The Anthropologist

by Weavers of Dreams

-20- Thursday Part: Three

"I thought it was Mr. Cake's turn this week."

"Oh he would have, but Timmy convinced him to help repair the Crusader's Clubhouse after that deranged human set it ablaze," Mrs. Cake answered as she entered the office. Her eyes were fixed on the door as she entered. "Um... did something happen?"

"Oh, that? I wanted to see if my door had a metal core," Lyra said as she reinforced it with some magic and duct tape.

"Did it?"

"Yeah, aluminum," Lyra said with a nod. "I was surprised. I'm thinkin' about a compressed wood core with an oak veneer next time."

"That sounds... lovely, Lyra," Mrs. Cake spoke quietly as she watched Lyra open and close the door experimentally. "Er. If you like, I could ask Carrot if he would be willing to install it for you."

Lyra gave Mrs. Cake a odd look. "Am I charging too much Mrs. Cake? If you're tight for money I can lower my rates for you or run you a tab until things pick up again for you guys."

Mrs. Cake almost looked insulted. "What? No. Nothing of the kind, dear. I just figured, since you've done so much for us, maybe we could do something in return."

Lyra heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh, that's good. I would hate to see my favorite sugar emporium on dire straights." She hopped over into her chair and cleared her throat. "Thanks for the offer, but, I think I'll higher a professional. Have to make sure it's sealed properly so no one can listen in you know."

"Oh, of course," Mrs. Cake nodded. "Now, um, can we discuss Timothy?"

Lyra nodded and grabbed her clipboard. "Okay. I thought he was doing exceptionally well on Tuesday. Still a little quite, though, not a bad thing mind you. But, he definitely has some leftover trust issues. I'm sure your aware."

"Well, yes," Cup Cake nodded. "He's a very good colt... er, boy. But, you know, he has a very hard time adjusting. I aware it's not everyday, where he's from at least, that someone is adopted by an entirely different species. But, we try our best, Carrot and I, to show him that we love him and will always be there for him. But, he still seems so distant from us."

Mrs. Cake actually had tears brimming in her eyes. "So, please, tell me. Is there something that human parents have that we aren't giving him?"

Lyra gave her a pitying look. "No, no, Mrs. Cake. It's nothing like that. He just young boy who needs some guidance in an alien world. I know he loves both you and Mr. Cake, as well as the twins..."

"Pinkie as well," Mrs. Cake pointed out, wiping her eyes. The pink mare had always been something of a surrogate daughter to the Cakes.

Lyra nodded. "And Pinkie. He tells me as much during all of our appointments together. Even before you officially adopted him he loved talking about you all."

Mrs. Cake sniffled and smiled. "He's always been such a sweet child. But, ever since the adoption, it really does seem as though he's more distant. At first I thought it might be because he was nervous. But, lately it seems like he's outright terrified."

"That's because he's afraid you'll tear it all away from him if he messes up," Lyra said in a calm careful voice, not wanted to make Mrs. Cake overly upset.

"W-what?" the blue mare gasped in horror. "Carrot and I would never do such a thing. Where did he get that idea? D-did we..."

"No," Lyra cut her off before he could fly off into hysterics. "It's nothing you or your husband have done. He's just had some bad experiences back on his homeworld. Bad enough to leave an impression. He just needs a lot of love and support to chip away those barriers."

"Y-you are going to help us, right?"

Lyra nodded and set her clipboard aside. "Of course. You know I'll be there Saturday to see if I can't figure something out to help all of you. Though, you might think about switching to a therapist soon. Not that I don't enjoy these sessions, but, it's becoming less my department now that you're really starting to adjust to having a human son."

"Oh, I see," Mrs. Cake said thoughtfully. "I suppose you're right. But you will help us if something else were to come up, right? Something human related that we don't understand?"

Lyra nodded with a grin. "Try and stop me."

"So, what should I do until Saturday?"

"Love him, hug him, give him a cookie. You're his mother, do what you think is best for him. After all, I'm not a mother. I'm just the mare you come to when there is problem where a human is involved."

"You're not just some mare," Cup Cake gently chided her with smile on her face. "You're a good friend, Lyra. And, mark my words, you'll make an excellent mother yourself someday. You had better believe it."

Lyra looked aside and sighed in a faraway fashion. "Yeah... someday."

Poor extremely fortunate Timmy. When Mrs. Cake got home, she promptly showered him with maternal affection and baked him some fresh chocolate chip cookies and never explained herself. Afterwards, she would gather him and her two foals and snuggle by the fireplace until they fell asleep together.

Pinkie and Mr. Cake would discover them around dinnertime and join them. They were quite hungry that day.

Comments

[Rokas]

I know how Lyra feels.

And D'aaawwww at the Cakes.

[Viddaric]

This story is great, but you need to proofread a bit harder. "I'm sure your aware", "wanted to see if I my door had"... just read over your work again and make sure it's all good grammar.

[xXIllusionFoxXx]

8008604 Yeah, the previous chapters were good, but this one has many grammatical errors.

[Curtis LeMay]

I think I'll higher a professional

hire

As in to employ.