The UnTamed

CH 22

Estrus or "Heat", a period during the reproductive cycle when female animals become sexually receptive and ready to mate.

-

Even when words aren't spoken, they still travel fast. It wasn't long before Bruce learned about Damian and Asta's "intimate" moment. Bruce was getting ready to pull out his sex ed slide show. Damian had already seen the slideshow, but a review never hurt. Plus, he now has an actual girlfriend. He wondered if he could get Astaera to watch the slideshow. He doubted it. She probably reacted the same as Jason. Jason said the alley taught him all he needed to know. Eventually, he did tie him down for the slideshow, but he didn't talk to him for weeks afterward, nearly two months.

Honestly, he just wanted to avoid Stephanie's situation. While Stephanie's pregnancy and child were never mentioned, it still happened. Bruce had kept eyes on the child, and as promised so far in their life, they had never gone wanting. He simply wanted to make sure that none of his children had to make that decision again. Especially not his youngest.

-

Asta had never had a physical before; learning this, Bruce set her up with Dr. Thomkpins, where she was now sitting in the medbay in a little cotton hospital dress, just having finished all the invasive procedures. Now, the Doc was making assessments and asking questions.

"For someone who had never been to a doctor, your health is remarkably well," she said, looking over her chart. She had never had a patient this healthy.

"Damian has been helping me. He's good at playing doctor." Thompkins sided eye her and Bruce with that comment.

"Well, he's done a very good job with you. You seem to be in top health." Asta grinned at the compliment.

"Do you know when your last menstrual cycle was?"

"I don't have one"

"It's okay. You're still young. I'm sure you'll start soon." she reassured her as she took a few more notes.

"I don't think I will," Asta said shyly. The doctor looked confused. Of course, she was confused; normal girls had their periods, and normal girls bled, but Asta wasn't normal. She was a meta-human. Her body contorted and changed to be that of the entire animal kingdom, so, of course, her body was somehow more animal than human, with more animalistic systems and behavior than human. She knew this, lived, and experienced it. She was well in tune with her body, even if she couldn't describe it. It's not like anyone would understand.

"what do you mean?"

"I'm an animal. And I do what animals do." She continues to look at her, confused. She breathes in deeply through her nose. " I don't bleed. Damian says it's probably because of my animal biology. I don't know how to really explain it. And... I don't want to. Can I go now?"

She didn't wait for an answer, simply ripping off the patient's gown and running away. She does not want to have this conversation with anyone (besides Damian).

-

Tim sighed. He had had a long week, and now he simply wanted to enter his last case debrief into the batcomputer and then take a nap. Approaching the clock, it swung open and out came Asta, who was running by in the nude.

He takes a moment, a deep breath ( in through the mouth, out through the nose), and decides today is not the day. Turning around, he goes to his bedroom. He was done for the day.

-

"Astarea," Damian called out to her as he entered their room. Alfred had warned him that her exam didn't end particularly well and that she might need him. He didn't elaborate, simply offering to take Titus for his after-school walk and told him to go.

"Astarea," he called again as he approached the bathroom, where he heard splashing. Stepping into the bathroom, he saw the tub full of water, a bottle of shampoo floating, and a small turtle on top of it. "Hello," he said, sitting on the edge of the tub. De Vu. Jumping into the water, she came back up as a girl.

"I'm not normal."

"We've already established that." she leans on the edge.

"Normal girls have periods. I don't."

"You have a desire to bleed monthly? A massacre between your legs, as Stephanie has described."

"I used your laptop, your Google," She said," I'm an omega."

"You're not allowed to use my laptop anymore."

"What?!"

Damian quickly got up and walked away. " You are forbidden from using the internet. Forbidden."

Asta Jumped out of the tub, following him. " But the internet said- "

"The internet is a lie. Ome- They are not real. A fictional creation for entertainment mainly used by writers and artists." Damian did not want to be having this conversation. He had stumbled across it long ago when they first hit puberty and instantly regretted it. While the information was informative, it was a bit too much for his mind then. At least he knew how to hold her due to the information. But that day, he scared himself in ways he, as a child, was not ready for it.

"why are we having this conversation?" Damian asked, tossing a towel at her before she sat on the bed.

"I had a physical exam today. They asked about my menstrual cycle. I didn't know how to explain myself." Asta had learned about periods through prostitutes, and she only approached Damian when she realized that something wasn't right. Due to being a meta, she knew she couldn't ask anyone else.

Taking the towel from her, Damian pushes her to sit on the bed and begins to dry her hair. Truly, it was an excuse to hide her view of his face. " You don't experience a menstrual cycle. You experience bouts of heat three times a year. You have cramping, mild fever, increased pheromone production, and touch deprivation." Damian knew all this because he experienced it with her. He watched, cared for, and held her while it all happened. The first few were rough, but they figured it out eventually.

Finished drying her hair, he tosses the towel into the waste basket. Tilting her head back, he kisses her forehead. "You are strange, yes. But you are no stranger than I."