CHAPTER 547: CHAPTER 547 - FAMILY PLANNING (PART 2)

Hearing the series of questions from the remaining beastmen around the table, I felt a pang of pain in my heart. Even Lir and Levi whom I technically just met seemed to have doubted their earlier choices as they simply copied what Marius chose since they somewhat trusted him, being both merfolks and all. Only Marius stayed calm and firm with his choice as the questions full of doubt about my capability came one after the other.

As for the questions I have heard, I felt really confused besides feeling the pain and the frustration. That was how it is if I should describe what I was feeling at that point. Their questions seemed to have stemmed from fear and they in turn produced even more questions in my head about this whole issue.

Why do they need to go hunting and have to worry about food while they were pregnant?

Why would they even need to ask for help in case of trouble?

Why should there be trouble in the first place if I would take care of them?

Isn’t it my job to provide for all their needs as well as keep the father and the child healthy not only during and after pregnancy but throughout their lives?

It should be my responsibility and not like some favor or grace towards them, right?

Then I realized that I had to calm down first since this may be another instance of a misunderstanding or conflict in terms of what I knew from my previous life versus how beastmen rear their children and do things in Lyartaim as well. I think at this point, I should start asking my own questions too so everything would be ironed out before we leave this meeting.

The books I have read about the beastmen race back at the library in the palace are strictly about the tribes and their characteristics. Even if there were laws, culture and traditions mentioned in passing in those books, many things would surely have changed after four centuries of living among humans and in some cases, in isolation and desperation.

Since we do not have all the time in this world, I made sure to keep my questions specific to how men live or are treated while they are pregnant as well as after the child is born. These are the two things I have to understand fully in case I have to change some of their notions or I have to adapt some of it since the children are still beastmen. They have to learn everything from their father’s side of the family too.

The beastmen, realizing that I seem to have shown interest in their way of life, looked happy and they readily shared a lot of the things they have seen growing up, their experiences with family members and stories they have heard from elders. Me asking more about them actually decreased some of the earlier tension even if it was just by a little bit.

Artak, surprisingly kept quiet at this time and willingly gave the chance for others to speak and build a connection with me. He simply smiled and nodded at some of the beastmen around him, showing an encouraging expression on his face so as to give them a little push to speak and share their thoughts to everyone present.

The first one to speak were one of the carnivores, the tiger beastman named Toran. He gave a short statement that confirmed a bit of my guesses that their questions are simply born out of the difference in environment and traditions.

He spoke with a loud voice and said, "I am not speaking for all the carnivores but in my tribe, we follow the survival of the fittest rule. Once we can walk, our fathers bring us to the forest and teaches us how to hunt. At first, my father will share his hunt with us children but eventually if you are too weak or stupid to hunt anything, you will have to get through the hunger. As for a mother, I think I have one but she only looked at me once but never spoke to me so it has always been just me and my father then just me once I reached adolescence."

The other carnivores in the bunch simply nodded their head in either understanding or agreement with how parents rear their children. Voss, the fox beastman, was the next to share as he said, "My tribe does the same with Toran’s tribe but with a few additions. Since foxes are omnivores, we were also taught on which fruits are edible or poisonous. Foxes are also proud of their beauty so we were also taught how to groom ourselves properly so we are always attractive to our potential and current mates. I guess it is the same for others, we also want to try to keep our mates with us, well, at least until the cubs are born safely."

Luan, the lion beastman, seemed to be a man of a few words as he said, "Same with them but add that we are taught how to fight for mating rights. And, how to treat our own wounds since you can’t avoid getting hurt in fights."

Felan, who seemed to still be a bit shy added, "Same with them but also add that we are taught to lead a pack since us wolves move in packs and even when we have our children, they would be part of our own pack as well."

I nodded in thanks as they all made an effort to share what they have experienced so far. I looked towards my left side where the rest of the omnivores and herbivores were grouped up. They were still looking at each other, unsure as to who would speak first.

Gyan, the cow beastman decided to speak first as he said, "As for me and my family, we do not hunt since we do not eat meat so we learned how to farm instead. We eat practically any grass-like or leafy plant. We are fine with regular fruits and some vegetables too."

Being encouraged by Gyan, the others started to talk though not that much. You can’t just get rid of your meekness by speaking once anyway. Corin, horse beastman was the next on to share a short comment by saying, "We have the same diet as the cow beastmen."

Zak, the rabbit beastman on the other hand made sure that he mentioned his most preferred food though it sounded like it took every bit of him to say the words he wanted to stay. He most stuttered and uttered incomplete sentences as he said, "Umm... Carrot... Dandelion... Leaves... Most fruits are okay."

With the shyest of the bunch finding the courage to speak, the rest of the herbivores and omnivores decided to speak as well but as concise as they can. Oran, the peacock beastman shared, "We prefer the smaller fruits, seeds and nuts. We eat a little meat once in a while too."

Avis, the sheep beastman also mentioned his favorites as he said, "Corn, Oats, Rice, Barley, Legumes, Forb.. Just all the yummy leafy stuff!" Orcis, the bear beastman only shared a few words with a nod of his head as he said, "Berries, meat, fish, honey". Lastly, Payton, the deer juvenile shared his diet as he said, "Me and my brothers have always liked wild mushrooms, forb, sweet berries, corn cobs, alfalfa sprouts and soybeans".

I don’t know how the my question ended up being answered with their favorite foods when it was the turn of the herbivores and omnivores so I had to divert the focus back to my previous question The group apologized and immediately shared their thoughts on child rearing and pregnancy which was the original topic.

If I will give a summary of what they have shared, herbivores, given that they have weaker constitutions compared to the other beastmen, prefer to stick together to form families, clans or villages. In line with this, when a beastman gets pregnant and gives birth to a child, rearing the child has always been a collective effort of everyone to ensure that the father and child will both survive and thrive.

As for the omnivores, I received different types of information. Voss indeed say earlier that he was raised in the "survival of the fittest" method similar to the carnivores but for Oran, he said that they mostly follow the ways of the herbivores wherein they take care of each other and the whole community helps out in rearing the newborn peachicks.

As for Orcis, I saw his eyebrows crease as he seemed to be contemplating on how he would explain how his family has always done things. After some time, he opted to explain it as simple as he can as he said, "We are taught how to hunt since we eat meat. We are also taught how to forage since we eat berries and honey from the forest. We are also taught how to swim because we eat fish. Fathers take care of their own cubs until they come of age so it is much longer than most of the other tribes, I guess."