Like clockwork, Orion's tail quickly changed back into two legs. The change did not seem to pain him--a good thing, since if it did he would put up such a racket and wouldn't settle down.

Glory kissed his forehead gently again and put him into a clean set of footie-pajamas. Once he was dressed again, she laid him in his crib and picked up Autumn.

"Your turn, sweetie," she said softly. She took the infant into the bathroom and carefully got her out of her onesie and settled her into the infant tub. Autumn immediately began to fuss and cry, and Glory could see the change starting. She moved the infant into the bigger tub.

Autumn's tail ended up being purple, similar to Glory's own, though several shades darker and a few shades bluer. Once the change was done, Glory put her back into the infant tub. Slowly, Autumn stopped crying and even giggled as she splashed a little in the water. After a few minutes of letting her play, Glory lifted her out of the tub and dried her off. She'd set aside a clean onesie for her and dressed her in it before laying her back into her crib.

Orion still had not settled down completely. He was griping and grumbling where he laid, glowering up at the ceiling. His bottom lip was sticking out farther than it should have been.

Out of the twins, it seemed he was going to be the problem child with his attitude. He would need firm discipline or he would probably develop an attitude and outlook as bad as the one Betelgeuse had on life. It was a scary thought...but it could indeed happen. Such things often skipped generations...

Once Autumn was settled, Glory checked on Orion again. She could see the sour expression on his face, so she picked him up and sat down in the rocking chair, holding him close. She rocked slowly in the chair, humming softly to him.

Orion took a few minutes to settle down. When he did, he immediately fell asleep, tired out by all the resistance he had been putting up.

Glory held him for a little while longer. He looked peaceful as he slept, reminding Glory very strongly of his father.

Léan himself had checked up on Aster, who seemed to just be settling himself in and not doing much else. He managed to avoid his brother while he swam, and he finally found a place where he could relax.

Glory settled Orion back into his crib and quietly slipped out of the room. For the moment, all was quiet. She went back into her own room and made herself comfortable on the bed, cracking the window open a little. She missed the smell of the air off of the water.

Léan settled himself down, finally. He worked up the motivation to return to the house. He shuffled quietly into her room, flashing her a small smile.

Glory smiled back when she saw him.

"Welcome back," she said. Getting up, she gave him a kiss. "Is everything alright out there?"

Léan nodded, rubbing at his eyes slightly. He had not been able to settle until he'd checked on Aster and found a place to lay for a few minutes. "Calm..."

"That's good," Glory said. "I'm thinking that we should take the twins outside soon... they're both sleeping right now, though."

Léan nodded rather glumly, and then looked down. "I suppose so. The cold is not good for children--that much I know." He glanced out of the window towards the sea. The calm unnerved him. It was like the calm before a storm.

"They can both change," Glory said. "I gave them both baths earlier, so they've both already changed once."

"Mm-hm." Léan sat down heavily on her bed, stretching his legs out a bit. He'd expected that much...changed humans paired with merpeople often yielded changed humans.

Glory laid down with him and cuddled a bit closer. She missed going outside with him, but until the weather got a bit warmer, she probably wouldn't take the twins out. And that meant that she would stay inside with them.

Léan was aware of that. He was idly thinking of when was a proper time to hire a babysitter--he knew that small children needed to be tended to by their parents only for a while...

Glory hadn't even thought about a babysitter yet. She didn't trust anyone outside of the family with the children, yet, and she wasn't completely comfortable with letting someone else in on the 'secret.'

Léan had. His main issue wasn't trust--he trusted Glory enough to be the watchful eye over the children. He was thinking that perhaps Clarissa or Glory's Nana could watch the children when they themselves couldn't.

Glory didn't want to leave the children with someone else so soon. Perhaps in a few days, once she'd figured out something resembling a routine. She still had to be there every couple of hours to nurse the children, after all, so she couldn't be gone for too long.

Léan glanced off into the distance absently, seemingly unable to relax his mind. His thoughts were racing for some reason.

Glory snuggled closer to him.

"Something on your mind?" she asked softly. She could tell he was thinking about something.

Léan sighed softly, shifting a bit. "...My parents. My mother, specifically...she has no idea..."

...That was indeed correct. He hadn't told either of his parents about their grandchildren. He hadn't even seen his parents...not in months. Not a single trace of sign of them...

"You should tell her," Glory said. She would go with him for that, she would ask her mother to keep an eye on the twins for a little while. It was important.

"...Well...I do want to, seeing as it's quite important. But..." Léan hung his head a bit. "I don't know where they are. I don't know where they went, or what they're doing. I haven't seen them in months."