(Untitled)

[kitchen_maid]

It's not hard to remember the schedule for the House of Arch, so it's not hard to guess where she'll find Ingress in the afternoon.

And finding Ingress is very important today. There are introductions to be made.

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[smallestopener]

Ingress runs into the common room, her hair in pigtails, and her school books in her arms. She drops them on the sofa and runs over to Amy because she has a baby in hers!

"Amy! Amy you have the baby! Is she a girl or a boy?" This statement makes it pretty obvious which she hopes it might be.

[smallestopener]

"Fun games! Dress up and chase and croquet and all the fun things. But it's nice to hold babies, too. She's really cute."

[kitchen_maid]

"Ah. Well, yes, she's not quite old enough for those games yet," says Amy.

"And I'm glad you like her, Ingress, because I thought you might like to be her Official older sister."

[smallestopener]

"Can I really? But I only have one name. If I were her sister, I would have to have more."

[kitchen_maid]

"Well, I'm not sure that's strictly necessary, but we can always make you an Official older sister name that's longer, just to use to carry out older sister duties.

"Everyone needs an older sister, you know."

Or an older brother. Those are good, too.

[smallestopener]

"I know. I have the best sister in the whole wide world, and she only has the one name, so I guess it's fine."

[kitchen_maid]

"My older brother only has one name," says Amy. "So I think it will be just fine."

He does have an absurd number of titles, though.

"And you'll be a brilliant older sister, if you don't mind, Ingress."

[smallestopener]

"I don't mind. I'll never get to be a real big sister, so I can be an official one."

[kitchen_maid]

"Thank you, Ingress," says Amy, very formally. "Perry and Susan and I very much appreciate it."

A small smile.

"You're going to do a marvelous job."

[smallestopener]

"It's easy."

She pauses a moment, and then looks up at Amy. "But my arms are getting tired now."

[kitchen_maid]

"Yes, that happens," says Amy, with a laugh, and reaches to take Susan back from Ingress.

Susan makes cheerful baby noises, settles into her mama's arms, and promptly falls asleep.

"She's heavier than she looks."

[smallestopener]

Ingress takes the opportunity to scooch closer to Amy, snuggling up against her and the baby.

"I miss you coming every day, but I'm glad you can come for visits. Especially with Susan."

[kitchen_maid]

Fortunately, Amy has two arms, which means one can go around Ingress while the other holds Susan.

"I miss seeing you as often as we used to, too, Ingress. You will all have to come for a visit soon. And until then, I'll come back as often as I can, and so will Susan."

[smallestopener]

"It's okay. I know grown ups get busy, especially when they have babies. At least you just have one, and not three."

[kitchen_maid]

"Three--oh, Alanna. I can't quite imagine having three all at once," she goes on, looking down at Susan. "One is more than enough to look after."

[smallestopener]

"That's what everyone except for Alanna says! Maybe she hasn't seen real babies much."