"Did you hear something?"

Link grinned silently in response.

"Oh, it must have been my imagination." Mipha had to fight to maintain a neutral expression as she noticed a flash of golden scales beneath her bed. "How do you suppose our dear daughters are? We haven't seen them all day, after all."

Her husband grinned playfully as she sat down next to him.

"Perhaps we should go visit them in their rooms," she suggested a little louder than was necessary.

She and Link had to cover their mouths as they heard a muffled gasp. Really, the two lacked anything resembling subtlety. Alolu had her moments but Leru…

"There is one thing I would like to take care of before that."

Waiting to make sure Link understood her intent, Mipha leaned down, holding her tailfin up as she looked underneath the bed. Two pairs of eyes, one bright blue, and the other liquid gold peered back at her.

"Hi," Link said from beside her.

"Hi, daddy."

Reaching down, Mipha took a hold of Alolu and pulled from underneath the mattress, setting the young Zora on her lap. Link had done the same with Leru, setting the golden-scaled child carefully on his lap, being sure to avoid her spines. It could be incredibly difficult for many of her friends and relatives to embrace her, as her fins fanned out much like her father's and tapered out into spines in many places. Thankfully, though, most of them didn't inject venom into the bodies of those they pierced, making them relatively harmless. It also made it easier after they had learned how to adjust her diet to reduce her venom production, which helped to solve the majority of the issue. Even so, the two took great care whenever they moved her around.

It wasn't just that they were concerned about their youngest child's venomous barbs as Link had built up quite a resistance to it (he had always made time to play with her, even after the first few accidental stings had kept him in bed for days). Really, their main worry was that little Leru would grow up afraid to interact with anyone. So, both of them had taken great pains to teach her how to be careful and mindful of the spines that tipped her fins while also trying not to damage her self-image. It was an incredibly difficult balancing act but Leru, quiet just like her father, was able to laugh and play with others just fine so far as they could tell.

Sometimes, the child even sang quietly to herself, though she only did so when she thought no one was around. It wasn't unusual for the young mother to consider reaching out to Kass and Medli to see if they would help hone her talent. She did have a lovely voice after all.

"So, what exactly were you two planning?" Mipha asked as she reached over, gently pulling Leru's fins aside to check that her spines hadn't punctured Link. As far as she could see, they had not.

"We wanted to surprise you," Alolu explained, sounding almost annoyed.

"Sorry, Lolu," Leru mumbled, stroking her fan-like fins meekly.

"It's okay," the eldest replied, reaching over to pat her sister. "You didn't mean to."

"So, what was this surprise?" Mipha asked, trying to help the two salvage what was left of their scheme.

"We caught stealthfins!" Alolu jumped out of her mother's lap and scrambled beneath the bed. "Don't be mad. We were with Gaddison the whole time!" Alolu's voice was slightly muffled by the mattress as well as by the sounds of her shuffling around with something. After a moment, one of Link's rucksacks appeared from beneath the bed as the child popped back out. Link reached down, picking the sack up as Alolu climbed back into her mother's lap.

Reaching into the bag, which Link had set between himself and Mipha, Alolu pulled out a few of the trouts they had claimed as their prize. "See?" she asked proudly as she held them up for her parents to see.

The child's pride wasn't unwarranted. Stealthfins were notoriously difficult to find, let alone catch. While they were pretty average in flavor, the challenge they presented when it came to hunting them made them an often sought after commodity.

"Leru caught some too!"

"Good job." Both girls glowed at their father's short but sincere praise.

Link took a fish, eyeing it as he always did when selecting ingredients to use. Nodding to himself, he stood, still holding onto Leru as he crossed into the adjoining room, which he had turned into a kitchen.

"Would you like to join them?"

Alolu nodded, flashing her a grin that was very much like her uncle's. Leaping off Mipha's lap, Alolu sprinted into the next room, leaving the mother to smile after her fondly. Standing up, she followed after her family, looking forward to whatever concoction her three chefs would cook up that night.