A new student arrives

The group broke up for a ten-minute break. Group was an open thing among the students and, being comprised of people under various stages of mental and physical regression, had to be kept under a few small intervals to allow for physical needs as well as psychological ones. Some babies got bored and needed a little time to play and relax. Some may have needed a nap and would be escorted to their rooms by caretakers. Some might have needed changing or wanted a snack to tide them over until lunch.

One of Jane's ears twitched.

She heard a ding from one of the elevators. There were two pairs of legs, one in a pair of dress shoes, the other barefoot, the swish of a freshly applied diaper crinkling with every subtle movement. Jane's sensitive cat-nose picked up the unfamiliar scent of someone new beneath the smell of baby oil coming out of the elevator the moment its doors opened.

Staff and students used elevators all the time. They had stairs, but it was difficult for students wearing thick padding between their legs, and the locomotive capability of a toddler wasn't well-suited for the cold, hard concrete of the stairwell. Those who've regressed so far that they couldn't even walk

The grown-up was Ellen Lost, founder of the school. She wore a pair of pointed glasses and a woman's business suit that would have made her look like an up-and-coming Wall Street upstart if every article of clothing wasn't some matching shade of pink. Ellen had been a student of the Institute before there even was one, having been the one who founded it in the first place. While she was definitely a grown-up, her magically inflicted youth stuck with her even at her age in subtle ways, her love of bright, pastel colors being the most obvious.

"Children," said Ellen.

"Hi, Miss Ellen," said most of the babies in the room, including Jane. Ellen always had a magnetic presence among the students, and her smile was infectious.

"I have someone I would like to introduce to all of you."

Holding onto Ellen's hand was a new student. Like the many adult babies in the room, they were a Fisher Kingdom kid.