"Who is that?" I asked, pointing to the light lavender Zora playing with Ezili.
"Her?" the unnamed Zora, currently in charge of the young Zora children, asked, pointing in the direction of the child in question. I affirmed her question.
"She is special. Her mother and father both left her when she was but an egg, for her shell was cracked when the egg was laid, and we found the egg sitting on the shore of East Reservoir Lake, and took her into out care, and later she hatched. We are trying to find parents for her that are willing to take her home, but so far, we have had no success. For the answer to your question, she doesn't have a name yet. Whoever chooses to adopt her can name her"
I thanked her and walked back over to Mipha and Ezili, the lavander Zora still playing with her. "Did you find out her name?" Mipha asked.
"Yes and no."
"Care to elaborate?"
"Of course dear," I said, "When she was laid as an egg, her shell was cracked, and noth of her parents abandened her at the East Resavoir Lake, and one of the members of the staff found her, and the egg was taken into their care, before she hatched. They aer hoping someone will adopt her, and whoever adopts her gets to name her."
"Okay" she said, then pausing for a moment. "I can tell in your eyes that their is something you may want to do, but we will have our hands full as it is"
"Your right," I said, rasing a hand to my face, embaresed to even bring up such a topic.
"We can see if this is just a one-time thing, or if there possibily is a good friendship in the making. A close friend may be just what Ezili needs to get out of her shell."
"Sounds good," I said, before we left our children adn returned to our room. We were alone because some Hylian doctors wished to run some tests on Champ so he would be away for a bit, and probably wouldn't return until the time of his 'birth'.
With nothing else planned, we choose to watch over a disc of the Zora children during there examination to see if they would be able to be fine around other children.
Throughout the entire test, it was clear that Romani and Makon were already on good terms with each other, and Ezili was more alone in her own thoughts in the side. Neither of her two siblings choose to interact with her, instead playing with each other the entire time, leaving the lone child to be in her own thoughts. We both realized how much she needed company of someone.
Looking at each other, we both agreed on what needed to be done, but still hesitant about it all the same. Having a total of 5 kids was something no parent would be able to handle at ease, so it was something that involved a lot of thinking. 4 was a handful, but 5 was a whole nother matter, one that needed lots of thought, and we both had an idea of where to start.
We went to the library and found books on raising a larger number of Zora children, and how to properly tend and care for each of them. The first one we grabbed was called "Too Many Eggs! How to Care and Nuture More Than 2 Eggs at One Time"
"This seems like a good start, don't you think?" I said, placing the book on the table, adn flipping it open to the first page, as I began to read it.
"Caring for more than two eggs at one time may seem very difficult, and at times it definitely is, but, if you do it correctly, you will be able to handle it seamlessly. First of all, if you are reading this book, than congratulations, and be ready for a whole boatload of adventures with your several new hatchlings.
"The first thing to keep in mind is that it will be hard at first, properly being able to manage and maintain order in a house overrun with young Zora children, but you can do it. Most hatchlings make it easy to tell what there charastics will be in an enviornment that shows others. Most are sociable, but sometimes they are shy, and even in-between. For tips on raising shy children when born into a larger pool, turn to page 48."
We both turned there to see what we could read. The book went on to explain that in most cases with a total of 3 eggs, two of them would be really close with each other, while a third one often appeared to be more secluded than the others, and for the secluded one, a close friend was a necessary, especially if later in life, they are going to be in a social environment, or place that involves large amounts of talking to others.
After ingesting the information on the page, we choose to wait a bit, seeing how things would stack up and make our plans from there.
The next day, we returned to the nursing pool, and in a different alcove this time, Ezili and the lavender zora were both together, looking at each other, and chasing the others tail fin in circles, while Makon and Romani both joined in with the larger group of hatchlings.
The same nurse as yesterday noticed out arrival, and spoke to us once she noticed out presence. "I apologize for not introducing myself earlier, I am Finley, and would like to let you know of any information that you request, just let me know if you need anything."
Mipha was the first to ask, "How long as the lavender Zora been playing with Ezili?"
"Quite some time. The two of them are almost inseparable actually. I could barely get either of them apart when taking another examination on the unnamed one here, as soon as that was finished, they both returned to their usual play. They even chased each other around the perimeter of the entire area"
"What anout Romani and Makon?" I asked afterwards.
"They haven't appeared to take in much attention towards their sister yet, and they both appear to spend more time with the larger group then any of the individuals. They tend to play with each other, and the bigger group as a whole than any single child"
"I see…" I mumbled quietly to myself.
We stayed for a while, and I asked if I could reach my hand in the water calmly, and I was told I could. I went over to Ezili and the lavender Zora, and gently placed my hand in the water.
Exili backed up away from it slightly, while the other one went and chose to investigate it. After nudging along my plan, which tickled my slightly, and did my best to contain my laughter, the unnamed one went over to Exili, and then they both slowly swam towards my hand, and Ezili nudged her head up against the palm of my hand.
Both me and Mipha were amazed by how the lavender one appeared to urge Ezili into making physical contact with my hand.
We both stayed around for a bit longer before we left for the day, and went to King Dorephan, and spoke to him about an idea we were having.
"Father, Link and I may want to have yet another addition to our family, and we fear that, even if we don't add anymore to the current plate, the bedroom would not be a suitable enough environment and were wondering if perhaps we could have another house built that would provide more space to accommodate the growth of a large family"
"Of course, that is a possibility that I would have no issues in. Is there a place you may have in mind?"
"Would by East Reservoir Lake work? The hot right by the pier I feel would make a good place for there is already foundation down their, and it was always a spot for just me and Link to go. The lake is close enough that we can come to the Domain in any short amount of time, and is also far enough that it provides space. Plus there is plenty of water and ground, a great place for a Hylian and Zora family to be together just fine."
"You really have thought this through haven't you? That is perfectly fine by me, and we can get work started on the project right away. The fact that alot of the structure is already completed means it will not take as long for the entire project to be completed, so you should have been moved in easily by the time you get to take all the kids home."
"Thank you very much"
"Anytime my darling. I cannot wait to see how this turns out, and I will make sure that it is stated right away. I will inform the Hylian doctors that you will no longer be staying at your current residence so when they being back Champ, they know where to look for you, but it is up to you to inform those in charge of the Zora children."
"Thank yku very kich" and then we both left the room.
And just as promised, in 2 weeks time, the new house had been built on the East Reservoir, and were both very happy with how it turned out. The lake was empty for Vah Ruta was stationed elsewhere, so there was plenty of swimming room, and that would come in handy once all the children were home.
The house was very spacious to us, and we were both excited. We had shared the single room in the Domain ever since Mupha had returned, and we never realised how much space a house took up if it belongs only to a couple, but we both knew that would not last long. The kids would be roaming the grounds in a month, so we had the place to ourselves for only that time
The house in all had a master bedroom, four extra bedrooms, meaning each of the kids would have their own place to stay, a kitchen and dining room, with a wonderful view of the reservoir from outside the window, and a gathering room.
After exploring the house, we once again returned to the pool, and were happy to see all the children doing well in their own way. It was at this time where there longs were beginning to grow big enough to the point that they could stick parts of their body's out of water, but not the gills for the lungs were not strong enough to work on their own yet.
We went back to Ezili once more, her and her companion still together. Even though we were not the parents of the lavender child, she still popped her head out of the water whenever we were nearby, and we both gave her love as well.
This was something that was going on for some time now, and both me and Mipha knew that even though it was a big responsibility, we could handle it.
"Hello once again" Finley greeted to both of us. "Is there anything in particular you would like to discuss with me?"
After a momentary pause, I told her, "Yes. We both have put a lot of thought into this decision as we know that this is a big choice that will affect the lives of many for plenty years to come, and after long hard thoughts, we have come to the decision that we would like to adopt the lavender Zora and welcome them to our family."
"That is great to hear! I can help get the paperwork settled for you both right away" Than she ran over to a nearby filing cabinet, and grabbed several sheets of paperwork.
"Thank you," we both said, as we were handed sheets and began to fill in various pieces of information.
While filling this out, Finley spoke to us. "Even though development wise, there does not appear to be anything wrong with the Zora in question, but I want to inform you that because her egg was cracked during the process she way being laid, she may have a disability that may not show up until later in life, but being either dead or blind is out of the question for she is able to recognize both of you and Ezili, and even comes to your calls when you call Ezili's name, so that is not a concern. I would just be watchful for anything that could effectuate development."
"Thank you for letting us know," Mipha said, "That was another thing we both brought up
during one of the many conversations that was made during this process.
After more pen scribbling, we arrived at the final blank, which was what was going to e the name of the child.
Mipha turned her head to me, meaning I had full control on this last blank, and I took no hesitation in what I wrote down
"Hope"
Sorry for once more not posting in literally forever, and when I finally do, its midnight, at least where I live, so yea...I"m here and want to thank you guys for stickjmg with me and still being here for me through all of this, don't worry I have not given up on this story, and wont for a VERY long time.I am happy to be back and I want to aay sorry if this chapter felt like it had so many things happening in it, and I know it is by far the longeat chapter written for this story to date, but at the end of the day, I am satasfied with how it all turned out.I want you all to feel free to leave suggestions as to what I should do next, and will do my best to reply to you. I do my best to reply to a comment if possible, but I am not always able to.One final thing before I leave is that this entire chapter was typed out on my phone, so yea...Until next time... Bye :)