Starglow Basin Feel Good Inc

Laughter did not mean joy, and like the pealing of tin cans tied to the back of a moving vehicle, it was hardly a celebratory sound. What he'd noticed were symptoms, and he now believed the cause not to be a physical ailment, but trauma. Some might pity her, for who she had become. Haruto was a doctor. Pity was useless- medicine and treatment were what healed. 

His curiosity about what plants lived in this region provided an ulterior motive, one she wouldn't have to know about unless he was granted safe passage. She seemed keen to ward him off, but at the same time, he felt her dismissal was almost a cry for help. Her body language was more inviting than anything, and she hadn't bared her teeth. He wondered if this engagement was wearing her out by the minute. 

What's -'all this'-? He asked. What you've been dragged into; He clarified. What is it? Whether she'd intended to do so or not, she had piqued his curiosity by trying to push him away. And who are 'they'?