Hush, Little Penguin

Simple Things

This was the part of raising a child Barnacles loved most.

Peso's nursery had the ability to brighten the day of anyone in it. It was pastel and colorful, with pink accents and seafoam green and baby blue walls with some lavender. There were bunnies and rainbows and fairytales. A shelving unit was full of brightly colored story books for bedtime and recreation. Sometimes, Peso curled up with his toys to read them together.

Ah, his toys.

Barnacles loved it when Peso begged for a playmate. It was adorable, and, in the long run, it was a win-win. Peso got a playmate, and Barnacles got a break from his stress as the captain. The others could see this, though the captain didn't know it, and let them get on with it.

Peso's room housed beautiful toys, much like the innocent room of a little child. That was what it was anyway. He had a bright toybox by his window. A small pile of stuffed animals was settled in the corner so Peso could get to them easier. 

Some of them were Disney. Peso's family knew of his love for anything magic, and gave him Disney toys when he was little, sparking a small collection that Peso proudly kept with him. There was Baymax, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh and his friends, The White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat,  Hank, Dory, Stitch, Bolt and others.

Peso also had dolls, mostly of Disney princesses. Tinkerbell, Wendy Darling, and a bunch of Barbies. Peso mostly had a specific brand of dolls.

"Those are cool dolls." Kwazii one commented in hopes of making conversation. Peso didn't look up from his game, fiddling with the soft stuffed dolls as he talked. "They're not dolls. They're Characters."

"Beg pardon?"

Peso explained that each doll of the Character brand was given a unique name, talent, and personality. Some of them were even meant to be based off of famous characters, such as the Mad Hatter. Madeleine Hatter became his daughter, a popular doll in the franchise. Peso introduced Kwazii to a ballerina, a singer, a popstar, and his two personal favorites.

"They don't have jobs," Peso held up the stuffed toy. "But he's my very favorite doll. He was the prototype, and my uncle works at the factory, and he didn't know what to do with him so he gave him to me!"

The doll had fashionable yellow hair and big blue eyes. He really was adorable. (Guess who, Uglydoll fans!)

Barnacles loved these moments with Peso, just joining in his simple games. It was relaxing.

The bear shuffled a little on the nursery's padded floor, picking up a stuffed elephant and a plastic Alice in Wonderland doll. Peso giggled, lifting a monkey and placing it on his bed, pretending it was an evil villain. His pretty dress rustled. Peso liked to dress up.

Using the elephant's truck 'Alice' rescued Peter Pan and the White Rabbit from the evil monkey...before getting chased by Stitch the Bounty Hunter, for Mr. Monkey had placed a reward over Alice and Mandy's heads. Mandy was a Character doll with glasses and a bun. And Peso liked to think she was his favorite doll's best friend.

As the game ended, Peso fell over in gleeful laughter, and Barnacles chuckled glancing at his watch. He didn't want to leave, but it was time for him to do his rounds. "Alright Peso, playtime's over. It's naptime." Peso didn't look pleased at the news.

"We can play later." Barnacles hoped that was true. These playtimes with Peso were his favorite parts of his day. "Help me clean up." Peso liked to feel helpful, so he jumped up, and started gathering as many stuffed animals as his little flippers could hold. Barnacles stacked Peso's stuffed animals in the corner, while Peso made a game of putting things away in his toybox.