Firi's beaming smile felt more like sunshine than the sun lamps that provided the artificial park aboard the Crimson Tear. This had been a part of the ship that had been extremely easy to finish. The things that made soil fertile were fairly universal, and while complex life took a bit more care, aging with axiom for plants was surprisingly straightforward if one wanted some decent sized trees in a hurry.

The selection of Earth flora and fauna had been intentional, this ship would be something of an ambassador for humanity, in addition to needing to care for its human crew. Already there were some small squirrels running through the trees and through the grass, perfect for Mikasa to chase.

The pond had some koi in it, which many aliens found they enjoyed almost as much as their human counterparts. Jerry hadn't been sure about bringing fish genetics along, but he'd been rather glad that he did in the end.

The park was large, around the size of a football field, and contained plenty of space for recreation and play. It was quiet for now, but as Jerry wandered through the grass hand in hand with the now clearly very pregnant Firi, he reflected this place would almost certainly become one of the busiest parts of the ship in the future as various families continued to grow and expand, his own included.

Firi nuzzles into his side, clearly eager for the quiet, gentle affection she preserved compared to the greater enthusiasm of her blood sisters and sister wives alike. As Jerry always thought, Firi is patient. Kind. But she was firm, and growing seemingly more confident along with the litter in her womb as she grew into the role of den mother.

Shortly Firi picks out a perfect spot near the pond to spread their blanket out, and food is retrieved from the basket... including a secure container with Jerry's camp shaker in it. Just in case.

"Mhmm... it's almost as nice as going to a real park. Nicer perhaps because I don't have to share you with anyone... I probably couldn't go out alone with you like Jaruna, or big sister Syl can."

"Why do you think that, love?"

The pet name puts a wiggle in Firi's ears and a wag in her tail as she folds her legs beneath her and snuggles up to Jerry on the blanket. "Because Jaruna, now Ghorza, Wichen, Evie. They're all strong. Warriors. Syl has always been bold and courageous in her own way, standing early to help her mother, and protect her from well... my mother."

"Is it really so competitive in your family?"

Firi's face drops a bit, prompting a gentle, reassuring squeeze from Jerry.

"Yes. My father is... not a bad man, but he's... not like you. He's quite... soft. Gentle. Evie calls him weak. I think that's a bit cruel of her."

Firi stops for a second, taking a deep breath to focus herself.

"Syl's mother was one of his favorites, but she held very little sway in the clan for all that because our clan was very... modern. Influence past the first wife was determined by financial contribution to the clan. Never mind that Syl's mother raised most of the kits in the clan once they were weaned. My... mother was one of the only ones that really took an active hand in raising her children..."

The little vixen's face drops further as her husband pulls her into his lap, embracing her.

"It's okay, she's not here. I've got you. We've all got you."

"No."

Firi seems to look startled at the sound of her own voice for a moment as she cuddles deeper into Jerry's arms.

"I want to tell you. Need to tell you. You love me. So you deserve to know. I know you know bits and pieces... but it was. Not great. Mother thought struggling was good for us. In a world where plenty is available for most. So she created scarcity for us to struggle with. Older sisters, younger sisters, litter mates. Toys. Food. Affection of any kind... and many of my sisters learned precisely the wrong lesson, fighting each other for a scrap instead of coming together against her cruelty. It is part of how our clan lived down to the stereotypes about our species."

Firi takes another steadying breath before continuing.

"Volpir are known for many things... our ambition is one of them. It's a cultural trait as much as anything else. The ideal Volpir is clever, cunning, and ambitious, whatever she seeks, she seeks it aggressively, albeit by cats paws, cut arounds, and the great game that is the lifeblood of much of Volpir space. Politics, both of the governmental and underworld kind, ever swirling together in a vortex of alliances and back stabs. In the old days, Den Mothers gave up their a

ambitions, and were honored or rewarded for it.”

Firi starts to count, holding out a finger each time as she explains the three positions.

“The first wife was the mind, the sky mother the claws, and the den mother the beating heart of a proper clan. Its moral center if you will, and so Den Mothers generally gained quite a bit of soft power if they sought it, even as rivals saw it as them being eliminated from the game. More like taking holy orders than a true vocation per Volpir society. For many though what being a den mother meant was safety and freedom. Few would turn their claws against such a vixen, fewer still would survive the kind of wrath doing so would engender from all parties."

"Surely all of Volpir culture can't be a constant vortex of politics and the like."

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"No, not all of it. Low level clan members just plug away and try to gain power if they so desire... but many are simply happy to practice their trade, raise their children. Support their clan and family. But that was not to be my destiny, much as I wished it. Not with my mother ascendant in her sphere. It's tragic in a sense."

Firi gazes across the park for a moment, watching as a small squirrel races across the branch of a tree.

"For all her petty cruelty, for all her ill temper, for all her wrath, we have more now as a clan than my mother has ever been able to accumulate for herself and we’ve barely gotten started. For all her self importance and bluster, she will never be a leader within the clan, she was simply tolerated because of the wealth she generates. And even that has run out after Syl's mother..."

"Something happened with Syl's mother?"

A pained look crosses Firi's face. "She... it wasn't. She's okay. I want to stress that. Inara was a light to all of us in our little band of rebels. She infuriated my mother, witch that she is, because for all her insults and bullying Mama Inara never once broke or showed strain. She took all those insults with grace like they didn't even phase her. When the time came, when Evie decided enough was enough, she encouraged us to leave the clan and strike out on our own. Told us she was proud of us. Even helped the other girls get me out... mother wouldn't give me up without a fight, so they smuggled me out instead.

Faced with the mockery of having her own child smuggled out from under her nose, from my rejection of her cruel ways, my mother... hurt Mama Inara. Badly. Bad enough she couldn't bear children again without a healing coma. She hurt her a few times. Bad enough for a coma each time. She even sent one of my elder sisters to try and destroy the memory retention band."

Jerry shudders at the thought of so casually destroying a person's... personhood like that. "Ye gods and little fishes, that's disturbingly callous. Your mother was a sister wife to Inara and she was willing to go that far!?"

"Not just a sister wife, but a blood sister and litter mate too. My mother's pettiness knows few boundaries, and decency is something she considers a problem for commoners, peasants, and those of no standing or value to whatever she considers society. Hence why she demanded the strictest manners out of me while letting my sisters do as they pleased. To underline that I was lesser. If I was worthy I would have simply ignored her... to a point. It's one of her many contradictions. Obey her without question, but don't bow to authority or social moors.”

Firi lets out a sad little sound, clearly remembering unpleasant things, prompting Jerry to embrace her all the more tightly.

“As for the memory band incident. Evie... won't tell me what happened to my sister who tried to destroy Mama Inara's mind. Simply that Evie dealt with it. I can only imagine she killed her. Evie never had much sympathy for blood shared as opposed to blood chosen as she puts it. Inara vanished after that. Evie took her somewhere, used her military contacts and called in favors to have her vanish from the world... She's apparently joined a monastery somewhere, raising orphans. Still a mother after all attempts to rob her of that."

"Being a mother isn't what's in your body, or what's come out of your body. A vixen may have birthed you, but she was hardly your mother."

Firi sniffles a little bit. "No. She wasn't, was she? Inara did that. For all of us."

"Well considering I've married nine of her daughters I can safely say she did a phenomenal job."

"Oh you! I was being serious!"

Firi playfully shoves her husband, breaking down in giggles at the sudden lighthearted jab from her husband.

"We should probably eat before we lose track of time and ruin our dinner. I know Syl's making something special!"

"Right. Let's see..."

The basket is quickly opened, and a small spread of meats, cheeses, fruit and other delicacies is brought out. Jerry had been researching human style meals his wives could eat safely, besides Jaruna, who was up for anything.

Today's main course consisted of sandwiches. Fresh bread was a fairly universal delicacy, though the type of grain, texture, flavor and other details had as much variation throughout the galaxy as the forms of alien life that baked said bread. This loaf had been baked human style using wheat and was absolutely perfect for sandwiches. Two boxes reveal a set of egg salad sandwiches, and the other a set of pork cutlet sandwiches.

"What are these again, husband?"

"So the first one is the egg sandwich I told you about."

Firi's ears wiggle, tickling Jerry's chin. "Oh! The one made of eggs in a sauce made of egg."

"Pretty much yeah. I normally season it a bit more than I did, but I used some alien safe herbs as opposed to any spices to give it some subtle flavors beyond the egg it..."

The vixen tears into the sandwich eagerly, far more ravenous than her delicate nature might imply. Apparently she'd been rather hungry. Jerry can't help but wonder if she'd skipped breakfast to ensure she was hungry enough for lunch so she didn't offend him or something. It seems like something Firi would do.

"This sauce, this mayonnaise? It's very rich."

"Funny, most people think of it as being rather bland, but I made it with only the yolks of the egg, which changes the flavor profile quite a bit."

"Mhmm. Well I certainly appreciate it darling. What about this other one?"

"This one's focused around a type of meat called pork."

"Oh! Oh that's the one bacon comes from right? Is it bacon?"

"No, this is a different part of the animal, and prepared a different way to bacon, which is generally smoked and preserved. This type of cut is more meat than fat, where bacon is fatty intentionally. It's seasoned... usually. I held off this time. Then covered it in egg and flour, and deep fried it with a bread crumb called panko. Then there's a little mayo, some cabbage, all on bread. It's nice. Yours are in this box, mine are over here in the red one. Don't mix them up."

"What's the difference?"

"I added a sauce to mine that I'm not sure is safe for you to eat. I'll probably experiment at some point and try to figure out if I can start matching some of the flavors we like in human cuisine with things that you girls can eat. I want to share my cuisine with more than just Jaruna."

"That would be nice, though I'm not sure you're ever going to be able to make things like "hot sauce" and ground pain kernels palatable. These, on the other hand, I like quite a bit!"

A pleasing giggle rings out from Firi as she chomps into a cutlet sandwich. In a blink the entire box is gone, and Jerry's handing her a second he had in the basket.

"Don't worry, I've got plenty for you."

"Oops." Firi gives her husband a bashful look. "I guess I was hungrier than I thought darling."

"Well you are eating for nine after all sweetheart."