14-Baby Time!

[heal_theworld]

[Martel wasn't expecting to wake up in someone else's bed, but it wasn't the first time this had happened. And from the lack of blue hair in her face, it definitely wasn't Yuan she was snuggling into. She rolls away and sits up and looks around at the room. This seems...familiar, especially now that she looks down and sees him curled up next to her sleeping. Did he seriously board up his window?]

Once-Ler, wake up. [She shakes him gently by his shoulder. And then she hears the crying. Martel gets up, wandering over to where its coming from and there's a...baby in his armchair. What. She picks it up, rocking it and hushing it. It has the same shade of green hair that she does. Well, then. Must be a Castle thing.] ...Once-ler, wake up! Since somehow we have a baby.

Comments

[whichwayyoulean]

[Yes. Yes he boarded up his window. To avoid being dragged thought it. Again.

Of course, the Once-ler sleeps like a corpse. He managed to sleep through his bed being abducted and thrown into a river, after all. So, he snuggles a little closer into his pillow sleepily. And yes, Martel, he does wear pyjamas with little bunny rabbits on them. He is the best adult for this]

That's nice. We'll all go to Nool and ride a kangaroo.

[heal_theworld]

[She sighs and does the only thing she can do with her hands full of cute baby, who is now smiling happily and has a hold on her hair. She kicks the footboard of his bed, hard.]

[whichwayyoulean]

[That works. He sits up with a yelp, looking around in a panic]

NOT THE RIVER AGAI...oh. Martel. [Pause] Are you just showing up to watch me sleep now, because I hate to tell you but that is pretty darn creepy.

...Is that a baby?

[heal_theworld]

I woke up here. And I think the Castle gave us a baby. She has your eyes. [Martel gets closer to him so he can look at her. See, she really does, Once-ler!]

[whichwayyoulean]

[Oh and look, there is a baby and...yep. Yep those are his eyes. Once-ler kind of stares awkwardly for a moment, the gears of his brain spinning furiously to try and process what is happening]

...I'm pretty sure that's not how babies are made.

[heal_theworld]

It's a magic Castle. I'm pretty sure it can make babies. Hm. [She's smiling down at her and letting her grip her finger.] What shall we name you, little one?

[whichwayyoulean]

[The Once-ler's brain has hit critical mass and has not given him a good answer as to how his life has come to this point. So he'll just be having a quiet meltdown now, don't mind him]

Maybe we can name her 'magic hallucination baby' I think it has a nice ring to it. [His voice gets a slightly higher pitch now] Come on how are you so calm right now? There is a baby, suddenly, in our lives. This is not a normal thing. It's about as far from normal as anything can ever be. Unless maybe she has a tail. Does she have a tail? Because that would be the icing on top of this cake of crazy. And don't you have a fiancé? I think he might have something to say about this.

[He whines again, putting his face in his hands] What is even happening right now.

[heal_theworld]

What if he has one himself with someone else? I doubt he will be that upset. [To be honest, Yuan doesn't have a leg to stand on if he gets upset. She's cooing at the baby, mostly ignoring you now, Once-ler.] Maybe I'll name you Fandalia. After the flower. It could be Dalia for short.

[whichwayyoulean]

Why would the castle even do that? Does it have some sort of grudge against happy couples?

[That's enough to get him a little back to a mental state of normalcy] ...Fandalia. Really. That's what you're going with?

[heal_theworld]

Perhaps it does. [Or maybe it's just her life. After all, she did die and never even got to marry him.]

Yes. Unless you can come up with something better?

[whichwayyoulean]

We should call this place 'the homewrecker' then. It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

You're asking a guy with a 'the' in his name for better ideas. I guess it's an okay name. [He's still looking at the child like she might explode at any moment]

[heal_theworld]

Possibly.

And yes, i know. That's why you weren't allowed to name her. [She pauses.] Do you want to hold her?

[whichwayyoulean]

It's not like I named myself, you know.

[He shifts a little, looking very uncomfortable] I don't know how. I've never held a baby before. Funnily enough it never came up in my business plans.

[heal_theworld]

Just hold her like I am. Support her head, and don't hang on too tight. [She holds her arms out, Fandalia making happy little noises.]

[whichwayyoulean]

[He stares a moment longer, before awkwardly reaching out his stupidly long arms to take her carefully]

Ohkaaaay holding my sudden castle baby. This is normal. This is a normal thing.

[heal_theworld]

[Martel smiles.] She likes you.

[whichwayyoulean]

[He glances over at Martel for a moment, as if for confirmation that he isn't screwing this up, before turning his eyes back to Dalia, the smallest of smiles creeping across his face]

You really think so?

[heal_theworld]

Of course she does. She's smiling at you, isn't she? If she didn't like you, she'd start crying.

[whichwayyoulean]

I guess you're right. [He sounds a little astounded by everything. After all, happy families is not a game he has ever had the fortune to play. He certainly never expected one of his own]

...She is kind of cute.

[heal_theworld]

Of course she's cute. [She runs her fingers through Dalia's green hair.]

[whichwayyoulean]

Guess she was lucky to take after you more.

[heal_theworld]

Oh, I would hope she got some of your traits. Maybe she's musical. [...So is Martel, but she's ignoring that right now.]

[whichwayyoulean]

Maybe. I'll have to make her a teeny tiny guitar. [At least it would be a positive trait he could pass on. He'd be thankful for that] This is really not how I pictured having a family, I've got to be honest.

[heal_theworld]

[Martel thinks the teeny guitar would be so cute.] Neither did I, but it's still a nice surprise.

[whichwayyoulean]

[He glances at the baby again, a frown forming on his face] I wonder how long it'll last.

[There's a chance he's not even talking about Paradisa changing the game. Nothing good lasts, ever. He learned that the hard way]