“Better get used to it then, I do this often!” Siiri returned, cuffing Miharu playfully in the arm. They shared a laugh at her words, their bond letting them feed off the mood of the other. The Myrian sensed that the girl was more sensitive of her emotions than she of hers. The Kelvic was simply built that way. However, she also realized that while Miharu might be receptive to her wants and needs, the girl was still her own person and was thus predisposed to follow her nature. Such had been glaringly obvious in their encounter with the dire jaguar when the girl, in her wolf form, refused to retreat before her. She resolved to address this now before they ran into something more deadly.
Siiri drew closer to the girl, her expression turning serious. “Listen, Miharu, you are still new in this place. Not everything we run into in the jungle will be as easily swayed to flee as that jaguar earlier. Some will be more intelligent, more dangerous. Everything outside the city can and will kill the unsuspecting. You must trust me enough to obey when I tell you to do something. Hesitate and it may cost you your life.” Her voice was soft, lacking anger or reproach, to show that she meant no threat by what she said. She met the girl’s eyes and a haunting image seemed to spring from Miharu’s amber orbs, a suppressed memory called forth by her own words: the death of Shara – Siiri’s reminder of her own hesitation and failure to follow orders all those years ago. She averted her gaze from her bondmate.
“I... do not want to lose another because of that,” she muttered.
The image lingered in Siiri’s sight even when she closed her eyes.