The Harcourt Family

[Incognita Ninja]

Meyaira Firespring

((Okay. Thank you for jogging my memory. wink ))

Luke squeaked a little when Iouya patted his head. “Tank you Io’ya.” He took his sippy cup and started to suck down the juice, easing his thirst. Caleb was given his juice cup too, a blue one with yellow paw prints on it, but he only drank a little bit of it before trying to put it back. He just wasn’t thirsty like his brother. He looked at the flowers and even tried to lean out of the stroller to touch one. The petals looked very soft!

When they entered the monkey’s enclosure, Luke tried to cover his ears and dropped his sippy cup in the process. The screeching was very unpleasant. Caleb just gazed at them, his eyes trying to follow the multiple monkeys through the enclosure. He followed Oka’s finger to the baby and he strained to see better too.

Luke looked up at the monkeys, his ears back. “Uh, dey swingin’, Silwa.” He nodded and pointed to one, high up in the branches. “Is dat one a mummy, Silwa?”

When the monkey came up to the screen, Luke brought his ears forward, but put them back when he banged on the screen. Caleb growled at the monkey, his ears back. He wasn’t too sure about him or what he was doing, best be on his guard. Luke hissed and bared his small fangs, his ears back. Why did this monkey have to be so loud? Caleb took his cue from Luke, and hissed at the monkey with his ears back. Maybe seeing the monkeys wasn’t a good idea.

***

Cheria smiled at him. “Everything you suggested sound lovely my dear. Shall we settle our bill and then get going? I can see you are brimming with anticipation for us to get going.” She gave his hand on elast squeeze before getting up and patting her pockets. “Did you get the wallet or did I? I can’t remember picking it up.”  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Incognita Ninja

Silaeca saw the Luke's sippy cup drop onto the path and start to roll away. She leaned down and picked it up, putting it back in the boy's diaper bag that sat underneath the stroller seats. She straightened up again and saw Luke covering his ears. The monkeys were pretty talkative today and she guessed he must not like all the monkey sounds he was hearing from all the different enclosures. She chuckled at how cute he was being and took a picture on her mobile phone. She let the boy be. If he wanted to cover his ears, he could. She and Iouya both had their phones and would be taking pictures and video of the kids and animals to show their parents when they got back.

Panthe and Oka seemed to be as talkative as the monkeys while Iouya talked to them about what they were seeing. Silaeca interacted with Luke and Caleb just as much. She watched Caleb follow Oka's finger to look at the baby spider monkey, seeing the lion-leopard cub also pulling at the straps of his stroller harness. Hmm, seems like they didn't want to stay in the pram. She looked towards Luke when he answered her question "Yesss! They are sswinging. You're a ssmart boy, you know that monkeyss like to sswing on treess" She answered his other question "Yess, that is a mummy with her baby. Jusst like your mummy hass you" she smiled, her tongue flickering out to test the air.

One of the monkeys got up close and personal. And while it seemed to delight Panthe and Oka to bits, it sent Luke and Caleb into a spit-fit. She tried not to grin at their defensive growls and hisses and their pinned back ears but it was really adorable.

Silaeca intervened. grabbing the stroller and moving it back, away from the cage. "Okay, I think we need to move on from thesse monkeyss now. Luke and Caleb don't like all the noissess. Let's look at ssome of the other monkeyss around here and then ssee some other animalss" she said. "It'ss okay Luke, it'ss okay Caleb, we are moving away from thesse monkeyss. Let'ss ssee the other oness that are not making sso much racket". she told them, trying to pacify the baby boys.

Panthe looked disappointed. She was giggling as the spider monkey waved its paw back at her, copying her movements. The stroller began to get wheeled away by Iouya and she frowned "Nooo"

Oka though, was happy to see more animals. "More monkey, more monkey" he chanted, kicking his legs happily as his tail waved about all happy.

"Okay guys, calm down. The monkeys make a lot of noise but they are not going to hurt you. Let's have a look at some other types of monkeys and then we will see some quieter animals" Iouya told the little ones. He wheeled them past other monkey enclosures, and they saw Golden Snub Nosed Monkeys, cute Pygmy Marmosets, Squirrel Monkeys, Emperor Tamarins with big white moustaches, and even Vervet Monkeys, Macaques and Dusky Leaf Monkeys. There were more, but the toddlers had short attention spans so Iouya and Silaeca moved along fairly quickly, not wanting them to get bored.

For a change of pace, the nannies brought the kids next to the elephants to have a look at them. There was the giraffe and zebra enclosures on either side of the elephant one, so there were lots of animals to see.

Panthe looked at the elephants, mesmerised. She was just staring with her mouth slightly open and her feline ears perked up. They were the biggest animal she had ever seen. They were grey and wrinkly, and they had long, funny things on the front of their faces. The elephants were taking a morning bath in their wading pool, sucking up water with their trunks and spraying it over their bodies, flapping their ears to cool down in the sunny summer day.

One of them trumpeted softly and Oka laughed, chewing on his sippy cup spout as he watched them. He tried to copy the noise, making a high pitched sound of his own.

Iouya was crouched by the twin's stroller again so he could talk to them "These are elephants" he said the word slow and clearly. "Can you say their name? El-e-phants"

"Lellafants!" Panthe said loudly, trying to say the word and getting it mostly right. Oka tried too; "La Fences!" he said, pointing at them. "La fences, la fences"

Silaeca crouched by Luke and Caleb's stroller. "What do you think the elephantss are doing?" she asked, curious to know what their answer would be. She pointed at the brown and grey animals, who were slowly wading around and splashing in their pool.

******

"Great. Can't wait to get started. And sure, let's pay and get going" James stood and pulled his wallet out of his pocket, watching Cheria search hers

"It's okay. I've got it right here. Don't stress" he chuckled, reassuring Cheria as he showed her the wallet.

He went and paid for their breakfast and then joined Cheria again, walking back to the hotel room together. "We have a bit of time before the Safari tour bus comes to pick us up. Let's call the boys and see how they are doing" he suggested, grabbing his phone from his pocket and finding the nannies' numbers in his contacts list. "Oh here we go, I've got Silaeca and Iouya's numbers. Who do you want to call?" he looked at his wife.  

[Incognita Ninja]

Meyaira Firespring

This time it was Caleb who answered her. "Dey swimmin', Sila!"

"An' spwashin'!" Luke chimed in too, not wanting to be left out. He struggled with the straps in the pram, starting to get fussy. He wanted to get closer to these funny animals. He dropped his jaguar stuffie when he struggled with the straps.

Caleb glanced at Luke and the struggle he was making. He put a hand on his brother's chest and looked at him. "Wuke, rewax." Luke stopped struggling. Noticing that his stuffie dropped, he tried reaching for it, but couldn't reach all the way.

***

"Mmm, let's try Silaeca. Iouya may be busy with something else at the present moment." Cheria plopped herself down on the sofa in the entryway, grateful to be off her feet if only for a couple minutes. She patted the seat next to her for James to come sit down with her.

 

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Incognita Ninja

Silaeca smiled at Caleb "Yeah, they are, honey. You're right. They're sswimming in their paddling pool" she said. "Just like when you and Caleb go in your blow up pool at home"

She looked at Luke "And yess, lotss of ssplasshing! Just like two little cubss I know at bath time. Ssplashing everywhere" she chuckled. She noticed him struggling with the pram straps and laughed at Caleb's reaction. Oh my god that was too cute! "It'ss okay Caleb. We can let Luke out for a little bit" she soothed.

"Now, Luke, remember what Silaeca and Iouya ssaid. We have to sstay together sso nobody getss losst. I can let you out of the pram for a little sstretch and run around but then you have to go back in, okay?" she said, reaching down to unbuckle Luke's harness. She put him on the ground, making sure he could stand up okay before removing her hands. "Here we go ssweetheart, now don't run off. It'ss not fair if I jusst let one kitten out so we'll let Caleb out, too" she said warmly, reaching to unbuckle Caleb, taking her eyes off Luke for just a second.

Oka and Panthe, of course, wanted out of their pram too. Iouya unclipped their belts and let them down. "But stay near me okay? You can look at the animals but no running off" he warned them. Oka reached his hands out to Iouya "Up, up!"

Iouya picked him up and held him up so he could see the elephants having their bath.

"Me too, upppp!!!" Panthe cried, so he picked her up, too. Iouya looked over at Silaeca and realised she had a problem. The naga usually wound her snake body around the little ones as a sort of makeshift play pen but she couldn't do that now when there were other people around her, and people walking on the path. There wasn't enough room. People were already having to step over and around the snake lady as it was.

Iouya looked around "Silaeca, where's Luke? I can see Caleb next to you but where's Luke?" he asked suddenly. The little cub was gone!

*****

James sat beside Cheria and curled his tail around her lovingly. He gave her the phone and watched as she called Silaeca.

*****

Meanwhile back at the zoo, Silaeca's phone was ringing. She took it out of her pocket "Hello, Sssilaeca here" she answered.

Iouya was still holding Panthe and Oka. "Don't worry, I'll go look for him. He can't have gone far" the bat told Silaeca as she was likely on the phone with the boy's parents.

Iouya checked around and then saw Luke standing on the other side of Silaeca. He let out a sigh of relief. "Oh Luke, there you are! I thought you went missing. Stay right by Miss Silaeca okay?" Good. It was a false alarm. Luke and Caleb were both standing right on either side of the naga woman. Safe and sound.

Silaeca used the end of her tail to grab Luke's stuffed jaguar off the ground and handed it to him. "Here you go Luke. Don't losse him" She turned her attention back to James and Cheria "How are you two going? How iss your honeymoon? We're at the zoo! The babiesss are all very excited and having fun. It'ss a bit crowded but we are keeping a clossse eye on them all"  

[Incognita Ninja]

Meyaira Firespring

Luke reached for his stuffed jaguar, the poor thing already looking like it was needing to be replaced. The kitten held on to it with his small claws, not wanting to let it go again. He watched the elephants play in the water and slowly creeped up to the fence. When he saw Silaeca on the phone, he ran up to her again and almost clawed the poor Naga’s hide raw. Caleb saw too and came over too but fell flat on his face.

“Oof!” Getting up, he rubbed his eyes free of the dust and came over to her as well. “Mummy?” He reached for the phone, but it was well out of his reach.

---

“Hello Silaeca! It’s Cheria!” Cheria chirped away, excited that she had gotten a hold of them. She squeezed James’ hand to let him know that they were connected. “How are Caleb and Luke? Are they behaving themselves?” She listened on the other line, a small smile creeping up on her face when she heard of their antics and of them wanting them to come home. “Oh, my little boys. Tell them we’ll be home in a couple weeks, alright? Panthe and Oka doing alright as well?” She continued to listen, and then nodded. “Alright Silaeca, I understand. Enjoy the rest of your outing and tell all the kids that we love them and will be home before they know it; alright, bye.” Cheria ended the call and looked at James.

“Silaeca says that both Caleb and Luke miss us and are always wondering when we’re coming back. It’s nice to be missed, isn’t it?” She smiled as she leaned into James’ body, putting her head on his shoulder. Feeling extremely relaxed, she stretched out a little and purred softly.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Incognita Ninja

Luke's jaguar could probably do with some new stuffing, new stitching and a wash. Silaeca made a mental note to try and fix up the toy for him when they got back home today. If he'd let her have it for that long. Silaeca hissed when she felt Luke's sharp kitten claws dig into her skin, reaching to pick him up in her arm and settle him on her hip while she talked on the phone. She winced a bit at the scratches all over her.

When Caleb came running up and fell over, her long snake tail slithered over to help him back up. "Oopss! You okay, Caleb cub?" Silaeca cooed, holding him up to her free side, gently wrapped in her tail. She smiled when he asked for Mummy and she put the phone to his ear. "Ssay hello, Mummy!" she cooed, letting him speak to Cheria for a second or two.

*****

James sat with Cheria, listening to the conversation between his wife and the nannies. He watched her hang up and turn to him. "Poor guys, a couple of weeks is a long time for kids as little as ours" he frowned, "yeah it is nice to be missed. To be honest, I miss them too. I feel kind of bad for leaving them for so long. We'll have to find some way to really cheer them up and surprise them when we come back home" he said.

*****

Silaeca had a nice chat with Cheria and when she hung up, she looked at Luke and Caleb. "Mummy and Daddy ssay they will be home in two weekss, guyss. We will count down the dayss on your calendar at home, okay?" she stroked Luke's hair and then Caleb's. She was still gently holding Caleb in the end of her tail at the same level as Luke who she held on her hip opposite his bro.

Silaeca added "Mummy says that she and daddy love you all very much and they will be home before you know it" she told the boys, not sure how much of that they would understand. "Sso let'ss have a fun time until they get back, kiddiess" She looked around "Now, I think we've had enough of looking at the elephantss, let'ss go see some more animalss! What should we ssee; the mini unicornss, the big catss, maybe the reptiless"

*****

James hugged Cheria. "I think I saw our safari bus pull up out the front of the hotel honey. We better get going!" he said, standing and helping Cheria to her feet. He walked her to the bus and helped her get on and find a seat. The bus looked more like a big truck with a bull bar on the front and the sides were open sided with poles around it. Kinda like these busses:



 

[Incognita Ninja]

Meyaira Firespring

"Ssay hello, Mummy!" she cooed, letting him speak to Cheria for a second or two.

Caleb clutched at the phone with his tiny claws and said hello to his parents. When the small cellphone was passed to Luke to say something, he started to cry and fuss. He wanted more time with them! Luke got to say hello too, hugging his jaguar stuffed animal closer all the while he talked. Finally, they had to hang up, and Luke started to sniff. "Mummyy..." He whimpered as he reached for the phone again. But what was said next caught his attention.

"Mummy and Daddy ssay they will be home in two weekss, guyss. We will count down the dayss on your calendar at home, okay?"

The twin neko boys slowly nodded their heads in agreement, tears still drying on their face. "Okay Silwa!" Luke rubbed at his eyes and sniffed, but started to giggle when Silaeca patted his hair and fuzzy ears. Caleb reached for her hands as well, suddenly getting jealous that his brother was getting all the attention.

"Me next Silwa!" He huffed, but he was already getting the pats that he so desperately wanted, the much larger hand smoothing down his hair and fuzzy ears. Sighing in contentment, he started to relax. That was, until Silaeca mentioned the other animals.

At the mention of the different animals, Luke gasped and clutched his jaguar stuffed animal tighter. "Unicows, Sillwa." Caleb nodded his agreement.

"Weah, wet's go see da unicows, pwease?"

---

Cheria chuckled as James pulled her up. "Alright then, we don't want to be late for that, do we?" She followed James into the bus, letting him help her find a seat and watched him sit down next to her. "So, we're going on a safari but what are we looking for again?" She tried to crane her head so she could see beyond James, but so far it was only the front of the hotel.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Incognita Ninja

Silaeca swayed side to side slightly, rocking the boys when they got upset over missing their parents. Luckily they calmed down when Silaeca passed on their parents' message and promised to count down the days. Silaeca smiled at their little faces as they nodded solemnly while their tears dried on their cheeks. Silaeca took a wet wipe from the travel pack in her pocket and wiped the remnants of saltyliquid from their cheeks and eyes.

Their giggles warmed her heart when she petted their heads and ears, making sure to give equal attention to both babies. Then she had mentioned unicorns and they both got excited again. "Yeah, that'ss right! They have unicorns here! Little mini oness!" she told Luke as she made sure he didn't drop his jaguar plushie. She looked at Caleb "Okay honey, ssince you assked sso nicely, we'll go and ssee the unicornsss sstraight away!" she said. "I'll carry you for a bit, but later you have to go back in your stroller, okay?"

Silaeca turned her gaze to Iouya "Did you hear that? We're heading over to the unicorn enclosure.Caleb and Luke want to see them"

Iouya smiled, still holding Panthe and Oka. "Yup, my ears picked up what you were saying even over all the chatter of people walking around here. Let's get going! I'm actually excited to see them too! They sound adorable" he chuckled. "

Panthe and Oka didn't know what unicorns were. They were looking at all the people and sights around them, and their attention kept going back to the elephants, who were playing with enrichment toys with a keeper that had entered the enclosure. Panthe pointed at the big round rubber ball one elephant was pushing with its foot. "Baw!" she squealed loudly. "Baw!"

Iouya grinned at her "That's right sweetie, it's a ball! You have a ball at home, don't you?" he said, as he walked them to their double pram and sat Panthe in her seat and Oka in his, deftly strapping them back in. "We're going to go see the unicorns now! Won't that be fun? I know you'll love them!" he said encouragingly, as the twins began to whine and flail their tiny limbs, not happy at being strapped back into their pram.

Iouya followed Silaeca while she carried Luke and Caleb, using her one free arm to push their empty stroller along. They followed the sign posts stationed beside the footpaths and ended up at a huge enclosure with thick yet crystal clear glass around it.

Inside was what looked like a scene from a fantasy novel. Magical plants and flowers, rolling hills filled with wildflowers, a river and waterfall that created big rainbows in the mist that came off it, and all around, tiny unicorns no bigger than miniature ponies. In all different colours!

They had horns and hooves of different kinds: sparkly, pearly, shiny, shimmer and glitter, they also had different coat patterns and colours. Some of them had rainbow manes and tails in different tones such as pastels or brights. A few had wings as well as horns, making them Alicorns, and many of them had cutie marks on their flanks. They ran around everywhere, playing and whinnying. Some of them used their magic, sending balls of bright energy at other unicorns while playing tag. Some of the others groomed each other, mouthing at their silken coats and nibbling the hair into place. There were even baby minicorns, trotting around or nursing from their mothers.

Flashes of cameras and phone cameras flickered in the crowds around the enclosure. There were holes in the top of the glass walls and the minicorns could be heard whinnying and neighing happily. Iouya and Silaeca were enchanted by the minicorns and they were sure the kids would be too. Iouya pushed Panthe and Oka's stroller right up against the glass. A pale blue and white minicorn was rolling on its back in the grass, wiggling as he enjoyed a back scratch with all four hooves in the air.

"Look, Panthe, look Oka! These are unicorns! They're called Mini-corns! Aren't they pretty? Look, that one's casting a spell, they have magic powers!" he pointed out, unable to tell who was more excited, him or the tots! "Oh my gosh, I wonder how much it costs to have these as pets?"

Panthe and Oka looked at the minicorns in delight. Oka leaned forwards and pressed his face and hands against the glass, staring at all of the pretty creatures.

Panthe copied her brother with a gaping smile and slapped her hand on the glass "Look, look!" she yelled, excited. "Dat! Dat!"

Silaeca held Luke and Caleb right up to the glass too so they could have a good look. "Sssee! Look at all the unicorns! Aren't they lovely? Look, can you ssee a red one? Where'ss the red one?" she said, pointing at the glass at the red, white, and green minicorn.

Just then, some zoo keepers entered the enclosure, carrying bottles of glittery liquid that were different colours. "Okay everyone. Would you like to feed one of our minicorns? This special unicorn mixture keeps them healthy and happy. They love it! Now, if you want to participate, please line up at the blue staff door and one of us will let you in one at a time. There's plenty of minicorns to feed so you should get a good chance to feed one. But if not, we feed them again after lunch time"

---

James smiled at his beautiful wife "Nope! Definitely not. This is gonna be so much fun, love!" he enthused, helping her climb the steps of the bus and go down the aisle to find their seats. Once they were settled, his tail couldn't stop waving around in excitement, hitting the seat he was on. He grinned at Cheria "All sorts of different animals and creatures that are native to Firaca, honey! We're going to see things we've never seen before!" he said. "Some of them are very dangerous but if we stay inside this bus we should be fine. Photos are allowed, so I hope you've got your camera. I can't wait to see the looks on the little ones' faces when we show them our honeymoon pictures. I can't wait to see the looks on Fern's and Saberlin's faces!" he laughed. "I bet Saberlin would want to study everything he sees and bring it down to his secret labs"

People all filed into the bus and took their seats and their tour guide hopped on board with a megaphone as the bus driver sat down and began driving. The tour guide was a young and fit black guy with wild spiky hair. "All right, everyone, welcome to Firaca Safari tours! Is everyone comfortable? Everyone got their seats? Good. Now, we're going to see all sorts of wild animals of Firaca on this journey. For everyone's safety there are a couple of rules I'll go through - now, at all times, you are to stay inside the vehicle..."

As the tour guide began going over the rules, the bus started driving and leaving the hotel behind. They entered a dirt road that travelled through forest for about twenty minutes and then out into grassy plains with many different kinds of strange trees.

The first animals they came across were tall, graceful animals that had six legs and two long, slender necks with a head on each neck. They were tall enough to reach the very tops of the trees and pick the star shaped fruits from the highest branches. Five long tongues came out of their muzzles as they opened like flowers and the long sticky tongues wound around the fruit and twisted them off the tree before bringing it into the creature's mouths for them to chew up.

The tour guide pointed to them "And here, ladies and gentlemen, we have some of the tallest animals in Firaca - the gentle Finaffs! These animals are only found in areas where the starfruit trees grow..." he started to tell the group about them, as people took out their phones, video recorders and cameras and began snapping and taking photos and videos.  

[Incognita Ninja]

Meyaira Firespring

Both Caleb and Luke wiggled to be let down, and when they were let down they joined Panthe and Oka at the window. Mouths wide open, they gaped at the mini-corns, still for once.

"Okay everyone. Would you like to feed one of our minicorns? This special unicorn mixture keeps them healthy and happy. They love it! Now, if you want to participate, please line up at the blue staff door and one of us will let you in one at a time. There's plenty of minicorns to feed so you should get a good chance to feed one. But if not, we feed them again after lunch time"

After hearing the announcement, Caleb looked at Silaeca and tugged on her hand. "Silwa?" Once he got her attention, he pointed towards the door. "Can we peas feed da mini-cowns?" Luke reluctantly left the window when his brother left, the stuffed jaguar being held by an arm. Stopping, he turned back towards his cousins and watched them for a bit, unsure whether or not to stay with his brother or rejoin his cousins at the window.

"Web!" He turned and almost bounded to his brother, wanting to get his attention. Luke pulled his brother amid protests to the window, where a pair of mini-corns had gathered, intrigued by the small nekojins.

Caleb's frustrations forgotten, he gasped and touched a small hand to the window and one of the mini-corns nudged the glass where his palm was and nickered softly. He looked back at Silaeca and smiled broadly at her as if to say, see me?

Luke tried to put his hand on the glass as well, but Caleb hissed at him. Luke withdrew his hand and brought the stuffie closer to his chest.

---

Cheria settled into her seat next to him and grinned back. She reached over to grasp his hand and gently squeezed it. "I know, and I'm excited for it, James. " She took out her camera and gently squeezed his hand again. "That's why I didn't want to forget my camera, everyone back home would be interested in these creatures."

"I bet Saberlin would want to study everything he sees and bring it down to his secret labs"

Cheria chuckled. "Most likely. It's like you know my brother all too well now. From what I've seen, Saberlin tries to help people, and in doing so, he needs to experiment from time to time. Much like our father, from what I've heard."

When the bus started to move, she squeaked in surprise. But the surprise was lost when they started to see the different animals. Her eyes sparkled a little when she say the Finaffs, and started to take pictures with everyone else.

One Finaff in particular twisted one of its necks around to take a look at the tourists in the bus, and decided that they were in fact, not a threat to its lunch. It went back to the star fruit, mostly ignoring the tourists.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Incognita Ninja

Silaeca kept an eye on the two brothers while Iouya watched their cousins. She took the chance to pull her phone from her handbag and snap some pictures of the kids looking at the minicorns. The naga looked down at the tug on her hand and glanced at the door Caleb pointed at. "Ssure honey, I don't ssee why not" she said. "But sstay closse to me and Iouya, okay"

She watched Luke start to make his way over to her then have a change of heart and go back to the window, tugging his brother with him. Seemed like he was making the choice for both of them, which was a little unfair on his brother. Silaeca moved a little closer to the window to watch the boy cubs with their cousins. She smiled and snapped a few more photos, getting a picture of Caleb with his hand pressed to the window and the minicorn nudging the glass as the cub turned to her with the 'see me' expression.

Then the cute moment was ruined a bit by a touch of sibling rivalry and Silaeca slithered forwards, leaning over to pluck each boy up in her arms. "Hey now, Caleb, don't hisss at your brother, he wass just trying to join in" she said. "Come on, come with me and let'ss get some videoss of you two feeding the minicornss!" she said brightly, slithering into the line of parents and kids that had lined up at the door. The keepers were supervising, heading into the enclosure with the kids and telling them what to do, handing out bottles of glittery liquid.

Silaeca got the go ahead from the keeper standing by the door after a few more kids in the line moved ahead. The woman was dressed in a pair of khaki shorts and short sleeved shirt with sturdy boots on her feet. She had a cart full of bottles beside her. "All right, who do we have here?" Silaeca pointed to each cub, saying their names "Thiss iss Luke and thiss iss Caleb" she said with a flicker of her forked tongue.

"Luke and Caleb, what nice names. And aren't you two just adorable little cubs! Here you go boys, one bottle each. Just walk quietly and calmly into the enclosure and over to a minicorn, holding the bottle out like this" she demonstrated how to hold it. "And a minicorn will come up and latch on" she said. "The keepers in the enclosure will help you. Once the bottle is empty come back out and give it to me"

Luke was given a baby bottle with pink liquid and gold glitter inside it while Caleb was given one with blue liquid and purple glitter. Silaeca watched one of the keepers lead the toddler boys into the grassy meadows and over to some minicorns that were standing away from the main group getting fed. A white unicorn with a pastel rainbow mane and tail trotted up to Luke and began to try to grab the bottle teat, it's tail swishing fast in excitement. A more brightly coloured rainbow minicorn with feathered wings approached Caleb and also snatched at the bottle he held. Once the two little equines had latched on, they started sucking frantically, their ears perked up and their tails swishing. They kind of pulled at the bottles as they sucked and the keepers encouraged the kids to "Hold onto the bottle, or the minicorn might suck it right out of your hand!"

Iouya had lined up with Panthe and Oka, taking them out of their stroller and carrying one tot in each arm. The two were let in shortly after Luke and Caleb and eagerly toddled into the enclosure with bottles of magic feed. Panthe walked confidently over to a sleek black minicorn that had silver glitter on its body. She held out the bottle and laughed once the minicorn latched and began to tug at the bottle in her hands. Her little panther tail swayed as she had a huge smile on her face. Panthe let go of the bottle with one hand to stroke the minicorn's muzzle with her clumsy hand. "Ohh, soft!" she said in wonder. "Soft horsie"

Oka on the other hand, was a bit overwhelmed by all the kids and minicorns around him. He stopped and stood frozen in the middle of the big enclosure, clutching the bottle of silver liquid to his chest and looking a bit scared as he looked all around him. "Ah! Uh.." he looked around, trying to see where his sister went. Two minicorns trotted up to him and started trying to get the bottle he was holding but he had the teat part facing upwards and was holding it to his chest. So in order to reach it, a pale blue minicorn with cold pastel colours of blues, greens and purples, hopped on its hind legs to try and reach, putting its shiny little hooves on Oka's shoulders. "Uwaaa!" The little tot fell over with a cry and landed on his back, squeezing the bottle in fright which splurted liquid magic food all over his face, fur and hair. Oka started to panic and whimper as he tried to sit back up "Ah, ah, uaaa, waa!" suddenly, he was knocked back down by the two minicorns rushing over to start licking his face and head, joined by a third shortly after. Oka squirmed and whimpered on the ground, but his whines were sprinkled with giggles as he wiggled around. Being licked felt funny and kind of ticklish!

Iouya was recording Saberlin and Fern's babies on his phone while Silaeca was recording Luke and Caleb. The bat called out cheerfully through the glass "Hang in there Oka! Someone will help you up, matey!" he laughed. "Poor little tyke. He's a bit overwhelmed"

*****

James purred a bit when Cheria squeezed his hand, watching her take her camera out and start filming the Finaffs while he talked to her. "Yeah, well, now that I'm less intimidated by him and things have been patched up, it's been easier to get to know him more" he admitted warmly,

"And yes, you're right, his company does help a lot of people. It's good to know that there are manufacturers out there who make products to help us more non-human races" he said. "Saberlin's company is the only provider for many different races and magical illnesses. I can see how fun it would be to experiment and create new things, make discoveries and breakthroughs, knowing it's going to help people. That explains why he gets so addicted to his job. But I'm glad he and Fern took a holiday as well, it's good for both of them to enjoy each other's time alone and just be themselves. Poor Fern gets to spend most of the time with the kids or on her own since he's always working"

He laughed a bit when the curious Finaff turned one of its heads to look inside the bus "Ha ha, this must be just as entertaining for them as well as us. They're probably thinking 'here's more of those strange people coming to see us. Let's check them out!' he laughed as the tiger shaped tour bus continued to drive along. Some more creatures soon started to appear, colourful ones that looked like silken monkeys and parrots in the trees, crocodillian creatures splashing in the river, dog like creatures running in packs, and some really large and beautiful feline-dragon type animals that were flying around with furry dragon wings, playing and rolling in the grasses, grooming each other and gathering to feast on a killed antelope-style animal that the females had brought down. The creatures came in different shapes, colours and sizes and there were all sorts of various calls, roars, twitters, cheeps and sounds. It was like looking at a menagerie of creatures from a DnD listing, yet all of these magical animals seemed to have been designed and adapted specially to Firaca's climate and habitats. The tour bus continued deeper into the safari, heading towards some hills with waterfalls and caves in them.  

[Incognita Ninja]

Meyaira Firespring

Luke giggled as the minicorn sucked on the bottle, trying to keep a hold on the bottle with his small hands. Finally, the minicorn was done and nuzzled Luke to see if he had any more. Luke giggled and tried to get past the minicorn. "No, awl done, see?" Luke showed the minicorn the empty bottle. He glanced over at his brother to see how he was doing, and gripped the bottle tighter. "Web!"

Caleb grunted when his minicorn almost pulled the bottle out of his hands, but he dug his feet into the ground and refused to let go. The minicorn tugged harder and Caleb dug in deeper. Finally the minicorn relented and didn't try to pull back. However, the minicorn pulled back one more time, adn Caleb pulled back. Having Caleb where he wanted him, the minicorn let go and watched as Caleb fell backwards with a splash of feed on his nose.

"Oof!" The minicorn trotted up to Caleb and gently nuzzled him as if to say it was sorry for teasing him. Caleb giggled and gently patted the minicorn. The minicorn licked the magical feed off his nose and Caleb laughed. "Dat tiwkles!"

Luke went over to his brother and tried to help him up, though having one hand occupied with a bottle made it more difficult. Caleb got up by himself and grabbed his loose bottle before it was rolled away by the minicorns. The two brothers looked at each other and a silent understanding passed between them. Turning around, they started to run towards the zookeepers (as fast as toddlers can) to give them their bottles back. However, the minicorns had other ideas. They galloped past the cubs and turned to one side. Caleb was able to stop, but Luke didn't notice them until the last minute, and almost fell over one. The minicorn looked at Luke on its' back and seemed to say, "Well, what are you doing on there?"

Luke started to panic, but Caleb came to his aid, the small cub being closely followed by the minipegacorn. Caleb tried to pull Luke off the minicorn, but to no avail. Huffing, the minicorn kneeled down and Luke was able to right himself. Once he was standing on two feet, he clumsily patted the neck of the minicorn. "Thawnks." The minicorn gently nudged him as if to say "no biggie. You didn't mean any harm."

The two minicorns wheeled around and galloped in the other direction, eager to play with their friends. Luke and Caleb returned the bottles to the Zookeeper, making sure to thank them for letting them feed the minicorns. Giggling, they ran off towards Silaeca and held up their arms.

"Up, Siwaca!" Caleb whined. "Pwease?" Luke asked. They both wanted to be held now that their attention span (for that moment) was at an end.

----

Cheria excitedly watched the animals, and even pointing out some of the more exotic ones as she took pictures and recordings to show the children when they got back.

"Maybe it's best Saberlin doesn't know of these animals, I would hate to see them in a cage." She leaned against James as the bus rolled towards the waterfalls and caves. She could feel the damp air already, and it was a welcome sensation after the heat of the sun. However, she sat up when the tour bus did enter the area. She pointed to the waterfalls, which were gracefully cascading down the cliff face.

"Look, a rainbow! Or, would be a fallbow because it's happening over the falls?" She gave James a wink, knowing her joke wasn't that good.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Incognita Ninja

Silaeca wore an amused smile as she filmed the twin boys on her video camera, her fangs poking out. Her phone didn't get wide shots as easily so she was using a more professional camera to capture the entire scene. As soon as they came running out, the naga slithered over to them and picked each boy up in her arms. "Wass that fun? I hope you enjoyed yourselvess. Luke, you were ssso calm feeding your minicorn; you must be proud of the good job you did and Caleb, you did really well not to cry when the minicorn you were feeding knocked you over. Those minicorns had fun playing with you both" she chuckled, rocking Luke and Caleb side to side in her arms. "I think we can take a short break after thiss. It'ss time for a diaper change and a ssnack" she said. "We can look at the map and pick which animalsss to see next while we have our ssnack"

A zookeeper had to wade into the paddock through the minicorns and save Oka from being licked by the group of tiny magic equines. The woman helped stand the toddler up and then helped show him how to hold the bottle to feed one of the minicorns. Oka had tear tracks on his face from mixed crying and laughing, but he was starting to calm down now that he was safe. He grinned and giggled as the keeper helped him hold the bottle for the hungry minicorn that tugged at it with each suck. The keeper grabbed Oka's little hand and helped him pet the silky soft minicorn, making the little boy's eyes light up in delight. Once the bottle was empty, Oka was kind of disappointed. The keeper took his hand and helped walk him back to the exit, prompting him to hand his empty bottle over. Oka ran to Iouya the moment he was out the door and clung onto his legs.

Iouya petted the boy's head and ears as he chuckled, picking him up and settling him on his hip. "Hey, great job! You did it" he said, rubbing Oka's back as the shy boy buried his face into his nanny's neck and shoulder. "Now where's your sist- ohhh no" Iouya should have known Panthe would be the one to worry about.

Panthe had finished feeding her little minicorn but she had tried a few mouthfuls of the remaining magic formula from the bottle for herself. The little girl now had a soft aura of fine black glitter particles floating around her body. She had continued to pet her minicorn until, without warning, its navy blue horn lit up and it kneeled down, floating Panthe into the air then onto its back. Panthe grabbed fistfuls of soft mane and the minicorn began trotting around with the baby panther cub on its back, making her giggle as she bounced in place. The minicorn started to run faster and was soon cantering all over the fields with Panthe on its back. The keepers panicked because they didn't want Panthe to fall off and get hurt and started to try to entice the black and silver minicorn over with more bottles of formula. It was already full so it ignored them and kept running around. Panthe laughed as she bounced around like a sack of potatoes, the only thing keeping her on being her grip of the flowing mane and the unicorn's own blue magic.

Other minicorns saw their friend running around and decided to join in the fun. Soon there were running minicorns everywhere and it was chaos. A keeper came near Panthe with a big net, trying to catch the minicorn she was on. Panthe got scared as she saw the net swooping towards her and screwed up her face in fear as she cried out. "NUH!" the little girl shouted and lifted her hand which involuntarily fired a burst of black magic at the keeper, sending them flying backwards and landing on some flower beds. The minicorn halted as the blast startled it. Panthe broke into laughter, finding such slapstick comedy to amuse her. She then hiccuped and burped out a cloud of black butterflies that flew into the air and fluttered around. "Ga?" she watched them come out of her mouth with wide eyes, not noticing as black glittery stuff dripped out of one corner of her mouth.

Iouya was still holding his camera up as he watched slack jawed, Oka gripped firm in his free arm "Uhh, maybe I shouldn't be filming this..."

"Sissy!" Oka called out, his hand slapping the glass of the enclosure.

*****

James took pictures of all the different animals. Some were slightly humanoid and walked on two legs but most had multiple limbs and walked on fours or more. The tour guide on the bus explained what each creature was called and talked a bit about each kind, what they ate, how they lived and so on. Some of them were dangerous and others peaceful.

He smiled at his wife's kindness when she spoke, "I'm sure Saberlin wouldn't cage them unless he truly needed to. He'd probably rather capture and take samples or get what he needed from the field before returning them back to the wild" he said "From what I've seen, he loves animals and creatures of all kinds. I don't think he'd be needlessly cruel to any living thing. He enjoys studying them and learning new things but I've not seen or heard of him doing anything bad to get the data he needs. After all, that rock he brought back that hatched into a creature is now the family pet" he chuckled, mentioning Quarrow, the stone gargoyle type creature that guarded the mansion plus the grounds and the family. He'd wanted to follow the family members as they were leaving but had been made to stay home as a watchdog and make sure no one trespassed or caused trouble while the master of the house was away on leave.

James looked at Cheria "Speaking of pets, Saberlin has a pet...creature...why don't you and I get a pet for our little family? If he can have pets, then you should be allowed to as well" he said "Not that I'm saying to adopt a wild creature from this safari tour" he joked, "But Luke and Caleb would love to have a pet of their own. Maybe we should get a cat. Cats are great. We both know that" he winked at her.

His attention was diverted when Cheria mentioned the waterfall and turned to look out the window "Oh! Wow" He laughed a bit "Heh heh, a fallbow? That's a good one. Yeah,it's really pretty - oh! Look!" James pointed out the window and she would see some small colourful creatures with crocodile mouths, double mermaid type tails and webbed feet splashing around in the misty pools at the bottom of the falls. There were sprites that looked like silver and white Dandelion puffs flying around in the mist, collecting droplets of moisture into their fur, creatures with eight long, graceful legs, horns that looked like wreaths, slender antelope bodies and dainty hooves hopping around the rocky terrain surrounding the falls, nibbling the flowers and ferns that grew out of mossy patches. There were what looked like birds made of yarn with mossy wings in the trees, sparkly items decorating their stringy bodies.

"This is like being in an entirely different world" James breathed, his eyes trying to take in everything. As the bus began to climb further up into the rocky terrain, there were more trees, and eventually a river that burbled into some huge, clear rock pools with natural underground spring water, filled with flowers and tiny bright coloured fish. Draped out of one of the caves was what looked like a strange ice sculpture, it was huge and...it was moving. James' breath hitched as his brain connected the dots and helped him recognise what his eyes were seeing. It was a large, clear water dragon, made entirely of moving water, and it was lazily catching fish with the end of its tail that had a trap like grabbing cage on the end of it.

The tour guide was speaking "This is the natural spring guardian; Evian. He purifies the water and filters all the water that flows up from the underground. He'll eat fish from the pools and he tends and maintains all the waterways. He can immerse into the water and flow with it throughout the system. He has an immense hoard of treasure of all different types of water gems. Now, up in these cave systems, you'll find all kinds of draconic beings. They share the territory now but I must warn that fights do break out over territory and other issues"  

[Incognita Ninja]

Meyaira Firespring

Luke and Caleb's attention were drawn to the commotion in the enclosure and both gasped. Luke gently pushed Silaeca's arms off him, and after asking politely, was put down where he ran to the glass to join Oka. Pressing his face up against the glass, he stared at Panthe. Not fully understanding what Panthe was doing, he went back to Silaeca and tugged on the naga's shirt.

"Siwaca, wat is Pantwe doin'?" His stomach rumbled and his attention was distracted for a moment. He rubbed one hand over his stomach and his tail swished in confusion. He looked back up at her with his eyes wide.

"Siwaca, is Pantwe comin' soon? I'm hungwry." Caleb nodded at Luke's words.

"Weah, Siwaca, me too." Caleb looked over at Iouya and beckoned to him.

"Iouywa! Come soon?" He stretched out over Silaeca's shoulder, his arm still reaching for him.

((I'm assuming Silaeca is wearing a shirt. XD))

***

"But Luke and Caleb would love to have a pet of their own. Maybe we should get a cat. Cats are great. We both know that"

Cheria leaned into James, laying her head on his shoulder. "I would love to get a pet for our family. However, we're a family of cats, and even though a cat would be great, I think I want something that would help protect our family. Especially if we chose to expand our family again. What happened when Caleb and Luke were cubs....I just don't want that to be repeated." She nuzzled James and when she opened her eyes, a small sprite had landed on her nose.

She tried to get a good look at the sprite, but she was just crossing her eyes. After she was done trying to look at the sprite, she gently reached up a hand to help the sprite off, but the sprite fluttered away, its rest done. She wrinkled her nose after the encounter, and sneezed a few seconds later.

"Oh, pardon me. I didn't know that those little sprites would tickle so." She wiped her nose with a spare handkerchief before crumpling it up into her pocket. "Now, on the subject of a pet. How about a dog? I'm sure there are some breeds we can consider, though I'd rather we get one that's also good with children. No doubt we might have a lot of kids, and there's Panthe and Oka as well.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Incognita Ninja

Oka watched the ponies running around everywhere and started cackling his little head off as he watched his sister riding around. "Sissy, sissy!" he giggled, patting the glass some more. "Wun, wun!" (Run, run!). That looked like fun. His twin was laughing and squealing, seemingly having a blast! Oka was too scared to actually get on one of those mini ponies though. Panthe was a lot braver. Watching her from behind the safety of the glass wall was just fine by him. He laughed some more at all the keepers chasing the minicorns about, tripping over them.

Silaeca looked down at Luke after the tiny tot came waddling back over and pulled on her long shirt. Her tongue flicked the air as she stroked his soft hair and ears. "Panthe is riding the pony!" she informed him with a laugh. "She's not sssupposed to be doing that, though. I hope one of the keeperss can catch her!" she uttered, looking at the scene of comedic chaos with some worry. "Ssss....cousin Panthe is drawing way too much attention to herssself!" she mumbled, "Thiss iss bad. Could catch the eyess of the media" she frowned to herself. Then she heard Luke's tummy growl audibly and looked down to see him fixing her with a beseeching look and rubbing his tummy, her hand still resting on his head. "Oh, we will get you something to eat, sweetheart. We jusst need to catch Panthe and bring her back here. We can't leave her to live with the minicorns-ss"

Luckily, since Silaeca was a giant snake being (which some people found scary), people around them were giving her a wide berth, creating a space around her and Iouya and the kids. At least with a black bat and a red and pink snake, people wouldn't try to kidnap the kids as easily. If anyone found out they were the Harcourt family's heirs, trouble would come. This was the very first time the tiny ones had been outside the mansion and its grounds though, so hopefully no one would realise.

The naga looked at Caleb as he chimed in with his own pleas for food. "She'ss coming, she'ss coming! Look at all thosse keeperss trying to catch that naughty minicorn and Panthe" she laughed softly, pointing through the glass. "I promisse we will get some yummy snackss really ssoon" she said, patting Caleb's back and swaying with him a little.

The keepers managed to calm all the minicorns down by distracting them with toys and treats. A keeper finally got hold of the one that had Panthe on its back. She came out with the tiny panther toddler in her arms and commented to Silaeca and Iouya "I believe this belongs to you" she said somewhat annoyed but also chuckling, "We haven't had any kids drink the magic formula before. You might wanna get her checked out after your trip to the zoo finishes" she stated, handing Panthe over to the flying fox anthro. "There wasn't anything dangerous in the formula, just some concentrated magic"

"Yeah, thanks, sorry about that! Little ones can be unpredictable sometimes" Iouya took the small giggling girl from the zookeeper's arms with a sheepish apology and an embarrassed grin. He looked down at the little leopard girl. "Well missy, you caused quite the scene didn't you? You love being the centre of attention, bein' in the spotlight, huh? Oka thought it was pretty great" Iouya chuckled, bouncing Panthe in his arm a little as she began to fuss and whine at being taken away from the minicorns. "No, no. Come on, you've had enough fun for now. We need to take a break and change your bum and get a snack" he soothed, as Panthe began crying and reaching out to the glass enclosure.

"Uu..wahhhh!" Panthe yowled unhappily, reaching to the minicorns "Wanna wide a poniesh!"

Oka settled down as soon as his twin was back by his side, settled in the bat's other arm, but when she started crying he burst into tears too. "Waaaah! Waaaa!"

Iouya bounced both cubs in his arms, "Shhh, shhhh you two. Oka, why are you crying? You don't even know what you're crying for" he joked, trying to calm them down. Oka was still very little and sensitive, like all toddlers. He was just crying because he felt his sister's sadness. The bat glanced at Silaeca "Let's go find a quiet area to eat and rest. Staying here is gonna make Panthe cry more which is gonna make Oka cry more!"

Silaeca nodded and scooped Luke and Caleb up in her arms. "All right, letss go!" she agreed, helping push the double strollers with her prehensile snake tail. "Come along children, enough minicornss for today" she stated, slithering away from it.

******

They found a quiet spot under some trees with a table in the picnic area. Iouya buckled Panthe and Oka back in the twin stroller while he got the diaper bag from underneath. He took out a picnic blanket and spread it out on the grass, then pulled out a disposable changing pad and laid it down, getting out changing supplies and two small diapers. Iouya took Oka out of the pram first and laid him down on his back then gave him a plush toy to cuddle to help calm him down and distract him. He popped a pacifier into his mouth. "Okay Oka, your turn" he cooed at the boy "Cuddle your plush merkitty for me". He removed the denim pants and untaped the adorable diaper, starting to clean Oka with wipes.

The little cub gave a light shiver as the cool wipes started to touch his skin. He suckled his pacifier. His sobs got softer and turned into sniffles as he hugged the merkitty plush close and rubbed his cheek against it, scenting it. It smelled like home and that was soothing. Oka began purring to self soothe as well, softly rumbling. The pacifier bobbed cutely in his mouth.

Silaeca meanwhile, got out all the snacks, bringing out ziploc baggies of sandwiches cut into fours (squares and triangles), some chewy chocolate chip cookies, and some juice boxes. She sat Luke and Caleb on the picnic blanket at the farthest part from Iouya and Oka, handing them each paper plates with bright Sesame Street characters on them and a juice box with a straw in each. She curled her snake body around behind them so they could lean back against her tail for support. She dished out sandwiches on each of four different plates, making sure to give an assortment of different flavours to each child. She brought out larger sandwiches for she and Iouya. "Okay kiddo'ss, let'ss all eat together" she said. "We've got sssalad and chicken, peanut butter jelly, cheessse and marmite, and honey butter" she said, pointing to the sandwiches that were cut into shapes.

Silaeca set a good example by picking up a half of a cut sandwich and biting into it "Mmm! Yummy" she said, exagerrating how good the food tasted.

Iouya finished changing Oka into a new Pampers diaper and the cub crawled over to sit next to his cousins with some crinkles, plopping down beside Luke and Caleb. He popped out his paci then picked up a small square of a sandwich and bit into it "Mmmmm!" he giggled, copying Silaeca. Honey and butter. Yum.

Iouya took Panthe out of the stroller, who was cuddling a merkitty plush and had a paci of her own. She was still sobbing lightly but was much calmer than before, already starting to forget her experience.

Iouya tried to make her laugh "Pee-yew missy! What a stinker! Phew!" he teased her, holding his nose and scrunching his face playfully as he changed her.

Panthe surprised herself with a watery giggle, her ears pricking forwards a bit before drooping back down. She tried to cry more, but her tears had mostly stopped. Iouya did some more loud exclamations and acted silly, eliciting more giggles from the tiny girl. She gasped at the cold wipes, but it felt good to get cleaned. Soon she was all done and joined her two cousins and brother, going for the peanut butter jelly sandwich triangles and stuffing one into her gob.

Iouya sat on the blanket behind the twin Harcourts, chowing down on a sandwich himself. Honey butter for him too. "Hmm, it's been quite the eventful day, hasn't it?" he asked Silaeca.

She nodded "It's been crazy but fun. I'll change Luke and Caleb once they finissh their ssnackss" she said.

Oka gently held up a cut sandwich piece "Rye-angle!" he declared softly. Triangle. Yep. That was the shape.

*****

James and Cheria were still talking as they enjoyed themselves on the tour. It was to end with a nice journey through some glow worm caves. James snapped pictures of the water dragon and the pools, and all the animals he could get on film. He couldn't wait to show the family when they got back. He lowered his phone and glanced down at Cheria while she laid on his shoulder. Her eyes were so beautiful. All of her was beautiful. From the bronzed skin to the tawny hair and lion features. He leaned down to kiss her forehead with a smile.

James' mouth dropped open in surprise at her suggestion "NOT a cat? Not a cat? Well that's going to be different" he said, seeming to go along with her choices. He blushed a bit at her mention of expanding their family. "Fair enough. I don't want our cubs to be in danger either. Now, or in future. Well, what kind of pet did you have in mind, dear?" he asked, genuinely curious.

James grinned when the sprite landed on her nose, and started snapping pictures. He laughed at her cute sneeze and crossed eyes. "Getting up close and personal with the wildlife, looks like fun" he teased her. "Let's take that as a good omen".

He watched her wipe her nose and smiled. Cheria was pretty even when she was cleaning her nose. His mouth then fell open when she mentioned a dog. "A canine?" his ears twitched. He then opened and closed his mouth a few times. "Well, okay, if you're sure. Dogs are loyal and good protectors. It's just going to be strange...a dog in a family of cats" he laughed softly, shaking his head. "All right then darling, we'll get a dog. One that's good with children. We'll look for one tomorrow. As for having a lot of kids..." he trailed off in thought a moment "Well, I suppose that's okay. We have nannies, money, and plenty of space back home. A larger family would be fine with me" he said, hugging his wife.