Chapter Text
Diamane assesses the room for the final time. The kids’ toys were packed in the corner at the back, the small shelves filled with picture books on the opposite side, along with beanbags and fluffy mats. Small tables and chairs filled with paper and crayons near the windows, and cubby holes for both the other babysitters and the kids’ things. Strings that held the kids’ previous doodles decorated the ceiling, as well as a few whiteboards upon light blue walls with more doodles that the kids insisted that it stays up. Sapphimane and Rubymane were outside by the entrance, ready to bring in the kids.
7.30 a.m.
The first few to come into the daycare are usually the older ones. When Zander and Lucien came in, they immediately picked out their favoured stuffed toys from the corner. Zander raised his purple sheep high in the air, before smushing his face into the felt wool and flopping back onto the floor. Diamane had to remind the little being to breathe every once in a while, before promptly shoving his face back into the wool. Luci was more gentle with his moon pillow, opting to hug it on the way to the bookshelf.
Cassian and Gale came in just a bit later, their first actions similar to the first two. Cass pulled out a small, light blue bolster, before going to where Lucien was sat reading. Gale shuffled around for his beloved parrot, which he affectionately named ‘pip’ before leaving to doodle. Finally, the last of the older group. Rosco had to be carried in by Sapphimane as the little one was still clearly half-asleep. Before he made his spot on the fluffy mats by the bookshelf, he too searched for a stuffed pink rat toy and cuddled with it.
All was peaceful for now, save for the grumbling from Rosco when Zander forwent suffocating himself in the sheep plush and decided to disturb Rosco by poking him continuously.
8 a.m.
This was around the time when the sleepy morning turned into an energy-filled room. Ememane and Topamane came in not too long ago, and sat with the first few kids playing with them. Nayuta was brought in first. Instead of the toys at the corner, he made a trail to the box labeled ‘construction toys’ and pulled out a squeaky hammer with a purple handle. Diamane could only sigh. It was a regular action and no-one would be seriously hurt. Besides one.
Speaking of which, Altus and Ryzar followed after. Altus grabbed a white and blue marbled bouncy ball and grinned widely in Nayuta’s direction. Nayu raised his hammer and glared in response. Ememane was thankfully ready to hold them back when the inevitable fight starts. Ryzar ignored the two, and grabbed his favourite orange dinosaur plush from the pile. The orange-haired boy looked at his toy, then to the pile, then back to the dinosaur, before squirming his way into the centre of the pile. Diamane could already hear the evil chuckling from the three year old.
Malim was similar to Rosco, having to be carried in by Sapphimane. The two were unfortunately subject to Ryzar’s jumpscare, causing the red-haired kid to cry. The blue-aproned babysitter had to quickly search for Malim’s red rabbit plush to soothe the poor thing. Ryzar thankfully felt guilty enough that morning to crawl out of the pile and help comfort the little one.
9 a.m.
The room was much noisier now. Ryzar and Zander were playfighting with Gale and Altus. Luci and Cass were found sitting on the beanbag together, sharing a book titled ‘Don’t let the pigeon drive the bus’. Nayu, Malim and Rosco were by the window, basking under the morning sun. Diamane still found it questionable on how the three kids could be comfortable laying on a table cluttered with crayons and paper. No matter, as long as they didn’t try to eat said items.
Amymane, the last of the babysitters, came in holding a small pouch of colourful pebbles for the kids. “I could only buy nine. It was all the stall had left…” Amymane said, only then realizing the jealousy the final five would bring. Diamane lightly pats them on their forehead. “If they pile you, I’m not saving you.” Ah yes, piling. A thing the boys do when they want something or were aggravated by a particular babysitter that day. It’s rather straightforward, when a few of the boys decide to group together and attack their victim, by swarming them and poking or patting them with sticky fingers until their victims relent and give them what they want.
This time, it was Rubymane bringing Ash and Shiki in. They placed the two down by the toy pile, watching Ash grab a fuzzy green bouncy ball and Shiki pull a white and purple blanket from under the toy pile. The red-aproned babysitter mentally facepalms as the dwindling pile of toys fell when Shiki decided to pull out the blanket. Ash was trying to waddle with the big ball in his arms, but didn’t manage to make it past five steps before tripping and rolled over the ball. Topamane was nearby, but they weren’t fast enough to catch the now dizzy little thing. The yellow-aproned babysitter was trying to hold back their laughter while tending to Ash.
Next were Liron and Caelen. The two were rarely seen apart despite them being complete opposites. Liron took his pink cat plush from the pile while Caelen took his blue dog plush, before sprinting around the room, chasing each other. How they never ran out of energy was beyond the babysitters.
Finally, the youngest of the bunch. Little Elias, only 11 months old but had to be placed under the care of the babysitters due to his parents’ long hours at work. His presence was heralded by both Sapphimane and Rubymane since no one else was going to come in. Elias waddled his way to the pile and fell in, alerting the various babysitters around him. A quick second later, the little one wiggled his way out of the pile with a green hamster that was almost half the size of his body.
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The daycare is now in full chaos for the day. As expected, the youngest five were glaring at the other nine and their shiny pebbles. The said nine were holding their pebbles close, and occasionally had to be reminded not to eat them. Maybe it was a good thing that Amymane bought only nine because knowing the youngest ones, it would probably be eaten by now. Though they were of course piled under five pairs of tiny hands poking the babysitter trying to will five more pebbles to come out and greet them.
Altus was bothering Nayu as usual, gently rolling the ball towards the other and getting it pushed back in retaliation. When that wasn’t enough, Nayu gave up and started bonking Altus on the head with his hammer. Ememane was futilely getting Nayu to stop hurting Altus, and was also bonked on the head. He was rather feisty that day and his purple pebble was taken away for a while as a small punishment.
Ash, Zander and Ryzar were now roleplaying as some hero-villain fight, with Zander smugly playing victim between his two friends. Though it mostly involved Ash trying to steal their respective pebbles. Gale, Cass and Lucien were doodling on the paper. The mini self-deemed pirate was trying to sneak bites of the crayon in his hands, so Rubymane had to sit next to Gale to gently push his hand back down to the table when it got too close to his mouth.
Malim and Rosco relocated their sunspots to melting across the matted floor, –joined by Caelen and Liron rolling around on the floor– so the babysitters had to be careful not to step on them. Diamane was quietly playing with Elias and Shiki by the side, using Ash’s green ball. Just until Shiki used a bit too much force and almost sent little Eli rolling with the ball.
12 p.m.
Lunchtime was arguably the best time in the daycare. Their lunches were taken out from their bags in the cubbies, before they made a haphazard line trailing into the daycare’s toilet to wash their hands. That day Sapphimane was tasked to check and dry the kids’ hands before they were allowed to go. The blue-aproned babysitter had water splatters on their body and clothes at the end of it. Thank goodness they only had to do that task once a week. The other babysitters took charge of clearing the doodle table and cleaning it while the kids were washing their hands.
I’ll spare you the trauma (and embarrassment) of the pre-meal song, but the boys sang happily knowing they'll soon get to see what their parents made for them that day. Most of them had mini-sandwiches, cut or dried fruit, and a small handful of candy. Others, such as Eli, had pureed apple in a mini packet and Zander had his usual chicken nuggies which were very sought after between the boys. Whoever had a good trade that the blonde kid wanted that day was blessed with a wondrous chicken nuggie. Good trades usually involved rare dinner leftovers such as pasta or shepherd's pie.
It was also a brief time where the babysitters could rest while they ate their lunches too. They occasionally gave a few bites of their ‘adult meals’ to the kids to trade for a candy or a watermelon slice.
After lunch and cleaning up, the boys rested for a while before being led out to the gardens behind the daycare. There was a wide variety of both edible and inedible plants, but to the kids, they were all edible. Most of the time they were out to learn more about the flora and fauna, though the lessons only worked when the kids weren’t trying to eat everything in sight.
Topamane had to carry Elias before he tripped and fell into the dirt. The youngest one still held onto his hamster, after being away from it for just an hour while he ate lunch. Zander had to be stopped by Amymane before he could munch on a poor unsuspecting caterpillar, and Ryzar managed to pick a few vine tomatoes to eat before spotting a bunch of colourful flowers and moved on. Caelen was chasing Liron once again, but was soon cut short when the pink-haired decided to climb onto Ememane and blow a raspberry. The green-aproned babysitter had now become a tree to the two, and almost falling if it weren’t for Diamane prying Caelen away and plopping him back onto the ground.
It was a rather small garden, with the path ending at a playground. The kids excitedly ran for the slides and climbed on whatever they could. Elias was freed from his carrier and decidedly made himself comfy by Topamane’s foot. The yellow-aproned babysitter patted Eli on the head, then his hamster after the little one raised the plushy up expecting it to get pets as well.
Amongst the frantic noises of the babysitters and giggles of mischief from the kids, Ash left the group and made himself comfy by the small pond. He was content in watching marimo balls tumble around underwater. Instead of the shine of multicoloured fishs’ scales, the little one fixated on the moss balls. The gentle movements soothed his little mind, slowly erasing any trace of loudness or overstimulation from the four walls. All he did was breathe and peacefully watched the little balls dance under the currents.
While the others were playing at the playground, roughing around and worrying the babysitters, He laid on the ground, half his body teetering dangerously over the pond’s rocky borders into the water. His small fingers grazed the water surface, tracing ripples and following the movement of the rolling moss balls. If he just reached a little bit more, he could almost feel the fuzziness of the moss. Just a little bit more-
Splash
Several heads turned to the unexpected noise. Diamane moved first, almost running towards the sound of the sudden noise. “Ash!” Diamane found the little one face first in the water, unmoving. They dropped to the ground, ignoring the sharp pain of rocks against skin as they fished out Ash. “Are you okay sweetie?” Diamane checks the little one for any injuries, thankfully finding none. A few moments later, sobs wrecked through the little one’s chest, his eyes quickly becoming teary. The white-aproned babysitter brings Ash into a tight hug and shushes him.
Sapphimane and a few of the boys came over to watch, their rowdy energy dissipated into worry and concern for the little one. Elias even tried to comfort Ash by showing him his hamster, mimicking what the babysitters would usually do when he gets upset. “C’mon, let’s get you cleaned up,” Diamane stood up and headed back to the daycare. This wasn’t the first time Ash has fallen into the pond, but it was his first time crying. Usually he’d laugh cheekily and move on, ignoring his wet clothes and running off to play.
Diamane wondered why this time was different. They rinsed the mud and moss off of a still sniffling Ash in the bathroom, then grabbed his change of clothes from his bag. Once he was clean and hair relatively dried from a small towel, they picked him up again and grabbed his sleeping mat. They supposed the little one was more tired than usual, so a quick naptime will do.
Not long after Diamane rolled out the mat and put Ash to sleep, the others came in. The oldest of the kids helped the others to drag out the sleeping mats and blankets. However, there were a few missing, namely the youngest group. Topamane and Rubymane were also out as well.
As the others settled down from the activities they have done that day, the missing people from before finally came back. “Where did you guys- Oh!” Diamane cut themselves off after seeing what was in Rubymane’s hands. Once the little ones were all settled, Rubymane gestured for Diamane away from the sleeping little ones.
“Apparently the kids say that these little guys are Ash’s favourite things. Shiki told me that Ash occasionally asks for his help to reach for them and touch them. I guess the reason why Ash cried this time was that he didn’t manage to touch one.” Rubymane looks at the little moss ball in a container and tells Diamane. No wonder Ash always goes for the green ball instead of the other toys.
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4 p.m.
When Ash woke up an hour later, the rest of the boys were quietly playing around him. He slept longer than his usual timing, and the babysitters let him rest, knowing he had a much more emotional day than usual. Amymane was the first to notice, being the closest with Malim and Cass.
“Hi little one, how was your nap?” They asked. Ash simply nodded and crawled his way over to Amymane. The babysitter called for Rubymane, wanting to show the little one his gift before he was reminded of his fall into the pond. Before they could bring Ash the container, Shiki tugged at Rubymane’s pants, even making grabby-hands. “You wanna give this to Ash?” they ask. Shiki nods, reaches for the container, and marches towards Ash.
“Shiki?” Ash looks up at the said kid, then notices a little green floating ball in the container. His eyes widened. Shiki hands Ash the container, mumbling a ‘goofy’ under his breath. Liron and Caelen came over from the book corner, and Eli popped up from behind Ash. The five youngest ones surrounded the container holding the little marimo ball. Ash gingerly stuck his finger into the water and brushed the moss. He looked up at Shiki, then back down to the container, before a wide smile replaced his shock.
The others got curious from the sudden gathering at the centre of the room and huddled around. The daycare went quiet as they watched Ash play with the little moss ball, the grin having yet to leave his face.
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5 p.m.
The group has dispersed, leaving Ash to watch the moss ball swish around in the container. The energy had mellowed out into something calmer. Luci and Cass went back to reading, Altus, Ryzar, Nayu and Malim were playing a board game. Ryzar had apparently decided to smush his face into his dinosaur plush, following what Zander had done that morning. Sapphimane had to lift Ryzar up, watch him take a comically deep breath, before letting him nuzzle back into the toy. Zander, Rosco and Gale were doodling on the whiteboard. Shiki, Elias, Liron and Caelen sat close to Ash, playing a made up game with their respective toys.
Diamane and Ememane were slowly packing up, their parents schedules of coming in to pick up their kids were routine at this point.
The first few to head out were Altus and Ryzar. Altus had to drag the other out and nearly got punched in the chin from his unwillingness to leave. Their parents were used to at least one grumpy kid coming out of the daycare and bid the others a good night. Nayu did his daily duties on giving Altus a bonk on the head with the hammer toy. The adults were surprised that Altus took the constant hits from the other one and even responded with a pat on Nayu’s head.
Next were Ash and Shiki. Ash’s parents were of course confused in why their little one came out beaming and proudly holding a container with a green ball. Diamane had to explain to them why, and they agreed to let Ash keep it so long as it kept him happy. Shiki was grumbling that he had to leave so early.
Malim, Rosco, Cass and Gale left soon after. The first two had to be picked up after trying to escape leaving the daycare by flopping on the floor. Good thing they were tired and didn't put up much of a fuss that day. Gale attempted to help by grabbing Rosco’s ankles and dragging him to the entrance.
Luci, Liron, and Caelen were much more agreeable when they were picked up. They waved goodbye to their friends and babysitters, though Liron almost managed to leave with his cat plushy and ended up leaving empty-handed and pouty.
Zander and Nayuta were more reasonable, but not after a bonk on the foot for all the babysitters from Nayu, and a quick smush of a face into purple wool for the final time that day for Zander.
Elias was always the last. Most of the babysitters have left for the day, leaving Diamane and Rubymane to pack and clean the room while keeping an eye on the little one. When it was about 8 p.m., Eli's parents came rushing over from the lab and took the final little one home. He was already half asleep when they came, clinging to his hamster like a koala. Diamane huffed and smiled, allowing Eli to take it home.
Another successful day at the daycare, just until tomorrow.