“I rather thought it’d be-”
Song flinched at her mother’s glare. She might come off as more mature, but she was just imitating Kaoru at her most imperious.
“No snark, young lady. No excuses. I know you’re pregnant. I can even figure out when and where, and have my suspicions on the father… though really, do you two have to share everything?”
I blinked at that one, then checked. Huh. Yeah, their children were half-siblings, by a young soldier they both had a crush on for years now.
“He’s a nice enough boy-” My turn to glare, and Chen’s to flinch down.
“That’s not the point. The point is that you’re both fourteen years of age. Nearly fifteen, yes, but still. You haven’t hit full mental, emotional, or even physical maturity, for all your bodies are capable of reproduction. Your mothers taught you better, and were quite blunt and explicit in your sexual education, including noting that their own actions were a very bad example.”
A deep breath in.
“So tell me. Why did you think this was a good idea?”
Song and Chen looked at each other, and the guilt on their faces said all.
“Exactly. At best, you thought you could trap a boy you liked by being the mother of his children. And that alone is a bad plan that we both taught you, in detail, the flaws of. More likely, you weren’t thinking at all, and now have to deal with the consequences of that inattention.”
I turned, and grabbed a pair of bottles off the shelf. Song nearly cried out, but Chen just started silently crying. She knew my apothecary, and those weren’t the “I’m not ready for a baby” potions.
“Drink these. They look, smell, and taste horrible, but will make up for your relatively immature bodies having to go through this. I’m just grateful to my Mistress that you’re both Expert rank cultivators, this is going to be rough enough on you both.”
Said Mistress’s namesake paled in shock, realizing what was about to happen.
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“You’re not ready for this. Either of you. But you’ll get my full support through the entire process and will give birth to happy, healthy babies who will share your mothers’ animal characteristics. The consequences suck, but you’ll learn to consider the consequences of mating by dealing with them first-hand. Congratulations, Kaoru. We’re going to be grandmothers.”
Kaoru was crying silently as well, but kept her composure. “I’m way too young for this.”
“You’re a fox. If you weren’t a cultivator, you’d already be a great-great-grandmother, and long dead.”
“I’m still not old enough for my baby to be having a baby!”
I shook my head at my friend’s mild histrionics. “Believe it or not, she reacted about the same way when we found out you two were coming.”
A brief sob from Song, but both girls smiled a little.
“You’ll still be expected to help out, but I’ve told you already what to expect from your cultivations. It’s easier at the Master stage, since you aren’t relying on an internal qi source, but I’m forbidding you both from taking that step until you’ve given birth.”
They nodded. “Guiyang will be thrilled to be an aunt. She’ll have the whole village knowing when she finds out.”
I smiled. “And aren’t you lucky to have an understanding and accepting village where every adult watches over and helps to raise every child? Believe me, single motherhood is a rough prospect, no matter the species. I’ve lost more than a few kits to my inexperience and inattention, back in the day.
Chen sniffed. “Dad’s really good at being there.”
“He wasn’t always, but I beat most of the arrogance out of him a long time ago. Now he’s only egotistical about what he’s actually good at.”
More genuine laughs.
“I’m just grateful Zhong was an idiot who thought mating with a fox-girl was some sort of exotic jackpot. He’s too scared of me leaving him to let go.”
“More like you keep his package so tightly secured that he doesn’t even realize how much you’re using him. Now head off, you two. It’s time to tell your baby-daddy the good news, and I’ve got other pregnancies to confirm and check on. Kaoru, go with them please.”
“Yes, Elder. As you desire, Elder.”
She bowed, continuing to mock me as she led our daughters to face the music.
Well, that was an unpleasant surprise. But it wasn’t the first time I’d had a teenager come to me with such an issue, just the first time it was one of my own. Statistically, it probably wouldn’t even be the last. Getting more than stern about it would just mean they avoided me until they were in serious trouble.
Still, I hoped those two learned their lesson. Kaoru and I were a bad example to follow.