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Spring was on its way.

The first of the birds have begun to arrive back from the South, their songs filling the year as they flew on overhead. Fresh grass covered the yard in front of the DayCare, accompanied by packs of children playing a game of tag or hide and seek together. Some spent their time on the jungle gym, using the monkey bars to swing from hand to hand. Smiles shone across their face as a group huddled at the far side of the building, crowding the last mound of snow from the winter.

A man with striking blond hair and in an olive green apron peaked his head out past the threshold of the door. "Blue group, it is time for snack!" He called, hands cupped around his mouth to reach the far side of the playground. Kids from various activities raised their heads, and rushed over. Their comments varying from wanting to stay outside to commenting on what they wanted to eat. Soon enough, the group filed inside.

A table was already set up with the children's lunch boxes and drinks, paper towels were set up for each spot. They collectively chose seats, and began to talk and eat. Leo's eyes counted off the children, making sure they had all of the children under the blue group inside. "...5, 6, 7. Everyone is here." With that, Leo ducked away to check on the infants. The four year olds were able to handle themselves for just a moment.

The babies were one of the more easier going groups despite their difficulties in taking care of them. Shepard seemed to have spotted Leo before even he could spot his son. The boy was already trying his best to roll over to him. A goofy smile stretched across his face as Shepard rolled to a stop. His hand picked up Leo's shoe lace and pulled, unfastening Leo's knot.

In a swift motion, Leo was able to knot his laces again, followed by scooping his son up in his arms. "You just like to see the knot come apart don't you? It is like magic or something, huh?" Leo shifted him onto his hip, and began to pick up toys that were strewn about the room. The nursery was not quite as full, a few of the year olds had switched over to the one year old room, one of those being Joanna.

With Sunday came a day for students to do as they wished. For Keirsta, a majority of it had been making sure everything had been well-prepared for Monday. Her schedule, classes, and arrangements for graduation. Now though, she was free. What better way to spend some downtime then in Rosebury?

With Spring having arrived, the weather had warmed just enough to where she could stand leaving her jacket at home. Even in the North Dakota weather, it wasn’t terrible. She’d certainly have to readjust to the chillier climate. Being sure to at least have her purse with her though, it couldn’t be a terrible trip. Considering her old dorm room wasn’t exactly hers anymore, she’d have to restock the fridge. So one stop would definitely be the store.

While she had been to the store, she had subconsciously wandered into the children’s section. Thoughts of the daycare had floated past her mind, and so she had bought some extra supplies she hoped the Daycare wouldn’t mind having some more of. Diapers, baby powder, pull-ups, baby blankets, baby formula, a few extra bottles… Either way, it would be something. Until she could truly talk to Harmony about volunteering at night, it would be her way of helping out.

Keirsta still felt a strong pull towards the Daycare. She knew it was because of Shepard, even though she told herself otherwise. Letting the thoughts of her son flit away, she readjusted the bags on her arms as she approached the door to the centre. Sighing, she took a sharp breath for a bit of courage to face Leo. Last time she had come here, things hadn’t gone very well.

The welcoming scent of what could only be a mix of baby shampoo and baby powder greeted the Autumn as she walked in. The soft bell chimed indicating her entry, the door closing swiftly behind her. Once again adjusting the bags on her arms, which rustled because of the plastic they were contained in, she hoped to find someone. Taking what Aleta had said about Leo, she placed a bet that he would be here. She made sure not to speak too loudly, just in case some of the children were sleeping. ”I-If anyone’s available, I brought some donations for the daycare...” It was unlike her to not carry a confident tone. But she couldn’t be too sure about how she would be welcomed.

Mikaela had already been walking towards the entrance when Kiersta walked in, carrying grocery bags. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she wondered what the girl was doing here. Didn't she learn her lesson that she wasn't really wanted around here, especially by Aleta? The Summer knew that Kiersta had come back to Beata to finish her gift training, but not much else. "Hey. What've you got there?" Kaela asked, motioning towards the bags. She debated on getting Leo or Harmony, but thought better of it. She could handle things herself. From what she could tell the bags Kiersta was holding were full of supplies for the Daycare. Besides, she wasn't going to be the one to stress Leo out. If she could get Kiersta in-and-out of the Daycare, things would be easier on all of them.

The room seemed to be returned to its normal and natural state, with the foam blocks stacked up in one corner, and a bottle full of glitter and water on top of the shelf. Among other things, it seemed to be in order. Shepard was more than content in his father's arms, playing with the longer strands of the man's blond hair. Leo had grown used to the hair pulling, and eventually figured that if he went bald in one spot, he could always shave his hair along the sides like the hairstyle that was trendy back in 2017. That being said, Leo doubted Shepard's ability to pull out clumps of hair.

Content with his impromptu cleaning, Leo placed his son down and began to look after the other babies in the room, diapers, and feedings if they ate at high chairs. Placing some yogurt melts in front of an older infant who was seated next to Shepard in the high chair, Leo ducked out of the room to grab the bottles for the other babies. Out of the corner of his eye, Mikaela approaching someone who didn't appear to be a normal parent... The blond froze. Keirsta.

His face shifted from to surprised to passive. Leo had to feed the infants, he had no time to worry about what she was doing there. Hopefully before she could see him, the worker vanished into the kitchen to gather the bottles left by the parents. Soon enough he reappeared for a brief moment in the two girl's line of sight before vanishing once again into the nursery.

It took little time to feed the babies who were older--although Shepard seemed insistent on wanting to only eat milk no matter Leo's attempts to wean him off of formula. The younger infants took their sweet ol' time, and many fell asleep while being fed. Working with the kids took his mind off the fact that Keirsta was just in the other room. A final burp from the infant he was burping let him know that they were finished. Working fluidly, he set the smaller infants into their cribs to go to sleep. The older infants were ready to play once again, and their feet kicked up in the air from the high chair, making blubbering sounds of excitement and impatience.

"Okay, okay. I'm coming." Down the row he went, letting the kids out of the high chairs and proceeding to clean them in the sink inside the room. It was a wonder how messy the kids could make the chairs from mere cheerios and yogurt melts.

Keirsta knew fully well that her arrival would stir something in the air. Then Mikaela spotted her, it only made the back of her neck prickle. She would swear nothing completely peaceful would come of this interaction, although she could only wish for the best. After all, it didn't seem likely any of them would cause a fuss with children about. Especially considering those children more likely than not possessed gifts like they did.

Once again shifting the bags on her arms, she mentally debated using her gift to float them at her side. Even if her gift dealt with a form of energy, she could transform it into a physical construct. It'd given her the ability to "fly," build barriers, and other things. So supporting other matter shouldn't be an issue... right? Deciding against it, maybe it was a good thing that Mikaela had come over quickly.

"Some donations for the Daycare..." Keirsta's intentions weren't to cause a stir, she did truthfully have donations. After all, how could she not? The proof was literally hanging off of her body. If they weren't accepted however... What else would she do? She couldn't exactly take back a bunch of baby supplies back to her dorm room. Sure, she was pretty much known as 'the teen mom who disappeared and dropped off her son,' but basically the whole school knew he resided with his father at the daycare.

"Awesome, thanks. Saves me a trip to the store. It was my turn to get supplies this time, but now I don't have to," Mikaela replied, taking the bags from the girl. She forced herself to smile, trying not to let Aleta's opinion of Kiersta ruin her own opinion. "So are you coming in to help out or just dropping off donations?" she asked. If Kiersta was staying, she would have plenty to do. Mikaela would probably give her the job that she had been assigned so that way the Summer could either help out or go help Leo.

Cleaning up took not that much time, the infants could hardly move given they couldn't walk yet barely crawl. All the toys were safe, and the entire room had been baby proofed to a nearly scary level. Hell, Leo was almost certain that there wasn't a sharp edge in the room. Even with all the cribs. With that amused thought to himself, the worker went to take out the trash from the room. With the trash bag half way out of the can--he paused. Taking out the trash would mean going outside. Slowly, he slid the trash bag back in. "Well, there is still room in the trash. Someone also needs to look after the kids too...' Decided, Leo closed the top and returned to the sink to wash his hands. Was it bad of him for avoiding this conflict? He would have to face it eventually...

Keirsta couldn't help but smile slightly at Mikaela's gratitude towards her donations. She nodded in response, but her next question took her by surprise. Yes, she had been wishing to help out about the daycare... But so quickly? "If you guys are in need of extra help, I can gladly be of assistance." It was hard to keep her tone calm. Her nerves skyrocketed the moment the other girl suggested it. Even if Leo was in the back taking care of the children, which was her only guess as to where he could be, it would be inevitable for them to run into each other if Mikaela put her to work.


ooc; posting in class, sorry if its bad D|

Mikaela thought for a moment what she should give Kiersta. Being the newest helper at the Daycare meant she held no authority, but in this case the Summer figured she had some say. "You know, since Harmony's not here and Leo's busy with the infants, I could use some help planning out this week's activities for the older ones. I'm keeping track of some of the older ones right now, and they're being awfully quiet. Walk and talk with me," she said, motioning towards the area where the 4-6 year-olds were playing. She wasn't really away from the kids, they were just down the hall, but it helped get Kiersta towards where the schedules were. The kids, however, were playing nicely, and that made Kaela smile. She loved the older kids who could play together and by themselves nicely without screaming.

Tiny legs shook, and small hands gripped the edge of a bookshelf to his left. An unsteady lift of a head to gaze up at the older man who watched from not far away. The little boy knew the face better than any other, and mirrored the smile on his father's face. The younger blond's free hand reached out for Leo, slowly straightening out his legs until-- a moment later the baby lost his balance and slipped forward. Only to be caught by the older man with impeccable timing.

"You were almost there, Shep." Leo told him, setting the boy back onto his feet. The infant's smile hardly faded after his fall, rosy cheeks adorned his face as a result of his grin. Small fingers held onto the much larger hands over his head. The boy's socks created enough friction on the rugs to keep his feet from slipping apart. Blue eyes stared up at his father as the older man had torn his gaze away.

Instead of on Shepard, they were locked on the door, hearing footsteps fade away to another side of the DayCare. The baby was not able to read the look on his father's face, but continued to beam anyways as he was lifted from the ground and onto his hip. Legs bounced as Shepard became excited with the view that being so high up gave. Infact, Shepard could see into the cribs of his fellow infants. The other had been falling asleep as they played, so they had been put into their cribs.

"Wow, Shepard. I hope you stay enthusiastic about taking out the trash as you get older."

With the baby in one hand, and the trash tied up in another. The table that the children had been eating at was cleaned off in exception for a single napkin that had fallen under one of the tiny chairs around the rectangle table. Amused, Leo paused at it for a moment before exiting the building. It was only a few steps to the curb where he dropped the trash bag into the bin. The children still playing outside didn't pay him any mind--too caught up in their riveting game of tag.

Shepard on the other hand, seemed interested in seeing them run about. One hand braced against his father's chest and the other on the hand that was wrapped around his side. Sock covered feet kicked out as he watched the older children run. To oblige Shepard in his entertainment, Leo took the moment to pause and let the boy stare with wide blue eyes.

Considering Keirsta would more or less be taking over Mikaela's spot as the newest helper at the daycare over time, it didn't really bother her that she'd be somewhat helping with what the other girl had to do. Taking the hair tie from her hand and using it to throw her hair into a quick ponytail, the Autumn was quick to follow. "Alright, that works for me." Well, the planning part, that was. Walking and talking? What really was there to say? "What typically do you plan for them, so I get an idea?" Knowing the usual would probably make it so Keirsta could either stick to the norm, or maybe come up with something fun and slightly new. She knew from experience that the kids weren't yet dealing with their gifts, which seemed to make everything just a bit easier from the looks of things.

That was a thought that she couldn't help but chuckle at. If there would be a bunch of toddlers and infants around in a secluded space playing together with their gifts? Oh boy... Hopefully the daycare would get someone who could deactivate gifts. Otherwise it'd give a whole new meaning to the term "babyproofing."

Mikaela shrugged. "Y'know, normal kid stuff. Macaroni arts, fun games, stuff like that," she told Kiersta, keeping an eye on one of the kids who was known for causing a ruckus. Today, thankfully, he was seemingly quiet. She grabbed a planner sheet and handed it to the pink-haired girl. "All you gotta do is write down stuff here and let Harm look it over, although I'm not sure if she'll be around until later or not. She likes to check in randomly, it's one of the things I like about working with her. She's usually only a shout away," she chattered on.

Eventually, Shepard had lost interest in the older children, ducking his head into his father's neck. Tiny fists gripped clumps of his shirt, and a yawn escaped his mouth. Leo couldn't hold back a chuckle, shifting his grasp on the little boy as he strolled back inside. "So hours of playing and learning to walk won't tire you out--but watching other children running around does?" There was no way Leo was actually upset, rather greatly amused.

"Let's get you to bed, huh?' His voice was soft, the door clicking open rather loudly earning Leo a tightening of Shepard's grip on his shirt. The blond passed by the room that both Keirsta and Mikaela stood in, the nursery was just a room over. Compared to the noise outside, the nursery had a sound machine right next to Shepard's crib. Leo usually alternated the sounds that played each naptime. Today, the sounds of the ocean comforted the young infants in the room.

As the blond went to pry his son from his shirt, that father truly got a lesson on the strength that infants actually had. When Leo went to place Shepard into the crib, a fist full of his shirt followed. His son's face scrunched up and a lip stuck out in protest. "What am I going to do with you?" The father sighed, sitting down on the white rocking chair in which he spent a majority of his nights. Gently, he rocked the chair in an attempt to lull Shepard into a slumber. Hopefully, when Shepard fell asleep his grasp would lessen and Leo could tuck him into the crib.

After all, Leo would need to grab the next group of kids from the outside to have snack.