As I was watching Tracy's family scurrying around to gather their belongings Calidia grabbed my arm and gently guided me away from Jessarn. Tracy noticed our movement and followed along with us a worried look on her face.
Calidia frowned seeing Tracy following us but she didn't stop her. Once we had distanced ourselves a bit Calidia turned to face me a serious look on her face. "What are you doing?" Calidia asked me.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
Calidia looked at Tracy and hesitated for a moment but seemed to resolve herself after a moment. "Why are you bringing them?" Calidia asked.
"Calidia!" Tracy exclaimed angrily.
"I'm sorry Tracy, but the way your family has treated us since we arrived despite all we did to help them. Why should we bring them back with us?! Isn't that just asking for trouble?" Calidia argued.
"Its fine." I told Calidia.
Calidia frowned at me while Tracy glared at her.
"I wanted to bring Jessarn with us the moment he called me a bonder." I explained to them. "My parents have been far from forthcoming with information. The simple fact that he was able recognize me for what I was with just a glance says he knows a lot more about bonders than I do. That alone makes up for all the rudeness, and prejudice he has spouted so far."
Calida didn't seem convinced by my reply. Instead she looked at Tracy, or more specifically her breasts then back at me with a knowing look.
I rolled my eyes. "Yes them being Tracy's family has something to do with agreeing to bring them, but it isn't just that." I retorted then looked at Tracy. "There is a limit to how much I can accept from them Tracy. I hope that his change of attitude at the end might mean that he won't be as insulting when they join the rest, but even if there are things I want to learn from him, he needs to be able to behave himself. Especially when it comes to Nala, Dena, and Mary." I told her.
Tracy nodded. "I know, Pappy isn't usually like this. I don't know what set him off and made him act like that, but I will talk to him." she told me then moved closer and hugged me. "Thank you."
"Seductress." Calidia grumbled to which Tracy stuck her tongue out at her.
"If I wanted to seduce him it would be more than a hug." Tracy responded.
I looked down at the pretty red head hopefully.
Tracy glanced up at me and caught the look then stepped back out of my arms. "It's still too soon." she muttered nervously a guilty look on her face.
Calidia sighed then, "Are you sure?" she asked me.
I nodded. "It's clear he knows things and what I need the most right now is information." I replied.
"Can't you just ask your siblings once you establish the haven?" she asked.
I shook my head. "Having more than one source of information is important. No one is going to know everything, and they won't tell me all that they do know, I need to take what I get from each of them to try and piece everything together and find out what is the truth and what everyone just wants me to believe." I replied.
Calidia frowned. "What do you mean?" Calidia asked me.
I hesitated for a moment since this conversation could go in a bad direction really quickly but then decided to maintain my honest policy with her. "A good example is the havens." I told her.
Calidia frowned but waited for me to elaborate.
"You told me the havens are bound to the creator, and the moment they die the haven will begin to fall apart, and the knowledge my sister gave me supported that claim." I reminded her.
Calidia nodded while the other girls paid close attention.
"You also said my sister was a pillar of the havens right?" I asked.
Calidia nodded.
"Then how could she risk coming to look for you? If anything happened to her thousands or even millions could die right?" I pointed out.
Calidia hesitated for a moment then nodded.
"You also told me that many silvers didn't want to come out to the worlds and experience the mana waves because the risk of appearing in the middle of a twisted or beast colony was too high. Even if my sister is powerful enough to take care of herself, what about the other haven creators? What about there being thousands of havens and only a few hundred gold cores? It doesn't add up, which is why I need more information and not just the selected information given to me from a single source." I told her.
Calidia was silent for a while as she seemed to contemplate what I said a worried look on her face.
"Do you think your sister is trying to manipulate you?" Tracy asked worriedly.
I shrugged, "No idea. Maybe, or it might not even be intentional. It could just be information they are used to giving out to protect themselves, I just don't know." I replied. "I am more worried about the idea that there are other clans of bonders. Dad never said anything about them, but he worried about how I would use the ability so much so that they implied I wouldn't have liked the outcome had I misused it. If there are other groups, who is keeping them from abusing their gift? More importantly can I protect myself and all of you if we run into any of them? Perhaps he didn't tell me because he is still monitoring me and will help if I run into them, or the chances of running into them are low enough he wasn't worried about it, or he is just so old that he forgot that they even existed and could be a threat to me."
"Can't we just make our haven and ignore everyone else?" Dena asked me.
I shook my head. "No we can't, outside of the need for supplies, there are only a few hundred of us, and while I haven't done a poll, I am sure that the number of males outnumbers the females, especially since I have laid claim to twelve women already. We will need to look for more survivors while we look for supplies, or we can mingle with the other havens. There seem to be plenty of people in them that our group wouldn't unbalance the gender ratio by much." I replied.
"So now what?" Tracy asked me.
I looked around then spotted the pair of falcons. They were watching us as they commented to each other. I looked at the female again and while I still felt that she was attractive, my desire to claim her as my own had nearly disappeared convincing me that the beast form had a direct effect on my desire to dominate and expand my harem.
Feeling reassured that I won't overreact to the female falcon's presence I walk towards them to hear their answer. I hope they will join us, having someone who can understand the perspective of another type of beast would be useful to me. Especially if I can get it without causing a ruckus among my women. I know Megan and Karen seem to be alright with the idea of a harem, mostly because they don't have much of a choice, but I am also sure there is a limit to how many women I can have before they start to throw a fit. Then again with so many of my women in a limbo state trying to decide if they want to remain my women, it would be best if I don't push their patience.
"Have you decided?" I asked the couple as I reached them, though I remained several feet away from them so I didn't make them feel threatened.
"Could you tell us how many wives you have already taken?" the male falcon asked me.
"Twelve." I replied honestly.
"Daryl!" Tracy yelled at me unhappily.
I looked back at her. "What?" I asked.
"You said we had a choice!" she exclaimed angrily.
I nodded. "You do." I replied. "I will honor my word if you decide that you don't want to be my woman. That doesn't mean I will just sit around patiently like a dog waiting for you to decide whether you will give me a treat. I will stake my claim so everyone knows not to try and seduce you away. I will attempt to court you to assist in your decision. Besides, how many women do you think I would have dropped everything to run across the country to look for their family because she was worried about them?" I asked her.
Tracy stared at me open mouthed her shock at my reply evident. The other girls and even the falcon female giggled at her response.
"But.." Tracy started then stopped looking at me nervously.
"As I said before, your decision to be mine will not effect you or your families ability to stay with us. I do not want you to stay with me just because you are worried that I will toss you and them out on your asses. That isn't the kind of relationship I am looking for with you girls. If it was I would have already used my bonds to force myself on you and make you accept it happily." I told her.
Tracy stared at me a bit fearfully, and she wasn't the only one. Maybe I said too much.
Calidia slipped her hand into mine reassuring me.
After a few moments Tracy seemed to calm down but didn't say anything.
"We are willing to join you, but there are a few more with us. Is that acceptable?" the male falcon asked me.
"I would like to meet them before they join us, but there shouldn't be much of a problem." I replied. "Can you tell me your names now?"
"I am Gel." the male told me.
"An." the female introduced.
"Angel? Seriously?"