Auntie Cora: the matriarch of a band of criminal orphans.

Coralai Wu, known as "Auntie Cora," is the Faginesque matriarch of a large, criminally minded band of orphans who make up her network of lookouts and spies. To outward appearances, she's a sweet little old witch who runs the wildly popular chain of sweetshops called Coralai's Confections. Coralai's Confections doubles as a front for her highly illegal deliveries and fencing operation. Stolen goods, secret messages, and cash are smuggled to and from buyers and sellers, hidden among sweets delivered by her orphans.

Auntie Cora's familiar is a giant wombat named Mister Toffee. He's short, rotund, furry, and utterly adorable. He's also sarcastic, constantly hungry, anti-social, and prone to swearing. He wears a bow tie and nothing else but fur.

Mister Toffee's gruff, if adorable, exterior, hides a warm heart, though. He refuses to admit it, but her loves Auntie Cora's wards just as much as she does. He's a closet knitter, lovingly creating sweaters, scarves, mittens, and socks for the children. His color blindness is a bit of a hindrance, though. He chooses balls of yarn based on the aesthetics of the names of their colors, which tends to make for some rather garish combinations. The children love Mister Toffee, though, and they wear his monstrous creations with pride.

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