It took quite a while for Kirana to work up the nerve to talk to Harold. Well, it wasn't that she couldn't literally talk to him. She had been very curious about the process that had changed her from a simple sea snake to the sapient anthro she was now. But that was not what she actually wanted to talk to Harold about. After spending enough time with him, Kirana realized she had feelings for the scientist, which she wasn't sure he reciprocated. Especially if it meant that he would have to change his species if they were to be together. But Gaz and Teela had talked Kirana into talking to Harold about her feelings and she couldn't back down now.
As always, she found Harold looking over DNA data regarding the current focus on Animalian research; namely how Kirana's DNA ended up giving Teela more than just the ability to slither on land. "So, how's the look at python bones coming?" asked Kirana.
"It's coming along nicely," said Harold, "It's a bit tricky isolating the specific vertebrate that corresponds to the vestigial hip spur and find which part of the genome influences that. But once we've found that, we can find its counterpart in mundane sea krait DNA and we'll be able to give you and Teela mates without any unexpected developments."
"Well...about that," said Kirana, "I'm not exactly sure about my mate."
"Oh, your mate won't be any concern," said Harold, "After we've gotten the right gene we need, we can uplift him for you."
"No, it's not that," said Kirana, "I'm not sure I'd really care for him if he's uplifted."
That made Harold pause and turn to face Kirana. "Why would you say that?" he asked.
"Well, he is a handsome serpent," said Kirana, "If he was uplifted, he'd probably be even handsomer. But that's all I feel about him and from what I heard, being love is about caring for someone more than just mating."
"You might grow to like him," said Harold.
"But I already like someone else!" snapped Kirana before cringing with embarrassment.
"Really? Who?" asked Harold.
Kirana fidgeted a bit before finally steeling herself and saying, "It's you."
"Me?" asked Harold, mystified.
"Yes, I've known you for as long as I could think and I could feel a connection between us," said Kirana, "Please tell me you feel something towards me."
"Well, Kirana, I can't deny that you're a very attractive young woman, even if you are a snake," said Harold, "But are you so certain about this?"
"Why shouldn't I be?" asked Kirana.
"It's just...what if we're not a match for each other. I wouldn't want to start a bad relationship with you," said Harold.
Kirana sagged with disappointment. "Does that mean you don't like me?" he asked sadly.
"No, I didn't say that," said Harold, "I do like you. I just think we should know each other better."
Kirana blinked in confusion (a relatively new concept for her since she didn't have eyelids before). "But you know all there is to know about me," said Kirana.
"Well, I haven't seen how your personality has fully developed and you don't know me nearly as much," said Harold, "I'm not saying we could never be together, but I think we should try dating before we do anything concrete."
Kirana tilted her head and asked, "Dating?"
"It's like courtship," said Harold, "You do know what courtship is, right?"
"Does that mean you and several other males are going to be intertwining with me?" asked Kirana.
"Er, nothing so crass. Well, I'll show you how humans court and you'll see whether or not we're an ideal match. Does that sound fair?" asked Harold.
"I think I can work with that," said Kirana. Harold might think he's giving Kirana a fair chance to really know him, but she already had her heart set. And she was going to what she could to win Harold's heart.