“Aw, please don’t send me back there,” Sylvie said, clutching the front of her shirt tightly in her hands, “I don’t know if I can bear it.” She sniffled a bit, stepping closer to Ryuu, eyes wide and teary. A couple of feathers fell off of her arm and floated to the floor.

“Now, now, no…You don’t have to go back to the unicorn lair,” Ryuu soothed, “I am wondering, though, all of you, if there is someone who is willing and able to assist with the baby, which does, in fact, mean that you would need to be there about three to four hours a day at different times to feed and make sure the child is okay.” The rest of the group stood silent and still, eyes close to the ground. Ryuu looked around, studying each person, but no one stepped forward.

“Look. It’s not much compensation, but…if someone could do it, we could grant an extra paddle of the grass per day.” Everyone shifted and looked at each other. Ryuu stood still.

There was a clatter of dishes in the other room and a scream, horrific yelling. The women started to chatter, and Ryuu watched as a small girl ran out of the kitchen into the washing area, ducking her head under her arms.

“Ach! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” she cried out, toppling into a washer dragon. The dragon fell over and cursed, shoving the girl off of her lap.

“Ach! I’m sorry!” the girl gasped, kneeling on the floor, “I’m sorry, Mrs. Olgesvie.”

“No matter, child, just…be careful,” said the older dragon.

“Alright. I have a decision,” said Ryuu, “Day. You will be the one to help out the baby.” Day looked up at Ryuu.

“Oh. A baby? I love babies,” she said, “What’s the baby’s name?” The rest of the women sighed, rolled their eyes, and turned back to their work. Ryuu helped Day up.

“His name is Seren. He’s a rather cheery baby considering his origins. I know you two will get along well,” Ryuu replied.

“Seren? His name is Seren?!” Day clapped her hands together, “How old is he?”

“He’s pretty young,” replied Ryuu, “Only a few days, maybe a week old. I’ll introduce you to him. He will need to be looked after every few hours to make sure he is well taken care of. In fact…”

Ryuu looked up at the clock in the kitchen, tapping his cheek.

“It seems that I am going to be heading there shortly anyway. Why don’t you come with me, and I’ll explain more about it.”

“Yes, sir!” she exclaimed, her cow ears twitching back and forth in excitement. Ryuu stifled a sigh of relief, smiling widely at her.

Day was a preteen minotaur. She had double sets of ears, two cow ones and two normal human ones, but the ones that functioned correctly were her cow ears. She was blind in one eye thanks to a unicorn raid when she was an infant that also took both her parents. It also affected her depth perception, so she tended to bump into people and things, often causing messes and misunderstandings. Despite these things, she tended to lean towards a positive and optimistic demeanor.

“Is Seren another minotaur like me? Or is he a dragon? Oh!” she gasped, “Is he a sphinx?!”

“Even more rare,” Ryuu replied, leading her down the tunnels, “A phoenix.”

“A phoenix! Wow!”

“Now, you will need to visit at least three times a day. You’ll have to make sure to bring food, clothing, and toys for the baby. He won’t be…leaving his area for the nursery, so we have to provide for him in this way. He has a caretaker already, but she will need…some extra help.”

“His mom?”

“No…he has no parents,” Ryuu said, “Just like you.” He caught a small, sympathetic smile from her lips.

“Who else is with him?” she asked.

“Oh, someone you haven’t met yet. Don’t worry. I think you both will get along splendidly.”

“No, fuck this, I’m out,” said Day, closing the door to the prison common room.

“But, Day, I wouldn’t ask you to do this unless I thought you could do it…”

“She tried to kill me.”

“I wouldn’t say that…”

“She literally took her weapon, aimed it at my head, and told me I would die.”

“No, she wasn’t threatening you…

“She said, and I quote, ‘I will kill you.’”

“She is still being rehabilitated in order to function with us. Armel will be there with you! She is all talk and no action. She doesn’t mean it that way. You get an extra paddle of grass!” Ryuu explained beseechingly. Day sighed.

“Yeah, but I don’t think she will let me get near the baby at all.” Ryuu reflected.

“Yes, I see your point. But I think that if anyone has a chance to get through to her on any kind of level, it will be you.”

“Why me?” Day eyed him, her bulging cow eyes squinting in skepticism.

“Because you…tend to look at the positive side of a situation, and I think…she needs someone…really anyone…to show her the brighter side of life.”

“Does he insult me?” she whinnied, stomping around the cells. Seren was awake and crying in the blankets. She hit her metal bar on the wall, causing some debris to fall.

Armel debated whether to comfort the child or the mare first.

“He is a dragon. Dragons are practical creatures,” he said finally, “She is young, but she is strong and willing. I vouch for her myself.” Heartless snorted.

“He sends a mere girl…A mere girl! For a child such as this!”

Armel squatted near the child, watching his white face turn red from crying. He poked the baby. The baby kept crying.

“I don’t know how to help you either,” he murmured. Heartless paused in the midst of her rage as if suddenly realizing the baby was in distress. She dropped her iron bar and pushed Armel away.

“He is fine. He is fine,” she reassured, picking him up to cradle him. He squirmed and thrust his head back, wailing.

“Food. Food? Does he need food?” she asked anxiously. She trotted out to the common room, tossing her head.

Armel followed, watching carefully. Heartless trotted around the room for a bit, holding the wailing fire fowl babe. She stopped near the door to the tunnels, the exit, and turned her head towards Armel.

“You are wise to stay,” Armel said, twitching his jingling ears, “It is also wise that you let Day come to see him often. There’s something to tell you about Day.” Heartless held the baby to her chest, and his crying started to muffle.

“She…has no family. She is blind in one eye and tends to be set aside as a nuisance to the rest of the community. It…it would be beneficial if you let her help, if only to give her something to do that would seem…useful. She…needs this to feel…useful.” Armel prayed to the unknown that Heartless would accept his explanation.

Heartless looked at the barely consoled child. Armel could see her thoughts blooming in her eyes. Unicorns were barely ones to hold back on what they thought.

“Fine. The cow whore may come, even if she has no udders,” Heartless replied, flaring her nostrils. Armel mutely nodded, thankful to the unknown.