“She’s beautiful,” said Nanette, smiling. “This is d’Artagnan. Mila will make an appearance outside. I’m sure the children would get too hyper if they see a Rapidash this early.”

Nanette had gotten just as hyper at their age, after all. It wasn’t a stretch to say that pivotal moment had not only kickstarted her dream of having a Rapidash, but also all her princess-centric daydreams. Did she still love stories of gallant knights cantering atop a blazing Rapidash for their lady loves? Yes. Were they now mostly shirtless in these endeavors? Also yes.

The door opened, and Nanette caught the dizzying scent of white glue. It was a great waft of nostalgia. The teacher was a slender man, baby-faced and cheerful with coke-bottle glasses. His clothing was smeared with globs of paint.

“Hello! Please, come in. The kids are so excited to have you here.”

There was an excited hush beyond the door’s threshold. They were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Nanette reached in her pocket for her notecards…and found them gone. Nanette glanced over her shoulder; d’Artagnan was tossing her little strawberry notecards in the bin. Cheeky little… Well, they were ages five to six. Not hard to entertain. And no one could say she had come ill-prepared.

“Hello! My name’s Nettie Sanguine. I’m a ranger and student! I’m learning how to help both humans and Pokémon when they feel sick or need help. This my partner, d’Artagnan – a gallade!”

Graceful as ever, d’Artagnan bowed deeply. He could be charming when he wanted to. Apparently, it was reserved for everyone but her. Nanette smiled fondly, laughing as little as she followed with a curtsy of her own. It was apparently well received judging by the smiles and the great big eyes. Their excitement was palpable, and Nanette found herself charmed.

@kane

☉

The illusion was enough to get everyone back on track. There was a litany of can she turn into mes and more than a dozen oohs and a smattering of whoas. Nanette focused manfully on the children, and not the perfect imitation that Zo had done of her. (Because, really? Was her own face that punchable? Did she look that ridiculous? So stupid and ungainly? It was mortifying.) When some of the questions rounded back to her and d’Artagnan, she was glad for the segue. The way she jumped to answer might have been a touch too quick – so obviously eager – but she was sure these little ones wouldn’t notice.

“He helps me when we need to do search-and-rescue. D’Artagnan can get to places I can’t reach, and he can even cut through things like big rocks and trees. So if someone is stuck, we can go and help them much quicker.”

There was another wave of noise and d’Artagnan looked pleased as punch. The homeroom teacher was leading them outside for the next part of this little venture, and for recess. Nanette had been that age once, however long ago it felt like. She knew how restless they would be after seeing guests and bearing witness to Zo’s illusions.

“You’re doing well with them,” Nanette said.

The children were in a single file line with their teacher, marching obediently – if not a little impatiently – behind him. D’Artagnan had moved on to walk beside them, marching military style to their delight. If there had been that kind of silence after she spoke, Nanette was sure she would have fumbled the ball completely. Disliked by kindergartners? Tragic.

“Just be prepared for them to rush you and Zo. I think they’ll want to request a lot of superhero illusions.”

@kane | mission

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Nanette stifled a chuckle. “He definitely looks like a superhero if he ever wanted to do film instead, but I don’t think they would ask for a CEO.”

This was just personal, but if she was given the power to ask for any illusion? Obviously, at age five, she would ask for a prince. Complete with poofy pants and long eyelashes. Now? She was only a little embarrassed to say some sort of idol or rugged actor. Not that Fernando Silph wasn’t good looking, but if there was the whole gamut of her celebrity crush list then the choice was easy. The actor for A Streetcar Named Desire was definitely top tier, but who could forget the sultry lead vocalist from her favorite boy band?

Luckily, it seemed Zo would not give her that power. Thank god.

The school playground was as brightly colored as she expected. There was even an added bonus of a raised garden. Half-faded chalk drawings were scrawled on concrete. Nanette hung back for a moment as the homeroom teacher rallied his students again. They had immediately began to ricochet about, their attention diverted by sunshine and slides.

Nothing like the appearance of her trusty steed to have them oohing and ahhing again. Mila knickered, tossing back her mane.

“This is Mila. She’s much faster than I am, so she’s always helping me when I’m outside working. Being a ranger is hard work, but working with my friends makes it easier.”

The hubbub would likely be uncontrollable if she had Mila tacked for a ride. But the children seemed more than happy to pet her, and Mila seemed pleased with the attention. It seemed her notecards had truly been useless, but Nanette still stood by the principle of preparedness.

“It’s a good thing I decided against the riding. I think it would have sent them into a frenzy,” Nanette observed, amused. There was no attempt to manhandle Mila yet, but she was keeping a close eye out. Once children grabbed onto something, they seemed to gain some truly monstrous strength.

Instead, it seemed quite tame. D’Artagnan and Mila were playing, the children were exuberant but gentle, and Nanette was watching with a fond smile.

“Looks like we survived their terror,” Nanette said gravely, but she was smiling as she said it. “Your efforts today were valiant.”

@kane | mission

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Nanette laughed outright at that.

“I’m sure you’re the raddest,” she agreed.

It was a good thing they were in such an open space. The smell of tobacco wouldn’t carry too far. And while she couldn’t fathom ever smoking herself, there was something oddly comforting about the smell of cigarettes. Dyeda Yuriy had smoked quite a bit himself, and he had still been a hale and hearty man until his last few months – still formidable enough to strike some fear into the hearts of lesser delinquents with nothing but a disapproving gaze. If he hadn’t been smoking cigarettes, he had rolled his own cigars.

Nostalgic or not, it probably wasn’t ideal to smoke in front of children. She didn’t want the homeroom teacher to round on Thaddeus (though the teacher looked as threatening as cotton candy).

“I’m glad. I was nervous that they wouldn’t like me,” Nanette admitted, smiling ruefully. “Here – may I take that? I’ll buy you a new pack later. I don’t want anyone scolding you for smoking on school property.”

Nanette held her hand out, waiting for the cigarette to be passed to her fingers so she could quash the ember herself. Her cousin smoked frequently, too, and she would just snatch them from his mouth when she had a mind to. That was Antoni, though, and she didn’t think Thaddeus would take to that as kindly.

A breeze lifted at her hair. This was…nice. It had gone much better than she had thought.

And then there were a gaggle of children bounding over. Tugging at her skirt impatiently and crowding around Thaddeus.

“Come play with us!”

“I think you’re forgetting a word.”

“Please!”

“Good. Will you be joining us? We’re playing…what are we playing?” Nanette turned towards the apparent leader with a warm smile.

“Hide-and-seek.”

“Hide-and-seek,” said Nanette, nodding seriously. "I think they really want you to play with them, Thaddeus."

@kane | mission

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