~ Zarkon ~

One day when you went to go visit one of your friends, you left Zarkon in charge of taking care of Gatrea. It was Dayak's day off, so Zarkon was the next logical choice. Zarkon hadn't taken care of Gatrea on his own for more than an hour, so he was a little nervous. So, as he sat across from his two and a half year old daughter on the living room floor, he was having a staring contest with her; or at least that's what Zarkon thought was going on. He needed to come up with something to do, but nothing that took too long seeing as it was almost lunch time.

"What do you want to do today?" Zarkon asked his daughter in a slightly uneasy tone, unsure of what she wanted to do.

"Pway hide and seek!" Gatrea answered without hesitation, excitement in her voice.

"Do you want to hide or do you want me to hide?" Zarkon queried, letting his daughter call the shots.

"I hide!" Gatrea replied in excitement, bouncing up and down a few times.

Zarkon nodded, closing his eyes and covering them with his hands. When he started counting down from twenty, Gatrea started looking for a good hiding place. She saw that the living room doors were open and decided to go hide in another room. She ran out of the living room, covering her mouth so that she wouldn't laugh out loud. She wasn't keeping track of where she was going, but as long as it was in the Palace, she would be alright.

"Five, four, three, two, one; ready or not, here I come." Zarkon said as he uncovered and opened his eyes, finishing his countdown.

Gatrea was nowhere to be seen, which meant that she found a hiding place. Zarkon stood up and started looking around for his daughter. He looked behind the couch, and underneath the end table and everywhere else that a toddler might fit. However, Gatrea was nowhere to be found.

"Gatrea? Where are you?" Zarkon asked out loud, sniffling the air but not smelling his daughter's scent.

No answer, and the living room doors were open; that meant Gatrea left the living room. Zarkon rushed out into the hallway, panicking a little. If he didn't didn't find his and your daughter, you would kill him. He sniffed the air for a moment, catching the scent of Gatrea fairly quickly. He followed her scent, being led to the large dining room.

"Gatrea?" Zarkon called out as he got down on his hands and knees, having a look underneath the table.

Right as Zarkon got onto his hands and knees on the floor, Sendak walked into the dining room with Gatrea sitting on his shoulders. Sendak wasn't expecting to find his Emperor in such an odd position, but he decided not to question it.

"Papa." Gatrea giggled, thinking that her father was funny for looking under the table.

When Zarkon heard his daughter speak he stood up, seeing that she was with Sendak. He was a little embarrassed to be found in such an awkward position.

"Might I ask you what you're doing?" Sendak asked Zarkon as politely as he could.

"I was looking for Gatrea; I was worried that she got lost. Thank you for finding her." Zarkon told his favorite trainee, thanking him.

Sendak walked over to his mentor, picked up the young princess off of his shoulders and gave her back to her father. He saw the young kit as family. Gatrea laughed gleefully as she was passed over to her father. Sendak promptly excused himself; he was meeting up with someone special and he didn't want to be late.

"Don't wander off like that, Gatrea; I was worried about you." Zarkon lightly scolded his daughter, feeling relieved that she hadn't actually gotten lost.

"I'm sowwy." Gatrea apologized as she wrapped her tiny arms around her father's neck, hugging him.

Zarkon smiled as he gently hugged his daughter. It wasn't long before a servant brought lunch into the dining room. Zarkon put Gatrea in the booster seat that was sitting on a chair before he sat down. He was having a meat dish while Gatrea was given chicken nuggets. Zarkon was having fun spending time alone with his daughter and he could tell that she was having fun, too; he decided that hide and seek was a not so good idea, though.

        _________________________________

~ Alfor ~

When you and Melenor went out shopping together in town Alfor was left alone with Lotarius. It wasn't often that he had one on one time with his son, so he was going to make every minute count. Lotarius was going to be three years old in only a few months, so he was growing up quickly and becoming smarter. After lunch was eaten and after Lotarius finished his nap, it was time to do something.

"Papa, can we paint?" Lotarius asked his father curiously, remembering the finger paint that you had given him.

"Yes, as long as you promise not to make a mess." Alfor told his son; if you came home to a mess, he would be in trouble.

"Yay!" Lotarius cheered with excitement.

Alfor smiled as he went to the craft room so that he could get a piece of blank paper, the finger paints and Lotarius' smock. Lotarius followed his father, helping to carry everything to the kitchen. The kitchen was the best place for finger painting since it was easier to clean up. Once they arrived in the kitchen, Alfor put the piece of paper on the floor and put the smock of Lotarius. Lotarius was patient as he watched his father put some of the different colored paints into different containers.

"Here you go." Alfor said as he put each container onto the floor.

"Thank you." Lotarius thanked his father, sitting on the floor.

Alfor leaned against one of the counters, waiting for his son to paint something. He remembered that the painting would need a place to dry, so he laid some paper towels on the counter he was leaning against. As he was doing that, Lotarius dipped his fingers in the red, green and blue paint before smearing them across the paper. Next, he chose the purple, yellow and orange paints and smeared them the other way on the paper. Some of the paint mixed and created new colors.

Alfor watched as his son started finger painting. Lotarius stuck his tongue out a little as he smeared the different colored paints across the paper, having fun. He liked making the paint mix and making different colors. His hands were all messy from the paint and were now rainbow colored.

"All done." Lotarius announced once he was done with his painting, picking it up as carefully as he could and showing it to his father.

"It's quite lovely. You did a good job; your mother is going to love it." Alfor praised his son, bending down and taking the painting from him, gently laying it on the paper towels he laid out on the counter.

Lotarius looked down at his hands, seeing that they were still covered in paint. Before he could touch anything, Alfor got a warm, damp washcloth and wiped his son's hands clean. He also wiped the little bit of paint that was on the kitchen floor. While the painting was drying, Alfor took Lotarius' smock off and they went back to the craft room, dropping it off before going to watch cartoons in the living room. Later on, the painting was hung on the front of the refrigerator.

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~ Blaytz ~

One afternoon you invited your friends out for a girls' day out since it was finally summer. Blaytz had to take the day off from being King so that he could take care of his and your two and three quarter year old daughter. Blaytz wasn't at all nervous to be spending the day with Iris. So, after lunch and Iris' nap, Blaytz was trying to come up with something fun to do with her.

"Okay Iris, what do you want to do?" Blaytz asked Iris curiously as he sat on the living room couch with his daughter.

"Ummm, I want to give you a makeover!" Iris announced after a moment of thinking about it.

"Alright, you can give me a makeover." Blaytz told her, a big grin appearing on his face.

Iris smiled brightly as she slid off of the couch. Blaytz followed her out of the living room and to her bedroom. Recently you had given her a play makeup set, and that’s what she was going to use. Once Iris and Blaytz were in her bedroom, Blaytz sat down on the floor while Iris got her play makeup set. The set included fake eye makeup, blush, nail polish and lipgloss.

"Okay daddy, I'm going to make you look pretty." Iris said happily as she walked over to her father.

"Yes, make me fabulous!" Blaytz said dramatically, his feelers flicking a few times.

Iris opened her makeup set, looking at the blush colors for a moment, choosing purple. She grabbed the little brush and got some purple blush on it, heavily dusting it onto Blaytz' cheeks, one at a time. Next, she chose the purple eye makeup. Blaytz closed his eyes and Iris dusted the eye makeup onto his eyelids as gently as she could. Next was the lipgloss; Iris chose the sparkly light pink lipgloss and smeared it onto her father's lips.

"Okay daddy, open your eyes." Iris said, putting the little brush back into its holder.

"Am I pretty yet?" Blaytz queried, opening his eyes.

"Not yet, your nails need to be colored." Iris told him, pulling out the sparkly pinkish purple nail polish.

"How about I do this part, that way your nails can be pretty too." Blaytz suggested, not wanting the nail polish to get everywhere.

"Okie dokie." Iris agreed, giving him the little bottle of nail polish.

After Iris gave Blaytz the bottle of nail polish, he shook it a few times before opening it. Iris held her hands out, spreading her fingers. Blaytz let her rest her right hand in one of his, sticking his tongue out a little as he carefully painted each of her nails. He did the same to the fingernails on her left hand, lightly blowing on her fingernails so that the nail polish would dry quickly. He then proceeded to paint his own nails, making sure that the bottle of nail polish was closed tightly before giving it back to Iris and drying his own fingernails.

"Well, how do I look?" Blaytz asked Iris once his fingernails were dry.

"You're pretty, daddy." Iris replied happily, giving him the little mirror.

Blaytz took the mirror and held it out a little, looking at his reflection; the makeup was smeared on his face, but as long as his daughter was happy, it was okay. Iris was so proud of how pretty she made her father look.

"Thank you." Blaytz thanked her kindly, giving back the mirror.

"You're welcome!" Iris said happily, taking the mirror and putting it away.

Blaytz smiled, watching as his daughter put her makeup away. She was growing up so quickly; he was proud of her. Iris put her play makeup set away before walking over to her toy chest and taking out a few things.

"Here daddy, wear this." Iris told him as she held out a baby blue princess' hat.

"Okay." Blaytz replied as he took the small hat, placing it on his head.

Iris smiled, putting a pink and silver tiara on her own head. She was having the time of her life as she played with her father. Blaytz was having fun too; he would have to take more days off so that he could spend them with you and Iris as a family.

"Now we can have a tea party." Iris said, walking over to the little table where her little tea set was.

Blaytz followed his daughter over to the little table, sitting cross legged on the floor while she sat on one of the little white chairs. He didn't mind playing dress up and tea party, as long as Alfor and Gyrgan didn't find out; if they did, they'd never let him live it down. Iris pretended to pour tea in his teacup before pretending to pour some into hers. A few of her stuffed animals were also served tea since they were sitting in the other little chairs. However, when you came home later, Blaytz explained to you why he had makeup all over his face.

        _________________________________

~ Gyrgan ~

While you were out running some errands in town, Gyrgan was spending the afternoon with Adu. Taking care of an active two and a half year old could get a little exhausting, especially since said toddler figured out how to get into the cookie jar. Adu was having a major sugar high after eating five cookies.

"Dad! Look at me! Bounce! Bounce! Bounce!" Adu chanted as he bounced up and down on the couch.

"Adu, don't do that. You could fall and hurt yourself." Gyrgan said with concern as he quickly walked over to the couch, reaching for his son.

Adu laughed like a maniac as he jumped off of the couch and onto the floor, running towards the open living room door. Gyrgan was a little surprised as he gave chase; he never knew that a toddler could run so fast. Adu took the opportunity to run out of the living room. Gyrgan followed his son, but when he rushed out of the living room, he didn't see him anywhere.

"Adu? Where are you?" Gyrgan called out as he walked in the direction of the kitchen, fearing that his son went back for more cookies.

If you ever found out what happened while you were away, he was going to be in big trouble. Adu loved cookies, there was no denying it, but he loved them a little too much. Upon arriving at the kitchen Gyrgan didn't see Adu anywhere, which meant that he was somewhere else.

"Adu, come out come out wherever you are!" Gyrgan called out playfully, walking out of the kitchen.

Adu was a lot closer than Gyrgan thought, but he didn't know it. Adu heard his father calling out, so he decided to quietly follow him. He thought that his father was playing a game of hide and seek.

"Hi dad." Adu said after a while of following his father around, getting bored of walking.

"Adu! Where were you?" Gyrgan queried, a little startled as he quickly turned around and looked down at his son.

"I was following you." Adu said innocently as though nothing out of the ordinary was going on.

"I can see that. How about we go watch some tv." Gyrgan calmly suggested, feeling better since he found his son.

"Okay." Adu agreed, holding his arms up; he wanted to be carried to the living room.

Gyrgan smiled as he knelt down and picked his son up, carrying him to the living room. He made a mental note to hide the cookie jar where his son wouldn't find it. Once they were sitting on the couch in the living room, Gyrgan turned the tv on and played a movie. About halfway through the movie, Adu finally fell asleep, his sugar high finally done and over with. In the future, Gyrgan was going to make sure that Adu didn't get into anything he wasn't supposed to.

        _________________________________

~ Trigel ~

Since you were out for the day with a friend, Trigel was taking care of Astrid. Taking care of a nearly three year old toddler was fairly easy since she was so easily entertained. Trigel packed a picnic lunch and took Astrid to a meadow near the forest. Astrid loved going to the meadow, especially since the flowers were in full bloom. While her mother was setting up the picnic, she went to go pick flowers.

"Astrid, lunch is ready." Trigel called out to her daughter, smiling as she sat down.

Astrid heard her mother call her over, so she ran through the tall grass and flowers, holding onto the flowers that she already picked. She sat down when she reached the blanket, a little out of breath from running. Trigel put some fruit and a sandwich onto a plate, setting it in front of her daughter.

"Lookie what I picked, mommy." Astrid said with excitement, showing the pretty pink and yellow flowers to her mother.

"They're beautiful." Trigel told Astrid, smiling softly at her.

"Can you make them into a crown?" Astrid asked her curiously, holding the flowers up with both of her hands.

"Sure." Trigel replied, taking the flowers and setting them on her lap.

Astrid picked up a piece of fruit off of her plate and ate it as she watched her mother make a crown out of the flowers that she picked. Flower by flower, Trigel carefully weaved their stems together. It didn't take her very long to finish adding each flower to the crown, but for Astrid, it would be a necklace.

"Here, I'm finished." Trigel announced when she was done, holding it out with both of her hands.

Astrid smiled as she stood up and took the flower crown, standing on the tips of her toes so that she could put it on her mother's head. Trigel was surprised by the sudden gesture; she thought that Astrid wanted to wear the flowers.

"You're pretty, mommy. Can we make one for me and mama?" Astrid asked with curiosity, tilting her head to one side slightly.

"Sure, but let's eat lunch first." Trigel answered, taking a sandwich out of the picnic basket and taking a bite.

"Okie dokie." Astrid said, smiling as she went back to where she was sitting and picking up her own sandwich, taking a big bite.

As Trigel ate her sandwich she quietly sighed happily, enjoying the nice weather and having a picnic with her and your daughter. Astrid was growing up quickly; it wouldn't be long before she was old enough to start school. Astrid ate her sandwich and fruit, not caring that the natural fruit juice was making her fingers sticky. She couldn't wait to make more flower crowns. When you came home you were given your flower crown; it matched the ones your wife and daughter made and wore.