The flames crackled lazily, painting the clearing in orange and gold. Isabella sat cross-legged beside the fire, chewing slowly on the roasted meat like someone in deep existential crisis. Glimora was curled beside her, happily nibbling on a small chunk of her own, tail flicking to the rhythm of the popping embers.
She had only asked a simple question.
A small, innocent question.
But the way Bubu had been talking for the last ten minutes made her regret everything.
"…and of course," Bubu continued in that maddeningly calm tone, "each beastman species has different reproductive cycles. For example, wolf bloodlines tend to bear litters in pairs—twins, sometimes triplets. It is an evolutionary advantage derived from pack behavior."
Isabella blinked slowly, blank-faced.
"Meanwhile, avian beastmen, like the phoenix clans, usually have only one child per cycle due to the energy cost of rebirth. And feline tribes—"
"Bubu," she said flatly.
