Aug 10, 2025
To:lolitroy
This is actually explained a bit later: Maizy stayed in the pouch much longer than usual. So when she finally emerged she was a lot more "ready to go" than your typical kad/sugar glider. By the end of the story she's just a bit too big for Mom's pouch and that's only 8 days after this chapter.
For reference, here's a quote about sugar glider gestation IRL (which is crazy fast!):
> As is common with marsupials, gestation (pregnancy) usually only lasts 15 to 17 days. After birth the babies, called joeys, crawl into their mother's pouch, where they remain until they are 70 to 74 days old. Young sugar gliders usually wean themselves at about 4 months of age.
Maizy also has the memory tail which has been quietly enhancing her ability to learn speech. That's why she was picking up on the stuff being spoken outside the pouch while she was stuck in there.
I researched and thought really hard about all of that stuff when I wrote this... Trying to keep with a logical developmental timeline (in a world with magic, haha).
Also keep in mind that Mom still has to feed Maizy every day. Maizy is not old enough yet to go out hunting/foraging for food. She really *is* dependent on her parents (you'll get to meet dad eventually too!). Though, with *certain equipment* that might actually be possible (no spoilers!) hehe.