Family Matters
© 2022 by M. Mitch Marmel

Thumbnail art by  tegerio, color by  Major Matt Mason

Part Nine.


Winterbough:

“Three little moms to be are we
Proud as a mother well can be
Filled to the brim with mother-ly glee (EE!)
Three little moms to be!”

Coming down the road from the general direction of the Grotto and singing loudly were Missy, Ooo-er, and Tali. All three had their arms around each other’s shoulders, with the feline between the wolfess and the otteress.

They weren’t staggering, so they weren’t drunk. Of course, had Missy or Ooo-er made a try for the [Tears of the Trees], it would have tripped the wards I’d placed there. They were all dressed, Ooo-er in her pearls, and Aedith was dancing around them and laughing.

Apparently there’d been a reconciliation, which was good. Missy had been moping about for far too long.

It also seemed to be mutual, as Ooo-er turned and kissed Tali, an act that appeared to be enthusiastically received and reciprocated. Tali then kissed Missy.

“Well!” Anastasia said as the trio stopped by the Lodge’s front garden with a final whoop. Ooo-er and Aedith had joined paws and were still dancing around. “You three seem to have sorted out your differences.”

“Yes, we have,” Missy declared. She was happier than I’ve ever seen her. “Now we’re celebrating our similarities!”

That made me blink, and I glanced at Anastasia. “Beg pardon?”

“We’re pregnant!” Ooo-er sang out.

I was suddenly very aware that my mate was looking at me.

Please, Lady Fuma . . .

Without taking her eyes off me, Anastasia asked, “Who’s the father, Ooo-er?”

Her tone of voice made it abundantly clear that the last word she wanted to hear was my name.

“Arnie!” Ooo-er said, taking a pause from her dancing to hug and nuzzle Aedith. “He’s an otter I met up in Eastness.”

“That’s very nice,” my wife said, and I had almost started to relax when she stabbed me with a stiletto glare as she said, “but you said ‘we’re.’”

Tali grinned and said, “Missy and I are pregnant too.”

Anastasia’s ears swiveled. “Congratulations. I move the pending question.”

“You’re not going to believe this,” Missy said.

Without looking away from me, my mate said, “Try me.”

I wasn’t smelling smoke yet.

Yet.

Missy and Tali pointed at each other. “She’s the father,” they chorused.

Anastasia dropped her parasol in the dirt as we both turned to stare at them. “What?” I asked as I scooped the umbrella up.

The wolfess looked positively gleeful. “I’m carrying a kitten – hers,” and she pointed at Tali.

The feline grinned. “And I’m carrying a baby wolfess – hers,” and she pointed at Missy.

Anastasia was just as gobsmacked as I was. “How?” she managed to say.

Tali smiled. “While I’ll admit that it is possible, where I’m from, we had what you might call an Intervention.”

“Intervention?” I asked.

“Fuma,” Missy said, “gave Tali and I a gift for helping Eastness,” and the two of them started giggling.

. . .

. . .

. . .

[Note appended to manuscript: “Heh. Westersloe.exe has suffered a catastrophic failure and has shut down.”]

[Note appended to manuscript: “I have no idea what you are talking about, but I did nearly become an ex-Winterbough, if that's what you mean.”]

I gave my mate her parasol and walked away.

“Westersloe, where are you going?” Anastasia asked.

“The [Sheaf],” I replied.

“Wait. I’ll come with you.”


***


Anastasia:

Elves Don’t Lie. We did not go to the [Sheaf of Arrows].

We instead went to the Lodge, where I followed Westersloe to his study. Once we got into the room, my mate closed the door and set out two glasses, knowing without recourse to Elf-Mind that I needed a small glass of [Tears of the Trees] just as much as he did.

But before he poured a drop, he swept his grandfather’s skull off the shelf it was resting on and looked down at it. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” he said, before placing the skull face-down in a box, shutting the lid, and placing a heavy stack of codices on it before taking down the decanter.

He poured two roughly equal amounts of persimmon brandy and gave me the smaller of the two. I took a bare sip, but by the time I finished it he’d already downed his and was pouring another.

“Westersloe – “

He held up a finger, and I held my peace until he’d swallowed his second glass. Pouring a third he said, “Yes, [precious mate]?”

“What’s wrong?”

“’What’s wrong?’ My love, while I am thankful every day I look around the Vale, and thank Fuma constantly for Her grace and favor to me, I can’t help thinking that She’s forever searching for ways to take the piss out of me.” His ears were drooping and he started pacing. “I mean, Ooo-er being pregnant, okay, that’s natural as she had venery with an otter mel up in Eastness, but with Missy and Tali being pregnant – with each other as the father – and all of that on top of having my maid having venery with my buck-fawn without me knowing it and she carrying his child and setting up traffic between here and Eastness and – “

I got to my hooves and took him in my arms, and he started to go quiet. I was beginning to get worried, because he was starting to sound like one of the Ashearth Sisters.

He shuddered before relaxing into me. “I- I’m sorry . . . “

“Don’t be. You’ve had a large number of shocks.” I gently moved him to his armchair, settled him down in it, and then took my accustomed seat on his lap and started stroking his ears.

“So have you,” he pointed out. “You’re taking this pretty well.”

I kissed him. When we parted I said, “[Precious Mate], I think I learned when I was at Licksburg to accept the things I can’t control, and try to control the things I can,” and I kissed him again, “and to be patient and rely on my love to help me kick the things I can’t control into the Netherhells.”

That managed to make him smile, and we spent a few minutes nuzzling and kissing each other.

“Now,” I said, “you know what’s going to happen?”

“No.”

I smiled. “I’m going to have Nippy draw a nice hot bath and bring up some tea and cookies, and you and I are going to relax.”

He quirked a brow. “’Relax?’”

“Well, eventually.”


***


Tali:

Ooo-er, Missy and their daughter had gone off to celebrate and tell the rest of the Master’s household. I could only imagine the reaction of the two ditzy wolfesses that I’d met searching the frog pond for us when we came back from Eastness to the fact that Missy was going to have a kitten.

Meanwhile, I found myself headed back to Glenallid.

Because I needed to talk to Matt.

And because I had thought of something. I do think, from time to time, you know.

Some of the wolves saw me headed back to my wagon and appeared disappointed that I was fully clothed. At least one gave a slightly mournful howl as I stepped inside.

“You’re clothed,” Matt observed.

“Well, I didn’t have to, but just in the way of variety,” I said, striking a pose. My bear gave me an appreciative whistle. “It’s the easiest way to carry them.”

“True. So, you’re pregnant.”

“Yeah.”

“By a wolfess.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Without benefit of tech.”

I nodded. I had a silly grin on my face, and knew it, and couldn’t have cared less.

Matt pinched the bridge of his nose up by his eyebrows. “So, any idea how?”

“Divine intervention.”

He blinked. “Divine – you mean this ‘Fuma’ the Elves go on about?” I nodded, and my mate said, “Look, I read your report – “

“Nice of you.”

“ – And I know what you say you saw.”

“Ah,” I said, “but this was the second time, and both times I had witnesses. How do you explain that, bright boy?”

Matt chuckled. “More data’s required. I’m not like Fred; he gets plenty of lower body exercise jumping to conclusions.”

“What about upper body?”

“Flying off the handle, how else?” He grinned and we both laughed. “By the way, HQ says they got the report.”

“Oh goody.” I sat down at the console and switched on the ansible.

“What are you up to now?” Matt asked.

“Just writing a letter. We have to let the rest of the family know.” I picked up a stylus, thought a moment, and then started to write Dear Low-chan . . .




<NEXT>

<PREVIOUS>

<FIRST>