With Mother's Day coming, everyone's thoughts were turning towards how to honor their respective mothers. Of course, there are certain events to celebrate mothers in general. The upcoming Mother's Day Photoshoot was one such thing, though the children of those mothers may have very mixed feelings about their mothers posing like that. Another maternal event was that Mary Piper was taking her adult daughters out for some bonding time. Of course, there were still plenty of young Pipers, some who were born within the last few years, that needed watching after. As such, Joanne hired out Morgan to take care of the young rats while the clan's matriarch was off with her daughters. This was to be Morgan's second punishment.
Of course, this holiday was also celebrating the expecting mothers as well. Not every Animalian couple had bred this season, but there are a few standout examples. Namely Julius's mates, Blanca and Candida. The two lionesses were looking very forward to finally have Julius's cubs. There may be some who would question how Julius can be the legitimate father to both sets of cubs. Well, the answer wasn't clear to him at first either and he needed guidance...
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A few months after he was introduced to Aslan, Julius was asked to meet with him again. Julius couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. Even with his better physique and the experience he had gained, he still felt overshadowed by Aslan. Fortunately, Aslan was not an intimidating guy unless he wanted to be. And so far, he was being quite cordial.
"So, you've been with Blanca and Candida for some time now," said Aslan conversationally.
"Yes, sir," said Julius.
"You don't need to call me 'sir'," said Aslan, "But anyways, which one of them do you prefer?"
"Uh..." stuttered Julius.
"Oh, come now. Surely by this point you must have developed some preference for one over the other," said Aslan.
"Actually...I can't," said Julius.
"Can't what?" asked Aslan.
"Choose one over the other," said Julius, "They're both amazing women, even if they were just lions before. And, to be honest, there's not much difference between them to really choose. I still don't know what to do with them."
"Oh, that's simple," said Aslan, "Marry them both."
"Pardon?" asked Julius.
"We're lions, Julius," said Aslan pointedly, "Unlike what certain movies might say, we're not monogamous. Prides are formed around one male and his mates. Sometimes there's more than one male leading a pride, but that's only if they're capable of cooperating. We Animalians are allowed to fall in love and become mates with more than one person, so long as we're completely open and honest with it."
"Well, that's a nice sentiment, but human customs don't really allow that," said Julius.
"This is the state of Nevada. Polygamy is legal here," said Aslan.
"Oh, really?" asked Julius.
"You haven't been paying attention to how prides are structured, have you?" asked Aslan.
"Er, I thought you'd might see it as a threat," said Julius.
"Julius, you're a nice fellow. But with your attitude, I'd be hard-pressed to ever consider you a threat," said Aslan.
"Yes, I can see why," said Julius with some chagrin.
"Now, let's speak with our mayor about your wedding," said Aslan.
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Mayor Clara has performed several strange weddings and certainly will perform more during her uncontested tenure as Animalia's mayor. Compared to some of those, marrying two lionesses to a single lion was downright normal. Julius walked down the aisle with a bride on each arm. It was a more private wedding, mainly involving Animalian's lion population and Julius's friends. This was mainly to prevent any potential objectors to raise their voice during the 'speak now or forever hold your peace' line. Though Clara tended to skip that line entirely, it was just asking for trouble.
For his part, Julius was just relieved he wouldn't have to pick between his two mates, nor that they would have to compete over him. It almost made him wish that other famous love triangles could be resolved this way. But that was just fanciful thinking. Humans are by nature a jealous species who are not inclined to share their mates. Being an Animalian gave him an easy way out and twice the happiness he could have had. But soon his wives will be wanting to have his cubs, which is going to be a whole different bridge to cross.