Chapter Three: Reactions and Revelations
The evening had passed quietly, and much the same could be said for the next morning. Although Raven really would have liked the chance to talk with LeShana about the bizarre situation they had suddenly found themselves in, and to offer her the apology she only too rightly deserved from him, he wasn't about to push things and insist she come see him either. As much as he would have wished to deny that there was anything between them, that all the others who knew her best had simply been mistaken about the two of them, there were innumerable clues, both large and small. Solair had spent much of the evening telling him about all manner of things that were related, directly and indirectly, to life-bonding. By the time she was done, he couldn't exactly impose any doubts on their conclusion without sounding like a whiny child, stubbornly denying the truth of one thing or another. Their first, rather abrupt encounter in the hallway, more than anything else, stuck out in his brain, and the intense, almost over-powering fascination he had felt towards her at the time. The way his fingers had tingled where he touched her was, according to Solair, a sure fire warning sign of a life-bond. The way she was so very capable in affecting his emotions in both large and small ways was another important sign. While he might have wanted his rather significant temper to be the last thing she affected, Solair had assured him only too quickly that this too was part of the bonding process. In truth, as much as his heart and mind might rebel against the facts, he could no more deny the truth than he could disprove the existence of the sun. He was having a harder time reconciling the idea that LeShana and Sione were the same person than he was coming to terms with the whole concept of life-bonding; that there was a force which could compel two people to spend their lives together, much less die in the same moment. These thoughts circled through his head endlessly, interrupted only when there was a knock on the door, just before it swung open to allow Vosthan to step inside.
"Is something wrong?" He needed only to look at the other male's face to be aware that something significant was on his mind at that moment.
"You could say that." Vosthan replied as he stepped inside and swung the door closed in his wake. "Despite the trouble and the potential political disaster that LeShana stirred up over you, Admiral Teg has decided to take this incident to the international stage. He is claiming that you have been taken against the spirit of the law, and that Earth has the first claim on your gifts."
"Spirit of the law? Is he a sleazy admiral or a corrupt politician?" Raven asked, growling as a very real need to beat someone into a coma came pouring over him.
"At this time, both could apply." Vosthan agreed with scowl. "While the Center is not fully prepared to end our alliance with Earth simply over you, the documents you have loaned to us have brought any number of matters to a head. And they were of considerable use for LeShana when trying to convince our leaders of the true depth of the problems she and the other leaders have been warning about."
"Well, I can't say I was able to read or translate more than half of what was there for all the days I had them with me, but I’m not at all surprised your lot has been having such problems. Unfortunately, Earth has had a hundred thousand some-odd years to grow all too fond of bloody conflict with its' neighbors." Raven told him, half as a warning and half as a slightly depressed commentary on the planet and culture which had raised him. "I can assume that some form of confrontation is in the works, and because I am the rallying cry for a vile, underhanded breed of bottom feeders and parasites, all of you will want me there."
"Yes, exactly." Vosthan agreed with a nod.
"Well, you needn't worry about me, as far as I am concerned I have been far better treated by all of you than that jackass in a uniform." Raven assured him first and foremost. "I can't promise I'll be a good little boy and sit there nice and quiet like, but I'll try my best to defend what is true if given the chance."
"I can't say I take that as the greatest of assurances, but I suppose were our positions reversed I could not make a more honest promise myself. Is there anything you need between now and the time of our departure?" He offered with a slim smile.
"A shower." Raven requested with a smile. Vosthan could not help but smile in return.