Binary Love (18+)

Throw Me To The Wolves

"I want to help." Nova said firmly, making sure she stood at her full height and pushed her shoulders back to present herself as assertive as possible.

Next to Harou - a strong, dominant Lupus - the attempt at being imposing was mostly wasted. He merely gave a soft scoff, and brushed off her challenge to his authority with ease. Harou was still a gentleman however, and let Nova maintain eye contact with him so she could save face. Normally, if her behaviour had been from another Lupus, it would had made him feel the need to reassert his position in the pack. Because she was human and they had known each other for a long time, he knew that she had not meant to insult him. 

Sometimes, he wondered whether Nova even realised that he and Rosalind considered her as pack. She was naturally a fairly reclusive human, but since they had all fled to the station, she had become even further removed from others. If she had been a Lupus, he would have described her as a lone wolf.

"Of course, I would be surprised if you didn't." Harou growled back, flashing his sharp incisors in a human grin. "I need you and Rosa to help with running tests, especially with that Blue we found on the Beta." 

Normally, an Alpha would not use a phrase like 'I need', unless it was towards a mate or family member. But Nova was a pup in his eyes, and even though she had grown up since they had first met, he and Rosalind viewed her as theirs. He didn't think Nova was aware they viewed her as such - if anything, he suspected she would be slightly offended - but he also knew that she had no idea how much older he and Rosalind were.

"I don't mind what it is, just as long as I can do something." She responded, backing down a little now that she got what she wanted. She quickly glanced at the bio chamber housing Mark's developing body. At this stage, it was covered to shield others from the view of the developing tissue, but several screens had been set up to show the growth taking place. At the moment, everything seemed stable, but it would take time and a lot of work to make sure the early stages were a success. Even with such a herculean task ahead of her, the idea of not doing anything about the investigation into the Beta rubbed her the wrong way. The Lupus had broken into her workshop, her home, and had almost killed Mark. She didn't have the brawn to tackle Lupus matters like Harou did, but dammit she had the smarts. She was one of the founders of this station, and she damn well was going to shove her fingers into every pie she needed too, to find out how the hell a Beta tripping on Blue got into her sanctuary.

"I've already had a discussion with Rosa about what I need the both of you to do," Harou slowly unfurled his crossed arms, so as to not startle Nova. Although she was comfortable around him, he had noticed she had occasionally startled around other Lupus' that had moved too quickly for her. It would take time for her to not be so alert, and a project with Rosalind would help to distracted her while the android was in the bio chamber.

Harou's eyes quickly darted to the chamber. He was deeply intrigued about the android, but was unsure about the safety of this project. From what he had gathered from Nova, Mark had been the one to cause the lacerations to the Beta. As everyone knew, androids could not harm any sentient being, it was part of the laws within their coding. But Mark had somehow circumvented this; while the other androids had been able to weigh the Beta down, Mark had been meticulous in causing harm. The Beta was currently in intensive care and being closely monitored until the Blue could pass through his system. When Harou had gone to look at the Beta, he had noticed that each cut had been made with precision to either cause blood loss, or to cut tendons and slow mobility.

He was torn in his feelings about this. On one hand, this meant that the android had been extremely serious in trying to keep Nova safe. On the other, an android that was able to break such a fundamental law could potentially harm others in the future. Harou couldn't help but let a deep rumble come from his chest at the thought. He was pleased that Nova was safe, but was not entirely comfortable with her being around Mark once he awakened. Rosalind was quite adamant in vouching for his character, so he supposed he would have to bow down to his mate's insight for now. Besides, the android was currently stuck in a bio chamber and was certainly no harm in the state he was currently in. 

Harou was also intrigued that Mark had requested a Lupus body; he would get the chance to assess the android's character when he no doubt taught him how to deal with a Lupus' urges. What should have been a smoother transition would now be very jarring for the android, and he suspected the process would be overwhelming at first.

"I brought your things from the workshop and put it in the spare room." When he saw Nova about to decline the room, in favour of staying near the android, Harou quickly cut it off with a loud growl. "I will not back down on this, Nova. You need a proper place to sleep and work if you're to be at your best. You wont be able to help Mark the way you need too if you're not looking after yourself." Nova's little rebellion ended quickly, partly due to still being exhausted and partly because she knew Harou was right.

She glanced up at him, clocking his stern face and observant brown eyes. Homo Lupus were the closest humanoid species in Nova's opinion; sometimes jokingly referred to as were wolves, they looked like humans covered in a wolf pelt, complete with a tail, claws and ears. Their mouth wasn't as pronounced as a wolf's muzzle, but couldn't be described as having a human mouth either. Nova thought their mouths were closer to a cat's shape; as if their faces were part lion and human. Overall, the species looked very striking. With their charisma, intelligence and wild features the Homo Lupus tended to work well with humans.

"Do you know when I'll be able to move back into my workshop?" She asked, while awkwardly playing with her shirt sleeve. Although she was very grateful that she could stay with Harou and Rosalind, she desperately wanted her home back. Over crowded space stations were already too much for her liking, but without her space to retreat and relax in, Nova was worried that she'll soon become agitated by the lack of privacy.

"I've asked maintenance to repair your door and look into adding further security, which might take a while. Once it's complete, you can move back in, although I would prefer you staying here until we can find out what happened." Harou replied.

"I understand... I just..." She rubbed the back of her neck in exasperation, "You know I struggle with people." 

Harou gave a comforting rumble in response, nodding his head once in acknowledgement. He could understand her reluctance to be around others; even his Rosa would become nervous, worried that Earth Tech would find them all if they became too brazen. They all knew however, that Nova was the real prize, which resulted in the woman becoming increasingly paranoid over the years since they fled.

"Not many come into this lab, so hopefully that should give you enough space for now." With that, Harou made his way to the door, eager to continue with his investigation. "Rosa has patients to see during the day, so it would be of great help to me if I could borrow your expertise while she is busy."

"Of course," Nova responded, her eyes focusing on him in renewed vigour, "Whatever you need, just ask."

"If you can get started on analysing the Blue we found, I can focus on interviewing the Beta when he wakes up." He pressed his clawed hand to the scanner, opening the door with a quiet hum. "You can call me over comms if you find anything."

"Will do," She replied, "and good luck."

Raising a hand in a quick goodbye, Harou swiftly made his way out of the lab, eager to start the hunt.

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