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It had been a long time since Han-hui had been a kid Kaleb's age. So long that she had forgotten just how much effort it took to keep a kid entertained. That wasn't to say that Kaleb was hard to entertain. There just wasn't much in the small apartment to keep a young boy's attention for long. At least it gave Han-hui a good reason to get out of the house instead of staying cooped up, glued to her books.

After the bus ride, the ticket fees, the bottled water, and now the little bag of popcorn in her charge's hand, Han-hui was beginning to think being cooped up in the apartment wasn't so bad. Entertaining kids is expensive. She heaved a sigh but smiled as she watched the white-haired boy trot along the dirt path to see the animals in their pens.

Today Kaleb's hair had been braided into a tight tail to keep it out of his way, and ideally out of the mouths of any goats or other animals curious or hungry enough to think of catching hold of it. Han-hui idly wished it were long enough to be a leash as she quickened her pace to keep up with her enthusiastic companion. "Hey, Kaleb, wait up! You're gonna lose me!"

As she caught up to her young charge by the animal pen, Han-hui realized another excellent reason to stay close to him at all times. He provided some small but all-too-welcome relief from the inexorable smell of animal waste that permeated the grounds. Han-hui leaned closer to Kaleb as he stood up against the fence and stared at the pony behind it.

Kaleb had found a spot near a red-headed girl and decided to try his luck. The animals seemed friendly enough. Now if he could just get one to come close enough to touch... He reached out his hand, hoping it would be curious enough to come investigate.

Han-hui smiled and leaned down on the fence beside him. "Here, try this." She rounded her lips and whistled, dangling her fingers at the pony. As she watched the pony's ears swivel to catch the sound, she clicked her tongue, hoping to coax the pony over so Kaleb could have a turn to pet it.

Nudged in the new direction, the pony flicked its ears, snorting a little as it caught a whiff of a new smell. The other one smelled like sugar, which was a very tasty smell, and a bit like other nice things. This was a strange smell, a nice smell... a smell that excited it and bewildered the four-legged creature all at once. It smelled a bit like apples, and a bit like peppermint, both of which were very, very good smells. It nosed at Kaleb's hand as the boy reached out, then tentatively licked it. Hmm! Interesting! Refreshing! ....So very strangely delicious! Making a delighted sound through its nose, it continued licking Kaleb's hand, which caused the white-haired boy to erupt into a fit of giggles.

"It tickles! It tickles! Look!" Kaleb managed to squeal to his guardian.

Han-hui raised her brows and gave a light laugh. "And here I thought you were supposed to be the one doing the petting." She leaned closer to her charge and his new friend, patting the animal softly behind the ear while it lapped at Kaleb's palm, grinning as she breathed in the child's scent. "Hm... Seems like you and I aren't the only ones who like the way you smell."

Startled by the face thrust in his own, Kaleb moved back instinctively and lost his footing on the fence, caught in a flash by the outstretched arm of his guardian. "Whoops! Alley-oop!" Han-hui said as she gently propped the boy up against the fence again.

Wide-eyed, Kaleb stared back at the red-headed girl and smiled, a little embarrassed. "Thanks...?" he said, not sure what else to say. "Sometimes Hanna says I smell like Christmas, too."

Han-hui chuckled a little herself, just to diffuse the awkwardness. "Kids. Always so excitable, huh?" she remarked to the other lady. Her eyebrows lofted for a brief moment at the woman's explanation. "Candles, huh?" She glanced at Kaleb, and then turned back to the woman. "Candles are nice. I usually only have them during the cooler months, but sometimes smelling Christmas in summer is just really refreshing. I'm not sure why, but Kaleb goes around smelling like Christmas all the time."

Kaleb blinked a bit, still getting over the surprise of being confronted so suddenly. "My name's Kaleb." Another blink, and another smile, which grew wide as everything Remi had been chattering about finally clicked into place.

Han-hui chuckled. "Thankfully, Kaleb's pretty well-behaved, but sometimes it seems like he doesn't have as much common sense as a kid his age should have. It's so confusing to be responsible for shaping a little one's view of the world, you know?"

"You're a Scent like me!" Kaleb said, a little too loud in his excitement. Craning his neck a little to sniff at the air around Remi, Kaleb brightened even more. "You are! I like you!" Kaleb declared, kicking off the fence to launch himself at Remi with a big hug.

"Goodness, Kaleb!" Han-hui exclaimed, laughing in surprise. "What's gotten into you?" She tugged at his shoulder, thoroughly embarrassed, although she suspected the little girl didn't mind at all.

Kaleb beamed up with his arms around Remi's shoulders. "She's a Scent, like me! Remi and me are Scents!" Turning to face the fragrant girl, he said to her, "You're the first one I've met since I became a kid Scent! I'm so happy!"

Han-hui blinked and stared at the the two children. "Are you sure about that, Kaleb?" she asked, laughing nervously. The little red-headed girl's earlier words were beginning to make sense, but she didn't want to assume anything and be thought crazy. "You're a very special boy and I'm not sure there are a whole lot of kids just like you." She looked back at the other lady, panic and confusion written all over her face. Keeping her voice low, she asked the woman, "You say she was a... housewarming present? I also got a special present once, and when it was gone, I somehow ended up with Kaleb..."

The scene slowly floated back to her. The delicate-looking gift-wrapped box, the glass bottle with the gilded label. The name of the shop on that label, which she had seen time and time again when she had taken a little more of the incense oil to pour in the burner to perfume her apartment, to relax after a hard day, to relive bygone, bittersweet memories.

Han-hui shook her head. "If you don't mind... could you tell me more?"

Kaleb's hand slid down from around Remi's shoulders to squeeze her hand excitedly, happy to be bonding with another Scent. "That would be great! Then we can all smell like Christmas together at the same time!" He giggled.

Meanwhile, Han-hui's head was still reeling. It had been difficult enough to accept the undeniable reality of Kaleb, a boy who had popped out of an oil burner, and she wasn't sure how to feel about there being more than one. Her mouth hung open as her thoughts whirled around. "I... just... wow." Touching her hand to her head for a brief moment, she gave another laugh and shook her head. "Its all so crazy. On the one hand, I guess it's nice to know that I'm not the only one, on the other hand... kids that pop out of oils?" Midori had its share of the magical and mystical, but the black-haired girl had never expected that she would have a piece of that magic right in her home. Yet there he was, green eyes sparkling with joy, pearly teeth beaming from ear to ear, standing next to another piece of magic just like him.

Turning back to Remi, Kaleb took a deep breath, filling his lungs with his new friend's aroma. "I like Gingerbread! It smells like warm and cozy and yummy." He giggled more.

Shaking her head again, as if the thoughts would just fall into place if she rattled them hard enough, Han-hui looked at the two children... the mysterious Scents. "Well, I guess after Kaleb, it shouldn't be too hard to believe anything now. He came out of a huge cloud of smoke and a flash of light." She smiled, giving a small laugh. "Goodness knows he smelled heavenly doing it, too. I thought he was an angel at first." Brushing her hair behind her ear, she sighed. "Solace Scents... Solace Scents. I'm going to have to find that shop sometime. I'd been meaning to go from the very beginning but couldn't be bothered to go looking for it. Guess there's no excuse for it now."

"Solace Scents!" Kaleb echoed, still giggling giddily. "That's where Hanna told me I came from. That's where we come from, right?" He turned to the girl beside him. "Have you been there lots?"

Han-hui's eyes perked up from where they had hidden under dark, furrowed eyebrows. "Ah, by the way, I do believe I haven't introduced myself yet. Better do it now, since our kids seem to be determined to be best friends." She giggled quietly and stuck out her open palm. "My name's Han-hui, but you can call me Hanna. It's easier."

Frowning sympathetically, Kaleb gently squeezed Remi's shoulder. "Sad? Why was it sad?"