Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Ah, good" Mako replied with a sigh of relief, even though it was a bit odd - the baby he would be nurturing had already been a full grown man? Strange indeed, but he could deal with it. "Oh, of course, right" he said, hoping these "talents" wouldn't be too much for him to handle. Well, at least he wouldn't be able to complain about life not being interesting enough. The idea of magic had always appealed to him, so he had no reason to complain. It was like a fantasy come to life, really. "Ok, I'll keep it in mint condition, then" he assured her. "I believe that's all I need for now." For an instant he was worried about not being able to find the shop again, but something seemed to assure him that his feet would find their way on their own as he smiled at Oddy, picking up the tome and the journal with intentions of taking his new child-to-be home.

It was almost as if the tome had been pulling Mako straight to the shop as soon as he set foot out of his door for his house and, as a result, he found the shop much more easily this time. He was glad for it, too - while he enjoyed aimlessly wandering around the other shops, he was very eager to get to the Xanth agency. His baby! Finally!

"Hello?" He stepped through the door and looked around, not sure if anybody was there. Well, he wasn't about to just walk away if he didn't get an immediate answer. Walking into the shop, he set a bag on the counter, and out from it spilled a few journals and baby toys.



Clutching the tome of Garin to his chest, he stood in front of the counter, looking around and hoping to see Oddy's smiling face pop out from around a corner.

Mako hopped up a bit in surprise at Oddy's sudden appearance, but smiled warmly and scooped up all of the items back into the bag one one arm, still clutching Garin in the other. Picking up his bag carefully, he walked towards where Oddy had been and turned the corner.

"Just back here?" he asked, taking another step before wincing slightly at the 'boom.' The giggling eased him a bit, so he continued forward, feeling a bit more nervous than before.

Mako stepped into the room somewhat uneasily. Looking around, he could immediately tell that the whole "Xanth" thing was certainly no joke - the things surrounding him were definitely other-worldly, there was no denying it.

The...err...Cauldron? ...Ok..." The state of the cauldron made it the thing mako would've least likely gone to in the room, but he obeyed, carring the bag and Garin with him. He hoped his eyes weren't too wide as he stared all about, but he simply couldn't help himself.

Relaxed as the cauldron settled down, Mako wondered vaguely if it could sense Garin's presence before setting his bag down.

"P-put him in? So it won't damage the book at all, and he'll be fine?" he'd suspected that he might have to put Garin in the cauldron, but he was still a bit nervous about it. Holding Garin with both hands, he admired the mystic attraction the tome held once last time before stepping forward and lowering Garin into the cauldron. Oddy was right - it was quite cool to the touch, which was especially surprising for something that had been fizzing and exploding a moment before.

Nearly tripping backwards at the sudden commotion of the cauldron, Mako tried to maintain his grip on Garin, his fatherly protective instincts kicking in as the potion tugged him away. The book seemed to melt through his fingers, so he quickly pulled his hands back, his eyes even wider. Shielding his eyes as the bright light flashed, he stepped forward and leaned over the cauldron as it faded away, leaving him slightly dizzy. he could not fully see the abbe at the bottom of the cauldron, but once again his fatherly instinct was overpowered as he reached out towards the child, this time by Oddy.

"Oh...ok...right!" he complied, fearing he might hurt the child. Leaning down, he picked up the three journals he had bought and handed them to Oddy quickly, eager to see his child.

Mako watched Oddy go to work, his curiosity growing with every movement she made. He had been slowly edging back towards the cauldron the whole time, but stopped as she moved to the cauldron and put the books in.

"Oh, yes - alright" he said quickly, snatching up the blanket and scurrying towards the cauldron. Leaning over the cauldron to catch a glimps of his baby, he gave a slight squeak of delight at what he saw.

"Well, would ya look at that, born with a book in his hands!...and mouth!" he cooed as he reached in to pick up the baby and cradle him in his arms. It appeared he was sleeping. The smoke clung to the child as Mako lifted him out of the cauldron. "And a jewel right smack dab in the middle of his head...is that normal?" he asked, now rocking the baby, his fatherly pride plastered over his face in a grin.

"Ah, very good, very good" Mako replied in relief, glad his child had come out as normally as intended, although he had never seen anything quite so intriguing. "Well, from what I can remember of what you told me last time...I guess I just approach this...magic aspect...one step at a time?" The question was imposed more to himself as he tried to recall what she had said before about the magic talent aspect. Nodding in an answer to his own question, he continued "Yes, I believe that's all I need, I'll just come back here if anything comes up, or write in the journal..." He trailed off, staring down at Garin, losing himself to the joys of fatherhood. The joys of that moment, at least...

"Alright, I suppose I ought to get him situated in his new home, then!" Cradling the baby even closer, he managed to scoop up the bag with the toys wave goodbye to Oddy in an instant before backing his way out the door, beaming insatiably.