Pairs of Pumpkins #11: The Teleporting Tours of a Top-Heavy Teenager (10/13)

Pairs of Pumpkins, Episode 11:

The Teleporting Tours of a Top-Heavy Teenager

by Jess Faulks

Chapter 10 of 13

Descending the stairs, Anastasia could hear her siblings more clearly now and smell that it was dinner time, a much later and informal time than at Zarron's, fitting for a house full of children and run by teenagers. Osvaldo, a half-rabbit they'd rescued was conveniently a trained, gourmet chef and naturally took over the task of preparing the family's daily meals.  

She took a deep breath as she neared the first floor. There were so many of them, it was still overwhelming. There'd never been a single, crowded room during her childhood and this one was entirely full of her blood relations.

All seventeen of them were here: Osvaldo was in the kitchen and Constance was setting the table. Around the fireplace were the younger children: the twin fox girls, Vita and Vox, rescued from slavery and their preteen, quadruplet sisters, Callista, Celestia, Caelia and Cordelia, all saved from a future as breeders. Jaka, a slave boy and Liana, bought by another brothel owner, were the youngest.  

In all cases, they were recovered before they could meet their intended, dark fates beyond service and house work.  

Back in the kitchen, Mihael, a young half-stallion was helping Osvaldo with the dishes. Also younger and spared from a fate as a breeder, he'd demonstrated an eagerness to help where ever he could.

Around a new, much longer dinner table that the older boys had made, they sat, discussing fighting strategies.  

Marco, Matteo and Dante were half-wolf triplets trained as gladiators and old enough to have fought and killed in the arenas. They were natural mentors to the younger boys, especially the eleven year old Georgi and Petri.  The twins were from the same wolf father as the triplets and the Duodecaplets and intended to be personal bodyguards to a powerful and unscrupulous merchant.

"Ana! You're back!" The bustle of the room, already more loud and lively than she'd ever seen, erupted in joyful greetings and she was swarmed with hug after hug, a comforting closeness from a family that had only met each other over the last few months.  

"I can't stay long but I need help. Quickly." The older siblings quieted the younger ones before she continued. "I have three more of our brothers and sisters upstairs but... they're not born yet."

"We're adding actual babies now?" She noticed Constance's face get more tired in an instant.  

"They're in eggs, like big bird eggs. Just like I was and all of you were."

"Is everyone born in bird eggs?" Jaka the youngest asked, raising his hand.

"Don't be stupid, Jaka," one of the younger half-wolves nipped.

Matteo nudged him. "Don't be rude to your brother, Petri."

"Everyone here gets a pass on a bad education," Constance added. "Most of you were raised by very bad people who were very bad teachers. We're going to fix that."

Anastasia smiled before continuing. "There are two eggs in my bedroom. I need two of you to bring them down here. Put them near the fire. There's also a heavy bag that I need moved to the library."

"We get to go in your bedroom?" Cordelia, one of the preteen quadruplets asked. "I thought that was off limits."

"It's safe as long as I bring you in."

"I'll do it," Mihael the half horse, was first to volunteer.

"Thank you, Mihael but they're big. And heavy. Very, very fragile. It's a better job for the grown-ups."

"How did YOU get them here?" Petri asked.

"Carefully."

"Her boobs are too big to carry anything," Caelia, another quadruplet added, earning a glare from Constance. "So are yours!" Constance's fists dug into her hips but Caelia was undeterred.

"What? I'm going to have them too. Hopefully not as much as either of you," she shouldered her way to the front of the crowd. "Might as well move stuff while I still can."

After some coordination, the eggs were brought to the ground floor then two of the oldest boys spotted for the armless EMA's surprisingly competent descent down the spiral stairs. Ana then led Dante,  the third of the oldest to bring the heavy bag to the house's much less impressive library.  As he did, she stashed the jar of unfertilized eggs in the library safe.  

Just as they finished, Osvaldo called out for dinner to be served.

"I'll be down in a minute," Anastasia yelled back. Dante lingered in the doorway.

"Hey Ana. Mother... is she coming back soon? To visit?" He and his brothers had a strange accent that flowed like a song. She'd never heard it from anyone else.

He played innocent well enough, not knowing she was invisible in the room when Portia had sex with all three of them. The adult half-wolves, potent, rippling with muscles and aroused by their mother's appearance,  reacted exactly as Jasper had predicted and had no qualms at all about diving into an eager foursome with their biological mother after the introduction and explanation. They hadn't even left their bedchambers, under the arena where they'd been met.

The triplets had alternated between her hands, mouth and the sex they'd once been plucked from, skillfully driving their mother to bliss over and over again until all three found gushing relief and some perverse pleasure, in painting her cervix with their familial seed.  

As professional warriors and local celebrities, they were mature and experienced in ways that Jasper was short of, and their strength and confidence in their lovemaking made the experience almost frighteningly rough but in a way their mother seemed to enjoy.

Anastasia decided to stay hidden but took great delight in watching three strapping wolves who were obvious brothers of the Duodecaplets, drive their mother to shameless bliss.

Always strategizing, Portia ensured none of them knotted her so they could escape afterward. When her mother realized Anastasia was still invisible when they finished, she was clearly pleased that the four of them would have to sneak out without the help of magic.  She still didn't understand her mother's aversion to doing things the easy way.

As they escaped, her mother explained they needed to keep their forbidden relations a secret. Hiding the recognizable and now missing gladiators out of sight is what sold Portia on the plan of keeping the family at Zarron's old house, far, far away.

The same discretion and discussion had happened with Osvaldo. He didn't know the triplets had also been with their mother and the triplets didn't know about him. Those secrets were not sustainable in the long term but for now, the best her mother could come up with.

Anastasia frowned at her half-brother. "We're so busy with the rescues. Soon."

He smiled. "Sure, sure. Just... It's boring here. And lonely. We had no freedom to do what we wanted before and now we have all the freedom but nothing to do with it."

Ana nodded. "I understand."

"Constance, she talks about helping with the rescues. It sounds good, you know? Better than just sitting around here."

"Please, be patient. We'll figure it out," she stepped in and pressed her breasts to his chest then her hands on his shoulders until she was nose to nose with him. His brows were high and surprised when she gave him a sharp, singular kiss on the mouth.  

He opened his eyes. "Yes. Yes, of course. We're not going anywhere but we would do more good out there than in here. We want to help. And we want to see mother again."

"I know. Go. I'll be down in a minute." He turned, leaving her alone.

Anastasia emptied the bag carefully onto Zarron's old desk to sort later. Most of it was just to keep out of his hands and all she needed to be researching in the near term were the three books on Soulcraft.

She pushed those back into the enchanted bag, which had shrunk back to a reasonable size once emptied. She scooped some of the gems and jewels,  adding some to the bag but a few smaller ones in her robe pockets.

"Ana!" the preteen Caelia barked and she jumped. She'd snuck into the library silently and was clearly satisfied that she'd done so. "Osvaldo says your food is getting cold."

After an annoyed sigh and a glare back to her smirking younger sister, she took the now much smaller bag to her room. Everything was set just off the teleport seal and she closed the door behind her and headed down the stairs with her usual care.

A quick double check of the eggs confirmed they were near the fireplace: not too close and not too far.

Anastasia then joined the odd, new and large family for a second dinner, only a partial serving at her request but a pitcher of water for her dry mouth. As they ate, she told how she'd taken the eggs and that soon, they would have three more brothers and sisters. Constance just kept shaking her head.

"Growing them in eggs mean that these three will be born more developed than naturally-birthed children. They won't require nursing," Ana explained and her sister sighed with relief. "Zarron designed the whole process to be low maintenance. He wouldn't have been able to pull this off otherwise."

"The boy's name is Hanzo. The girls are Aysha and Rafa."

"How will we know which girl is which?" Osvaldo the half-rabbit chef dabbed his mouth with a napkin.

"Does it even matter?" Caelia asked. "Didn't Zarron name them?"

"Either him or the buyer," Ana replied. "But they have names."

"But they're not born yet. They don't know what their names are."

Ana blinked, considering. "No. No, they don't."

"So can we give them new names?" Cordelia, another quadruplet said, exciting all of the younger children.

"Can we call one 'Ham Sandwich?'" Callista laughed.

"What about something pretty and dignified? Like Elizabeth?" Isolde said, the next oldest female after Constance at age 13. Like Anya, she'd been bought to be someone's future bride and rescued before that could happen.  

"I want to name the boy 'Doomslayer!'" Petri, one of the wolf twins rubbed his hands together.

"Why not one of the girls?" Caelia asked, sitting across from him. He recoiled, obviously kicked under the table.

"We can name one of the girls 'Skullcrusher?'" Matteo, one of the older triplets shrugged.

"And the other one can be Blooddrinker!" Georgi, the other wolf twin added with a laugh.

"Perfect!" Caelia clapped.

Ana stammered a little as she cut in. "Rafa, Hanzo, Aysha," she pointed at them in a row. "We can't just change their names."

"I think we can do whatever we want," Constance leaned in with a shrug and a smile. "But all of those names are terrible. We'll think of something."

Ana considered for a long moment. "Fine. But Constance has final say."

"Of course I do."

"What about the egg with legs?" the youngest boy, Jaka asked.

"Egg legs?" Cordelia nudged her sister, Callista.

"L'eggs!" Callista replied with a laugh.  

Ana flustered again. "It's name is EMA. It stands for Egg Moving Automaton."

"Its name is EGG MOVER?!"

"That's so dumb!"

"No," she shook her head. "It's name is EMA. Not Egg Mover. "

Dante twisted in his seat to look it over, studying. "So, that's all it does? Move eggs?"

"It'll do anything I say. But it's not built to do anything except move eggs."

"How often did these eggs have to be moved?" Matteo mused, looking between his brothers.

"And how far did he need to move them?" Dante, his triplet added. "Why didn't you just carry them?"

"We already established this!" Caelia pointed. "Her boobs are too big to carry things!"

Ana huffed. "It doesn't matter. It lives here now. You can use it to help around the house. Just... be nice to it. Don't play rough. Don't abuse it. It would be impossible to fix EMA if it broke. I would be very disappointed. Very upset. EMA is not a toy. EMA is a friend. Does everyone understand?"

The table of foxes and fox-hybrids all nodded together. Conversations split off after that, with joking and laughter from the younger end of the table. Constance changed seats, squeezing in next to Anastasia.

"I know you're not staying long but I wanted to talk to you about something." She looked over at Dante, Matteo and Marco, who were all listening before she continued.  

"Mom's rescue plan: it makes sense if all of our brothers or sisters were still helpless children. But you've got three trained warriors sitting right there, going stir crazy. You've got me, who knows the ins and outs of city infrastructure and you've got over a thousand possible heists to pull off. That's just the start of it. I studied the ledger while I was making copies of it, and I made a new list of which of our adult siblings might be able to help with rescues or with building out a larger, sustainable community!  

"You've got over a hundred daughters and sons of ages good enough for most militaries, who were bought to be soldiers, archers, assassins, warriors and wizards, but also excavators, builders, engineers and other useful trades. If you prioritize a few more of the family who are better suited to childcare and other domestic skills, you can free up those of us who'd be more helpful to the mission, to come and assist. Then you can prioritize other older, more capable children, who can help to rescue even more."

Constance shifted in her seat with restless energy.

"I know Mom spent a lot of time on the plan but this is simple math for compound results. It's going to take forever to do it her way. Literally decades. You know how long that list is. She's ticked off a little over thirty. In a year!"

Ana thought for a moment. "We've talked about this before. The way we do the missions doesn't make sense with a big group. When we go in invisible, I don't even need mother's help." She blinked after she said it. She cleared her throat and added. "She's better at explaining than I am. The whole situation."

Constance huffed. "I don't mean as one big group but smaller parties of anyone willing and able to help. Like the triplets and I! We split up into parties of complementary skills, then match them up with rescues of an appropriate risk level. I know Mom didn't have anyone with her yet who could hold their own until you came along, but you're not the only capable one. And you're not the only smart one."

"Remember Anya and the fireball story?"

"I remember. Anya didn't know how to use a Fireball ring. Most people don't."

"Mother said Anya is also training at one of the premiere military academies in the world," Marco, the quietest of the triplets leaned in. "You're going to let her help when she comes back, aren't you?"

Ana watched Constance, tensing her jaw and considering.

"I know you're tough and you're incredibly smart, Anastasia" Constance conceded. "Maybe the toughest and smartest of us all. But it's a big family. Don't underestimate us."

"Are you saying the three of us aren't smart?" Matteo half chuckled.

"Just you, Matteo," Dante ribbed his triplet.

"We're identical, brother!" he winked. "If I'm an idiot, so too must you be."

Ana looked up, choosing her words. "I did a lot to prove myself to Mother. Prove I could stay safe on my own. I did stay safe on my own, for months. I didn't give her a choice. You? I know you could help. I know you're smart. I know you three can fight. Mother knows too.  

"But she's scared. For us. That something will happen. This is the first time I've gone on a mission alone. Even when I do all the work. Even when she slows me down. She's scared to not be there to protect us." 

The change in Constance's expression showed that some of Ana's frustration had leaked out. Her sister leaned in.

"Mom's plan will take decades, Anastasia. I understand she wants to protect us but she's going to hurt a lot more of us by trying. Less family, rescued less often has a price too. Brothers are going to be sent off to war. Sisters are going to be forced into marriages and pregnancies. Some of them may not survive their fates. Others may choose not to endure them."

Ana looked down to her dinner plate, barely touched after an appetite wasted on table scraps. They were right. Their mother wouldn't like it.

Constance continued.  "We have to go faster. This is how we go faster. If we do, we might actually be able to save them all. Think of all the ones that haven't aged into the shitty part of their destinies yet. Isolde was going to marry a crooked politician. The quadruplets were going to be popping out babies in a few years."

"I've killed three men in the pit since last year," Marco confessed. "One of them was a father."

Constance put her hand on his and squeezed but her eyes were locked to Ana. "We don't have the time that mother thinks we have. We have to go faster." 

All eyes were on Ana, including the younger ones who noticed the escalating intensity.

"Mathematically, you're correct. Mom's not a mathematical thinker. I'll talk to her. You work on a more detailed plan. Real numbers. Projections. Presented simply. Maybe you can convince her yourself."

Constance sighed and nodded.

Ana looked them over. "Give us some time. I'll work on it." 

"Fine."

"Good. I need to go."

"Ana, is that blood?" Constance reached out and Ana recoiled. "The corner of your mouth."

She ran her tongue over her teeth and tasted iron. Too much magic too quickly was taking it's toll on her body. She only had one more to go for a while.  

"I bit my tongue. I'm fine." 

Constance frowned as Ana took a deep drink of water then she stood up from the crowded table, another common movement made into an ordeal for the sheer size of her chest. Upright, she wiped her muzzle with a napkin. "It was really good to see you all. I'm sorry I can't stay. I'll be back soon, with more brothers and sisters."

"Rescue a nanny next. Or three," Constance leaned back in her chair. "Before those hatch, please."

"Take care of them. Give them names they'll be proud of when they grow up," Ana said, before hobbling over to EMA.

She waited for confirming nods before she turned her attention to the automaton.

"EMA: Rotate each egg in place one hundred and twenty degrees, every fifteen minutes until they hatch. Offset the time of each egg's by five minutes from each other. Start now." The automaton stood. "And EMA: obey Constance. Do whatever she says."

"How does it work?" her sister asked as the automaton set to the task of rotating the eggs.

"Say it's name. Tell it what you want it to do. If it does nothing, it doesn't understand or can't do it. Easy."

Ana came back to the dining area. Around the table, she made her rounds, giving each of her siblings a goodbye hug. With a wave, she headed up the stairs to her room.

Out of sight of the rest of them, she slumped. She enjoyed traveling with her mother and helping with the rescues but the rest of them were becoming family without her. She'd had brothers in Duayne, Joseph and Stone and a sister in Eva but there never was any sense of family.

Anastasia pulled herself up the stairs by the railing, dragging until she reached her room. She closed and locked the door behind her before going to her vanity mirror and checking her teeth. The bleeding wasn't bad. She'd be fine for one more teleport.

With a frown and a huff toward the door and her new family beyond it, she hefted the now manageable bag onto her shoulder. She stepped onto the seal and envisioned another seal in another place, far away to the south.