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There was one thing that Isi hated about desks. They were always too short, even when taking his small size into account, and his crutches always got stuck underneath them when he was trying to sit down and slip them off without too much of a sound. Of course, the smart thing would be to take his crutches off his arms before he sat down, but Isi had no time to think of things like that. Someone was coming.

He had picked up the Lab's clean vanilla cream telephone when it rang, concerning the new raevan that had been born recently. The tutti-fruity colored frei was somewhere in the back with Eiry, who was doing his best to be a cuddly nuisance, while Isi waited in the front reception room for the new owner to arrive. Isi tried to keep himself entertained by organizing the desk, making it prim and proper for the sake of looking clean (when usually, it was askew and covered with papers that were getting blown off half of the time as raevans zoomed by in play...or anger...depending on who was in the building). He felt odd sitting in the chair so Isi slid back on the linoleum floor and tried to get up, but his crutches got stuck. Trying to jerk himself free, the boy ended up slipping both arms from the straps and he toddled backward from the force.

"Ah!" Isi waved his arms like a windmill, trying his best to claw his way back to balance, but it was no use. His weak legs were going to make him fall. At least the chair was there, Isi thought as he toppled backward, but to his surprise, the chair had rolled quite aways back. So, with a cry, the lab assistant fell to the ground, disappearing behind the desk just as the front doors slid open.

Isi stared up at the young woman from underneath the desk, who was peering at him from the other side of the counter, just moments after the Lab's electronic door slid back shut. The boy sighed, rolling onto his knees so he could grasp the chair and use that as a means to pull himself up. It slid from underneath his grip once or twice, but he managed to wrestle it still enough for him to clamber up onto his wobbly feet.

"Pardon me," he said through grunts as he stood up and dusted himself off, "No, no, not at all, I'm fine. It's fine. Um..."

Isikoro leaned down underneath the desk, making sure that he was gripping the edge so he could stand back up again after he finished fishing up one of his crutches. Damn it, he felt like an idiot now! First day back from weeks of vacation and there he was, falling all over himself like idiot, in front of his first real job too! GUH, Isikoro could have growled in frustration, but he calmly reappeared with a fake smile plastered onto his freckled cheeks as best as he could manage, "Um...I take it you're Miss Finch?" As he spoke with her, he quietly strapped on his crutch before leaning back down to retrieve his other.

"Wonderful to meet you, Kinsey," he said, relaxing as she strayed away from pointing out the obvious metal contraptions in his hands. "My name is Isikoro Etul Delaran. I'm an assistant here at the Lab as well as a raevan owner." The freckle-cheeked youth nodded his head at her in greeting, finally pulling all of himself together before her. He had both arms in his crutches, both loops around his arms, and both feet on the ground. All was fine now. As she asked questions, looking about as lost as a deer on a highway, Isi shook his head, his brown and grey bangs falling into his face. "Nope, I sign the time that you picked up and left with your frei and that's it. Everything else has already been done and filed before you got here."

The boy, hobbled out from behind the desk gesturing with the toss of his head towards through the hallway. "I'll have Eiry bring out your raevan. Are you ready?"

When Isi said that, asked the question that would have no doubt made Kinsey's heart jump to her throat, he paused. For him, he didn't have that luxury, for his own raevan had come through the walls without warning. Isi didn't get that final breath before the fall and instead, he had his breath taken away. So he gave that chance to her now, and waited for her response.

Thankfully, the Lab had quick and efficient paperwork when it came to raevans, one of the few things in the lab that was stable, which Isi was glad for. It made managing the papers and forms and slips rather easy for the workers in the lab like Alex and him. Not only that, but rebuilding the lab certainly had its benefits since things got a little cleaner and more organized. Doors were updated, walls were repainted and the floor was redone with linoleum which was a lot easier to clean up when a fit of playful raevans tumbled through. It was also easy for Isi to walk on, which he enjoyed, as he walked over to the edge of the hallway.

"It'll be just a moment," Isi said, giving her one last warning before he turned to the hallway. He felt his heart give a nervous flutter. He hoped that he was doing this right. For such a momentous occasion, it had to be done right! Right? Right. The boy lifted one hand to his mouth, his crutch sliding in its loop to the crook of his arm as he leaned his full weight on the other. "Hey! Eirdirsceol! Bring your friend out!" he called.

From down the hallway came a bright reply, "Yes, Isi!"

Moments later, a minty form slid through a door, not even bothering to open it for the raevan that would soon be following behind him. Eiry glanced back at the door, realizing that the raevan he had been reading Edgar Allen Poe's Complete Tales and Poetry aloud to, couldn't pass through matter like he. He gave a great laugh, creepy and bone-chilling all the same, as he became tangible and opened the door for the newborn frei.

"Coming," Eiry announced as he took the other frei's hand and gently tugged him through the door, proudly floating through the hallway.

As Eiry led the newborn frei closer and into the light of the reception room, Isikoro carefully hobbled back so he could rest himself against the desk. From there he watched the expressions change on Kinsey's face, excitement to apprehension, apprehension to awe, and awe to utter rapture. Despite feeling a bit irritated still from the events earlier on that day, Isi let a small smile grace his features. He wondered, was this how he looked when he saw his Eirdirsceol for the first time?

As he came into the hallway, Eiry let his smile spread wider over his face. He couldn't understand why, but he felt like he should be smiling his best now. Not his scariest, that was something completely different (and completely better, in his opinion), but...Nice. So he did. A handsome smile that would make his older brother, Rivener, proud. He let his red eyes flicker towards Isi. The crippled boy had stuffed one free hand into his pocket, looking on the situation with a pleasant look on his face. He seemed older than he really was, then, Eiry thought, and the look on Isi's face was...Proud too. Seeing his guardian grin like that to himself tickled something in Eiry that made him smile.

Glancing back around at the newborn frei behind him, Eiry lightly gave a tug, pulling him faster into the room. "Wee one, time to meet your guardian! Your friend, hearthonest, forever to come. Isi is my friend, my guardian. He's very kind to me. Your guardian will be, too, friend with kind heart. Say hello." The minty frei fell back through the other raevan, drifting through him like a wind through the grass and as soon as he was on the other side of him, leaving him wide open to Kinsey, Eiry gave a gentle push with his hands. "Forward float and merry greeting of very first ever time meeting!"

"Good, Eiry," Isi hooted from the desk. He gave a light tap against the wood frame, beckoning his raevan near, "Let them have their space. Come over here."

Eiry nodded his head and obliged, floating to Isi's side. There was a big grin on his face, unlike the grin before.

Isi glanced at his raevan, knowing full well what THAT kind of smile entailed. The boy furrowed his heavy eyebrows at the minty frei and hissed at him, "Eiry, what did you do?"

Eiry simply grinned larger and made a motion with his head to the half page piece of paper he had taped to the new frei's back that said, "Hello! Take me home!" in Old English lettering.

Isikoro slapped a hand to his forehead.

Isi gave another glare to Eiry. He didn't want to be so obvious that Kinsey would notice, but he had to scold his ward. Scolding him after he had done something mischievous wouldn't get through as much if Isi scolded him at the time that he performed the deed. Then again, he also knew that nothing he could say would change Eiry's nature. That was just the way he was.

But that didn't stop him from showing his displeasure.

Slinging his arm around his raevan's shoulders so he could gently hold Ery's neck, Isi gave a quick squeeze with his fingers, the way fathers would quietly scold their children in public places. "Varun, is it?" he piped as Kinsey announced her name choice, "A very suiting name, I think. I'll mark that down on his sheet."

Eiry gave a small squeak when Isi squeezed his neck. With an indignant huff, he willed himself intangible to escape Isi's hand and stuck his tongue out at his guardian's futile attempt to punish him. He thought it was quite hilarious how he could get away with his mischief. He pulled a happy ear to ear smile of pride onto his cheeks and floated through the desk to the other side as Isi searched for paper.

"Varun!" he cooed, "Splenderific name. Though, not as long or pretty as mine."

"Hush up, Eirdirsceol," Isi ordered tersely as he found the newborn raevan's sheet underneath a pile of papers. He pulled it out and, after finding a pen, started writing down Varun's name onto the sheet. When he was done, he filed it away and stood up straight, leaning himself against the desk, "All done."

Picking up a clipboard, Isi stuffed Varun's paper underneath the clip along with a pen. Only one thing more. He made sure he had at least one crutch attached to his arm before he hobbled over to Kinsey and held it out for her to see, "You're free to go home," he said with a smile, "As soon as you sign your name right here, on the dotted line." He gestured as best as he could with his head, for he dared not lift his sole supporting crutch to directly point at the page. "I just need you to sign this line to verify that you did, indeed, pick-up Varun. I've already taken the liberty to fill in the date and time and such, so you needn't worry about that. After that, you're free to go home."

Behind him, his minty frei drifted near, swinging close to Varun with a big ear to ear smile on his face. He really enjoyed being around the new raevans. They reminded him of himself somehow, and he also enjoyed knowing more than them and teaching them fun words to say. In fact, his favorite thing about the new born frei was the fact that they were so gullible! It made Eiry inwardly squeal with glee.

"Yes, splenderific!" Eiry hooted, "Good, good! Use that word well, little one, it is a special one, yes! When we meet again, I hope you can remember it, for I will ask."