Chapter Text
“Can all members of Playcare please report to the entrance? All members of Playcare to the entrance. Thank you.”
Dozens of small bodies were gathered around the stairs. Some children overflowed and were shoving each other into the hedges, giggling wildly, hopping up and down as they waited for the massive doors to open.
They all heard it. There were two short toots and one long toooot . Necks craned to peer through the tiny, tiny crack between the doors. Everybody wanted to see.
Lots of footsteps. Little ones, big ones.
Chink.
Creak…
Everyone was forced to stand back. What if someone darted beyond the doors and escaped?
…
Eight children, ushered by adults, were gently ushered into the Playcare.
There was tense silence - and then a massive ‘WOOOO!’ as the kids and Critters exploded into celebration.
Even the teachers from the school had left their respective offices to watch, their smiles seeming genuine for once. The eight disoriented orphans stumbled, then stared in awe at their new home.
Playcare was a beautiful place housed inside a painted dome. The statue of the Smiling Critters was complete, making for a splendid centrepiece. Five roads branched out - the sleeping quarters, the school, the Counsellor’s Office, the Playhouse and the Toy Store. Massive clouds hung from the sky on ropes, and grass and plants grew across the entire area. Tables, toys, balloons, food - all was here in this safe pocket of the world.
The new kids blinked in shock, then squealed in joy alongside the rest of them.
“WELCOME TO PLAYCARE!” all eight Smiling Critters shrieked. Hoppy in particular was bouncing in joy, practically throttling Bobby in one paw and Picky in the other in her excitement.
The Critters began their song:
“S-M-I-L-E everyday!
When you are down and out,
No need to frown and pout!
‘Cause Smiling Critter's are here to say
S-M-I-L-E everyday!”
“YESSS!! THAT’S US!” Hoppy cried. “THAT’S US, BABY!!”
Dogday took the lead and everybody quietened down.
Then he grinned at the crowd and spread his paws. “Okay, everyone, welcome to Playcare!”
The new kids in particular cheered. Some were old enough to blink and do a double-take, but the majority were so tiny and young that a group of playful, talking toys were their absolute dream.
The Smiling Critters automatically formed a circle (although the kids noticed that the little purple cat had to be grumpily separated from Dogday). Each Critter called out their name and scent - Bobby Bearhug with rose; Dogday with vanilla; KickinChicken with Ylang-ylang; Hoppy Hopscotch with peppermint; CraftiCorn with jasmine; Bubba Bubbaphant with lemongrass; Catnap with lavender; and PickyPiggy with citrus. One Critter for each new child.
Dogday stepped a little in front of the others so attention remained on him. “First up, who here’s gluten-free?”
Two tentative hands were raised. Kids’ noses had started twitching; the mention of gluten implied food , and food implied…
“Gotcha! So - who’s ready for some muffins?”
Playcare was louder than the train that day.
Food came before the tour. This was just common knowledge.
The adults had left and the teachers had retreated back into the school, Miss Delight leaving a little wave before vanishing behind the blue doors. Now it was just children and toys - the desired inhabitants of such a magical playland.
As Playcare’s outside doors were bolted shut, the new children either enthusiastically dove into their environment or gradually familiarised themselves with their new home. One new child, a little boy, had taken his gluten-free muffin and was munching quietly in the corner, quite happy by himself.
The Critters found themselves bombarded. Bubba was enthusiastically bonding with a boy who wore glasses; Hoppy was screaming and bouncing and comparing her friend group of Bobby, Crafti and Kickin (who had a collection of ‘cooler’ boys around him); Dogday was being fawned over as the cutest thing multiple girls had ever seen.
“Can I touch you?”
“You look so soft !”
“You’re Bubba, right? And you’re Picky…”
“PUPPY!”
“That’s me!” Dogday said enthusiastically, and was rewarded with belly rubs.
The girl giving them was about twelve, easily the eldest. She wore nothing but pink and was seemingly in the mindset of someone who wanted to get older but wasn’t quite in the process yet. “Are you a cavalier? I used to have a cavalier!”
“He’s a cocker spaniel,” explained Bubba, for Dogday was far too busy wiggling and barking happily.
“Are you related to PJ?” asked the girl.
Dogday rubbed his head happily against her hand. “Sorry, who’s PJ?”
“PJ Pug-A-Pillar. From the Game Station.”
“…Game Station…?”
“I just figured since you’re both dogs. I mean, he’s not really a dog, he’s more of a caterpillar, but I thought maybe you were cousins…”
Catnap’s curious purple head appeared from around a bench. The kitten blinked at the human girl, then at Dogday, and decided that she was doing the belly rubs all wrong.
“No,” Catnap snapped at her.
The girl immediately squealed at this adorable, tiny, fluffy kitten with the shiny moon around its neck. She scooped Catnap up (who screeched indignantly) and hugged it closely to her chest. “KITTY!” she gushed, pressing a kiss to Catnap’s forehead (the poor thing was rather bewildered and dizzy). “Aww, look at you! You’re so cute! Emma, Makayla, look, there’s a kitten, too! Look at her, she’s so cute -”
“AWWWWWWW!” gushed several other voices, and a multitude of hands were now reaching out to stroke Catnap’s fur.
“EEEEEEEEEEEE!” shrieked Catnap.
“Give her here,” one younger girl said gently. She narrowly avoided having her face scratched off and cradled Catnap to her chest. “Shh… it’s okay, kitty, you’re safe…”
“Meow!” Catnap replied indignantly. But it had to admit that the pleasant stroking sensation between the ears was quite nice.
Dogday had by now rolled up off the ground and was watching with a mixture of amusement and nerves. He knew that Catnap got nervous easily. He was worried for the little kitty.
So he called out, “ATTENTION EVERYONE!”
The kids stopped playing, still munching on their muffins, looking curiously.
“We’re going to have the tour in five minutes!” Dogday announced. “So finish up your games, pack up your cards and plushies. Before the tour, it’s best if us Critters learn your names so we know how to refer to you! Newbies, raise your hands, please.”
Eight hands were raised. Some were smeared with blueberry juice.
Dogday climbed onto the base of the Smiling Critters statue so he could see properly, balancing on the golden KickinChicken’s foot. “I’ll point to you and you tell me your name. Starting wiiiiith…” He pretended to do a drumroll, then dramatically pointed at the girl who’d given the belly rubs. “You!”
“Marie Payne!” replied the pink girl, who was still stroking Catnap.
“Okay! Marie, you’re pairing with me. One Critter for each kid. That way we can keep an eye on you and, who knows, you can make a new friend!”
“YES!”
“Can I have the pig?” asked one brave voice. “I like the pig, she’s cute.”
PickyPiggy’s eyes lit up. “I’ll pair with you! What’s your name?”
And so the toys were paired.
Mary R. for Bobby, and Marie P. for Dogday.
Elijah D. for Kickin.
Avalon D. for Hoppy.
Belle O. for Crafti.
Micah P. for Bubba.
Makayla H. for Picky…
…and Theodore G. for Catnap.
Once they had gotten little Theo out from the corner, the tour around Playcare began.
It began with the Playhouse. The yellow curtains over the entrance were open, and multiple children (and Critters) were lost to its colourful walls. Next to that was the school, where all twelve teachers stood, hands neatly clasped, before the entrance. As usual, they all looked identical and nobody could tell them apart except for one little girl named Belle who swore she knew exactly which was which.
Beyond that, the furthest from the entrance in which the new children had arrived, was Home Sweet Home. This was introduced as the dormitories and sleeping quarters until the orphans were adopted. Several had already been moved into loving homes. Others had vanished quietly without notice, with assurance from Playcare’s (human) staff that those children were going to be fine. Home Sweet Home’s doors were open and a torrent of boys and girls rushed inside, picking their bunks, pointing to the cushions in the centre of the floor and asking to whom they belonged.
Once personal possessions had been settled, the tour group moved out once again. The next stop was the Toy Store. It was a newly erected building that, while it had been in development for some time, hadn’t actually opened until today. The wide entrance had swung free to celebrate the arrival of the train.
No Critters were permitted inside the Toy Store. They all waited patiently outside as the kids disappeared through the red doors. Every new child was permitted one free toy, and all else was to be bought using a Playcare-specific currency earned through chores and tasks. The Critters were not to question the cute, fluffy and strange things that came out of that shop.
That didn’t stop the children from bringing the toys out, though, and happily showing their respective Smiling Critter guardians the toys they had ‘bought’ -
“Look! This one here’s called Huggy Wuggy, we had these back at the Game Station! One of the games was where you had to hit them with a hammer…”
“I just noticed! This bunny’s yellow with green accents - Hoppy? You’re green with yellow accents…”
“They had PickyPiggy plushies! Here!”
And while Dogday typically respected rules and wouldn’t normally think about these toys so deeply, he was far too curious to censor his own actions. He kept looking at these other toys that the kids had bought - what on earth was a ‘Huggy Wuggy’? Or a ‘Boogie Bot’? Why didn’t these toys talk and move and play games?
Marie hopped out of the Toy Store carrying a long blue-and-purple slinky with a pair of floppy ears and a lolling pink tongue.
She announced with the confidence and finality only a child could have, “This is your cousin!”
Dogday cocked his head at it.
What was it?
He prodded the odd thing. Its body was made out of alternating blue-pink cotton balls, and it had lots of cute little black feet that stuck out of the sides. Its beady eyes were black and its mouth was smiling. In a way, Dogday could see how this toy could be considered a Smiling Critter. Just… a weird one. Dogday barked at it to see if it would bark back. No response.
The toy was so large that Marie had to sling it around her shoulders. She wore her new toy proudly like an aristocratic woman wears a boa around her neck. “This is PJ Pug-A-Pillar,” she said proudly. “From Statues.”
Picky’s kid, Makalya, held her own Picky toy closer to her chest and winced. “I’m surprised they even chose me… They only scored me a one .”
“You got a ONE?” cried Kickin’s kid in disbelief. “I got a four …”
To which Hoppy’s kid stuck her tongue out and responded, “Oh yeah? I’d like to see you try, I bet you got a TWO…”
KickinChicken and Hoppy Hopscotch glanced between the kids, then eyed each other as if to say, I don’t know what the heck they’re talking about but GAME ON.
Bobby’s little red ears twitched. “Oh, a game? What game were you playing?”
“Statues,” answered four kids simultaneously.
“Aaaand what is Statues?” asked Kickin. “For the record, I totally believe Elijah got a four.” Elijah and Kickin high-fived.
Dogday, who had never before had such knowledge of the outside world, tucked his paws in and quietly listened. A game where dozens of children were lined up to be tested for their physical strength in the form of a complicated obstacle course. To Dogday, it sounded fun until he learned that this weird PJ toy was crawling behind you the entire time, and if it caught up to you, you were out.
The other two games were Musical Memory and… Whack-A-Wuggy…?
It sounded weird.
Dogday wanted to know more.
“So you’re all tested on memory, reaction time and stamina? Why?”
Marie shrugged. “Don’t know, but it’s super fun. Only eight of us at the Station were allowed to live at Playcare. Those of us with the highest score were chosen! And now we’re here!” she squealed, picking up Dogday and hugging him tight.
The cocker spaniel really knew he had to be getting the tour to the Counsellor’s office by now, but firstly, Theodore was taking his sweet time picking a toy, and secondly, he wanted to hear more about this Game Station.