Topic: To Cross That Line (Namari x Missylooni)

[Namari]

Arakan laughs, " some of these kids may enjoy it. plus most are too old to fall for that one."

[MissyLooni]

takana finishes getting everything put away and cleaned up and he smiles before looking at arakan, "ready to go."

[Namari]

Arakan nods and grabs his bag with the fruit and heads out, leading the way to an area somewhat near his own home. He reaches a larger building and opens the door, the sounds of shrieking children at play reaching their ears from further in.

[MissyLooni]

the sound causes takana to flinch, his eyes quickly scanning the area in case he needed to back up from any kids just in case.

he makes sure to stay close to arakan.

[Namari]

Arakan glances at him and raises an eyebrow, " they're further in one of the big rooms. need a moment to collect yourself before we go actually see them?"

[MissyLooni]

takana's face flushes red and he shudders, "Ma-maybe. Sorry... i cant even remember the last time i was near a child..."

[Namari]

Arakan nods, " we can wait here for a bit." the noises of children playing continue.

[MissyLooni]

takana glances around some more before he begins to feel himself calm down. he looks up at arakan, "okay... i think im good."

[Namari]

Arakan nods, " alright then. they're good kids, it's just gonna be noisy if you get that many of them together." he heads down the hall and turns into a room, 4 women sitting at a table working on something, a few younger children in bassients sleeping next to the women. About a dozen kids between 5-12 run around the room playing and making the most noise, while some older kids sit at a table clearly doing some sort of school work. The playing kids stop and look over at the two, the younger ones running over to the women and hiding while the older ones run over and clamor for attention, asking about 5 million unintelligible questions. Arakan holds up a hand to stop them for a moment and starts hanging out some fruit, silencing them as they dig into the treat.

One of the women with feathery hair gets up and walks over, " Arakan, we weren't expecting you. what can we owe this visit to?" she looks at Takana curiously, " surely not him? he's a bit old to need taking care of." one small child gets braver and comes up behind the woman, peering around her leg and she absently ruffles his hair.

Arakan kneels down and offers a fruit to the kid, which he shyly takes. He stands back up and looks at her, " just checking in, and bringing a treat. He's also new to the district and was curious about how this works here." he moves away and passes out fruit to any kids who hadn't gotten any yet.

[MissyLooni]

takana nervously looks at the women, "My name is Takana and uh... yeah im pretty new."

[Namari]

She smiles, " ah, well there's not a whole lot here, and the kids can be kind of rambunctious, but it works. this way a few of us can watch the kids and the other mothers can either have a steady job or even just a day off now and then. plus those of us who stay here can work on other projects while watching the kids." she gestures to the table where the other women are, who wave. " we have a siren, and her scales can be used to make lovely jewelry, and they change color when introduced to toxins. so they're quite popular with human women. so we do that while we take care of the kids." she smiles.

Arakan nods and lowers his voice, " how is she doing? i know she'd never be honest to me about it. Is she getting enough time in the water? i know there's not much we can provide..."

The feather haired woman sighs softly, lowering her voice, " she has good days and bad days. she makes sure Kyon gets a lot of soaking time, but she neglects herself a lot. not that i can blame her, it's been a rough situation."

Arakan sighs softly and then makes himself smile, " i'll talk with her. Takana was thinking about maybe making something for the kids, what kinds of food do they like?"

She blinks, " oh, well they like different things, but they'll eat almost anything. meat dishes are always popular, since we don't get that very often."

[MissyLooni]

Takana nods, "meat, okay. I can work with that. And just so I have a head count, how many servings will I need to make? I want to make sure I have enough for all of them."

[Namari]

She smiles, " oh, there's 17 of them that will be able to eat a meal you make. might wanna make some extra, some of the older boys are like bottomless pits. the littlest ones of course can't have any, but i didn't count them."

[MissyLooni]

takana nods again, mentally taking notes for later, "okay, thats good to know. thank you for the information."

[Namari]

She smiles, " no problem. i know it's a lot so if you change your mind it's alright."

The kids soon finish their treat and the younger ones start clamoring around Arakan and Takana. Arakan steps away from the kids and lifts a hand, snow swirling around it and getting their attention on him. " lets go to the gym okay?" they all get excited and he heads to the next room, a large gym like room with a solid floor. Arakan takes a few deep breaths and soon snow starts falling heavily in the room, piling up about a foot deep, and the kids busy themselves playing. He heads back out of the room and grins, " there, that'll keep them busy for awhile."