PM to join Ailing, Tiny and Tireless (Garland)

[Devi]

Devi blinked in surprise when Garland revealed that he’d been raised right there in the orphanage. She still didn’t quite understand the expression he had been carrying but she knew at least why it was so conflicted. It was the kind of subject she knew it was impolite to pry about; if someone wanted to talk about their childhood then they would do so. Devi rarely talked about her own. Suicide still carried a great stigma in the city and it was by luck and a resourceful brother that she hadn’t ended up in the orphanage herself for a few years.

Devi made Sarah some tea to ease the chills she was suffering from and help her to sleep a bit more. She turned instead to a little boy who was half asleep in his bed and checked his temperature and other symptoms, responding to Garland as she did so.

“You have duties to attend to, same as any other knight. These little ones wouldn’t adore you so if you were neglecting them.”

The little boy in front of them, lethargic as he was, still opened his eyes long enough to see the young knight close by and pulled his mouth into a little half-smile in recognition. His symptoms were much the same as Sarah’s. In all likelihood they would all need a good deal of rest and the right foods to build their strength back up. Devi would help the process along with her usual blend of Rugberry with a dash of Mandrake mixed in for those struggling with coughs.

At first she had been surprised at the number of doctors needed to treat here but, thinking on it, it made sense that the Knighthood would be keen to prevent the spread of illness in a place like this. Like everywhere else in the city the children resident in the orphanage were closely packed together. Children had a particular knack for spreading illness when they fell prey to it, sticking their hands on anything and everything when exploring and playing.

In the quiet of the room every available ear heard the sudden, stern voice shouting through the hallways. All eyes went to the door as miserable children filed past the entrance there, their fun clearly brought to an abrupt end by a particularly severe woman. The sudden silence seemed to seep into the room like a thick smoke, the sick children there moping even more than they had been before.

“Was it always this uh… quiet around here?” Devi spoke softly so as not to draw any unwanted attention. “There must be something we can do to cheer them up a bit, at this rate they have more chance of boredom than of worsening the sickness…”

She surprised herself with her own words. Children were much easier to handle like this, quiet, obedient. They tended to run circles around her when they were happy and full of energy, mischief being the main aim of everything they did. Still she found that she didn’t like the children around here being like that. They’d lost a very vital part of what made them children. A part of her imagined her younger self being herded from room to room like that and wondered how she would have coped living here. She turned to Garland again.

“Any ideas? When I was a child I was apprenticing or studying… I don’t have the most experience with causing mischief.”

[Garland]

Garland gave a faint smile as Sarah was sent well underway to recovery. They went over to another boy that seemed so tired that he just wanted to rest, and Garland couldn't blame him, he remembered the time he got sick, runny nose, high fever, tired eyes, sniffles, it was not a pretty time. Garland returned the smile to the boy. "You're a tough little guy, don't worry. You'll pull through stronger than ever. That's how this stuff works, right? The immune thingy in our bodies get stronger and stuff?"

He was just making stuff up from a brief discussion he had with a doctor when he joined the knights, a physical of sorts, he wasn't listening at the time and could only think of training and his new patron back then.

“You have duties to attend to, same as any other knight. These little ones wouldn't adore you so if you were neglecting them.”

"I ain't a knight yet, but you do speak the truth. Though some of the kids would rather not have a knight visiting in the orphanage. Bullies are a common thing around here." He said with a small shrug, he tried his best to root them out when he was younger, but as he chopped a head off the beast two more would take its place. They could be stopped for a day, maybe a week, but as soon as your back was turned it would go back to the same old routine.

A nurse that worked here had overheard the squire. "Excuse me, but bullies? No dear ser. This place is a haven for all children, everyone is accepted here, no fights or ruckuses here." She said, Garland figured they needed to keep the public image of the orphanage as good as it can, bad for business, though Garland didn't know why, this was the only orphanage in Syliras as far as he can tell.

"Bah, yeah right. How many bruises and broken bones have you treated this season alone? A stone in a snowball fight? A bloody head? What about the incident around ten years ago? An Eypharian boy almost died, I was there. I saved the kid, I was raised here, you don't have to lie to me, I know this place's history more than anyone... Well, history in the last ten or so years. As much as I hate this place, this is the only place that would take in helpless children, and that's one of the only reasons why I haven't made it my personal agenda to shut this place down." He was with a calm yet eerie tone, his voice was low and keep quiet so the kids could not hear what he just said. This place hardened him, at times, it broke him. But you have to strike iron for it to become a sword.

After his little rant, the nurse seemed to shrink, clearly scuttled, she hadn't expected that sort of response from someone that seemed happy around children. The nurse bowed her head nervously and ran off to help the other children.

There was crying and moans from the room, but soon enough they all went silent when the stern voice from the hall resonated through the rooms.

“Was it always this uh… quiet around here? There must be something we can do to cheer them up a bit, at this rate they have more chance of boredom than of worsening the sickness… Any ideas? When I was a child I was apprenticing or studying… I don’t have the most experience with causing mischief.”

Garland jovial smile returned. "I'll be right back." He ran outside to the hall and saw the kids that were being lined up outside. "Psst, Jessica, Jess! Over here." He called over a rather older girl around thirteen wearing a yellow hat and a red jacket. Said girl sneaked away from the group and looked at Garland.

"What do you want, you big lug?" She asked with a happy tone, she was glad to see the squire, though she wasn't going to risk getting into trouble without a good cause.

"Jess, I need you to get a few pots from the kitchen, two wooden spoons and a washboard from the supply closet." He said and passed on a silver miza to the girl.

"Cheering up the sicks? I'll help, but the old nag is extra barky today, it'll cost ya double."

"The other coin will be here for you after you get the things." He said, Jess had always had a good set of hands and mind for money. "Go on, make sure you don't let lady hag face spot ya." He said and went back into the room.

He went over to Devi, with a smile, some of the kids had already seen Garland's silly grin, and knew that something fun and exciting was about to happen. "Can you keep a beat?"

[Devi]

The smile returned to Garland’s face when she mentioned cheering the children up. After assuring her that he would be right back, the squire disappeared into the hallway, back to his previous light step. Whilst he was gone she thought about what he’d said, about bullies in the orphanage and all the strange injuries that cropped up now and then for the nurses that worked there.

She looked around at them. They had all returned to their tasks, purposefully avoiding looking up or drawing attention to themselves. She felt like yelling at all of them, just to see if it would be worthy of drawing their attention. Could children really be injured so badly here without anyone actually looking into it? Devi had a horrible feeling that they could. According to those in charge and likely according to the majority of the Knighthood, the only thing that mattered was that these children had somewhere to go, somewhere to live and grow up.

To some extent they were right. Here at least they had a roof over their heads, food and clothing and medical attention when they were unwell. Still, when she compared the childhood she’d had with Ronan looking out for her with the surroundings before her in the orphanage, Devi found herself silently thanking her older brother for being as resourceful as he was. They had both been fairly young when her father had passed and the knights could have easily separated them both. Ronan had been determined however and he had been taking care of her for years as it was. She sometimes wondered if he had seen it coming or if it was as much of a surprise to him as it had been to her younger self. It was something they had always avoided talking about and, curiosity or not, she would not be the one to break that silence.

Snapping out of her brooding thoughts, Devi suddenly noticed a change in the atmosphere. Looking around at the children, she saw their weak and sleepy faces perking up, their attention fixated behind her. She wasn’t surprised then to see Garland returning, a grin stretched wide across his face.

"Can you keep a beat?"

Devi hesitated before answering, noticing as she did so that a number of the eyes that had been fixed on Garland had now switched curiously to her.

“I…” Oh whyever not… “Yes,” she finally responded, “I can keep a very fine beat.”

[Garland]

He smiled as Devi agreed to keep a beat. Here's hoping they don't find out of his little plan. He heard a knock on the door and he quickly stepped to the door and opened it. Jessica had brought everything they needed for Garland's little stunt. Garland handed the girl a silver miza and sent her on her way. "Right..." He took the pots and the washboard, he gave the pot and a wooden spoon to Devi. "Follow my lead."

He started using the wash board to get a fast wooden sound. "Come on kids! Chin up!" He coughed and clapped his hands. "Come on, cheer up! Now's not the time to be mopping around, even if you're sick! Have fun!"

"For a long time we've been
sitting in the sick ward
With these sniffling kids
We feel very dejected
like a cheaty cheat
we would rather sneak into the street
Hey! Think of instead
A game we'd play some more"


He heard Sarah sit up on her bed. "Huh?"

"That's what I said!
A game we'd play some more!"

The boy Devi helped piped up, his sleepiness fading a bit. "I want it to be as fun as
Playing tag or
maybe a snowball fight"

A much larger boy sat up next. "My game will be
A test of strength, adore my large muscles!"

A smaller boy holding a book sat up next. "I couldn't care less
What we'll do or what the score is
It all depends on what we all like
Chess, Arts, Flexing
Yah!"

Garland walked around with the washboard, making up some sort of tune to go along with the impromptu song they were making. "Bet I know a few games
that are for the charmers."

Garland gestured to a girl that even thought was sick, still looked presentable, pretty even. "And I'll bet I'll win with a lot of glamour!"

Now all together they sang in unison. "You can guess what we
have missed the most
Since we got stuck in here."

"What do we want?"

"A game we'd play some more!"

"A game where anyone can win."

"A game that's super fun!"

"How about a game where we sit and wait?
Until we're all just fine?"

"NAH!"

A boy with glasses spoke up now. "My complex ways and no delays are sure to thrill us!"

The large boy from before scoffed at the one with the glasses. [u]"He thinks he's such a wiz kid!"

"I've got a game we'd play
As fun as Any other!"

"Yet the only game you'd play is snake and ladders."

"But we get out and in great health
We'll run out through the door!"

"What do we want?"

"A game we'd play some more"

"Know we can play"

"A game we'd play some more!
A game we'd play some-"

Garland stopped and pressed his finger on his lips. He went over to one of the beds and hid the washboard under it. "Act natural!" The old lady was coming in to check on the noise.

Garland went over to Devi and flipped the pot and filled it with some water, so that it looked like she was making some sort of medicine. The nurses and doctors just shrugged and continued to work, a bit of morale would do some good for the kids anyway.

"WHAT'S WITH ALL THE RACKET!" The old hag yelled as she bursts through the door. Garland swore that he saw a vein throbbing on her head.

"Huh? I heard it too, it wasn't in this room. It was disturbing the kids, but I couldn't go out because I needed to watch the kids here so they wouldn't get too rowdy." Garland lied to her face, he was good with getting in and out of trouble, a thing he learned to do and he was quite proud. Sadly he was still far from lying straight up to a knight or a respected authority. Luckily this authority was less respected. "I think the noise was coming from the outside." Garland gestured to the open window, hoping to trick her into thinking the sound came from the outside.

"The kids here were really well-behaved." Garland said, the kids gave out fake coughs and moans to help with Garland's spun tale.

"Hmmm... Fine.... Keep it quiet here!" With that she stormed off.

[Devi]

"WHAT'S WITH ALL THE RACKET!"

Devi froze in her drumming as a terrifying creature burst into the room. Even tired as he was, the tired little boy before her grabbed the make-shift instrument Devi still held to hide under his blankets. When she looked at him again his face was back to it's weak, sleepy visage. He eyed her, trying to communicate something without giving himself away. With a start she resumed checking his temperature with her hands and running her fingers underneath his neck to check for swelling, as though nothing unusual had happened. As she did so she heard Garland respond to the matron.

"Huh? I heard it too, it wasn't in this room. It was disturbing the kids, but I couldn't go out because I needed to watch the kids here so they wouldn't get too rowdy."

Devi sneaked a glance at his face. It appeared completely sincere, even a little stern. She suddenly had an image in her head of a much smaller Garland spinning the same kind of yarn when he was younger. Looking back at her patient she had a feeling each of the children in the room could misdirect the matron just as easily.

"I think the noise was coming from the outside." He said, gesturing towards an open window. "The kids here were really well-behaved."

Right on cue the children resumed their sickly moaning and groaning as though to emphasise just how absurd it was that they could have been singing mere minutes ago. Devi couldn't stop a grin slipping onto her face. She hid her face in her back as though searching very determinedly for something.

"Hmmm... Fine.... Keep it quiet here!"

With that the woman, distinctly red in the face, stormed out of the room. A moment of silence followed whereby all they could hear was stomping footsteps getting fainter and fainter. Devi raised her eyes a little and met Garland’s for the briefest moment before bursting out in laughter and burying her head in her bag again. After quite a while she emerged again, looking around at the much more cheerful children. Even the other doctors and nurses had small smirks lingering on their faces.

“Garland that was incredible. I can see why the little ones adore you if your visits are always this eventful!”

She turned back to her patient, mixing him the same blend of Rugberry tea with a dash of Mandrake in a large, weak tea and told him to drink it all up. He pulled a face upon drinking the first mouthful but then, scrunching his eyes up, downed the whole thing. Devi smiled at him approvingly and began pulling together her things to move onto the next patient.

From looking around the room they seemed to all be suffering with much the same symptoms, appearing weak and coughing a fair amount. Isolated as they were should ensure that it didn’t spread too far amongst the other children, assuming of course that the live-in doctors were careful. Eyeing them and thinking back to the nurse that Garland had berated did make her wonder. Still, she thought, the children here were not as intimidating as they seemed at first. She could always come back and check on them. It seemed as though the Knighthood would need all the assistance they could get.

With that thought she stood and smiled at Garland.

“Thank you. For everything this morning. I think you’ll help these little ones more than you know. If you ever need my skills then just come find me – I mean it. I’m always buzzing around the apartments in the Maiden District. Just ask around and you’ll come across me before long.”

[Sayana]

Devi Skills: Skill EXP Observation +5 Socialization +5 Medicine +4 Persuasion +1 Interrogation +1 Leadership +1 Herbalism +1 Instrument: Pot +1 Subterfuge +1 Lores: Wynara: Mother of eight children Socialization: Forcing a smile To be known as a good doctor Location: The Welcome Home Orphanage Garland: Squire who is good with children Garland: Grew up in the orphanage Medicine: Treating children Music: Keeping a beat Comments : Great thread. It was fun seeing Devi’s initial discomfort with the children but how she managed to get over it (for the most part) with Garland’s help. Garland Skills: Skill EXP Rhetoric +5 Persuasion +3 Observation +1 Leadership +3 Socialization +2 Philosophy +1 Storytelling +1 Negotiation +1 Singing +1 Music Composition +1 Instrument: Washboard +1 Lying +1 Subterfuge +1 Lores: Persuasion: Convincing a kid to sit still Devi: Doctor in Syliras Lying to get out of trouble Leading a song to cheer up children Making up a song for kids Devi: Willing to help if needed Location: The Welcome Home Orphanage Shield Points: Shield Points Earned Reason +2 Patrol +3 Helping children at the orphanage Total: +5 Shield Points Expenses : Please deduct 2 SM from your ledger for the coins Garland gave Jess for getting the washboard, pots and wooden spoons. Comments : I loved the little bit at the end when Garland was trying to cheer up the kids. Additionally there were a lot of grades I could award for all that. Plus it was adorable how he totally brushed it off as the kids in a different room making a ruckus. Try to be mindful of your skill level even in skills like singing and music composition that are less critical. I figured that he was borrowing a lot of tunes from his childhood (or was singing one of those songs were the lyrics are intended to be made up). Don't forget to edit/delete your grade request in the grade request thread. However, make sure to keep the link so that the DS can review graded threads with ease. If you have any questions or concerns about your grade please feel free to send me a message. Enjoy.