Welcome to Gaia! ::

Kero gently removes it, taking it into his hands.

"The man in the white coat was wrong, Asuna. You shouldn't have to wear any sort of collar. You are a thinking creature, not a pet.

"Shhhh, it's okay. I promise, I won't let anything happen to you." He says to her, as he gently puts it back on. If it upset her that much, he would talk with Ame and Parguntin about it later on. Holding the child close, he gently turns her face up to look at him.

"Child," he says, "We need to go to class now. I came to take you to meet your new classmates, and now that I know what you need, I will also take you to the headmaster as well. That is, if you want to come with me."

Amestru and Lyssan were sitting in the Headmaster's office going over the attendance charts for the new year.

"I see that the mayor's daughter returned after all. Any idea as to what might have changed her mind?" asks Lyssan with a touch of concern. The girl in question had been extremely unhappy the last few months of the previous years and had expressed a desire to transfer to a more mundane institution in the next city over.

Ame shrugged. "I always thought she was happy enough here. I suspect it was her relatives who were giving her a hard time at home far more than her being unhappy with us. She does have a touch of empathy, actually more than a touch. In all honesty, if it's going to blossom, I feel safer it does so where she can get the help she'll need."

Looking up he sees Kerobian and Asuna standing in the doorway.

"Can we help you, Lord Kerobian?" he asks in confusion.

But Amestru understood shy students. He also knew that his appearance often made even the magicals more than a tad bit little nervous. Unlike many of the neko or kitsune population, he could look almost human,and this would confuse people, bu tone look at his eyes, ears and tail would give him away. Not even Lyssan could look as human as he did, not unless she chose to do so. Lyssan's ability at shape-shifting was far better than his, but his humanoid form was what it was. As an Okami, he was almost as human as he was wolf. There wasn't much he could do about it. And it didn't help that he was the alpha male in their tiny kingdom, and that too gave him an aura that was upsetting to many as well.

Nodding to Lyssan to encourage her to stay put, he stood and slowly walked over to where Kero and the child stood, smiling kindly at her. A short distance away, he dropped to his heels and nodded a greeting. "And who might you be, my dear. Is this your first year at the Triple A?

Ame takes the packet with a small frown.

"For me?" he asks opening it slowly. "Why wasn't this given to Mr. Parguntin?"

As Ame read through the packet the hair on the back of his neck began to rise. Looking up at Kerobian, he nodded to the small neko. 'better take her down to the classroom, my old friend... and might I ask that you join me and Ly here before you leave today... or, if you are planning to stay, perhaps would you please stop by during their nap time then..."

Nodding to his old friend, Kero gently swept out of the room, still holding Asu close to his heart as he carried her down to Mr. Parguntin's classroom.

"See." He says to her, "They aren't so bad...they're good friends, and Amestru...that's Headmaster Amestru to you...will always do what is best for the children."

"Aha, and here are the wayward student and parent! Welcome, welcome welcome! Come and join the circle!" Cries a jubilant Mr. Parguntin, patting the stretch of ground near himself, where a small gold dragon was huddling underneath a toy, one which Mr. Parguntin was trying, unsuccessfully, to remove.

Kero grins and sits down, setting Asu next to him and easily plucking the toy from Agro's grip. "Now now, Son. We need to listen to the teacher. Don't want to get into trouble on the very first day, do we? Look at your sister, she's behaving very nicely."

Indeed, Luna was sitting still, staring at Mr. Parguntin as though she was hanging onto his every word...which, now that Kero thought of it, she probably was.