"Ayla started her period this morning," I explained.

"Okay, so she's not pregnant," Rymar shot back. "Has someone been getting a piece I didn't know about, or what?"

"She's a Mole," Kanik realized, groaning as he found his own chair. "Well, fuck."

Rymar flung up his hands, his frustration building. "And?"

"And," I replied, "Mole women aren't supposed to bother men with such things. It's gross, disgusting, smells bad, and whatever other shit they spew. When a woman is on her period, she should lock herself away. Other women will bring her meals so she doesn't inconvenience the men." Then I leaned over my knees and stared right at Rymar. "And we don't have pads, tampons, or those things in the fucking house, man!"

"Oh."

"I can run to the market," Kanik offered.

I lifted a hand, holding him off. "I borrowed a few from Saveah. Right about now, I'm glad Tamin wakes up early."

"And Taris too, probably," Rymar agreed. "So Ayla's okay?"

"She's mortified," I told them. "She would much rather none of us know. I tried to tell her it's normal, nothing to be ashamed of, and all of that, but..."

"Indoctrination doesn't go away with a single conversation," Kanik finished for me. "So how did you find out anyway?"

I pushed out a heavy sigh. "I was on the couch. The pallet I made in the workroom is hard, and yeah. Well. I was sleeping until I heard the bathroom door slam shut. Went to check if she was okay, and she was acting weird. So I checked the room to see what had happened. I was expecting to find something broken."

"And she'd bled on the sheets," Rymar said, nodding to show he understood.

"But she was still trying to hide it," I explained. "I may have popped the lock to the bathroom so I could make sure she was in one piece."

"Don't do that..." Kanik groaned. "Zasen, what if she'd been undressed?"

"She was trying to wash that little nightie she wears while still in it," I admitted. "But I'm not going to let her think this is something to hide. I'm not going to let her panic on her own. After the storm? No. She's too damned independent and doesn't want to put us out, so yeah. Sometimes I'm going to invade her space. I will push her fucking boundaries. I will make sure she knows there's not a damned thing wrong with asking for help with anything!"

"Okay," Kanik relented. "But she's still scared of being raped."

"And she will always be scared of that," I pointed out. "She also won't believe she's safe from us until she's standing naked before a man and he doesn't do a damned thing. I won't. You won't. Even Rymar wouldn't."

"Hey," Rymar grumbled, his tail twitching at my comment.

I flashed him a smile to prove I was mostly joking. "You are the slut in the house, my friend. And even so, you still won't hurt her. That's all I'm saying."

"Okay, good point," he admitted.

"But now we need to get Ayla some more clothes. I need to put a rush on that. Lessa's working on them, but I'm sure she has at least a few done. We need to have the laundry picked up and washed. Most of all, we need to get some supplies for Ayla."

"What does she use?" Kanik asked. "I can get some for her."

Shoving my hand over my lips, I tried to scrub away the frustration in my jaw. "She said they put rags between their legs and wash them after midnight so as not to bother the men."

"Shit," Rymar breathed.

I nodded slowly. "So she doesn't know what she uses. She didn't even know there were products for it. All she knows is shame. Women are lesser. Women are dirty. Women aren't worth anything unless they're pregnant. Fucking Moles!"

"You know," Rymar said, "I used to think killing us was the pinnacle of evil. I couldn't imagine anything more disgusting than hunting people for food. Now?" He leaned his head back and groaned. "It's torture. Everything down there is torture for those women. And it's from the fucking moment they're born!"

"I just don't know how Ayla does it," Kanik said softly.

"Does what?" Rymar asked.

"This. All of this," Kanik explained. "From the moment she was chained up to that tree, the girl fought back. She got herself unhooked. She had the sense to run from what she must've thought were demons - us. She stopped fighting when we helped. She listened. She learned. She adapts. Guys, every single thing about our life that we take for granted? It's new to her."

"And terrifying," I agreed. "And the strange thing? I wanted to flip her so we could learn the Moles' secrets. I wanted to understand them better. Now, I think I do, and it only makes them more horrifying."

"So how about we make today nice for her?" Rymar asked. "Kanik and I can go shopping."

"I can do it," Kanik insisted.

"And you're broke," Rymar countered. "It's the end of summer. I know you'd gladly buy what she needs, but I'm not broke. I also don't mind getting out and buying some extra shit to pamper her, you know?"

"Might be too much," I warned.

Rymar shook his head. "Nah. We were just in the market and saw it. We can also spread it out over a few days. Don't worry, Zasen. We got this."

"Okay," I said, glad someone else was willing to handle that part. "I keep thinking I should tell my mother, but I know she'd just laugh at me."

"Saveah," Kanik said. "She's a woman. She's across the street. If she happens to come over this afternoon to make sure Ayla's okay? She could also mention how it's fine for the men to know, which backs up your comments, right?"

"And you can give Ayla and Tamin an archery lesson," Rymar suggested. "That's a reason for Saveah to be here. Tamin will love it, and Ayla needs to keep working with the bow."

I murmured, because they were right. Those were also very good ideas. Not only "letting," but actually encouraging Ayla to act normal during this time? That was what she needed. And while the entire concept was so foreign to me, I knew that if we simply pampered her, it would only make things worse.

"We have to act like she hasn't changed," I told the guys.

They both turned to me with looks that screamed I was an idiot.

"No..." I groaned. "I know she's fine. You two know she's fine. Ayla doesn't. That's all I'm saying. If we pretend her period doesn't exist - except for getting her supplies - and then simply keep going as if she's no different from Jeera?"

"It'll prove to her that it's okay," Kanik said, showing he was following my thought. "No, that makes sense. If we step too lightly around her for the next few days, or tell her to take it easy? She'll be convinced her period is why, not because we're worried about making her feel special."

"And we need to fill up the bathroom with supplies," Rymar said. "Not just period stuff. All the girly things she'll need. Hair ties, a brush, and so on. It's time she got her own space, since she doesn't seem to be going anywhere."

And again, they both looked at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Is she, Zasen?" Kanik asked.

"I thought we were going to give her this room for a bedroom..." My eyes jumped between the pair of them. "Unless you two don't want her staying? But where else would she go?"

"I like having her around," Rymar said, which surprised me a bit.