Welcome to Gaia! ::

Hands on his hips, Evan Luck stepped back to survey his domain with approval. Sure, everything was built for individuals three feet tall and under. Sure, everything was bite-proof and all sharp edges were wrapped or ground down. Still it was his home away from home and he could not have been prouder of it. The Liberty Center proved not only generous to the daycare but remarkably easy-going about anything its caretakers decided to do - something the free-spirited empath appreciated with all of his huge heart.

Today's adventure had come to him the previous week as he made a rare side trip into the classrooms of the older kids. He had paused in Lindy's room, stared at the bright colors, and felt the lightning bolt hit. Xi had taken a bit of convincing and he had dutifully sent home notes to parents about wearing old clothing but... The first art immersion day was all set to begin.

All of the furniture had been moved to the edges of the room with the tables creating barriers between the empty middle space and the rest of the furniture. Stretched and pinned carefully throughout the center were white sheets of heavy fabric. Every bit was securely fastened so the carpet would be safe. More fabric covered the tables and there were rows upon rows of paint pots, brushes, markers, and everything color-making arranged atop them. The kids were going to have a blast, he thought. Art to their heart's content and all over the floor, too!

Bracing one hand against the wall, Evan angled a foot up to tug off his neon-green sneaker and then his sock. They were dropped on a high shelf and it was only a moment before the other set joined them. Then he bent and began rolling up the legs of his ancient, already-splattered jeans.

"Hey!"

Evan almost fell over but caught himself with a quickly outflung hand. He turned his head and grinned at Ignacio Garcia, the daycare's most regular helper. "Hey, yourself," he returned. He regarded the teen's choice of tank top and ripped, baggy jeans. His feet were already bare. There was still the touch of surreal, medieval-fantasy jewelry to the boy, though - his headband remained and Evan noticed a flash of gold at his ankle, too, before dismissing it. "Ready to roll around in some paint?"

"Oh, yeah. Totally." Iggy flashed a white, toothy smile. "It's gonna be great. I hope a lot of kids come."

"Me, too." Evan nodded towards another shelf. "Why don't you take point for the shoes?" he asked. "When they come in, collect anything that we want to protect and put it up there, okay?"

Iggy fired off a salute and loped over to the shelving beside the door. Evan laughed and shook his head before turning to check some paints. This was definitely going to be... interesting.

But Noë was not alone in her awe of the older boy. Another baby in a faded, somewhat baggy white-and-black blotched onesie thud thud thudded behind her in a speedy crawl. He pressed himself up on his feet just long enough to grab tightly at Iggy's calf. The dark-haired boy looked at the little girl warily for a moment, then stared up at Iggy with wide, adoring blue eyes.

"Ah, Dallas used to fight tooth n' nail to keep from here, now I can't keep up with the speedy lil' tumbleweed," a voice called from the hallway. A lanky, tanned man, wearing faded jeans and an old plaid shirt, sauntered up beside Max at the doorway. He twisted the rim of his white cowboy hat (a hat which he should have taken off when he entered the daycare) as he leaned over and peeked into the playroom.

"This kiddie corral is all set for some fingerpaintin', eh? I'll tell ya, that boy of mine is an expert at paintin'. He ain't got no motor control but ya can tell fine enough. He might be better than ol' Suharto one day." He grinned a toothy grin and nodded his head to Max, then to Iggy. "An' howdy to you, sirs. Pardon me for runnin' my mouth off like that."

Max glanced back at the lanky cowpoke and returned the grin as the bird-winged girl slipped past them. "He is a lively little fella, isn't he? Mister... Suharto, is it?" He held out his hand to the other man. "Max Wilson-Quant. The little girl there in the blue, she's... mine," he smiled, watching her. It still felt a bit funny sometimes, the idea that Noë was his, but most of the time -- like now -- it was a wonderful feeling, knowing the bright, adventurous child looked to him as her father.

"Goggie," Noë beamed. Following Dallas' lead, she wrapped her arms around Iggy's other leg and waived at the little blue-eyed boy. "Hello. You goggie-boy's fwiend?"

Laughing, Iggy shot a welcoming wink at Bishop before he bent abruptly at the waist in an overdramatic attempt to study the babies clinging to his legs without dislodging them. "Hey, Dallas," he laughed. "It's good to see you, too, buddy. I was hopin' you'd come today. Evan's got some stamp things that you'll like." Then he shifted his attention to the rather more chatty girl on his other leg, grinning until he bared his pointed canine teeth at her in a friendly manner. "Goggie, huh? Guess I am, kinda, except Dad says I'm more wolf. Which is like a big doggie," he explained. Reaching down, he ruffled her hair. "Ready t' paint?"

Evan rolled his eyes but his grin was huge as he moved towards the parent-figures. "Hey, there," he offered lazily, one hand out to them. "I'm Evan Luck, in charge of this nuthouse. Are you both sticking around? You don't have to, though. Iggy's the best helper we have. They'll all be safe as houses."

Bishop simply removed her shoes, noting the two people in charge were bare foot. She winked back at the wolf boy and felt a bit of pity for him, he seemed to be having fun but it'd be impossible to move if the two little kids clinging t his leg never let go. Still she had to admit they were pretty cute kids and for a moment the amber yes girl flashed back to when Rook was younger and smaller than her.

"Noë!" the little girl in question announced. "My name is Noë!" She finally noticed Bishop, and her eyes widened at the green-clad girl with the wings in her hair. "Oooooo, birdeh," she cooed; maintaining her grip on Iggy's leg, she waved. "Pwetty! C'n you fwy?"

Bishop laughed softly and shook her head " Nope I can't fly but it's ok." She extended her headwings a little and let their feathers ruffle then reset before returning the appendages to their normal place. " It's nice to meet you all, I'm Bishop." For the amber eyed girl with was something new and fun, she hadn't had a chance to really just muck aroudn and play with anyone not family for a while

The owl like girl just giggled a bit " Mmhmm maybe you need surgery to cut them off"