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Alice fussed and hovered over Stella, who stood patiently in the hallway of their apartment with her arms outstretched. The only visible features of the Dratini girl were her large eyes and if one looked closely, a small tail peeking just below the hem of the thick, puffy jacket she was wearing. Stella was obviously dressed with warmth in mind, from the top of the sad-looking lopsided homemade bobble hat (complete with homemade yarn pom-pom) to the bottom of her thick, second-hand boots.

"You've been to the bathroom already, right?" Alice asked, adjusting the scarf around Stella's neck and face.

"Yes, mommy-tini," was Stella's muffled reply. Although she didn't tug at the scarf - it was itchy! - she did allow herself one complaint. "Hot."

"I know, I'm sorry," said Alice, giving one last tweak to the scarf. "But it's cold outside, and you don't want to get sick, right?" Stella nodded vigourously. She had seen mommy being sick a few weeks ago; it didn't seem fun having your nose all red and leaking all over the place.

"Okay, you remember to hold on to mommy's hand all the time, especially when crossing the street, right?"

"Yes, mommy-tinni."

"And not to talk to strangers, no matter what they say or if they want to give you something, right?"

"Yes, mommy-tini."

"And always keep mommy in sight, all right?"

"Yes, mommy-tini."

"Good girl." Alice hesitated a little before giving Stella a quick peck on between her eyes (the only visible part of Stella). She had no real experience with children, her babysitting had always consisted of "Hey, let's watch TV until your parents come home!"

So when she had become the (sole) guardian of this strange little girl, she was absolutely terrified.

She still was absolutely terrified.

Hopefully over time, she would become slightly less terrified.

With a slightly shaking hand, she grasped Stella's fat mittened hand in her own gloved hand.

"Ready to go out?" she asked a little too brightly. Stella nodded solemnly.

Within a few minutes they were out of the warm, slightly ramshackle apartment building and on the cold Durem streets, gripping each other's hand tightly.

While Alice had made sure that Stella was bundled up properly (due to amount of sweaters she had on, she was now nearly as wide as she was tall), all Alice had done was thrown on a heavy jacket, a scarf, and a pair of gloves. As the two walked down the street, Alice's teeth chattered slightly and she flexed her free hand, trying to feel her fingers. Having been born and raised in a temperate climate and considering anything under 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius, 294 degrees Kelvin, the thought flashed through her mind) cold, she felt like a solid block of ice, as if moving only through sheer will and the feeling of a small hand enclosed in hers. She thought longingly of warm things, places, of beaches and places where it never snowed.

And, like a answer to her unspoken prayer, a small cafe nestled among the busy department stores came into view. Hearts and ribbons were painted onto the window, and it looked warm. At the sight of the cafe, Alice gave a unbidden sigh of relief.

"How about some hot chocolate?" Alice asked hopefully, pausing in the street to look down pleadingly into Stella's eyes. Stella thought for a moment, then nodded. While the cold didn't bother her - she was a little bit hot, in fact - she could feel Mommy shivering next to her. She actually didn't want hot chocolate, but if she knew that if she had replied "No", Alice wouldn't buy any - not if only she wanted it. Another sigh of relief escaped Alice, and she speeded up a little to hurry into the warmth of the cafe. As they bustled their way into the cafe, the store across the street caught Stella's eye. Tanks of all sizes filled the front window, some with exotic looking fish inside, languidly swimming among the bubbles, while others were filled with the more common goldfish and guppies. There was a big beautiful blue stripy fish covered with pointy ends - and then Alice tugged on her hand and the door swung behind them. As they headed towards the counter, Stella kept on sneaking peaks over her shoulder back at the fish store. She tugged on Alice's coat.

"Mommy-tini, I-"

"Shh, after I give them our order," Alice said automaticly. She was still shivering from the street, but the cafe was deliciously warm and she could feel herself thawing. Stella looked at her unhappily, but Alice was too busy rummaging through her coat for her wallet to notice.

But I want to see the fishes now! Stella knew that once Alice had settled in, it'd take a while for her to warm up to face the streets again. But Stella wasn't cold, and it wasn't fair that she had to wait because Alice was cold!

And then she had a terrible, wicked, horribly naughty thought.

I'll go over to see it by myself. It's only across the street.

Immediately Stella was ashamed of herself. Mommy did tell her to stay with her all the time... but the store was only across the street, and she'd be back before Mommy would notice. And she wouldn't go inside the store, just look at the fishes swimming in the window for a little bit.

Her mind made up, she glanced at Alice to see if would notice if Stella slipped off. She was too busy giving the cashier the order to notice Stella sidle off, out the door, crossing the street to press her face against the aquarium's front window, staring wide-eyed at the fish. Until it was too late.

"Stella, do you want anything el-" And then she became painfully aware of the lack of Stella. "Stella? Stella? Oh my god, STELLA!"

Alice pushed her way out of the store, calling out desperately for Stella. She stood in the entrance of the cafe, looking around desperately, scanning the street. However, street traffic blocked the view of Stella pressed against the glass. And Stella was too entranced with watching the fish to hear Alice calling her over the noise.

"STELLA!" oh god i'm a terrible guardian a terrible parent oh god oh god what do i do where is she stella stella i'm so sorry where are you stella oh god oh god oh god

Stella was so focused on the fishes that she didn't notice Reese right next to her until he pointed at her.

"Fishy?" she repeated, wondering what he meant. Was he asking if she was a fish? She was no fish - she didn't have any flippers or a long finny tail or gills!

"Not fishini," she declared. Staring at Reese and noting his scales, she pointed at him. "You fishy?"

And then she jumped guiltily as she heard Alice screaming "STELLA!"

"Mommy, mommy! Over here, mommy!" she called, jumping up and down. When Alice caught sight of Stella, she gave a shriek of relief, and dashed across the street (also nearly being run over, to which she automaticly replied to the honking, "Up yours!"). Sweeping up Stella in her arms (with the bobble hat falling off and revealing Stella's ear-fins), she gave the Dratini girl a great big squeeze, crying and laughing at the same time. "Stella! Bad girl, didn't I tell you to not leave mommy's side? You gave mommy a scare!" she scolded half-heartedly, obviously relieved that Stella was all right.

Stella still teared up, however. "Stella... Stella's sorry," she sniffled. Alice only smoothed her hair, shushing her. "It's allright; and now you know not to leave mommy, right? You don't want mommy to be scared again, right?"

And then she was aware of her audience.

"Uh. Hello," she greeted the trio awkwardly. Were they there the whole time? Oh, crap.

Boyfriend-? but they're both- OH. She hoped she didn't look as stupid as she felt. "Hello, Mr. Williams. Hello, Mr. Biggs. Hello, Reese," she greeted again, awkwardly. "Say hello too, Stella," she added. Stella shyly looked at the two grown men and gave a mittened wave. "Hello-ni," she said shyly, before burying her face in Alice's shoulder.

She unconciously started shifting from one foot from the other in order to warm up. I left my gloves in the cafe. She reminded herself to do so later.

"Mooooom-niiiii, can we see fishies noooow?" Stella asked in a loud whisper that could be heard by all.

Well, it seemed the men were busy with their own kid, so Alice smiled and nodded at Stella. "Alright." She set Stella back on the ground, holding her hand tightly as they entered the store.

Inside, Stella was greeted by an array of glass tanks and colorful fish. Giving a delighted cry, Stella tugged impatiently on Alice's hand, who let go relunctantly, seeing how eager the girl was. "Now remember, stay inside this time." Stella gave a solemn nod before rushing off, surrounding herself with tanks.

She loved it, especially the dimly lit back, which was stacked from the floor to the ceiling with huge aquarium tanks filled with strange and exotic fishes. The only lighting was from the tanks, creating a sort of eerie atmosphere.

Surrounded by water, Stella felt completely at home.

But now, pull away from Stella and focus a bit of on the store.

The display aquarium is a rather magnificant work of art. It's huge, bigger than a average bathtub - probably about the size of a rather grand and elognated jacuzzi. It's filled with exotic and gorgeous (not to mention expensive) fish, with actual plant life and such. It's obviously the store's prize and joy, as it's not only viewable from the side, but a platform has been built over the water, enabling people to view it from the top.

And that is where Stella is now, staring down at the gently rippling water in the tank.

Stella blinked and found her gaze pulled away from the water below once she realized there was someone standing next to her. Hey, it was the fishy boy from earlier! He seemed to be just as interested as Stella in the fish. She gave a gentle tug on Reese's arm.

"You like fishies, niiii?" she piped up. "Want to swim with fishiniiiis?"

Alice, in the meantime, was standing discretely near the exit. While she was fine handling fish, there was just something eerie for her of being surrounded by gallons of water with gaping fish staring blank-eyed at her through glass. It gave her the heebie-jeebies.

Stella had been taught to follow the rules; unfortunately, one of them hadn't been 'don't swim in fish tanks'. It never even occured to her that doing so was Not A Good Idea. She did remember, however, of Alice telling her not to ruin her clothes, and began to wiggle out of her jackets until she was stark naked.

To be honest, Stella didn't know how to swim either - splashing about in a bathtub just doesn't count. However, something in her DNA called her to the water, and she was responding.

"Readiiii?" she trilled, poised near the railiing.