Hunter and Ahsoka got to work babysitting Omega for the first time. Padme gave them money and a list of things to look for for Omega's room and places to look for those things.
The royal family thought it best for Omega not to be seen with any of them in public at the moment, as she was just settling in and the last thing she needed was to be swarmed by paparazzi before she got used to the peaceful aspects of her new home.
They had her dressed in some simpler clothing. Jedi youngling robes loaned to her for the time being until she got some clothes of her own, as to not draw too much attention to her.
Padme gave Omega's sitters specific instructions to keep Omega safe and let her choose what she liked. She and Anakin wanted to help Omega feel welcome, so they gave her the say in all she would have in her new room. From what she said her living conditions were like on Kamino, the most exciting thing she had in her quarters was her beside lamp, which wasn't even stylish or colorful. Her entire room was barely even an adequate size, just a bed and a lamp. Not even a proper dresser for her to keep her outfits. She'd only had seven of the same outfit. In other words, she lived an even more isolated life than Boba did.
Ahsoka helped Omega search through the clothing that was in her size.
"See anything you like, Omega?" Ahsoka said.
"What's this?" Omega asked, seeing some blue overalls.
"Those are overalls." Ahsoka said. "Pretty useful when working with plants."
"You know what'd be really useful right now?" said Hunter.
The girls looked at a pile of clothes that Hunter was hidden behind. "A place to put this stuff down. Why couldn't Fiesta be the one to carry the stuff? She's the one with a saddle and four legs."
"I'm not a pack mule." Fiesta said. "And you lost the coin toss."
"Dear me!" said Threepio, struggling with what he was carrying.
"Just be glad you aren't Threepio!"
"Oh dear! I'm going down!"
And the protocol droid fell under all the shoe boxes he was carrying.
"Are you okay?" Omega asked.
"Help me, please!" Threepio begged.
Fiesta used her magic to pick up all the stuff quickly.
"Maybe we should've gotten a cart to carry all this stuff." Fiesta said.
"You think?" Hunter said, popping out of the pile of clothes and accessories, a red fedora on his head.
Omega and Ahsoka giggled seeing Hunter with the hat on.
"I think that hat really suits you, Hunter." Omega said.
"Eh. I'm more a bandana guy." said Hunter, taking the hat off his head.
Ahsoka brought Omega to a dressing room so she could try on the things she picked out and mix and match different shirts, pants, dresses, jackets, and shoes. Omega also tried one a few headbands, hats, and hair clips to find her own sense of style.
Omega found that trying on so many different colors made her really happy, and trying out the sunglasses she found made her feel like a celebrity about to walk the red carpet. And when Ahsoka and Fiesta started modeling some outfits with her, it became even more fun.
"Hey, what do you think of this?" Fiesta posed with a feather boa around her neck and a red sparkly hat, with star-shaped sunglasses to top it off.
Omega giggled. "You look great."
Omega really liked the sunglasses shaped like seashells.
"I'm gonna guess you've never been to the beach before?" said Ahsoka.
"Nope." Omega shook her head.
"You'll love it once you see it." Fiesta said. "Although, Anakin really hates sand."
"But, Gabby likes to build sandcastles." Ahsoka said. "So, that's the only time he puts up with it. Carmine likes it too."
"They're not like the clones were programmed to be." Omega said.
"Nope. Even identical twins are different." Ahsoka said.
"Anakin and Carmine may have the same face, but they have muy differente personalities." Fiesta said.
And it was true. There were so many things different between the twins. Everyone already knew that Anakin was the one with shoulder-length hair, while Carmine's was waist-length, and Carmine wore glasses. And more recently, it was discovered that an easy way to tell if either of them was really one of them pretending to be the other twin, was to check the back of either twin's left shoulder, as Carmine had an odd birthmark shaped like a music note there, which was how he got his name. However, there were also many differences between their personalities and skill levels.
Anakin hated sand, but Carmine liked playing in the sandbox when he was a kid.
Carmine liked dancing, but Anakin did martial arts.
Anakin loved bacon, but Carmine hated it.
Carmine could do handstands, but Anakin couldn't do them too well.
Anakin liked dressing in darker colors, while Carmine liked bright colors.
Carmine was also more flexible, but also more nervous than Anakin. And it turned out Gabby inherited her arachnophobia from him, whereas Lamenta got her love of stars from Anakin.
"I still can't believe Anakin is the mature one of the two." Ahsoka said. "But, I love them both. And you're gonna love having them as your dad and uncle."
Omega thought about some of the people she'd met in the little time she spent with Boba and the others.
"What was it like when you got adopted?" Omega asked.
Ahsoka was pretty surprised when Master Plo asked her if she'd like him to adopt her, but at the same time she'd wished for that since she was really little, but the old code forbid it.
"Well, to be fair, I'd already grown up around Master Plo." Ahsoka said. "But... that didn't mean my adoption was without nerves or changes. From what I know from experience and holo-net searches, it's pretty normal for both the adopted children and the parents to feel nervous. And for any other kids the adoptive parents may have. Believe it or not, it took Gabby a while to get used to having a big brother. Even they didn't get along all the time."
"Really?" Omega said.
"Yeah. You should've seen how much they argued when they couldn't agree on what costume pair to wear for their first Halloween together, or when Gabby got a higher score on a trivia game than Boba."
"How'd that happen?"
"To put it simply," said Fiesta. "Gabby had just learned to read, then she started reading one book after another to practice, and discovered she has an incredible memory and attention span."
"I guess child prodigies really run in their family, related or not." said Hunter.
"Master Ani most certainly was a prodigy child." Threepio said. "He must have been the most intelligent child on all Tatooine to build a droid of my stature singlehandedly."
"Everyone has their talents." Fiesta said. "Anakin's is mechanics, Carmine's is music, Lamenta lights up the dark, and Gabby has a knack for having good ideas. And Boba is great at spotting a target whether it's with a weapon, or knowing how to help someone in need."
"I wonder what my talent is." Omega said.
"Weren't you a medical assistant?" Ahsoka asked.
"Medical stuff is something I know, but it wasn't my choice." Omega said.
"Well, modeling could be one." Fiesta said, getting Omega to look at herself in the red blouse and blue pants she was trying on. "You look muy hermosa in those colors."
"Hmm. I don't know. I never really thought of finding a talent."
After getting the clothes to their ship to be taken to the palace, the group browsed a toy shop, where Omega found a trooper doll she liked.
"With your new family, you'll have the chance to try all kinds of talents." Ahsoka said. "Maybe Carmine can teach you how to play an instrument or dance."
"Or maybe you have a hidden talent like horseback riding." Fiesta said. "Boba did say you were getting better when you rode Estrella."
Omega thought about Estrella. She hadn't seen her since everyone was relocated to their homes or temporary living spaces. She actually missed that pretty pony.
"She was a great horse." Omega said.
"You know..." Ahsoka said. "If you're lucky, you'll be sent your perfect horse through the Ride of Love when you least expect it. That was how I met Fiesta."
Ahsoka pet Fiesta's muzzle.
Omega looked at some other dolls so she could find a friend for her trooper. And among them, she found a pink horse plushie with a blue mane just like Estrella. All she was missing was the star pattern on her flank.
Omega held that plushie close and decided to call that plush Little Star, as Estrella had told her that her name literally meant 'Star.'
And so Omega's heartbeat created a little something magical, and back in Equinaro, Queen Reigna was happy to see the hearts turning pink, as it meant it was time for the first Ride of Love since before Lady Morpha's invasion.
