Babies are nightmares!

Nemuru sighed and watched the sleeping babe warily, lest he wake. That his parents were almost home comforted her very little. Next time, the poison mage would trust the advertisement when even the parents said the kid was a demon. Nemuru shuddered inwardly remembering how she got to this point.

Once again, Nemuru had gotten to Magnolia’s public job board just after the flurry of guildless snatched up tasks. Ways to earn your bread money were limited when you lacked the steady influx of job requests a guild had, she mused. Nemuru drooled slightly at the thought of better work and all the potential rewards that came with it. She shook her head and checked the remaining requests. Watch my baby… no kid can be truly that bad, right? Surely the parents are exaggerating. Another quest in Magnolia Town. At least it will save me on travel money.

Nemuru pulled out a map and looked for Katy’s address. Before arrival she pulled a thick pair of gloves on, hoping that’d be enough. The poison mage sighed, realizing she’d have to test this theory on the child’s mother. She knocked on the door, waiting to see if she was in the right location.

A short, brown haired woman dressed in a black evening gown answered the door. Nemuru held up the request with her right hand and extended her left. “Katy is it? I am here to watch your son while you are out.” The woman gripped Nemuru’s hand firmly and shook it as the mage looked on in horror. Yet, her magic thankfully did not activate. A heavy sigh escaped her, causing Katy to look at the mage suspiciously.

A man in a tuxedo appeared behind her. “Our son, Tommy, is in the kitchen left! We’re running late.” Katy grabbed his arm and dragged the father behind her. Nemuru, looked down at the child who had crawled to the door. Extremely carefully, she hefted him to her hip. “We’ll be back at 10. Remember, he needs to asleep! Later.” The two took of at a run.

“So that’s your parents, huh? I feel sorry for ya, kiddo. You’re not so bad, right Tommy?” Nemuru crooned at the child, holding him up to look at him. Tommy burbled at her, before kicking out, hitting the poison mage firmly in the eye. Nemuru drew back blinking, her eye watering in pain. She struggled not to drop the child. “It’s gonna be a long night,” the poison mage quipped to noone in particular.

Closing the door with her shoulder, she set Tommy down on the floor next to some bright plastic baby toys. Seeing him picking up a red letter block and swing it around, burbling happily, she sat on the couch and watched him with a slight smile. The block came flying promptly at Nemuru’s head. At least, it’s just soft plastic.

“Tommy, be a nice boy.”

“No!” The child shouted in response, thoroughly shocking Nemuru. At that the child began crawling as fast as he could to the kitchen. Before she could get there, Tommy was already scaling the fronts of the drawers by their handles.

Nemuru lifted the child off the side of the counter, fighting against his tiny grasp. Tiny fist and feet flailing wildly, he unleashed the greatest ‘spell’ of a child. A mighty wail escaped his lungs, nearly deafening the poison mage.

Tommy began playing with Nemuru’s glove. An expression of horror crossed the poison mage’s face. “No, Tommy don’t!” Images of a dead baby poisoned by her magic flashed through her mind. “Please don’t.” She begged softy, tears falling from her eyes. The child giggled, throwing his arms around her neck. A defeated expression crossed the mage’s face.

Luckily, from that point, he was surprisingly well behaved. Sure, feeding the child had resulted in quite the mess. When she went to clean him up, the baby had gotten pumpkin baby food smeared into the white carpet. Much of the night was spent running after him. Yet, the two seemed to reached a relative understanding by the end. Tommy fell asleep soundly on the floor as they played with the blocks. Sure, the house looked like a tornado had hit it, but Katy hadn’t said anything about having to clean up. The poison mage was bruised and sore and just happy to have a few minutes off her feet. Now she just had to wait the last few minutes until the parents returned. Nemuru eyed the child anxiously, a sigh of relief escaping her as she heard the door click open. Time to collect some well earned jewels.
(771 words)