Theodoren waved at the new orphanage. "You made this. You gathered us. Each step, you were there, making the decision."

Daisy took a step back. "N-no. Hm, right. Michelle just made friends with the ghost."

"After you met it, and didn't blast or slice it away like most paladins woulda done." Theo prodded her, almost tickling her sides. "Every step, you made a call, and brought us closer to this point. You gathered us, here, for this moment."

Cedric clapped as the kids looked on, murmuring among themselves as the tall mouse woman seemed overwhelmed.

Michelle turned, smiling at them all before reaching up to tug on Daisy's shirt. "You're all our momma."

Daisy darkened at this declaration. "Michelle, I'm your mother, yes. They..." She trailed off.

Cedric stepped over, putting his hands together. "You adopted Michelle, officially, but you took me out of a rut I could have stayed in forever, just the janitor of no note. Now I have the love of my life." He smiled and leaned in to kiss Selena. "You made that call. You made all of this happen. So now it's time to do one last thing for this."

Detecting her turn, Selena bounced forward. "Look, I was just a girl that liked people looking at her." She snickered at the idea. "Still am, but now I'm part of all of this." She threw her arms wide, hands coming down on a child's head each. "Not where I saw it going, but who can say, huh? Daisy can, and she did."

Bellin and Kailana stepped over together, hands on her shoulders. "That war stampeded over our little farm," Bellin said with a nod, his hand on her shoulder. "You could have let us be. So many did, but you didn't. You went out of your way to make sure we were alright, and to this day, I haven't been able to do anything in return."

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Kailana laughed, waving past Daisy to the orphanage. "Then you give us a new place to call home, and a fine profession to go with it." She held her hand up to Bellin and they high-fived. "Thanks."

Daisy stood there, shocked and awe-struck a moment. "T-thanks, really. I'm glad to have you all here." She dropped to a knee and got a gaggle of small ones to hold gently. "All of you too. Um, I." She stood up, dusting herself. "We're a family."

Theo snapped his fingers. "Finally. About time you admitted it."

Cedric held out a box and opened it for her. "So, we got a present for you." He took a pendant from inside. "This will let everyone know what we are."

When Daisy took it, all the adults revealed they had one in their own pockets, allowing for them all to don it all at once. It was a silver pendant with a big D, the top of the D with big round mouse ears.

Theodoren laughed softly, "Yeah. We're your family, no question."

Daisy looked at the gathered group, her own and everyone else. She reached up and held the pendant in her hand tight. Her cheeks pinked with embarrassment as she smiled. After a moment of silence, she burst into tears. "I-I'm so happy!" She held herself tightly. "I never imagined I'd have anything like this, and yet..."

Before she could recover, her romantic partners closed for a firm hug that she returned with a confused yelp. "Let me process this. I'm not saying no! This is... wonderful. I just need a moment." Laughing with obvious strain, she took a step back. "A new family, a big one." She took a deep breath and calmed down. "I guess it's time to say goodbye." She turned away from everyone, facing the orphanage but not looking at it. "To my old life, and my old family. Good luck, wherever you are from here."

The group around her stood, waiting in respectful silence as she mourned. Finally she turned towards them, eyes still a little puffy. "So." She held up a finger and waved it. "We have an orphanage to run." Her little dungeon, she felt certain. She would run it just as loyally, to ensure all that came to it found it to be an amazing place to visit.