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When you returned, Gerty and Cattleya are understandably curious about what happened, and you're about to bring them out to speak to them as Ryko was going to speak with Ayane, when Herta and Bertha come with giant plates of food on each hand. Gerty, Cattleya, and you silently agree to speak later after lunch.
"Master!" Herta walks over to you after you sit down to eat. She gives you a kiss on the lips. "Did I do good?"
"I just sat down, Herta." Honestly she went slightly overboard with how much food there was, but it tasted pretty good. "This is an acceptable meal. I shall reward you greatly, slave of mine." The goddess got a perversely happy look on her face, but she kept quiet. You could commend her for at least <span class="mu-i">trying</span> to tone it down when Ryko was in the room.
There were some pies with cute pictures carved on them, probably Bertha's part of the cooking. She seemed pretty happy when you complimented it.
"Oi, pass the salt, Ruby."
"Just imagine the mana flowing into your hammer when you're striking it. But don't just force it in there, I've many well made spears from mana corrosion doing that."
"Do fox beastfolk truly live for over a century and a half?" Asked a curious Ruby Rose to Ayane.
"Indeed. The longest known living-" The fox lady was sadly cut off from her explanation.
"She's over eighty." Said a certain niece. In foxgirl years that was like saying she was in her forties, according to a now flustered Ayane.
"Woah! Really?" Bertha exclaimed as she turned to the kitsune woman. "What's your secret?"
"No secret. That's just the way some beastfolk are." Your bronze skinned cat responded while taking a bite out of an omelette.
"I've heard you can tell how many years a kitsune has lived and how powerful one is by their tails." You said, remembering something vague about Japanese folklore. The fox lady confirmed this soon after; but also mentioned their type of magic wasn't too powerful to begin with. She also said kitsunes had white hair since birth, with it turning to a different color as they got older. Though she also mentioned it wasn't unusual for fox people to remain white haired for the rest of their lives.
"You always seemed to be over the hill when it comes to age." Mel observed. "No offense, Ayane."
"None taken." Ayane said, better composed. Then she made a mistake by turning back to her niece. "Isn't that a cruel thing to say about your auntie, Ryko?" Ayane didn't seem particularly hurt, but she was embarrassed.
"And she still a virgin." Ryko added with a slightly impish grin. You didn't know this fox girl had it in her to just say that. The news surprised many more people, yourself included.
"Tch, and you're still a little punk, aren't you?" Ayane's eye twitched as she smiled and pinched her niece's face. She sighed and let go less than a second later. "It's true, although not for a lack of trying. You know how things are..." Said the now deflated aunt.
