Why two and a half?

Arbitrary historical reasons? I don't know. It's fourteen for us, that's probably less arbitrary than "number and a half."

That sounds so old, I know your years are different but still. I'm five.

That sounds so young!

I bet!

I am also five in your years, although a season older than I'd be if I'd been born on Amenta.

You equatorial irregularity you.

My species is fertile all the time!

So is ours if we permaspring, it's just supposed to be uncomfortable!

It's not uncomfortable for us! From what I can tell we feel like you do when it's not spring all the time. And to the extent that there's variation it's on a cycle of a month, not a year.

A month?

So saying aliens are fertile all the time is actually an oversimplification. Alien men are fertile all the time, their bodies just produce gametes and go on their merry way. Alien women, on the other hand, have to worry not only about producing genetic material but also a nice habitable environment for the baby to grow in, and for us this manifests in a monthly cycle of thickening the uterine lining, ovulating, eventually the egg dies and then eventually after that the stale uterine lining is shed so the body can grow a fresh one.

The process of shedding the lining is known variously as "monthly bleeding," "menstruation," "one's cycle," or "this fucking awful side-effect of corporeal biology" among others.

That is incredibly stupid and made-up sounding.

I mean, yes, but that's true of the fact that there are aliens who look like Amentans with hair dye, too.

That is made up sounding but not stupid! In my opinion.

Fair. We're not too fond of the stupid thing either.

I don't blame you!

Magic makes it less inconvenient but still.

What does magic do about it?

Gets it over with faster, can eliminate it altogether if you know enough about biology to fuck with your body the right way but that's not recommended for people under, uh, six.

I'm glad I don't have this thing.

Reasonable.

What happens if people under six try?

Five would probably be fine, it's six to be safe. And it can mess with your development if you're not done growing yet.

Huh.