Aqua was known as the most anti-social of her siblings. She spent most of her time either locked up in her room doing experiments, or out collecting samples. And during large royal events she was pretty much never seen. She always gave the necessary hi and goodbye to everyone of importance, then seemed to vanish.

Today was pretty much the same, though there was an extra reason she had chosen to avoid everyone. She was relieved that nobody was likely to come looking for her. If someone had seen her like she was right now, she didn't know what she would do.

She sighed and reached up towards her mouth. The spell to hide her teeth, the same one her father used to hide his own monster traits when he was younger, it wasn't working anymore. At least not like it should have been, She knew something was wrong when the effects began to last less and less. At this rate it would stop working altogether.

The girl growled, trying to figure out what to do. She'd tried plucking them out, much to her parents dismay, but they grew right back even sharper than before. Glamour spells hide them fine, but it was still risky. She had to be careful to keep up the illusion and how she ate. Maybe she should just start wearing a mask… that would be too obvious though, wouldn't it? They'd know she was hiding something.

This wasn't fair!

If anyone should have gotten her grandma Camie's teeth it should have been Dorado or Cetus. Her eldest brother was a Titan class, and while his teeth in his monster form were quite sharp, they clearly weren't the same as her and their grandmother's. And Cetus, for all of his waterfolk traits, was missing the most infamous one in their mother's family.

Somehow fate had found it fitting to bestow these chompers upon her, which in her opinion was completely unfair.

"Still hiding up here, huh?"

Aqua's eyes widened, and she quickly pulled her mask up over her face. She had been so lost in her thought she let her guard down. She never let anyone sneak up on her like that. "Go away!" she said waving her arm back behind her.

Dorado ignored his little sister's order and walked up beside her. He took a seat, and she huffed. "Oh, it's just you…" That was close. She had been a second away from wiping his memory clean.

"Father was wondering where you snuck off to. You didn't greet anyone and… well, he had a feeling you might have been having one of your dental issues again, but he wanted me to check on you to make sure."

"Well I'm fine. Now go away," she said bitterly.

Dorado hummed. "Do they hurt?" he asked.

"No…"

"Are you sure."

"I said no!"

Dorado blinked, and then suddenly his tail poke out and made its way in front of her face. "You know, when you were little and your teeth hurt you used to gnaw on one of us. Either father, or Lars, or me. Sometimes grandfather when he was around," he explained. "We were the only one whose skin was tough enough to take it. I think that's probably the only time you let me hold you."

Aqua narrowed her eyes, but then reached forward and champed down on his tail. She really hated admitting it, but chewing or gnawing on something helped her relax. Their tails particularly made her feel… comforted. Probably because she used to do it all the time as a baby.

Dorado chuckled. "You know, we could always get you something to chew on whenever your teeth are acting up. I don't mind you chewing on my tail, but I don't always be around," he explained.

"I'm not a dog to be given a chew toy," she said annoyed.

"That's not exactly what I meant but…"

She groaned. "Why couldn't you have gotten them? This is so ridiculous," she said shaking her head. "They would have fit you so much better. Wings, eyes, even horns. Any of them would have been better permanent traits than these," she complained.

Dorado frowned. He rubbed the back of his head, and then suddenly began taking his coat off. Aqua looked slightly surprised as he dropped it behind him, and then spread out his wings. Much like her teeth, Dorado always kept them hidden unless he was in a dire situation. They were his most noticeable, and perhaps his most powerful trait.

"You know, when you were born I was jealous of your teeth," he told her. "I thought it wasn't fair you got something like that, and I got these. I would have traded them with you in a heartbeat. Honestly… even though it's pretty silly, I'm still embarrassed about them. The other kids used to say they looked like pigeon wings."

Aqua pouted. "It's not the same and you know it." His wings made him look… well, better. If anything they looked like angel wings. Fitting for his heroic reputation. But her teeth were a different story. The first time she smiled in a mirror with them she felt a chill up her spine.

It was silly, and stupid, and realitcally she knew there was nothing to be self concious about. She had never cared for the opinions of others on anything, but this… this made her feel nervous.

"Maybe to you. But to me it's a pretty big deal," Dorado said. His wings spread out even further, and he flapped them a few times. "It's silly. But I can't really help thinking like that sometimes. Father said he was nervous about his monster form too."

"Yours really is silly though…" she muttered.

Dorado smiled down at her. "How about we make a deal. I'll go down there with my wings out, if you go down there with your teeth. You can wear a mask or just keep your mouth closed. I'm sure with me walking with these things out nobody would even notice," he offered.

"But you just said you were embarrassed about them."

"I'm used to being embarrassed about them. You clearly aren't yet when it comes to your teeth. So I thought I'd at least try to meet you halfway."

She looked up at him surprised. He was right. All things considered his wings stuck out much more than her teeth did. She could always just keep her mouth shut or cover it, but him? He had to go to much greater lengths to hide his. "I… I'm not ready yet," she said looking down.

He patted her head. "That's okay," he said, honestly feeling a little relieved himself. "Whenever you are, the offer still stands."

"Can I keep chewing on your tail…?"

"Sure."

"Thank you… you're still stupid though."

"Yes, I know. Everyone is compared to you."

"And don't forget it."

A/N: Aqua being super sensitive about her teeth. Any other insult or thing in general just slides right off of her. She literally couldn't give a damn about anyone's opinion about anything else. But when it comes to those chompers of hers? Different ball game.