Gaston had heard about the students' infant creature assignment and jumped at the chance to care for one himself when he found out Tristan still had a few left. Nurturing something too tiny and helpless to reject the love he had to give might help distract him from his sadness. His eyes scanned the tags on the cages until he finally came to one at the very end that bore his name. Inside the cage was a female kneazle kitten. He couldn't help but smile as he looked at her. She was small and ungainly, just growing into her paws and her ears, but what struck him most was that she had gray gray hair with white flecks and blue eyes, just like... He chuckled halfheartedly. What were the odds that he'd be assigned a creature that just happened to look like an animal version of his father?

"Hello, little one," he whispered, holding a hand out to the baby kneazle. She backed away and just glared at him; his heart sank. So she was rejecting him... just like him. After a minute, she cautiously approached and nuzzled against his hand. He smiled. "There, you see? I'm not going to hurt you... Are you hungry?" The kneazle replied with a meow-like sound; he'd take that as a yes!

Gaston filled the baby kneazle's food and water bowls and watched her for a moment as she chowed down. While she wasn't looking he picked up a pair of gloves and some cleaning supplies. He thought it might be a good idea to clean the cage while she was distracted. He finished around the same time she had finished eating. The kneazle looked inquisitively up at him, and he gave her a little scratch behind her large ears. Maybe she'd let him hold her now?

He gently picked the little kneazle kitten up and gently carried her to the pasture. He found a quiet place to sit on the grass, and the kneazle curled up in his lap, purring as he murmured a few words to her in French. After a few minutes of petting and purring, he looked at her. "You know, you remind me of someone I really miss," he said, sighing wistfully as his thoughts turned to his shattered relationship with his father. "Would you like to hear about him?" The kneazle's ears perked up, and he went on, "His name was Raoul; he was my father but I don't think he liked me very much..." He continued and found to his own surprise that telling this little kneazle about his father eased his sadness.

"You're a lot like him, but we can't name a little girl like you Raoul, can we?" he said; the kneazle blinked in reply. "I'll call you... Raoula." It was only fitting that he give her the feminine version of his father's name. Little Raoula stayed curled up in Gaston's lap for a while longer before finally sretching and letting out a big yawn. "Looks like somebody's sleepy..." he said with a smile. He gently scooped her up and took her back to her cage, carefully closing the door behind her. "Have a nice nap, Raoula!"