Iris had heard about the weird explosion halfway through lunch.
She really should have known it was going to be one of those days when she got up, because Crowley pulled her aside before she entered Trein's classroom to deal with a major situation.
He took her to the nurse's office, where Professor Crewel was waiting. He did not look happy.
"What happened?" she asked.
"The housewardens had the window open during their meeting, and some idiot pup threw a potion close enough that they were all doused when it exploded," said Crewel.
Iris sighed.
"How bad is it?"
Crowley opened the door, and let her see for herself.
"..."
Externally, her poker face was firmly set. Internally, she was making girly sounds of delight at the sight of such cuteness.
Leona, Vil, and Idia were now about five years old, while Azul, Riddle and Kalim looked to be about four.
Malleus was the lone housewarden who was unaffected and that was because he had missed the meeting. Again.
Riddle had once openly commented that he was half-tempted to ask Iris to track the Alpha down so he would actually be present on a more consistent basis.
It suddenly occurred to her why Crowley had dragged her from class. She gave him a deadpan stare.
"...You want me to take care of them until we find a way to reverse this, don't you?"
"There's no point. By the time we brew a counterpotion, it will have worn off anyway. At most they'll be like this for two, three days at the most," said Crewel dismissively.
"Any idea who caused this?"
"Oh he's being dealt with," said Crewel darkly. He was going to have that idiot pup regret he was ever born long after this mess was cleaned up.
Iris went into mother hen mode. Her first act was to have the children relocated to Ramshackle...all the teachers were alerted to the situation, so there was no worry about missing classes. At most she would have to make up a few essays or so, and the required reading.
Luna was cooing the second she saw the children. To be fair, they were all ridiculously adorable. Cater was on his way, but he would likely be busy helping Trey keep Heartsabyl from going a little too crazy while their Queen was indisposed.
Iris was already writing a list, and handed it to Luna.
"Can you ask Sam to deliver this to Ramshackle? Tell him to charge it to my account," said Iris cheerfully.
"Can do!" chirped Luna.
"Oh and feel free to add any extras you want," said Iris.
She went to work sorting out the children. Vil and Leona were all pretty independent, while Idia, Riddle and Azul were rather shy. Kalim was just a bundle of energy, and she could tell he was going to be a major handful.
Luna returned armed with glitter. Iris' gained an unholy gleam as she knew damn well none of the boys were ever going to live this down.
Several hours later...
Iris had called in back up, as there was now way they could clean up all the boys with just her and Luna.
Cater and Ruggie arrived first, followed by Jamil and Rook. Jade and Floyd arrived later with Ortho.
All of them were taken aback by the fact that the guest room looked like some sort of bomb had gone off. A glitter bomb to be exact.
"Dear Seven, what happened here?" said Jamil. Kalim was utterly covered in the stuff.
Vil wasn't much better, and was covered in paint...to be fair it did at least look like he was trying to use it like make-up. Rook cooed at him.
Idia was moderately clean, but then again he had done his best to stay out of it and read a game guide in the corner, with Azul keeping him company. Apparently the second potion interfered with the one keeping him human, so Iris had given him a good sized pot filled with water from the nearby ocean for him. So long as he ate properly and didn't do anything dangerous, she wasn't going to make him interact with everyone.
Leona though...he was such a little shit that she had to sit on him a few times to make him behave. Apparently he still remembered her sitting on him during the whole Spelldrive incident, because he was quick to calm down whenever she gave him a Look.
Riddle had gone up to Iris and had basically demanded cuddles silently. She had scooped him up within the first five minutes and he had remained a limpet on her since.
"I had Luna pick up some kid friendly paint and paper, and she picked up some glitter... you do the math."
Within short order, everyone took one of the boys and went to the expanded bathroom. Iris had conjured up a few extra tubs filled with warm water and some soap. One of the things she had Luna pick up were some kid-sized outfits.
Iris decided to divide and conquer. She had Cater, Rook and Jade on cleaning duty...specifically getting the worst of the mess cleaned off. Jamil insisted on being part of the meal prep, which left Ruggie and Ortho to get the fresh greens from her greenhouse.
It was utter madness, but somehow they made it work.
The boys all looked exhausted, but the children were at least behaving. Mostly.
"How are you planning to get them to sleep?" asked Jamil, eyeing them warily.
"We're having a movie night," said Iris. "The kids are already worn out from the paint war and having a full belly, so they should fall asleep before eleven. Hopefully."
"How exactly did they get so covered in paint by the way?" asked Rook. "Leona had it under his claws!"
Iris had an exasperated, if fond look.
"Someone had the bright idea to suggest Vil use the paints as make up for the others. Kalim agreed because it sounded like fun, Leona was being an utter shit whenever Vil tried to put it on him to the point Vil dumped an entire container of glitter on him and by extension Kalim who was right next to him already covered in paint, and Riddle threw an utter fit whenever I moved more than two feet from him," said Iris. "By comparison, Azul and Idia were easy."
She left out how cute the two looked together, as Azul had almost latched himself to Idia, who was doing his best to stay out of the madness. Iris had given him a plush cat doll to hug while he read his game guide, and left them to it.
Grim had wisely hidden in her greenhouse and hadn't come out when the first paint was thrown around.
Luna was cheerfully braiding Vil's hair, which he allowed.
"Do you need us to stay over?" asked Cater.
"We should be able to handle it. Making dinner and cleaning them was a bit much, hence why I called you lot over to help. But...anyone willing to stay the night is going to be fed in the morning," she did slyly add. She knew that would get at least one of the boys to stick around.
Ruggie perked up at that, because he knew Iris was a good cook.
"I'm in, besides it can't be much noisier than Savanaclaw without Leona there to keep things in line."
"Same," said Cater.
Jamil eyed Iris, but knew he could trust her with Kalim's safety. He had felt the wards she had placed around Ramshackle, and it was more secure than Kalim's room at Scarabia. Besides...anyone stupid enough to target him would be flash fried in short order by Midnight.
"I'll go back to the dorm. Someone has to keep them in line until the potions wears off," said Jamil.
"Same," said Jade.
"I'm staying. Being here sounds way more fun than keeping the others in line," said Floyd.
It did not escape Iris' notice that he was eyeing Riddle when he said that. She knew the Alpha had an open interest in her little one, but now was the perfect opportunity to show he could care for any pups they had later.
After all, he would have to earn her approval first if he wanted to keep Riddle for himself.
Malleus had heard of the accident. He didn't expect to be confronted by a large number of small children who bore strong resemblances to his fellow housewardens.
"Malleus! Did you come to join our little movie night?" asked Iris cheerfully.
"Movie night?" he said, confused. He rarely got invited to anything.
Riddle gave him a possessive glare, and hugged Iris extra tight. It was clear he didn't want to share her at all.
Ruggie was drooling on a nearby pillow with Leona cuddled next to him, hugging his tail possessively. Kalim, Idia and Azul were all curled up next to Cater, with Vil snoring softly next to Luna.
Riddle was awake, but Iris had little doubt he'd fall asleep soon enough. Iris stroked his hair, causing his eyes to droop a bit, but he valiantly struggled to stay awake.
Iris chuckled.
"Go to sleep, little prince," she said softly, stroking his hair.
Malleus smiled lightly as Riddle did his best to stay awake, but gave in to sleep while being held by Iris.
He looked at the piles of pillows and blankets, and noted there were a few available.
"I wouldn't be intruding, would I?"
Iris scooted over, giving him clear invitation. She would likely fall asleep halfway through the movie, but she didn't mind.
Malleus cautiously took a spot next to her, claiming a few of the extra pillows and a blanket. The older teens had made a massive blanket fort, which was being claimed by Cater's group.
"What are we watching?" he asked quietly.
Iris had an impish grin.
"I think I'll leave that as a surprise. Suffice to say you'd likely enjoy it, as would the rest of Diasomnia," she said cheerfully. "Hope you don't mind subtitles...it was the only way we could properly enjoy the movie with how rambunctious the boys are."
"I do not mind these...subtitles," said Malleus.
Iris hit play, and settled next to him. Grim had come inside when dinner had been made, and was currently being cuddled by Idia.
She knew she had gotten one over Malleus when he found out that the movie was based off the Thorn Fairy. She might have fallen asleep before Aurora ran into her 'true love', but she didn't mind. Malleus seemed to enjoy it.
Iris didn't bother to hide her cackle when the others had a good shock, learning Malleus Draconia had joined them sometime in the night.
