Anticipation

By the time you get home, the girls are there already, and waiting for you in the living room. You barely have time to sit before Mazzy is questioning you.

“Soooo…how was your first day?”

You chuckle. “Great, actually. It feels really good to help a new sponsor.”

Dakota smiles. “They’ve already got you playing matchmaker, hmm?”

You nod. “Working with Edward for now, until I get the hang of it. But he did an interview today, and it seems like everyone was very happy by the end.”

Ellie snuggles close to you. “It’s good t-to make everyone happy. Everyone d-deserves happiness.”

You gently run your fingers through her hair, and she smiles and closes her eyes, resting her head on your chest. Beside you, Kenna laughs.

“That’s great, but that’s all you did today?”

You shrug, still stroking Ellie’s hair. “We did a lot of training. He showed me what to watch out for, that sort of thing. Tomorrow we’re doing home visits, that should be interesting.”

Mazzy giggles. “Gonna drag some poor sponsor out of bed like what happened with us?”

You laugh. “Most likely. The way those two looked at each other said a lot.”

Kenna laughs. “I know the feeling. Probably not much sleeping happening tonight!”

You chuckle. “Yeah. Hopefully I don’t interrupt them too soon tomorrow.”

Dakota nods. “You’re not telling us everything, though. You got home awfully late today…”

You chuckle. “Can’t get anything past you, can I. Yes, as I was leaving, a certain manticore asked to see me.”

All four girls look at you with interest. Mazzy grins and nods. “And?”

You smile at her. “And she’s adorable and sweet. And has serious self esteem issues. And yes, she wants to join us.”

Kenna smiles widely. “And what did you say? Why isn’t she here yet?”

You shake your head. “So overeager! I told her I’m interested, but there’s a couple of things that have to happen first. I wanted to come talk to all of you first, to be sure you approve…”

All four of them simultaneously say “We approve!”, drawing a chuckle from you.

“And I told her that Mazzy would come talk to her. You know, since Mazzy basically runs things these days.”

Mazzy grins. “You’d better believe it, darling!”

You chuckle and roll your eyes. “And finally, we don’t have space right now. I won’t have someone sleep on a couch just because we have too many people here. We need to get that extension built first.”

Kenna nods. “A new bedroom, and a new bathroom, please. Our bathroom isn’t built for a girl my size. It’s tough getting my big butt inside the shower!”

You chuckle. “Anytime you need a hand scrubbing, I’m sure you can get some assistance.”

The dragon girl laughs. “I’ll probably take you up on that, my mate. But my point stands, we need a bigger bathroom too.”

Mazzy nods. “Well, I have good news, then. The AWIO rep pointed me in the direction of the contractor they rely on. They’re friendly towards monster girls, they do good work, fast, and they’re relatively inexpensive.”

You smile at the little halfling. “Sounds like you have it all under control. As usual.”

Dakota laughs. “You did say she runs things now!”

Mazzy smiles. “Exactly. I’ll talk to them tomorrow, and after work we’ll swing over to the AWIO and talk to Sirona. Sound good?”

You chuckle. “All of you? Don’t overwhelm the poor girl.”

Ellie smiles. “D-don’t worry, we’ll be n-nice.”

Dakota nods. “Yeah, from what you said, she needs a delicate hand. We can tone it down a bit.”

You chuckle. “I know. I’m just teasing. But seriously, Sirona seems lovely, I’m sure she’ll do well with us.”

Mazzy smiles and nods.