Worst of all, a fool of his own brood just wouldn't take no for an answer.

The first time she drew near the home, he dismissed it as mere coincidence. But when she appeared a second, a third, a forth, his patience grew thin.

He took advantage of the household's silence on a particularly sleepy day to investigate. "Ios!" he hissed, controlling the venom in his voice. "What business draws you so close to this home? Leave, before one of them catches wind of your presence!"

The intruder's mouth lolled open, as if surprised that she was not met with praise. "Aren't you happy to see me?" she said dumbly, staring at the ground.

"Leave, now. These matters go beyond you, or me, or the tribe. I must tend to my plans."

"How about tending to your mate?"

He tensed at the words. "You know our union was merely a formality. You're free to take on someone else. Clearly, we don't deserve one another."

She ignored him. "What of this 'plan' of your's, anyway? When do I enter?"

"When Ginny is comfortable," he said plainly. He yearned for the simplicity of housework, wanting to remove himself from the awkward situation as quickly as possible.

"You care for this human, don't you? I'm hurt," she responded, her so-called offense totally absent from her voice. "I just wanted to help out."

"I haven't even explained what I truly am. Knowing that, do you honestly think you can just jump in there and mate with this girl? She'll be scared out of her mind."

She shrugged. "So lie. Say I'm your..." - her voice dropped low, and her eyes lidded - "sister. How would she know the difference?"

Even the collected Joon had a good shiver at that. "Ios, leave this alone for now. And stop visiting. I will find you on my own time."

She reeled in disgust. "Oh, Joon, what is she doing to you? You're just no fun anymore. Where's the care-free lover I first met at the Meeting of the Half Moon?"

He sighed. "That was a long time ago."

"And if you'll just let me acquaint myself with the girl, this child-rearing phase of your's will be just the same - a happy memory."

"Ios."

"Joon. Let me be your happy memory."

He ignored her comment. "You should leave now."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. But I won't stop dropping by until I get the entrance I deserve. And remember," she said, just before leaving the lot, "who you're supposed to be loyal to." And with that, she left.

Joon sweated in the cold aftermath of the encounter. 

---

A round of aging came and went within the Iterum household.

Allbright grew quite inversely with her namesake. Not only did she detest the outdoors, but she had very much turned her back to goodness, developing an Evil trait Joon tried desperately to (metaphorically) beat out of her. She played cruel pranks on her siblings on an almost daily basis, and saved a few choice words for whoever confronted her. Worst of all, she conveniently saved this side for all but her mom - whom she respected fiercely and would never slip up so much as an inch around her. It was enough to make Joon tear his ears out. Still, she was happy enough in her own right.

Thistle proved to be a little more in his range. Like his own brood (what were they up to these days?), she prefered solace to company, chessboard to human contact, exchanging her reckless toddler ways for peace. And when she wasn't occupied by that, she was outside, soaking up the day, all too glad to be away from Allbright. The sibling love they experienced as toddlers had quickly dissipated once the luxury of communication proved just how different they were from one another. Besides the fact that she left a trail of mess wherever she went, she was rather easy to raise.

And at the risk of underselling the youngest of the triplets, Joon had to admit that there was nothing particularly remarkable about Rein, in terms of upbringing - she was a good, pleasant child who took her rocking horse very, very seriously. Besides her uncanny ability to sleep through anything, there was little to say about her, besides the fact that she was as very much content with being alone as she had been as a child.

Next were the twins.

Warrick allowed his hair to grow out, but the same couldn't be said for his taste for sweaters.

He took his older age as a stepping stone, almost immediately pouncing on his childhood crush - a move that surprised his family, given his lonesome nature. They figured they'd let the hormones run their usual course.

Osiris aged handsomely, his need for social interaction growing in congruence with his older age. He could been seen at all hours talking to friends over the phone, if he wasn't inviting them over...which was how Warrick met his new girlfriend to begin with. 

Of course, he too respected the need for personal time.

Meanwhile, Ginny had begun showing signs of Cuewen's addition to the family. She had carried occult children once before with no strange aftereffects - she could only hope that the same could be said of alien children. Or was it offensive calling them that? Almost everyone in this town was an alien to her in their own right.

---


Sooner than she would have liked, the time for birth came. The thought of how full the house was going to be stressed her out far past her contractions. She tried - unsuccessfully - to clear her mind on her way to the hospital, but even Joon holding her hand and rubbing her back did little. She did appreciate his attempt to make up for last time's birth, though.


Another set of triplets! Ginny tried to hide her weariness. Eight children in the household was a bit much. She'd have to wean off the father search for a while.



Still, Ginny was not one to complain. Her children - two girls, one boy - were happy, cute, and most importantly, healthy. It was also a bit hilarious that their hair suggested Cuewen was once a blonde. Only two had inherited their father's blue skin, but time would tell just how much they were like him. Ginny wondered briefly if she should call him over to grill him on how children of his species developed. None of the other fathers, past Joon, had seemed interested in their own children - probably didn't want to be associated with Ginny past their initial encounter, she thought sadly. But maybe Cuewen was different.

The Iterum household introduced Comet, Cloud, and Callisto with open arms.

---

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