Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ever since the arrival of her two new younger sisters, things had been better at home for Luska. She felt like she actually might belong and that she didn’t have to worry about being abandoned again. She felt like she actually had a home. Not only that, but her daddy said another toddler would soon be coming, from another lab, to live with them. Yes, her daddy said, she was finally beginning to get comfortable calling him that. That worry, the thought that she might be abandoned again, still was there of course, it would take much longer to full vanish, but it had lessened to a minor worry that no longer preoccupied her mind. She was finally happy, happy without having to distract herself. It was nice.

It was just Vilyum and her today, at the mall; Áróra was trying her hand at babysitting their younger siblings. She wasn’t sure what he was getting, they had parted for a bit, she had wanted to look about on her own for a little while and he didn’t seem to mind. She had saved up some of her allowance, from Vilyum, and had bought more supplies for plush toys. She would have more than enough to make a toy for each of the new arrival and would have plenty to spare. Not that it would last long; he had already bought her a bunch and she went right through them. After they met back up, they would be off tot he food court, but for now, all she had to do was wait. She had finished rather early and was sitting on a bench, their designated meeting spot. With a sigh, she smiled and looked through her bag once again. She knew what was there, but still, it was nice looking through it and planning what she might make.

After looking through her bag, for what must have been the third time, she wondered how much time she had left to wait for Vilyum. She wished they had picked a sooner time, so that she didn’t have to wait any longer; waiting wasn’t something she enjoyed. She had enough of that while waiting in the lab. It was her own fault though, she had thought it would take her longer in the store and had been the one to decide they time they would meet. That didn’t make her any happier about it though.

She pulled her purse onto her lap, her pocket watch was inside. She smiled as she looked down at Sunny, her plush tiger, sticking out of one side of it. He always made her smile. Unclasping the purse, she dug around for a moment, to find the pocket watch. Still a while to go, she thought as she gazed at the time, before placing it back into her relatively small, pink purse.

With a sigh, she looked up and around, glancing at the random people walking about. Her vision passed many people; one of those was a man with golden head wings and a tail, who had on his shoulders a baby with a gold feathered halo, two tentacles, and a tail. She kept scanning, when a thought suddenly jumped to the front of her mind. Was that, um, was that Vincent? And was that his baby on his shoulders? It had to be, how many people could there be that looked like him? I haven’t seen him in ages.

“Um, Vincent?” she called out to the man, noticeably nervous.

Luska nodded when he said Luska. “Yes, it’s Luska.” It had been a while, so his momentary forgetfulness was understandable, but still, it would have been nice if hers had been the first name he recalled. “Well,” she began, “Lulu was taken back to the lab, by her first parent. She was there for a while but was readopted. Her new daddy is nice and has a lot of other kids. Lulu thinks it might work this time. She has a lot of little sisters now.” When she first started she had looked a bit sad, the memories and wounds were still fresh, but towards the end of her statement, she was looking up and had a smile. Things had been better as of late.

“Lulu was shopping for materials to make plushies,” she answered as she held the back open for him to see, “Now she is waiting for her daddy; he should be coming to meet her soon!” She waved slightly at Bentley as Vincent removed him from his shoulders. “Hello Bentley,” she said with a wide smile, “Yes, Lulu remembers Kaleb. Really? How much has he grown? And you now have a fiancée and a child; it sounds like a lot has happened.” A tint of sadness seemed to touch her face for a moment; so much has happened out here, while at the lab, it felt like time just stood still. She had missed so much. She would just have to live that much more! As she continued, the sadness that had suddenly appeared vanished. “So you have a fiancé? Were you thinking of getting her a craft? Lulu always enjoys making her dolls and plushies!”

“He is so cute!” she giggled as Bentley reached towards her. “Do you think Lulu could hold him? Would he like a plushy? Lulu could make him one. It would take a bit of time, but Lulu would be happy to.”

“You were taken back to the lab as well?” Luska echoed back at Vincent. She hadn’t realized that he had been. She couldn’t help but wonder how often this happened. How many kids from the labs were abandoned, only to be adopted a second time? Were there any that were taken back twice and adopted a third? She hoped not and she hoped she wouldn’t be the first. “Lulu hopes you are right. She hopes that it does work out this time.”

Luska nodded with a wide smile, and stated, “Yep! Lulu makes plushies. Lulu made Sonny here.” Holding up the plush tiger for Vincent to see, she added, “He doesn’t look that well made, but Lulu didn’t have the best materials to work with while she was in the lab. Just some scraps. She has all sorts of materials now though!”

“Oh, he is? Well now he is older than Lulu,” she said softly. She found it strange, how different kids from the labs seemed to age at different rates. Kids who were once her age or younger, were suddenly older then her. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was partially due to return to the lab. Inside the lab, life seemed stagnate and unchanging, maybe that was why she didn’t grow. Maybe she had to be out living, experiencing change, so that she could change. Thinking hard, she replied, “Lulu doesn’t think she knows her. Maybe she will like it though. It is fun.”

“Aww, he is adorable,” Luska squealed as she held Bentley close. “Hello little guy, how are you?” she asked him, the smile on her face seeming to spread from ear to ear.