[Bonfire PRP] Adventures in Babysitting [Truth, Rose][FIN]

[Scaramouche Fandango]

Well, this was great. Juuuust peachy. Somehow Half Truth had ended up promising fifteen small children hyped up on toasted grubs and candied pears that she would take them into the woods to look for things to burn. She was aware of the processes that led her here, but that didn't mean she was fully cognizant of why she'd made the decisions that led her to the supervision of fifteen children. As her merry band of monsters headed away from the party, she managed to catch sight of Roses and frantically attempted to beckon her over to the troop. As she tried to explain herself, one of the children shoved a big leafy branch in her face. "So you see, I was telling them a story and they wanted to get up and go looking for sticks, and I couldn't let them go alone, what if somebody got lost or hurt, and- MFFPHHFHFM yes thank you that's, uh, that's a rather large stick you found and shoved in my face, why don't you go look for more?" She smiled at the child, a look of desperation in her eyes as she turned back to Roses. "Please. Please help me."
[+4]
 

[So Long Gay Bowser]

Roses in Bloom had intended to go on a walk to enjoy the fresh air, and perhaps get away from the revelry of the party. It was not that she didn't enjoy it, no! She loved all the new company! She just... needed some time on her own. Ducking away from the celebrations, Roses in Bloom drew a deep breath and sighed contentedly. The fall air seemed perfect for-

...A small herd of children?

Her jaw popped open unattractively, and Rose sort of just... regarded the small army that Half Truth seemed to have amassed. They had discussed children, but this seemed a tad extreme. And then Half Truth was with her, by her side, explaining a fire and games and- ah. That made a great deal more sense. The fluttering sense of panic within her quieted, and instead, Rose took on a gentle smile.

"Let's not look over there, little ones!" She called, her voice taking on a surprisingly loving demeanor for little ones not her own. Some of them turned and perked up, and the older doe laughed, thundering ahead.

"This way! Come on now, slowpokes, you'd better not lose to this old doe!"  

[Scaramouche Fandango]

Thank the motherfather for her patience, Half Truth thought as she attempted to corral the youths. Another one- a little kiokote- impatiently swatted her flank with a branch. "Thanks for that, little buddy!" she said, taking the leafy bough and adding it to her stack. Trotting after Roses, she carefully balanced the wood. "They sure are enthusiastic, huh? I knew they wanted to run around, but I just kinda figured it wasn't safe to let them be that close to the fire and be so rambunctious. What if one of 'em fell in, y'know?"
[+8]
 

[So Long Gay Bowser]

"Considering how rarely we see fire around here, that's entirely reasonable," Rose reassured her friend, offering her a more demure smile than the excited one she had given the children. It was odd, how different she felt in mothering mode than how she felt around Half Truth. They were confidences, in their own right, but the social one was the slowest developing. Perhaps these children would grow up more self-assured than she had. It made her heart glow, thinking of what a great future she had.

"I was admittedly a hair concerned," she admitted with a quiet chuckle, looking about the area to try to reconcile her thoughts with her oddly nervous emotions. "We had jokingly discussed the future of children... I had feared you had taken me entirely too seriously too quickly. I know I've eight of my own, but I don't think I could handle eight at a time."

And there! That was a decent log! Smiling to herself, Rose went over and flipped it up onto her back.

[+2 total]  

[Scaramouche Fandango]

"Hah, no- I don't think I'm really ready to adopt this many. One or two at a time, but certainly not... sixteen? Who is this kid? Where did they come from?" she said, counting little heads. The new arrival was yelling at two of the others; not a fight, but excitement. The three of them were dragging a massive, dripping log. "N-no, babies, this wood is wet. Where'd you get this?" She followed the children's excited pointing and found... a small pond. This was driftwood. The children had recovered driftwood. She smiled as patiently as possible. "This is a very good log, but it's too wet- why don't you put it back in the pond? I'm sure a frog is missing his home." Turning back to Roses, she smiled and shook her head. "Eight maybe over time, but no, not all at once. Though I really do think I want more. It's been- raising Changes has been such an experience. I'd never really thought about kids before, but I think he and I met each other at just the right time. It's kinda funny how life works, you know?"
[+8]
 

[So Long Gay Bowser]

"I do believe my children taught me how to live for someone besides myself." Roses had thought, for a very long time, she had been utterly defined by her relationship with Walking Root. The purple doe had made her into who she was. Raising children, however, a strange thought had grown in her- a little seed, idling, waiting to germinate. In time, she had realized- living her life so entirely for someone else had just been a means to hide from herself. It was a selfishness, in its own way. An unwillingness to discover who she was, or what she had to offered to the world. In motherhood, she had not been so clingy- she had given life and let it grow on its own. In turn, those lives had given on and on to the swamp itself.

"Really, it's a part of why I love little ones so much," Rose confessed, finding herself delighted by watching the children frolic and play. "No matter how much of yourself you see in your children, they give the world something else. They're you, but they're also their own kin entirely. It's truly a miracle," she sighed blissfully, her attention following the foals as they threw the log back to the pond.

"Here, here children! I see some good twigs for the fire!" She called out to them. Several- one she recognized as an acha, and some she could not place- scrambled past her, taking up the twigs she had pointed out for their pile.

[+3 total]  

[Scaramouche Fandango]

"No, children. I didn't mean find another piece of driftwood- oh, and you've brought me the frog still attached, how thoughtful. Why don't you go put him back before he gets mad?" Half Truth sighed and shook her head. "It's kinda funny the way relationships change you. See, I kinda feel the same way- I was so wrapped up in what I was doing that I couldn't really make sense of any relationships. Nothing was really important, but then suddenly something was. And-" She frowned. "I was about to tell you some amazing things about my child, but it appears that he's fallen into the pond."


[+8]
 

[So Long Gay Bowser]

"It seems that it's changed the both of us for the better," Rose replied, pleased to hear that Half Truth had done so much thought about child-rearing as well. She was not alone in her pondering, it would seem. How they both had grown! Once more she opened her mouth to reply, but then one of the little ones- Half Truth's little one, it seemed- had fallen into the water. Oh dear.

"...Not to be insensitive, but on the subject of us," she interjected, doing her best to make it seem as though the conversation were going in a flirtatious direction...

"...Want to help me carry this log?"

[+7 total]  

[Scaramouche Fandango]

"Of course I will- just- oh no now there's two more in the pond, hang on." Half Truth ran after the kids and got them out of the mucky water, splashing a little bit of wood in the process.

[+11]
 

[So Long Gay Bowser]

Roses in Bloom laughed richly as Half Truth scrambled after the children. Maybe things could work out between them, perceived differences aside. As the foals dried off, she called once more.

"I've found another great log, if you'd all like to help me carry it back to the fire!"

[+11 total holy s**t I'm free from log hell]