extreme makeover

They were speaking in hypotheticals now, and Sedna wasn’t sure she could give a direct answer. “Depends on who it is an’ if I can be bothered lookin’ at ‘em after don’t it? Jus’ cos they’d make cute kids doesn’t mean yer wanna spend th’ rest o’ eternity wakin’ up ter their mornin’ breath.” The answer was given with amusement, but she supposed the logistics were something to consider if it wasn’t someone who had loyalties to the pack.

“If it was someone in a pack we were friendly with, I couldn’t stop ‘em from bein’ involved sometimes, but th’ way ma managed it was ter raise us, an’ then give us th’ option when we were yearlin’s if we wanted ter stay or go… Well, fer th’ cousins with dads outside th’ pack anyway.” She tilted her head in thought. Her own dad was her mothers first husband. There hadn’t been restrictions on her access to him. What would her kids be missing out on if they didn’t have access to a father? Maybe keeping one around wouldn’t be so bad.

“As fer Ma, she had my dad Renier, and Cela - who was also my uncles mate, an’ then there were th’ rest, it changed a bit, sometimes they’d grow in different directions an’ it was encouraged fer everyone ter do what made em happiest. An’ o course, not everyone was a boyfriend or girlfriend, it didn’t make any difference at th’ end o’ th’ day.” Everyone had the same expectations, was treated with the same respect. What they did on their own time was their own business, as long as all parties were consenting there was no need for undue drama. Well, no more than any other relationship. “Sometimes it was physical, an’ sometimes it wasn’, but lookin’ at other couples, I think they talked more, made sure everyone was on board before anythin’ changed or anyone new was bought in.” It significantly shaped what she looked for in a partner. Having kids was one thing, committing to a mate was a whole other long list of considerations, and she wasn’t getting any younger.

“Speech”