Ari’s and Anna’s birthdays were in the same week, and if that wasn't hectic enough already, the queen and king decided to give a small reception for the princess where everyone could congratulate her. That wasn't the worst part, though. While that was happening, the royal couple decided to make the duo official after they started dating roughly two weeks ago. Naturally, that was beyond embarrassing for the two.
Sophia decided to keep the tension high and made the princess an exceptional birthday gift. Just as she accidentally did with Ari a while ago, she shared some of her magic with Anna to roughly equal the couple’s power again. As the higher level of magic has some side effects, she also had to do some explaining to do afterward.
“W-What catch are we talking about here…?” Ari looked slightly concerned while repeating the blonde’s words.
“Well…” She wasn’t sure how to start. “First, sorry that I waited until now to tell you…”
“I REALLY don’t like the sound of that!” The jaguar started panicking a little.
“Anna, do you know why tigers grow older than most of the beastfolk? The regular beastfolk, that is."
“Uhh… Yes, I do… but father told me not to mention it… Wait?!” Her eyes suddenly became big.
“Yes.” The blonde nodded. "Maya already knows it, and Chloe probably, too, so it should be fine to talk about. Not to mention that I don't care about keeping it a secret in the first place.”
“Could someone tell me what’s going on already?!” Ari just raised her voice even more.
“Well… Long story short, tigers become a good bit older because their magic usually is higher than the rest of the beastfolk.” She didn’t know the actual age tigers could reach, but she recalled Menzor mentioning it.
“Oh, is that why a lot of them got way past over 100… Wait…?” The jaguar’s expression changed in an instant. “I-I have like five times the magic Anna had till today after you boosted me! D-Does that mean I’ll grow f-five times older now?!”
“No, it doesn't work quite like that…”
“Phew…” She looked a little relieved.
“It grows kinda exponentially…”
“E-Eh…?” Every sign of relief had washed away from her face again.
“Err, I asked Fen when it happened with us,” Sophia glanced at the jaguar. “So, it should be the same for you, too, Anna…”
“W-What does that mean for us, then…?” The princess also looked concerned.
"According to Fen, your magic is a good bit about those of the elven race, so… You two should become at least as old as them. Probably older, even…”
“…” The two were speechless.
"A-Aren’t elves supposed to get like a t-thousand years old…?” Ari eventually spoke up again.
“From what Feyfey told me about magic aging, you two should definitely reach 4 digits easily." Apparently knowing about it, Chloe also gave them her own assessment. "Elves have no problems reaching that age, after all."
“N-No way…” The duo started trembling a little.
“On the plus side,” The fox-girl scratched her cheeks. “You’ll stay about as young as you currently are for half an eternity…”
“Yes.” Sophia nodded. “Not only do you grow older, but you also pretty much stop aging around our visual age.”
“W-Well, I am pretty happy with my current style…” Anna cheered up ever so slightly.
“M-Me, too…” So did the jaguar. “S-Still… seriously…?”
“Yes…” The blonde just kept nodding.
“WAIT!” The princess suddenly got loud once more. "I-If we will be getting THAT old…" She glanced at Maya before staring right at Sophia. “How old will you two get?!”
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“Uhh…” She got more awkward again. "A-According to Fen, unless some sort of horrible accident happens… we, well… we probably won’t naturally die…”
“…” The cat-girl kept silent on the topic.
“T-There’s just no way that that’s…”
“You know how strong Fen is, right? He also can’t die of natural causes. The last time he was in the capital was around the time it was founded. He even was around when the demons were still around on this continent. He and Aura told me many stories about them, too. It’s definitely true. Actually, I saw drawings of him in ruins we visited that seemed to be hundreds of years old.”
“T-The founding of the capital…? Do you have any idea how many centuries ago that was?! I'm not even getting started on the demons. That was millennia ago!" Ari refused to believe it.
“Well, it’s up to you to believe it or not, but I do, so…”
“…” She went silent again.
“So… Is that why I believed Chloe looks a bit younger than 19, the age she claims to be…? She also has more magic than most, probably even more than she feels like because she can use chantless magic…”
“Yes.” The fox-girl nodded. “I stopped aging a few years ago, right after I had a massive growth spurt…" She paused for a moment afterward. "Yes, I'm talking about my chest…" Chloe noticed the gaze of Maya and Sophia.
“I-I see…” Anna looked a bit conflicted before glancing at Sophia.
“…” She looked back at her. “My growth spurt wasn't quite over yet. Shut up!" Her gaze turned into a slight glare. "I still have the chance to make them bigger with the right diet!" She raised her voice. "Also, don't you dare to mention how that’s mostly a myth!”
"I-I didn't say a word!" The princess lifted her arms in defense. "Also, you're pretty much the exact same size and height as Ari. That's my favorite size!"
“I agree!” The fox-girl sided with her.
“Good save.” Her expression relaxed again.
“Phew…” Anna looked relieved about that. “Wait a moment…” Her gaze then got more intense than ever while looking at Maya and the blonde. “I never questioned it because you two are about as playful and easygoing as whatever your visual age suggests. Sophia even being outright unhinged at times, but both of you are oddly wise and responsible at times, too… How old are you two?!”
“OI!” The duo didn’t like the implication and heavily glared at the princess.
“I-I wasn’t trying to say anything here!” She got quite intimidated by them. “I-I just got curious…”
“Do I sound or act like a fully grown adult to you?” Sophia then started smiling again. “I have my moments, but you know just as much as I do that I’m pretty much still a spoilt child. I’m a little older than Chloe, but it's not really worth mentioning.”
“Same for me.” Maya joined her. “We’re pretty much the same. Only Fen and Aura are the ones with actual experience from age.”
“I see.” Anna decided to be happy with that and didn’t ask any further questions. After all, it was pretty apparent that Sophia especially wasn't any more mature than the other girls for the most time, and that's all that counts. “Though, seriously… is it really true…? Are Ari and I going to be that old…?”
“Well… I’m not going to guarantee anything, but that’s what I learned from Fen.”
“Feyfey taught me the same.” Chloe gave her some backup.
“I-I see… and we’re going to stay young for most of it…? I haven’t met any elves, but they’re supposed to retain their youthful image until almost the very end, right…?”
“That’s what I heard, yes.”
“Well, I can't say I don't like the sound of that, but…" The princess seemed a little relieved, but the whole situation obviously still was a lot to deal with.
“Yup, that’s how it is.” The fox-girl also nodded. “Once they stop growing, all elves look between 15 and 25. Though, their expressions make them seem a little more mature. Actually, I met an elf who claimed to be 1200 years old, but she looked younger than Sophia! It's a common belief among elves that once you start to look significantly older than 25, it means your final 150 years have begun. It seems to be true because actual elder elves are super rare. I only met like two that looked over 50…"
“And there you have- Wait, what…?” Sophia was happy about the support, but something about Chloe’s explanation piqued her interest. "That almost sounds like you met some elves…?"
“I met several, actually. Why?” She tilted her head. “You didn’t? They’re a fun bunch, you know? I can really recommend visiting them.”
“Why do you think I was so excited when visiting the elven village where we met you?!” She got loud. “I want to meet the elves so badly, but I have no idea how to find them! Even Fennyfenny and Aura said it's mostly luck finding them!”
“Ah, I see… Well, it’s not that easy to run into them, true… I had to pester Feyfey for quite a while until she finally found an inhabited village of them.”
“Why didn’t you tell me when we were talking about our previous adventures?!” The blonde got loud again.
“Uhh…” She scratched her cheek in return. “Feyfey and I stayed in 3… 4? Something along the lines of that elven villages so far… I am aware that they’re rare, but I thought you already met elves before…”
“I DIDN’T!”
“I-I see…”
“Uhh… Ari, Anna, I really want to question Chloe about some stuff, but you two are more important right now!” Sophia still had her priorities right. “Is there anything else you want to know about the age thing… I’ll try to explain as much as I can. I could also get Fen and Aura as they know more about it…”
“…” Ari still looked troubled. “I… I first need fully wrap my head around it… I am sure to have more questions later, but for now, I have to gather my thoughts first… It’s too much at once… I still can’t actually believe it…”
“It’s the same for me…” Anna nodded. “Feel free to get excited with Chloe. Once you’re done, I’m sure we have some more questions… Right now, I also have to think a little about it…”
“Okay! Please interrupt us the moment you want to know anything!”
“Will do…”
“Chloe!” Giving the couple a slight smile, she then faced the fox-girl. “TELL ME EVERYTHING!”
Afterward, she inched closer to Chloe by sliding toward the edge of the sofa next to the armchair the fox-girl was sitting on and stared at her with big, expectant-looking eyes. She was looking forward to hearing a nice story.