"Promise," I said.

Then a hint of a smile touched Zasen's lips. "But, guys? There's one good thing."

"Oh?" Because I sure as hell wasn't seeing it.

That whimsical look flashed on his face again. "She yelled at me."

"Yelled?" Rymar asked.

Zasen nodded. "With anger and everything."

"Nice," I breathed just as Ayla opened the bathroom door.

The three of us turned in time to see her step into the room. Her hands were clasped before her. She'd put her hair up in that severe bun at the back of her neck again. Worse, her eyes were locked on the floor as her demure mannerisms took over.

"Ready to go have fun?" I asked. "And talk? Probably lots of talking, I bet."

She sucked her lower lip into her mouth, then nodded. "Okay. And I'm sorry I was rude earlier."

"Ayla..." Zasen said, keeping his tone gentle. "I told you that you should ask. You didn't do anything wrong. You let us know what we needed. Remember how I said that sometimes you wouldn't like the answer?"

She nodded, but it was a tiny movement.

"Well, sometimes we won't either, and that's okay," he promised. "This time, we simply don't like the answer because it means our friend has been scared and we didn't stop it. It makes us realize we've been failing you."

"But you haven't!" she insisted, finally looking up.

Zasen smiled at her. "We have. Now, because we know, we can fix it." Then he gestured to the door. "And while you're out, make Kanik buy you some things for your new room, okay?"

"I don't need much," she promised.

I simply opened my arm in a gesture for us to head towards the door. "But you still need some. We can at least pick colors. What do you think?"

That earned me the smallest little smile. "Okay."

She headed for the door and I fell in behind her, but the guys didn't call goodbye to us. The mood in the house was heavy, and if I could feel it, I could only imagine Ayla was being smothered by it. That was why I wanted to get her out.

And Rymar's little suggestion was a good one. Buying vegetables sounded nice and safe. It also meant stopping by Jeera's stall to do so. I was pretty sure that once I explained what had happened, she'd take over and make all of this sort itself out somehow. Besides, hearing from a woman? That was exactly what Ayla needed right now.

So we walked, turning our feet up the street. I refused to walk in silence, though - or to ignore what had happened.

"So is sex why you don't want to get married?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yes. Having sex means getting pregnant. No one ever knows which baby will kill them either. Sometimes it's the first. Sometimes it's the tenth."

"Ten?" I gasped.

"Those women are revered in the community," she explained.

"Okay..." I nodded. "Well, around here, most people only have a few. Two or three is most common. Four, sometimes. I've never known anyone to have ten."

"But not everyone gets married here," she reminded me. "If they just have sex, and then sometimes that makes a pregnancy..."

I wanted to slap myself in the face. "Okay," I said. "You know how sometimes it's the most common things that are easiest to forget to tell someone? Like how I would never explain how to breathe because it's just assumed you'd already know how?"

"Yes," she said. "I feel like that all the time, and so often you're all surprised at what I never knew you needed to know. Like the days!"

"Exactly like that," I agreed. "Well, here's something we forgot to tell you." I glanced over because I needed to see her reaction. "Tailless Dragon women use birth control."

"What's that?"

"A medicine which prevents pregnancy so women can have sex without needing to fear having a baby afterwards."

Her feet stumbled to a halt. "What?"

I nodded. "That's why families don't have ten children, Ayla. The women decide when they want to have a baby and stop taking the medicine. Otherwise, they can do what they want. Have sex, not have sex, or just fool around."

"But why would they do that?" she asked.

"Take birth control?"

"Sex!" she hissed, struggling to keep her voice down even as the word burst from her lips.

"Well..." I paused.

Right now, I was so glad I'd covered this a million times with my students. While it might not be a part of my official job, the kids asked the adults they trusted. Now, Ayla was doing the same.

"Okay," I tried, struggling to put this into terms she would not only understand but also believe, "Ayla, people like touching each other. A hand on your shoulder. A palm to clasp when you're scared. Arms to wrap around you when you're sad."

"They didn't in the compound," she admitted.

"But you hugged Zasen when he gave you the bow," I reminded her. "Did that hurt?"

A tiny smile flickered over her lips. "No. It was nice."

"Exactly," I agreed. "And when two people care about each other, sometimes they like to touch more. I heard you saw Drozel kiss his partner. Did that seem like it hurt?"

"No."

Nodding, I kept going. "Well, that's touching too. It makes them feel good. It's romantic. They kiss because they are in love, Ayla. Even though they are two men, they are in love and attracted to each other. Jeera kisses Brielle the same way. Believe it or not, sometimes men feel that way about women. They love them - and women love the men back."

"Really?" she gasped.

Again, I nodded. "Yep. They hold hands, and kiss, and even cuddle. They touch because it makes them feel closer, and most people like being emotionally connected to someone. Close to them, Ayla."

"Like friends?" she asked.

"More," I said. "Or maybe it's different. There are many kinds of love, but falling in love is amazing. It makes you feel like you want to smile all the time, and you can't stop thinking about the other person. You want to touch them, even kiss them, and all of that is okay. It doesn't hurt at all. In fact, it's one of the best feelings you can imagine."