It was pretty late. The kids were all asleep, but Topaz still had some work to do on an antique she was restoring. It was a delicate piece that required a lot of concentration, so she usually only brought it out at night or when the kids were at Academy, and the rest of the time it was in a secure position on the very top shelf in her rorom. Before she retired to her room with it's little work desk, she decided to peek in on the kids.
Rian, Khiran, and Quartz were all curled up, fast asleep, little lumps under brightly colored blankets that slowly rose and fell in time with their breathing. Topaz paused in the doorway to watch for a bit, and noticed a couple other lumps nestled in Quartz's bed, tucked around the little freshling. She smiled as she recognized the bright colors of Star and Rose. The revenant had been fond of both children, ever since they were stones, but had really taken to Quartz lately, to the point where they responded more to Quartz's nickname for them (Patches) instead of the name Topaz had given them. She would often find the revenant curled up snoozing in a patch of sunlight with Quartz using them as a pillow, either for a nap of her own or as a prop while she doodled. Pretty soon she would be too big to do that, but Topaz had made sure to take plenty of pictures to preserve the memories. Rose also liked all the children, but seemed particularly attached to Quartz. He was a bit needy in his own way, almost like Comet without having any kind of separation anxiety. If anything it was like a toddler; he would demand attention, but if Quartz was gone and no one else would give him pets he would sulk outrageously. It was kind of cute. Quartz was more than willing to give the pink coatl all the attention he seemed to feel he deserved. On Quartz's part, even though she was only a freshling she did remarkably well at caring for them. Having familiars seemed to agree with her.
As Topaz closed the door softly and went back to her room, she figured that maybe she should just officially give Patches and Rose to Quartz. She had her hands full enough with Comet, Boo, and Sneak. Comet in particular still needed quite a bit of attention; they had been a little jealous when the stones first appeared, since Patches and Topaz were distracted by them, then mildly upset when Rian and Keira came to live in the same house. They were only just settling down and getting to a good place again, partially due to Quartz's influence since she would always give the revenant attention when she was in Topaz's room. It was clear that while they liked Topaz, Rose and Patches would be heartbroken if Quartz ever had to leave them behind.
Mind made up, she put those thoughts aside for now and got to work on her restoration.
