Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ai chuckles. "And we all know you had nothing to do with it... right?"

She turns to Salunia and gives her a toothy grin. "Parenting is a mixed bag, Princess. There's a heap of blessings on top of a mountain of responsibilities... all stemming from a single night of fun. I'll let yer Mama fill you in on the rest, but if I were you, I'd wait until yer brothers are a little older to ask her. Right now she's not going to paint a pretty picture."

Ai rolls her eyes. "It can be, but sometimes it comes with consequences... so, ye need to think about it a little bit more when ye get older.... things like three o'clock feedings and never getting to eat at the table because ye need to feed the littles.... stuff like that."

Ai nods. "The word is warp, Princess and that is true for now... but later, there will be consequences... that is just the way of the world. Even I have to be very careful. Mating can be fun, but it has a purpose and that purpose is to create littles.... who grow up to be like you and your mate. It is called the cycle of life. You are born, you grow up, you have little ones, then you watch as they grow up and have littles of their own... then you die and move on..."

Ai smiles at her. "There is that... as am I and Bez... but most creatures are not... do you know why?"

Bez chuckles. "She's got ye there, dulcha."

Ai rolls her eyes at him and nods. "Yes, but that isn't the real reason. Immortality sounds like something really special, doesn't it? But think about this... it's boring..." she says drawing the word out like a whine.

Bez begins to laugh so hard he has tears on his cheeks. "Ai... don't play with the kid."

"Well, it's true. For a while it's great... then somewhere along the way you begin to realize you've done that before... and done that... and done that... it grows stale, you stop trying to come up with new ideas. Life just doesn't mean the same thing anymore. Mortality keeps things from growing stagnant. There are other reasons... trust me, some are far more important than that, but I don't feel like debating them right now... and Bez and I still don't see eye to eye on all of them. It is good he's come to agree with me on some of the important ones... but there are a few he still thinks I'm wrong about and who knows, maybe I am. I"m not the All Father. It isn't my place to question."

Ai nods. "I know... so you won't have to bear our burdens... trust me, Princess. It is a gift, true, but sometimes I believe the burdens it brings far outweigh the perks. But know this, there is a spark of immortality in you... it burns bright and pure... that part of you will never die."

Bez nods in agreement. "Yes. You have something we do not. But your parents do, as does Kero."

Ai sighs and shakes her head. "Not exactly... not right now, maybe someday, but the future isn't mine to see. Kero is special, you see... but that is for him to find out... and he'll never f ind out if his ears keep growing. He's going to trip over them someday and fall down the stairs."

"Ha... that would be the day..." grumbles Bez.

"Oh, but it has happened, right Princess?" laughs Ai with a wink.