Daisy sat just outside the dungeon, Selena at her side. She flexed her hands slowly, gripping her heavy hammer fitfully. She said nothing, the silence dragging between them. The forest around them was quiet as well, as if waiting to see what might happen. Daisy lifted a hand, reaching for Selena. Her fingers curled around Selena's smaller shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Selena jumped in surprise. "You're alive! But what are you sorry for?" She reached to poke Daisy with her own hand. "What is this about?"

"That dungeon." Daisy pointed back into the depths of it. "It made me realize how far apart we really are. I'm still not sure what's normal or right for this place. I know that I love someone, but it's not really fair to ask her if she loves me when I'm such a lost idiot?" She fell backwards, flopped on the ground limply. "That was awful."

"Awful?" Selena slid in next to Daisy, thick tail curling. "You seemed to enjoy it."

"In the moment, sure." Daisy waved it away. "My body said I was doing good things, and it was, in the moment. But that was so, guh." She shuddered from her ears down to her tail. "There was no love, no affection. There was no warmth, only passion and desire, and I didn't care enough to stop it." She fell to her side, hammer hanging loosely from her limp hand. "How many people have I fucked since coming here?"

"Well, not me, not yet." Selena stroked Daisy's ear gently. "You need some time to adjust, don't worry."

"Adjust?" Daisy sat up sharply, almost knocking Selena aside. "Adjust, right." She took a slow breath. "This world has its own rules. My crazy baked in societal expectations mean less than nothing." She pressed a hand to either of her temples. "Damn it all. You're right."

Selena blinked slowly, then laughed as she pulled Daisy close. "Not the point I was going for, but sure. You're still thinking too much about it, aren't you?" She nuzzled in at Daisy's cheek. "You are super loved, and we appreciate your love in kind."

Daisy smiled, then pushed Selena away. "I know, and thank you." She pushed up to her feet, lifting her large weapon as if it were nothing. "I have work to do, on myself." She swung the hammer up onto her shoulder, then down into its sheath on her back. "We got what we came for, more than we came for."

"You don't want to play more with Daphne? She seemed eager to continue," Selena offered.

Daisy laughed, then shook her head. "I had enough empty lust for one day." She lowered a hand to her belly, imaging the result of their place. As if to answer her, a new status appeared.

─ Pregnancy: 7 days remaining until birth.

Daisy winced at that. "That's going to be an experience. I'll need to put things on hold for a while, I think, to focus on this. Maybe that will be good for me, a chance to think and sort all this out." She laughed tensely. "And I get to really finish finding out what the female experience is like. Fun for all involved. Let's hurry and get home before the week's up. Seriously, just a week? Is that normal?"

Selena followed after Daisy away from the dungeon. "Not really sure. Different species and such, you know?" She grinned, tail swishing. "You'll find out first, then tell us."

"Great." Daisy smiled back. "Well, I know it'll be a week." She hastened into almost a jog. "Can you keep up?" She grinned and began to run faster towards home.

"Sure, but why are we hurrying?"

Daisy's smile faded as she ran. "I have a ticking bomb inside me. I want to be somewhere safe when it explodes. And by explodes, I mean babies."

"Oh!" Selena darted alongside. "I'll lead, I'm the faster runner here." Her long legs let her take a position in front. The pair hurried quickly back through the caverns.

Hastily, the two returned to Raela. The guards just nodded at them as they hurried past. They knew where they were going.

Daisy opened the door to her room to find Cedric already there, working on something with a quill busily. "Hey! You're home already?"

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"I'm a fast worker." Daisy smiled at him, setting her weapon and armor aside. "How is school going?"

"She's pregnant," sang out Daphne with not a bit of subtlety.

Daisy winced, looking down at her belly. "I am." She made a gesture as if to deny it. "It wasn't planned, I promise."

Cedric blinked a few times, then smiled warmly. "Congratulations. Do you plan to keep it?"

Daisy blinked at that question. "Woah, wait, are you talking about, um, killing it?" She backed away, both hands on her belly protectively.

"No!" Cedric held out a hand as if to calm her. "I meant after it's born. Are you going to keep it?"

Daisy blinked slowly as if rebooting from that line of questioning. "I am going to stop pretending I understand. Please tell me, what are the options? I don't want to kill the child." She patted Selena's shoulder. "And thank you for saying it so plainly."

"Oh. Sorry." Selena blushed and looked aside. "You're from a different place, you don't know our ways, do you?" She leaned in towards Daisy. "When someone has a child, especially unexpectedly or suddenly, they may give it up for adoption. The child is cared for, but the mother isn't expected to do anything else with them. It's that simple. We have facilities to care for them until someone adopts them."

"I think I'd rather care for them myself." Daisy smiled, then relaxed with a laugh. "I was about to be horrified by the thought that you were suggesting killing it. Geeze. Um. It's my fault this is happening. I'll take that responsibility. This isn't like some wild monster pounced on me and mistakes happened."

Cedric nodded. "Fair, and good for you, but I want you to be sure. Don't just say that in the heat of the moment. You've never done this before. If you change your mind when they're born, that's fine, though it's easier now." He smooched Daisy's tense cheek. "We're here for you."

"Yeah!" Selena pumped a fist in solidarity. "Oh, we met another brood mouse, that was interesting. They're the dad."

"Really? Another brood mouse?" Cedric smiled in amusement. "That must have been fun. What are you going to name the kids?"

Daisy winced at that question. "It's too soon to think about it. Now, seriously, help me out. Should I expect one? Are twins common? All the details you have, share them."

"Ah." Cedric blushed at that question. "We could look it up. Let me see what I can find." He grabbed his books and began to leaf through them, looking for answers. "Let's see here, mice! Brood mice are still mice, mostly, right? According to this, mice have single children roughly a quarter of the time, twins a bit over half the time, and triplets the remainder."

"Right, so it won't be a horde." Daisy smirked at herself. "I was worried if they were like normal mice and had like, twelve at once, I don't know." She sank to her bed, setting her hammer to rest against the wall. "What a thing to come home with."

Cedric scooted to her side, patting her shoulder. "It happens. You wouldn't stop to help me if I came home with, um, three arms or scales or something, right?"

Daisy laughed at that thought. "Of course not. You would still be my dear little bunny boy."

Selena huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "So how do you feel?"

Daisy considered that, hand wandering over her covered chest. "I'd fix it, assuming you wanted to be fixed. I'd still love you either way."

Cedric patted Daisy's occupied belly. "And we're doing the same. We'll fix it, if you want to be fixed, and love you either way."

"You're right." Daisy smiled with a laugh. "It's not like my condition is harmful, so there is no need to fix it. It may be a pain, but it isn't bad." She cringed, thinking of it. "It's a natural process. This is just something females do, which I am. I just have to relax and listen to my body." She flopped back on the bed. "Ugh, I will die laughing if there's a minigame during it."

Both looked at her with confusion. "Never mind that. I'll be okay." She curled up on the bed and started to abandon her armor and clothes off to the side. "I'm home, where it's soft, and warm, and I have people that care if I keep breathing tomorrow or not."

"Right!" both said in unison.

Selena leaned in and gave Daisy a kiss on the nose. "You need sleep."

"You know what?" Daisy smiled tiredly up towards the pair. "I really think I do."

Selena turned to Cedric, drawing a vial as she did. "And you will be amazed! This mutagen affects your clothes. One sip, and you'll be dressed and ready for a gala or a ball. I can't wait to test it out, but since you are so much smaller, would you try it first?"

Cedric eyed the bottle with suspicion. "Is it safe?"

"Oh, very!" Selena patted Cedric's shoulder. Her other hand pressed a vial into his hand. "Besides, I want to see what a guy gets when they try it. It'll be fun!"