YunicornSparkles

((Apologies for the ultra long wait on this one. I didn’t mean for a whole month to fly by. XP I’ve had some writer's block and a lot of health issues flaring up this month. Anyway, enough excuses, I’m replying today - finally)) There was no need for Akiza to fix the pictures, since before her very eyes, they rose up from the ground and perfectly rehung themselves, straightening out on their hooks. Lollia had heard them fall and fixed them using telekinesis. There wasn’t much that went on in the building that escaped her notice. Lollia smiled gently at Kara, glad she accepted the diapers with such ease. “Good girl. That’s the spirit!” She praised her. Once Kara and Lollia were in the kitchen, the alien mama was all ready to feed up the new little one in her domain. The diaper crinkles rustling from her thickly padded rear were all too adorable, along with the way she waddled. Hearing her question, Lollia nodded, pointing to where the toddler tables and chairs were. “Of course. Please, take a seat. Any seat”, The tall woman said as she glided into the kitchen and tied a white apron over her lavender dress, waiting to hear what Kara would like. “Yes indeed. We DO have grilled ham and cheese. I’ll make them for you right away”, she chimed, her tentacles gathering ingredients while her more human hands set up the flat grill and the utensils. Soon the sizzling of a cooking sandwich filled the air, along with the smell of melting cheese. Once it was toasted to perfection, she served it onto a smiling lion face paper plate, cutting the sandwich into four little squares. “There you are, mademoiselle. And would you like anything to drink?” she asked, “If you want to eat more, I can make more for you”. She had given her one sandwich to start her off small, since if you hadn’t eaten for a while, it could make you sick eating too much at once. “You can put your lion plushie on the table so he doesn’t get cheese and crumbs on him”, Lollia mentioned, seeing the plush Kara was carrying under one arm. ============================ Sophie’s smile widened at what Rei said about diapers. “Weah. Dey good. I lub my diapees a lot”, she said, slightly shuffling in the fluffy padding and feeling how they hugged her. She loved her Merries. Of course, it’d be impossible for Rei to know if Sophie had peed, because her diaper was hidden under her white tights and pink winter dress. And the fact that it wasn’t very wet yet, so it hadn’t expanded much. As Rei watched and listened, Sophie finally found the right hole for the wooden bananas, fitting it into the slot. “Yay! I found it!” she cheered softly. “Okay, now youw tuwn, Wei”. Sophie pointed to the wooden fruit, worms and carrots laying around the floor of the tent “Chu can pick a wowm, ow a fwuit ow a cawwot. Den you find whewe it goes. If you picks a fwuit ow cawwot, I can tell you about it!” she said, proud that she knew facts about all the fruits and veg. She only knew a little about worms, though. ============================== Frost saw Xeto turn off his tablet and put his book down and felt a little worried that he had annoyed him somehow. He wanted to talk though, so he could learn more about his coworker and they could get along. His ears moved softly while taking in the alien’s explanation. He listened curiously, not sure what to make of the new information. “Wow, that’s…pardon the pun but it’s an alien concept to me”, he said with a small chuckle, “Children being raised by their teachers. Well, if I think about it, I suppose that’s not too different from what we do here. We’re kind of like their teachers and their caregivers. So, not that alien after all! But I do feel kind of sad that the kids on your planet don’t get to form a bond with their parents growing up,” he said, “I feel the same way for the kids here. They missed out on having parents too. That means, we have to be their parents, in a sense. We’re their family now. I’m sorry you didn’t get to see your parents for so many years. No wonder Lollia hired you. She must have realised that you could sympathise with the kids here due to your personal experiences. You can understand how they feel to some extent. It gives you a way to connect with them. Anyway, I’m positive you can do better than the norm at your homeworld. If you need any help, don’t be afraid to ask”. He paused, then added “Or if you just want someone to talk to or need a friend, I’m here for you”.

Castile laughed at Aurora’s antics, her pose with her head between her legs looking very goofy and silly but totally adorable. Since the kids were still getting settled in, they hadn’t looked at school studies yet but it’s likely they both would be home schooled, with Lily and Castile helping. Extracurricular activities would be good as well. There was a huge range of things to do since the mansion had all the equipment and was big enough. Gymnastics and dance and so much more. Seeing which dress she picked, he sent all the other clothes back to their places. Castile pulled it on over her head and then thought for a second. He reached under the table and brought out some clear plastic pants. “I think we better put these on today as well, in case you get splashed at the dolphin show” he said, sliding them up her legs and making sure the fit was good. “This’ll stop water getting in your diaper and swelling it up” he giggled, imagining her sloshing around in water filled Pampers, “And just in case you fall in one of the tanks”, the man teased her with a laugh. “No, don’t worry, I’d never let that happen!” Reaching under the table, he found a tray with pacifiers and lanyard clips. Castile chose a light pink lanyard with hot pink hearts on it and then added a pink pacifier that had a bunny and some flowers on the front panel, clipping the lanyard to the collar of her dress. “There ya go. Now your paci is handy for whenever you want it and it won’t get lost”. Using bubbles, he floated over a hairbrush and some detangling spray, along with a hairband and a pink ribbon. “Last thing; let’s do your hair. I’ll put it up in a cute hairdo for you”. The cat sprayed strawberry scented conditioning spray over her hair then gently began brushing it out till it was soft, shiny and tangle free. He put it in twin tails high up on either side of her head, then added two pink ribbons, tying them in neat bows, leaving a small fringe and two longer bangs to frame her face. “Beautiful~ Purrrfect!” the cat declared with a playful rolling purr sound. He slipped two Disney princess flip flops on either of her feet, at last scooping her up off the changing table and carrying her out of the room. “Let’s find Sammy and Lily so we can all finish getting ready and eat brekky” he said, going down the hall of many doors towards Samuel’s nursery as his stomach growled. ======================== “Okay, Honey. Now, now, no fussing. You can have your hippo after we get you dressed”. Lily stated, carrying Samuel with her to pick out a pair of shortalls that had light blue vertical pinstripes with a jumping blue dolphin at the top front pocket and two smaller leaping dolphins lower down on each side pocket. She grabbed a plain white tee with the words Cool Guy on the front in pool water font, a pair of plastic pants, a light blue lanyard and pacifier, some toddler sunglasses and then a pair of aqua crocs. She took him back to the changing table and quickly dressed him all up, making sure all the snaps in the crotch and legs of the shortalls snapped closed over the added plastic pants and that the sunglasses fitted comfortably. Lily grinned upon seeing him in the outfit “My, you look so handsome! Who’s this dashing little gentleman?” she cooed, scooping him up again and kissing his cheek. “This outfit is perfect for our little field trip to the aquarium today, Mr Cool Guy. We better grab a hat too, since it’ll be sunny”. She said, going over and picking up a blue hat with a friendly sharky face on it and a fin at the top. Lily then thought about what else Sammy needed before he could go get breakfast. She clicked her fingers “Oh! Your medicine”. The woman took a medicinal candy from the pack in her pocket, handing it to Samuel. “Eat this while I brush and style your hair, Buddy”. The woman walked over to his dresser and grabbed a hair brush and some detangling spray, sitting down. Spritzing it onto his hair with a lovely blueberry scent she then set about gently brushing it all, styling it with a little bit of baby hair gel. “NOW you’re ready to face the day; looking smart”, she declared, grabbing him and standing up with him snuggled against her hip. Just as she stood, she heard a rap at the door and Castile stepped in, grinning brightly. ===================== “Good MORNINNNNG!” The feline greeted loudly and happily “Are you ready, guys? Oh wow, Sammy looks great” he said, noticing his outfit and hair. “Nice job, Miss Lily” he said, giving her a thumbs up and a grin. “Hey, umm, before we take the kids to breakfast, I’ll bubble wash him. And then, well, do you mind watching the kids while I dash back to my place and get ready? Then I’ll watch them while you go do the same” he said. ===================== Lily laughed, “Morning Castile, morning Aurora; gosh, don’t you look pretty?! My, someone’s in a good mood this morning. Sammy and I are still waking up,” she chuckled, yawning and wincing at how loud he was. “Thanks, I did my best. I love how it turned out too,” she replied on hearing him compliment Sam’s look. She looked surprised when he mentioned what he planned. “Ahehe, sure, I was just about to say the same thing. I’m waiting for the bathroom and I wanna shower and style up before we eat. You do your magic bubble wash thingy and then go ahead. I’ll keep an eye on Aurora till you get back,” she said. “This is the first time she’s seen Sammy’s nursery so I’m sure she’ll want to look around. Oh, which reminds me…” Lily paused, going over to the crib and picking up the hippo stuffie before putting it in Samuel’s hands. “Here you go, Sweetie; your hippo plushie” ==================== “Alrighty then!”. Castile nodded, putting Aurora down on the carpet and patting her head “Okay, Princess, this is Samuel’s nursery. You play nice in here with Lily and Samuel while I go to get ready” he told her. “I’ll be back soon”. The cat then turned towards Lily and drew symbols with his hands and fingers, summoning a cloud of magical bubbly water. It leaped towards the small toddler boy like a frothy wave, gurgling and completely surrounding him (except for his hair and breathing holes), moving around all over with watery and bubbly sounds before it pulled back off of him and floated across the room, diving out the nearest window to the garden far below along with all dirt, sweat, dead skin cells and every bit of grime. “And…done!” Castile announced. “Gotta go. See you soon” he said, giving a friendly salute before hurrying out of the room and off to his apartment. ======================= Now it was just Lily, Aurora and Samuel in the fire truck nursery. Lily gasped and crossed her legs at a sudden pang of urgency, placing the now very clean and blueberry scented Samuel onto the carpeted floor, his aqua rubber crocs touching down. She was trying not to do a pee pee dance. “Maybe I should have asked to go first. You kids play till Castile comes back and I’ll watch here,” she said, sitting on Samuel’s cot that still had the side lowered and squeezing her legs together, bouncing her foot. "Oof, be quick, Castile! I've been holding it since last night" Aurora's outfit accessories are pink. Samuel's are aqua/blue.

((Yay, I was able to post again! I'm letting you guys have some choice in what to dress your characters in. Since they are yours, I figured it was only right to let you pick what they wear. But if you prefer me to pick stuff out, I can do that too)). He was glad to see Aurora in a good mood. She brightened his day with her happy attitude and her cuteness. He had to let out an ‘aww’ when she nuzzled into him. The girl was so affectionate. Probably because she’d been love-starved for so long. He thought she deserved all the love in the world to make up for that. Her cheerful, sleepy reply to his greeting made him grin and his eyes turned into happy rainbow crescents momentarily. When she automatically lifted her legs to make changing easier, he was impressed and murmured a “Good girl” once more. Castile giggled, seeing her spot her toes and begin playing with them. “Wow, such a clever baby. You are super flexible!” he marvelled, amazed, his ears perked up. “That would be good for dance lessons or gymnastics, once we start to pick your daily activities”. Giving her time to choose, he waited patiently while she picked a diaper out, making a gesture with his fingers and hand once she picked a pink and white one that suited her perfectly. “Nice choice, Kiddo”. Upon the gesture, the bubbles floated back under the changing table to put the diapers back in their sorting bins, popping to drop them in place. “Oh, thank you for asking for that so nicely. You have the manners of a true princess”, he told her, grabbing the diaper out of the bubble which caused it to pop, soon spreading it out and sliding it under her bottom. He didn’t need to lift her ankles since she was already playing with her feet. Castile liberally applied baby oil and made sure it soaked in before shaking on sweet powder and lightly rubbing it over her diaper area, then cleaned his hands on a wet wipe and taped her all up. Once he made sure the fit was right and comfy and the leak guards were in place, he helped her sit up and gently pulled the night time onesie up over her head and arms before tossing it in the laundry hamper. “Ally oop! There we go. Now we get to pick what to dress you in for the day. What would you like to wear, Princess?” the feline asked, as he lifted a palm and blew on it like he was blowing a kiss, causing magical bubbles to flurry out and pick up clothes from her storage, making them float in the air above and around the changing table so she could see them. “How about a dress, since the weather is getting warmer? Or maybe a t-shirt and shorts. Since we’re going to the aquarium, you want something comfy that’ll dry quickly if it gets wet, so let’s pick cotton things” ================== He didn’t respond to her comments about his eyes but she granted him that; he was still waking up. It was hard to organise your thoughts and even talk right after waking. “Well, we’re going to give you some cool shades to wear today since it’s going to be sunny out. That will stop your eyes hurting for the meantime”, she decided out loud, letting him know of her plan. She chuckled when he stretched and tried to roll over on the changing table, “Silly boy, you can’t go back to sleep up here!”. When he was ready for his new puffy padding, Lily saw him point and looked down at her hands to see which one he chose. “Ah! This one. Okay, a swamp design. Wow, that’s something I’ve never seen much of” she said, smiling since it reminded her of some of the rainforest swamp areas at her home. This diaper had small cartoon frogs, alligators with toothy smiles, glowing fireflies, lily pads, dancing shrimp, colourful birds and wiggly snakes, herons, turtles, fish…a little bit of everything, sort of like a stir fry but spaced apart as though it was tossed in the air. She quickly folded the diaper onto him and smoothly sealed the tapes, tracing a fingertip over the leak guards and making sure the fit was good. “Okay, now that you’ve got that on, let’s get you sat up to take off your jammies and find an outfit for today”, Lily said, reaching to take his hands and help pull him to a sitting position. She braced him with an arm around his back just in case he swayed from sleepiness. He really should have had a bath last night but she was going to ask Castile to give the child a bubble wash once he was dressed, to get him clean without having to run a bath in the morning. “Do you want to wear one of your two pairs of shortalls, with one of your four tee-shirts, or would you like to wear a romper for today? Your whale onesie has to go in the wash” she said, pulling the onesie up over his head and bundling it into the laundry hamper beside the change table. “I can pick something if you are not sure. Then we’ll brush your hair”.

((I’ve been playing catch-up on all my rps since I was unable to post last weekend due to depression. This is the last one that needed a reply. Woohoo! AND it’s the last week of the Life Skills training course this week, so I should have more free time from then on. Sorry to keep y’all waiting again, guys. I know I’m slow. But I’m like ye old reliable turtle from that story about the turtle and the hare. I’ll always post eventually, lol. Slow and steady wins the race. XD Oh and Dlatwood, I got your OOC message. Thanks for the notice. I hope moving goes well. ^^ We look forward to having you back.)) Hearing Akiza’s reply in her mind, Lollia sent back what felt like a mental affirmation or a nod. “Okay, I will be happy to do that for you,” she responded before cutting the link. A night sky theme sounded lovely to her. Her own decor was somewhat similar, although it had more planets, ships and space creatures in it, along with butterflies. She wasn’t bothered about the fallen paintings. While Akiza comforted Andrew, the alien simply reached out with her telekinesis, causing the pictures to float up and resettle themselves upon their hooks on the walls. The conservatory awaited the pair, with its pond of sparkling rainbow guppies and the fish food right beside it. Just waiting for the one year old boy to come and feed them. Once that was done, she looked at Angela, waiting for her reply. The Latias indeed liked her new room and thanked her for it. However, as she was standing there, the woman received a phone call. Upon hanging up, Angela told Mama Lolly that she had to leave for a while on personal business, but that she would come back. Lollia understood and allowed her to go, wishing her safe travels and best of luck. She told her she would take Kara under her wing until the Latias returned. With that being said, Angela left the orphanage, flying off somewhere. This left just Kara and Lollia in the hallway. The 7 foot tall lady smiled down at the little girl. She surmised that Angela didn’t give her pants or a skirt in order to more easily see diaper usage. And despite not being dressed warmly, the thermostat was keeping the inside of the orphanage warm enough, so Kara shouldn’t be cold in just her Twilight Sparkle tee. “Oh, is that so? Well, I would have let you wear Pull Ups except that, the way my magical influence works, they would surely end up leaking. Diapers are much better while you’re living here,” she explained. “Yes, I am indeed the owner of this place. I chose to live out here so my magic doesn’t affect all my neighbours, only orphans like you that need lots of care. It’s okay if you have potty trouble. A lot of the other kids did too, before coming here. Nobody will make fun or get you in trouble for that anymore. Oh, you want to choose your room after you eat? Yes, of course! Let’s go downstairs to the kitchen and I’ll make whatever you want. We need to get something yummy in your belly before we do anything else”, she agreed, wanting to feed the poor child a nutritious meal. Lollia put down the catalogue on a side table and slowly approached the small 13 year old. She held out one of her hands, offering for her to take it. “Come with me, Sweetheart. I’ll show you the way,” the woman said kindly, smiling down at her. She allowed her to keep wearing her bag for the time being. Kara would be able to put it in her room once it was done. Once they reached the kitchen, Lollia showed Kara the tables. “Do you want a toddler table, a regular one, or a high chair?” she asked her. “You take a seat and I’ll make you some food. What do you feel like eating? Do you have any favourite foods?” she asked, trying to make sure that she would create something that Kara would like and would eat. ======================== Sophie was surprised to hear that Rei was also shy. This made her very happy. It was nice to have someone who understood what it was like. “Ohh, weah. I pee pee when I’m scawed, as well,” she confessed, blushing again. She used to get in lots of trouble for not being able to master potty training, having accidents and remaining in diapers that her carers had to change. But ever since moving here, she never had to worry about it. She much preferred staying in diapers and never having to think about training. They also were a source of comfort and security for her. Sophie liked the attention she got during change time and she loved being treated as the age she felt she was, instead of being forced to act older or try to grow up. In the past, whenever she tried that, she just couldn’t seem to do what the grown ups were asking. It made her feel bad, and like a failure. Here, she could just be herself. “I tell you a secwet”. Sophie leaned forward to whisper in Rei’s ear, cupping her hand over it. “When all da new cawews got hewes dis mowning, I peed a-cause I was s-scawed”. She sat back and giggled slightly, embarrassed. But she wanted to make Rei feel better about her own accidents. Once the girl had returned with the gardening toy, she waited eagerly for Rei’s response. She didn’t sound too enthusiastic but she probably didn’t love gardening as much as the bunny girl did. Nevertheless, Sophie hoped it was something they could bond over. “Mmhmm…we tan jus’ pway. An’ dat’s how we’s leawn”, she said knowingly, having heard the grownups say it. “Well…I’ll show you. Fiwst, we takes out awll da pieces”, Sophie said, reaching over to pluck out the wooden parsnips, carrots and worms, as well as the side pieces of fruits and veggies. Once that was done, she looked up at Rei expectantly. “Otay. And nows…we pick up a piece”, she instructed, taking the bunny stick. “And…and…chu has to wowk owt whewes to puts it”. Sophie was holding a wooden bunch of bananas. “Dis is banana. It ish…colouw wewwow. It ish a fwuit. I lub banana!” she explained, holding it up in the air. She then looked around the sides for the right hole to slot it into. “Hmm….banana hole…banana hole. Whewe is dat again?” she mumbled, trying to fit it in a few of the wrong holes. “Bananas gwow on banana palm twees”, the girl suddenly said. “Dey wike twopical cwimates”. Something Sophie hadn’t shown Rei yet…there was a magnetic bunny toy inside the rolling wooden cart that could pull the worms out of the ground once they were all put back in. While they played, Sophie unknowingly wet her diaper again, barely registering the common feelings of wetness and then warmth. She got a little too excited playing with her new friend and telling her about gardening. ======================= Frost spotted Sophie run out of her little hideout and grab a toy, then turn on her heel and zip straight back in. He snickered at the amusing sight. That rabbit sure was something. He was glad that she was playing with Rei and making the new girl feel welcome. He hoped it would keep going well. He had heard Sophie bubbling over about one of her favourite hobbies so he knew Rei had asked about one of her passions. It was cute how excited she got. He could hear Sophie teaching Rei about bananas and laughed softly some more, knowing that was also one of the girl’s favourite foods. Rei sure was off to a great start with befriending her. And she barely had to say or do anything. Sophie must have been extremely lonely for that to happen…huh? It was good there were other children here now. Tuning back into the conversation, Frost looked in Xeto’s direction, curiously taking in his appearance as he talked. “Ohh, I see. Thanks for telling me about your home world. I like learning about other places,” he replied, wagging his tail. “Seems like the girls are getting along well, hee hee!” After a short pause, he continued “ …I’d be interested to see what kinds of technology your planet has that are different from ours. Although I rely heavily on my magic for the most part, eheh. But it’s really cool what people can do with their intelligence and the resources available to them. How they find new and different ways of using it. I can’t help but admire that,” the arctic fox said. He looked at the book in Xeto’s hand with an uninterested expression. “Yeeeeaaaaahhhh. I guess you were right about that, ahaha. That isn’t really my thing. I’m more into winter sports and cold weather activities! So…mind if I ask: what made you want to take a job at Innocence Orphanage? You must like kids if you work here now. Are there many kids on your planet, or are they kind of a rare thing?” he asked, curious and wanting to get to know him better. “After I had my accident, I tried a bunch of different jobs. Being around kids made me the happiest. I try to be a good male role model and positive influence in the lives of those who’ve suffered”

He noticed the girl stir upon her name being whispered, clearly waking from her sleep. If she awoke that easily, that had to mean she was fully rested. Any child who was still tired would have rolled back over or ignored him. Watching her yawn and stretch, he chuckled softly. She was really so cute. When she rolled onto her back to greet him sleepily, he smiled at her greeting and leaned down to scoop her up, cuddling her close as he stood with one arm supporting her bottom and the other wrapped around her back. “Well, good morning to you! It’s a nice new day” he said with a warm, friendly tone, heading across to the changing table and laying her down. “Let’s change that full diaper and get you ready for your day, Sweetheart”. Castile pulled open her onesie, enjoying the sounds of clicks from the poppers. He pushed it up to her waist then peeled the tapes of her diaper open and pulled down the front, gently cleaning her up with warmed wipes. Wet diapers were super easy compared to messy ones and he soon had her clean, balling up the old one and stuffing it into the diaper genie. “Okay, princess. Do you want to pick which diaper you wear today?” he asked, offering her a choice as diapers floated into the air for her to see, each one inside a medium sized clear bubble. She could pick from every design available in her changing table’s stocks. “Once you’re safely padded, you can choose one of your new clothes to wear and I’ll dress you. Then we’ll brush your hair and put it up in a pretty style”. And he’d have to clip a new pacifier to her clothing. =================== Lily was surprised by Samuel’s response to the morning light. She hadn’t even turned on the lights in the room. “Sammy, that’s just the morning sun peeking through your window coverings''. She thought for a moment before asking, “Does the light hurt your eyes? Maybe they’re sensitive. You might need an eye test and some glasses”. While speaking, she carried him to the window and pulled the blinds closed tighter, trying to cover the gap where the light was getting through. The room dimmed again, its ambient light becoming softer. The froggy took her young charge over to his padded changing table which had a cute pattern of fire fighter objects and dalmatian puppies on it. She lay him down delicately, movements deliberately slow and careful with the half asleep child. Lily then pulled open the snaps on his whale onesie and revealed the bloated teddy diaper, tearing it open and reaching for the wipes. She began to clean him up with cool swipes of the moist napkins, soon leaving his skin fresh and clean. Lily patted it dry with a clean, soft cloth before rubbing in oil and applying powder, then checking the selection of diapers stocking his table. “We won’t worry about an eye test today, Sugarplum. For now, let’s get you some new underwear. Which one do you want?” she asked, holding up two handfuls of diapers for him to look at, each bearing a different design and colours.

Castile had slept wonderfully and had happy dreams thanks to that cat paw pastry. He’d have to thank Mr Balverk later. He was going to have to see him about meeting Mr Goodie this morning before they went on their field trip. Castile remembered that he’d have to call the aquarium this morning before they got there, to try and book the kids in for the dolphin show. But it was still too early. It wouldn’t be open till 8:30am and right now it was only 6:15am. Castile always got up early. He was in the habit because his two little angels used to wake up anywhere between 5-7am most days. So he automatically tended to wake with the sunrise. His feline nose caught the scent of urine and baby powder and he figured Aurora would need a change. Since she had a bath last night, he could change her and get her dressed in some of her new clothes, then attach a new paci to the outfit. He’d also brush her hair and put it in a pretty style with another ribbon. The little girl had seemed to pick out lots of pink outfits from Tania’s cart the other day. So it was likely she’d end up in something pink, but he would of course let her choose. Castile padded silently on his big soft paws over to the side of her crib. “Aurora? Good morning?” he whispered, not wanting to wake her if she needed more rest. “Are you awake, Sweetie?” Castile felt like he had to use the bathroom as well. He usually only needed to go once or twice a day due to his magical biology. For now he could hold it. But he was also looking forward to a shower and a clean uniform. He thought he should take Aurora to find Lily and they could take turns watching the kids while they went back to their apartments and got ready, pottied and freshened up. Then they could take the kids to breakfast before meeting Mr Goodie. Samuel likely needed a bath since he missed out last night. Castile thought he’d just use a bubble wash spell on the kid to save Lily the hassle of trying to give him a bath that morning. Funnily enough, while he was thinking of meeting up with Lily and Samuel, the froggy was thinking the exact same thing. Adults had needs too! "Remember to ring the aquarium, remember to ring the aquarium, remember to ring the aquarium" Castile was muttering under his breath, taking out his phone and setting an alarm reminder. He didn't want Aurora to miss out on the dolphin show. ================ Lily was awoken by her new work alarm on her phone going off. It sounded like a chorus of frogs calling in a rainforest. She fumbled around, patting her pockets until she found it and turned it off. She then put it away and stretched in the comfortable plush rocker, arching her back and yawning. Her skin shimmered faintly in the morning light peeking between the curtains. Even with Samuel waking up several times during the night, she’d gotten him settled again quickly, falling back asleep easily in the rocking chair. She couldn’t believe how well and deeply she had slept and was feeling completely rested and recharged. Ready for a new day! Lily’s mint green hair buns were a little messy this morning, strands that had escaped framing her face. She brushed them back and got up, padding over to the side of Samuel’s crib and lowering it, greeting him with a bright smile and warm brown eyes. Her pink cheek circles were cute in the morning light. “Good Morning, Sammy. Time to get up. Sorry if my alarm woke you. It is a bit loud” she said. Lily felt the urge to use the bathroom herself but held it for the time being. “Are you looking forward to going to the aquarium later today?” she asked, giving him time to properly wake up, as she leaned down and picked him up, cradling the sleepy bundle to her chest and stroking his hair. “Let’s get you a diapee change, first. I’m sure your Pampers must be soaked, hey Honey?” she said, reaching to gently squeeze the puffed out and slightly sagging diaper that was clearly visible under his onesie, since it had swelled with urine. "Oops, yes they are~"

While Samuel cuddled his hippo pal and sucked the candy, Lily treaded softly across the carpeted nursery back to the thickly padded rocking chair. She gently sat down, slightly shifting the sleepy child into a comfortable position against her torso and on her lap while she cradled him lightly and began rocking. The dimly lit room was quiet and peaceful. One hand rubbed up and down his back. “Make sure that candy is all dissolved before falling asleep, Sammy,” she murmured faintly into his nearest ear. “I wouldn’t want you to choke”. She’d have to get him a pacifier once he finished the medicinal candy. No doubt he would fall back asleep soon and then she could nap in the rocking chair. The frog lady in her pink uniform began to quietly sing a lullaby. Lily wondered what she and Castile were going to do in the morning. They had to shower and get changed into fresh clothing, wear deodorant, clean their teeth, brush their hair… Maybe she could leave Samuel with Castile and Aurora while she went back to her apartment to freshen up. Then she could take over watching the two kids while he did the same at his woodland apartment. There’s no way she was going to go out in public unwashed and unkempt. Her newly tailored uniforms would be in her room the next morning, no doubt. The lullaby came to an end. “Sammy; all done medicine?” she asked, “Ready for a binky?” She didn’t think Samuel would sleep through the night, so she was prepared to be woken up if need be. ============== Castile could feel the relaxing and giddy properties of the catnip infused pastry working their magic. It was delicious. He was smiling without a care in the world, gentle rumbles filling the room as he purred and his paws kneaded at the carpet. Finishing the last bite, he licked some cream off his fingers and wiped his mouth. He then luxuriously stretched out into a more comfortable pose, laying on his side, the human torso doing the same. Castile quickly made himself a soft pillow out of bubble magic and rested his head, yawning while gradually falling asleep on the ground beside the crib like a loyal companion. He realised dreamily that he had forgotten to reattach Aurora’s pink paci with the sky blue ring to her new sleep onesie tonight. It was tossed in the hamper in the bathroom, still on the lanyard. Oh well. All the tags and stuff had her name on them. It’d be returned by the housekeepers the next day. For now, she had her thumb. It was a clean thumb. No germs. She’d be fine… his consciousness floated into the foggy dark of sleep. Would the little girl sleep right through the night? He’d find out. A nightmare could always wake her.

((Andrew was fed a bottle of formula not long ago, when they all had brekky. I’m pretty sure Akiza is meant to take him into the conservatory to feed the guppies in the fish pond rn. The fish food is there waiting for them They can feed Akiza’s personal fishies later. It won’t take long for Lolly to set it up using her powers.)) Feeling content that Kara was now in good hands while she did up the rest of the staff and kids’ rooms, Lollia went back to decorating and setting up Angela’s personal room. She was keeping as close to the mysterious gypsy theme as possible. Her tentacles and telekinesis made quick work of it all, piecing together furniture, applying wallpaper, putting up shelves, hanging curtains, making the bed and placing objects tastefully in their correct places. Once it was done, she felt proud of herself. The room was beautiful. It looked like it could have a place in a magical gypsy caravan. She hoped Angela liked it. She wouldn’t mind if the latias wanted to make changes. It was now her own place to do with as she willed. Lollia clapped her hands together, rubbing them. “Angela’s room is done. Now to get Ms Hoshi’s room set up,” she said aloud, having fun making everyone’s nurseries and lodgings for them. Their own individual tastes and style would make them feel more at home. She walked out of room 3 and into room 6 beside Andrew’s nursery, pausing in the middle of the room. “Oh. I forgot to ask Akiza if she wanted a theme,” she said. Seeing as Akiza had already carried Drew downstairs in the quest to feed guppies, Lollia decided to use her telepathy once again. Her eyes alighted as her voice spoke into Akiza’s mind. “Excuse me, Ms Hoshi, sorry to interrupt. Just wanted to let you know that I’ve finished Angela’s room and I’m about to do yours. Did you have a theme or interior decor in mind? You can browse your phone or the catalogue if you need ideas,” she stated telepathically. “Once it’s ready, I’ll teleport your fish tank in!” she added, her voice clear and polite in Akiza’s mind. While she was waiting for Akiza’s reply, she heard Angela and Kara coming upstairs. When she saw them, she waved and smiled. “Miss Angela, welcome back! I’ve just finished your room. I do hope you like it,” she said, her kind gaze shifting downwards to the seemingly 6 year old girl accompanying her. “And this must be Kara. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Honey. I am the owner of this place. My name is Mama Lolly. I see that Miss Angela has you in a diaper and wearing some cute clothes. I can explain. Every child who comes to live here is affected by my magic. I am the Mother of this house and all children are like my babies. So my magic causes them to lose control and need diapers and lots of loving care. You are free to live here as long as you like. I have assigned Miss Angela there as your main caregiver. Now, would you like to choose a bedroom for your very own? You can have any that are empty and not decorated yet. And here is a catalogue if you would like to choose a theme for your new room. You can have teddy bears, butterflies, flowers, unicorns, whatever you want” she told her, using her kinetic powers to float the open catalogue over to Kara. “The rooms currently taken are 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 11. All the others are empty. Have a look around to help you pick! I don’t mind” The tall, pretty alien in the pale lavender dress soon heard Andrew’s cries from downstairs and what sounded like pictures falling off the walls. She wondered what happened but trusted Akiza to handle it. She did sense some gravity magic briefly! ============== “Ahehe…sowwy. I…wike hiding,” Sophie admitted, when Rei found her and crawled inside the tent, little crinkles emitting from her person, giving them something in common. She poked her two pointer fingers together, Bunny pinned in the crook of her elbow. “M…Mama Lolly s-says I’m…shy” she admitted, blushing and looking at her hands, her ears bobbing slightly as she looked down. “I thought…it would be easiew to talk in hewe. Just da two of us. I’m k-kind of scawed talkin’ to new peoples,” she told Rei. She liked her and she wanted to be friends, but she could really only handle one new person at a time. Sophie didn’t actually have any toys inside the tent. All the toys were outside in the playroom. They could make little missions to go out and get what toys they wanted and bring it back into their little bunny den though. She smiled when Rei replied to her questions. “Oh. Dat’s good. Bwocks and dollies awe fun. Umm…well, all kinds. I pwant fings in pots, an in da waised gawden beds outside. I hewp watew da pwants in da owphanage, feed dem special pwant foods, twim da bwanches, give dem medicines when dey’s sick. I lub digging! And pwanting fings. It’s fun to watch dem gwow, day by day! It’s kind of wike magic. It happens so swowy dat you don’t eben notice at fiwst but one day, dewe’s fwowews ow fwuit and beggies! It’s so cool” she explained, joyful enthusiasm in her voice. She really loved gardening. It was one of her hobbies. “A-and when da fwuits, ow nuts, ow beggies awe weady, I hewp Mama Lolly picks dem and we use dem in cooking foods. It’s fun! We picks fwowews to decowate da house wiff too” she smiled, explaining, telling Rei allll about it. She was shy, but Rei just happened to ask about a topic she was passionate about and Sophie couldn’t help babbling in delight. Her hands moved as she spoke and her little ears bobbed with her head movements. Her bunny tail was even wagging. “Dewe awe toy gawden sets we can pway wiff wight hewe in da pwaywoom. Oh! A-and I wike leawning about pwants. Pwants can dos all diffewent fings. Dey can be used fow so many fings. Food, medicine, cwothes, oxygen, building matewial, oils, and mowe” Sophie was struck by an idea. She gasped. “Wait a minutes! I’ll be wight back!” she told Rei, peeking her head out of the tent and looking around to make sure the coast was clear before running to the shelf with the shape sorter garden toy on it and grabbing it up, hurrying back to the tent and putting it in the middle between them. “Dis!” she announced. “We can pway wiff dis. And I can teach yous about gawdening, ehehe!” =============== Frost cocked his head slightly, raising one ear at Xeto's reply. “Ehhh? That doesn’t sound like nothing to me. I don’t know anything about your homeworld. So I’d probably find it fascinating” he replied. He got the vibe that Xeto didn’t want to be bothered right now but he was brimming with curiosity about the alien novel. “So, you like reading, huh. What genres do you like?” he questioned, figuring they may as well chat and try to get to know each other. He wanted to get along with the new staff members. “Mind if I ask what the novel's about?”

((OOC: sorry, it's my turn! I've been dealing with health issues and gotten a bit bogged down but I'm trying to do a reply if not today then for tomorrow))

The sleepy eye rubbing made him look very cute and little. She saw his arm reach for something as his gaze fell to the toy basket near the changing table. Lily decided not to give him one since he was going to have the hippopotamus stuffie to snuggle with right after this and wet changes didn’t take very long. If he was fussing or being squirmy, she might give him a toy to keep him calm and redirect his attention. Oh well, next time. Lily heard Samuel’s whines and wondered what he was whining about, noticing the continued eye rubbing and squinting, along with blinking. “Does the light bother you, Sweetie? Maybe this will help,” she said, moving a hand to shift the light to another direction so it wasn’t directly in his face. “There, there,” she murmured quietly, rubbing his upper calf to comfort him. When he nodded upon seeing the teddy diaper, she smiled. “Okay~” Lily lifted his ankles, raising his bottom off the table slightly as she used her free hand to open and spread out the diaper before sliding it under him. She then applied baby oil and shook on powder, lightly rubbing it in. Lily pulled the cushiony diaper closed and taped it snug, checking the fit and leak guards before buttoning his onesie back up and lifting him off the table, “There, all done” she cooed, stroking a hand through his tousled hair. She walked over to the crib and leaned down to scoop up the hippo stuffie he got after the nurse today. “Here’s your new friend. I think he might like a cuddle to stop him feeling lonely in his new place,” she said, offering the toy to him. Lily also took a piece of Mr Wong's candy from her pocket. “And here’s your candy. We’ll make sure to clean your teeth in the morning so you don’t get cavities,” she said, voice soft and kind. This candy medicine would keep symptoms of his cold down and hopefully he’d feel well enough to go to the aquarium tomorrow. So long as she kept him medicated. ============= Castile noticed that Aurora had become more and more quiet as the bath went on, and that she didn’t react as much to his words or actions. She had a sleepy look on her face and her body language was droopy and sluggish. She was definitely sleepy. So sleepy she was trying not to fall asleep right there in the tub, poor thing. Castile thought with some guilt that maybe he overdid it with her. Probably shouldn’t have chatted so much and entertained her so much when she was trying to wind down. The girl’s energy levels were depleted. “Okay, time to get out,” he said aloud softly, talking more to himself than anything. Castile pressed the button that drained the tub and grabbed a large, soft towel, wrapping it around Aurora and carrying her to her nursery. He laid her down on her changing table like a small infant and began rubbing the towel on her hair and body, drying her off as much as possible. He then took a thick overnight diaper with a pink design, sliding it under her bum and adding baby oil and powder before taping it closed. Castile found one of her new onesies and dressed her in that, the soft pastel colours and cute prints making her all too adorable. The cat taur gently gathered the little girl into his arms and cuddled her, padding across the room to her crib. He folded back the blanket and sheet then slowly laid her down and covered her up, letting her shift to whatever position she was comfortable sleeping in. He pressed a red button and the crib soon closed on its own, counting down 20 seconds. Castile wound the mobile dangling above Aurora’s head and the toys on it began to spin while a tinkling lullaby filled the air. “Goodnight, Aurora. Sleep well. I’ll be here” he whispered with a smile, settling down on his haunches as he curled his front paws neatly in front of him. Once he was sure she was asleep, he took out the paw shaped pastry Mr Balverk gave him earlier that day, the preservation bubble around it dissolving. He took a bite and enjoyed it, purring softly. He didn’t mind drifting off. He was sure Aurora crying or speaking would be enough to wake him if need be. While he ate, he reflected on the first day here. It seemed to have gone pretty well and he was getting familiar with the layout of the mansion in the most common areas. He thought Aurora and Samuel did pretty well too. They were settling in nicely. Hopefully tomorrow would go just as well as today. He had to wonder about the blue rose that Mr Balverk gave to Samuel that morning. Perhaps Lily should ask him what it was for.

Lily checked her iPad screen. “Umm, it’s around 9:15pm. You haven’t been sleeping for long” she informed, taking him over to the padded changing table and gently laying him down. “Let’s get you a dry diaper first, then I’ll give you another medicine candy” she told the boy, gently pulling open the snaps at the crotch of his whale onesie and pushing the garment up his torso to make some space. She peeled open the diaper tabs and grabbed some wipes from the warmer to one side. Lily began cleaning him up, taking her time and humming a sweet lullaby. She pulled the diaper out from under him once the front was clean and lifted his ankles in the air to wipe his bottom, all movements slow and steady. Lily put all the used wipes in the soggy diaper then balled it up and stuffed it in the diaper genie. She reached for a new one from under the table. “What design do you want this time, baby?” she asked Samuel softly, keeping her voice quiet and the lights dim so he wouldn’t fully wake up. “How about teddy bears?”. Lily held up a diaper with a cute teddy bear pattern. She remembered his new hippo (edited) plushie that he earned today from his first visit to the nurses. It was lying in his crib right now. She’d give him that to cuddle with soon. It might help him go back to sleep easier.

((Okay, that works. And thanks for making a new character. I added Kara’s profile to the front page. Now Angela has a child too!!)) He smiled as she shook her head to his comment, seeing her face get pink again beneath the purple fox ear hat when he called her ‘squirt’. He didn’t mean to keep embarrassing her but at least she’d be nice and warm from the blushing, he reasoned. Frost wasn’t going to stop using endearments unless she asked or told him to. He thought using them showed affection and care, which was what orphans needed more than most. But, if it really annoyed someone, he’d try to stop for their sake. So far, he hadn’t encountered a kid that hated the little names. “Sorry the wipes were cold. I’ll use the ones from the warmer next time”. He apologised sincerely upon seeing her shiver while being cleaned. He wasn’t sure why the baby oil made her squeak but had to hold back a small laugh at the cute reaction. Perhaps it was because she could feel his hand in that area and it was new for her. He was nothing but gentle and professional though. “Does that feel funny? Don’t worry, it’s just baby oil to protect your skin” he explained. He must have shaken on a little too much powder because she followed up the squeaks with an adorable, tiny sneeze. “Aw, bless you~” Frost tittered. “You must have a sensitive nose, like a fox”, the fox told her. Once her diaper was all taped up and her clothes readjusted, Rei being back in his lap, he listened to her comments. “You’re welcome. Any time,” he responded to her thanking him for the change. Frost nodded at her question with a smile “Sure, of course you can, Sweetie. I’ll try to remember to let you choose another diaper next time” he promised. “If I forget, just remind me at your next change”. Once the two of them made their way to the playroom, Frost moved Rei from his lap, setting her feet on the ground. He spotted Xeto sitting near the wall and rolled over to stop beside him, casually keeping watch on the kids. “Hey there. Mind if I join?” he said with a smile. “Xeto, right? Whatcha reading?” he asked, looking at the tablet. =============== Sophie had nodded up at Xeto, giving him a tiny wave before waddling over to the play tent she’d spotted, crinkling softly. She crawled inside and hid behind the entrance, peeking out from her safe spot to look for Rei. When she heard Frost’s wheelchair and then him asking Rei if she could find her, followed by Rei speaking, she popped her head and upper body out from the tent flap, waving at Rei, her bunny ears prominent. “Wei…oba hewe!” she called softly. She felt like the tent was a safe space where they could talk and decide what to play, hidden from the other children and adults. Sophie had bunny instincts so she enjoyed hiding and privacy. New children and adults tended to scare her and she still wasn’t used to everyone from today. This allowed her and Rei to have some quiet, one on one time to get to know each other slowly and talk in peace. Once the other tiny girl joined the seemingly three year old Sophie, she moved to the back of the tent wall, making sure the door flap was closed. “Soo…um, what do you wike to pway?” she asked her. “Dewe’s wots of toys hewe. We can pway dollies, ow gawdening, ow umm…bwocks. If you sees a toy dat you wike, we can pway wiff dat” she said with a smile, trying to be helpful and make friends. She wanted a friend so badly. Even more; a best friend. But those were super rare and special. ================ Lollia watched Angela seemingly not hear her and walk out of the staff room’s far door (the one by the bathrooms), her steps going back downstairs. “Oh well, I’ll ask her again later. She didn’t hear a word I said!” she decided with a small laugh, turning back to the others in the hallway. Hearing Ms Hoshi’s request, Lollia smiled and nodded, “Sure, I can do that, Ms Hoshi. No problem at all. I’ll teleport the tank from your house into your room when I am decorating it. That way, you can keep your pet fish close by, in your personal room, where they will be safe” she said. “Nothing is too much to ask, my Dear. Never be afraid. In the meantime, why don’t you bring Andrew downstairs to the conservatory? There’s a fish pond there filled with rainbow guppies that he can feed. I’ll teleport the container of fish food there now” she said, closing her eyes and putting her fingers to her temples, then opening them again. “Okay, it’s on the floor by the pond now. You just go downstairs, turn left and follow the hall to the end, then left again and walk for a bit and the conservatory is on your right” she directed. She saw Drew nod at the mention of feeding the guppies and grinned “Looks like Drew likes the idea. Off you go to feed the fishies, then!” she said, waving bye bye to the toddler with a cheery grin. Lollia then sensed that someone new had entered her domain and felt their presence/energy by the front door, along with Angela’s. She guessed the latias must have greeted the new person already. The alien decided that, rather than going all the way down there, she’d simply message Angela using her telepathy powers. Her eyes glowed as Lollia’s motherly voice filled Angela’s mind, hopefully stopping her in her tracks. “Angela, I see we have a new guest. I can sense that they’re a child. Thank you for answering the front door for me. Would you be able to get her diapered and then bring them upstairs to choose a bedroom and then show them around the place?” she asked. “And can you tell me her name and age? I can sense it’s a little girl. As the only caregiver without a little yet, I’m assigning the new girl to you” she informed her, “I’ll be upstairs decorating your room, if you want to introduce her to me. You can finish your jog later. The child needs you first".

Castile grinned upon her reaction to the toy octopus. He was glad she liked it. His kids used to ask him to make stuff for them too. It was a durable bubble so it wouldn’t pop for about a week. Meaning more bath time fun for Aurora at the end of each day. “You’re very welcome, Sweetheart” he replied, impressed by the little girl’s good manners. She was so polite and sweet. Castile supervised her playtime and was glad she liked the water jets too. They were probably good for circulation and hearing her content sigh made him happy. Hopefully all this would help her feel calm and tranquil after her bath, so she’d be able to drift off to sleep easier. The octopus withstood the soft hug with ease, its eyes and legs wobbling slightly. What a silly thing. “Oh, you like dolphins? I hope there will be some there for you. And if they have a dolphin show, I’ll make sure to book us a front row seat. I’ll ring them tomorrow before we get there so I can check” he explained, letting her know what was going to happen. “I’m pretty sure they will have them since it’s a popular aquarium in a big city and tons of people like dolphins” he told Aurora. “Maybe we can visit the gift shop before we leave tomorrow and see if they have any dolphin stuff you can buy” Aurora and Samuel would receive their own bank cards with their phones from Mr Goodie; each card with $500 on it. “It’s funny; both dolphins and octopi are really smart animals. You picked two of the smartest ones” he chuckled. “But…y’know, I think a lot of fish and sea creatures are smarter than people realise. It’s just that they can’t talk like people do, so we can’t understand them. But I think mermaids can”. He heard her promise to sleep well and sighed softly with a gentle smile “Atta girl. Do your best. But if you have trouble sleeping, that’s okay too. I’ll be there to help” he reassured her. “Kay, time to wash up, Pumpkin” Castile got up and began to look in the cupboard under the sink, finding an all-in-one kids’ soap that was a combined body wash, shampoo and conditioner with a cartoon strawberry on the front. He also found a soft sponge shaped like a smiley starfish and a pink, wavy bath hat that would keep soap out of Aurora’s eyes. “I think you’ve had enough playtime. Let’s wash your hair and body and then hop out n’ get ready for beddy bye” he said with a kind smile, walking back over to the tub. “Hair first. Let’s put the bath hat on to make sure soap and water doesn’t get in your eyes” he said, placing the hat on her head and clipping it at the back to fit her head snugly, making sure her hair was through the hole. He then grabbed a jug from the side of the tub and filled it with warm water from the tap, slowly pouring it over her head to get her locks wet. Once they were soaked, he began to rub the strawberry candy scented wash in, massaging her scalp with his fingers. Castile began to sing a nursery rhyme while he worked, hopefully entertaining her to make this go by more quickly. "The grand old duke of York, he had ten thousand men. He marched them up to the top of the hill and he marched them down again~..." Once her hair was all soapy, he got some more warm, clean tap water and rinsed all the soap out several times, then wet the sponge and began washing her body. “We’re almost done, Honeybun” he told Aurora playfully, intentionally rhyming the words. “Mmm, you smell so sweet, I could just gobble you right up” Castile said teasingly, tickling her sides a little. “Are you sure you’re not a strawberry candy now?”

((Sorry again for the big wait on a reply. I’ve been getting sick a lot lately from health issues flaring up and they suck out all my energy. XP I’m catching up on all my rps while I have a little bit of a battery charge to write with today. I've gotten behind on them all again! T_T BTW, anyone want to make another child pr baby character? Or invite someone to the rp for Angela to take care of? I can if you all don’t want to. I love writing littles. Also, how does Akiza have a fish tank already? Didn’t she just move in? Her room isn’t finished being done yet but I can have Lollia teleport Ms Hoshi’s fish tank from her home to her room at the orphanage if you want. We have a fish pond with rainbow guppies in the conservatory. It’s covered with a metal grid so kids can’t drown. Andrew could feed those if he wants.)) ============= Sophie saw Angela coming down the staircase, hearing her footsteps get closer. She could feel the vibrations of each tread. She looked up at the woman shyly and shook her head. “N-n-no fank you”, she told the woman politely in her whisper soft voice, looking down again quickly, her eyes skidding to the side in a slightly guilty fashion. She had already asked Mr Xeto and she didn’t want to confuse him. Still, she felt a little bad for denying Angela’s offer of help since the Latias had gotten there first. She hoped Miss Angela wasn’t upset with her for that. Sophie always worried about making others unhappy by her actions. That was how she kept getting rehomed. The girl promised herself silently that she would interact with Miss Angela soon too, so she didn’t feel left out. She heard Rei and nodded at her “Otay!” she sang out. Changies were important so as not to get rashies. She would happily wait for her. When Mr Xeto came over and picked her up, Sophie gasped, clinging tightly to her bunny so she wouldn’t drop him as she was bounced. A tiny involuntary giggle escaped her. The bunny girl’s rabbit ears had bounced a little too, making her look slightly silly. She looked up at the alien man and nodded silently with a shy smile, unable to look him in the eyes, “...Mmhm” she hummed. The rabbit girl felt the slight jolting of each step as he carried her downstairs. She saw him look at a map. Sophie already knew her way around so she quietly pointed, showing him the way to go until they reached the play room. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the colourful room filled with toys. “We hewe!” the girl cheeped softly, her smile getting brighter. With her animal enhanced hearing, she could detect the sounds of Rei and Frost in the changing room next door, just out through the living room. She wiggled in Xeto’s arms, wanting to get down “Down, pease?” She wanted to find a place to wait for Rei. Sophie eyed one of the pop up play tents; a pink one with an attached tunnel leading to a mesh sided play area. It faced the door to the living room. That would be a good place to hide while she waited. She wondered what Rei would want to play. There were so many things they could do here. Sophie’s excitement at getting to play with a new friend ramped up again. ============ Frost nodded at Rei’s question. “Uh huh. You’re a very good girl. What would be bad is taking your diapees off and having accidents in your clothes or on the floor. But I’m sure you won’t do that” he said, confident in her, his tone playful at the last sentence. “I’m glad your tummy feels better, Squirt. Let’s go” While they were in the changing room, he smiled and wagged his tail when she pushed the button, knowing kids loved to push buttons, figuratively and literally. When the table lowered, he laid her down and began to remove her winter leggings, sliding them down to her feet and pushing her dress up out of the way. The fox expertly peeled off the diaper tapes and grabbed some wipes, starting to clean her up. Once the front was clean, he slid the dirty diaper from under her, taking as much of the mess with it as he could, then lifted her ankles, raising her bottom in the air to clean her backside. The used diaper was balled up and stuffed in the diaper genie, followed by handfuls of dirty wipes. Once Rei was sparkling clean, he grabbed another Luvs diaper and spread it under her, rubbing in baby oil then shaking on powder, wrapping the diaper around the little girl snugly and sealing the tapes again before fixing her clothes. He picked Rei off the table and pressed the button again to raise it, placing her feet on the floor “All done, Honeybun. Now, I’m going to wash my hands and then we can go play” he said, wheeling over to the sink and cleaning up, before moving over to Rei and holding out his hand. “Let’s go…it’s right next door, through the living room into the play room. Sophie and Mr Xeto should be there” he said, leading Rei along. When she reached the playroom, a lot of colours and toys would clamour for her attention. “Well, here we are. Now, where’s Sophie?” he asked, scratching his head as he began looking around. “That little rabbit is good at hiding. I wonder if you can find her” he told Rei with a smile. ============= Lollia overheard part of their conversation and poked her head out of Rei’s nursery, activity going on behind her. “Oh, Ms Hoshi; Drew’s nursery is ready for whenever he needs it. Just letting you know. I’m almost done with Rei’s and then I’ll do yours, Angela’s and Xeto’s” she said before ducking back in, the room’s activity picking up the pace again. Once Rei’s kitten nursery was complete, Lollia wandered off to find Angela, searching about for her until she found her in the staff room. “Miss Angela, would you like to help me decorate your room? I’ll follow your guidelines for what you want. A mysterious gypsy vibe if I recall correctly. Let’s decorate together while the kids are playing” she invited, leading her to her room as supplies began to follow them in.

((I messaged Baby Frost to reply for Aurora. I’ve been slower than normal lately. Tired due to health issue that keeps flaring up)) She could feel his body trembling and felt sorry for him. He was obviously scared. Lily rocked the boy, patting his back gently. “I’m sorry, Honey. You fell asleep earlier when we were having dessert. So I took you to your new room. You’re at the Balverk mansion; a big house for kids who lost their family or have nowhere to live. You’re in your fire station room, inside the big house. This is where you live now. This is your new home” she said, glad that she had left a night light on in case he woke up. The bubble with the blue rose in it floated just above his head, following him as usual. “Do you remember what we did today? It was your first day here. Mr Balverk gave you a special blue rose. You played with Aurora and we looked around the big house. And Mr Wong came to give you medicine for your cold” she stated, moving her hand to his forehead. He wasn’t coughing or complaining of a sore throat but she thought it might be good to give him another dose of the medicinal candy just to keep symptoms at bay. “Tomorrow, we are going to the aquarium. But it’s night time now. You need to sleep so you have energy to play tomorrow” she explained, checking his diaper quickly to see if he needed a change.

Hi there, welcome to the rp. You can make a caregiver or a child or both.

Lily slowly rocked the rocking chair while she sat in it, reading her tablet guide. She had thought of something else about their string pull and button system. For one, a baby or toddler could pull the string multiple times just playing with it, which would signal an emergency when there wasn’t one. For two, the string itself could be a strangulation risk. She noticed the pull strings were short but still worried about it. She was about to resume reading when she heard a slight shuffling sound from the fire truck shaped crib and stopped rocking, shifting forwards on her chair and leaning to get a look inside the crib. Was he waking up, or just moving in his sleep? “Sammy?” she uttered quietly, not wanting to cause him to wake if he was indeed asleep. Lily got up, putting the tablet on the chair and drifting to the side of the crib. She saw him yawning then opening his eyes and look around his new nursery. When he groaned and sat up, she spoke “Oh, you’re awake. What’s the matter, Samuel? Do you need something? It’s sleepy time now” she reminded him in a calm and gentle manner. She reached for the side of the crib and unlatched it, lowering it and opening her arms, offering Samuel to crawl into her embrace. “What is it, Sweetie? Are you thirsty? Do you need your pacifier?” she asked, stroking his tousled but now clean hair lightly. “It’s still night time. Morning hasn’t come yet” she informed the small boy. "Mister sun is sleeping now. Mister moon is out" ================= Hearing her answer, Castile removed his arm from around her back and began to use both hands to summon and create bubble balloons, making them inflate with air then twisting and shaping them. He was even able to use his abilities to make polka dots and eyeballs on some of the balloons. Once it was done, there was a funny looking pink octopus with googly eyes in his hands. He moved his hands apart and blew a kiss at the balloon octopus, causing it to gently float towards Aurora while slowly spinning, settling on the water in front of her and turning till the googly eyes faced forwards. “There you go; a friendly little octopus to play with you. Do you like the colour? I made it pink since I noticed that you liked that colour” he explained. “I can also…” The taur gained a small grin and placed one hand into the water. After a couple of seconds, Aurora would feel the flow of bubble jets streaming into the tub. When he removed his hand, the little bubbles continued to flow and pop endlessly, making it like a hot tub’s bubble jet feature. “Ahehe, your own personal hot tub with bubble jets!” he announced, watching the girl for her reaction. They were gentle and only stirred the water mildly. Nothing crazy energetic. They were set to be relaxing. Castile leaned back from the tub, stretching his arms and arching his back as he yawned “Ahhh, it’s been a long time since I got to use this much magic” he commented, though he wasn’t complaining and in fact sounded happy despite being a little strained. With that catnip cream paw pastry and this, he should sleep well tonight. He’d let Aurora have a little play, then wash her hair and body. “When I saw you pick that undersea crib toy earlier today, I thought that meant you liked sea creatures. We will probably see some octopi at the aquarium tomorrow. Though, I don’t know if there’ll be any cotton candy pink ones like your friend there,” he chuckled, smiling at the little girl as he leaned an elbow on the side of the tub and casually talked with her. "You gotta get a good sleep tonight so we can go tomorrow"

The seven foot tall alien had to bend down a little to lower Drew into Akiza’s grasp. She only let go once she was sure the other woman had a proper hold of him. Surprisingly, the child didn’t cry or fuss. Although she noticed his body shaking as he slowly grabbed onto Ms Hoshi and felt sorry for him. She knew he was trying his best and this was all very confronting for him. “My, that was easier than expected.. It’s okay, Drew. Ms Hoshi will find you something fun to do” she said in a comforting tone. She then glanced around the place. “Well, where to begin?” she pondered, tapping her lips with the tip of a tentacle. “I suppose I’ll start with Drew’s nursery, then Rei’s, then do the caregivers’ rooms” she decided. Just in case the kids needed their rooms sooner. Adults were able to wait more easily. She looked in Angela’s direction once she voiced what theme she wanted “That’s perfectly do-able. If you want to start while I work on the kids’ rooms first, I’ll join you in a bit. They won’t take me long” she promised, smiling at Xeto as he accepted his chosen room without complaint. Lollia walked over to the room that would soon be Drew’s and soon after, the door to the attic stairs opened and decorating supplies began floating out, following her into the room. From down below, objects floated up from the basement then up the stairs to the second floor, also following the woman into the 1 year old’s nursery. Wallpaper began to neatly roll itself onto the walls, thick, soft carpet began tacking itself to the floor and furniture floated in the air while being painted by brushes and tins of paint. There was activity all around the woman who was hovering half a foot above the floor, waving her hands and tentacles like a conductor. If anything, Lollia prided herself on how good she was at multitasking. And a little spell would have the paint instantly dry in a matter of seconds once all was done. Toys, diapers and assorted baby stuff were the last to float out of storage and fill shelves, attach to the ceiling, clip onto the crib or stock the changing table. Soon, Andrew’s nursery was complete. Starfish with different expressions stuck to the walls, mermaids, seals, sharks, fish and all manner of brightly coloured sea creatures decorated the walls. The sandy floor was full of rocks, corals, shells and treasures. Even a sunken ship. Any kid’s imagination could run wild looking at the underwater scene. The carpet even had the look of a sea floor. Lollia decided to add a little enchantment. Summoning her magic, she uttered the spell aloud and the walls animated. It was like a screensaver on a computer or like watching a fish tank in a virtual pet game. Very much like the animated walls and floors in Animal Crossing New Horizons. Satisfied with the furniture, toys, equipment and overall look of Drew’s nursery, she glided out of his room and into the one that would become Rei’s, objects whirling to life around her once again. =============== “Cats are good,” the fox agreed with a smile. “Foxes are kind of like them. We can even purr” he told her. “But we’re also kind of like dogs. We love to bury things and have our belly rubbed. And you know, foxes can…” He continued to prattle on about foxes before he was interrupted by her ‘um’- ing. His ears softly flickered at her words. It only took him a second to understand what she was implying and just at that moment, her diaper expanded and got really warm. Frost just eased up on the belly rubs with an understanding look. He waited a moment “Ohh, so that’s why your tummy was sore earlier. It’s okay. Get it all out, little one” he encouraged, not making fun or judging her in the least. After a couple of minutes, he asked “All done?... Good job, Rei. Don’t be embarrassed. That’s what your diapers are for. And I’m sure you feel better. Your tummy will thank you” he gently patted her head. “I think the first stop we’ll be making is for a diaper change. Then you can play downstairs with all the toys” he said with a calm demeanour. “Come on, let’s go to the changing room downstairs. Since your room’s still being set up” he said, raising his hand and using the winter magic spell he’d used before to transport them downstairs in a flurry of sparkles and snowflakes. Once the magic cleared, he rolled the wheelchair to the changing room beside the living room. He wheeled over to the changing table and pointed to the button that would make it lower down so he could reach it. “Wanna push the button, Rei? It’ll make the table lower so I can change you” he explained. “This is the room we used earlier. We can easily get to the play room from here” Rei was a bit smelly but he didn’t mind. If she’d been busy playing or doing something else, he would probably not have insisted on changing straight away. But he figured it was best to get her a clean bum before she got absorbed into a new activity. ================ Sophie flinched when she felt hands on her shoulders but after a second, she relaxed under the rubbing, letting out a soft breath. She was so relieved to hear Xeto ask Rei for her and smiled, looking up from where she had her face buried in her bunny with closed eyes and opening her eyes again shyly to peek over his head. She heard Rei say something and then fall quiet. Sophie’s brow furrowed in confusion as she bent one ear, then heard Frost quietly talk about taking Rei to get changed “Ohh” she whispered to herself. Rei just pottied herself. That was normal here. Sophie was used to it since arriving at this place. Even before she came here and Mama Lolly’s magic made her HAVE to wear diapers, she wasn’t properly potty trained. So it did’t bother her one bit that the other girl made a mess. “I…I…” she took a step closer “I’ll wait fow chu..i-in the pway woom. D-d…downstaiws” she told Rei, waving at her and Frost before the fox teleported them using magic. Sophie turned and wandered to the top of the staircase that led back down and looked down it. She suddenly felt dizzy as it seemed very, very high to the little tiny rabbit. “W-whoa!” she uttered, crouching down to prevent from falling. Sophie turned backwards and began to slowly crawl down the stairs, but it was hard while trying to hold Bunny under one elbow. “Um…” she paused, having made it only three steps lower “Misha Zee-toe? Tan chu hewp me? I…I fink it would be faster if…i-if you cawwied me” she asked, blushing as she forced herself to look up at him but her eyes skittered away from his own gaze. “I…I. I…wanna go to the pway woom” she told him, her voice nearly inaudible.

((That’s okay, Grumvakk. Good luck on your finals! I hope they go well. Also, thank y’all for being so patient with me. I was in 6 rps and now I’m in 10, so I’m still pretty slow. But even though that’s the case, I will ALWAYS come back and post when I can. I get sick a lot so sometimes I can’t write when my mental health tanks but I definitely want to continue this rp with everyone for as long as we can!)) The alien lady listened to the Latias, cuddling Drew in her arms, still showing him catalogue pages. She was glad the other woman wasn’t frozen stiff after going outside in the January winter weather in those clothes. “Ah, so you’re a dragon type. Interesting. I’m impressed you aren’t cold after that sudden flight but dragons are known to be hardy. Do be careful to dress more warmly before heading out again, though. I wouldn’t want you to get a chill, Dear. There’s plenty of airspace around the orphanage so you can fly whenever you need. I will watch and see how things go with convincing Sophie, ahaha” she chuckled lightly, “I trust you won’t do anything the kids aren’t comfortable with. And that sounds like a much safer speed than your top speed. You are right. Their bodies aren’t quite built for jet plane level speeds” she said with a small chuckle. “5-10 mph should be fine. Starting slow and gradually increasing speed would be the best strategy. Okay, well, I’ll have the flying gear made up tonight. They’ll be in the closets tomorrow morning” she promised. “With any luck, flying together will help the kids bond with you,” she said with a smile. She was giving Angela the benefit of the doubt and quite a lot of freedom to do what she thought safe with the children. =========== Unable to help hearing their conversation with her attuned rabbit ears, Sophie ducked her head further behind her bunny and mumbled “U-umm…m-maybe I could twy fwying…i-if Miss Angewa s-stays close to the gwound a-and…and we don’t go vewy fast” she peeped, her sweet and soft little voice like a delicate dandelion puff on the wind. She wanted to make all the adults happy. So, even though the idea of flying scared her a lot, she would try to be brave and let Miss Angela fly with her at least one time, to see how she felt. Bunny rabbits weren’t really made for flying. If she could hold Bunny for comfort, that would help her feel calmer. ============ Lollia moved a candy coloured tentacle over to pet Sophie’s head “Don’t push yourself, Sophie. You don’t have to fly if you don’t want to. But it might be really fun. Sometimes we need to try new things so we can see if we like them and so we don’t miss out. You can watch Miss Angela take other kids for a flight and then decide if you’re feeling up to it. But she will not force you” she comforted her, noticing that Xeto seemed to be drifting off into his own thoughts, zoned out and not paying attention to what was being said. She heard Akiza speak up and looked towards her with a bright smile “That sounds adorable. I’ll show him the example” she said, flipping the pages of the catalogue to show various teddy bear nurseries on the pages. “Look, Andrew, do you like teddy bears? Do you want a teddy bear room?” She cooed to the child, making sure his eyes were on the pictures by wiggling the book in his line of sight. She saw him rub his eyes, showing no reaction to the teddy bears. “No? How about this? Or... this?” She turned the pages slowly, pausing to let him see other designs. When he pointed to the undersea theme, she grinned. “Ahh, the undersea theme. Do you like that? There are lots of coloured fishies and pretty corals!” He was smiling and had been deliberate in his choice, pointing straight at the pages. Lollia returned the sweet hug, “Aww, nice hug. Thank you, Sweetheart” she said tenderly, giving a small squeeze and moving to and fro as she praised his interaction. Noticing his hand rise towards her earring once more, she gently put her hand on his to intervene and the shaker of sprinkles from downstairs floated up to them, shaking itself in his view. “Oh no, you can’t have Mama’s earring, Sweetie. Here, have this nice shaker instead. Look at all the pretty colours in there! So many sprinkles!” she enthused, her tone animated to catch his interest. ============ Frost looked through the book with Rei, liking a lot of the fun designs of the bedrooms for the kids. When she stopped on the pages with cat themes, he listened. “Okay, you want kittens? Aww, they’re so cute. Just like you. I think it’s perfect” he told the little girl, smiling. “I’ll let Lollia know and she will make your room up with her telekinesis. That’s her power that lets her move things around with her mind” he said, tapping Rei’s forehead gently with a finger. He watched her respond to Sophie and his tail wagged softly. He’d kind of been hoping someone would choose foxes for their bedroom but it was no biggie. ============ Sophie heard Rei and looked at her, giving her a smile from behind her bunny, her reddish pink eyes squinting happily, sparkling. “M…me too!” she replied. She felt better about Miss Angela’s flying after what Mama Lolly had said. Having heard that Rei chose a kitten theme, she really approved of it. It would be a cute room just like hers. She loved cute things and was glad that Rei seemed to love them too. She looked forward to showing Rei her room and of Rei hopefully showing Sophie hers once it was done up. She hoped they could play together. Maybe she could even show Rei her little trick with plushies. Hopefully it wouldn’t scare her like it had done to people in her foster families in the past. ============ Lollia looked at Xeto and got his attention “Mr Xeto, since you’re not paying attention, allow me to choose a suitable room for you. I’ll put you in room 8” she decided “That’s close to the current kids we have, with them just across the hall” She then looked at Angela, hearing her reply about the rooms. “You don’t want to choose one? Well, okay then. I’ll pick out a good one for you as well, Miss Angela. You will have…” she paused, looking around the upstairs, eyes glancing from door to door. “Bedroom 3, beside our two little girls. And across the hall from Xeto. This way, everyone’s relatively close to one another and we don’t have to cross the halls to get to each other’s rooms” she said with a smile. “Of course, you can decorate it if you wish. I have all the supplies needed stored in the attic and down in the basement. However, it’d probably be faster if you just tell me what sort of interior decor theme you want and I’ll go in there and use my telekinesis and tentacles to get it done up faster” she said. “Speaking of which! Miss Hoshi!” she walked over to her, gently prying Drew from her chest and holding him towards the other woman “While I’m busy decorating the new rooms, you’ll have to take Drew for me. It’s play time on the daily schedule, so why not go with him and our other little ones and take them downstairs to find something fun to play with?” she suggested. “There’s really nothing but bedrooms up here and most of them are just plain because we don’t have many caregivers and children at this point” Seeing Angela start to walk towards bedroom 3, she called out to her, “Miss Angela, you can go and chill out in the staff break room if you like. Or you can come and help me set up the new rooms. It’s up to you, Darling” she told her. ============= Frost continued to softly rub circles into Rei’s belly over her dress, remembering her tummy was sore earlier “Would you like to go and play downstairs while Mama Lolly makes your room up, Baby Girl?” he asked her. “We can play anything you want until morning tea time” ============= Hearing Frost, Sophie hesitantly toddled over, her steps slow with a few pauses before she got about a metre and a half away from the pair. “Uhhhh….ummm…..” she fidgeted, trying to get up the courage to say the words, looking at Rei hopefully. “W…Wei…” she got out, blushing and looking down, losing her courage. She buried her face in her plushie, bright red, flustered and upset at herself, embarrassed by not being able to ask Rei if she could play with her “Mmmmmh” Maybe Xeto could help.

((That’s okay. I don’t mind if the text is coloured or not. I just do it so it’s easy to tell which character is speaking. I hope your PC and the power is fixed soon!)) Lollia heard what Angela said, nodding in approval for her to go ahead and explain to the bunny what the things on her back were. =========== Sophie, realising she’d been caught staring at the Latias’ wings, gasped, blinked and meeped softly as her face turned red once more, easily flustering. “S-sowwy!” she chirped out, knowing it was rude to stare, or so she’d been told. She didn’t want to upset the grown ups. But Angela didn’t seem to be mad. That calmed her a bit. Sophie cuddled her plushie up to her nose and peered over the top of it at Miss Angela, listening to her explanation with wide eyes. “Ohhhh. Wings!” she replied meekly, lowering her bunny to get another look at them. They kind of reminded her of aeroplane wings, now that she thought about it. “Wow!” Miss Angela could fly! How amazing! “You’we wike an aiwpwane!” she peeped at her softly in amazement, unable to stop herself from speaking. “Fwying sounds fun. Buh scawy. Buh…I wike youw wings. M-M-Miss Angie” she told her, hunching her shoulders as she withdrew into herself shyly. “D-dey cool an’…an’ pwetty” Sophie told her, blushing like mad as she stared at the floor. Anngela she’d said she could fly really fast. Being so high and going so fast was a terrifying idea to the girl, whose instincts told her to stay on the ground. Still…she would love to watch Angela fly while she stayed on solid earth. Miss Angela was so cool! =============== Lollia chuckled at Sophie’s responses to Angela, looking at the woman when the toddler had finished speaking. “They are a little like aeroplane wings!” she smiled with a soft laugh, “Nice observation, Sophie, Darling” Her gaze met Angela’s. “Thank you for explaining that to her, Angela. I am okay with that, taking them for flights, I mean. I don’t think you’ll be able to convince Sophie to leave the ground anytime soon though” she laughed again, “But if you’d like to work on that with her, perhaps it will happen one day. Oh yes, protective gear will be a must. I trust you with taking the kids for joy flights if they want to. Since you sound like a confident and adept flyer. The kids would probably be thrilled” she grinned. “I can use my telekinesis to float about but it’s not quite the same as true flight. Anyway, I’ll have that protective gear crafted for you as soon as possible” she told her. “Well, okay, if you’re alright with waiting for another little one to show up, then that’s fine. You are right. It’s nice to be chosen and I’m sure you’ll become someone’s special carer in due time. For now, we’d appreciate your help with the ones we do have” she said, waving goodbye to her and wishing her a good flight as the woman left, returning in a little while. Once she was gone, Lollia listened to Akiza’s room choices. “Room 6 for you, Ms Hoshi. And room 7 for Drew. That sounds perfect. Nice and close to the stairs so you can easily bring him down to play” she smiled, making a note of it. “And would you like a theme to decorate the rooms? Maybe a fun theme for Andrew’s nursery?” she asked, waving a hand as a catalogue book floated from somewhere in the building and floated in mid air with its pages open. “What about teddy bears or maybe coloured hot air balloons?” she suggested. She looked at Drew, stepping over to the catalogue, “Look Drew, see the pretty pictures? Which one do you like?” Mama Lolly asked the boy, stroking his hair gently as the book slowly flipped its pages, pausing for a while so he could look. =============== Frost smiled at Rei’s choice. “Great choice, Sweetie. Mama Lolly, we have Rei in room 2 over here” he looked back at Rei “What theme do you want for your room, Honey? You can have anything you want". He took out another catalogue that was folded in his pocket and opened the pages to show her pictures of room themes. “Just point to what you like and Mama Lolly will use her magic to make it look the way you want” he said. ============= Sophie heard what Rei said and smiled, grinning brightly towards Rei, giving a soft “Yay!” into her bunny. It had been so long since she made a friend. She waved at Rei happily, peeking at her from behind her plush bun. “Bunny says he’s happy dat you’we gonna be next to my woom” she told her shyly. “We be fweinds!” ============= Lollia noted down what rooms everyone was in, and saw Angela come back from her flight. “Angela, welcome back. I take it the flight was refreshing in that winter wind, ahaha. Darling, what room would you like to stay in? The rooms are for the staff, not just the kids” she explained to her.

Lily nodded at Castile’s question “Yes, I’m going to take Sammy to bed right now. And I’ll just get comfortable in the rocking chair and read over the staff handbook; might take a nap myself. I’m sure if he wakes up, he’ll wake me up” she said, thinking about what Castile said. “Yeah, we’re supposed to go back to our apartments at night and let the night staff take over but like you said, they need us for their first night here, just till they get comfortable sleeping in their new rooms” she explained, gently swaying her hips to rock the child in her arms and rubbing Samuel’s back to keep him comfy and asleep. “I’ll be in Sammy’s room if you need me. Goodnight, Dears” With that, she walked out of the kitchen and dining room, finding her way through the mansion to Samuel’s room and gently laying him in his fire truck crib, on his back, tucking the sheet and blanket over him. She slid the side of it up and locked it in place. She saw a speaker and a pull string in the crib. If the kids needed a change, they could talk into the speaker and the staff would hear it at their stations. If they weren’t at their station, kids should pull the string and a call light would go on, summoning a staff member right away. The cribs also had a ‘close’ button so kids could hop in and make it close by themselves, which would detect their weight and then close with a 20 countdown.. But after that, they couldn’t open it, which is why the string was there to pull for help. Lily went to the rocking recliner chair and checked the handbook, noticing that it said that if no staff were at their desk/station, then pulling the crib string turns on a light that they could see, which goes red after 5 minutes of no response to let staff know that they need to check on the child right away. If the string is pulled two times, it goes yellow, which means you need a nurse and sets off a nurses’ pager after 5 minutes. If kids needed help for an emergency, they pulled the string three or more times and it set off nurses’ pagers straight away. Lily sat back, making a face at the words on the tablet. “This seems like a complicated system they have set up. What if the child is too young to understand all this? Or gets confused by how it works? I wonder why Mr Balverk made it that way. It’s kind of like the system in a hospital. And while it would work great for older kids, younger ones will just have to be heard through the speaker system” she reasoned quietly to herself. How much crying would those staff have to hear all night long through the speakers? Looking around the room, Lily also saw that there was a panel of buttons on the wall, at a height kids could easily reach. She checked the handbook. If kids pressed the blue button, it meant anyone could help them. If they pressed green, it would bring a nanny. Red was for a nurse. And finally, the red X button was for emergencies. “I suppose they have some way of disabling those buttons for younger kids that can’t understand what they do,” she said to herself. “Or they would be making the staff run everywhere like headless chickens” she grinned in amusement at that. ============== With the dessert all gone, Castile smiled at the sight of the messy child looking up at him, chuckling softly. He went to where the wash cloths were kept and came back, starting to gently wipe Aurora’s face and hands clean, removing her bib for the kitchen staff to take away for cleaning later. When he saw her getting upset over what he said, he opened the highchair and pulled her into his arms, rubbing her back and stroking her hair gently “Aw, it’s okay, Sweetie. Don’t cry. I’ll stay with you tonight, okay? It’ll be fine. I’ll just sleep in your room. And if you wake up, I will be right there to help you” he said, trying to calm her down while Lily wandered off with Samuel. “Okay, let’s get a bath. I’ll show you some more bubble magic” The cat began to walk toward where the bathrooms were, placing Aurora down on the bathroom mat while he ran the water at a warm but not too hot temperature. He added bubble bath as well as lots of toys. Then he knelt down to help Aurora undress, undoing her pink onesie with the white ruffles and placing it aside. He then removed her diaper and placed her gently into the tub, crouching by the side of it to keep watch on her as she played, one arm around her back, supporting her. His tail swayed idly as his beast half was flat to the floor. “Alright, do you wanna see some more magic before we wash you clean? I can make you a bubble balloon animal. Or would you like a balloon hat? Name anything you want” he told her. “This ain’t no ordinary bath. I can do lots of things” he grinned with a small laugh. “Hey, maybe you can even learn some magic, too. This mansion is magical, I’m sure Mr B has magic classes somewhere in the building”

((Once again I am slooooowwwww! Lol. Sorry about that. Posting for multiple characters does slow me down but it's still fun. It just takes me longer)) The pastel rainbow alien mother heard the latias lady walking on the wooden floor downstairs and then the thudding sounds of her coming up the carpeted staircase, smiling as she made it to the top to join the rest of them. Lollia waved and beamed at her “Ah, you have made it. Wonderful, wonderful!” she said, pleased as punch to have so many good workers. They might have to find more babies to adopt here! Usually it was the other way around; too many babies and not enough to care for them. But Lolly had gotten lucky. The gods were smiling down on her for sure. “I’m happy you were able to make it, too, Angela. Once again, I am Mama Lolly and this little one in my arms is Drew, who will be the charge of Ms Hoshi there. Over there you have Xeto and little Sophie, our bunny bun, and over there is Frost with little Rei chan” she explained, gesturing to each person with a gracious open palm, not rudely jabbing her finger. “We’ll all get to know each other soon enough” she said hopefully, wishing that everyone would get along. Not just the kids but the adults too. Seeing Angela’s dangly earrings, she remembered what Drew had done earlier to her own. “Oh, you may want to remove your earrings, Ms Angela. Drew here has a habit of grabbing and pulling anything dangling. He got mine this morning” she said with a good-natured chuckle, beginning to rock and rub Drew’s back as he awoke and started shaking in fear at the new person. “Shhhh, there there, little one. It is okay. Miss Angela is very nice. She is only here to play with you and help you” she reassured him in cooing tones, “Did that door bell wake you up? What good hearing you have” she smiled, petting his hair. She had hoped Xeto would approve of the two classrooms they had. There were changing tables attached to each one so students could be easily changed between lessons and he wouldn’t have to leave the classroom or go far. She noticed how he helped Sophie and gave looks of appreciation in his direction, smiling. ================================================== Sophie had been slowly crawling on all fours, making her way up the staircase behind the adults, when she was picked up by the chuckling Xeto, making her eep softly and let out a nervous giggle. She blushed again in his arms but didn’t struggle, hiding her red face in her bunny plushie. They were moving so much faster and in no time at all, they were at the top. Once she felt him stop, she slowly raised her head and looked around. So many new people. “Eep!” she whispered again softly, chewing her bottom lip. “B-bunny” she called her toy’s name, calling on him to offer comfort and support ‘Hewp me be bwave’ she thought silently, ‘Awound all dese new peoples’. Then she remembered her manners and told Xeto “Fank oo misha Xeeto” in an embarrassed but grateful mumble, happy that he was so nice and had helped her. She saw him greet Angela and looked at the latias as well, raising one hand to give her a tiny wave. “H-h…hewwo” she squeaked softly. She tried really hard not to stare but she had never seen someone like Angela before. She didn’t even know what a latias was. But the lady looked nice and pretty. Sophie was a little scared of the pointy things on her back though. The yellow blades that ended in points. What were they, anyway? What did they do? What were they for? =================================================== Lollia heard what Akiza had said to her “Thank you. Yes, we try to make them as fun as possible. But caregivers definitely can help children with guided play and sharing ideas or light prompting” she said. “If the kids ever get bored or don’t know what to do. Oh and every child can pick a theme for their chosen bedroom. We have a catalogue with pictures of what each can look like as examples. They just have to point to what they like” she said. She then looked at Angela and informed her, “We’re just doing the upstairs tour and letting the kids pick their rooms. Just to make you aware though, Angela, rooms 1, 10 and 11 are already taken. They belong to Sophie, Frost and me, respectively” she said with a smile. ===================================================== Frost listened carefully to Rei’s replies, nodding to show he was listening. “Ah, yeah, the playroom can be lots of fun, with so much stuff to climb on and so many toys. And making arts and crafts is good too. I like getting creative and making a mess but I always wear an apron to protect my clothes” he said, biting the tip of his tongue as he smiled at her, glad to hear about what she liked and getting to know her better. “Maybe we can make something in the art room soon. After you pick a room up here to be your very own” he said, tail wagging softly. “Let’s go around all the rooms with Mama Lolly so you can see which you want most” he explained, beginning to gently rub her little tummy in circle motions. ====================================================== Now that Angela joined them, Lollia did a visual check that all were present and began to walk again, leading the group down the hallway, pausing to let them look into the empty bedrooms 7 and 6 which were near the stairs, then going up to bedroom 1, which was Sophie’s room, pausing to let them look inside. It was decorated with a bunny theme with lots of soft pinks and whites and a LOT of plushies and toys. There were also a lot of things that bunnies like, such as carrots, bananas and strawberries, hay bundles, a rabbit shaped night light, white wooden clouds on the walls, flowers and butterflies decals, colourful eggs, cute pictures of adorable rabbits and so on. It was like a spring themed, rabbit themed kind of pastel, cute and pretty nursery. There was a fully stocked changing table with a pink padded mat and a decorated crib with frilly bedding and hanging curtains that had fairy lights, as well as a plush rocking recliner chair. “This is Sophie’s room. As you might be able to guess. Room 1” Lollia announced to the group. She went along and showed them all the bedrooms, taking their time and letting people look around. In her room, it was decorated with a pastel rainbow theme of butterflies, space and stars, as well as other things that the woman liked. Frost’s room looked more like a winter wonderland with all whites and cold colours on display and some colourful snowboards hung on the walls. “Frost got a big room because he’s in a wheelchair and needs it to be accessible, hence the extra space” the alien explained to the adults. “And I’m right here in room 11 next door” She turned to Akiza “Ms Hoshi, I’ll entrust you with picking a good room for Andrew. It might be a good idea to have him in one across from whichever one you choose, or beside it. Seeing how little he is” she said. “But everyone else, feel free to pick whichever room speaks to you” She looked at Rei, smiling at the cute scene of her having her belly rubbed by the fox. “Rei, Sweetie, you might like to pick a room next to Sophie’s room. If you want to do that, then room 6 or room 2 would both be good. But you can only choose one so think carefully” she told her with a warm and kind tone. “I think it will be nice for you girls to be near each other, seeing as you both are around the same age and size” she told them. “Miss Angela, please do not fret, we will find a child for you as well” she told the latias, making sure everyone was included. “In the meantime, I’m sure you’d be a brilliant help for the kids we do already have. A second pair of hands and eyes always comes in useful. Now, where is that room catalogue with all the themes?”

The whole day, along with his cold, seemed to catch up with Samuel at once. Combined with his comfortably full belly, it all was a recipe to send him straight to sleep. Lily gave a soft smile when she noticed Samuel had nodded off, the bubble with the blue rose lightly hovering near his shoulder. “Uh oh. There goes your plan for giving him a bath, Castile. And his hair is still dirty too” she said, looking at the cat taur as she made him aware of what happened, “You don’t think you can…” she nodded at the sleeping boy in his whale onesie, a half eaten handful of chocolate cake with all the fixings sitting before his slumped figure. His chin was resting on his chest and he was tipped to one side, limp and breathing deeply, nose whistling softly because he was a little congested. Lily gently wiped the crumbs, fudge sauce, whipped cream and ice cream off his face and hands after removing the chunk of half eaten cake, being delicate so she wouldn’t wake him. ============== Castile understood what Lily was asking straight away and nodded “Sure. Let me” he replied, raising his hands and summoning a cloud of soapy bubbles and water, sending it towards Samuel’s head. The mixture swirled and bubbled all through his hair, collecting all the grease, dirt and other assorted things before pulling away, floating across the room to the sink and diving down the drain. Samuel’s hair was now soft, dry and perfectly clean. But it now looked even messier after the ruffling and massaging bath of the bubble spell. “There. Much better. He’ll have some knots and a wild hairdo tonight but we can easily brush it in the morning with the help of some detangling spray” he said as Lily agreed and thanked him for his help. He looked back at Aurora, covering a small yawn from the extra magic use, checking to see whether she was done eating. “How is your cake, Sweetheart? Is it good? It sure looks yummy with all those toppings on it” he smiled, “And you said thank you to the kitchen staff too. Nice manners” he praised, “Good on you for remembering, Jellybean. By the way, Sammy fell asleep so he won’t be having a bubble bath after this but we’ll make sure he gets one in the morning. He’s still sick with a cold so he might be more tired from that. But don’t worry, the bath will still be fun. I’ll add lots of toys and even do some more bubble magic for you. I’ll make sure not to get too tired” he said, taking the cartoon printed toddler spoon and beginning to feed Aurora bites of chocolate cake with small scoops of each of the toppings. “Here, I’ll help you eat the rest of your cake so we can get a bath sooner and then you can pick a picture book for story time” he explained. Turning his head towards Lily, he saw she had unlocked the highchair tray and was gently scooping up the sleeping boy into her arms, laying him over her shoulder as she rubbed his back lightly and settled him comfortably against her, cuddling him close and putting his pacifier in his mouth with gentle shushing sounds. Castile lowered his voice to a murmur, almost a stage whisper “Lily, are you gonna take Sammy to bed? I was gonna ask you to grab Aurora a onesie and diaper for after her bath but I’ll just wrap her in a bath towel and get her changed into her jammies back at her room. I don’t know if we’re supposed to work overnight but I think the handbook says something about there being night shift workers. So we’re probably supposed to go back to our apartments” he fed Aurora lovingly, scooping up some more spoonfuls of soft, chocolatey cake. “But I don’t know if I want to leave Missy Moo here alone on her first night with a new carer. I might have to stay tonight. What do you think, Aurora?” he asked the little girl, wanting to know how upset she might be or if she was okay for someone else to watch over her while she was sleeping, or in case she needed something during the night.

((Once again, I’m sorry for being so slow!!!! I’m finally catching up on my last 2 rps out of 7. I hope you guys don’t mind the slower pace.......)) There was silence in reply to Mama Lolly asking if there were any questions so she was content to keep going with the tour. “Don’t worry, you can’t really get lost here. The hallways are all connected in a square shape on both floors” she told everyone. “Though sometimes the children do get lost” she said. Lollia began to lead them to the stairs going up to the second story, which held all the bedrooms. She saw the look of amazement on Ms Hoshi’s face. “You like it? I put a lot of thought into this place to make it as fun as possible. But I am no architect” she chuckled, beginning to step up the staircase with Drew safely tucked in her embrace. =============== Frost lightly wrapped one arm around Rei’s chest, sort of cuddling her and making sure she wouldn’t slide off his lap as he used his other hand to push the wheel of his chair, keeping up easily with Akiza, Lollia and Xeto’s paces. He smiled at the sounds of cute diaper crinkles and tummy gurgles “Sounds like your tummy is eating the breakfast you just ate. It’s doing a good job turning your food into energy” he told Rei playfully. “So, do you like the rooms on this floor, little Rei? Which one is your favourite?” he asked her out of curiosity. “I guess that depends on what you like to do” he figured aloud. When the tour of the first floor ended, he excitedly wheeled towards the bottom of the staircase. “Oh, here is the staircase that goes to the second floor. That’s where all the bedrooms are. Are you excited to have your own room?” he asked her, watching the three other adults go up the stairs. “I can’t walk so we are going to use a little magic to get upstairs” he explained, as snowflakes began to swirl all around them till they formed a cloud, then when it cleared, the wheelchair was at the top landing. “Hee hee, I love my magic. I’m lucky I have magic or Miss Lolly would have to install a special electric chair to carry me up and down the stairs” he explained. His soft, fluffy fox ears slowly moved about, detecting more tummy gurgles. “Would you like tummy rubs to help it feel better?” he asked Rei gently. =============== Sophie blushed darker again, nodding at what Xeto told her. “O…otay” she mumbled nervously, barely a whisper. She wasn’t sure if she could eat without making messes. Some of her foster carers used to get angry at her when she messed up the high chair, or the toddler table and would make her clean it up, scold her for getting her clothes dirty as well and give her punishments. She hoped Mr Xeto wouldn’t be mad at her if she couldn’t master the art of tidy and neat eating. Her little hands and arms didn’t always obey her brain and move the way she wanted them to. Sometimes her grip was weak or clumsy and she dropped things. She would try her best to do what he wanted when they worked on it later though. The little dwarf rabbit cuddled her bunny plush tightly as she was picked up and placed on the ground. She rested her cheek against his soft head. Sophie was very shy about being picked up and held by someone she barely knew. But as a dwarf rabbit, she was tiny for her age and her short little legs had to walk faster to keep up with the adults while they did the house tour. Her steps quickened to a jog, making her trot after them and sometimes run a little. A couple of times she almost tripped over her own feet. When they reached the bottom of the stairs going up, Sophie reached out to grab Xeto’s pants leg as she panted and puffed, catching her breath. The adults started going upstairs, Mr Frost using his sparkly magic to cheat and teleport. But Sophie could do no such thing. The bunny girl was too short to reach the hand rail but too shy to speak up and ask for help. So she began to crawl up the stairs behind the three adults, which was hard with her bunny plushie tucked under her right arm. It was gonna take FOREVER to get to the top! ================ Lollia reached the landing at the top of the stairs and waited for the others. She heard a knock at the front door of the orphanage as she sensed a new person enter her magical area of effect around the home and its grounds. “Oh! We have another new caregiver who has just arrived. I’d better tell her to meet us upstairs” she explained to the other adults “How lucky. I was not sure she would be able to come but it looks like things have worked in our favour” she said. Her yellow eyes began to glow as she used telepathy to speak to Angela, the lovely new Latias caregiver. “Hello there and welcome, my Dear. Angela, wasn’t it? The other new carers have already arrived. We are just giving everyone a tour of the house. We are upstairs on the second floor. Please meet us there. Just follow the hallway around until you find the staircase, Dear. We will wait for you” she told Angela, the lady’s motherly voice sounding clearly in Angela’s mind. To everyone else she said "Angela is a type of anthropomorphic monster called a Latias. But don't worry, she's very nice"

((Sorry again for the wait. I'm only in 6 rps these days but I get tired a lot so it can take me a bit to reply sometimes)) Lily didn’t say anything about him filling up on his drink. She was just glad to see him get some hydration and nutrition into his system. She wouldn’t push things on the first day. Though she did usually like to ensure that food wasn’t wasted. She smiled at the sight of the kids’ linked hands, finding it endearing. They would no doubt come to see each other as siblings or at least friends over their time here. Aurora was a nice girl, thankfully, which made it easier on the shy boy. Lily looked at the remaining third of the noodles and two pieces of meatball and decided he had tried his best and it was good enough. He was only a child after all, his stomach was small. “Nice work on eating your dinner, Buddy. You did pretty well showing that spaghetti who's boss!” she told him. “I think you can have some dessert for trying your best tonight” she told him gently. After all, it would be a little mean to not let him have any when Aurora was going to eat something sweet right beside him. She giggled at seeing him perk up at the mention of dessert. “You liked the sound of that, hey? Well, what would you like? Chocolate cake like Aurora, or something else?” ============= The cluster of bubbles had soon sent themselves down the drain and Aurora was nice and clean once more, even her bib. Castile could probably use bubble magic instead of bathing them but a relaxing bath was part of most children’s bedtime routine and it would probably be more fun for them, the warm water soothing them and helping them wind down for bed. He planned to add bubble bath and toys, help the kids wash themselves and their hair as well. That way they’d be squeaky clean ready to get dressed for tomorrow’s outing. Castile relished the sounds of Aurora’s giggles; a happy, uplifting sound. “I’m happy you like my magic” he told her. “That was nothing. I can do even more bubble magic but you will have to wait and see till tomorrow” he promised. “If I use it too much in one day, I will fall asleep. And we can’t have that!” He watched her think her options over as she considered what to order and then grinned. “Ooh, good choice. I’ll go put in an order to the kitchen. Do you want a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some whipped cream and hot fudge sauce with it?” he asked, getting her answers. He waited for Samuel to tell Lily what he wanted before keeping their orders in his mind and hurrying over to one of the kiosks, typing their orders in. He ordered himself a cup of Jasmine tea. That should wake him up a bit. Not that he was really full after that meal. His bigger body usually required more. But he could snack later once the kids went to bed. He still had that cat paw pastry Mr B gave him stuffed in his uniform pocket. It didn’t take long before someone came from the kitchen carrying a tray with two plates of dessert upon it, putting one each down on the highchair trays “Here you go; enjoy, little ones” the waiter said, smiling at the cute kids. “Don’t eat it all at once, now. You might turn into a vacuum cleaner” he warned with a small wink and sauntered off after collecting their empty dinner dishes and other tableware. ============ Lily looked at Samuel, pointing to his dessert "Do you think you can eat this one all on your own or would you like a little bit of help to devour that sweet treat, Honey?" she asked him playfully. "After that, we will take you and Aurora for a splishy, splashy bubble bath and then a story time book before bed" she explained. "It's getting a bit late for wee boys and girls to still be awake and you have lots to do tomorrow"