Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was a rather ordinary day, all things considered. The sun was shining - not unusual in Gaia - birds and other song-weaving creatures were singing happily in the varying foilage, and the clear. crisp air carried the scents of growing things on a delicious breeze.

CRASH!

"Son of a Baccae!"

And, occasionally, less enticing sounds.

Settled on the waist-high fence that surrounded what was obviously a training area in the backyard of the Center, a young child with brilliant emerald eyes and multi-colored skin tilted her head to one side, the blue and white stripes at the end of her black ponytail bouncing slightly. "You put a new hole in the dummy, Aunt Fayth." She informed the tall teenager in the center of the ring, small face alight with an infectious grin.

"It matches the one Dray put in it last week." The redheaded fighter - 'aunt' Fayth - retorted almost under her breath, grumbling as she dragged the metal-capped end of her fighting stick from the cracked head of the wooden puppet. Perched beside the first child, an older girl with shining red-gold tresses and glowing, coppery-feathered wings gave a snort of laughter. "Aunt Fayth, have you ever even SEEN a Baccae?" Her slightly-raspy voice was teasing as she adjusted the gleaming plated headband tied above her bangs.

Fayth made a face. "I'd rather use that curse than have your mother out here tanning my hide for teaching you new words, thanks."

"Hey, nym." Fayth wiped her forehead and grinned over at Jewel as the little girl perked up. "Nym" was short for nymph, a favorite nickname for the fish D-corp child. "Wanna grab my water? I think I left it by the side of the house."

"Kay!" Grinning brightly and clutching her own water bottle - with her aquatic DNA, the liquids and a special skin lotion were necessary to be out in the sunlight as much as she was - Jewel hopped from her perch and trotted in the direction her aunt motioned. Reaching for the plastic jug, she paused, listening. Was that voices out front? Curious, she peeked her head around and tried to remember if she'd seen these two before. She didn't think so. But the big girl looked like a Guardian. "Hello. Are you here for a baby?"

Jewel liked the babies. They had several now, waiting for their new families, and she thought the littlest one was cute. And the baby girl had such soft wings!

Jewel's face brightened, and she grinned at Alora, on much more solid territory now that she knew what they were here for. "Oh, you can come 'round this way. Aunt Fayth can help, I bet." Her eyes danced as she gestured for them to follow her. "I'm Jewel - my mama runs the Center. I'm not a Tenjutsu, though. I'm'a D-corp kid."

"Isn't it there, nym?" Fayth's voice was gently teasing. "You can't have gotten lost in the bushes."

"Oooo, visitors!" The winged girl perched on the fence grinned brightly, hopping down to land with a light thud of combat-booted feet. "Hullo - " Catching the last bit of the comment about D-Corp - and Alora's wings - her smile widened. "Really? That's neat! Are you - a dove?"

The guess couldn't be that off - Aeris couldn't think of anything else with feathers besides a bird, and doves were the only pure white birds she knew. Unless the little girl was a falcon of some kind, but she was so quiet and shy-looking. "I'm Aeris." She added, her own wings stretching slightly to shimmer in the sun.

Jewel twisted her head around to beam at Alora, eyes wide. "Awesome!" She hadn't met another person from D-Corp 'cept Tyven - or her little sister, but that had only been brief. This was even better than just another playmate! She glanced back at her aunt, belatedly adding, "They're here to pick up the babies! They're Guardians!"

"Teenager" was probably a bit misleading for the tall figure that turned to greet Melody and Alora as the two approached. For one thing, she appeared to be about twenty years old, perhaps a little older, for all that her lithe frame was lean and toned. Nicely tanned, she wore an ordinary, slightly battered pair of jeans, hiking boots, and a fitted T-shirt that showed off decent muscles in her stomach and arms. Long, incredibly thick waves of burnished red hair had been temporarily tugged back in a simple ponytail, a few gold strands gleaming in the sunlight, and large, intelligent eyes the color of chocolate shone with wry cheer. In spite of the fighting staff held negligently - but expertly - in one hand, she radiated a light welcome, enhanced by the grin she offered. "Nice to meet you." Padding over, she leaned on the fence, leaning her weapon against the top rail along with her elbows. "I'm Fayth." Long lashes swept down as she blinked. "Babies? Plural?"

"Ouch." Fayth's wince was one of wry sympathy, earning her a playful swat over the top rail from Aeris. The taller young woman vaulted over the fence and grinned, rolling her eyes. "Hey, don't give me that." She admonished her niece. "Not everybody is insane with children the way your mom is. Three is a pretty big number, especially for infants."

"Yeah yeah." Aeris snorted, though her smile toward Melody and Alora was utterly playful. "Mom managed. Still manages, most of the time."

"I have help." A cheerful voice commented from the direction of the back door. Leaning against the doorframe, a small, slender young woman about Fayth's age dried her hands on a dish towel, brushing back a few locks of thick, deep blue curls. Unlike her 'sister,' this girl was pale, with delicate, almost elfin features; large, dark green eyes dominated her smiling face from behind a pair of blue-framed glasses. Like Fayth, she also wore jeans, hiking boots and a plain T-shirt. "Your aunts and uncles have been lifesavers more often than they'll admit."

Turning her gaze to Melody and Alora, she grinned and nodded a hello. "I'm Rune, Rune Traverse. I run the Center with Aimee - she's not here right now, but you're Melody, aren't you?"

"They're here to take the babies!" Jewel piped up, grinning from ear to ear. She couldn't help it - Alora seemed like fun, and her mommy seemed a lot like Aunt Fayth, which was more than okay. "And Alora is a D-Corp kid, Mama, just like me!"

Rune grinned, ruffling her daughter's bangs affectionately. "Well, that is good news." She motioned for Melody to follow her, eyes brightly welcome. "You've probably already guessed, but Jewel and Aeris are my little girls. Aeris is a Tenjutsu, as a matter of fact. Just like your babies."

"Anthro golden hawk." The girl agreed cheerfully, motioning toward her headband. "Air element." Her boots padded lightly as she followed her mother down the hall. "We're all different, though."

Jewel nodded, happily taking Alora's hand before heading after their mothers. "They can do magic." She whispered to her new friend. "Not when they're babies, not much, but they learn how to use it. They get to go to school and learn spells and stuff. It's real cool."

Fayth snickered, eyes dancing, and Rune shot her friend a faintly exasperated look over her shoulder before turning back to Melody. "Yes, they're mages - but it's really not that bad when they're younger. And that's what the Academy is for, to teach them to use their magic. You got that brocure with the letter, didn't you?"

Oh, please gods, let it not be a repeat of Yamazaki and Steve.

"Mom can help with mage-proofin' the house." Aeris piped up, amused but earnest. "Ours is, and so's the Center, so you can bring 'em here if you need a break. Sides, most of the babies aren't that strong at all."

Jewel, meanwhile, nodded and grinned. "Different kinds. Aeris is air, but there's dark, and light, and water, and fire, and earth. Oh! And mind and space, and music. And spirit." The little girl looked rather pleased with herself. She'd remembered them all! "They learn to tel-e-port too, and talk with their minds. It's so cool."

"Mama and all my aunts and uncles can, too." Jewel looked almost pouty for a moment. "It's not fair sometimes - but Aunt Fayth says it's easier to cuss a blue streak if you aren't worried about gettin' caught."

Rune raised an eyebrow, hearing this over her shoulder, and threw a glance at Fayth. The redhead held up both hands, wincing. "Oh, come on, you do it all the time!" She defended, though there was a trace of a grin in her eyes. "I've HEARD you, Rune Traverse."

Aeris giggled, and Rune shrugged, amused. "It is a lot to handle, I know." She said to Melody, a hint of sympathy in her voice as she pushed open a nearby door. "Usually, I wouldn't even think of putting three babies in the same home at the same time, but they arrived here together, and well - your name was listed for all three."