You make me feel so young
You make me feel so spring has sprung

And every time I see you grin
I'm such a happy individual

While Stephanie had seen her fair share of breathtaking productions at the Crystal Tower Theatre, there was something immensely satisfying about seeing her old childhood venue fully packed with hundreds of animals, while the full orchestra echoed off all the stage in tandem with their dimunitive performer's surprisingly booming voice. The audiences had been steadily growing with the shows they'd been putting on for the last six months, but with their latest headliner they'd sold out nearly every night.

You and I
Are just like a couple of tots

Runnin' across a meadow
Pickin' up lots of forget me nots

"So, how's he looking out there...?" Buster's voice snapped Stephanie out of her concentration on the stage, and she turned to see the koala stood right below her while he peeked out the bottom corner of the curtain. "Hmm... he's really got the pizzazz, huh?"

"Yeah, I'll give him that..." Stephanie let out a small chuckle while she turned her attention back towards the centre of the stage, where a spotlight was still shining down on the tiny but well-dressed mouse that was singing his heart out for the mesmerised crowd. "Got another full house again, too."

"It's great, isn't it!" Buster laughed, gently pulling away from the curtain while the music - now accompanied by their singer's saxophone solo - remained audible on the other side, and he quickly clambered up to sit on the mixing desk, closer to his much taller business partner's eye level. "I mean, seriously? A one-mouse Sinatra tribute show? You really are a genius, Stephanie!"

"Well I gotta admit, Moon, when I said ya had to start small, Mike over there wasn't exactly what I had in mind..." Stephanie chuckled while she itched the back of her neck. "But ya look at the profits, all the folks out there lovin' it, well... kinda speaks for itself, don't it...?"

"Oh, absolutely!" Buster let out a small sigh, propping his head up with his hand. "Hmm... yeah... it really is great."

And even when I'm old and gray
I'm going to feel the way I do today

Cause you, you make me feel so young!

When the song drew to a close, followed by the thunderous applause and hollering of the crowd, Stephanie briefly glanced over to Buster's direction and saw that the koala was still gazing at her, though they both immediately averted their eye contact within mere milliseconds of making it. The next ten seconds or so almost felt like an hour with the long, awkward silence that had set in between them, until it was thankfully broken when their tiny performer came backstage for his intermission.

"Ah, Mike!" Buster regained his usual chipperness as he jumped down from the desk, clearly not being used to having to crouch down to an even smaller animal's level. "Oh-ho, you were incredible! I mean, you've been terrific every night this week, but you've really earned that paycheck, my friend!"

"Aw, you're too kind, Mr. Moon, too kind..." Mike playfully twirled the tiny, maroon fedora in his hands, the young mouse's confident visage briefly betraying a more sincere smile while he looked back to the cheering crowd. "But y'know, it ain't all about the money. Ya gotta do it for the art, too..."

"Hmm... spoken like a true artiste..." Stephanie snarked, though neither Buster or Mike seemed to hear her as they continued their conversation, and their words almost faded to complete silence as she watched them.

After all the struggles and the nastier sides of showbusiness that the wolf had experienced during her time in Redshore, the sight of these younger, more idealistic animals laughing and gushing over their mutual love of the arts was bittersweet to say the least. She couldn't shake the feeling that in another life, or perhaps even at a later point in this one, the more crushing realities of this way of life would have turned these pleasant, passionate boys into cyncial, greedy shells of who they were now. And she was almost beginning to feel a strong determination - or perhaps even a responsibility - to prevent this from ever happening to them.

"Well, what do you think?" Buster's voice snapped her back to reality again, and she looked down to see staring right back up at her. "I mean... if you're not doing anything that night..."

"What? Oh, uh..." Stephanie cleared her throat - having realised that her employer had just asked her a question - but rather than ask him to repeat himself, she decided it was better to simply answer. "Uh, y-yeah, sure. I think it's a good idea."

"Oh, wonderful!" Buster seemed even giddier than usual as he grabbed his blue suit jacket and threw it over himself. "I'll book the table at the Wharf on Saturday, then. Dad's really been looking forward to meeting you, Steph!"

"Uh-huh... w-wait..." Stephanie's eyes bulged wide. "Dad...?!"

"Yeah, alright, that... wait, that's not it, I... uh, let's see... hmm... yeah, there we go..."

Stephanie tried her best to strike a model-like pose - being a little rusty from a few years of inexperience - while she examined her reflection. She let her sleeved left arm hang limp while putting her right hand on her slightly tilted hip, placing her left foot forward so that her long, thin leg stuck out from the slit in her dress.

"Hmm... not half bad..."

This emerald-tinted gown - which apparently debuted in a designer Autumn Collection a few years prior - was fairly simple in design, and a far cry from the obnoxiously elaborate gowns that she used to wear at Jimmy's premieres. The plain green bodice had a strap over the left shoulder, which connected to the sleeve that ended at her wrist, while she wore a silver watch on her right arm to make sure it wasn't completely bare in comparison.

With the healthier weight she'd gained since coming to Calatonia, Stephanie couldn't even fit herself into any of the fancier dresses that she'd originally taken from Redshore. This perhaps wasn't that surprising, given that most of those barely-wearable art pieces were suffocating even after she'd starved herself, but throwing away all those material reminders of her ex-husband had been an extremely therapeutic experience.

Although she'd been tempted by this dress a few times when she and Porsha had seen it on sale at the market, Stephanie had never thought she'd ever need to wear something like this again. But when her new employer suddenly asked if she'd join him and his parents at the opening of the Autumn Festival - and she'd just as abruptly agreed - the wolf felt the sudden urge to immediately run down to buy it, and couldn't help feeling lucky that it was both still available and fit her so well.

Porsha was sat on the couch in front of the TV when Stephanie came in to get her shoes, the little one splitting her attention between the programme on the screen and the copy of War Of Attrition that she was reading.

"How's it comin' along…?" Stephanie leaned on the back of the couch, gently straightening the blue-lensed glasses her daughter was wearing. "Not too tough for ya, is it…?"

"Um… n-no. I don't think so, Mommy." Porsha answered back, titling her head a little while she focused on one of the paragraphs. "Some of the bigger words are a little weird-lookin' still, but it's okay, I think…"

Stephanie couldn't help sniffling a little despite her smile. While Porsha seemed to have been adjusting well since her diagnosis, everyone else could tell the little one was struggling more than she was comfortable to admit. But rather than agitate her further with a direct confrontation, Stephanie had agreed with the others to just give the young wolf all the help and support they could, no questions asked.

"Alright, well… I should be back about eleven, sunshine. Johnny shouldn't be too long, either…" Stephanie went over to the mirror on the wall while she put in her small, pearl earrings and finished applying her last few bits of makeup. "Any idea when Meena's coming…?"

"Yeah, Ashley's bringing her over about seven, I think." Porsha answered. "We're gonna watch a couple Harry Ploppers."

"Ah… cool..." Stephanie checked through her handbag, making sure she had everything she needed, before she suddenly froze up. "Wait… who's Ashley?"

"Oh, she's this girl Johnny knows from school." Porsha said, still not looking up from her book. "He always looks at her funny."

"Funny? What do ya mean, baby?"

"Well… I dunno…" Porsha sat up, trying her best to mimic the behaviour she was talking about. "Y'know, anytime he sees her, he always freezes up like this, and he just kinda… looks at her… like, for a real long time… like he's been hippopotamatised, or something…"

"Oh… ooh…" Stephanie stared off into space for a moment, biting her bottom lip. "Right… yeah…"

"What…?"

"Hmm? Oh… n-nothing, Porsha, it's nothing…" Stephanie chuckled, ruffling the top of her eight-year-old's head. "I'll tell ya when ya get older, okay….?"

"Oh… okay…"

Porsha lounged back again and refocused on her book, only briefly looking up again when her mother reached into her purse and placed some money on the table.

"Alright, that's fifty bucks if you guys wanna order pizza or something."

"Oh..." Porsha said. "Is that gonna be enough?"

"Where do ya think y'are, Crystal Tower?!" Stephanie chortled. "Fifty's plenty for a couple pizzas, Porsha."

"Eh... I guess so." Porsha shrugged, then put her book and glasses aside as she sat up from the couch. "Do we need to save some for you and your boyfriend?"

"Only if ya can't finish it…" Stephanie said, rolling her eyes. "And for the last time, Porsha, Mr. Moon is not my boyfriend."

"Then why are you going on a date with him?"

"Well y'know, it… it's not exactly a date, per se, it's just, uh…" Stephanie cupped her chin while she thought to herself, then grabbed her jacket from off the rack and threw it over herself. "It's a… a casual business meeting, that's all."

"Where you're all dolled up and wearing a sexy dress?"

"Hey!" Stephanie turned back, her face showing a hint of blush. "You better not be usin' that kinda language at school, young lady!"

"What... dolled...?" Porsha pouted innocently, though she couldn't hold back the small mischievous grin tugging at her lips.

"Yeah, very cute..." Stephanie came back over, carefully stroking the younger wolf's slightly droopy ear. "Seriously, though, the other Mommies and Daddies ain't gonna be happy with me if they hear ya talkin' like that, Porsha."

"Yeah, I know..." Porsha held her knees while she gently rocked back and forth, eyeing the door at the end of the room. "Is he gonna be pickin' ya up...?"

"Nah, I'm gonna walk. It's only down at the Wharf..." Stephanie cupped her little one's chin. "Just like when we're walkin' to school, right...?"

Porsha nodded, though she looked a little more worried. "But you're gonna be careful, aren't ya...?"

"Of course I am, baby!" Stephanie knelt down in front of the couch, making sure not to stretch or rip the skirt of her dress while she looked her daughter in the eye. "Porsha, do ya really think we'd have got by for this long from me not being careful...?"

"Well, I dunno... I guess not..." Porsha itched the back of her neck, before shuffling slightly forward and throwing her arms around the older wolf's neck. "Have a nice night, Mommy."

"Hmm..." Stephanie carefully pried herself out of her daughter's embrace, then left a kiss on Porsha's forehead. "You too, sunshine."

Though the sun had already set, there was still a reddish aura in the sky as Stephanie made her way to the Wharf. The streets were slightly less bustling than usual - presumably because most of the town were already attending the festival - but she still took the time to greet and smile at the animals that she passed by. In the wake of both the custody trial and getting her new position at the Moon Theatre, Stephanie found that a lot more of Calatonia's residents seemed to recognise her now, but she'd take a simple, friendly hello over a bunch of cameras and microphones being shoved in her face any day.

She was still about five minutes away from her destination when she stopped at a utility post right next to the bridge over the canal, which was covered with posters and flyers advertising upcoming businesses and craftsmen. Since working at the Theatre, Stephanie often found herself checking this pillar to find potential new performers to contact for their shows, and most of the ones she'd managed to get ahold of - including Mike - seemed to have paid off quite well.

Stephanie muttered casually to herself while she looked at all the most recently-stapled flyers. She eventually caught sight of a bright, glitter and sharpie covered poster that was stuck right in the middle of the others, and her eyes narrowed studiously as she tore it off to read what it said.

"Dancer, singer, straight from Schnitzeldorf. If ya need Piggy Power, call Gunt... uh... Gunter? Hmm... okay..."

After some hesitation, Stephanie folded up the sheet and placed it in her purse, then continued on her journey. Even when she was still a minute or two away from the Calatonia Wharf, the salty sea air mixed with the scents of various confectionaries and spices drifted on the air, mingling with the joyous chatter of the festival-goers. The wolf was a little overwhelmed as she made her way through the bustling crowd, though she did manage to see a few familiar faces along the way.

Rosita and Norman were sharing Redshore-style volcano smoothie outside the ice cream stall, and they both gave Stephanie a friendly wave when they spotted her. Stephanie also spotted Florence and Caleb - the event's organisers - stood on the main stage, seemingly getting ready to introduce the entertainment for the evening, and they both gave their old friend a nod when she made eye contact with them. After about a minute or two of surveying the area, Stephanie's eyes finally landed on a trio of koalas gathered at the far end of the Wharf, not far away and she felt a small smile tugging at her lips.

The suit Buster wore was a slightly darker blue than his usual outfit, and it seemed he'd gone through the effort of combing down the fur on his head and ears. Stephanie would have almost been amused by him trying too hard to impress, but given her own appearance that perhaps would have come across as hypocritical on her part. Bernie also looked rather elegant, wearing a pair of silver earrings - which were utterly dwarfed by the massive ears they were attached to - to go with her dark blue blazer and black jeans, and finally seeing her and her son sat beside each other was a rather surreal experience.

Stephanie's attention then shifted to the other koala sat between them, clad in a light-brown flat cap and an olive-green jacket with rectangular glasses. It didn't take long for Stephanie to realise that this was Buster's father, Baxter Moon, though it wasn't until the three stepped down from their table to greet her that she noticed how frail he actually looked. Buster had mentioned an unspecified health scare that they'd experienced with his father a few weeks ago, though he hadn't gone into any further detail - and Stephanie herself hadn't bothered asking - but with the shaky way that Baxter walked, even with the cane he used for support, it must have been quite the scare indeed.

"Ah, there you are!" Buster's voice snapped Stephanie out of her thoughts, while the koala gently took her hand and led her over to his two elders. "Right, well uh… Stephanie, I'd really like for you to meet my Dad, Baxter. And of course, you already know my -"

"Bernie!" Stephanie knelt down to their level, holding both the older woman's hands in her own. "Aw honey, it's so good to see ya! All dolled up and outta the home for the night, huh?"

"Yeah, it's good to stretch my legs once in a while…" Bernie snarked back, though the smile on her face did seem sincerely happy to see her old carer. "I really missed having you around, kiddo…"

"Hmm…" Stephanie beamed warmly, then turned her attention to the other koala present. "Oh, and Mr. Moon! Oh, I mean… um… other Mr. Moon… uh…?"

"It's just Baxter, actually. Mr. Moon's my son." Baxter chuckled as he straightened his cap and shook Stephanie's hand. "Y'know, with how much Buster and Bernie have been talking about you all this time, I was actually beginning to wonder if you were even real."

"Oh-ho, I can assure you, sir, I am very much real." Stephanie laughed. "Yeah, it actually is kinda weird it's taken us this long to meet, huh?"

"No less of a pleasure, though… ugh…" Baxter strained a little as he clutched a hand to his chest, while tightening his grip on his cane with the other, but he kept a casual front as both his son and wife tried to steady him. "No no, it's fine… I'm fine. It's just playing up again…"

"No worries, Dad, we're gonna get sat down now…" Buster gently led his father back over to the table they'd reserved, which had four seats circling around it, and looked over to Stephanie with an attempt at a reassuring grin. "The doctor said it'd be good to get him out, but uh… well y'know, we can't be too careful."

"Yeah, that's our Buster. Always worrying too much..." Baxter laughed, gently patting his son's hand. "I promise you, kiddo, I'm not gonna have another stroke tonight, okay...?"

Stephanie silently took the seat beside Buster, sitting directly opposite Bernie while the latter sent a slightly concerned look her way. For the briefest moment the wolf felt the mild temptation to try lightening the mood with a joke - probably something about Buster putting the wrong parent in the Perkins Home - but given the distress etched on both his and Bernie's faces, Stephanie ultimately decided that levity wouldn't be appropriate for this particular moment.

"Well anyways, uh..." Stephanie cleared her throat when the three Moons all turned their attention back to her. "I guess you guys must be pretty proud, huh? Y'know, Buster, he uh... he's finally got the Theatre up and running."

"Oh yeah, it looks great!" Baxter laughed, looking over to Buster with a smile. "Hmm... I still remember that night after we came home from Epiphany. You were only six, and you were already talking about wanting to buy it!"

"Hey, a Moon's not a Moon unless he reaches for the stars, Dad!" Buster's boastful tone gave way to a more uncertain chuckle as he looked over to his other parent. "I mean... I know you were never exactly on board with it, Mom, but I really think -"

"Says who? You really think I'd have sold that necklace I wasn't on board...?" Bernie scoffed, shaking her head with a grin. "Yeah, I had my doubts, but what kinda mother doesn't? Besides, from the looks of things, you two have been doin' pretty well with that Theatre of yours, kiddo."

"Ah, well uh..." Buster awkwardly drummed his fingers on the table, unsure what to say. "Good... yeah, that's... that's really good."

"Hmm..." Bernie chuckled, then turned her attention over to the slightly blushing wolf sat beside her son. "I'm really glad he's got you around too, Steph. Hopefully, you'll make an honest man out of our boy."

"MOM!"

It was around 9:30 when Ashley carefully dimmed the lamp beside her, casting the living room in a semi-darkness with the television screen as its main light source. Porsha and Meena were both knelt down in front of it, mesmerised by the magical world of Harry Plopper, while the porcupine and gorilla lounged back on the couch behind them.

"Alright, um..." Johnny thought for a moment about the next music-related question he could ask, having been quietly doing so with his classmate for the better part of an hour. "How about... favourite singer?"

"Oh yeah, it's gotta be Clay Calloway..." Ashley answered back. Hearing her speak without a lisp was still rather surreal for most of her friends to contemplate, though the biggest surprise from getting her braces removed a month prior was how husky and almost deep the porcupine's voice sounded without them. "Like seriously, Johnny has the guy ever written a bad song?"

"Well, if he has, my Mum's not let me hear it!" Johnny held back a laugh, though he put on a more sincere tone as he looked over to his friend. "But yeah, you've always had that rock star kind of thing going, Ashley."

"Oh man, that'd be a real dream!" Ashley let out a small sigh while she rested back on the couch. "Yeah... y'know, Lance was actually talking to me yesterday about wanting to start a band with his buddy Derek. Said they'd let me do backing vocals."

"Backing vocals? Oh come on, mate, you're too good for that!"

Johnny covered his mouth when he realised how loud he was getting, quickly glancing over to make sure the two eight-year-olds hadn't been distracted from their movie. While they hadn't spoken much, the gorilla was never that comfortable whenever Ashley talked about her so-called boyfriend - from what his parents had always told him, he didn't even know twelve-years-old was an appropriate age for that kind of relationship - so he had a tendancy to raise his voice whenever Lance was brought up.

"But yeah, y'know, you... you've got a right nice voice, Ashely..." He said gently. "You can't just be shoved in the background for him."

"Well no, I... I guess not." Ashley looked a little more uncertain for a moment. "But hey, y'know, you... you gotta start somewhere, right?"

They remained silence for at least five minutes after this, casually looking over to the movie that the two younger animals were still fully invested in, until an idea that popped into Johnny's head and prompted him to speak up again.

"You could audition for Mr. Moon!" He said, making Ashley's eyes widen a little behind her glasses. "Yeah, Stephanie works there, so you can go in and see her! She's always lookin' for new singers to put in their shows, and... and my Mum's been nagging me about it for ages, but she'll get you set up right away!"

"For real...?" Ashley said, looking more enthuasitic after the gorilla nodded, while a more confident smile crossed her face. "Hmm... yeah, that'd be great, actually. Wait... Stephanie's, um... s-she's Porsha's Mom, right...?"

"Yeah, that's right. Why...?"

"Well, I dunno, it's just kinda..." Ashley cringed a little. "Seems kinda weird calling her by her first name, right? I mean... she's like, a grownup."

"Oh... well yeah, but she... she's been around my Mum and Dad a lot." Johnny itched the back of his neck, taking on a slightly sadder tone that piqued the porcupine's curiosity again. "Yeah, a couple years back, my grandad, he um... well, it... it were right hard for my Mum to deal with, and she... she nearly, um..."

"Nearly what...?"

"Nah, it's just..." Johnny sniffled, though his body language made it fairly easy for Ashley to piece together what he was inferring. "Point is, my Mum were in a bad spot when that happened, and... and if Steph hadn't been there for her, she... she probably would have... yeah..."

Though she'd mostly been enjoying the wizarding whimsy on the screen, Porsha's sharp ears had managed to catch small snippets of the conversation going on behind them - mainly whenever her mother was brought up - and after some hesitation she turned her head slightly to glance at her two babysitters. Johnny had a slightly sad looking smile on his face while he looked over at the more comforting, empathetic expression on Ashley's, though the little wolf was mainly focused on the sight of their joined hands.

At least a hundred questions began to form in Porsha's head - most of which she was sure her own mother wouldn't even be able to answer properly - but knowing better than to ask them now, Porsha remained silent, sending a reassuring smile Meena's way before they both turned their attention back to the screen.

The Wharf was still alive with activity when Stephanie excused herself from the Moon Family, leaving Buster to continue reminiscing with his parents while she headed over to the nearby tiki bar to get them some another round of drinks.

"Excuse me, Ma'am, I think you're in the wrong spot. The, uh, fashion show's down that way!" Rosita's voice prompted Stephanie to swivel around in her bar chair, seeing the familiar pig and gorilla standing there.

"Oh... hey, girls." Stephanie chuckled, idly drumming her fingers on the table while she waited for her order. "Didn't see ya comin' in, Mary, when you'd get here?"

"About an hour ago..." Mary shrugged, having what seemed to be a nostalgic smile on her face. "Me and Marcus have just been catching up with Joanne."

"Aw, cool... wait... who's Joanne?"

"Y'know, Joanne Crawly. From the Theatre..."

Mary gestured over to the other end of the Wharf, making Stephanie's eyes widen a little when she saw the familiar, elderly lizard chatting with Marcus.

"You guys know Ms. Crawly?!"

"Course I do!" Mary laughed. "Where do you think I learned piano from?"

Rosita climbed up on the seat beside Stephanie, glancing over to the family of koalas a few feet away. "So... how's your date going, Steph?"

"Oh God, not you guys too..." Stephanie pinched the bridge of her nose. "Look, I must have said this to Porsha like a thousand times. Alright, it ain't a date, he ain't my boyfriend, he's my boss, and we're just havin' a casual business meeting. With his parents. And I'm wearin' a sexy dress."

"Right..." Rosita said slowly, exchanging an equally unconvinced look with Mary. "Alright, well um... how's it been over at the Theatre?"

"Oh yeah, it's been great!" Stephanie seemed more enthusiastic now, barely paying attention to the main stage lighting up at the other side of the Wharf. "Yeah, we're gonna be startin' the auditions next week, so..."

"Aw, brill!" Mary exclaimed, glancing over to Ms. Crawly. "Yeah, Joanne were just saying she might give my Johnny a couple lessons. I'll make sure he's first in line!"

"Not if I get there first, Mary!" Rosita cut in as all three of them laughed, while the antelope behind the bar finally brough the platter of four beverages and laid them on the counter.

"Oh, thank you!" Stephanie said, carefully grabbing the tray while she stood back up. "Right, ladies. Better get these drinks over to Buster before he thinks I ran off!"

"Buster...?" Mary raised an eyebrow, tilting her glasses slightly down. "Don't you mean Mr. Moon?"

"What...?" Stephanie felt a small blush beaming on her cheeks. "Uh... y-yeah, I mean... sure, Buster, Mr. Moon, it uh... yeah, whatever. I'll catch up with you guys later!"

"Have fun, Steph!" Rosita called while the wolf took off back to her date - who definitely wasn't a date - and looked over to the gorilla beside her. "You think we're reading too much into it...?"

"Eh, who knows...?" Mary shrugged, looking over to see their friend laughing and joking with her boss and his parents again. "It'd be good for her, though..."

"Yeah..." Rosita sighed. "Yeah, I think so too."