Redsand Canyon seems a pity not to take a chance

The conversation moved briskly forward-- so swiftly, in fact, that Ruenna was left wondering if she hadn't just imagined Germanicus's acceptance of her hand. 

Germanicus indicated that his vision of Mereo had shifted, but he left those details a mystery in favor of requesting Ruenna's advice. She dipped her muzzle in assent. 

..How might he best ensure no children were conceived? 

"Oh, you really can't prevent it, I'm afraid," she answered right away, quite certain that this was the truth. She new her opinion would not align Germanicus's current vision of Mereo, and so she broke the news with a sympathetic look. 

Anywhere that men and woman coexisted together, there would always be children too. Any rules they established would best serve to manage that outcome, and not seek to prevent it outright. 

"Tradition favors exile as the punishment for unsanctioned conception, but that's never been much of a deterrent, in my experience." This path would lead to a lot of exiled soldiers-- soldiers into which they had already poured significant time and resources-- and Ruenna imagined good soldiers were in short supply.  

"The best path forward is not to enforce an outright ban, but to impose some natural consequences." She paused as she considered what might best work in Mereo. "For pregnant women, they would lose their ranking as an auxiliary--"  As much as Ruenna hated it, the burden of population control had always and would always fall heavier upon the shoulders of women. "--and instead be ranked as a civilian until the pups are weaned." Germanicus did plan on having civilian ranks, right? Ruenna assumed that this must have been part of his revised plan, given that she herself would need a place in the ranks and she was no soldier. 

"Men who have children being raised here will need to trade training sessions for hunting shifts. Both parents will need to do this until the pups are aged six months. This will come at the expense of advancement in the ranks." Perhaps it would be deterrent enough for the auxilia, male and female alike, if they knew having pups could stall their upward mobility in the ranks for up to six months. 

"Whatever you decide to do, the auxilia need to know the rules up front, and the consequences." Ruenna had some ideas about what could be done with the pups between the time that they were weaned and aged six months, but before she spoke more on the subject she would wait and see what Germanicus thought of what she had suggested so far.