"Gosh I love birds..."
Likes:Deer
Animals
The letter "T"
Decorating for holidays
Spiders
Dislikes:Rudeness
Bad writing
Being lonely
The letter "J" THEY ARE HARD TO GET THE RIGHT WAY... YOU KNOW IT




It wasn't a terribly odd occurrence for Ivory Joan to be late for dinner, but it certainly was unexpected.
Zaruko glanced at the clock - not as an act of impatience; just to check. Five forty-eight. Approximately twenty minutes since the designated time for Ivory to be home. He sighed, looking back towards her set dinner plate, filled with steak, mashed potatoes and corn - all of which were probably cold by now.
He waited a while longer - until six o'clock - before he stood and took the plates, walking over to the kitchen. He cleaned his and placed Ivory's in the microwave before scribbling out a note for his daughter, letting her know that her dinner was in the microwave if she still wanted to eat. Just as he was signing the letter, he heard hushed muttering from outside the front door and heard it open and close quietly. He glanced over to the hallway connecting the foyer to the living room, where he saw Ivory's shadow looming in.
"So you're finally back," he said coolly, earning a loud squeak from his daughter. He heard scrambling and a "Wait here" before she hurried into the room, smiling widely at her father.
"Hi, Daddy! How was your day?"
Okay. Now he knew something was wrong. He had a hunch before, but now he knew. Ivory never, not ever asked how her father's day went - not unless she knew she was bound to be in trouble.
Zaruko placed his chin in the palm of his right hand, drumming his fingers against the granite countertop.
Ivory began to sweat a bit. "N-not that interesting, huh?"
Zaruko narrowed his eyes, locking them with Ivory's and daring her to look away. They had a momentary staredown before Zaruko finally said, "Alright, kiddo. What did you break?"
Ivory Joan raised her hands quickly in defense. "I did no such thing!" she said in mock appaul.
"You stole something?" Zaruko's brow raised significantly.
"No, Dad!" she snapped before collecting herself. "I... I was afraid to call you because I was afraid you were gonna say no, alright?"
Zaruko blinked. "You... You bought a puppy, didn't you." He didn't ask it - he stated it bluntly.
"He's better than a puppy, Dad." At this, Ivory was grinning big.
He. He. "Oh God Ivory, what did you buy?"
Ivory reached over and grabbed her father's wrist, tugging him along. "I didn't buy him, Daddy," she went on. "I found him. See, I was walking by the park when up comes-" She rounded the corner and, with a big flourish of her hands, pointed towards the door "-this little fella!"
Zaruko glanced over and immediately set his sights on a small child - probably around seven or eight - with a prosthetic leg and a small walking stick. He stared, speechless, gawking at the kid as his daughter fidgeted off to the side nervously. "D-Dad? Y-you're not mad, a-are you? ...Da-"
"Ivory Joan LuCreaux," Zaruko said firmly, and Ivory knew she was in for it, "where did you find this child?"
"I-I just told you, he was at the park-"
"Was he with anyone?"
Ivory glanced over to the kid nervously. "E-er, no Dad... He... He's an or-"
Orphan.
The word hit him like a ton of bricks before it even escaped his daughter's lips.
Zaruko's icy blue eyes widened significantly before he glanced over to his daughter, baffled. "...And you found him at the park?" He was straining to keep himself composed at this moment.
"Y-yeah, Dad," Ivory said, her voice dropping to a low whisper. "Kid was just sitting there on the swingset. I asked him how long he'd been there - three days tops, he says. I'm not entirely sure myself, but I think his parents up and ditched him there... No note, no signs of them coming back - nothing. He wouldn't say anything else after that - just kept looking at the trees and changing the subject. Must've hit him hard, you know?"
Zaruko could only nod at that. He let his gaze trail back to the child, who was staring at the large, oval mirror hanging on the wall across from the front door. Zaruko swallowed thickly, looking back at his daughter and clearing his throat, catching both her attention and that of the child.
"Right. Ivory, your dinner's in the microwave. Heat it up for a minute and a half before you check it, alright?"
She nodded quickly and bolted out of the room, leaving Zaruko alone with the mystery orphan. Zaruko watched as the child's gaze quickly darted to Ivory's retreating figure, staring wide-eyed as she rounded the corner and disappeared from his view. Not even two seconds later, his solemn stare was plastered to Zaruko, catching the elder off-guard.
The small boy watched Zaruko, observing him, as if he were trying to decide if the elder was a threat or not. Once he deemed him harmless, the boy walked forward slowly, leaning against his cane and looking up at Zaruko.
Zaruko was still at a loss for words, trying to form a coherent sentence. He didn't want the kid to be nervous, or afraid of him. But he'd never been in this situation before. He'd never fostered a child before - I mean, sure, he raised kids before, but three out of those four were with a partner, and now that he was divorced, he was finding it exceedingly difficult to-
"So you're my new Papa?"
Zaruko choked on his saliva as the young boy spoke calmly. He glanced down at the child, bewildered, and the boy took that as an invitation to continue.
"Miss Ivory," he said, pointing in the direction she'd left. "She said I could be her little brother. Does that make you my Papa, now?"
Now understanding why Ivory didn't want to simply call him and tell him this news, Zaruko knelt down to be at the boy's eye-level. "Well," he began. "I... I suppose so. If you'll let me, that is. I don't want you to feel like you're forced to be here."
The boy nodded understandingly. "You seem like a good Papa," he said quietly. "Miss Ivory... She told me lots about you."
"Oh?" Zaruko said, genuinely curious. "What did she say?"
"She said you could be a bit loud and grumpy," he started, "but she told me you have a good heart. She said you kept her going, and that you'd help me." At this part, his voice got quiet, and he looked down shyly.
Zaruko chuckled lightly, catching the boy's interest once again. "Well I'm glad to hear my daughter isn't speaking ill of me," he joked lightly, smiling at the child. "Do you have a name, son?"
The boy nodded. "My mama used to call me Regreas - because she regretted having me, she said."
Well then, wasn't that just lovely? Again, Zaruko choked, staring wide-eyed at Regreas. Why would a mother tell her son that? He was suddenly very angry for this sweet little boy, but attempted to stay calm. "Now, why would she say that?"
Regreas shrugged. "Dunno. She said my papa left her when I was born, and that's why she named me that - because I was the end of a series of events that made her regretful."
Zaruko nodded, trying to wrap his head around this fact. "Do... You don't believe her, do you?"
At this, Regreas gave a small grin. "Slightly," he said. "I believe she named me 'Regreas' because I'm a regret...
"But I'm the one regret that she'll regret letting go of."
The moon hung in the sky, letting down a pale light that was enough to allow one to see their paw in front of their face, but not much more. Whilst the streets would normally be empty by this time of night, the hustle and bustle of the daytime had continued into the night. In the small town, any ruckus after 8pm was considered an abnormality, but as Christmas was only two days away, everyone scrambled to find last minute presents and other things needed to make the holiday fun. For one Plumie in the city, it was just another day. Or night, rather. He sat in his rustic office, looking outside to the street below. The commotion had died down in the last hour or so, but was still too noisy for his ears. Suddenly, the mobile phone that had been placed precariously on the edge of the desk rang out, making the Plumie literally jump out of his seat. Upon realising what had happened, he grabbed the small device and pressed the accept call button. “Hello?” His voice pierced the almost silent air.
“Detective Moriter? We need you down on Novak Avenue as soon as possible. We’ve found something you might be interested in.”
He hurried down the busy street, ducking and weaving through the vast amount of people still shopping. Luckily, his office was only around the corner from his destination. As he approached, he saw his mate and sidekick Darwin sitting on the curb, with another Plumerian wrapped up in a thick blanket next to him. “He was wandering the streets, kicking around a can and chewing a stick of gum. He’s most definitely homeless.” The other Plumie’s eyes widened. [i]They’re alone on Christmas…[/i] he thought to himself. “Darwin, we’re not having any more kids.” He said, breaking the silence that had fallen between the three.
“I know, Chandelier. I don’t think I’d be able to cope with any more, especially if they turned out like Bay did.” Chandelier smiled at the thought of his youngest son. Whilst his other children were fairly well behaved, Bay was…well, a ruffian, to put it bluntly. He didn’t go around vandalising properties or getting tattoos everywhere, but his snarky and rude attitude made him a nightmare for the adults to handle. Once the smile had faded away, Chandelier spoke to the child.
“Hello there, little one.” The adult said sweetly, keeping his voice calm and quiet. “Where are your parents?” The small Plumie
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