PM to join [Sunset Orphanage]A New Staffer

Cook, meet medic.

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[Sunset Orphanage]A New Staffer

Postby Noven on November 15th, 2014, 9:35 am

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Fall, Day 32, 514AV

They stood there, Isur and Human, side by side in the newly reorganized kitchens. Every inch had been scrubbed, stacked, swept, and dusted by a hoard of unwilling but nevertheless industrious orphans.

"Be nice," came Jillene's calm but no less authoritative voice. "It's been a tough season and we need the help."

Noven gave a half shrug in response. Which was his way of saying, 'whatever you say boss lady.' Nothing she'd just stated was new to the cook. The much anticipated shipment Sunberth had been expecting had been found earlier this day on the side of the road, empty and sabotaged. It caused outrage amongst the citizens, and also much alarm. Someone was attacking caravans. And that meant the streets had become significantly more dangerous, if not from whoever had destroyed the shipment, then from hungry, desperate people who would literally kill for food.

For Sunset, that meant they needed more protection. Jillene had been considering this long before the ransacked caravan was discovered. Things were growing steadily more unstable within the Berth; first snake people walking out of the water, then violence springing up in the streets, and not to mention Daggerhands openly roaming the city to recruit new blood. By the time Caela had come along and raised concerns of her own safety, the Isur was already making plans to increase security.

Nov knew better than anyone that whoever their new staff member was, he or she would be able to fight. Jillene never killed two birds when she could kill three. And since she only hired one new worker, it had to mean this person was skilled at more than just one thing. Just like Noven, just like Florence, just like pretty much everyone who worked at Sunset.

The iron-spined proprietress of Sunberth's largest orphanage was as cunning as she was ruthless. Nothing went to waste inside of her walls. Not even talent or skill. Her staff may be small, but the fact that it managed to keep things running relatively smooth with so few in numbers spoke volumes of their efficiency. Quality over quantity, as some liked to say. Though, for the locals of the City of Slums, it was more like necessity above all else.

So it was with a rare amount of decorum and willingness that the cook waited for their newest member to arrive. The goal for today was to get them familiar with the building and its various rooms, then move on to making introductions with the orphans themselves.

Nov's ears perked as they heard footsteps. "I think they're coming."


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[Sunset Orphanage]A New Staffer

Postby Orion Michaels on November 28th, 2014, 9:04 pm

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oocSorry for taking a bit to get this going. Thanks for waiting. :)

Orion hadn't expected to find a place to stay so easily. Nor had he expected to have employment that wasn't of the unsavory variety. By some miracle both of them had presented themselves in the same location within bells of his arrival. He had to count his blessings, considering his current situation. Still, all things taken to account, the Gods still owed him. Big time.

With a yawn, the orphanage's new jack of all trades pulled his shirt - the only one he owned - over his head and began getting himself ready for a day in the unknown. He had a fairly favorable agreement with the Isur woman, his new employer. Recognizing that a doctor of his skill simply wasn't affordable for the orphanage to retain full time, they had decided to think outside the box. She'd provide for him a nice (relatively speaking) place to live, food, water - all the things he needed to live - and a stipend of coin each season. Officially on board as a guard, he would do whatever was in his ability for the orphanage. The ex-squire didn't realize just how much work that was really going to be.

Jillene understood the value of a Miza. Orion thought he did, but his experiences with the Isurian woman would show him just how little he knew.

Today, he was supposed to get a tour of the facility before being put to work, whatever that work entailed. Though still exhausted from the ordeals of the past season, he had no time to simply rest. There was coin to be earned, because there information to find. He had to see if Hadyn had traveled on or not, but he had no contacts in Sunberth left. The Sunset Orphanage's former proprietor was all he had to rely on, and with her gone, he had to start anew. Gold always made things move smoother.

After clothing himself, Orion made the short trek from his shack to the Orphanage. He locked up out of habit, but he had nothing in the place to steal save for the provided furnishings. A tan, somewhat stained shirt and black trousers were among his few possesions. At his side were his weapons, a cold iron longsword, and the mysterious dagger he'd located in The Aylasa Abyss. It was bothersome that he needed to be armed at an orphanage of all places, but in Sunberth there was little choice. It was hardly surprising that the city had so many orphans. The idea couldn't do anything but turn his thoughts to Emily and Liam. At least they were with someone who would care for them, he hoped. It was foolish to bring them on his journey.

The blue eyed man pushed open the doors to the Orphange and stepped inside, looking around for the only familiar face he had. "Jillene?" He called out evenly, trying not to get too much focus on himself. He'd already touched on a sore subject for the children, bringing up the now deceased Konti caretaker. It would take some concerted effort to earn their trust.



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[Sunset Orphanage]A New Staffer

Postby Noven on December 1st, 2014, 2:54 am

oocnot a problem!
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The voice that called out his landlady's name was decidedly male. Nov slid a glance at Jillene to gauge her reaction, but her face remained unperturbed and utterly stoic as she answered, "In here, Orion."

Returning his gaze to the kitchen door, which had been propped open to serve the dual purpose of ventilation and invitation for their new staff member, the cook straightened a little and unfolded his arms. The moment of unveiling had arrived; he was finally going to see for himself who this mystery addition to the orphanage was. Jillene had mentioned the official position to be filled was a guard, but everyone knew the term meant little in a place like Sunberth.

One of the orphans must've decided to lend a hand, because the sounds of hushed whispers wafted in from the open door. "They're in the kitchens," Noven heard. "Over there, on the other side of the mess hall..."

The cook imagined one of the runts pointing emphatically in the right direction. Apparently, so had his employer, who was wearing the tiniest of smirks as footsteps resumed and drew near. There were two pairs, Nov realized, his assumption confirmed as the pale, pinched face of one of the orphans--Leania, he remembered a tick later--popped into view.

The child coughed once into her sleeve before a sunny smile lit up her rather wan and sickly features. She turned to beam up at their guest and pointed one more time at the doorway. "Right in there, sir! They're waiting."

"Indeed they are," Jillene interjected in her trademark, ever-pragmatic tone. "Leania, let the man in and go back to your chores. We haven't got all day."

Blushing with embarrassment, the girl nodded and scampered off to finish helping Florence collect twigs to mend brooms, coughing once or twice along the way. The Isur might have been tough on everyone under her roof, but she was fair, too. Broom repairs were the least taxing job she could afford to offer the child, whose constant sicknesses made her unfit to handle laundry, food, and just about anything else that would eventually come into direct contact with the other children. Even sweeping was out of the question.

She was a good girl, though. Everyone knew that. And everyone loved her for it, even Jillene. But there was no room for coddling or hand holding in the Berth and Leania had to earn her share just like the rest.

"Please, do come in, Orion," the white-gazed proprietress encouraged, her voice about as warm as an empty kettle. Kettles were useful, though, Nov found himself thinking. And could be warm if given the right circumstances. But he had no doubts that this Orion would be afforded all of a bell or two's worth of a welcome before they were both put back to work. That was just how the Isur operated.

Should the newcomer oblige, Jillene would waste no time and dive straight into introductions. "Welcome to Sunset Orphanage. This is Noven, one of the cooks. Nov, this is Orion, our new stay-in guard."

The cook spent those precious few moments his landlady spent speaking to observe this new staffer. Pale skin, twin scars slashing over bright, blue eyes--some kind of animal's doing, perhaps--and maybe two or three finger spans taller than Nov himself. His physique went without saying. The man certainly looked like he could hold his own, but he wasn't exactly pure, thuggish brawn either.

Well, Jillene wouldn't have hired a straight goon for the job. That'd have been plain foolish.

"Well met, Orion," Noven greeted with a nod before extending his hand. It seemed a practically foreign gesture to him by now, but some distant memory of basic courtesy still lingered within the cook's brutish manners. "Care to start your tour, then?"


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[Sunset Orphanage]A New Staffer

Postby Orion Michaels on February 14th, 2015, 1:17 am

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Orion followed the voice to the kitchen and through the open door through which Jillene waited for him. Blue eyes flitted back and forth the unfamiliar surroundings as the guard tried to acclimate himself with his new place of employment. Although he was an employee, he was still a stranger within the orphanage's walls.

Though his time had been brief, the interactions he had viewed between Jillene and the children had made him long for Emily and Liam, a prospect that would have seemed absurd a short year prior. A sense of duty, bigger than himself, resonated from so many within the building's walls, something he hadn't expected to find in Sunberth. It stirred unwanted feelings within his soul.

The introductions came swiftly, but the way she shifted between Orion's name and nicknames with the staff served to accentuate his newness. Whether real or imagined, he sensed distrust, not that he would blame any of them. He didn't trust a being within Sunberth, after all.

"A pleasure," he replied, taking Noven's hand in a firm shake. It was surprising, but welcome. "Gladly," he said of the cook's offer, his Syliran accent contrasting strongly against that of the other voices. "I looked around a little bit last night, but not enough to know where anything is. Please, lead on."

Jillene addressed Orion before he could leave. "Come back after Nov is done with you. Find me so I can put you to work."

Orion nodded and looked to his guide. A cook, at an orphanage, within the pit they called Sunberth. It raised more questions than it gave answers. There certainly wasn't much in the way of coin to be found, of that he knew personally. Jillene made it quite clear that the charity was for the children, and that no one should be working there to be rolling in mizas. She'd refused Orion a doctor's salary without a second thought.

"How long have you worked here, Noven?" He attempted to be friendly in his inquiry. The last he wanted was to seem as though he was interrogating his new coworker or that he were the type to pry. Trust was a precious commodity in the city of anarchy. The more work he created by upsetting the wrong people, the harder it was going to be to survive and escape it's limits.


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[Sunset Orphanage]A New Staffer

Postby Noven on March 9th, 2015, 11:20 pm

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His eyebrows rose a fraction upon hearing the man's unfamiliar accent, but refrained from making any comments just yet. Whatever reasons Jillene had for hiring this guy were hers and hers alone to bear. It made little difference to the cook; help was help and they needed as much of it this season as they could get.

Orion's returning grip was firm and steady. A good sign, Nov thought to himself as he nodded and turned to lead the way out of the kitchens. Trust was in short supply here in the Berth, and shorter still when the weak willed were involved.

The cook shooed some of the children off and yelled at a couple more to get back to their chores before Orion asked his question.

"Me?" he replied at first, surprised the man would even think to ask. Small talk and polite conversation went right up there with trust on the short supply list. "I've worked here all my life, ever since I could remember. Not for wages at first, of course, but when N--" He stopped himself just in time and amended with, "--when I, uh, was getting into one too many scraps and in need of mizas bad, Old Calyn offered me a job here as a cook. Told me it would keep me out of trouble."

As they passed through the mess hall, little faces peered at them from every corner, wondering who this newcomer was and how he might affect the dynamics of their dismal little world.

"Calyn was the landlady before Jillene, if you didn't know," Nov explained in a slightly hushed tone. "She ah...died in a fire some years back. It was pretty bad. We don't talk about it much around here, but it's better that way. Some of the kids died and the older ones remember."

There wasn't much to show, but the cook did his best with what he had. They went from room to room on the first floor, where most of the basic facilities like the kitchens, mess hall, lavatories, and laundry site were held. Noven pointed out some of the other staffers now and then with a brief wave of the hand and a name--if he could recall it--but he didn't have much to say about the others. He kept mostly to himself and the staff members often came and went with the seasons.

There was one, however, he did take the time to properly introduce. Leania was mending brooms alongside a portly older woman with rosy cheeks and a soft voice when the two men passed by their work room.

"Florence," Nov announced with a small smile for the patient woman, "meet our new stay-in guard, Orion. Orion, this is Florence, our wetnurse. She takes care of the babes and ones too young to do chores yet. And of course, there is Leania, her little helper. You met her out in the kitchens."

Both woman and child seemed pleased to be introduced. "Happy to make your acquaintance, Orion," Florence nodded, smiling her sweet smile. "I hope you don't find work too difficult here; the children can be a bit of a handful sometimes but they mean well."

She paused in the midst of her broom binding for a tick, eyeing the two men with a pseudo-stern look. "And don't let this troublemaker here talk you into doing anything foolish. He has a reputation for getting into messes."

"Aw, c'mon Flornece, that ain't fair," Nov joked back. "You know it's trouble that finds me, not the other way around."

Turning back to Orion, the cook whispered, "Don't listen to her. She's just trying to find more ways to keep you here all to herself."

"Noven!" the wetnurse scolded, pretending to be scandalized before giving Orion a good-humored wink. Leania giggled beside her, inciting a few more wet, wracking coughs before returning to her task. "Well, you boys get back to whatever it is you're doing. We ladies are busy here with real work, you know."

Nov threw up his hands in mock defeat. "Alright, alright. I get it. We'll get out of your hair."

Ducking back out of the door, the cook motioned for Orion to follow. Their last destination of interest was the side of the building where most of the orphans slept. The rooms were mostly empty at this time, since a large portion of their inhabitants were busy being put to work, but it was one of the more important locales for Orion to take stock of.

"And last but not lease, this is where most of the runts sleep," Nov explained once they had arrived. "Not much in way of belongings and decor, but it's better than the streets."


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Noven
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