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He was put to bed a bit ago but despite being tucked in and given a goodnight kiss on the forehead by his nanny, Joel couldn't seem to sleep. It was too quiet for him to sleep. He always sleeps better hearing his nanny read him a bedtime story, which she lets him pick out. And she would read it in such a way that made the story feel real to him while producing a calm scent of lavender and honey that helped lull him into his dreams along with her purring.
When she reads to him he always sleeps well and never has a nightmare unlike his younger siblings who get them regardless if they got a bed time story or not. When they do get nightmares his siblings always end up in his room looking for comfort. There was even a time where all 4 of his younger siblings had nightmares and crammed into his bed to sleep.
(He won't admit that all his siblings being in his bedroom seeking solace from their nightmares in his room didn't make him happy and that it was the best sleep he ever has had even with the bedtime stories being the best. As well as having them there with him settled something within him that he didn't quite understand yet)
The one thing that was slightly annoying about that time was being pilled on and getting downy feathers in his mouth and being whacked by tails on occasion throughout the night. But he wouldn't wish to be elsewhere then right here with his siblings. But it's not like he can go and bring all his siblings into his room to sleep, he doesn't want to wake them up if they're sleeping.
So with his mind made up he decided he will find Ms. Katie and ask her to read him a bedtime story. So he started to make his way out of his room and started heading towards the stairs that lead to the living room where Ms. Katie goes when she puts them to bed before she leaves for the night. But when he got to the start of the stairs his ears picked up the sounds of people talking. Which isn't weird as sometimes Ms. Katie talks to the chef, Ms. Annie, Joel's sure that the moobloom has something going on with Ms. Katie, he just doesn't know what.
But when he concentrates on the voices he's confused to hear his parents' voices. They usually aren't around much as of late. The last time Joel saw them had to be a week ago or was it two? Regardless they came because Grian was starting to climb up things and throw himself off apparently a normal avian thing.
(Not like Joel knows since he's a Tanuki but he dreaded the day that Jimmy will do the same and scare him when he starts to jump of things)
Joel doesn't have enough fingers to count how many times he had to catch the smaller avian. But regardless Joel's parents had to have come for a reason. So Joel decided he will get closer to make out what they are talking about.
“Mrs. Rodney I really don't understand where this is coming from, so I ask you again what have I done to get myself fired?” Joel knows that voice from anywhere that's Ms. Katie! But he's heard that word before ‘fired’, his mother usually says it and then that person is never seen again that's why they don't have a butler anymore, Mr. Jess was great. Knowing this it starts to worry Joel, why did Ms. Katie mention that word?
“Ms. Lace I'm certain you're playing dumb with me, you should know why I'm firing you. But since you apparently ‘don't know why’ I'll tell you, why are my children calling you ‘Mommy’ I'm sure you're doing something to them!” Joel also knows that's his mother speaking, but that leaves Joel wondering how she knows that, she's never around when his siblings call Ms. Katie mommy, Joel would be lying if he said he never called Ms. Katie mommy by accident. But she always corrects them so he doesn't understand the problem!
Joel decided that he wanted to see what was going on in the living room. With that in mind he moved to lay down and look through the bars of the railing to see into the room without being seen. Joel sees his mother and father near the couch and Ms. Katie near the fireplace. He notices that Ms. Katie's tail is sagging towards the ground and that her ears are pinned back. Joel wishes he can go up to her and make her feel better, she always makes an effort to make him feel better when he's upset and he wishes he could but his parents will notice him and he doesn't want that right now. Right now he wants to listen to what's going on.
“While I'm unsure how you know that's been happening, rest assured that I've been correcting the kids to stop calling me mommy. I assure you Mrs. Rodney that as far as I've done I haven't taught the kids to call me as such. The only things I've been teaching them is to read, spell, write, and speak, and with Joel I'm starting to teach him his maths so I really don't understand why you want to fire me over that”
“Ms. Lace I just know you are doing something to my children while we're not here, and do you seriously not believe that we have cameras in our house with audio! That's the only reason I know my children have been calling you mommy!”
“Mrs. Rodney if you have audio on the cameras then you would hear me correcting them. I really haven't done anything else but what was in my job description and I've been correcting the issue so I don't think you have to go to that point of firing me over such a small-” Joel recoiled at the sound as his ears pinned back and his tail puffed up due to the noise. He saw that his mother just hit Ms. Katie! Joel sees as her head snapped to the side from the force of the hit, he noticed how Ms. Katie looked surprised with her tail & ears perking up in alarm. And Joel noticed that his father made no move to stop the situation.
“Ms. Lace I want you out of my house, you have by the end of this week to wrap up my children's lessons and I don't want you back near this house again” With that Joel started to get up to move in order to go down the stairs thinking up a plan to hopefully change his mother's mind. Ms. Katie can't go! She has done so much for him and his siblings, not to mention how much this will hurt Jimmy and Pearl! Joel as their older brother has to do something, he doesn't want to have to see his siblings droopy wings or their flopped ears and their sagging tails when they hear Ms. Katie won't come back. So as he went down the stairs he made sure to announce his presence with his footsteps even if they were relatively light.
When he got down the stairs he saw Ms. Katie and his parents looking at him but he zeroed in on Ms. Katie with a simple goal in mind, show his mom how truly amazing Ms. Katie is as their nanny.
“Ms. Katie I was wondering if you could read me a bedtime story I can't seem to be able to sleep” Joel saw as Ms. Katie kneeled down noting the red hand shaped mark on her left cheek. But he also noticed how her scent went from wilting lavender that overpowered the honey start to transition back to the usual soft lavender and honey. He also noted how much more relaxed she looked when Joel caught her attention. As she started to come with a reply he heard his mother start to speak.
“Joel sweety Ms. Katie is heading home so how about I read you a bedtime story” Joel looks over to his mother and sees the same face she has when she looks at him and his siblings. Her expressions are always cold even if she looks like she's happy at the sight of them, Joel never quite likes to look at her face. But he also notices how her wings look agitated like how Jimmy's looks when he is trying to catch Martyn when they play tag but can't catch him because he's too agile and fast.
But before Joel could even think about telling his mother that he wants Ms. Katie to read him a bedtime story and not her Ms. Katie puts a hand on his shoulder “Joel as much as I would like to read you a bedtime story I do need to get going but I'll make it up to you tomorrow morning alright!” He looks back to Ms. Katie and sees her warm smile that always puts him at ease.
Since Ms. Katie can't, he just has to settle for his mother to read him a bedtime story, she's never done it before. “Ok then Ms. Katie I hope you have a good night!”
“I hope you can get back to sleep Joel and I'll see you tomorrow have a good nights rest” With that Ms. Katie got up and started to head for the door while his mother started to pull him back towards the stairs. The walk back to his room was quiet and his mother's hold on his shoulder felt cold. Not at all like Ms. Katie's hold as she holds his hand while bringing him towards his room when she puts him to bed.
When they finally reached his room he headed towards the shelf to pick out a book but before he could his mother spoke “Now Joel just lay in bed so you can sleep sooner”
“I usually pick my bedtime story when Ms. Katie comes to read me one” his eyes scan his options for his bedtime story.
“Well, don't you want to get to bed, it's just a children's book there all the same sweety” he looks back to study his mother for a moment.
With his mother saying that (and how her wings show her agitation at the mention of Ms. Katie as well as her face going into an annoyed expression) he really didn't have a choice unless he wanted his mother to go on a tangent. So in defeat he moved towards his bed and went back in the covers. An experience that wouldn't compare to Ms. Katie who encouraged him to pick out the book. He also noticed that his mother made no move to tuck him back in like Ms. Katie does.
His mother picked up one of his many story books and just started to read what was on the pages at a quick pace by his book shelf. Not like Ms. Katie who took the time to read the front cover and back cover to make sure Joel liked the book she was about to read. Then when Joel agreed that he liked the premise of the book, she comes towards him and kneels down by his bed as she starts to read and give the book life to it that drew him into the story.
Ms. Katie also started her purring as she read and also let her scent come out a bit more, the soft scent of lavender and honey, the purring, and the story combined lull him to sleep quickly. But with his mother there was no lavender and honey, no purring either, he knew she couldn't do that like Ms. Katie could but it didn't change the fact that he wasn't lulled to sleep sooner.
As his mother continues to read he notices that the story doesn't lull him to sleep the same way Ms. Katie does, it doesn't feel as animated as they tend to be. So he decided that he'll just try to close his eyes and try to go to sleep even if his story time didn't go as it usually went. But after what felt like a minute he heard his mom just stop reading midway. He then heard her put the book back and leave the room closing the door.
Ms. Katie usually kept going until she finished the story and kissed him on his head and go to put his book back on the shelf. Then she leaves his door a bit open to let the dim lights of the hall into his room since he didn't like the dark. Joel opened his eyes and started to think how his life will be without Ms. Katie and he just has one word to describe it, dull.
Joel started to cry a bit as he let it sink in that Ms. Katie will be gone by the end of the week. That he won't get his bedtime stories, but he can't help but think how much his younger siblings will miss Ms. Katie especially Jimmy and Pearl. But he also can't help but worry about Martyn and Grian as they confide in Ms. Katie when it came to hybrid instincts since their parents don't do a stellar job at it.
For himself his parents really didn't help him with his instincts and his shapeshifting either. Not to mention that Martyn and Grian seemed to have also gotten some shapeshifter abilities if the random cat ears are to be explained from yesterday. Which leaves the possibility of Pearl and Jimmy developing shapeshifting abilities later on.
(The good thing is that Joel has started to get a hang of his abilities so at least he can help his siblings out with that)
With Grian they, as in his mother doesn't really explain or try to educate him on his instincts and with Martyn his parents don't put in the effort to ask their grandma with help with Martyn since he ended up being a shark hybrid like her so Martyn has no understanding over his instincts at all.
He can only hope that when Jimmy and Pearl start to develop their hybrid instincts that their parents do a better job.
(But who is he kidding he may have to ask Ms. Annie to pull up an article on his siblings hybrid instincts to help them in the best way)
And Joel knows his parents will still be gone for most of the day if not the week, Ms. Annie most likely will have to be the one to take care of them unless they get another butler or nanny. Not that he doesn't like Ms. Annie he likes her but it just won't be the same as Ms. Katie they are just different from each other in good ways.
Ms. Katie is more like a mom to them while Ms. Annie is more like a dad to them in the way where she watches over them and plays with them, she also teaches them some things such as nutrition and how your veggies are good for you. Even if Joel still doesn't like some veggies but Ms. Annie is always understanding, saying she was the same way when she was his age.
If only Ms. Katie and Ms. Annie were their parents instead.
And in that moment Joel started to dislike his parents even more. Mostly due to their indifference since they only really interact with himself and his siblings if it's to benefit them in some way. They're meant to be their parents but when the other kids describe their parents Ms. Katie and Ms. Annie are more like their parents than his actual parents who are here every once in a while. They don't really connect with them in the same way Ms. Katie and Ms. Annie do.
(Poor little Joel wouldn't know yet how much more his parents will change when it comes time for their secondary genders to present. The change will be for the worst and cause damage to their relationship that he at this moment has yet to comprehend)
But before he could let his sorrow take over he hears the door open and he sees all his siblings standing there with their favorite stuffies with them. And Joel thinks back to the last time this happened, and he smiles. He moves himself towards the middle of his bed and pats both empty spaces around him as he lays back down.
His siblings weary eyes light up and they go to the spot they went last time Jimmy under his right arm, Pearl under his left arm, Martyn somehow finding a spot around his head while Grian plops himself on top of him. And in that moment his siblings snuggled close to him, hearing the flapping of wings and wagging of tails and he couldn't help but be happy at their contentment.
Being surrounded by his pack in his moment of distress, he feels better having them all here with him. Right where they belong, being protected by their older brother in the confines of his bedroom. Where their nightmares couldn't reach them.
As he hears his siblings go back to dream land he feels at peace, and with that he closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep right along with his siblings.
“Katie!”
Katie goes to turn around and sees Annie running towards her.
“Hello Annie what are you doing out of the house this late” as she responds she starts to wipe her tears off her face before Annie notices them.
“I heard what happened with Mr. and Mrs. Rodney so I wanted to talk to you in person before you left for the night” she notices Annie's out of breath most likely having run the entire way from the house which was a ways away as she couldn't see the house anymore.
“And I wanted to let you know that I can try and keep you in contact with the kids if you'd like, I know you really care for them and I wouldn't wish having you guys fully separated” The alpha starts to explain as she grabs her hands in hers, she can't help but melt at the contact however small it is.
“I really appreciate the offer but, wouldn't that risk your employment if they found out. If you heard our conversation then you surely heard that they have audio on their cameras right” she really is trying her best not to let her scent become distressed.
“I know that it can risk my employment but I really don't care, I want you to be able to see these kids grow and if it means the only way to do so is to possibly get fired, then so be it! I can always get another job but I want to try and help you with the kids.” And this moobloom really does know what to say to make her feel better, her scent of roses and petrichor helping calm her down.
“If you're sure then it will make me feel better knowing that the kids have someone looking out for them in that house, I can't help but worry for them in regards to their presentations, you know their parents ideals and their expectations especially on Joel. I can't help but worry that if he presents as an omega how his parents may react, and that scares me” her scent starts to wilt again, she is worried because their parents don't put in the effort to help them in their hybrid instincts that she fears that when their secondary genders present that they won't help them wrangle their instincts.
Sure they have a couple years still but based on Mr. and Mrs. Rodney's behavior towards their children, she can't help but worry that they will be neglectful in such a crucial milestone for the kids. Secondary genders in presenting pups are important to nurture correctly to best help them regulate these new instincts so they are safe as they grow up to adults. And she worries that their needs won't be met.
“I know what you mean, I'm worried about that too, I think that Joel is already parenting his siblings too much, he shouldn't have to do that at this age…” Katie notes how the mooblooms ears droop at the ideas and she can't help but agree with her. She herself can't be their parent even if she feels that they have become her kids without her realizing.
“Katie I'll do my best to help them and I'll try harder to be able to let you still talk to them even if it's through video call, I'm here for you and I'll help you the best I can” with that the alpha pulled her into a hug and she can't help but melt and start to tear up. And she starts to think that maybe the kids will be alright if she can still be in contact with them, even if she can't in person.