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MoogerMint strode into the park with a slight bounce to her step, the clean air seeming to make her happier with each waking moment. Beside her, her foster son Hajari rode on the pitch-blue wolf Pyromia, hands grasped around his blood red ears tightly as his eyes followed the movements of the many banir kinder playing in the park. His heart began to race as he felt uneasiness flow throughout his body. MoogerMint, upon seeing this, smirked lightly. The same thing had happened only days earlier when he met his first friend, she felt it would turn out like before. He may still be able to make close friends with these new children, like he had done while fishing.

She placed a soft hand on the harpy's back, making Hajari jump in surprise. He looked up at his kitsune mother, eyes wide in mild terror. She smiled sweetly to him, knowing that the young kinder was a very nervous type. "Don't worry, Haj. They won't hurt you. Besides, me and Py will be here to protect you if anything goes wrong," she ensured, rubbing his back.

Hajari looked about, unsure. "But... what if they're mean? What if they don't like me?" he asked, voice shaking.

MoogerMint sighed. "You're gonna have to get rid of that negative energy, hon. Soon, you're going to be attending school and you'll have to do it alone. You need to get used to meeting new people. Now, go out and have some fun. Py?"

"But--!" Hajari started, but was cut off when Pyromia began moving forward, toward the other kinder. Hajari began to shake lightly, but visibly. Pyromia, upon noticing this, soothed, "Don't worry. It'll be just like before." Hajari, being rather pessimistic, couldn't control how he felt though. As they inched closer toward the slide, Hajari's taloned feet curled inward and his legs rose slowly to his chest as he began curling himself into a ball. But Pyromia continued to move forward, and took the initiative for the young harpy child. "Hello, everyone. My name is Pyromia, and this here is Hajari. A pleasure to meet you all."

Hajari moved his hands from his emerald green eyes, unsure. He lifted a shakey hand, waving it to the others. His throat was tight, however, and he couldn't seem to find his voice.

Pyromia nodded slowly, turning back to the nervous Hajari. "See? They're nice. Now, go meet them," the wolf whispered to the boy. Hajari looked at him funny before Pyromia lowered his backside down and Hajari nearly tumbled off, caught off-guard.

As he caught his balance, stumbling slightly, he looked at the three in front of him wide-eyed. He turned back to Pyromia, but was ensured no additional moral support but a steady wolven stare. His shoulders hunched up a little as he walked slowly forward, stopping in front of Tsukiko, the one closest to him. "Wh-What are you guys... playing?" he managed to stutter. It was rather embarrassing for him, to give this side of him as his first impression to them, but it was impossible for him to act any differently.

As he noticed Tsukiko's tail wag swiftly behind him, Hajari managed a smile. He knew from experience that canines wagged their tails when they were happy, for he lived with a pack of wolves. Could this mean that he was happy to see him? He giggled faintly and smiled at Tsu, still a little nervously but the feeling gradually fading.

Hajari stood stiffly in silence for a few moments. His eyes were unfocused after Yoko spoke, thinking not if he wanted to play, but if he could. He bit at an index finger unconsciously as a determined inner voice spread across his mind; I will not just sit out and watch, I am able to do this! I can if I want to, and I want to! He focused on his muscles, tensing and untensing them slowly to get rid of the nervous twitches. His mother had taught him that trick, and now seemed to be the perfect time to use it. Inhaling and exhaling slowly, he glanced back at the twins, eyes blaring with confidence, and smiled. "I don't know if I'm very good, or fast, but I'll try," he said.

Suddenly struck with an afterthought, he realized that he had never actually played tag before. He had heard of it, but he didn't really know if Yoko and Tsukiko played with any special rules. He knew that sometimes there were 'safe' zones, and sometimes there were other special things added to the game to make it more fun. Was this game one of those? Not wanting to play it wrong, and to make sure he was thinking of the right game, he asked, "H... How do you play?" He was a little embarrassed, thinking that this was a game that maybe all little kids should know about.

Hajari snuck a glance at Yoko, a little confused over his tone and body language. He was above average in being open to such things, but Yoko's reactions confused him. Was he angry at Hajari for some reason? Was there some other reason he was acting so... carefully? Having a child's mind didn't help matters much, but Hajari figured if he just acted as himself, things might blow over between the two of them.

(( No problem! I've had the same problem, and I know it's difficult to reply during the week. ))

Hajari, caught by surprise as he was yanked away, blinked wide-eyed, nearly tripping on his own talons as he was forced to run. As he began to realize what was going on (with help from the silent Tsukiko), he gripped Tsu's hand tighter so he wouldn't slip from his grasp and ran as fast as one could with talons. Though, with the talons, Hajari found his footing to be precise and strong, not slipping at all. He flashed a wide grin up at Tsukiko, showing the dog-like demon that he was having fun, giggling a little in emphasis.

Pyromia sat steadily, watching the three banir kinder children playing and was filled with happiness. Not only had Hajari made two new friends, he did it all on his own! It filled him with a mild sense of pride, smiling as he watched the three run off. He wagged his tail slowly, not turning an eye away from their game.

Hajari stumbled a little over a log, but he was getting the hang of this game! All he really had to do was run, right? Away from Yoko... He turned around to snatch a peek at the silver-haired banir, after he was sure he wouldn't run into anything while doing so, and saw that he was gaining. He yelped a little in surprise, but looked to Tsukiko for a bit of guidance. He nodded when Tsu had pointed to the monkey bars, releasing his tight grip on the boy and struggling to keep up. As he turned, Haj followed eagerly, heading for the other side of the monkey bars than where Tsu was aiming for. That way they could both climb up at once.

MoogerMint smiled as she watched them run around, though she couldn't get rid of a nagging hint of doubt. She shrugged it off, determined to be a little more trusting than she was. Seeing Shin on the swings, she remembered Yoko's introduction of him and, deciding after a moment's thought, walked over to meet with him. She strode over to an empty seat beside him and sat down. As she watched the boys in their game, she smiled and said, "They can be a handful, but they're worth it in the end." She turned to Shin and held out her hand, "I'm MoogerMint, the mother of Hajari over there. It's nice to meet you."

Spinning around to face the ladder as he grabbed onto the side bar, he hastily tried to regain his balance as he grabbed it with both hands. After lifting his foot to step on the metal ladder's first step he reached up for the next with his second foot, kicking the bar with a blunt talon. It bounced back with the force of his foot, as if he had kicked it, and looked down at his leg with a scrunched face. There was no time for this! His feathered tail bristled and he continued to climb up the ladder, ignoring the pain in his toe, though it was much milder than it would've been if it hadn't been for his claw.

Hajari grunted a little as he tried to climb, and as he reached the top leg of the ladder he realized he was too short to reach the top. He grasped tightly at the bars on either side of him and tried to lift himself up, but he wasn't strong enough. He took a quick peek at where Yoko was, and yelped when he realized how close he was. He turned back to the top of the monkey bars and noticed that Tsukiko was directly above him, reaching his hand out for Hajari to grab. With all he could muster, he jumped and snatched a hold of his open hand, hoping it would work.

MoogerMint smiled in return to Shin's own before turning her head to watch them play, still listening. The two twins seemed very different in personality, yet attached to one another all the same in a way no normal siblings could understand. She understood how it could be difficult to take care of not only one, but two kinder so close together, and seemed to sense this worry emanating from the hunter. She shook her head, "They're adorable, and so sweet! I'd say you're doing a great job raising the two of them."

As Hajari was lifted to the top of the bars, his eyes grew wide. Tsukiko was pretty strong! As if on second thought and partly on instinct, Hajari tucked his taloned feet quickly in and fanned his downy-feathered tail up and out, helping Tsukiko to get him out of range of Yoko's hand. His heart jumped as he felt the light breeze from Yoko's hand whip past him, and he gave Tsukiko a smile after he took a breath. He was now on top of the monkey bars, knees uncomfortably but safely braced on a bar and his hands clamped around another as he panted, exhilerated. He laughed a little in triumph, but it was stressed a little by his slowly-untensing body.

He watched silently as Tsukiko almost trampled his brother when he jumped down, a little nervous now that he was escaping Yoko's grip on his own. However, as Tsu dashed off, his brother trailing behind, he realized what he was trying to do. Although his face still displayed a bit of shock, he was smiling beneath it. Thanks, Tsu, he confided, rising to his feet, wobbling a little in an attempt to try to balance on the bars.

Pyromia watched from afar, jumping a little as Hajari stood up. He's not going to try to mimic the other's escape, is he!? he thought, concern and fear swelling in his chest. He rose himself as he watched the harpy, ready to dash off after him if it seemed he may injure himself.

Hajari still panted slightly, trying to regain his bearings as he stood still, but only for a few moments. As Tsukiko had declared before to himself, Hajari also found that staying above Yoko when he couldn't climb so fast was indeed cheating. He closed his eyes for a moment or two, and almost as if on cue, a strong wind began whipping his brick red hair about his face. He opened his pale green eyes as the wind barrage continued and turned around slowly on the bars to take off in the opposite direction Tsukiko and Yoko took off in. In a moment of silence, Hajari spread his arms and wings out, and took a leap off the top.

Pyromia gave off a sound somewhere between a surprised yelp and an aggrivated growl, beginning to take off with lightning speed, but stopped dead in his tracks as he realized what the toddler was doing. He gaped in awe as Hajari glided safely to the ground, almost toppling over when he tried to land on his feet. As his feet touched the ground, the wind slowed dramatically before ceasing altogether, leaving Pyromia awe-stricken as he watched the harpy take off for the swings. Di... Did he just do what I think he did? And was he the one who conjured up that gust of wind? Pyromia stuttered, even in his own mind, at the unbelieveable occurance. Hajari had never shown any kind of supernatural power, or even the ability to fly yet.

MoogerMint tried to hide it, but she giggled when she saw Shin's uncertainty. "You're very welcome. Your best seems to be working," she said, smiling broadly. Her eyes dashed to Pyromia as he tore off, and followed ahead of his path. She saw Hajari jumping from the top of the monkey bars and jumped to her feet, snapping a fearful, "Oh my God!" She watched as her son made a safe landing, but her heart continued to pound in her chest wildly. She stared in disbelief as the harpy boy took off running. "H... Haj...?" she mumbled, watching him head for a separate set of swings across the playground. Her head snapped back to Shin, her eyes still wide, and gasped, "He's never done that before!" She slumped back into the swing's chair, shaking her head. "What's going on!?"