DATED: AUGUST 1ST

Honestly? Tylor was beat. 

It had been a long week between the kids arrival, and all the "excitement" it brought. Between trying to keep things relatively calm among his co-workers and trying to keep an eye out for his own assigned kids? Well, by the time he was taking a break in the middle of his mid-week MIFT shift he was just about ready to collapse. But, he scolded himself, this was what he wanted. He needed to stop whining.

"But sometimes it does feel good." He called out to no one in particular.

Crossing the half-empty break room, he stopped to grab a can of soda before letting out a relaxed sigh. Maybe things would get easier when the idea of human kids around wasn't so "new". He didn't know. But still. "Man, did someone already eat the last donut?" He asked as he pulled up the now empty box on the counter. 

Haggis wouldn't have thought it would all take the toll on her which it had as well. Yet she was still in her same main job of Monster Resources, more in the emotions department, and dealing with the other employees of Monsters Inc and 'how they were feeling' in a broad sense.

There to listen in an official capacity.

She didn't know how some of her other coworkers did all the boring paper work!

Right now many of the monsters were very high strung. That was putting it a bit officially. Freaked out really. She couldn't blame them, she was as well! The one kid she'd connected with the most, gaining a temporary Jokester position due to him even, had been kidnapped and brought here along with nine others!

The nine others were enough as well. And even six years didn't make other monsters quite easy around human kids, and especially those who weren't Jokesters. Haggis had spent the day reassuring and listening, and even she let out a sigh on her way over to the main employee break room.

One of their top Jokesters was also feeling it, Haggis would guess, by his own slight admitting to the break room at large, and...well maybe it was the listening therapist in her that tried to find more behind his disappointment in someone eating the last donut than there was.

With a slight chuckle to herself as she made her way over and decided to sit at his table, she pushed one of the two little plastic containers she had out of her lunch bag. "Cranachan?", she offered, then, because she always had to explain...when she used its official Scottish name anyway.

"It's short bread". She added as she picked up one of the raspberries on top with her designated eating reed. "Quite a week". She commented to him and anyone at large, but she wasn't complaining either.

Tylor was a little surprised when Haggis announced her presence.

He guessed he had been stuck in his own little world for a lot longer than he thought. But then again, wasn't he always? On one hand, he might have been too disappointed by the idea that he couldn't at least have one donut. But honestly, he was OK with it so long as it was shortbread. Who didn't like that anyway? "Sure! Thanks Haggis," He said as he took a bite rather enthusiastically. "I totally forgot my lunch again, I'm sure dad will be down here any minute, ugh."

Quite a week? She could say that again! He grimaced slightly as he nodded. "You can say that again. I don't think this place has felt so out of control since I got here," He explained rather honestly. "And who knew human kids had this much energy when they're awake? That one loony one, Jacob? He was my assignment and he was totally chill when it was bedtime. But I hear he's had to be saved from offending like six monsters with stupid human questions"

He then added rather bluntly. "Honestly, I don't know how we're going to make it through this."

Haggis nodded to Tylor's thanks and ate at her own shortbread as he talked. Even 'off the clock', as it were, she made a good listener and didn't mind. She had to chuckle at his mention of how out of control his first week was, or the comparison of this being back to that level perhaps.

She didn't mention vending machines, but she recalled the job Fritz had given her at Vendy's funeral, before Tylor next gave the machine a second life of sorts. The machine worked at any rate before it finally didn't but not due to him. "Yes, I learned a while back that kids have all sorts of energy not jus' the usefu'l kind, but these certainly do!", she answered.

Jacob. She tried to think if she'd run into him here. She knew the group of kids, so probably without being able to recall which he specifically was. "I'm sure we will", she replied optimistically but did think on it.

"Though...they seem very settled and I don't know if that's good or not". Returning them before answers was probably not the answer and there was this FEAR group to be worried over.

The useful kind? Oh right, the laughs!

Honestly, he was surprised that she wasn't annoyed or tired herself. Hadn't she been the one that had to talk a lot of the people down? He would have been ready to punch someone in the face if he were her! Then again, he couldn't be too surprised she had always seemed to be a brighter personality among the monsters, hadn't she?

"I mean, I don't think them being settled is a good thing at all," Tylor told her honestly. It was the truth. The more they did the harder they'd be to get rid of. "I mean, sure. it's good that they aren't hiding and screaming and crying... But let's get real. If they feel comfortable. What's going to stop them from blabbing about us to their little human friends?"

Tylor brought up that settled had it's disadvantages too. Haggis nodded, "True...an' also...keepin' them entertained if they canna' leave the factory...", she thought out-loud a bit.

That would be a disaster, and with FEAR about!

She had to chuckle to his last though, "I dunno' kids talk about a lot they don't actually take each-other serious on", or, more likely, she was wishful thinking.

How to return them but with a promise not to tattle?

Haggis gave a chuckle that made made a whiny sort of bagpipe sound, "We could always get Roze to make 'em sign contracts", she knew as she said it it wouldn't work though.

True. Keeping them entertained was a pain in the ass too.

But he did like kids enough so he guessed it wasn’t all terrible was it? But he didn’t really think about them not being taken seriously either. “I don’t know. Enough kids talk and they may take it seriously, right?” He asked. “I don’t want to be hunted like Bigfoot apparently is. Least according to the kids. Yikes.”

Sign… contracts? How the hell was that going to work?

Heck, did they even learn cursive at this age? Most monster kids learned that in middle school! “Do they even know how to make a signature? I always thought cursive was an “older kid” thing across species.” He explained.

While Haggis had meant her comment about signatures, she had also been doing what she could to lighten the mood. Plus she wouldn't put it past Roze to make kids sign in whatever way they could.

It wasn't too big of a surprise to her that Tylor was still too concerned over the whole thing to calm too much. "So many kids escaped in before, from Boo tae...what was the kid with damaged room that time called, Staples?". None of which their real names. "Though I know we took precautions there too".

Haggis sighed and thought "Well maybe I can get Hamish tae listen to me and keep quiet, though will the others listen tae him?", she wondered out-loud.

She realized that for a listener she was really just pushing down all of Tylor's worries, "Sorry, when ye work in Reassurance ye learn tae down play yer own worries. It is a concern I grant ye".

Hmmm that was true.

After all, Tylor definitely remembered the other baby incident. Who could forget? But maybe he was simply projecting his worries of the human kid that he was practically in charge of being a huge monster fan and one who might spill.

“No, no you make a point,” he said honestly. Throwing up his hands a little. “I guess there’s just me who has the big monster fanatic. Let’s face it, if Jake goes back he’s going to be a blabbermouth. Probably.”

He sighed a bit. “And believe me he won’t listen to another kid either. That boy has a firm mind of his own. And one that’s stubborn.”

It seemed to be Jake specifically that Tylor was worried about. Haggis smiled but not in discounting his point either and did next look thoughtful. "As d'ye...", she admitted, thinking.

She didn't really think small children would care one bit about any paper work that said they couldn't blab either. Keeping them here wasn't an option either....

She shrugged, "I'd say tire 'em out, but tha' only works fer about a day".

It wasn't a solution but they would perhaps have to just hope such blabbing (or believing the blabbing more) didn't happen.

Tiring them out wasn’t a bad idea either.

These days, he just hoped that everything would work itself out. But if not, well, he could always practice his sharpshooting for whatever humans showed up trying to hunt them. “Eh, we’ll find out what’s gonna happen soon enough I figure,” he admitted. “I mean we can’t let them stay forever anyway right?”

He chuckled nervously.

After a moment he brushed the crumbs of the treat from his face before speaking again. “So what else is up? Gotta be something to talk about other than the little goblins.”

It was the unspoken worry...how long would they be keeping the kids. "No...no we couldna'...", Haggis agreed. But then returning them was a whole other issue.

This did just keep happening it seemed.

Haggis gave another little laugh as Tylor moved them on from 'the little goblins'. Yes no need taking up their breaks with what they focused on during working hours anyway. She thought, "Well not breakin' any confidentiality agreements...".

She wasn't a literal therapist but she did have some of that included in her HR job. "I heard a rumor they're thinking of retiring the Gord's Head-Sliced Latte's in some of the cafes about town, but I dun' think they could get away with it".

Confidentiality agreements. Right.

Besides, who the heck would think having human kids here permanently would end well? The last times that humans ended up there? People had lost their mind more than their share enough! And that had only been a few days at the absolute most. “I mean, even then talk about a state of emergency,” he explained. “Imagine if we suddenly allowed humans to be around all the time. People would have full mental breakdowns.”

Wait… Gord’s head lettuce sliced what’s? “Wait is that an actual thing? Or did you just make that up?” After all it sounded kind of… Gross of he were being honest. “I mean lettuce lattes.”

"Oh I agree", Haggis was quick to respond as to not turning this into a free-for-all Human Allowance System. "And certainla' not the adults".

That was a nightmare situation!

"I dunno...I just don't want to treat the kids like they've du'n somethin' wrong even before they have but we do need to be careful yes".

But moving on, as Tylor said.

Haggis laughed, "I did not, I saw it on a poster, I think it's experimental, see if people buy it", she shrugged. Well she knew where Tylor stood. It wasn't sounding good for the product and maybe they would need a name change. Not that she had an opinion or had tried it.

That was true too,

Obviously he didn’t want any kids to think they’d done anything wrong either, it had been the monsters behind FEAR that had absolutely done everything wrong and there was no denying that of course. But he also didn’t want them to think they could just go galavanting everywhere. “Oh! Of course not,” he decided to reply. “I mean I’m at least doing my best to make them feel safe. That’s not really what I meant…”

The thought that it was real though. Oh god, did anyone actually want to eat that anyway? It sounded like one of those things that you’d gag on or coyly make tiny jokes about on the side, honestly. “Well, at least you liked it. No offense but it kind of sounds gross to me,” he then admitted. “But I’ve been told that I’m a picky eater.”