An adoption center! Oh no! You had to make yourself discreet or else a woman would snatch you and you'd have to start your life all over again, under the rules of someone else. The mere thought was too unpleasant and disturbing to contemplate, let alone live! So you crawled as fast as possible to hide under a low bush with space between the roots and leaves. Hopefully, no one noticed you and you could stay there until all prospective parents left and you might find a way to grow up again. Actually... Wasn't thee a fountain of age around? This would certainly be the solution to your predicament. In the meantime, in relative safety, you can watch what is happening in the rest of the adoption center.
"Ladies and gentlemen, no worries, you have all the time in the world to choose your darling little one and addition to your family," jovially said one of the caretakers.
Some babies and toddlers like you try to get out of the way, as fast as crawling or waddling can help them. Others, bewildered, stare at the newcomers, too dumbfounded to understand what is going to happen to them.In all cases, they are picked up, examined and cooed at. Sometimes they are put back on the ground, at others they are whisked away to a main building with more caretakers in attendance. You also notice two strange things. First, there are men around. Are they the husbands, or fathers? Do they allow same-sex couples to adopt? And more disturbingly, some of the parents, females included, and females make up most of the population of adoptive parents, here, are not even human. Some have animal features and are clearly centaurs, satyrs or other types of beings. How strange... But not wholly unexpected, considering the unusual zoo this is... Moreover, staying hidden allows you to catch on to snippets of information that could be useful. Two women chatting animatedly next to the bush as they pass by, oblivious to your presence, say interesting things.
"My, they are all just darling!"
"And have you seen what the brochure says? They are sure to grow up beautiful because the water of the fountain has erased a lot of their flaws! This is just perfect! Then you go to the main building and they file up the paperwork for you and you can go home!"
"Yes but... What about their minds? Do you think they really lose their memories after a few days?"
"Pschht! Why would they lie?" huffed the second woman.
"And... What about the mythological creatures?" pondered the first.
"I think they change them, something like that," said her friend. "Oooh! Look at that little boy over there! He looks ideal for me! I know already how I will decorate his room!"
She rushed on, followed by her friend. Far away from you, thank goodness. But they did answer some the questions you were pondering about. This made your situation even worse! You could get changed into something else without your consent! And you would lose your memories too in a few days' time? That was bad! You had to get out of here and find that Age Fountain. You seriously doubted that the caretakers would be interested in letting you go. So you had to stay hidden, slip discreetly outside and find a map to reach that fountain. Easy enough, except the going beyond the gates unnoticed. But first things first. Stay hidden. So far so good. And with any luck you could hope that...
"Hello there! So silent you almost went unnoticed!" a male voice accompanied by a beaming smile erupted above you, startling your poor little body. "That would have been too bad, you're such a darling cute little girl!"