Avid Adopter

3 - Adopt

My mind had been a mess for roughly a week. I had the approval to adopt the child from my "superior," but I still wasn't sure what to do; I was still worried that he would be hurt in some way just for being acquainted with me! After seeing my hesitation, the multiverse again spoke to me, and I had made up my mind. I would adopt the child, and no harm would befall him until he was old enough to defend himself from the other side..in exchange for something. I had to wait to find out what my side of the deal was, and I would have to accept it, no matter what it was, if I adopted him. I had made up my mind; I would adopt the child. I had taken almost all of my free time in the past week to prepare everything for the child's arrival, such as a room, proper mealtimes, and toys; Killer was a child, after all! I had also decided that I would educate the child myself; I didn't want him to feel lonely, but I also didn't want him to be exposed to the world, just yet. Besides, he had already had many experiences being bullied, and I didn't want him to have to go through that again. I woke up early in the morning to find that there was no urge to correct the balance; I was happy about that. 

I rose from my bed with a small yawn before standing up; I had decided to eat some breakfast before going through the trials of the day. Walking to the kitchen, I passed a few pictures in a hallway, smiling at a few of the nicer ones; they were mostly just stars or other things I liked. I would have put a picture of Dream and me there, but Dream knew where I lived; I didn't need him seeing that. My home was rather small, to be honest; unlike some rumors, I did not have a mansion, nor did I have a castle. I had a plain two-story house with a nice attic and a hidden basement..which led to my true home. I was fairly sure nobody knew about my basement, since I had hidden it with some of my most powerful magic, but it was more than suitable to live in. Yeah, if I did have a secret mansion..it was down there. So I had my secrets; everybody had secrets. I only went down there if I needed to, however; when I woke up, I could use the kitchen in the upper home. When I made it to the kitchen, I made some toast; I wasn't feeling too hungry, today. It didn't take too long before I found myself preparing to go to Outertale, and I really..I was rather nervous..

"Nightmare, it's perfectly fine." I muttered to myself. "You have permission, safety, and will..so why is it so hard? No, no, no, I can't think like that. In and out..twenty minutes. Yes, that is a perfectly unrealistic time that will soothe my fears. Heh..twenty minutes, right? More like twenty years.."

I sighed as I forced myself to open the portal, hoping this would go well, but ultimately not feeling like that could ever happen. I stepped through to Outertale, feeling the calm glow of the stars silently cheering me on; well, the multiverse had a way of making me feel calm, I'd give it that. With the reassurance from my surroundings, I teleported to the orphanage; walking would give me too much time to change my mind at the last minute. As I entered the building, I noticed that all eyes suddenly shifted to me - a feeling I had never forgotten, and would experience in the future, no doubt. I didn't mind the feeling, though, walking to the front desk with a mission. It seemed that Outer was minding the front today, and he wasn't necessarily enthusiastic upon seeing me. He sipped a space-themed beverage as he looked at me.

"Nightmare..what can I do for you..?" He kept a forced smile.

"I was uh..wondering if.." I had no idea what to say! I felt my nerves skyrocketing as I spoke to the other. "I.."

"Are you okay?" 

"I..."

"Do you want something to drink?" Outer seemed oddly concerned about me.