Aero and Tajy ~Birds of a Feather~

Kol smiled gently at the man, taking his free hand and returning the gesture. "You are always welcome in this home...brother." The word came a little hesitantly to him, but it wasn't forced. Kol meant what he had said as he then looked down into his arms where his son resided. He felt so much joy just looking at him, his other son and then Mai. "Take care." He said finally to the pair as Ilario grabbed onto one of Kol's fingers and began to play with it.

Lena held Oriana in her arms as she gently hugged Mai and then Kol goodbye. She had gotten plenty advice from Enita on motherhood which she was sure would help. The small girl had large, ice blue eyes that were currently half closed. "We have to go so we can get there before nightfall. Thank you, for all you have done." Lena said with a soft smile and tightened her hold on Oriana before pumping her wings and taking to the skies. She knew Talos wouldn't be far behind and lazily drifted in the sky. "Everything will be different now." She commented to herself.

Autumn was in the air again in Dragonscove, the small town of Turich beginning to prepare for their annual solstice festival. Up in the mountains, a different kind of party was going on. Two years had passed since the truce between the Serenoa and Estoen clans had been made, and there was a celebration to be had composing of the two families up on the grounds of the Serenoa house. Talos and Lena had arrived earlier that day with little Oriana in tow, the two-year-old taking in the sights and gibbering nonsense as babies were wont to do. While Talos had been in charge of flying their girl northward, Lena had taken up Ryleon, a little boy with dark hair like Lena that was now just under a year old.

Mai had kept busy that night, greeting her brothers and sisters with Roselina in arm, her darling little one year old girl who had Kol's blond hair and Mai's golden eyes. The twins Ilario and Tristan had turned out looking more like Talos with their dirty-blond locks and wings, though their eyes were a peculiar hazel color, a rich mixture of green and brown that was very unlike Talos. They had learned how to walk and for the past month or so had spend nearly every waking moment running at top speed around the house, giggling and making noises as they fled from their mother and the maids in a never-ending game of tag that only stopped when they simply collapsed, exhausted from all the playing.

Currently, Talos and Kol were sitting in a room that annexed the library, a small fire crackling merrily in the fireplace off to the side as the two brothers shared a drink and swapped battle stories. Talos always had a new tale about his and Lena's exploits in the Southern Coast. They were making quite a decent living off of raiding the slaver's ships and in time had even raised enough money to build a house of his own. He and Lena lived there during the warm months when the pirating activities were at their peak, but had taken to traveling during the winter months when the seas were impassible. They often went to warmer climates to the West and had all sorts of interesting tales to tell from far-far away places.

They were laughing about something, and when it stopped, a comfortable silence stretched between them. It was still a strange sight for the rest of the family to see Talos and Kol exchanging pleasant words, even though they were brothers. The intense hatred that they had held for each other had dwindled away, and now they were simply brothers with something to prove at the worst of times, and had a sort of friendship the rest of the time.

Talos grew serious for a moment, leaning forward over the table and adjusting himself as if preparing to have a long and deep conversation. How that might be possible in his current intoxicated state, an outsider would never know, but to Talos, it was all serious business now. "Kol, I've got a question fer you, and don't laugh. Lena and I have got an anniversary comin' up here in a few weeks, and I was looking for some... advice, of a sort." In his current inebriated state, Talos had slightly lapsed back into his old accent, though it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been before Lena had cured him of the atrocious speech pattern. "I was thinking of doin' something fer her this year and was lookin' to... please her better."

Kol downed another shot of the unknown alcohol and released a happy sigh. His boys were trouble, there was no doubt in his mind that it would ever stop...but it brought such excitement to his life and with his new, beautiful baby girl Kol was pretty much over flowing with joy. As Talos grew serious on him, Kol listened intently after downing another shot. A surprised look came to the mans face as his question and then an overly sly grin. "You dirrrrrrty dog you..." Kol flung his arm around his brother's shoulders and then grew serious himself. "Well...I'd be seriously doubting you mean in bed..." Another grin came to his face as he thought. "What does the girl even like? Besides sex and killing I mean?" Kol laughed to himself and mumbled something about killer sex but decided not to pursue the idea.

Kol was about to say something more when Tristan came running in the room like a tornado. And what does the kid go after first? The freaking fire. Kol, having gotten used to the little trouble maker, even while intoxicated, and grabbed him by the trousers. "Young man. What has daddy told you aboot playing near the fire?" He asked, trying to be serious.

Tristan squirmed from his fathers grip and began an annoying whine as the child was brought face to face with Kol. "No no no no no no no." Was pretty much the only thing the kid currently knew how to say. Kol shrugged his shoulders apologetically to Talos. "Where is yer brother? You two always come in a pair." He glared suspiciously at his son and then set him outside of the room, patting his bottom to get him to run along in the hallway and away from the room. "Sorry bout that." Kol continued to slur his words, but had thought that the minor interruption was time enough for Talos to think of something Lena likes.

At Kol's question, Talos blushed a little, then sat back and thought hard, watching with an amused eye as one of his twin nephews came tearing into the room, only just barely stopped from crashing into the fire when Kol expertly picked up the small boy and dropped him back outside the room. In the hall, he could hear the excited childish laughter grow louder and disperse as Ilario ran past, the stampede-like sound of the two maids in charge of the boys chasing after him quickly to follow along with cries of "Young master! Stop!"

He couldn't help the laugh that escaped him, glad that at least in his house, Oriana didn't have very far to run away, so it was relatively easier catching the little girl when she got in the mood to be up and about. Taking another swig, Talos pondered over the things that he knew Lena liked which primarily really was killing pirates and sex. She loved Oriana and Ryleon, but that wasn't really something that he could put in a box and re-give to her. The satisfaction of knowing that they had put an end to another pirate's business of selling human slaves at the end of a good raiding day was also something she liked, but again, wasn't really something he could put in a package. Lena was a simple creature in essence. Not simple in a stupid way, she was actually rather intelligent, but she didn't dwell much on physical objects of possession and preferred to live simply in a simple house. They hadn't started collecting junk in their sea-side home until Oriana and Ryleon came along, and even then, that was mostly practical "junk" that just came with raising kids. Tapping his chin thoughtfully, he looked up at Kol, tilting his head.

"I can't really think of anythin' off the top of my head." He replied honestly, whetting his lips with another draught of the alcohol. "I s'pose that I could get a custom bow fer her... the one she's got now is a bit rickety but... Might just 'ave to go with sex in the end ter be sure. You've been with a lotta women afore Mai, righ'? 'Ow'd you keep 'em all happy?"

Kol nodded at his question as he downed another drink, not embarrassed at all to admit he had been with multipliable woman. "Charm, my good brother, charm. The ladies want to hear...what they like to hear. Course...with Lena..I don't see that much working. What if you taught her something useful? Like how to wield a new weapon? Maybe get her a bow too. If yer sayin' she doesn't like material things, something tangible sounds right. Course, your good brother can set you up with that." He said proudly, as another shot went down his gullet. "Sex works too." The man grinned back at Talos.

"Pa!" Was the only warning of yet another child entering the room, as Oriana came rushing in and away from another maid. She quickly scrambled into Talos' lap and stuck her tongue out at the rather exhausted woman chasing her down. 'Pa' was one of the few words the girl knew, but used it often. She was a daddy's girl through in through. Oriana cuddled against Talos' chest and hid her face from the maid.

"Masters, forgive me, the little one has enough energy for three grown adults!" The woman said apologetically, but as she got closer to retrieve the girl, she squirmed closer to her father and clung onto him. While the maid could easily realize the men were in no shape to deal with children, Oriana could not.

Kol looked down at the girl with a soft smile. She was growing fast and more like her mother every day. He sighed contently, thinking about his own children and easily drifted into his own thoughts.

Talos considered Kol's words carefully and was about to respond when the familiar call of "pa" came from down the hall. He just barely had time to put his drink down before the little girl rocketed out of nowhere and onto his lap, scrambling around for a little bit before settling down and making faces at the maid that was apparently in charge of her. Lena must have been captured by Enita or Mai for Oriana to be racing around like this, he thought vaguely. "Now Oriana, there's no reason ter be mean ter the nice lady there." He scolded gently, wagging his finger at the small girl. Standing on slightly unsteady legs, Talos walked over to the poor disheveled looking woman and handed Oriana over. "You be good, you hear?" Giving the maid a small nod, he watched as she left with the squirming little girl and closed the door after her with a chuckle. "These kids, they're up one minuet runnin' like the wind, an' the next they're passed out on the floor." Again, he resumed his seat, hoping that this time around one of the boys would come storming in again.

"I s'pose that I could teach 'er how to throw daggers... comes in handy when ye don't got a bow on hand..." He trailed off thoughtfully, considering these new options as presented by Kol. For a third time that evening, their man time was interrupted, though this time it was not by a child that was having entirely too much fun harassing the maids.

Mai slipped in through the door, smiling lightly as she saw the two were engrossed in whatever it was that they had been discussing. Walking over to Kol's side, she lightly perched on the arm of Kol's chair and kissed his cheek. "Have you two been in here plotting this whole time?" She asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Whatever works, my good sir." Kol said, leaning back in his chair and was about to say something when Mai had entered the room. A huge smile plastered itself on his face as when she walked over and kissed his cheek then he leaned down and nibbled on her ear. "Just how I have an amazing wife and children..." He with with a hint of amusement in his tone. When Kol was drunk, he couldn't tell a lie to save his life and it had gotten him into trouble once with Mai when he retold a story of being with another woman once. When he had woken up he found two boys sitting on him and he was in the main living area. Later he found out he was banished to that room for a week for what he had said...though he didn't remember.

As Kol mumbled sweet nothings into Mai's ear, Lena walked into the room and over to Talos. "My my, its been a good while since I've seen you drunk." She commented with a teasing tone. They didn't have the time to get drunk even if they wanted to, so this was a rare treat indeed. Lena walked over to him and leaned against the table. "Perhaps Mai, we should take advantage of our husbands?" She suggested as a sudden purring tone came to her voice.

Mai was giggling at whatever it was that Kol was whispering to her, and Talos was about to comment on how he was going to get sick watching the two love birds make goggly eyes at each other when Lena walked in. "Ah, my beautiful wife! Enjoy it while it lasts, 'cuz I'll be sober in the mornin' an' you won't get ter see me like this again 'till next year." Talos lifted his mug in a mock toast and took a large drink of the brew, nearly spitting it all over himself when Lena voiced her suggestion. "You want to what?" He exclaimed, looking at Lena with disbelieving eyes.

A slow grin formed on Mai's face as she considered the notion, slipping her arm over Kol's shoulders. "Take advantage of our poor husbands when they're obviously so inebriated?" She asked, pitching her voice slightly higher as to affect an innocent tone. Then, a devilish smirk replaced her soft smile and she looked down at Kol with a fairly predatory gaze. "I think that's a wonderful idea."

Talos exchanged looks with Kol unsure whether or not to laugh or be worried about their wives sudden change in attitude. There was no time to say final farewells as Lena dragged him to his feet and out the door to their room. A time for celebration indeed.

Mini-Sode 2: Past Decisions

Hyten sat outside on one of the many balcony's projecting from his lavish home. It was a rare event indeed to see the man sitting in his home not doing anything but enjoying the day. He normally would be running around with his wife and new born baby girl, Celo...or, well that is a different story all together.

Hyten had a secret he kept from his beautiful wife. He was cheating, at least once a week with another woman down the mountains. Enita. Hyten just couldn't let the woman go after he had seen her and with his silver tongue and looks he had never been turned down. The man had light blonde hair and piercing greens eyes that always held an air of confidence about them and a well built body with toned muscles. Hyten knew what he wanted in life, and always got it. Whatever he couldn't get with his looks and charm, he could get with hard work. This was how he had a wife, Lyna wanted nothing to do with him and his charm. She had intrigued him to no end and eventually she had caved when he proposed to her. And now, their second child was on the way.

Hyten was honestly surprised he had never impregnated any other woman before his wife, unless he wasn't told about it...but he was insanely pleased. Children complicated things and Hyten was just not much of a family man. Of course, somehow he must have picked the most fertile woman in Dragons Cove. He sighed at the thought, but smiled, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. If it did get out of hand, he could simply fly down the mountain and release his frustrations on his mistress.

Enita sighed heavily as she looked at the horizon, her hand resting lightly on her belly. Her young son Arthulur was sleeping in his crib currently, having just dozed off after crying at the top of his lungs for the past hour. Her mother and father-in-law were around the small house somewhere, which was the only reason that she was considering leaving her young son behind for an hour or so. Her husband, Yorin, had been out for a few months now, on a long-term job that was guaranteed to get them enough money to support themselves and their baby for a while yet. Taking a small breath, the young mother quietly made her way out of the house and into the streets of Turich. They lived on the extreme outskirts of the village in a house that had been partially constructed by Yorin and a flock of fellow men after the two love birds had been married. Looking back once at the house, she took off for the sky, her reddish brown wings propelling her into the open blue silently.

Very rarely had Enita left the safety of Turich, especially by herself. It was a dangerous world outside the mountainous valley that the tiny village was caged in, and she wasn't one that was brave enough or skilled enough to deal with the monster beyond the pine forest. But, there was a real need to go outside of her comfort zone now. A heavy weight had recipient been placed on her shoulders, and there was one man that she desperately needed to inform of her troubles. Farther up the mountain a grand house loomed out of the forest, the home of the Serenoa clan, the eternal enemies of all those that bore the name Estoen. And yet, she was purposefully seeking this place out.

Landing in a nearby tree, she used her superior eyesight to try and see if her presence would be noticed by any of the residents. She looked from window to window for anyone that might see her. Her heart fluttered when she saw a flash of blond hair among the intricate terracing of the house, and for a moment, she couldn't tell who it was. Then she focused and was relieved to see Hyten simply relaxing outside. Well, that would make it easier to find him, that was for sure. Taking one last look to make sure that she wouldn't be spotted, Enita lept from the tree she had been hiding in and was airborne once more, flying to the balcony that Hyten was on. She settled next to him quietly, dipping her head. "I'm sorry Hyten, I know tha' I prolly shouldn't be here." her voice was quiet, almost timid even, as if she were afraid to be overheard. "But there's somethin' that I needed ter tell yeh before... Yorin came home."

Hyten was more than surprised to see the woman landing on his balcony and then looked around cautiously before standing to greet her. "I'm sure, my lady, your reason must be great for you to be taking the risk to come here." He looked over her worried face. Yorin. Hyten did not fear the man one bit but it made it easier to avoid him while he was fornicating with his wife.

Hyten took the womans hand and led her into the large room, only to release it once they were inside. He took a moment to check down the large hallways to ensure no one was around and then returned to the one Enita was standing in. With a soft click behind him, the door closed and he made his way back over to her. Now he took her hand in his own and gently kissed it. "What it is that could have you so trouble as this?" He asked softly as he pulled her hand away from his mouth.

At any other time, in any other place, Enita probably would have been charmed by Hyten's show of etiquette. It was one of the things that had attracted her to him in the first place. He was handsome, kind, and utterly off-limits. But right now, she was in trouble of some of the worst kind, and needed to be out with it right now. "A great reason indeed..." She agreed quietly, twisting her hands together nervously until he took it from her, her eyes on the floor, the walls, the furniture, anywhere but on Hyten. Taking a deep steadying breath, she let out slowly and squeezed his hand gently. "Hyten, lover, I am pregnant." She placed her free hand over her belly, fingers splayed over her still flat stomach. "And the child... I'm certain it's yours. My husband 'as been gone too long fer it to be his." She met his eyes then, waiting for his reaction. She couldn't keep being pregnant a secret, and if the child looked like Hyten... what was she supposed to do?

Hyten stared at the woman for a long moment, trying to decided if he had heard her correctly. He then let out a defeated chuckle as he ran a hand through his blonde locks. "Out of all the times I've been with you, I never thought I would get you pregnant." Hyten looked down for a moment then back at Enita. "Don't have such a look, my lady, a smile does suit you better." He said, as he took his hand and lifted her chin to look at him.

"This child...You will not be able to hide from Yorin, obviously...but let him believe it is his, let him raise it as his own. Even if you were to tell him it was mine, the hatred and war between our families would only grow stronger and this child, and the child Lyna will bear will be brought up in the flames of war. That is not something I think anyone would like for their children. No, I will know it is mine and you will know, that is all that matters." Hyten said and by this time his hand had dropped to her stomach as he rubbed it gently. "If Yorin has doubt about the child's look, pass it off as a past generation in your family that has had those attributes. I do not believe Yorin would ever suspect you to be with me...All will be well, my lady." Hyten kissed Enita gently, as he continued to reassure her. The child would grow up in the Estoen household.

The mountains surrounding Turich were blanketed in a thick sheet of white. Snow had come to the northernmost regions of Dragons Cove and was now draped over everything, a foot of the fluffy white stuff coating every available flat surface. It had been storming for a few days, dark clouds pregnant with the flakes hanging over the mountains the whole time, darkening the sky. Finally, the storm had cleared and the bright blue of morning reflected on pure newly fallen snow lit the inside of the lone mansion atop the mountain with brilliant ambient light.

Talos woke to the bright light white that was pouring in through the drapes and directly into his eyes. He and Lena had arrived at the Serenoa house with Oriana right before the storm could really get going, and had been trapped inside while the storm blew itself out. Lena had gone a little stir crazy after the second day, for she got cabin fever easily when confined to a single place for too long. It had been a couple of rough nights trying to keep her from flying out into the blizzard, and waking up to the early morning light was not a welcome sensation.

Tossing the covers aside irritably and facing the morning chill, he stood to go and draw the curtains closed all the way in order to resume sleeping and stopped dead. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong. Looking down, he nearly shrieked in surprise, sitting down hard on the bed with his eyes glued to his chest. He had breasts. Not the kind of breasts that fat men got. They were legitimately perky female breasts. Half horrified, half dumbfounded, he touched them just to make sure that they were real, then promptly slapped himself in the face to make sure he wasn't dreaming. A groan left him when he noted a certain piece of male anatomy missing from his lower quarters, and almost felt like crying. How in the hell had he turned into a girl? Turning to Lena, he got another big shock... he wasn't the only one that was a wrong gender.

Lena's smooth narrow face had become hard and angular with the barest hint of stubble on her-his-chin. Gulping, Talos leaned forward and pulled down the covers that covered his sleeping body. No breasts and... yeah, definitely male. Slapping her now narrow hands over her eyes, Talos took a deep calming breath and let it back out. "Lena." He muttered, shaking what he supposed was now his husband to get him to wake up, surprised by how high pitched his voice had become now that he was female. "Lena, you really want to wake up..."

Lena swatted that the hand trying to rouse her from her slumber and didn't understand why it was nessecarry. The blizzard had trapped the poor woman indoors and she had taken to pacing around the many halls of the Serenoa home. Lena almost missed the bigger house they once had, at least that way she could got lost more often and keep her busy. Of course, she had kept Talos busy in the evenings as well.

"Talos...Stop it..." Lena's eyes snapped open. Her voice was so gruff and manly sounding, perhaps she slept with her mouth open and her throat was parched? Focusing on the person trying to wake her, she didn't recognize them. Wait, she didn't know this person in bed with her. Practically leaping out of the bed, Lena grabbed the nearest object and held it over her head.

"Who are you and-...." Lena stopped in her attack as she looked at the woman. "You-?" Lena stumbled back against a table as she came to the realization of who it was. "Talos?!" Lena looked down to see what she had tripped over and then was shocked even further. She had the body of a man, and there was certainly something in her pants that should not be. "Talos...what is going on?" Her-his voice shook slightly as he looked at his now large hands. One thing, if any, Lena did like was the sheer power he felt from the strong muscles that now inhabited in his-her body.

~*~*~*~

Kol woke to the sound of an upset child, he groaned as he tried to ignore the girl. Why was Oriana in their room? He kept hearing "Momma" over and over and then felt a weight on his chest as someone sat upon it. "Momma!" A particularly upset yell woke him up, even if it wasn't his child there was definitely something wrong with her. "Oriana, my sweet niece, what ever could be wrong with you that you must wake your uncle at such an early time?" Kol mumbled, keeping his eyes closed as he grabbed the young girl by her waist.

"I'm not Oriana! I'm a boy! Tristan!" The young girl piped up as he gripped hard on his chest, why did that hurt so much? Kol finally opened his eyes to in fact, see a girl sitting on his chest and he sat up so she was sitting on his lap. The girl was gripping onto his breasts. Breasts....He had boobs...When did that happen? His broad chest was now home to a set of generous sized boobs and he now had soft curves running down his body. "Oh shit. I mean, shoot." He looked over the kid and ran a hand over her face. "Tristan?!" The girl nodded as tears trailed down her face.

"Whats wrong with me?!" The girl began to cry and the broke out into a heart wrenching sob. "Oh, Tristan, calm down, it's alright..." He-she said soothingly.The girls crying was breaking his heart as he wrapped his now small arms around the girl. Then he dared to look over at the body sleeping next to him, oh god Mai too?! The slight wisp of a woman now had hard angles and a muscular build. "Mai...Mai! Wake up!" He-she almost franticly.

For a fleeting second, Talos was afraid that Lena was going to strike him with the pillow that he had grabbed, decided that the outcome probably wouldn't be so bad, then sat back down on the bed and simply watched the freak out. A shiver ran through his-her now petit little body, so she grabbed the nearest blanket and tossed it over her shoulders, wrapping it firmly over herself. "You women get so cold so easily." She stated, shivering once more before the warmth of the blanket could settle in. "I have no idea what's going on." The reply came easily, and it was incredibly truthful, too. Talos really didn't have any clue why they had been gender swapped. It had happened, and that was that, and now he needed to figure out how to undo it. "Maybe I was hexing in my sleep or something, and cursed us all to be the opposite gender? Yeah, that's probably it..." There was a slight note of curiosity in her voice as she said this, hunkering down further into the blankets and thinking hard. She had a really strange dream last night, the contents of which she couldn't quite remember now in the dawn of morning, but recalled that she had been chased by something through the dream realm. Perhaps she had tried to hex herself into being a girl in order to escape her pursuant? Whatever the reason, her breasts were cold, and it was an unpleasant feeling to say the least.

"Maybe it's temporary?" There was a little hope now, for if they would simply just all turn back in a few hours time, he wouldn't have to take the risk of coming up with a second hex. "I suppose we could wait an hour or two and see if we turn back into our regular selves. If I don't have to chance another hex, I won't. They always have some sort of unexpected result." Which was unfortunately quite true, especially since she was still a bit of a novice at the whole spell casting thing. If she accidentally worded something wrong, then they might all end up as hermaphrodites.

*~*~*~*

"Mmm, what's wrong sweetie?" Mai asked, keeping her-his eyes closed as she rolled over and went to wrap his-her arms around Kol, only to brush the side of a small child instead. Oh. The kids were awake. Sitting up, she noticed two things almost instantaneously. For one, the weight of her breasts were gone, and two, it seemed that Kol had stolen them and attached them to his front by some kind of strange magic. Little hands tugged the back of her-his hair, and she looked around to see little Ilario staring up at her-him with wide eyes.

"Daddy, why are you like momma?" He asked innocently, crawling up on the bed and continuing to tug on Mai's long hair, which was perfectly normal for a woman but had to look very odd on her man-self. The little boy's voice was slightly higher pitched than normal, a tone that definitely indicated female, and she-he tried not to panic as he picked the now little girl up and situated her on his lap.

"Kol, what happened?" He whispered as best he could, looking over at the woman sitting next to them with their other twin in her hands. "This isn't a dream or something right?" Ilario clung to Mai's front, and he absently bounced the child on his knee. There was a knock at the door then, and after making sure that the both of them weren't undressed, Mai called a low "Come in" to whoever it was on the other side.

It was a man in a maid's outfit, looking incredibly disheveled and unsure what to do with himself. "I-I'm sorry for the early disturbance Master and Mistress, but there seems to be-" He cut off when he saw that Mai, Kol and the twins were all in the wrong genders and curtsied. "W-w-well looks like you've already seen it. The whole house is in chaos Masters. The maids are all men and the butlers are all women..."

Mai turned wide eyes to Kol then, stopping the unconscious movement of her knee that was keeping Ilario calm. "It's the whole house!" He exclaimed quietly. "How could this have happened? What sort of magic is-Talos." His eyes darkened then in what could best be described as anger. Setting Ilario aside for a moment, Mai got out of bed and walked past the startled maid-man at the door, stomping down the hall as he went. Guided mostly by intuition, he arrived at the door that Talos and Lena had been allotted during their stay and knocked hard on the door, not caring if the two were awake yet or not. "Talos! Open up! I don't know what sort of prank this is, but it's not funny! The twins are girls."

Lena felt a sudden need to scoop the woman-Talos-man into his-her arms and hold her close. So, that is exactly what he did, grabbing Talos' now small form wrapped in the blanket, Lena wrapped her strong arms around him. "You better hope we are not stuck like this....Though, I am starting to like how easy is it to pick you up." Lena said as he nuzzled against Talos' neck, inhaling her now gentle scent. He was about to say something more when a rather angry sounding man came knocking at the door. "Mai..." He said softly, "Seems everyone has changed." Lena smirked as he tightened his hold slightly on Talos. "Do come in, Mai." He offered.

As soon as the door would have been opened though, a little boy came rushing in the room and promptly leaped on the bed. "Mommy! Daddy! I has a kitty cat toy!" The little boy stopped immediately, not understanding why his parents were no longer looking like his parents. Kinda. Sorta? Oriana scratched his-her head with confusion and looked back to Mai and her face scrunched with disgust. "Uncle Kol ugly." He said bluntly before crawling into what he would assumed was his mothers lap. "Mommy has yellow hair?" Oriana asked.

~*~*~*~

Kol looked at the twins now sitting on the bed staring at her. "Well...if I am guessing this right, Aunt Talos will now have her work cut out for her...Or else Aunt Talos will have hell to pay." She spoke to herself more then the girls now in front of her as she sighed. Well, she always wanted a girl, might not be....terrible. Yes it would, all of her strength was gone, she felt emotions crowding her and the thoughts of a period or even pregnancy floated in her mind. "Oooooooooh no, no no no no, this is NOT happening. Come on girls....boys, lets go get this fixed." Kol put both girls on each of her hips, god he had hips now..., and then made her way down the hall where she knew Mai would be.

Her eyes widened as Lena gathered Talos up, feeling rather awkward being in the female position now when it should have been the other way around. Life was getting real complicated real fast, and didn't stop when when a baffled looking man-Mai was standing outside of their door in a women's bath robe, boy-Oriana tearing past his legs and into their bed. Talos giggled at the mention of an ugly Kol, then stopped abruptly, slightly sickened that she even could giggle. Looking down at boy-Oriana's open honest and curious face, Talos smoothed down the little girl's hair gently with her small hands. "Yes, mommy wanted yellow hair today." She shot both Lena and Mai a deadly glare, silently letting them know not to say a word to the contrary. "But mommy and daddy will be back to normal soon, and so will Uncle Kol and Aunt Mai." This she promised, not only to Oriana, but Lena and Mai who both seemed very interested in what he was saying. Hopefully, the kids were too young to be mentally scarred by this whole ordeal later in life.

Mai took a step into the room, his large hands on slender hips and sighed. Even male, Mai was still short, only a few inches taller than female Talos. The short gene was really dominant in the male Estoen line, even when manipulated by magic. "Talos, you had better figure this out soon..." He looked over his shoulder to see Kol with the twins balanced on her now wide hips and took one of the girls from him, holding her close. "If we have to deal with this for too long, they're going to remember it." For some reason, turning male had seemed to make Mai more aggressive, and she had no problem taking it out on his brother. Or, well, sister now. Bouncing the girl in her arms, she could tell it was Tristan because she was color coded, she glared at Talos hard. "I don't care what you have to do, just get this fixed."

Talos sighed, rubbing her face with her free hand. "Okay, alright, no need to bite off my head..."

Lena chuckled at Oriana's comment about Mai but grew serious at Mai's comments about the children. While two of the three children seemed rather un-phased by the change the child Mai was holding, Tristan, was softly sobbing on and off and he could tell the girl/boy had been crying before hand. He frowned even more when Mai was getting on Talos' case and a sudden protective instinct overwhelmed Lena. "Oi, Mai, lay off. We want to wait for about an hour to see if the effects go away on their own...and if they don't Talos can try then." Lena starred the man/woman down daring the new man to challenge her.

Kol looked at Ilario and then to a butler in a maids outfit coming down the hallway. "If I am correct, you are Sarphear, right?" When the butler nodded Kol turned to Talos. "Let the kids go get something to eat while we wait then. Maybe it will calm Tristan down some." Kol suggested as she handed her son/daughter over to the man. Kol then did the same for Tristan and then walked in, gently taking Oriana and letting the little boy walk with the butler.

An idea struck Lena at that very second. "We have time to wait, yes?" A devilish grin curled onto his face as he looked over Talos' body. "I think I want to explore what it's like to be a man." Lena's voice hinted at something more, something very not innocent as he leaned in to hug Talos close to his now hard body. He inhaled her light sent as he nuzzled her neck.

Kol looked at Lena in shock. "How on Earth do you think this is a good idea?!" Why was his heart fluttering? He felt...anticipation, as she looked at Mai, would he want the same thing? She/he shook her head at the thoughts. Ugh, this sucked.

Mai simply indulged in the stare-down she was having with male-Lena, breaking eye contact only when he had to hand over Tristan to the man/maid. "Fine, we'll give Talos an hour, then I'll be back and expecting him to be making poetry to reverse this mess." He pointed menacingly at female Talos, who held up her hands in a surrender fashion and made a very high-pitched and distinctly feminine squeak when male Lena grabbed her and pulled her close, blankets and all, a dark crimson stain on her cheeks.

"I-I agree!" She stuttered, a very un-Talos like thing to do, but given the conditions, didn't seem all that unnatural. "I mean, how do you even know that all of that-" she gestured vaguely in the direction of man-Lena's male naughty bits "-are even going to work? And what if..." She clamped her mouth shut then, looking horrified at whatever it was that she would about to say. Biting her full lip, Talos leaned back and cupped her hand over Lena's ear, whispering into it. "What if I'm a virgin? Or get pregnant, or something?" She wiggled against male-Lena nervously, her body tense with worry.

Arching an eyebrow, Mai simply watched Talos flail around like a true nervous woman, and dropped his hand to Kol's waist, guiding his... wife?... out the door and closed it shut behind him. "I think that we'd better give them some privacy." He said with a low chuckle, walking down the hall with Kol close at hand. "Though, I think that Lena's onto something. You don't get an opportunity like this every day." He trailed off, a suspiciously cat-like grin on his face and let his hand slide lower on female-Kol's body, pulling her close.

Lena could only chuckle more, but this time with a bit of triumph in his voice and waited for the door to close so they had some privacy. "If you are a virgin my love, then all the more fun this should be. Don't worry, I won't stop if I come against a wall, I promise." He teased as he nibbled on the girls ear and slowly pushed her down into a laying position. "Just point and shoot, right? Shouldn't be too hard." The man grinned as he kissed his wife and enjoyed the power of being able to hold her down easily.

~*~*~*~*~

A light blush came onto Kol's face. "M-mai, I know the look, trust me I do, and we can't not do what you are thinking! What if..." Kol stopped himself, suddenly feeling embarrassed and nervous all at the same time. "What if I am a virgin...or something..." She said as she twisted her hands nervously. She looked up at Mai with uncertain eyes as the light pink blush still dusted her face. She felt so.....woman like, and it bothered her to no end. Talos better fix this damn fast.

Minisode 4 :: Family Ties

It was raining, the bright blue ocean that normally greeted his eye when cast out over the cliff that they resided on was now cloaked in a drizzly gray. The steady pitter patter of the rain as it came from the sky in sheets was comforting in a way. Their young daughter, Oriana, had been lulled to sleep by the noise which was a small favor in and of itself. There was one member of the three-part family that wasn't enjoying the tranquility of the day, however. As the day had gone on with no sign of the rain letting up, Lena had slowly been getting more and more agitated. Talos knew that his wife hated being cooped up, and little signs of aggravation were not uncommon when Lena had to stay in any one place for longer than was necessary. He was sitting by the fire sharpening arrow heads or repairing them if needed, one eye on his work and the other on Lena. It was amusing to see her get so worked up over some rain, but at the same time, he felt a little pity for the poor woman, and by extension himself. If it was going to be one of those drizzly weeks that came every now and again on the coast, then they wouldn't be able to get out and raid on the pirates which meant that Lena would take out all of her frustration and pent-up energy out on him. Not that he minded initially, but he was mortal, and had to sleep sometime.

As Talos set down a newly sharpened arrow head and took up another one that was in need of repair, a sudden thought occurred to him. "Hey, Lena." He began casually, his voice soft so as not to disturb Oriana. Not like he could, she was probably out cold right now. "This is a little late in comin', but where are your parents? I mean, you've seen my entire family tree now, and I haven't heard you mention a word about any of your relatives. Not to mention the whole bein' married thing. You didn't say anything about wanting to have your father hand you off." Which was true, because Yorin had volunteered to hand Lena off to Talos during their tiny wedding.

Lena paced around the kitchen, living area, the hall, near the door, anywhere to make it feel like she was doing something. She knew she could keep herself busy at night when she was taking all her pent up energy out on Talos, but it was true...they did have to sleep at some point. So Lena sat in a chair as Talos sharpened his weapons for all of five minuted before she went back to pacing. The only thing that stopped her from making holes in the floor from where her circles had been was Talos' question.

Lena looked down as she thought about his question, for heaven's sake she had not seen her parents since she was fifteen. "You know if they were important, I would have mentioned them to you." She looked over her shoulder to see the look she was expecting; the you-know-that-is-not-gonna-buy-it look.

Lena sighed and sat next to him so she didn't have to talk across the room. "To ask me where they are now...I have no idea...and I could care less, Talos." She took a moment to collect her thoughts, but held a hand up when Talos went to protest her silence. "I left them when I was fifteen, own my own free will. I couldn't say they were mean parents, or malicious...but... neglectful. I don't remember spending any time with them, or eating meals together. When I turned twelve, my father started drinking real heavily and would become violent. Never towards me, he usually threw whatever object was in his way and then passed out." Lena stopped again for just a moment, and a flash of anger sprung to her icy blue eyes.

"One night while my mother was out, my dad called me to his side saying he needed my help. I walk into the room and he tells me to pour him a drink, when I go to do so I tell him we were out of alcohol. And then he hit me, hard enough to knock me off my feet." Lena sighed as she continued. "You know me, Talos, I wouldn't stand for something like that...so I left and you know the rest from there." Having never shared that information before, Lena wasn't sure how to expect a reaction from Talos. She looked down at her hands as she toyed with them and waited.

He listened carefully to Lena's tale about her childhood, setting aside the arrow he had been repairing and clasping his hands together. He had grown up in a tightly woven family, and though it was hard, there was never a time when he had ever been alone, even if he wanted to be. Enita and Yorin both were doting parents, giving their kids what they could between shifts. Never in the years that he had lived with his parents had Talos felt unloved. But Lena didn't know what it was like, probably couldn't fathom what it was like to grow up in a loving environment. A pang of guilt hit him then. What did she expect of their life together? The two were perfect strangers upon meeting, and had still barely known each other by the time that Lena figured out she was pregnant.

Inhaling slowly, he reached out and gathered her small form into his lap, kissing her cheek as he did so. "Lena, I don't know how much of a comfort this will be for you, but I promise that Oriana or any of our children will never have to live like that." Talos took her hands gently in his own, brushing his lips over her knuckles. "I love you, and I'll try and remind you as best I can. Be patient, and maybe you'll even get used to it." A small grin graced his face and he kissed her on the lips briefly, her hands still captured in his much larger ones. The marriage and child thing... they might not have been cut from the perfect parenting cloth, but they could get through it together.