumptions are not your responsibility."
He paused.
"And neither is my happiness."
Dginnie looked at him.
Kael's expression was gentle.
"I like you. I want to become your mate. I would be delighted if you chose me. But you don't owe me a relationship because you've accepted my affection."
She felt her throat tighten.
"Even if I've been giving you the wrong impression?"
"If you were deliberately misleading me, that would be different. But you weren't. You were learning."
He smiled faintly.
"And so was I."
Dginnie looked down at her hands.
"I don't want to hurt you."
"I know."
"I don't want to make promises I can't keep."
"Then don't."
She looked up.
Kael reached for her hand.
"Take your time, Dginnie. Decide what you want. Not what the academy wants. Not what your classmates expect. Not what you think you owe me."
His thumb moved gently across her knuckles.
"What you want."
Dginnie swallowed.
Then she nodded.
"All right."
He smiled.
"Good."
She looked at him for a moment.
Then she asked, "Can I still hug you?"
His ears perked up.
"Of course."
"And stroke your tail?"
"Certainly."
"And your ears?"
He leaned towards her.
"Please."
Dginnie laughed.
Then she hugged him.
And for the moment, that was enough.
-----------------------------
Chapter Nineteen: The Internship Trap
Internship applications opened at the beginning of the next academic term.
Dginnie had been looking forward to them.
An internship would provide practical experience, strengthen her employment prospects, and give her an opportunity to demonstrate that she was capable of working in the local financial sector.
She had spent weeks preparing her applications.
She researched companies.
She updated her portfolio.
She asked her lecturers for recommendations.
She completed aptitude assessments.
She attended interviews.
And she received offers.
Several offers.
All of them excellent.
All of them conditional.
The first company offered her a position in financial analysis.
The second offered her a place in corporate accounting.
The third offered her an internship in economic forecasting.
Each offer included a sponsorship clause.
Each sponsorship clause was tied to a matebond.
Dginnie read the first contract.
Then the second.
Then the third.
She placed them side by side on her desk.
The terms differed.
The companies differed.
The salaries differed.
But the underlying arrangement was the same.
If she accepted the internship, she would enter a formal relationship with a designated sponsor.
The sponsor would fund her studies and provide additional support.
In return, she would establish a matebond and agree to the company's family development provisions.
The contracts were legal.
They were transparent.
They were, in many respects, generous.
They were also entirely unacceptable to her.
She could not bring herself to sign.
She asked her lecturers for advice.
They sympathised.
They explained that the companies were not necessarily acting maliciously. The sponsorship model was deeply embedded in the beastman economy, particularly for students whose education had been subsidised by the state.
They suggested that she negotiate.
She tried.
The companies were willing to adjust the financial terms.
They were willing to offer more flexibility in her work schedule.
They were willing to guarantee employment after graduation.
They were not willing to remove the matebond requirement.
Dginnie returned to the suite on the evening before the acceptance deadline.
She dropped her bag onto the sofa and sat beside Kael.
He looked up from his device.
"Bad day?"
She laughed bitterly.
"Terrible day."
He set aside his work.
"Tell me."
She did.
She showed him the contracts.
She explained the offers.
She told him that she had worked so hard to get into the academy, only to discover that every available path towards her future seemed to require her to surrender control over some part of her life.
When she finished, Kael was quiet.
Then he said, "I'll arrange an internship for you."
Dginnie blinked.
"What?"
"I'll arrange an internship."
She stared at him.
"How?"
"I have contacts."
"Kael."
"Yes?"
"Is there a catch?"
He looked offended.
"Do you think I'd offer you something with a trap hidden inside?"
Dginnie hesitated.
Then she sighed.
"I don't know. Everyone else seems to."
Kael's expression softened.
He reached for her hand.
"With me, there won't be a trap."
She looked at him.
He smiled.
"But if you're willing, I would be an excellent catch."
Dginnie stared at him.
Then she burst out laughing.
"That was terrible."
"I thought it was quite good."
"It was awful."
"You're smiling."
"That doesn't make it good."
He laughed.
She leaned against him, still smiling.
For a moment, the weight of the day lifted.
Then Kael said, "Let me help you."
Dginnie looked at him.
She wanted to say no.
She wanted to insist that she could manage on her own.
She wanted to prove that she was capable of solving her problems without relying on him.
But she was tired.
And she trusted him.
And perhaps, she was beginning to understand, accepting help was not the same thing as surrendering her independence.
She nodded.
"All right."
Kael smiled.
"Good."
She glanced at his tail.
Then at his ears.
Then back at his face.
"You're still not telling me what species you are, are you?"
He laughed.
"Not yet."
Dginnie groaned.
"I am going to solve this mystery if it kills me."
"Please don't. It would make the internship arrangements considerably more complicated."
She snorted.
Then she said, "You know, for someone who claims to be a good catch, you're remarkably difficult to identify."
Kael went still.
His ears rose.
His tail puffed out.
Dginnie stared at him.
Then she blinked.
"Wait."
Kael looked at her.
She slowly sat up.
"Good catch."
His expression changed.
Dginnie looked at his ears.
His tail.
His broad shoulders.
His sharp teeth.
His excellent night vision.
His love of mountains.
His insistence on teasing her about his species.
Then she remembered the zoological database.
The snow leopard.
The enormous paws.
The long, thick tail.
The pale coat with dark markings.
Her mouth fell open.
"No."
Kael stared at her.
Dginnie pointed at him.
"You're a snow leopard."
For one perfect second, Kael did not move.
Then his entire face lit up.
"You figured it out!"
Dginnie recoiled.
"Oh, my goodness."
"You figured it out!"
His ears stood straight up.
His tail lashed happily behind him.
He looked so delighted that Dginnie could not help smiling.
"I did!"
"You actually did!"
"Yes!"
He stood so quickly that his chair slid backwards.
And then, before either of them could stop it, his beast form burst into existence.
There was a flash of light.
A rush of displaced air.
A sudden, enormous cloud of pale fur.
And where Kael had been standing, there was now a magnificent snow leopard.
He was enormous.
His coat was thick and pale, patterned with dark rosettes. His paws were broad, his ears rounded, and his tail was so long and fluffy that it nearly swept across the floor.
He blinked at her.
Dginnie stared.
The snow leopard stared back.
Then he gave a small, rumbling sound.
Dginnie's heart melted.
"Oh."
She took a step forward.
"Oh, you're adorable."
The leopard's ears twitched.
Dginnie clasped her hands together.
"You are absolutely magnificent."
He lowered his head.
She reached out cautiously.
His nose brushed her fingers.
Dginnie nearly died.
Not literally.
But she came very close.
"Can I pet you?"
The leopard looked at her.
Then he turned his head away with what she could only interpret as an extremely dignified refusal.
Dginnie gasped.
"Kael!"
The leopard's tail swished.
She narrowed her eyes.
"You are doing that on purpose."
He looked at her.
Then, with the air of a creature who had never done anything wrong in his life, he sat down.
Dginnie stared at him.
He was enormous.
He was beautiful.
He was covered in fur.
And his tail was magnificent.
She approached him cautiously.
He watched her.
She reached out and touched the fur on his shoulder.
It was unbelievably soft.
She made a small, helpless sound.
"Oh, no."
The leopard's ears perked up.
Dginnie stroked his shoulder again.
"This is worse than I expected."
He gave a low, pleased rumble.
She looked at his face.
"You can't do this to me."
The leopard blinked.
She crouched beside him.
"I have been trying to behave myself for weeks, and now you're telling me that the man I've been living with is secretly a giant, fluffy snow leopard?"
His tail swept around her.
Dginnie squeaked.
Then she laughed.
"Oh, you're terrible!"
The leopard lowered his head until his forehead rested against her shoulder.
Dginnie wrapped both arms around his neck.
She had no idea what she was doing.
She only knew that she had never wanted to hug anything so much in her life.
She stroked his fur.
She scratched gently behind one rounded ear.
His eyes closed.
His tail curled around her.
For a few glorious moments, Dginnie forgot about the academy, the scholarship, the internships, and every other problem in the universe.
There was only Kael.
And fluff.
Glorious, magnificent fluff.
Then Kael suddenly returned to human form.
Dginnie found herself staring at a very large, very naked man.
She screamed.
He laughed.
She covered her face.
"KAEL!"
"What?"
"YOUR CLOTHES!"
He looked down.
Then back at her.
"Oh."
Dginnie spread her fingers just enough to peer at him.
He noticed.
His smile widened.
"Enjoying the view?"
She made a strangled sound.
"PUT SOMETHING ON!"
"Why?"
"BECAUSE!"
He took one leisurely step towards her.
Dginnie backed up.
He took another.
She backed up again.
Soon, she found herself cornered against the wall, face blazing, hands covering most of her eyes.
Most.
Not all.
Kael noticed.
Of course he noticed.
"You said I was magnificent."
"I was talking about your beast form!"
"Are you sure?"
"YES!"
He tilted his head.
"Your fingers seem to disagree."
Dginnie made a noise that should not have been physically possible.
Then she covered her entire face.
Kael laughed.
He finally retrieved his clothes and dressed, though not before making several entirely unnecessary comments about how flattering she found him.
When he was presentable again, Dginnie emerged from behind her hands.
Her cheeks were still burning.
Kael looked at her.
His smile softened.
"Dginnie."
She swallowed.
"Yes?"
He took a breath.
"Will you become my mate?"
The question was clearly intended as teasing.
He said it lightly.
Casually.
With the same expression he might have used to ask whether she wanted another cup of tea.
But Dginnie was tired.
She was overwhelmed.
She was standing in front of the man she had come to rely on, the man whose kindness had become a constant in her life, the man whose beast form had just destroyed what remained of her ability to think rationally.
And she was tired of pretending that her feelings were simple.
So she said, "Yes."
Silence.
Kael froze.
Dginnie froze.
The room became very quiet.
Then Kael said, "What?"
Dginnie stared at him.
Her own answer seemed to arrive in her mind several seconds after she had spoken it.
She had said yes.
She had actually said yes.
Kael took a step towards her.
"Dginnie. Are you serious?"
She stared at him.
Then, in a moment of absolute panic, she rose onto her toes, pecked him on the cheek, and fled into the bathroom.
The door slammed shut.
The lock clicked.
Silence.
Outside, Kael stood motionless.
He slowly lifted a hand to his cheek.
Then he looked at the closed bathroom door.
Then he smiled.
It was the sort of smile that could have powered an entire city.
Inside the bathroom, Dginnie leaned against the door and slid to the floor.
She covered her face.
"Oh, no."
She had done it.
She had actually done it.
She had agreed to become the mate of a man whose species she had spent weeks trying to identify.
She had kissed him.
She had run away.
And she was now hiding in a bathroom like a criminal who had accidentally confessed to a spectacularly embarrassing offence.
Dginnie closed her eyes.
She needed time.
She needed water.
She needed a new brain.
Possibly a new planet.
And, above all, she needed to figure out what she actually wanted.
---------------------------
Chapter Twenty: Five Weeks
When Dginnie finally emerged from the bathroom, several hours had passed.
She had washed her face.
She had brushed her hair.
She had changed into comfortable clothes.
She had also rehearsed approximately seventeen different explanations for her behaviour.
None of them seemed adequate.
Kael was waiting outside the door.
He looked up as she emerged.
"Dginnie."
She stopped.
"Hello."
He studied her face.
"Was that a yes or a no?"
She opened her mouth.
Closed it.
Then she looked down.
"I don't know."
Kael was quiet.
She forced herself to continue.
"I meant it when I said yes. I think I did. But I was overwhelmed, and I haven't properly sorted out my feelings. I don't want to make a promise I can't keep."
He nodded slowly.
"All right."
She looked up.
"You're not angry?"
"No."
"You're not disappointed?"
"Of course I'm disappointed."
She winced.
"But I'm not angry with you."
He stepped aside, giving her room to pass.
"Dginnie, I'll arrange the internship regardless. You don't need to become my mate to receive help from me."
She stared at him.
"Really?"
"Really."
She felt a rush of relief.
Then, because she was tired and frightened and still not entirely certain whether she deserved his kindness, she said the worst possible thing.
"But you don't have to prove anything to me."
Kael went still.
Dginnie frowned.
"I mean, I don't want you to feel as though you have to arrange everything just because I said yes. I don't want you to spend money or use your connections to convince me that you're a suitable mate."
He looked at her for a long moment.
Then he said quietly, "You think I can't do it."
"No! That's not what I meant."
"You think I made an offer I can't fulfil."
"Kael—"
"Or that I'm trying to buy your answer."
Dginnie stared at him.
She had not meant that.
Not at all.
But she could see how he had interpreted her words.
She reached for his hand.
He stepped back.
The movement was small.
It hurt anyway.
"I'll arrange your internship," he said. "You can decide what you want without worrying about that."
Then he picked up his bag.
"Kael, wait."
"I have a few things to take care of."
He left.
Dginnie stood in the common room.
She stared at the door.
Then she sat down on the sofa.
For a long time, she did not move.
She had wanted time to think.
She had wanted space.
She had wanted to make sure that her feelings were genuine.
And now, because she had spoken carelessly, she had managed to make Kael believe that she did not trust him.
She covered her face.
"I am an idiot."
-----
Kael was gone for a day and a night.
Dginnie attended her lectures.
She completed her assignments.
She ate meals that tasted like cardboard.
She tried not to check her messages every five minutes.
She failed.
On the second morning, she received a message.
[I'm coming back this afternoon. Please keep your evening free.]
Dginnie stared at it.
Then she replied.
[All right.]
She spent the next several hours trying not to imagine every possible disaster.
At four o'clock, the door opened.
Kael entered.
Behind him was a neatly dressed woman carrying a briefcase.
"Miss Inlost?" the woman asked.
Dginnie stood.
"Yes?"
"I'm Mara Sen, operations manager for Veyr Strategic Resources. I've been asked to discuss an internship opportunity with you."
Dginnie stared.
Then she looked at Kael.
He stood beside the woman, looking tired but composed.
The manager continued.
"We have an opening in our financial analysis division. The position includes paid training, a competitive stipend, and the possibility of permanent employment following graduation. The role is designed to accommodate your academic schedule."
Dginnie blinked.
"Really?"
"Yes. I've brought the contract and a detailed explanation of the terms."
The woman placed her briefcase on the table.
She opened it.
For the next hour, she walked Dginnie through every section of the agreement.
The salary.
The working hours.
The responsibilities.
The confidentiality provisions.
The performance criteria.
The conditions for future employment.
There was no matebond requirement.
There was no reproductive schedule.
There was no clause giving the company control over Dginnie's personal life.
There was simply a job.
A very good job.
One that could provide the experience she needed to graduate and build her career.
Dginnie read the contract carefully.
Then she read it again.
Then she asked several questions.
The manager answered them all.
Finally, Dginnie looked at Kael.
He was watching her quietly.
She swallowed.
"Thank you."
He nodded.
"You're welcome."
She turned back to the manager.
"I'd like to accept."
"Excellent. I'll prepare the final documents."
Dginnie signed.
Her hand was steady.
For the first time in weeks, she felt as though she had taken a step towards her future without being forced to choose between her independence and her education.
When the manager left, Dginnie remained at the table.
She looked at the signed contract.
Then at Kael.
He was standing by the window.
She wanted to hug him.
She wanted to apologise.
She wanted to tell him that she trusted him.
But she also remembered that she had asked for space.
And she had promised herself that she would not rush into a decision simply because she was frightened of losing him.
So she stayed where she was.
"Thank you," she said again.
Kael looked at her.
"You're welcome, Dginnie."
His voice was gentle.
But he did not smile.
-----
The next morning, Dginnie took the contract to Adviser Merrow.
The adviser reviewed it carefully.
She checked the employment terms, the financial provisions, and the conditions attached to the internship.
Then she looked up.
"This is an excellent arrangement."
Dginnie exhaled.
"Really?"
"Yes. The terms are fair, the compensation is appropriate, and the position will provide valuable practical experience. Whoever arranged this has done you a considerable service."
Dginnie smiled.
"Kael did."
Adviser Merrow's expression softened.
"Then I must congratulate him on his thoughtfulness."
Dginnie felt her cheeks warm.
The adviser closed the folder.
"Now, I assume you'll be proceeding with the matebond registration?"
Dginnie made a noise that was not entirely human.
Adviser Merrow blinked.
"Miss Inlost?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"The matebond registration. Since you and Kael have apparently reached an understanding, I can arrange the paperwork and book you both into the next available supervised first-time mating session."
Dginnie stared at her.
Then she slowly lowered her head.
She was going to die.
She was going to die right here, in the adviser's office, and the cause of death would be excessive embarrassment.
"Adviser Merrow."
"Yes?"
"Could we please discuss literally anything else?"
The adviser regarded her for a moment.
Then she smiled.
"Of course."
Dginnie exhaled.
"Thank you."
"We can discuss the available registration appointments after lunch."
Dginnie covered her face.
"Oh, no."
A moment later, something warm and fluffy settled around her shoulders.
She froze.
Then she looked up.
Kael was standing beside her.
His tail had curled around her, forming a soft barrier between her and the rest of the room.
He looked perfectly composed.
"Sorry," he said to the adviser. "She's had a difficult morning."
Dginnie wanted the floor to open.
She also wanted to bury her face in his tail.
Unfortunately, his tail was already covering most of her face.
She took advantage of the situation.
Kael gently guided her towards the door.
"Come on."
She followed him.
Once they were outside, she looked up at him.
"Thank you."
He smiled faintly.
"You're welcome."
She hesitated.
Then she asked, "Are you angry with me?"
His expression softened.
"No."
"You're still hurt."
"A little."
She lowered her eyes.
"I'm sorry."
"I know."
He squeezed her shoulder.
"We'll talk when you're ready."
Dginnie nodded.
And for the rest of the walk back to their suite, she kept one hand curled into the fur of his tail.
-------------------------------
Chapter Twenty-One: The Space Between Them
That evening, Dginnie finally asked Kael to sit down with her.
They settled on the sofa.
For once, his tail remained curled beside him rather than around her.
The distance was small.
It felt enormous.
Dginnie clasped her hands together.
"Kael, I need to explain something."
He nodded.
"I'm listening."
"When I said yes, I wasn't lying. I wasn't trying to manipulate you, and I wasn't accepting your proposal because I wanted the internship."
He looked at her quietly.
"I know."
"I think I meant it. At least, part of me meant it. But I was overwhelmed, and I haven't had time to understand my own feelings."
She swallowed.
"I care about you. I rely on you. I trust you. I miss you when you're gone. And I think about you far more often than I probably should."
Kael's ears lifted slightly.
Dginnie looked away.
"But I don't know whether that's enough. I don't know whether I'm ready to become your mate, and I don't want to agree to something so important without being certain."
He was quiet for a moment.
Then he nodded.
"All right."
She looked up.
"You're not going to argue?"
"No."
"You're not going to tell me that I should have figured this out already?"
"No."
"You're not going to—"
"Dginnie."
She stopped.
Kael smiled faintly.
"I understand."
Her eyes stung.
She looked down.
"I think I need some distance. Just a little time to think without relying on you so much."
Kael's smile faded, but he nodded.
"All right."
"I'm not asking you to stop caring about me."
"I know."
"And I'm not saying that I don't want to be with you."
"I know that, too."
She swallowed.
"But I need to know what I want, and I don't think I can do that if I'm always sitting in your lap."
Kael stared at her.
Then he laughed.
Dginnie looked up, startled.
"I'm sorry," he said, still smiling. "It's just that you make it sound as though my lap is a recognised academic hazard."
"It is."
"Perhaps the academy should issue a warning."
"Perhaps it should."
He shook his head.
Then his expression became serious again.
"I'll respect your request. I have to leave for my placement next week anyway. I'll be away for five weeks."
Dginnie felt a sudden, uncomfortable twist in her chest.
Five weeks.
She had asked for distance.
She had not expected distance to sound quite so long.
Kael continued.
"While I'm away, you can think about what you want. I'll do the same."
She nodded.
"And when you come back?"
"We'll talk."
She looked at him.
"And if I still don't know?"
"Then we'll talk about that, too."
Dginnie stared at him.
He was making it very difficult to be sensible.
She wanted him to insist.
She wanted him to tell her that she was being foolish.
She wanted him to wrap his tail around her and promise that everything would be fine.
But he did none of those things.
He simply respected her decision.
And that, somehow, made her feelings more complicated than ever.
She rose from the sofa.
"Thank you, Kael."
He nodded.
"You're welcome."
She went to her room.
She closed the door.
Then she sat on her bed and stared at the wall.
Five weeks.
She had five weeks to figure out whether she wanted to become the mate of a very large, very fluffy snow leopard.
Five weeks to decide whether she was in love with him.
Five weeks to determine whether she could build a future with someone whose culture was so different from her own.
Five weeks to discover whether the warmth she felt when he held her was affection, gratitude, love, or some complicated combination of all three.
She opened her notebook.
She wrote:
Question One: Do I like Kael?
Then she stared at the page.
After a moment, she wrote beneath it:
Question Two: What does liking someone actually mean?
She put down her pen.
Then she lay back on the bed and covered her face with a pillow.
This was going to be the longest five weeks of her life.
----------------------------
Chapter Twenty-Two: Five Weeks Without a Tail
The first week was manageable.
Dginnie attended lectures.
She completed her assignments.
She began preparing for her internship.
She kept herself busy.
She did not message Kael unnecessarily.
She did not check whether he was online.
She did not stare at the empty space on the sofa where he usually sat.
She certainly did not miss his tail.
Much.
The second week was less manageable.
She discovered that Kael had been doing more for her than she realised.
He had quietly organised her study schedule around her other commitments and classes.
He had helped her with supplying half the food and drinks, specifically buying her favourite snacks so that she didn't have to stare at them while she counted and recounted the coins in her e-wallet.
He had helped her find the things she often misplaced.
He had shown her how to navigate the local financial software and various computer programs, and guided her to sites or resources that would help her with her assignments.
He had introduced her to people who could help her with her research.
He had been there whenever she needed someone to talk to.
Without him, she had to make a conscious effort to seek help from other people.
It was not that she could not manage.
She could.
She had managed before she met him.
But now she understood how much easier it was to have someone who knew her well enough to recognise when she was struggling.
Someone who did not require her to explain every detail.
Someone who could tell when she needed advice and when she simply needed to complain.
She missed him.
The third week was worse.
She received a message from him.
[How are your studies going?]
She stared at it for a long time.
Then she replied.
[Fine. Internship preparation is progressing well. How is your placement?]
He sent her a photograph of a mountain landscape.
The sky was pale blue.
The mountains were covered in snow.
A distant transport station gleamed beneath the sun.
Dginnie stared at the picture.
Then she noticed the corner of the image.
A large, fluffy tail.
She nearly dropped her device.
She typed:
[Is that your tail?]
His reply came almost immediately.
Perhaps.
She stared.
Then she laughed.
She had missed that, too.
His teasing.
His terrible sense of timing.
His ability to make her smile when she was trying very hard to be serious.
She sent him a message.
[I hate you.]
He replied:
I know.
Then, a moment later:
[I miss you, too.]
Dginnie went very still.
She read the message again.
Then she placed her device on the bed and covered her face.
"Oh, no."
She was in trouble.
She was in so much trouble.
-----
The fourth week brought a different kind of difficulty.
Dginnie began asking herself questions she had previously avoided.
What did she want from a relationship?
What did she expect from a mate?
What did she consider non-negotiable?
She made a list.
She wanted respect.
She wanted trust.
She wanted the freedom to continue her education and career.
She wanted to share responsibilities.
She wanted someone who would listen to her.
She wanted someone who would tell her the truth, even when it was uncomfortable.
She wanted someone who would not use money to control her.
She wanted someone who would respect her decisions about children.
She wanted someone who could accept that she came from a different world and might never fully understand some of the customs of this one.
She wanted someone who would let her be herself.
Then she looked at the list.
Every single item described Kael.
She crossed out the list.
Then she wrote it again.
This time, she added one more requirement.
I want to want him, not merely want what he offers me.
She stared at the sentence for a long time.
That was the real question.
Did she want Kael?
Or did she want the safety he represented?
Did she love him?
Or did she love the fact that he made her feel as though she could finally stop fighting for a moment?
She did not know.
But she was beginning to suspect that the answer was not as simple as she had hoped.
-----
The fifth week began with an unpleasant meeting.
The academy had reviewed her scholarship appeal.
The decision was not in her favour.
Dginnie sat across from two administrators and Adviser Merrow, listening as they explained the institution's position.
They understood her concerns.
They recognised her academic achievements.
They acknowledged that the sponsorship system could create difficulties for students who were reluctant to establish matebonds.
But the policy remained in place.
Full-scholarship recipients were expected to participate in the academy's reproductive and family formation programme.
They were expected to make a serious effort to establish a matebond.
And they were expected to contribute to the long-term health of beastman society.
Dginnie listened.
She tried to remain calm.
"I understand the academy's objectives," she said. "But I don't think a student's reproductive choices should determine whether they can complete their education."
One administrator folded his hands.
"Miss Inlost, you are receiving a substantial public benefit."
"I know."
"Your tuition is subsidised. Your accommodation is subsidised. Your educational resources are provided at considerable expense."
"I know."
"The academy is investing in your future."
"I appreciate that."
"Then you must also understand that society expects something in return."
Dginnie stared at him.
"I can contribute to society through my work."
"Certainly."
"Through research. Through financial management. Through public service. Through raising a family, if I choose to do so."
The administrator's expression hardened slightly.
"Your contribution to society cannot be considered solely in economic terms."
Dginnie felt her hands grow cold.
"Neither can my reproductive choices."
Silence.
The second administrator spoke.
"Miss Inlost, the beastman population has faced serious demographic challenges in the past. The reproductive health regulations were established for good reason."
"I understand that."
"Then you should understand why the academy takes these matters seriously."
Dginnie swallowed.
"I do understand. But I don't think that means I should be pressured into a relationship."
The first administrator sighed.
"We are not pressuring you into a specific relationship. We are asking you to participate in a programme designed to help you find a suitable partner."
"And if I don't want one?"
The administrator looked at her.
"Then you may need to reconsider whether the full-scholarship programme is appropriate for you."
Dginnie went still.
She had expected resistance.
She had expected bureaucracy.
She had even expected disappointment.
She had not expected to feel so thoroughly misunderstood.
She was not refusing to contribute to society.
She was not refusing to work.
She was not refusing to help other people.
She was simply asking to make decisions about her own life.
But to the academy, those distinctions seemed to matter less than the broader social objective.
She left the meeting with Adviser Merrow.
For several minutes, neither of them spoke.
Then the adviser said quietly, "I am sorry."
Dginnie looked at her.
"Are you allowed to say that?"
The adviser smiled sadly.
"Not officially."
Dginnie laughed.
It was a brittle sound.
Then she stopped.
"What happens if I don't find a mate?"
Adviser Merrow was silent for a moment.
"You still have time."
"That isn't what I asked."
The adviser looked at her.
"Then I think you should learn more about the laws governing reproductive obligations in this society before making any final decision."
Dginnie felt a chill run through her.
"What laws?"
The adviser hesitated.
"Miss Inlost, there are matters I would prefer to explain carefully rather than discuss in a corridor."
Dginnie stared at her.
For the first time, she felt genuinely frightened.
Not of finding a mate.
Not of choosing the wrong person.
But of the possibility that refusing to choose might not be an option at all.
-----
That evening, Dginnie sat alone in the suite.
Kael would be returning the following day.
She had been looking forward to it.
Now she was not sure what to say to him.
She wanted to tell him about the meeting.
She wanted to ask for his advice.
She wanted to sit beside him and let him wrap his tail around her until the world stopped feeling so threatening.
But she had asked for distance.
And she had promised herself that she would learn to make her own decisions.
She looked at her notebook.
The list of qualities she wanted in a mate was still there.
She had not crossed it out this time.
She read it again.
Respect.
Trust.
Independence.
Honesty.
Patience.
Kindness.
Shared responsibility.
The freedom to make her own choices.
She thought about Kael.
She thought about the way he had treated her.
She thought about the way he had respected her request for space, even though she knew it had hurt him.
She thought about the way he had arranged her internship without demanding anything in return.
She thought about the way he had told her that he wanted her to choose him because she wanted him.
Not because she was frightened.
Not because she was dependent on him.
Not because she had nowhere else to go.
Because she wanted him.
Dginnie closed her notebook.
Then she picked up her device.
She opened their private message thread.
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.
She typed:
[Kael, I miss you.]
She stared at the words.
Then she sent them.
A moment later, she added:
[I think I miss you more than I expected.]
She paused.
Then she wrote one final message.
[I want to talk to you when you get back. I think I'm beginning to understand what I want.]
She sent it.
Then she put down her device and covered her face.
She had not made a decision.
Not yet.
But for the first time, she was no longer asking herself whether she could live without Kael.
She was asking whether she wanted to build a life with him.
-----------------------------
Chapter Twenty-three: A Very Concerning Message
Kael read Dginnie's message for the fourth time.
[I've been thinking about everything. I think you might be the best person for me after all. I miss you.]
He smiled.
Then he read it again.
His tail, which had been draped over the arm of his chair, began to sway. He had spent the last several days trying to convince himself that giving Dginnie space had been the right decision. She had asked for time, and he had promised to give it to her. He had kept his promise, despite the fact that five weeks suddenly seemed an unreasonable length of time to spend away from the woman who had become the centre of his thoughts.
Now she was telling him that she missed him.
He wanted to be delighted.
He was delighted.
He was also looking at the message with the growing suspicion that something was wrong.
He typed a reply.
[You miss me?]
A second message followed before she could answer.
[How much?]
Then another.
[Have you been eating properly?]
He paused, frowned at the screen, and added:
[Are you sleeping?]
His fingers hovered over the keyboard.
[Did someone say something to you? Did something happen at the academy?]
He considered the questions, then sent one more.
[Dginnie, are you all right?]
There. That was better. A sensible question. A question that got to the point.
He waited.
No reply.
He tried calling her.
No answer.
Kael stared at the screen.
His ears tilted backwards.
He knew Dginnie. She was perfectly capable of becoming so absorbed in something that the rest of the world ceased to exist. He had seen her do it over a difficult accounting problem, a particularly stubborn assignment, and once over an argument about whether a certain cafeteria dish had been incorrectly classified as a vegetable.
That last incident had cost him an entire afternoon.
But she had never ignored him quite like this when she was supposedly making a decision about their future.
He sent another message.
[Dginnie?]
Then, after a moment:
[I'm glad you miss me. I miss you too. But I would really appreciate knowing that you're safe.]
He disliked the last sentence. It sounded too much like a reprimand.
He sent it anyway.
Across the city, Dginnie Inlost was sitting at her desk with six historical records open on her screen, three legal documents displayed in separate windows, and a notebook full of questions she had not yet answered.
Her phone was vibrating beside her elbow, but she didn't notice it.
-----
Dginnie had intended to spend an hour researching beastman history.
An hour, she had reasoned, was enough to understand the broad outlines. Perhaps two hours if the subject proved more complicated than expected.
She wanted to know why the university had reacted so strongly to her reluctance to mate. She wanted to understand why a matter that seemed to her to be a private decision had been treated as a public responsibility, why her scholarship was entangled with reproduction, and why she had discovered a section in an explanation of the academy rules and laws of society that had spoken about forced breeding as though it were an unpleasant but perfectly reasonable administrative consequence.
It was shocking.
Alarming.
It freaked her out.
So she needed to learn more and find out everything she could about it. Was she in more potential trouble than she realised?
Most of all, she wanted to know how a society could have reached the point where such laws seemed normal.
Her first mistake was opening a historical overview written for cubs.
Her second mistake was discovering that it contained a section on the collapse of the old population.
Her third mistake was clicking on the references.
The history was horrifyingly complicated.
Centuries earlier, beastman populations had suffered a succession of disasters. Wars between clans, diseases that affected particular bloodlines, environmental changes, and the disappearance of entire settlements had left many species dangerously close to extinction. Some of the old records were fragmentary. Others were deliberately incomplete. The surviving accounts described desperate measures taken by communities that had watched their numbers dwindle over generations.
Mating laws had not appeared all at once.
They had developed through a series of emergency policies, many of which had initially been intended to protect vulnerable populations. Certain clans had offered financial support to young adults in exchange for reproductive commitments. Others had established communal nurseries, guaranteed education to cubs, and provided resources to anyone willing to raise children.
Some measures had been voluntary.
Some had become compulsory during the worst crises.
And some had never been repealed.
Dginnie read about laws that had begun as temporary wartime provisions and eventually become permanent civil regulations. She read about the political struggles between clan leaders and the central government. She read about the first population recovery programmes, then the arguments over who should be entitled to refuse participation.
There were dissenters in the historical records.
There were also accounts of the damage caused when powerful groups had exploited the reproductive crisis to control weaker populations.
Dginnie stopped at that section.
She read it twice.
Then she opened another source.
And another.
By the time she began taking notes, she had forgotten why she had originally opened the first document.
Her notebook filled rapidly.
If the original emergency laws were intended to protect the population, why was refusal criminalised instead of simply withdrawing financial support?
Below it:
Were alternative contributions ever considered? Military service? Research? Infrastructure? Education? Medical work?
Then:
What is the legal distinction between refusing to mate and refusing to reproduce? Are these actually separate offences?
She underlined that last question.
A new document opened on her screen.
Dginnie leaned closer.
Several hours disappeared.
At some point, she missed a lecture.
She didn't notice.
It had been an entire night and the next morning was dwindling away and still she hadn't found the answers to her questions.
Her phone vibrated.
She twirled her pen in her hand.
The phone vibrated again.
She moved it aside to make room for her notebook and stop it from trying to derail her thoughts.
By the time afternoon arrived, Dginnie had assembled a small mountain of handwritten notes, discovered three competing interpretations of a particularly controversial law, and developed a headache that she was ignoring on principle.
She had also written Kael's name in the margin of her notebook.
Kael.
She tapped her pen against the paper.
He has never tried to pressure me, even when he had every reason to believe I might eventually choose him.
She paused.
He gave me space when I asked for it.
Another pause.
He arranged the internship without making me agree to anything first.
Her pen hovered.
He is probably the best person to become mates with when compared to all the other beastman I have met. I think I'll choose him.
Dginnie stared at the sentence.
She crossed out probably.
Then she frowned, wrote it back in smaller letters, and added a question mark.
She was still arguing with herself when her head gradually sank onto her folded arms.
She fell asleep before she could finish the next sentence.
-----
Kael arrived at the university residence with Advisor Merrow close behind him.
He had spent the journey trying not to imagine anything terrible.
Advisor Merrow had spent it trying to persuade him that Dginnie was probably fine, although she sounded worried as well, considering the results of yesterday's meeting and how Dginnie had looked when she had left.
Neither of them had succeeded.
"She missed every class today," Advisor Merrow said as they hurried down the corridor. "And she hasn't answered any of my messages."
Kael's ears flattened.
The advisor glanced at him. "She might have been extremely upset after yesterday's meeting about her scholarship, but even then, I doubt it would cause her to miss an entire day of classes. Sometimes upset students miss classes, but in Dginnie's case, I have to admit, I am rather more concerned than I should be although I don't know why."
They reached the room.
Kael opened the door.
"Dginnie?"
No response.
His eyes swept the room, taking in the untouched food on the small table, the open notebook, and the woman asleep at her computer.
For a moment, relief came first.
Then he saw how she was sitting.
Her shoulders had curled forward over the desk. One hand lay beside a half-written page, while the other was tucked beneath her cheek. Her hair had fallen across her face, and the computer screen illuminated the faint crease between her brows.
She looked exhausted.
Kael crossed the room quietly.
"Dginnie," he murmured.
She did not stir.
He touched the back of his fingers to her cheek, then brushed the hair away from her face.
Warm. Breathing normally. No obvious sign of distress.
He let out a slow breath.
Behind him, the advisor approached the desk.
Their expression changed when they saw the open documents.
"What on earth has she been reading?"
Kael glanced at the screen.
Historical records. Legal commentaries. Population studies. Several pages about the development of reproductive law.
There were handwritten notes everywhere.
The advisor picked up the notebook, intending only to move it away from the edge of the desk.
Then they saw the questions.
They stopped.
Kael noticed.
"What is it?"
The advisor turned a page.
Then another.
Their concern deepened.
"These are basic questions."
"About the laws?"
"About the laws, the historical background, and the social structure that surrounds them."
Kael looked at the notebook.
One of the questions was written in large letters, with several underlines beneath it.
WHY IS REFUSAL TO MATE TREATED AS A CRIME IF MATING IS SUPPOSED TO BE A PERSONAL CHOICE?
Kael's ears lowered.
He knew Dginnie had struggled to understand some aspects of beastman society. He had noticed that she occasionally missed the meaning of ordinary jokes, misunderstood certain customs, or asked questions that made other students look at her as though she had grown a second head.
He had assumed she had grown up in an unusual household.
Perhaps an isolated clan.
Perhaps a family with peculiar beliefs.
He had never imagined that she might be missing the foundation beneath all those customs.
The advisor turned another page.
Their gaze fell on his name.
They read the notes silently.
He is probably the best person to become mates with. I think I'll choose him.
Kael leaned over the advisor's shoulder.
He read the last sentence.
His tail rose.
Then it curled around his own leg.
His ears, which had been drooping with worry a moment earlier, lifted so quickly that the advisor glanced at him in disbelief.
"Really?" the advisor asked.
Kael cleared his throat.
"I am concerned about her."
"Of course."
"Her health is important."
"Naturally."
"And her education."
"Yes."
Kael looked at the notebook again.
His tail began to sway.
The advisor shut the book.
"Do not look so pleased with yourself."
"I'm not."
"You are practically purring."
"I do not purr."
The advisor gave him a flat look.
Kael carefully lifted Dginnie from her chair.
She made a small, unhappy sound and instinctively curled against him.
His expression softened at once.
"Shh. I've got you."
She tucked her face against his chest, still asleep.
Kael carried her to the bed.
He laid her down gently, removed her shoes, and pulled the blanket over her. When she shifted restlessly, he adjusted the pillow beneath her head.
He brushed a strand of hair from her forehead.
"You really do know how to worry someone," he whispered.
Dginnie did not hear him.
Kael lingered beside the bed for another moment before returning to the desk where Advisor Merrow was waiting.
-----------------------------------
Chapter Twenty-four: Education
"How much does she not know?" the Advisor Merrow asked. "Do you know?"
Kael took the question seriously.
"I don't know."
"Think carefully."
"I am."
He pulled out a chair and sat down, his gaze moving over the scattered documents.
"She knows her studies. She's good at accounting, and she's better at analysing a problem than most people I've met. She can argue about a contract until the person who wrote it wishes they'd chosen another profession."
"That is not what I asked."
"I know."
Kael rubbed a hand over his face.
"She knows things that other people don't. But she doesn't always know things that everyone else assumes are obvious."
"Such as?"
He thought back.
"She once asked me why the university expected students to disclose their reproductive compatibility to the administration. She thought the university had invented the practice."
The advisor's expression grew still.
"That is covered in elementary civics."
"She didn't know."
"What else?"
"She didn't understand why some clan names mattered more than others. She didn't know the difference between a traditional clan alliance and a political faction. She thought the term 'bloodline obligation' referred to a financial debt."
The advisor slowly lowered themselves into the chair opposite him.
"Those are all covered in elementary school."
Kael nodded.
"I know."
"How did she pass the entrance examinations with such a poor understanding of society?"
"Her academic knowledge is excellent."
"That was a rhetocrical question. And that doesn't answer the question."
"No," Kael admitted. "It doesn't."
The advisor looked towards the bed.
Dginnie had rolled onto her side, one hand curled beneath her cheek. She looked younger asleep, with none of her usual determined frown or defensive composure.
"She must have attended high school," the advisor said. "The academy would not have admitted her without the appropriate qualifications."
"Yes."
"Then she received an education somewhere. But if she attended elementary school, how did she miss so much?"
Kael was silent.
The advisor continued, thinking aloud now.
"Elementary education is free for every cub. It is compulsory. Even remote settlements receive educational support, and cubs without families are supposed to be given places in communal schools or residential programmes."
"Supposed to be," Kael repeated.
The advisor looked at him.
He nodded towards the notebook.
"Maybe we should consider the possibility that something happened to her."
The advisor's expression changed.
It was a small change, but Kael noticed it.
"Yes," they said quietly. "We should."
They looked down at the open book again.
There was another problem.
Dginnie Inlost had a registered identity. She had passed the examinations required for admission to the academy, obtained a scholarship, and entered the university's student records under a legitimate registration.
But where had that registration come from?
Every beastman cub was registered at birth. The process was usually handled by parents, guardians, or the communal authority responsible for the settlement. A cub without known parents would be registered by the relevant child welfare office.
A family would ordinarily ensure that its cub attended school.
A communal authority would ensure the same for an orphan.
A child who had grown up without either ought to have left records.
Unless the records had been lost.
Or destroyed.
Or never created in the first place.
"Does she have a family?" the advisor asked.
"She hasn't told me much about them."
"Has she mentioned her parents?"
"Not really."
"Brothers or sisters?"
"No."
"Her clan?"
Kael shook his head.
The advisor leaned back.
"How did she get her identification?"
"I don't know."
"How did she obtain her original registration documents?"
"I don't know."
"How did she get into high school?"
Kael's ears flattened.
"I don't know."
The advisor sighed.
"I dislike having so many unanswered questions."
"So do I."
They looked at one another.
The advisor was the first to speak again.
"There are two possibilities that concern me. The first is that she came from a remote community where the systems meant to protect cubs had failed her. The second is that she has a background that someone has deliberately concealed."
Kael's expression hardened.
"Concealed from whom?"
"I don't know. That is the problem."
"Do you think she's dangerous?"
"No." The advisor answered immediately. "I think she is vulnerable."
Kael's jaw tightened.
The advisor raised a hand.
"Listen to me. I am not accusing her of anything. But the university has responsibilities. If she lacks this much basic knowledge, and her identity records cannot explain why, someone may eventually investigate her background. If that investigation is handled badly, she could be treated as suspicious simply because she cannot answer questions that other people take for granted."
"Then we should find out what happened before someone else does."
"Precisely."
Kael glanced towards Dginnie.
"She isn't going to like being questioned about her past."
"She doesn't have to tell us everything immediately. But we do need to know whether she is safe, whether her records are legitimate, and whether she has medical or educational needs that have gone unnoticed."
"Medical needs?"
The advisor hesitated.
"Her gaps in knowledge are unusual enough that we cannot simply assume they all came from an interrupted education. There may be another explanation. If she is willing, a comprehensive medical examination could help establish whether there is anything else we should be aware of."
Kael considered this.
"Would it hurt her?"
"Not if it is conducted properly. It would be a routine assessment, not an interrogation. But we would need her consent, and I would not recommend frightening her with speculation before we have any evidence."
"Good."
He meant it.
Dginnie had spent so much of her academy life struggling to retain control over the choices she could make. He would not turn their concern into another situation where other people decided what was best for her without asking.
The advisor seemed to understand.
"We must be careful," they said. "She has already been under considerable pressure."
"She thinks she has to solve everything herself."
"Yes. I have noticed."
Kael's gaze drifted to the notebook.
"She doesn't always realise that she can ask for help."
"Perhaps she has learned that asking doesn't guarantee anyone will help her."
He looked up sharply.
The advisor did not elaborate.
They did not need to.
For a while, neither spoke.
Then the advisor turned to the matter that had brought them both there.
"She has written that she wants to become mates with you."
Kael sat a little straighter.
"Yes."
"Do you believe she means it?"
He did not answer immediately.
The first instinct was to say yes. He wanted to believe it. He wanted to take the notebook, hold it against his chest, and spend the rest of the evening enjoying the knowledge that Dginnie had finally chosen him.
But the advisor was asking a serious question.
"I think she means what she wrote," he said at last. "I don't know whether she has had enough time to understand what it means."
The advisor's shoulders relaxed slightly.
"That is a sensible answer."
Kael gave them a faint smile.
"I have my moments."
"Occasionally."
His tail flicked.
The advisor continued.
"If she has made her decision freely, I will support it. But we must make certain that she understands the implications. The university's leadership has become increasingly concerned about her reluctance to pursue a matebond."
"How concerned?"
"Concerned enough that there has been discussion about whether her case should be reported to the authorities."
Kael's smile vanished.
"They were going to report her?"
"Not yet. I have been arguing that she still has time, that she has been attending compatibility sessions, and that she has shown interest in you. I have also argued that some individuals simply need more time to make a decision of this importance."
"She has been trying."
"I know."
"She has attended those sessions even when she was uncomfortable. She has listened to candidates she knew she would never accept. She has tried to understand a system that makes no sense to her."
"I know that, too."
"Then why are they treating her as though she has done something wrong?"
"Because of the regulations and the rules on mandatory reporting. They're always on the lookout for rebels. They see the scholarship conditions. They see the deadline approaching. They don't necessarily see the person struggling underneath."
Kael looked down at his hands.
He understood duty. He understood the importance of preserving a clan and caring for its members. He had never objected to the idea that a society should support families or encourage people to raise cubs.
But Dginnie didn't seem to have a sense of that duty and he didn't understand why.
She was not a problem to be corrected before a deadline.
She was a woman who had fought her way into the academy, who worked until she exhausted herself, and who had apparently spent the afternoon trying to understand why her society frightened her.
He looked towards the bed.
"What do you need me to do?"
The advisor's expression softened.
"You probably already know this, but I'll say it anyway. First, when she wakes, speak to her honestly. Tell her about your clan's mating customs. Tell her what forming a matebond with you would mean, both practically and socially. She should know what she is choosing."
"I will."
"Tell her about your family, too. Introduce her to your clan as soon as you reasonably can. She needs to know her new family and clan and become familiar with them and gain the clan's protection."
Kael nodded.
"And I would strongly recommend that you take her home for a weekend, if she is comfortable with the idea. It would give her an opportunity to meet everyone without the pressure of a formal ceremony."
"I think my mother would have the entire clan waiting at the gates."
"Warn your mother not to frighten her."
Kael grimaced.
"I'll try."
"Do more than try."
"Yes, Advisor."
The advisor gave him a suspicious look.
"Are you making fun of me?"
"No."
"You are."
"A little."
Advisor Merrow sighed, but the tension in her shoulders eased.
Then she pointed towards Dginnie's notebook.
"Second, help her catch up on the knowledge she is missing."
"I can do that."
"I thought you might say so."
"She asks good questions."
"She asks questions that would make a schoolteacher weep."
"Those are often the most interesting ones."
Advisor Merrow considered him for a moment, then nodded.
"Perhaps."
They took out their own devicea and opened Dginnie's class schedule.
"Third, she must catch up on today's lectures. Two of the recordings contain material that will be examined. The university will allow her to make up the missed attendance, but she cannot simply ignore the content."
Kael accepted the information with the solemnity of a soldier receiving orders.
"I'll make sure she watches them."
"Good."
Advisor Merrow began listing other things Dginnie needed to learn: the history of the reproductive laws, the basic structure of the clan system, the distinction between civic obligations and clan obligations, the legal meaning of a registered matebond, and the protections available to individuals who believed they were being pressured into a contract.
Kael listened carefully.
When the advisor finished, he opened his notes and wrote everything down.
The list grew.
Then it grew some more.
Advisor Merrow watched him.
"You are taking this very seriously."
"Of course I am."
"Most males would be too busy celebrating to think about any of this."
Kael glanced towards the bed.
"Most males aren't trying to win Dginnie Inlost."
-----
By the time the advisor left, is was dinner time. Kael prepared his own dinner and considered what he needed to do and prioritised Dginnie's problems.
After dinner, he cleaned up, put Dginnie's share in the fridge and then decided to write a note for her.
There is no need to earn the right to be cared for.
Then he slipped the note into her notebook and closed it.
He sat beside her bed and stroked her hair, combing it so it lay neatly on her pillow.
"You've been alone for a long time, haven't you? You can rely on me more from now on. You aren't alone anymore."