House Tour
The next morning, Nicholas awoke to a face full of black fur and a slight pressure on his chest. After pushing Kuro off and picking her hair out of his mouth, he blinked and slowly took a look around. He’d only gotten glimpses of the guest house last night before he’d practically passed out, but it was mostly the same as what he’d seen of the main house’s common area. Same oddly bright red wallpaper, same hardwood floors, and the same old-fashioned patterned drapes. The only differences were Nicholas’ belongings thrown into a corner and the meowing blob looking up at him in anticipation.
“Quiet down,” Nicholas mumbled, still caught in the haze of sleep. “I didn’t forget your breakfast.”
Kuro, the smart cat that she was, obeyed, swapping her pitiful noises for impatiently bumping her nose against his legs.
Nicholas stood and walked to the small kitchenette. Halfway through opening a cabinet, he made a very important realization: the guest house had no food.
He sighed, patting Kuro’s fluffy head. “Guess we’ll be headin’ to the main house earlier than I thought.”
Motivated by an empty stomach and an increasingly frustrated cat, Nicholas quickly, and perhaps a little sloppily, changed into his professional attire, beginning the quick trip over to scrounge up some breakfast.
The closer he got to the door, the more jittery he became, picking at his fingernails and kicking at wayward rocks. He reached the porch, taking the steps two at a time, and meticulously fixed his posture before raising his hand to knock.
He never got the chance, the door swinging open before he could lower his fist.
“Nic—Wolfwood!” Vash was leaning on the doorframe, his golden hair pulled into a loose bun. A few strands had come loose, framing his face and settling near his jaw, and he was wearing the same apron Lina had worn the previous day, looking at Nicholas with a shining smile plastered across his lips. “I was beginning to think you’d forgotten about us.”
“Y’all are pretty hard to forget about,” Nicholas said, careful not to look directly into the man’s overly bright eyes.
“Fair enough,” Vash snorted, waving Nicholas in as he moved away from the door. “You’re just in time to help with breakfast.”
Nicholas entered, cautious and alert. He still wasn’t used to being freely welcomed into a caretaker’s orphanage, their personal living space, without at least some level of detestation. It felt like he was being lured into a trap every time Vash greeted him with a warm look in his eyes or flashed one of his signature fake smiles his way.
“I’ve already gotten started on the bacon,” Vash called from his place near the stove. “Would you mind cracking a few eggs for me? Maybe 14? We do have a full house after all. And—oh! I left some strips of chicken breast in the fridge for your kitten. Right next to the cheese. Could you pass me that too?”
Nicholas froze as he stared at the bag of cooked chicken. Vash had not only remembered his cat but had also taken time out of his likely chaotic schedule to prepare a meal for her to eat. Suddenly, Nicholas’ suspicion seemed a little silly.
“Wolfwood?” Vash asked, glancing away from the skillet in his hands when he noticed Nicholas’ silence. “Something wrong?”
“No,” Nicholas said, shaking his head as he tossed Kuro a strip of chicken and pulled out a carton of eggs. “Still a little tired I guess.”
Vash hummed, tilting his head. “I’ll make sure to keep you away from anything hot, then. Wouldn’t want any accidents.”
For the rest of the hour, Vash told Nicholas what he needed, and Nicholas helped him where he could. It was easy for Nicholas to follow Vash’s directions. He was clear and concise, decisive in what he wanted, but never overly controlling. He always made sure that Nicholas had something to do but was careful not to micromanage his actions. If he handled the children like he did his cooking partners, then Nicholas would put him above 70% of the caretakers he’d encountered in the past. Aside from the whole “destroying a city” thing, of course.
They were nearly finished, Nicholas having been tasked with setting up the table, when Vash casually asked, “You want to see the children’s rooms, yes?”
Nicholas hesitated as he placed the final fork. It was typical for a caseworker to look into the living situations of the children in the orphanage that they’d been chosen to inspect. This naturally included looking over their rooms—making sure they’d been given proper space, amenities, and privacy, as well as keeping an eye out for any disturbing signs. Nicholas had been planning to bring this up later on in the day, but he hadn’t expected Vash to beat him to it.
“That is normally how these things go,” Nicholas confirmed.
Vash nodded. His smile was gone. “If they agree, then I won’t stop you. But if they express discomfort at any point, I won’t hesitate to step in. Is that clear?”
It was a firm boundary. A way of stating that he’d cooperate with the Eye’s demands, but never would he allow them to tread over the feelings of his children in order to enforce their rules. Plenty of others would be insulted, maybe even feel the need to assert their dominance in some way, but Nicholas found that he appreciated Vash’s determination to protect these kids. Sure, it was a challenge to his power, but Nicholas was more than willing to concede a bit of control for a reason as worthy as that.
“We’re clear.”
“Good.” Vash let out a breath, settling back into his usual, unthreatening state. He joined Nicholas at the table to plate the food, but stopped halfway through, his eyes following a small, faintly glowing insect. “It seems the rest of the house has finally woken up. And they’ve chosen to eavesdrop.”
Nicholas’ eyes flicked over to the staircase right as a shock of white hair ducked into the shadows.
Vash laughed, placing a hand on his hip. “Oh, no! They’ve disappeared. Where could they have possibly gone?”
It didn’t take long for a giggle to ring through the house as Zazie hurdled down the stairs and slammed into Vash.
“I get to show Nicholas my room?” they asked, looking between the two from their place at Vash’s waist. Having been caught, the rest of the kids slunk out of their hiding places at the top of the stairs. Elendira skipped her way down with Kaite behind her, yelling at her to slow down so she wouldn’t trip. Tonis followed on their heels, and Lina flew above their heads, gently carrying an excited Maylene.
“If you want him to,” Vash replied, running his fingers through Zazie’s messy hair. “But I’m sure you heard all of that.”
Zazie grinned in response, unlatching themselves from Vash and moving over to their seat at the table, fidgeting where they sat. They turned to Nicholas and leaned into his space, loudly whispering, “I call first dibs.”
“Sure, kid,” Nicholas said, hiding his laugh as best he could. “You’re up first.”
“I’m next!” Elendira shouted as she jumped into her chair. “Be warned, human. My room wasn’t made with the likes of you in mind.”
Vash sighed. “We talked about this, El.”
“What?” Elendira grumbled, picking up a fork. “I didn’t call him inferior.”
“The implication was there,” Vash countered.
Elendira huffed and prodded at her omelet.
“Okay,” Nicholas said. “Zazie first, then Elendira. Anyone else?”
Lina muttered to herself as she placed Maylene in her highchair, but Tonis pulled on Kaite’s pant leg, signing once he got the boy’s attention.
“Tonis wants to go next,” Kaite reluctantly translated.
“You got it,” Nicholas agreed. He looked between Kaite and Lina, neither of whom had said all that much so far. “And what about you two?”
Kaite shrugged. “I don’t care, just don’t mess up my stuff.”
Nicholas glanced at Vash, who nodded his permission, and turned to Lina.
“Do what you want,” she said, stubbornly staring at her plate.
Vash frowned. “You don’t have to participate, Lina. No one is going to make you.”
Lina shook her head, picking up a piece of bacon and forcefully biting down. “I gave my answer. You can do what you want.” She swiveled in her seat, looking Nicholas in the eyes and pointing a finger at his chest. “I wanna be there though. To make sure you don’t ruin anything. And you can’t just take stuff. Everything goes back to where it was when you saw it. Understand?”
“I understand.” Nicholas nodded, shoving a forkful of omelet in his mouth and passing a strip of chicken to Kuro. “I don’t plan on takin’ anythin’ and I’d rather you be there, actually. I’m not a prison guard gettin’ rid of what I don’t like. If you wanna talk about your rooms, I wanna hear it. And if you got rules you want me to follow, I’ll follow ‘em. Simple as that.”
Lina narrowed her eyes. Nicholas had worked with kids for most of his life, and he knew just how good they could be at spotting lies, so he preferred to stick with the truth. Mostly. Honestly, he wasn’t all that good at lying, and besides, Lina was the suspicious type. Nicholas suspected that if she saw any hint of deception, she’d lock any trust she might’ve been willing to give to him deep within her heart and throw away the key for good measure.
But she couldn’t see what wasn’t there.
“I’ll go after Kaite,” Lina mumbled, turning back to her plate.
“And Maylene will go last,” Vash cheerfully declared. “Won’t you, Maylene.”
The baby cluelessly chattered away, dipping her fingers into a cup of applesauce and giggling. Vash wiped her face and playfully wriggled one of her wings, making her laugh even harder.
They ate peacefully after that, the rest of the conversation dominated by Zazie and Elendira with Tonis joining in on occasion and Vash providing his own commentary. Lina and Kaite, Nicholas noticed, stayed quiet.
When they were finished, Vash handed Maylene to Lina and Nicholas hardly had the chance to rinse his plate before Zazie was pulling his arm.
“Come on!” they whined. “You’re too slow!”
While they pulled, Tonis ran up to them, patting Zazie’s shoulder before pointing at himself and tilting his head in question.
“Yeah, you’re coming, too,” Zazie said as though it were obvious. “Who else is going to calm the bugs down?”
Nicholas paused, turning to look at where Vash was standing. “Bugs?”
“Bugs,” Vash confirmed with a smirk.
“Bugs,” Nicholas groaned, trailing behind Zazie and Tonis as they signed to each other. “I should’ve guessed.”
Vash chuckled at his side, nudging him with his shoulder. “Oh, you’ll be fine.”
Zazie’s room was the second door on the left from the main bedroom, situated between Tonis’ and Elendira’s, and Nicholas could just make out a constant, unsettling buzzing coming from inside. The noise only grew louder as they opened the door and Nicholas briefly considered rescheduling this visit for later, but Zazie’s little hand was clasped around his wrist and Vash was standing behind him, blocking his retreat. There was nowhere to go but forward.
As the buzzing reached its peak and the group made to enter, Tonis ran into the room, wordlessly greeting the insects inside. And, man, were there a ton of insects inside. Nicholas looked around in awe, taking in the sight. Each bug had their own space, seemingly proportional to their size, but none of them were caged. Some glared at them from their place in the leaves of small trees while other, larger ones—about the size of an adult man’s fist—lounged on rugs, completely ignoring the visitors.
“Is this…allowed?” Nicholas questioned, moving his foot back as a beetle clicked impatiently at the toe of his shoe. “I can’t tell if this is against the rules or not.”
Vash tilted his head. “How else are we to make a conglomerate being such as Zazie feel welcome? These arthropods are just as much a part of them as your arm would be to you. I’d use mine as an example, but…”
Nicholas interrupted him. “You’re not worried about them gettin’ loose?”
“You’re talking about them like they’re pests.” Zazie scowled, crossing their arms. “If they want to go somewhere, they can go. I don’t keep them trapped. Besides, I always know where they are.”
“Always?” Nicholas asked.
“Always.”
“Okay,” Nicholas conceded. He watched Tonis go to each one, holding those that were willing to be touched and avoiding those that didn’t want to be bothered, and shrugged. If the creepy crawlers made the kids happy, who was he to judge? He couldn’t think of any specific rule against bugs in a child’s room and, anyway, it seemed like Zazie had it under control. “Anythin’ else you wanna show me?”
“Oh yeah!” Zazie said, bouncing on their heels. “I’ve got dirt on everyone! Pictures, journals, drawings. I even have a newspaper clipping with a picture of Vash—”
Vash stepped forward, quickly covering Zazie’s mouth. “I think it’s time to move to the next room, don’t you agree El?”
Elendira frantically nodded her head, pulling on Nicholas’ other arm as Zazie giggled. Nicholas wouldn’t be surprised if he was left with tiny, finger shaped bruises by the end of the day.
“Are you ready human—” Vash pointedly cleared his throat. “I mean, Nicholas? My room is enough to melt the brains of even the mightiest of men.”
Nicholas couldn’t help but grin as he was led forward, looking into the little nuclear bomb’s endearingly mismatched eyes. “Do your worst.”
She opened the door and stepped inside, spinning dramatically as she held her arms out in presentation. “Behold! The best bedroom you’ll ever see.” She put her hands on her hips, smiling smugly as Nicholas entered.
The walls were covered top to bottom in cut out French fashion magazines. Models in dramatic makeup and androgynous clothing stared back at him, dated through a variety of decades and arranged without any pattern Nicholas could find. Even so, nothing clashed. The colors, the styles, even the models’ eye colors seemed to compliment each other. This was all unfortunately overshadowed by the large, historically accurate replica of a medieval crossbow sitting next to the bed.
Nicholas raised an eyebrow. “That seems a little dangerous.”
“That’s what Vash said when I asked for it,” Elendira said, waving carelessly at the weapon displayed on her nightstand. “That’s why he didn’t let me get any bolts to go in it. It’s harmless.”
“I see.” Nicholas looked over his shoulder, making eye contact with Vash, but the man just winked and flashed his usual smile. Nicholas rolled his eyes. As long as Elendira couldn’t accidentally hurt herself or someone else, he wasn’t worried.
“So…” Nicholas turned his attention back to the walls. “I take it you like fashion?”
“Mm,” Elendira hummed, dropping her arms and looking at the magazines. “Not really.”
“No?”
She shook her head. “The clothes are nice and all, but that’s not what I like.”
“Is that so?” Nicholas looked at Elendira, more intrigued than he should’ve been for a job he didn’t want. “What do you like?”
“The girls,” she said, pointing at a model in a light-colored trench coat who was artfully turned away from the camera, her blonde hair swept over her shoulder and her red lipstick just barely visible to the audience.
“Not sure I understand.”
Elendira scrunched up her face, clearly trying to figure out how to explain. “When I told Nai I was a girl, he didn’t mind all that much, but he was kind of busy, you know?”
Nicholas had to stop himself from snorting. “Busy” was certainly a unique way of putting it, but that probably wasn’t the best thing to bring up at the moment.
“And then I came here, and things were less busy. Vash and Meryl took me out to get a bunch of stuff. Dresses, shoes, bows. He seemed more excited than me.”
“Excuse me for wanting to spoil my little girl rotten,” Vash muttered.
“It was the first time I got to see models,” Elendira continued, ignoring Vash’s interruption. “Humans are evil scum poisoning the world for nothing but temporary trifles and short-sighted, selfish gains.”
Vash groaned. “El…”
“But these ones are pretty cool. If I had to choose humans to be like, I’d want to be like them. I don’t have to, though, so it doesn’t matter.”
Nicholas looked back at the magazines, studying the women on the covers. They were confident, put together, intimidating in an incomparably feminine way. He could see how a little girl, raised by a war criminal and surrounded by no one else other than her terrifyingly ethereal aunts, could find these images captivating. “I think you’re cool enough to fit right in.”
Elendira’s eyes widened before she remembered who she was talking to, quickly schooling her expression and huffing, “Of course I am.”
“I think someone really wants to get to the next room,” Vash said. Nicholas turned around and caught sight of Tonis, who was clutching the leg of Vash’s pants and rocking back and forth, like he was antsy to get a move on but didn’t want to intrude.
“Right, right.” Nicholas walked over to Tonis, crouching until he was at eye level. “I wanna hear all about it, okay? Don’t hold back. I’ll probably need a translator, though.”
“I’d be happy to assist,” Vash said, gently pushing Tonis in front of them.
Tonis didn’t stall, leading them to the door and not a step further. He stopped, eyes glued to the ground, and held his hands awkwardly in front of him, like he wanted to communicate, but was too scared to start.
Vash placed his hands over Tonis’ and squeezed. “He said he wanted to hear about it, didn’t he?” Tonis nodded. “So, what are you waiting for? Let’s show him just how awesome you are.”
Tonis tugged his hands away, making a few shaky gestures.
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Vash replied, his voice soft. “I think he’ll love it. But we won’t know if we never try.”
Tonis bit his lip, squared his shoulders, and opened the door.
Tonis’ room was the neatest of the three Nicholas had seen so far, mostly because there wasn’t all that much filling the space. But, like Elendira’s room, the walls were covered. Unlike hers, however, these walls displayed a variety of vinyl records. Nicholas saw everyone from the Clash and the Ramones to Stevie Wonder and James Brown to more recent artists. There were some albums that Nicholas didn’t recognize and others that he knew better than the back of his hand.
In the flashes of wall in between the records, he could just make out a pattern reminiscent of a beach: blue, tan, and seafoam green. On the ceiling, the rest of the portrait was made clear. A swath of cool toned colors swept above them, a multitude of sea creatures swirling within. All of it converged into a breath-taking image of two sirens—a mother and a son, holding hands as they swam through the paint.
“Woah,” Nicholas breathed. He turned to Tonis. “You made this?”
Tonis nodded, making some long gestures that Nicholas couldn’t follow. He looked to Vash for an explanation.
“He said he started it because he can’t sing anymore,” Vash translated. “That it’s boring when you can’t sing. You know,” Vash paused, studying Nicholas with a smile. “I can teach you a bit of sign language if you want. I’m sure it’d be more convenient for your inspection.”
Nicholas considered it. It would be more convenient if he could communicate with Tonis without needing someone there to explain and it wasn’t like Tonis was the only orphaned child who used sign language. May as well take advantage of the offer.
“Sure,” Nicholas answered. “Why not?”
Tonis grabbed his sleeve and pulled. When Nicholas looked down, the boy pointed toward a nightstand with a record player sitting on the top.
“You want to play music?” Nicholas asked.
Tonis shook his head, pulling more insistently and moving the two of them further into the room. Once they reached the nightstand, Tonis let go and opened the top drawer, looking up at Nicholas and pointing inside.
When Nicholas leaned closer to see, he was greeted by rows of carefully arranged seashells. There were pinkish conches and tiny puka shells, but most of them Nicholas couldn’t name. A large, iridescent one caught his eye, and he reached out, as if in a trance, to touch. Before his fingers could so much as brush the shell, a pale, slender hand shot out and caught his wrist in a bruising grip. Nicholas looked up, slightly confused, to see what the problem was.
Vash was staring at him, still smiling, but his eyes revealed the slightest bit of annoyance. “Tonis doesn’t like it when strangers touch those.”
Nicholas turned to Tonis. His face was red, hands fisted into the hem of his shirt. He was opening and closing his mouth, like he wanted to speak or scream, but no sound came out which only frustrated him more.
Nicholas scowled, pulling his hand out of Vash’s grip and away from the shells.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I got carried away. Could you tell me about them?”
Tonis sniffled, taking a few breaths before slipping on a small smile and signing.
“The first one he got from his mother; it was the conch they found on a beach in Jeneora. The puka shells were given to him by a close family friend—oh! That’s me!—and this one…”
Vash interpreted at his side, but Nicholas kept his eyes on Tonis, nodding along and asking questions where he felt it was appropriate.
After a few minutes, Tonis had completely recovered, full of energy and excited in the same way he was around Zazie’s bugs. They finished talking about the last shell and Tonis held his hands out, twisting them almost like he was doing jazz hands, before closing the drawer and running out of the room.
Nicholas looked at Vash, worried he’d done something wrong.
“He said he’s finished. That’s the sign for it. Like this.” Vash grabbed Nicholas’ hands and put them in position, moving them until they made the correct motion. “Finished.”
“Finished,” Nicholas repeated, signing as he spoke.
“There you go.” Vash nodded, turning away. “Now, where’s Kaite hiding?”
“Living room!” Zazie yelled from the hallway. “I’ll get him!”
The two men left the room, and Vash gently closed the door behind them as Zazie and Elendira pulled Kaite into the hallway, Lina trailing behind with Maylene on her hip.
“Let go!” Kaite screamed, trying to tug his wrists out of their hands.
“We got him!” Elendira shouted.
Vash took in the scene for a moment, then walked over, crouching to their level. “What did we learn about touching or grabbing other people?”
“We should only do it if we have their clear permission and should always respect their choice, even if we don’t like it,” Elendira and Zazie chanted in unison.
“Exactly,” Vash said, affectionately ruffling their hair with each hand as they happily pressed themselves closer into his touch. “You two can let go now.”
Zazie and Elendira loosened their grip, and Kaite snatched his arms away with a huff. “I wasn’t that far away. You could’ve just called.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Zazie replied.
Kaite rolled his eyes. “Let’s just get this over with.”
He led them to a room at the end of the hallway on the opposite side from the others and unceremoniously opened the door, ushering them in.
The room was filled with half disassembled machines, the parts taking up every flat surface available. On the bed was a nearly rebuilt engine of some kind, taking up virtually all of the space, and Nicholas wondered how Kaite slept. Or if he slept. Maybe the kid just stayed up all night, tinkering away until his body shut down.
Outside of the machines, the rest of the area was plain. No paintings, nothing decorating the walls, not even so much as a small rug to make the area comfortable. There was nothing but a bland curtain, a matching comforter, and random mechanisms strewn everywhere.
“None of the hordes of gold you were probably expecting,” Kaite quipped cynically, keeping his distance. “Sorry about that.”
“What would I do with a bunch of gold anyway?” Nicholas said, distractedly running a finger along the side of a piston cylinder. Before he knew what was happening, his hand was slapped. Hard. “Ow!”
“No touching,” Kaite hissed. “I don’t need you breaking anything.”
Nicholas rubbed his stinging hand. “I got it. Jeez.”
“Seen everything you need to see?” Kaite asked.
“Is there anythin’ else you want me to see?” Nicholas replied, twisting the question around. “Or anythin’ you wanna tell me about?”
Kaite sneered. “I’m not much of a talker. I’m done here if you are.”
“Okay, then.” Nicholas exited the room, watching as Kaite quickly closed the door and stalked off to the living room. He’d expected hostility, especially after what Vash had told him the night before, but he didn’t have enough information on Kaite to create a solid plan on how to interact with him. Even so, Nicholas had been breaking down the defenses of abused kids since he was one. He’d figure something out.
“My turn yet?” Lina asked, standing to the side with Maylene at her hip and her wings flared.
“Yup,” Nicholas answered. “Lead the way, Little Lady.”
Lina huffed dismissively and handed the baby to Vash, turning her back to him. A show of false confidence if Nicholas had ever seen one.
Her room was the closest on the right to the master bedroom, other than Vash’s office. With her back straight and a barely noticeable tremor in her hand, she let them in.
If Nicholas weren’t absolutely sure that he was still in the main house, he would’ve thought he was outside. Even knowing this, he couldn’t help but to question himself. Everything in the room was filled with plants. The walls were overrun by vines and the doorway was framed by trees. She had even managed to somehow grow grass on the floor, the wild kind you’d find in an untouched grove. Some of the plants Nicholas recognized as the same kinds growing in Zazie’s room, but these were thankfully devoid of any visible insects.
Nicholas went to touch a rather interesting looking plant and felt a familiar sting as his hand was forcefully slapped away. Again.
“No touching!” Lina yelled. “Don’t you have any manners?”
“Okay! I’m sorry,” Nicholas grumbled. He really hoped his hand didn’t bruise later.
“That’s a pretty bad habit you have,” Vash said, chuckling as he cradled Maylene against his chest.
Lina walked up to the plant, checking it for any damage. “That one’s fragile. And carnivorous. A lot of them are, so don’t touch anything you don’t need to. That’s a rule, got it?”
“Got it,” Nicholas replied. He’d said he’d follow their rules, and he wasn’t one to go back on his word. “Are any of them dangerous?”
“Vash doesn’t let me have anything poisonous or painful,” Lina said. “I can only grow dangerous things when I’m working with Meryl.”
“You work with Meryl?”
“Yeah,” she answered. “She helps me with my control since I’m pretty bad at that. I’m sure the Eye wouldn’t be happy to know that one of their riskier charges is working with an undocumented sprite, huh?”
She spoke in a mocking tone, clearly disgusted in the organization—not that Nicholas blamed her—but there was a slight waver in her voice.
“Probably not,” Nicholas agreed. “But that’s not part of my department. As long as you’re safe, it’s not my job to chase down undocumented magical adults.”
That wasn’t technically the truth. Nicholas was supposed to report suspicious individuals to the higher ups, especially if they’ve come in contact with any of the magical children under the Eye of Michael’s care, but he couldn’t be bothered to follow all of their rules. If it got under Chapel’s skin without harming any of the kids, he’d gladly let it slide.
Lina frowned, suspicion and confusion plainly written on her face. “She takes care of everything on the island, and I help her while she teaches me. That’s how I spend my free time.”
“Do you like it?”
Her expression softened a bit. “More than anything.”
Nicholas was going to ask a few more questions, but he was interrupted by a piercing cry. Maylene had started shrieking, using her little hands to grab at Vash’s shirt as her tiny wings fluttered in distress.
“Perfect timing!” Vash said, grabbing Nicholas’ hand with his prosthetic and speed walking to the Master bedroom. “Now you can explore the last room.”
Nicholas glanced behind him just in time to see Lina close her door and smirk in their direction before Vash wrenched the door open and let him go, rushing toward a changing pad.
“I know, May-may,” Vash cooed, gently placing Maylene on the pad and swiftly grabbing a diaper. “I should’ve checked you earlier. I’m sorry.”
When he got back to the changing pad, he seemed to have a thought. “Do you mind giving me one second, Wolfwood? She just needs a new diaper.”
Nicholas gave him a quick thumbs up and moved to the hallway, closing the door as he went. He figured babies needed privacy too. He stayed there for a few minutes, running through the information he had and how he would organize everything for his reports—what he’d include and what he’d leave out—until Vash finally peeked his head out and called him back in.
The room was simple: a crib made of a similar mahogany as the desk in Vash’s office, a king-sized bed decorated with a red comforter, and a few small plushies and teething toys scattered across the floor.
“You share the room with her?” Nicholas guessed.
“Yeah,” Vash confirmed. “I don’t have a baby monitor, and I’m a little scared to leave her alone.”
Nicholas nodded. “Worried you won’t be able to get to her in time if somethin’ happens?”
“That and she’s kind of clingy.” Vash sat on the bed and bounced Maylene in his lap. “Gets anxious if there’s no one around to hold her. She’ll probably never remember how she ended up in an orphanage, but that doesn’t mean it won’t affect her. Plus, she’s a little slow getting to her developmental milestones, for some reason. She can’t walk yet—can barely crawl. If no one’s with her, all she can do is lay there and cry, and I don’t think that’s fair to her.”
Nicholas hummed in agreement. He sat next to Vash and leaned closer, looking over at Maylene. “Anythin’ you wanna tell me about your room, Princess?”
Maylene grabbed at Nicholas’ shirt, babbling and laughing. A few actual words came through, but most of it was just baby talk.
“Is that so?” Nicholas said, letting her wrap her chubby hand around his finger and shake it. “Wow!”
Vash chuckled and stood, putting Maylene back on his hip. “I think study hour is about to start. Meryl should be here soon.”
“Meryl is already here.” The sprite was standing at the door, a smile ghosting over her lips as she took in the scene. “And the kids told her everything.”
“I hope the homework from yesterday was included in the everything they told you,” Vash said, walking out of the room.
“Odd,” Meryl replied, moving to follow him. “I don’t think it was.”
Vash shook his head, grinning. “Of course not.” He glanced over his shoulder. “I assume you’ll be looking in on their classes, Wolfwood?”
“Sure will,” Nicholas said. “Got a lesson plan for today?”
“I’ll be handling science and math for the older kids while Meryl works on English and history with the younger ones, then we’ll switch.”
“They’ll probably want to discuss Saturday before anything else,” Meryl added as they reached the end of the hallway.
“Ah, Saturday,” Vash sighed. “I almost forgot.”
Nicholas tilted his head, trying to remember whether or not he’d heard anything about this. “What’s happenin’ Saturday?”
“Every other Saturday we take the kids out on an adventure of their choosing,” Vash answered. “If my memory serves me right, it should be…”
“My turn.” Zazie popped up in front of them, carrying a beetle on their shoulder and sporting a toothy grin.
“Your turn?” Nicholas asked.
“To plan the adventure,” Meryl clarified, not even trying to hide her amusement.
Nicholas forced himself to keep his expression neutral, but he could feel his eyebrow twitching involuntarily. He made brief eye contact with the beetle, remembering the swarm of other bugs Zazie kept in their room, and mentally groaned. “Sounds fun.”
Kuro walked over from where she’d been lounging in the living room, winding herself between Nicholas’ legs as he tried to figure out how he was going to survive the weekend.