adventures of SuperMom! ((open thread))

[slayers_desire]

Today, April, Jonathan and Laura are visiting the Nexus zoo. April particularly likes this zoo, since there are no harmful confinement against the animals, and there is a wide variety of animals that she is familiar with, and those from other worlds and universes. It gives her an opportunity to teach her children about new fauna.

It can be quite an adventure, being the mother of two unique children. Jonathan was very exciting about everything around him, and now at three-and-a-half he could be quite a handful himself. April had to watch him carefully at times, to ensure his excitement didn't accidentally betray his super powers to others. She knew it was difficult for him to contain, being so young.

Laura was roughly seven months old, so was still contained within a stroller. But she was quite excited about all the new sights and sounds around her. The biggest complication for Laura was watching what the infant grabbed, since she was putting everything in her mouth -- as she was teething a few new teeth.

And to make the day even more exciting, April has both dogs, young Ree and older Shelby on leashes as they explored through the zoo. The dogs seemed interested in some of the animals... and of course there were those animals who were more interested in the the dogs themselves.

There was a point when the leashes were wrapped around April's legs... Laura was grabbing for some lady's keys, and Jonathan was pointing excitedly at the ice cream station. All in a normal day for Super Mom.

Comments

[a_slave_obeys]

As it happens, Jack Ryan is also taking his children out on a trip to the zoo. This place seems relatively safe, and though he keeps a very close eye on all five of them, they're clearly excited to be out of the old boring house.

"Look, Daddy, a doggie!" one of the girls shouts, pointing at Ree. "I didn't know they had doggies in zoos."

[slayers_desire]

Ree, the exciteable one, tries to run forward to greet the girls... however her leash is still caught around April's leg. And so it is a funny-looking effort.

Shelby just perks her ears, patiently waiting to be approached.

"Hello Jack."

[a_slave_obeys]

Jack is a bit wary at first, but once he sees who it is, he relaxes a little. "April," he greets her. "Come on girls, let's go say hi to Daddy's friend."

[slayers_desire]

April takes a moment to unwrap the leash around her leg, to give Ree some more room. But she also takes a moment to calm the exciteable dog down, sensing Jack's wariness.

"Hi!" Jonathan waves to them.

[a_slave_obeys]

"Hello," some of the girls respond, waving back. One of them hides shyly behind Jack's leg, clutching a rag doll.

"I didn't know you'd be here," Jack says to April, looking at her kids, and the dogs. She certainly has her hands as full as he does, with his five girls.

[slayers_desire]

"We decided to get out today for an outing." April explains softly. Ree, curiously, moves forward to sniff at the nearest girl, her tail wagging.

[a_slave_obeys]

"Same here... the girls have spent too much time stuck in the house lately."

The girl reaches her hand out to try to pet the doggie, but Jack stops her. "Peggy, you should always ask first. Some doggies aren't nice even though they look that way."

She frowns up at him. "But Daddy, it came to me."

[slayers_desire]

"It is alright, both Ree and Shelby are kid-friendly." The older dog at her side thumps his tail at the mention of his name.

[a_slave_obeys]

"All right, you can go ahead, because April says it's okay," he says. The nine-year-olds all come forward to pet the dogs, even the shy one that hid behind Jack.

[slayers_desire]

Ree of course loves every second of the petting, her tail thumping a mile-a-minute, and every now she tries to lick a hand. Jonathan is on hand, close-by, to make sure the dog doesn't get too excited. Shelby is more calm about the petting, closing his eyes peacefully.

"Are you enjoying yourselves today?"

[a_slave_obeys]

"We saw giraffes," one of the girls says excitedly.

"And peacocks!"

"And elephants."

"And we're getting ice cream later," one of them adds with a hopeful look up at Jack.

[slayers_desire]

"I like ice cream." Jonathan added, looking up at his mother in hope.

April chuckles. "I am sure we have time for ice cream."

[a_slave_obeys]

"We could get some now if you want to sit and talk for a minute," Jack suggests. After all, there is an ice cream stand not far from here, and picnic tables with enough places to sit for all the kids.

[slayers_desire]

"That sounds perfect to me." She will need to give Laura her bottle soon anyway.

[a_slave_obeys]

"All right girls, line up and we'll get you each some ice cream," he addresses the girls. There's a chorus of 'yaaaaaay' as they obediently gather around to get their treats.

[slayers_desire]

April moves towards the ice cream line herself, Jonathan close by her side. And of course there is no needing to tell Laura, as the infant goes wherever the stroller does.

"What did you like about seeing the animals?" She asks the girls.

[a_slave_obeys]

"They're so big!"

"And different! All we see at home is boring old bees."

Jack looks slightly embarrassed by that, though he is glad that they don't think of his powers as being weird.

[slayers_desire]

"Bees are very important to the cycle of the environment." April chuckles softly.

[a_slave_obeys]

"That's what Daddy says." She sounds bored by it, as many children are when faced with educational information. She brightens up though when Jack hands her a kid-sized ice cream cone.

[slayers_desire]

April hands Jonathan his own kid-sized ice cream cone. Ree excitedly paces by the boys feet, just waiting for the first sign of spilled food. She also gets a small bowl of ice cream for Laura, who will play with it more than eat it.

"It is so nice to see them doing so good." She mentions to Jack.

[a_slave_obeys]

Jack looks at the girls, who are now all sitting at one of the picnic tables, enjoying their sweet treats. "It really is. When I brought them to the surface I didn't have a clue if I could give them a normal life. But they're dealing with it better than I am."

[slayers_desire]

"That is always important. I know that is often a worry of mine... but then again, what is a normal life?"

[a_slave_obeys]

"I guess that's true." He doesn't have a clue what normal is, anyway. He never had a childhood to compare it to either.

"I should probably introduce you, shouldn't I?" he says, now realizing that he's never told her their names. "That's Peggy, Helen, Darlene, Marjorie, and Dolores."

[slayers_desire]

She follows his eyes, to match each name to each child. "They are beautiful. All of them."

"I'm Jona-ton." Jonathan tries his best to say his name. He is not quite perfected it yet. And in his attempt, a little ice cream dripples, and Ree is quick to clean it off his shirt.

[a_slave_obeys]

"Jonathan," Jack deciphers easily, though he's never had to struggle with toddler pronunciations before. "Nice to meet you. What's your sister's name?"