automailed | [Voice]

[It's been a few days since Gracia was sent home, and Edward has suddenly found himself to be in something of an awkward position: without her primary caregiver around, Elicia needs somebody to watch her. Winry is the logical choice, but she actually has a job, so she can't be around all the time. It's true that he keeps himself busy, but the truth is that most of his time is eaten up with studying, trips back and forth to the library, and keeping himself fit. The library and exercise business can be done with a kid around, no problem, but to study he kind of needs... you know, quiet. And Elicia is a self-starter, but you can't just leave kids unsupervised for hours and hours. It's irresponsible.

So now he's... what, a stay-at-home dad until school starts?

Crap.]

[Voice / Filtered from Elicia]

Hey, uh... a couple questions. What're some good ways to keep a little kid entertained? And... you know, if you've got any advice for caring for one in general, I'll take it. It's not something I've really done that much...

And the other question is- are there any trustworthy babysitters around? In case- ...yeah.

Thanks in advance.

[ooc: going out, tags will come when I return c:]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Aang has a good enough idea of what's going on, between the housing records at the Welcome Center and his own conversation with Elicia. And he knows it must be tough - even though Tenzin eventually took them off his hands, it wasn't too long ago that he and Katara were in a position like this.]

There's lot so different ways to keep kids entertained, like games and stories and tricks! They also like to eat sugar, but you shouldn't let them have too much!

And I'd gladly watch over her whenever you need a babysitter. I... kinda have some experience from my granddaughters being around. And I really love playing with kids.

[So there's a lot that he could respond to, there- games, no sugar, sounds pretty standard, Aang seemed like a pretty decent guy, and he's Sokka's friend, so he's probably trustworthy with Elicia.

But.

But.]

Granddaughters?

Yeah, you haven't met them yet? Jinora and Ikki! They came here from the future last month, and we had to take care of them until my son arrived a few weeks later.

[Man, that sounds like one weird situation. He has no idea how he'd have dealt with that if he was in that position.]

I don't think so, no, but I'll try to keep an eye out. How old are they?

[It has been a mix of good and rough stuff, especially for Katara, but Aang's always been good at keeping cool on the surface.]

Jinora's ten and Ikki's seven. [It's weird to think that Jinora's not that far off from his own age.]

Seven, huh... same as Elicia. Maybe they could be friends.

[Someone else had suggested that, and it sounds like a good idea.]

Yeah... I'm sure they'd get along great! I can talk to her dad about setting up a play date sometime soon.

Great, I'll ask Elicia. I'm sure she'd be happy to meet a new friend.

[Remembering how sad Elicia looked over the journals, he agrees. Maybe Ikki's relentless sunshine could be the cure.]

That'll be great! And if you need any other help, Edward... just let me know, okay? I'm not really a parent or a grandparent yet, but I've been picking things up, I guess.

...Yeah, I'll remember that. Right now the hardest part is helping her deal with what she's lost.

[It's pretty substantial, even if he can relate.]

Yeah. R-right. She... she looked like she was taking it pretty badly over the journals. I can't imagine what it's like. [He can only think of what it would be like for Ikki if they all suddenly disappeared back home.]

...Announcing it is probably the worst part. It means you've accepted that they might not be coming back.

[And that's a pain he'd rather not have to go through again, even if he's sure that he will at some point.]

[He feels a twinge of pain as he remembers Sokka after Suki left. As much as he wants everyone to be safe back at home... he feels paralyzed at the thought of being the one to deal with it if he's the one left behind.]

A-and she announced it by herself. She's a really strong little girl. But... at least we can still hope to see t-those people who are gone again, whenever the time comes to... to go home.

[...Ouch. Edward winces at that, not because of Gracia this time but for Elicia possibly never meeting her father again, but he doesn't want to correct Aang, so after a moment he just nods.]

Yeah... here's hoping, then.

Yeah. It's... hoping's all we can do when it comes to going home, I guess. And to make sure to be there for the people who are still here, in the meantime.

[This conversation puts him on edge. He'll go on an exceptionally fond round of "good night"s later that night. Including a stop at the other Avatar House.]

That's easier said than done, with how often people come and go around here...

Yeah, that's true. I've... I've been here and left a few times in the past without even knowing it. It's too hard to predict anything here.

Makes me wish it was all or nothing sometimes. It's nice to see people who are gone, to get that second chance, but... it just makes it harder when they leave.

[He hasn't experienced that himself, yet, but he's still imagined what it would be like to meet Gyatso or Kuzon or any of other other nomads here. Would it be worth the extra time here when they were gone, especially with the pain they could cause.]

It's hard just to think about. Even for people who... who you know you won't get to meet. But any time, any extra time, it's still a gift, not a curse, if you're seeing someone you love. That's... that's just what I think.

...Mm... maybe you're right.

[Seeing his mother again, getting the chance to hug her and apologize and be forgiven, having that one month where they were all a family again... if given the chance, he wouldn't have traded that for anything.

But. But...

It still hurts.]

[Voice]

[Voice]

[Voice]

[Voice]

[Voice]

[Voice]

[Voice]

[Voice]

[Voice]

[Voice]

[Voice]

[Voice]

[Voice] this is a terrible conversation now

[Voice] we should feel bad

[Voice] o o p s I don't

[Voice] curse you

[Voice]

[Voice]

[Voice]

[Voice]

[Voice]