Working as a lawyer who specialized in children's cases was tough. It was hard seeing all the kids who didn't have good families, who were abused, neglected, and left to fend for themselves. Natalia hated seeing the kids cry and act out because the parents weren't the best, putting them in the middle of the dispute like they were some object.

It was tragic. Worse yet, some kids thought that that was acceptable behavior from parents. Sickening, awful. Each court hearing went over the injustice that the guardians mistreated the children with. Fights in court, even with guards being present, were extremely common. If she had the knack to listen to criminals talk about their crimes in order to get the notes for prosecution, she would have decided to go into the protective agency. As it stood though, she couldn't. Tried. Failed. Natalia just didn't have the knack of keeping pleasant around someone who hurt freshlings.

She wished she could take a few of those kids in. After court proceedings were done, and parents were put in jail, it called for a celebration for some lawyers. Even she wanted to cheer and shout when they were finally able to convict someone for their crimes. The thought of the child did hold her back.

Sure, the guardian was locked away. But what became of the kid? If they were fortunate, they had family there that was willing to take them in. Family who loved them possibly more than the parents ever did. Not all kids were lucky like that though, as unfortunate as it was. And the older they were, the less likely they'd be adopted out. It was...so sad. Natalia so badly wanted to adopt every child that didn't have a home afterwards.

But how could she? That wouldn't be fair to the child either. There were always going to be cases of child neglect and abuse for her to work on. She didn't have the time to raise a child from a broken home and work on their issues together. They deserved loving and devoting parents. Natalia knew she wouldn't be able to devote her time, as much as she wanted to. Her work left her conflicted, to say the least.

Never did she ever think that she'd be able to have a child of her own. But then, never did she ever believe that she would imbue. Of course, she had added to the magic cache in her college days. Money was tight and her schedule didn't allow her to work much. As a battery, she could easily give a bit of magic to those that were in need. But getting a stone with someone? That didn't even cross her mind.

Not until today.

Jaiya had brought up getting a few stones to imbue. Natalia had said she'd think about it. It was a big decision to make, after all. Freshlings. With Jaiya. It was a life long commitment. Were they ready for that? She was at work so often that she didn't know if she could be there for the child as much as she'd like.

Jaiya would be at home though. The thought stuck to her mind like super glue. Jaiya worked from home. Was the neko responsible enough to take care of a little one? Of course, of course. She always was on time with rent. Was always timely about dinner. Natalia was sure she'd be loving to a child.

It...wasn't a bad idea. The thought of other children in need stalled her, made her deep in thought. How could she imbue when there were dozens of others out there needing homes? They should be adopting, not imbueing together.

But could Jaiya handle a child who might have other issues? She doubt it. Not many could. It took a special sort of person to understand and help kids that come from broken homes to have a better life. Maybe...maybe when they had more experience.

There was only one way to do that though. Imbue their own stone. Natalia would love to adopt kids of their own. To have a bustling family to come home to and take care of. Maybe...imbuing could be a first step in that direction. It was the ultimate test. Either way, their kids would be loved. Natalia would make sure of it. And she was sure going to raise her kid to look out for their friends and others, to invite them into their home if they didn't feel safe at their own.

She turned around in bed to stare at Jaiya. Come morning, she'd tell her. They were ready.

WC: 769