Lesson 7 Hysteria for Humans

Iwasn"t sure what I"d expected her reaction to be. Not quite an instant declaration of love, but maybe pleasant surprise. A moment of shock, then overwhelming happiness. Instead, she started laughing. She threw her head back, her hair rippling like a golden wave, and laughed. It was a strangled sort of laugh, too high and without any humour.

I stared at her, not knowing what to do. Was this normal Peritan behaviour? Did laughter mean something else in their culture? No, I would have noticed that on the five days I"d spent travelling their planet. Laughter was almost universal across the galaxy. With a few rare exceptions, every species had a sense of humour. Granted, sometimes it varied so vastly from that of another species that wars had been fought over misunderstood jokes, but in general, you could assume that every alien you came across either could laugh or at least understood the concept.

Tara didn"t stop. When she started wheezing and gasping for breath, I took a step towards her. If she needed medical attention, I wanted to be close. Maybe I should get her into the medpod. All this laughter couldn"t be good for her. Tara"s cheeks had become bright red. The colour suited her, although I would have preferred purple over red.

"What"s wrong?" I asked cautiously. "Why are you laughing?"

She wiped fluid from her eyes. "Just... this isn"t happening."

Another giggle broke from her throat.

I was starting to get really worried."How do I make it stop?"

She made a choking sound. That was the signal to get her the medical care she clearly needed. Ignoring her protest, I bundled her into my arms and raced to the medpod at the other end of the hangar. A feeling of cold dread was spreading through my innards. My mate wasn"t well and it was all my fault.

"What are you... hick... doing? Let me... hick... go!"

Now she couldn"t even speak properly. Something was seriously wrong with her. She struggled against my hold, but I was stronger. I pressed her arms against her sides so that she wouldn"t hurt herself. She was too weak to do much against it, which only worried me further. My mate was so defenceless. How did her species survive? Xervens didn"t have the horns of the other two sentient species on my planet, but we were bigger and more intelligent, adding to our chances of survival. In my opinion, we were the dominant species on Allopo, but of course, Fervens and Bervens would disagree.

"Stop struggling. I"m only trying to help you," I told her as calmly as I could.

The medpod slid open when we approached and I lowered her into the gel.

"Ewwww... hick... that"s disgusting!" she exclaimed, followed by another bout of laughter.

I closed the lid above her and ordered the pod to run a full diagnostic sequence once for the second time today. I waited impatiently as the data rolled over the screen.Her oxygen levels were low, but the pod had already automatically flooded with the gas to help return them to normal. All the other values were fine. Physically, my mate was healthy, but that didn"t reassure me. What if I"d broken her mind? Telling her that she was my mate had been a bad decision. She"d only just discovered that I was an alien and that unicorns were real. I"d forgotten how sheltered Peritans were. And now it was my fault if I"d fractured her mind forever.

For a fraction of a click, I considered returning her to her planet. But no, now that we"d met the mating bond would make any separation painful for both of us. I could live with pain, but not with the knowledge that my mate was suffering. She had to stay by my side. Once we"d completed the starlight ritual, we"d be able to be apart once more, although it would never feel comfortable. At least that"s what I"d been told. The soulmate bond was rare and therefore almost mystical. Not many people found their soulmates. Many more never found theirs, while others spent half their lives searching. It was a miracle that I had found mine on the planet I just happened to be visiting. Maybe this was fate making up for me almost dying.

As soon as the medpod had returned Tara"s oxygen levels to normal, the lid opened with a hiss. She climbed out and crossed her arms in front of her chest, glaring at me. But at least her laughter had stopped.

"How are you feeling?" I asked cautiously.

She didn"t reply, but her glare seemed to get even more intense. If she"d been a Kravuton rather than a harmless Peritan, I would have expected fire to burst from her mouth and nostrils. Although not quite harmless. She"d already ripped a hole in my heart. Time would tell if she would heal or break it.

"Are you hungry?" I tried, realising I"d not fed her since arriving on the Xylope. How often did Peritans need to be fed and watered? I would have to check the guide. Something told me that my mate would not be happy if she didn"t get food at regular intervals.

"No."

She spat out the word. It hurt to see her this cold.

"Do you want to sleep?"

"No."

"Do you want to groom An"tia some more?"

"No."

I hated myself for forcing her to stay with me. If only she could see that it was for her own good. Would it help if I told her? Probably not, but it was worth a try.

"If I take you home now, you"d be in pain. You are my soulmate and touching you has started the bonding process. It will have to be completed, or we will both suffer the consequences."

She didn"t respond.

"Soulmates are special," I tried again. "It"s very rare. It means we"re destined to be together by fate itself. You are the most perfect mate for me in the entire universe. And the other way round, although it would be arrogant to suggest that I am perfect."

"It would be," she muttered.

"I know this will all seem very strange to you, but I promise, once we get to know each other, you will see that we are meant to be. The stars have brought us together for a reason."

"Let me guess, to have lots and lots of babies?" Her voice was emotionless. It hurt to hear her talk like that.

"We can have younglings, and I would very much wish to be a sire one day, but only if you want to. I know you don"t think much of me just now, but I will never force you to do anything you don"t want to do. I am sorry I can"t take you home, but as I said, it would hurt. The bond will keep driving us together by force. I"ve heard it"s unpleasant to try and go against it."

"So I don"t have a choice? How is that not forced? It might not be you, but this supposed bond is just as bad. I don"t want to be mated to you. I don"t want to be your soulmate."

Her words cut deeper than any blade ever could. She was rejecting me. She didn"t know that it was possible to reject a soulmate bond, but it took a great deal of strength. I doubted she"d be strong enough. She wouldn"t survive the process, so I kept quiet and didn"t tell her about it. I"d rather she hate me than risk her life.

"I have dreamed of you," I said instead, surprising myself. Suddenly it all made sense. "When I was close to death, I dreamed of you. Your golden hair. Your voice. I heard you in my dream, although I couldn"t understand what you were saying. I didn"t remember until now, but my memory is crystal clear all of a sudden. You held me. Protected me. Maybe you even stopped me from floating into the Eternal River of Souls to join my ancestors."

"In any other situation, I"d say that"s almost romantic," she scoffed. "But it doesn"t change anything."

Still, her voice wasn"t quite as cold anymore. Her glare had lessened in intensity, going from scorching to a flickering flame.

She needed time. Time to process, time to come to understand that we were made for each other. She"d get to know me and realise that I was a good person. And then, we could conduct the starlight ritual and cement our mating bond.

"I will show you your room," I said, forcing myself to turn away from her. "And then I will bring you some Xerven delicacies. You must be hungry by now."

She didn"t move to follow me. "Are you going to lock me up?"

I stopped in my tracks, aghast. "Of course not! You are free to move around the Xylope as much as you want. I just thought you might want some time to yourself. Sleep a little. Get some rest."

"That"s...thoughtful of you."

I counted that as a victory. When I started walking again, she followed. I led her to one of the empty bedrooms, two doors down from my own. As much as I wanted her close to me, I realised she needed space. She didn"t need to know that I"d keep an eye on her to make sure she was alright. The laughing thing had scared me. I would not lose my mate, no matter what I"d have to do.