Welcome to Gaia! ::

Shiori decided to have a seat at the picnic table and settled Kisala on her lap. The little girl looked very off-put at not being allowed to wander about and squirmed some more until Shiori finally caved and let her down, though she kept one of Kisala's little hands in her own to make sure she didn't tear off for the forest or anything.

The little girl wobbled inexpertly back over to where Victor and Estelle stood, looking up at them and inspecting for any shiny objects. Shiori found herself hoping neither had decided to wear any ankle jewelry or anything, as it would probably find itself in the child's hands before long.

"Do you come up here often?" she asked. She'd never really met either of them before, and wondered if this was a regular gathering, as their children seemed to know each other fairly well. She hoped she wasn't intruding, at least. But she did like this area. There was a spot just off the lake she could see that might make a perfect meditation area.

...not that she got time for meditation outside of the Temple...or inside it, really, with Kisala tagging along all the time.

"Yeah, if anyone's going to get in an accident it'll be Riley. And it won't be the first time," Runeh commented with a smile that would commonly be found on a fox. Not the most reassuring image, to be sure.

Not wanting the have the youngster unattented, Victor motioned for Kai to go down and join the children. He did so with a nod and without complaint. What Victor said, went. That was how it always was. Victor turned back to the adult guests. He offered a smile towards Shiori, "Actually this is our first time here. My friend always told me he had a place at a lake, but I had never seen it before."

Riley had leaped off the dock right when she got there, making a huge splash in the process. When she came back up her hair was dripping and she was blinking her eyes to clear them of water. She then waved to her friends, grinning. She even encouraged the little Binkie Boy. "Come on, Harper! You're practically walking faster then Antony!" It was a friendly tease, nothing more.

"Yay Harper!" Manuela cheered as the toddler reached the water, blissfully ignoring the woman's rude comment. She liked this place, Riley and her brothers came up with nice ideas. "Are there any fish here?" she asked Riley, cautiously going deeper into the water. It would be neat to catch a fish while she was here, even if it was just for a few seconds.

Estelle looked over toward the kids with a frown, "Well, I don't know about normal, but I know I wouldn't change anything about Manny. She's my little miracle." That statement may have been biased though, as she knew that she was a biological parent, which as far as she knew, none of the others were.

Riley didn't really understand what the strange lady was saying, but she certainly didn't like the nasy look she was giving them. So she politely stuck out her tongue and pulled the bottom of her eyelid with a finger, making a face in response,"Neeehh." Well, wasn't she being quite the charmer?

She stopped upon being addressed by Manny. "Mm...I dunno! Let's find out!" She ignored Shade's call only because he had said "ladies" which didn't apply to her. Or at least it didn't click in her mind as such, so the comment had gone over her head. She ducked down in the water, being the only one who knew how to swim, and drifted about blinking through the murky liquid to see if there was anything else there that...well...wasn't the kids.

"Well, they weren't born normally after all," Victor replied, seeming unsurprised by the question, "So...it's no wonder some of them are a bit different. Our Riley has sparrow genes in her." If this weren't gaia, which was full of strange things, one would say many of the children were freaks.

"He won't drown," Shade called to the lady on the shore. "I'll keep an eye on him--" Right then Antony started to go under and Shade darted forward, catching his son under the arms and hauling him back up. "Use both arms and legs, kid, now try again."