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"TWENTY! And that means...It's time for Recess! Come on, children! Let's go to the playground! It's time to have some FUN!" Shouts Mr. Parguntin, seeing the ball come down on the luckiest number.

Leading the way outside, with a gaggle of excited children and not so excited children behind him, Mr. Parguntin takes them to a lovely playground. Slides and Climbing castles take up the majority of it, while there is the odd Jungle Gym or set of swings for quieter play. Clearly, someone went to a lot of trouble to make this into the beauty that it was, for beauty it is.

Mosaics and Paintings adorn the castle, rendering it as lifelike as Lyssan's. Fantastical beasts wait at the mouths of the stylized caverns built into the castle's depths. The swings are made to look like they are being carried by birds of prey, or beautiful doves. The Jungle Gym is literally a jungle, with a riot of greenery covering it, though it is all painted. Whoever did this has the best hand for art that these children have ever seen.

As well, verdant flowers surround the playground, blossoming and attracting butterflies and the odd honeybee. These honeybees seem fat, and as lazy as a bee can get. A student would have to try to kill them outright before they'd sting. And the butterflies match the beauty of the flowers, creating a wafting rainbow above a sea of color.

Mr. Parguntin leads the children to the castle, smiling as he points to the clock at the top of the tower. "When that clock strikes Twelve, children, it is time to go back inside, alright." And with that, he presses a button, winding the clock back. It starts to tick immediately, and the majority of the mundane students run off, screaming and shouting with glee.

Now this is something Luna can wrap her mind about, everything is so colorful and just looking at it makes her smile. With a merry giggle she flies off to explore the castle which is clearly made to be explored and played in. It kind of reminds her of her bedroom back at Lyssan's keep. She is having a blast when she suddenly feels this sort of sad emptiness hovering off to the edge of the playground.

Not knowing why, but feeling she should check it out, she hovers over the playground, noticing that the kitty girl isn't playing. Darting down she lands on the bench next to her. "Why you noff pway?" she asks cocking her head to one side.

Luna is amazed. "Pwaying is havin fuwn... It ish swimmin, s'plorin, cwimbing.... fwyin, doin fuwn stuff... ye know... Dey no gots watar so canst swim.... an ye ain't gots wings so fwyin ish nots good... buff ye can cwimb... wight? Its pwetty wight? So wets go pway on it?"

Luna leads the way to the castle, giggling and flying in loops and spirals about the neko. She does all sorts of silly things in an attempt to get her to smile.

Startled, Luna stalls, seeing the wall as she drops like a stone. But before Asu can panic any further, she fans out her wings mere feet from the ground and lands, if not lightly then at least safely. "Ooooo dat was a cwose one...." she mutters testily, then sighs and shakes her head. "Tanks fowr warnin me."

Luna spreads her wings and looks at it, then shrugs. "I noff pwetty... I juss bwack. You gots pwetty cowors... and yer soff too." She gently nudges Asu and grins. :I bets you no need bwankets whan it cowd."

The drawing, of a tiger laying down in the middle of a verdant jungle, is rendered so well it is almost alive. It makes Asu itch to want to color it...but soon, after she starts, the tower strikes Twelve, and Mr. Parguntin calls all the children back inside...everyone, that is, except for Asu, who finds herself gently held back by Kerobian, who waves to Mr. Parguntin to let him know they'll be along shortly. Gently guiding her towards a bench, he sits down, motioning for her to climb up next to him.

When she finally does, after much coaxing from him, he smiles gently at her, the same winning smile that makes her want to trust him in every fiber of her being.

"Asu...tell me, do you know where you are going to be staying after today? Do you know where you are going to sleep tonight?" he asks her, curious...he had seen the letter, and he wasn't about to let her go back to that lab.

Kero laughs and laughs and laughs, long and hard. It is actually a fairly rich laugh, strange from one so thin and scrawny.

"No, child, I am not trying to be a ***** or a child molestor. I'm actually offering to be something better, if you want it. I'm offering you a good home, with good food and brothers and sisters to play with."