It had all started with a scheduled visit home. For the past three years, Sheffield had journeyed back to Moonspear in the weeks following the winter solstice celebrations, when Asphodel and Leviathan attendance were at their lightest and his obligations were few.

Generally his parents were predictably warm and cordial, but this time as he entered the house, there was a tension in the air that defied definition. He should have turned around and left on the spot, but he ignored the impulse, chalking it up to simple nerves. He had only very recently obtained his position as a full professor after several years as a teaching assistant, and he anticipated no less than nine thousand questions about his new job and additional responsibilities.

He initially thought his prediction correct. His parents, York and Bristol, spent the early portion of his visit asking for details regarding his students, his mentors, and his preferred subject matter. It was only after dinner that they casually broached the subject he never thought he would have to discuss... having a child.

"It's simply something to think about, dear. Raising the infant is another matter entirely. We wouldn't ask you to do that! But bolstering our numbers, especially now that the daydreams are sharing Below, well, it's vitally important to consider. You'll consider it, won't you Sheffield?"

He was considering launching himself out of a low window. He was considering letting out a bloodcurdling scream. He was considering taking a page from Amihan's book and going pink in the face until he passed out. Shef chuckled. He supposed on him it would be more of a purple. His second laugh was a desperate, uncomfortable sound.

"Purple. I'm going purple."

"I'm sorry?" Ze should be sorry. Sorry for making him feel as though the world had no floor. He thought he might stand, try to storm away from Bristol in a huff, but he knew he would fall if he did.

"I mean, yes. Yes, I will consider it." He had never been able to deny his parents anything and they knew it. Worse still, he could see the logic in their request. He wasn't getting any younger, and he was healthy, strong, and intelligent. On paper he really was excellent stock, worthy to imbue a stone and carry on his hybrid genes.

Aware that they had upset him, the rest of Shef's visit passed in near silence, all of the usual lackluster parental jokes on hold for the most part. He offered them a firmer assurance that he would think about what they had said, but to be honest, his mind was already reluctantly made up.

He would enter himself as a potential parent, and Oreia help him if he ever was chosen.