Chapter 7: The Family

"Tenacity Kelper, settle down or you'll be too tired to play when they get here." Atlas' words fell on deaf otoliths as Tassie swam in excited circles. She didn't know what was happening but she clearly knew that something was going to happen and was eagerly anticipating it.

'Well, at least she's not crying.' He thought sourly to himself, taking note, not for the first time, that his beloved Starla was no longer within the tank.

For three weeks since Tassie's hatching, Starla had remained in the tank with her. Almost a week ago, she had emerged, albeit reluctantly, leaving their precious child alone in the tank for the very first time.

Tassie had been confused at first by her mother's leaving, unsure what it meant, simply trying to wrap her little brain around merely the concept of not being within the same four walls as her. It gave her the first true feeling of separation and the little thing had gone into a panic, chirping and wailing frantically.

Atlas had to force Starla to leave the room and let their child cry and be afraid. It was an important, albeit painful time for both parents and child. Starla refused to be away long though. She took only enough time to dry herself and put on some basic clothes before rushing back to the tank. Once there, she sat on the platform and dipped her hands in the water again, Tassie swimming frantically up to her and wrapping her little limbs around her hands with an iron grip.

Starla had been on the brink of madness before she had regained physical contact with her child. Horribly distraught as her precious baby wailed and fretted without her there with her. It wasn't just Tassie who had become a bit dependent. Starla had also gotten rather used to being within near arm's reach of her child at all times. It made Atlas wonder if they hadn't both been coddled a little too much.

'Dad's gonna scold me for that.' He thought.

With time though, the two got more used to being apart. Starla still slept in the tank with Tenacity at night, allowing them both to have a peaceful rest. Unfortunately, Atlas couldn't say the same for himself. It had been almost two months since he had slept with his own wife. Speaking of which….

"Starla!" He called. "They're going to be here any minute. Are you ready yet?"

His shout prompted Tassie to stop moving and peer at him through the glass wondering what was up. Starla's voice came down from upstairs in a terse reply.

"Do you know how long it's been since I've had to wear clothes? I haven't gotten all my strength back from being in the tank yet either."

That was true. She had spent so much time in the tank that her muscles had atrophied somewhat. She would tire more easily until she got her strength back.

"Just don't dally or else Tassie will be meeting the family without her mother with her and I'll be presenting her without my beautiful wife." He waited a moment but there was no reply. Experience told him though, that Starla was hurrying.

Tassie chirped curiously and resumed her swimming, but at a more relaxed pace. Atlas checked his phone for any messages but found none. He was stuck in limbo, keeping Tassie company while he waited for either his wife or their relatives.

He wondered how much of Foame's over-enthusiasm would motivate his parents to arrive sooner. She was no doubt eager to show off her new squid form. It made him cringe just thinking about it. He was desperate to ensure that Tassie would only see her as a crazy aunt.

Finally, Starla arrived in the living room, dressed and ready to present her child to the family. She wore a dark blue dress with a black sash and dress shoes. Tassie chirped at her mother and Starla giggled, walking over to the tank and bringing her face close to the glass.

"Hey Tassie. Mommy got all dressed up because she's showing you to the family for the first time. Are you excited? Awww you excited?" Tassie chirped enthusiastically, probably not understanding but indeed excited by her mother's tone and new appearance.

Atlas came up behind Starla and wrapped his arms around her waist. "That dress looks beautiful on you."

She giggled and hugged him back with her tentacles. "Well, are you going to start appreciating me more now that you've been without me for a while?"

"I always appreciated you." He insisted. "But… yeah, I probably will treasure you even more than I did before. Impossible as that seems."

"As long as you realize it." She smiled at him and they shared a quick kiss. As if on cue, the doorbell rang.

Tassie started chirping loudly, wondering what the noise was and what it might mean. She started swimming around in excited loops until she accidentally bumped into the glass. Atlas felt some pride rise in his chest when she didn't cry and instead resumed her enthusiastic chirping.

"I'll get it." Atlas smiled. "You try to keep her from hurting herself." Starla rolled her eyes and let him go.

Atlas gave Tassie a little wave as he left. No sooner did he open the door that he was nearly run over by a green blur that could only be one person. Before he could even open his mouth however, someone else beat him to it.

"Foame! No running in the house!" The unmistakable voice of his mother yelled after her.

The blur, also known as his sister Foame, slowed, barely, before sliding into the living room on her socked feet and letting out a high-pitched squeal.

"Oh my gosh! She's so cute!"

His mother sighed and picked Foame's shoes up, placing them neatly in the porch area. His father entered right behind her, carrying an armful of packages, gifts for Tassie no doubt. "Nice to see you again son." He greeted.

"Same Dad. Sorry you had to wait so long to see your first grandchild."

"There wasn't any rush." He laughed. He looked sideways towards his wife while she seemed to be purposefully avoiding his gaze.

Both of his parents were roughly the same shade of green as he was. His mother was actually short for a female, being only slightly taller than his father. Her eyes were a vivid pink which clashed oddly with her green hair, but she never looked no less beautiful to him.

"Well anyway, Starla and Tassie are waiting in the living room. Tassie in particular is excited to see what's going on."

"I'm sure she is." His mother smiled. "Starla tells me she's quite the energetic little thing."

"In short bursts." He acknowledged. "She can't be any worse than Foame was."

She grinned at him. "Well, that remains to be seen."

In the living room, Starla was beaming with pride as her young sister-in-law fawned and gushed over her child. Foame's face was up against the glass and she was making funny faces that made Tassie giggle. Atlas was just happy she didn't seem to be frightening her.

Starla stood to her feet as the new grandparents arrived and quickly embraced Atlas' mother. "Thanks for coming Miori. I'm sorry you had to wait so long to see the baby."

"Oh it's alright dear. I know how it is. The one problem with a big tank is that the baby has to adapt to a lot of different things and it's a slower process. Don't want to overwhelm the poor thing."

Starla nodded. "Thanks for understanding. Go on, she's excited to meet all the new people."

"Where do you want these?" Atlas gestured to his father, carrying the packages.

"Just put them behind the couch for now Harl. We'll give them to her when the introductions are done. Atlas, can you get the snacks from the kitchen?"

Atlas nodded obediently and left his wife to manage the guests while he retrieved the snacks. When he returned, Foame went for them right away, finally making room for their parents to get a good look at their grandchild.

His father watched mostly in silence while his mother tried talking to her. Tassie just stared at them, just looking like more strange and unknown entities to her. His mother started showing her one of the gifts she brought her, a storybook made for reading underwater. She showed Tassie the brightly coloured pages and the hatchling was immediately enthralled.

"Babies sure are simple," Foame said with a smile.

"Not just babies." Atlas replied, smirking at her. "So, did you officially start turf wars yet?"

Foame lightly glared at him for his comment but left it in lieu of the more pleasant topic. "Well, yeah I guess. Nobody's invited me onto their team yet but I've done okay in randoms. I've only got a lousy Splattershot Jr. though."

"I said you could use my old ones. I'm never using them again."

"Couldn't find them. Mom hid them way back so I wouldn't get at them. I think she might have sold them at a garage sale and forgot."

He sighed. "Yeah, that sounds like her. Are you at least having fun?"

"I'm having a blast! I finally feel like I'm in high school now and people aren't looking down to me. Sure I'm still in the bottom ranks but I'm getting higher."

'It's hard to do worse when you're starting at the bottom.' He thought.

The doorbell rang again. Probably Starla's parents this time. Atlas got halfway off his chair before Starla waved for him to stay, opting to to answer the door herself.

The happy shouts from the entrance seemed to indicate that it was indeed her parents. Ton and Sun Swiftcurrent had both been prominent Turf Battlers in their high-school days, both reaching A rank, and then, after college, they ended up as an accountant and stockbroker respectively.

Unlike a lot of guys, Atlas never really needed to prove himself to his wife's parents. Having a good, stable, and well-paying job lined up by the time they started dating during his University days put him well ahead of most other Inkling males in his their age group. Since then, Ton had helped him get some tax breaks as a student and Sun had helped them make some small but worthwhile investments. In all, he had a great relationship with his in-laws, something his own father had never quite been able to say.

Atlas stood to greet them and happily shook Ton's hand. Sun gave him a hug and then the two joined his own parents at the tank, gazing at Tassie. Sun pulled out a new little toy from her purse and shook it in front of the little hatchling, producing a rattle from it that caught her full attention.

Starla shook her head but he had rarely seen her with such a broad smile. As their parents oohed and awwwed at their daughter, Atlas found himself slowly reaching out and pulling his mate into his lap, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close.

They watched as their family interacted with Tassie, while she in turn spun and swam excitedly. She seemed to delight in all the new people and the toys she was being shown. Soon though, she started to tire and began settling down to the bottom on the small rock she enjoyed sleeping on.

"Awwww, is she sleepy already?" Foame moaned.

"Babies always tire quickly dear." Her mother replied. "Now let's give her some space and keep it quiet."

Foame sat down and crossed her legs. "I just wanna stay here, and watch her."

"Alright, just be quiet."

Atlas pulled out a chair for his mother to join the rest of them. Starla had gotten more snacks from the kitchen after Foame had eaten the first plate on her own.

"She seems incredibly healthy Starla." His mother said quietly. "Well done."

"Thank you." Starla was practically beaming, her mantle literally glowing.

"And what about you Atlas?" Ton asked. "You been doing alright being separated from your wife?"

He shrugged. "Well it has been a period of adjustment, and I would certainly prefer to stay close to her, but…." he looked at Tenacity dozing peacefully on her rock in the tank. "It's hard to argue when your daughter looks so happy and peaceful with her. If you think she looks pleasant now, seeing them sleep together soothes the soul, especially after a long day of work."

Starla rolled her eyes and lightly jabbed him. "Yeah right."

"It's true." He insisted. "Though I yearn to be with you whenever we are apart, I always appreciate what you go through for Tassie."

"You're just trying to sound good in front of our parents."

"Not something I have to try hard at right?"

"Harl, Miori, tell your son to stop being cocky."

The parents just chuckled at the young couple's antics. Soon the conversation spilled into other topics. How life was going for all of them, sports, but mostly Starla and Atlas' future plans, especially for Tassie.

Even though the two didn't have a real plan yet, their parents had confidence them, and it was clear that whatever her future held, Tenacity would have plenty of people who loved her and love her dearly.

Author's Notes:

This is probably the weakest chapter overall but it's still important to meet the family and I got to write Foame again.