“So, do you normally have the dogs leading role-playing games?” Phil asked as he sat down next to Ethel for the planned game night. So far, she was happy with the turnout; all the kids and several animals had decided to join in. Even Andrew had made an appearance and was being surprisingly nice.


    “Bug is one of the best at it, believe it or not. Though Andy and Cal are both quite good, too, but they are busy on a deep space trip. I’ll introduce you when they return,” Ethel answered, smiling at the astonished look she had caused on her friend’s face yet again.


    “So you said the goal of tonight was to try and get as many of the kids to manifest their mana spirits as possible; how do we want to go about that?” Phil asked.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    “Ah, well, from what we’ve seen so far, they seem best able to do that during times of heightened emotional response. Today, the goal is joy and fun; I’d rather not put them back through any big stress issues. As you know, they’ve had plenty of that already,” Ethel said.


    “Yes, I’d rather keep these children as far away from some of their trauma as possible, so then how do we start?” Phil asked, looking around at the multitude of joyous kids.


    “Go find a kid, and start asking them about how they feel inside, and if there’s anything, call for them. Actually come with me, best you see me do it first,” Ethel said.