Lullaby

[put_a_ring_on_it]

Who: Lunafreya Nox Fleuret and You Watanabe
When: July 25
Where: Some poor lady's house in downtown Tokyo
What: Prayer #39

[While Luna is no slouch at combat when it comes down to it, she feels more at home with prayers where she can set someone's mind at ease or comfort them. So when a desperate plea for help in looking after a set of twins from a poor overworked single Japanese mother arrives, it seems like the perfect fit. Inviting You along with her to help, Luna sets off for the woman's address. When she rings the bell, a rather frazzled looking woman answers, shoving one baby into each of their arms, thanking them profusely but quickly, and immediately making for her car to enjoy a well-earned night off.

The babies are crying loudly.

It's going to be a long night.]

Comments

[swimteamidol]

[You wasn't one to turn down a prayer with her god. Especially one that involves children. There's just something about them that wants to make You take care of them. She holds the child close with a big smile.]

Hey! No need to cry!

[She pokes the babies nose.] Why don't we play a game?

[put_a_ring_on_it]

[The baby quiets down for a moment, looking curiously back at You before bursting into tears again. Luna laughs nervously, rocking her twin brother somewhat awkwardly in her arms.]

Maybe they're hungry?

[Oddly, despite her usually comforting presence, Luna doesn't seem very at home taking care of someone this young.]

[swimteamidol]

Hungry? Hmm... with how young they are, they probably have jars of food somewhere. We just need to warm them up.

[That's alright. You is good with children of any age, so she'll try and be the comforting presence for the both of them.

She opens her mouth wide in a soft gasp, looking at the baby.]

Do you want some dinner?

[put_a_ring_on_it]

[The baby makes some 'aaaaa' noises, mimicking You.]

Mm... I'd say that's a yes.

[Luna smiles, still doing her best to rock the other child. He's still extremely fussy, but it's working a little.]

Let's check the refrigerator.

[swimteamidol]

[That's so cute! You gently boops the babies nose with her finger.]

Then let's get you both some food, and hope that a full tummy helps.

[She nods and heads into the kitchen, poking the little babies cheek as she walks. Opening the fridge, she looks in and carefully searches around.]

There's some jars in here! Baby carrots, peas, banana, mashed potatoes... It all looks soft, so we don't have to cut anything up.

[put_a_ring_on_it]

[Congratulations, You! You have earned yourself a giggle.]

Oh, good. Let's get them into their high chairs, then.

[Luna will get to work on that while You gets the food out. There's a lot of fussing and flailing, but eventually she manages to get the wiggly little guy into his chair, with a bib tied around his neck.]

Whew... I can see why the mother was so desperate for a night off.

[It's said with fondness rather than frustration, though, as she reaches out for the other child so You can get their food ready.]

[swimteamidol]

[That giggle makes her happy to hear. You will hand over the baby to Luna before pulling a few jars out of the fridge and reading them.]

I guess we just have to remove the lids and heat them in the microwave. That's pretty easy. What do you think they'll like?

[One of the jars is a mix of rice and gravy. That seems like a decent meal so she gets one for each baby.] There's a lot of carrot jars in here. Maybe those?

[put_a_ring_on_it]

Carrots it is, then. Would you like that?

[Luna leans in toward the other child's face and gets a raspberry blown in her face for her efforts. There's a slight wince as she gets the child into her high chair, and she reaches for a hand towel to wipe off the spittle.]

It looks like we have a couple of future food critics on our hands.

[swimteamidol]

Then we just have to make it more appealing, right?

[One little jar is heated up and another goes into the microwave.]

Like making it into a game.

[put_a_ring_on_it]

Oh! Like pretending the spoon is an airship, right?

[Luna was raised in a rather sheltered way, but she does at least know about that sort of thing.]

[swimteamidol]

Airship....? Oh! Do you mean an airplane?

[That's what they are called here, Luna.]

They might like that. Or even if it's a train. We can go "choo choo" and everything.

[put_a_ring_on_it]

That's even better. Let's try that, then.

[Trains conjure up marginally better thoughts than airships for her, anyway. Luna gets a little bit of the food on the end of a spoon, holding it in front of the baby she's been tending to and starting to make little chugga-chugga noises.]

[swimteamidol]

[Aaaaaaaaah! That's so cute! You is momentarily in awe of her god that she almost forgets the baby she was helping with. With a little laugh, she dips her spoon into the food and copies what Luna was doing.]

Here comes the train~ Choo choo~

[put_a_ring_on_it]

[Choo choo train always does the trick. It isn't long before both babies are giggling happily, opening their mouths for the food as the spoons get closer.]

Very good! Eat it all up now!

[swimteamidol]

[Success! Even the carrots seem to be happily eaten with this game.]

We found something they like more than they hate carrots. They're so cute...

[put_a_ring_on_it]

Maybe we can get them to go down for a nap after they eat.

[Just as much of the food ends up on the babies' clothing as in their mouths, but they eventually get them fed.]

But first, let's make sure everything's settling well.

[Picking the brother up from his high chair, Luna lets him rest his head on her shoulder as she pats his back gently. Soon enough, there's a tiny baby burp.]

[swimteamidol]

A nap? Shouldn't we put them to bed? It's pretty late already...

[For babies at least.

You copies with Luna is doing, smiling when the baby responds like its brother.]

Hmm... should I sing them to sleep?

[put_a_ring_on_it]

That sounds like a wonderful idea. You do have a lovely voice.

[She's heard You practicing for Sparkle Motion, so she knows.]

[swimteamidol]

[She blushes softly, laughing a little nervously.]

Thank you! But I think someone like Maria-sama would be much better at singing than I am, or even Natsuru-senpai.

[put_a_ring_on_it]

[Luna smiles warmly, shaking her head.]

Well, you've got the toughest audience imaginable right in front of you. Let's see what they think.