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"Daddy, I don't want you to go," Octavia whined sadly.
"I know, sweetie," Stolas cooed as he reached out to smooth Octavia’s feathers. "I wish I could stay here with you too, but Daddy has to go to this meeting."
"When will you be back?"
"Hopefully in a couple of hours," he answered.
Octavia whimpered as she gave Stolas a hug. He returned it and patted her back. "It’ll be alright, dear. You have Bubba and Loona here to play with you."
"Okay..." the teen Goetia muttered.
"You also have my old rabbit if you need it," Stolas told her as he planted kisses to his daughter's face. "And no matter where I am, I'm never far away from my precious little starfire."
The Goetia kissed Blitzø on the lips and gave Loona a hug.
“I’ll be back soon, my loves,” Stolas said. He gave Via one last hug and opened a portal before he stepped into it.
As soon as the prince left, Via curled up into a ball and felt tears forming in her eyes.
Blitzø noticed this and crouched beside his youngest daughter. “Hey, kiddo, it’s alright. He’ll be back.”
"I miss him..." Via mumbled tearfully.
"I know you do. Do you want a hug?"
The teen Goetia nodded, letting Blitzø gather her into his arms. She suddenly started crying as she wrapped her arms around him.
“I know, octopus,” Blitzø soothed, gently rocking the owlet. "It's okay to feel sad."
"Dad, is Via gonna be okay?" Loona asked in concern, having watched her sister become upset.
Blitzø nodded. "She’ll be okay, Loonie. She’s just missing her dad."
Loona walked over to the pair and sat down, unsure of what to do.
“Do you want a hug from Loona, sweetie?” Blitzø asked Octavia.
Via shook her head.
"Okay, well… do you wanna go watch 'Growing Up Creepie'?"
Another head shake.
"Do you need to be sad for a while?" Blitzø asked in a genuine tone.
Via sniffled and nodded.
"It's alright, sweetie. We all gotta feel what we need to feel. I gotta do some chores, but Loonie and I will be here if you need anything."
"Okay..." Via hiccupped as Blitzø stood up and planted a kiss at the top of her feathered head. As the imp walked away, Loona couldn't help but feel bad for Via. She knew that she struggled with separation anxiety ever since Stolas first met Blitzø, but that still made her feel terrible for her every time she was distraught.
"Via…" Loona began. "I know what it's like to miss my dad whenever he works. It stinks, but he always returns. Pops is gonna come back like he said he would. You wanna go sit in our fort, that way you can feel sad, but not lonely?"
Via finally nodded after some thinking.
So, Loona held out her hand to the Goetia, who took it and allowed her older sister to lead her to the playroom.
Once they arrived, Loona guided Via to their play tent.
"You need anything that can help you feel better?" the hellhound asked after helping Via onto one of the beanbags.
"Daddy's bunny, my b'ankie, an' mot' stuffies," the Goetia sniffled.
Loona found Via’s blanket next to the bin of plushies. She handed the blanket to her sister while finding her three favorite stuffies.
"T’ank ‘ou, sissy," Via mumbled, burying her face in her baby blanket.
"No prob," Loona nodded as she gave Via her rabbit and moth stuffies. She then started thinking of ways that she and Via could pass the time until Stolas returned. Suddenly, she had an idea. Via loved her pacis. They looked so boring when they were plain, though. What if they had some bling to them?
"Hey, Via, how about we do some arts and crafts?"
Via nodded, wiping the last few tears from her face.
"Sweet! Have you heard of deco pacis before?"
"Um... I don' re'y know..." Via shrugged.
Loona pulled out her phone and showed her sister what deco pacis looked like on Sinstagram.
Via's eyes glimmered. The pacis were so beautiful! Some were painted, and some were bedazzled with rhinestones!
"Wow, t’ey look pretty," the younger sister commented, starting to feel better.
"You wanna bedazzle your pacis?" Loona asked, wagging her tail when Via responded with a nod. "I’ll be right back. Trust me, you’re gonna love it!"
Loona left the tent and soon returned with a couple of Via's soothers and some art supplies.
"They don't have to be perfect," the hellhound said once Via started grabbing some stickers. "Decorating is all about having fun."
For the next thirty minutes, the sisters decorated the pacifiers together. Via did the painting and sticker-attaching while Loona did the gluing and gemstone-applying.
"T'ey look so pretty!" Via smiled once she and Loona were finished. She held up a black pacifier that had ghosts painted on the button. "I li' this one the most!"
"That's one of my favorites," Loona said as she held up a dark blue pacifier with puffy star stickers. "I think this one's my all-time favorite."
Blitzø came into the playroom to check on the little ones.
"Hey, kiddos, how's everything going?" the imp asked. He then gasped and cooed when he saw the decorated pacifiers. "Oh, my goodness! What do we have here?"
"Me an’ Loonie maked crafts!" Via chirped as she held up one of the pacifiers.
"You did? Oh, wow! They look so beautiful!"
Via giggled and plopped the ghost paci she had in her mouth. She then held up a purple pacifier that had an alicorn charm on the button.
"Magi' ho'sey!" Via piped. "You wan' it, Bubba?"
"No, thanks, sweetie, but thank you for offering to share," Blitzø declined politely.
"You feelin’ better now?" Loona asked as she moved to give her little sister a hug.
Via nodded as she hugged the hellhound back. Suddenly, the little owlet began to yawn and rub at her eyes.
"I think it's quiet time for you guys," Blitzø remarked as he gently picked Via up.
Yawning again, Via pressed her face into Blitzø’s shoulder while Loona gathered up the art supplies.
"Thanks for cheering Via up, Loonie."
"It's no problem," the hellhound replied as she started to put everything away.
"You t'ink Daddy will li' t'e pacis, Bubba?" Via asked.
"Of course he will," Blitzø reassured. "He’ll love them."
Via was tucked in for a nap while Loona read quietly (then fell asleep) in their room. Blitzø was watching TV in the living room when Stolas came back from the meeting.
"Hey, Stols. How was everything?" the imp greeted as he looked up from the screen.
"Everything was fine. The meeting was a tad boring, though," the Goetic prince responded as he gave Blitzø a kiss. "How were the girls?"
"They were fine. Decorated some pacifiers."
"Oh, they did? May I have a look?"
"Sure. Let me tell you, Loonie and Via are so creative!"
Blitzø took Stolas to the playroom and showed him the decorated pacifiers that were drying on the table.
"Oh, these are beautiful!" the Goetic prince gasped.
“I know, I was so proud of them. Loonie helped Via out."
Stolas smiled at the mention of his youngest daughter. "How was Via?"
"She was fine. A little bit upset at the beginning, but Loonie helped out by cheering her up and playing with her," Blitzø said. "And they decorated pacifiers like I mentioned."
"That's good to hear," Stolas replied as he and Blitzø returned to the living room to watch TV together.