New Namek Neighbours

Nero chuckled lightly as he saw Zhalla, looking upon her with that same content smile, but of course Max had saved her from any of that super sweet mushy stuff that she totally couldn’t handle even though she had proven time and time again that she was absolutely deserving of it.

The little Lamperós Rex’s gaze stayed on Max for quite a bit before it continued waddling around in the enclosure, each step more sure footed than the last— it was just like the information panel said, they learned to walk quite quickly too! The employees continued to monitor everything that was going on, and they began to prepare a bunch of other things for the little guy.

“Ahaaha, a new fave huh? Honestly, Lamperós Rex is a solid pick, especially if it happens to specifically be this one.” Nero gave Max a nod. As far as a name went, Oatis looked over to Zhalla, then to Max briefly, then to Nero. “... I have an idea.” Oatis said, smiling. “How about Max Junior? Only if the boy is okay with it. Or maybe Max can just pick out a name instead? Up to you and him.”

At some point, Nero noticed what Zhalla did, though through different means. Zhalla, because she had cared for these children for years at this point, knew their limits. Nero on the other hand could hear it in their mannerisms, they steadily got quieter. So, as soon as Zhalla gave Nero the look to suggest that they should probably head out soon, he gave her a nod. “I think we needa let everyone get back to work aye? They need to keep an eye on that bright new life that’s in their care. Maybe they’ll let us know when the other ones are close to hatching? We can always come back another day.”

“Excellent, it would be our honour to have him make the call.” Oatis gave a thumbs up. It didn’t take long for the excited little dogboy to think up a name, it was simple and sweet— Biscuit. “Sounds good to me. What do you guys think?” Oatis quickly asked his co-workers and they had no issue with it. “Then Biscuit it is.” Hilariously, Biscuit waddled towards Oatis’ voice and tilted its little head to the side.

Nero noticed that too, and he snorted. “I think they like it too, look, it seems they got interested in the conversation.” It was kind of funny actually, this reminded Nero of his best friend Patrona, in particular her little cake-dinos, they were named cute foody things too. Maybe she would like to visit this cafe sometime too, so Nero made a mental note to ask her.

When it came to convincing the kids to start heading out, Zhalla tried her best, but she was still quite convincing. Still, Nero decided to back her up again. “Trust me, I could hear you guys getting more and more tired as time went on.” Nero pointed to his ears. “Like I said, I’m sure you’ll be informed when the others are close to hatching, it’s something to look forward to.” Thankfully the kids would end up agreeing to go home sooner rather than later in the end.

“Right on, let’s get a move on.” Nero nodded, waving to Oatis and the others as he lead everyone back into the main building, passing Weetly by the counter who had a big grin on her face. “Soooo, how was iiit~?” Nero gave a laugh. “One bright little surprise, lemme tell ya.” Weetly gave a small nod, happy to heard that from Nero. She turned her attention to the children. “We hope to see you again, you were all so lovely to have here~!”

Nero looked over to Zhalla. “Oh, remember the little info stone, they’re over there.” Nero pointed them out as he reached the first door to the entranceway, and soon the group was back outside.

Oatis and their co-workers waved as the group departed before returning to their business, they would be watching over the other eggs to get a good estimate for when they would hatch. It would be easy for them to relay information over to Nero at the very least, and he could easily tell Zhalla, immediately if he wanted to, in fact.

Weetly waved as each of the children passed by. “It’s our pleasure. You take care now.” Zhalla quickly scooped up the info stone and then everyone was back outside shortly after. The kids in particular started to get quite sluggish, Uba had already fallen asleep on poor Harper’s back! Luckily, Zhalla had scooped Uba up herself. Nero kept an eye on everyone and walked beside Zhalla. “Well, they certainly had fun, huh?” He chuckled. “Lemme make this easier on them, one last thing for them to tell the others about.”

Nero looked upwards into the sky, Zhalla would probably know what was coming next; zipping through the wild green yonder a funny little bubbly white cloud zoomed on over, twirling around Nero and Zhalla, making little beeping noises. Maybe the kids would take notice, maybe not, it all depended on how tired they were. “How about we have Nocti carry them the rest of the way?” Nocti beeped and began to grow and then widen, becoming big enough for the children to lay down on top.

“You’re special.” Nero responded bluntly, with a cheeky little smile. “You’re a big part of their life, remember that.” He added, and Zhalla would know by now that he wasn’t going to back down on this. Classic Nero.

Nocti beeped in greeting once again, and patiently waited for the kids to all be set and safe on top. Just to be extra sure, Nocti shaped themselves to be more like a ‘bowl’ so that there was even less than zero percent chance of anyone being dropped. Nocti beeped softly again as they carried the children while under the directional guidance of Nero and Zhalla.

As the two walked their way back, Zhalla spoke up and gave thanks. Normally he would be the type to insist that it wasn’t that big of a deal or something to that effect but this time he thought she could have this one, because it meant a lot to her. “Hey, you know me, anywhere and any time, I’m your guy.” Nero rolled his shoulders and held his hands up behind his neck with his elbows pointed outwards as he continued his casual walk with Zhalla. “I wouldn’t change a thing either.” Even his own mother absolutely destroying him with how she welcomed Zhalla and all the other comments, there was not a single thing he would want to change. “You’ll have to get used to it I’m afraid.” He added, giving a little laugh as well.

Eventually the group would reach Zhalla’s shelter. “Well, here we are. I guess you can just let Nocti in and leave them on a couch or something then you can put them in their beds later?” Nero asked, instructing Nocti to follow Zhalla’s guidance on this matter. “Oh, and before I forget.” Nero stepped forward, aiming to give Zhalla a sweet little kiss on the lips. “Welcome home, my new Namek neighbor.” With that, Nero would give Zhalla a big stupid smile, then backflip and start scurrying back home. “Seeya later, my wild Firecracker~!”