Casella and Imon Ingvar were hardly the only people who explored the strange ideals and practices of the Gemini Family.
Many other Larkinsons in the expeditionary fleet also began to get pulled into uncomfortable conversations.
It was as if the upcoming assault on the Palace of Shame took a backseat to discussing the merits of breaking the taboo on intimate relationships between siblings!
The discussion became so widespread that even the children started to overhear what the adults were talking about!
For example, when Marvaine was sitting in a playroom, one of his sisters hopped inside.
"Mar-Vaine~! There you are! What are you doing, little bro?"
Marvaine did not bother to turn around and look up. Instead, he continued to play with the animated exobeast plushies that continued to make all kinds of cute noises.
"Prince Longfang here is about to defeat and dethrone King Snugglepants so that the Beast Kingdom will have a new leader!" He exclaimed!
Andraste stared at the orange and purple plushies and grew disinterested in them. None of these juvenile toys interested her that much anymore. She would rather play with cool and awesome mech toys like the Dark Witch mech figurine her parents had recently bought for her. Mechs were much cooler than alien beasts!
"That's interesting. Say, little bro, do you want to try out something new? I just heard our mama talk about something really fun with Nanny Shannon."
A small shudder ran through Marvaine's juvenile body. He began to get a bad feeling about this, especially when her sister began to show a devious grin!
"Uhm, the Beast Kingdom still needs to depose its old king. Can it wait, sister?"
"Nuh-uh! I can't wait! Let's do it right now! I even brought candy!"
Marvaine immediately perked up when he heard the word candy. He no longer paid attention to his exobeast plushies anymore.
"What did you bring this time, sister?"
"I saved up a few pieces of Uncle Garvey's gummy bears. Look, here's a strawberry-flavored one. It's your favorite!"
Andraste sweetly placed the gummy bear in question into Marvaine's palm.
The boy had no patience and immediately popped the candy into his mouth.
His sister did the same with her own portion.
"Mmmhmm…"
Just as Marvaine began to chew his strawberry-flavored gummy bear, Andraste grabbed his shoulders and leaned forward.
"Wait, what are you doing, sister?"
"Open your mouth for me, Marvaine."
"B-But I haven't chewed my gummy bear yet!" The boy objected.
"Just do what your big sister asks!"
Marvaine opened his mouth by reflex after hearing Andraste's commanding tone.
The older of the two siblings grinned wider. Seeing that her brother was nice enough to cooperate, she no longer held herself back and began to lean closer so that she could try out the exotic Gemini Family ritual for herself!
"MIAOW!"
Yet just before her lips touched the lips of her brother, a cat suddenly interspersed between the two siblings and pushed them away from each other!
"Ow!"
"Ouch! Clixie! What are you doing!?"
"MIAOOOOOW!"
The Rubarthan Sentinel Cat acted as if she had just saved Andraste and Marvaine from killing themselves!
Andraste wasn't so deterred and tried to complete her naughty little plan.
"Go away, Clixie. Why aren't you staying with my big sister? Move aside so that I can finish what I started with my lil bro."
"Miaow!" Clixie hissed as she continually used her formidable strength to nudge and push Andraste's body away from her bewildered brother.
"Uhm, I think we should listen to what Clixie has to say." Marvaine said after he greedily chewed and swallowed the strawberry-flavored gummy bear. "Papa always said that we should listen to her if he and our mama aren't around."
"Well, mama never told us that! She said that humans like us should always be in charge. Clixie is just a pet!"
Marvaine shook his head. "Clixie is family, and she's older than us. If she thinks that something is wrong, then we should stop."
"No! I was so close! Damn you, Clixie!"
"Miaow miaow!"
Though the interruption of an unwelcome cat had spoiled Andraste's plan, she did not give up so easily.
She planned to wait until it was bedtime. Perhaps Andraste might be able to sneak into her brother's bed and restart her plan while Clixie was getting cuddled by Aurelia!
Yet before she could think about her plan any further, a furious-looking mother barged into her room!
"ANDRASTE! Explain yourself this instant!"
Uh oh!
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