Closed Pots, Pans and a Snowman. (Garland)

[Roselina]

Continued from here

She exited the building, with the tower of kitchenware luckily intact still, and walked over to Garland slowly to make sure they didn't fall. Phobus still hanging onto her skirt as they walked, and scraping the pot against the ground.

It was a warm day for winter outside, and it didn't seem like it would stop anytime soon, so it was unlikely rain would ruin the plan to build it.

Roselina looked over the pile, unable to put them down as she had so many. "Got them, mind taking some from me?" She grinned at him, and the child dropped the pot he was holding going back to his twin.

The toddlers were outside now, having being brought out by the caretaker, however, luckily the woman had gone back inside, probably to finish what she had been doing before.

Some of the kids looked at them oddly, confused at why they had that many pots and pans, and one came over to them, turning to Garland.

"What's with all the kitchen stuff?" The girl asked cheekily, glancing at the pots and pans, most of which Roselina had set down on the floor in a messy pile. She supposed it was a normal reaction to that, and she was sure the girl was curious.

"Sweet Dreams."

[Garland]

Garland gently shook Aneeka awake. He smiled and tickled her nose. The little girl slowly opened her eyes and rolled to the side, seeing Phobos and Roselina carrying pots and pans.

Garland gently placed Aneeka on the ground and helped Roselina with the pots. Phobos had found a wooden spoon while he was in the kitchen and took it when no one was looking. He just gave a childish smile and giggle and started banging on the pot with the spoon.

Aneeka stood up and walked over to Phobos and peered over the pot, and then climbed into it. "And they're playing again." Garland smiled and looked over to the rest of the kids with an eager smile.

"Do you want to build a snowman?" Garland quickly flipped a large pot and started stacking at the bottom, the twins stared at Garland with curious eyes, Phobos looked over to Aneeka and handed her the wooden spoon.

Garland then stacked another one, smaller and then finally a very tiny pot, he then took a pan and set it on the 'snow'man's head. "Oh I almost forgot." Garland walked back into the orphanage to find a piece of chalk or charcoal.

Aneeka took the spoon and looked at the stacked pots and pans. It took a few ticks, but she then threw the spoon at the relatively giant stack of pots, toppling the middle and top layer to the ground. It was loud and Garland rushed back out, chalk in hand.

"Oh..."

[Roselina]

Garland headed inside, saying something about forgetting, leaving the others outside. Roselina decided to sit down, and looked at the tower that Garland had quickly built, she supposed it did look like a snowman, slightly.

She turned away for a moment, watching the orphans run around and play, some of the older ones standing in huddles, likely up to no good. She turned around again quickly at the sound of a bang, just in time to see the tower of kitchenware topple.

Turning around, she saw that Garland had came back outside upon hearing the noise, a piece of chalk in his hands.

Roselina sighed slightly, putting her hand on her head, the sudden noise giving her a slight headache, but then grinned at the girl. "Now, its no fun to build something if you're gonna destroy it straightaway!" She spoke playfully, and picked up a pot, beginning to stack it again. Encouraging the girl to do the same with a wave to come to her.

Soon it was stacked again, and she watched carefully, suspicious that the makeshift 'snowman would be knocked over again.

She turned to Garland with a smile, looking at the chalk in his hand. "That for drawing the face on it?" Roselina nodded towards the chalk he was holding, and looked over at the tower, checking it was their still.

One of the twins approached, and she chuckled, "Don't knock it over now, alright?"

"Sweet Dreams."

[Garland]

Garland just sighed at Aneeka's antics. Phobos seemed to watch Roselina stack the pots back again. Aneeka had stopped paying attention to Roselina and waddled her way to Garland.

The little girl gripped Garland's pants and followed him back towards the Potman. "Yup, I would have tried to find some glue and a carrot but... I think it would be harder to remove good than chalk."

Garland took the top pot and drew a crude smiley face on it, he placed the pot back on top of the stack and took a pan from the pile and placed it on the top, like a hat.

"I think it looks good. What do you think?" Garland picked up Aneeka and let her looks at the potman. Aneeka made an 'oooh' sound and reached for the psudo snowman.

Garland stepped closer and she tipped the pan off the potman's head. Garland quickly reach with his other hand and got it before it landed on ground. Aneeka was more trouble than she was worth some times.

Garland simply sighed and placed Aneeka down. "Go ahead, try to make something with your brother."

Aneeka went over to Phobos and hugged him from behind. It was cute, then she started chewing on his ear.

Phobos giggled and threw Aneeka off, and the twins were off, using the pots and giant potman like for cover while ran around, they didn't really seem to care much about the big potman.

"Well, as long as they're happy." Garland followed them around, just to make sure they didn't knock the giant potman over or hit each other with the pots. "Rose, I was wondering, you seem to be good at watching over the kiddies, do you mind babysitting from time to time, if you want of course."

[Roselina]

She nodded in agreement with Garland, glue would be harder to get off. Roselina watched as he drew a face onto the pot, before stacking it along with a makeshift 'hat' which was a pan.

He asked one of the children what they thought, and the child made a sound of awe, reaching out for it, before removing the pan.

Garland then put the girl he was holding down, who went to her brother, playing with him, not caring much for the "snowman' that stood tall in front of them.

The other children looked over at the structure with curiosity, before ignoring it and going back to their own games and troublemaking, gleefully yelling as they ran around.

He then directed his next question to her, curious if she would babysit them. It was, an unusual question, merely for the fact that she didn't think she would be the right person for it.


She wouldn't mind doing it, she loved kids. She liked to play with them, in hopes that they would have a better childhood than she had experienced. However, she didn't think she was good at taking care of them.

"I wouldn't mind doing it, it'd give me something to do after all, but I don't think that I'm the right person for it really. Why do you ask me and not someone more qualified?"

It didn't really make sense to her, asking someone he had just met today, rather than asking someone he knew, or someone who knew how to take care of children better than she did.

"Sweet Dreams."

[Garland]

Garland just smiled at Roselina, thought it was a bit forced. "I have a circle of people I trust... that seems to be growing smaller and smaller. The fact that you're related to a friend of mine bumps you fairly high on the people I like and trust."

Garland would have elaborated on what he meant, but he didn't want to feel angry right now. Maybe some other time he would vent to someone. "Besides, if you ever hurt my children, I will hunt you down and mutilate you piece by piece." Still with that forced smile.

"Sorry, I get carried away when I think of people that hurt my family." There was that tinge of regret on his face when he shown his... darker side for a bit, it was his strength and disgrace.

Then the twins knocked down the potman, Aneeka and Phobos crawled under the largest pot and started moving around in it, Garland could only assume they were busy playing knights and pretending to be in shiny metal armor.

Or they could just be playing something else entirely and just want to wander around in a pot for a few chimes.

Garland just watched the twins walk into people, into a rock, a tree, and the wall. Garland sighed and walked over to the pot and pulled it up.

"Ummm... Where's Aneeka?" The only one in the pot was Phobos, and Aneeka was no where to be seen.

[Roselina]

He spoke with a smile that was forced, she noticed it quite quickly. A smile was scarily different than his words though.
However, she understood why.

When her brother was alive, she had been much worse than this. Experiences had turned her frighteningly protective of him, the only family she trusted. Though sometimes she wondered whether that trust had been justified, as he hadn't been the nicest person. Not to her, or to others. He was the main reason she was in this career anyway.

She shook her head, dismissing the thoughts and Garland's words, and smiled. "Its okay, I used to be the same with my brother."

Perhaps I wasn't protective enough.. Roselina found herself getting dragged back into the thoughts she was having before, speaking about Florian brought a lot of things she'd rather forget to the forefront of her mind. Mainly his sudden death and back when they were both very young.

It was never good to dwell on things that happened in the past, and she knew that. She couldn't change it, and it wasn't affecting her now. At least she didn't think it was affecting her.

She was broken out from her thoughts when Garland discovered that one of the twins wasn't there. Only one of them where both had thought they had been previously.

"She's not there?"

Roselina turned and walked over to where he was standing, only one of his children with him. That was certainly worrying, as a kid as young as that wouldn't cope if lost.

"Sweet Dreams."

[Garland]

Worry crept into Garland hard, panic was soon to follow, he picked Phobos and cradled him in his arms. "Rose, have you seen Aneeka?"

Phobos looked back at the pots and pans, nonchalantly nibbling on his own fingers as he scanned his surroundings. He noticed that a pair of cloth diapers were by the door into the orphanage.

He didn't pay it any mind and just continued to nom on his hand while Garland walked around in a circle in a panic. "Uhhh... Uhhh... I'll check around the building, Rose, stay here in case she comes wandering back."

Garland walked off in a hurry, Phobos still in his arms in case he were to get lost. Phobos just waved goodbye to Rose while Garland walked around the building.

Aneeka was inside the building somehow getting pass Garland and Roselina without getting spotted. She wandered around, it had been a while since she had come back and her tiny baby brain had some trouble remembering which way went which.

She was completely naked and wandered into the kitchen by sheer luck, exactly where she was going. She looked up, seeing her prize on top of the counter. Now she just had to figure out how to get up there.

[Roselina]

"I haven't seen her, I thought she was with her brother."

Garland hurried off into the orphanage while his child waved back at her. She waved at him quickly, staying outside as she was asked, or rather told. She didn't mind though.

There were some other kids from the orphanage, some of which were running around, while others seemed to be in a huddle, clearly planning something. It likely wouldn't be good, but she wasn't one to say anything.

Instead she headed over to them, and when they saw her coming they suddenly went quiet. They were definetly up to something, but she didn't approach them to tell them off. "Alright kids, did you see a little girl? One of Garland's kids?" She spoke in her usual cheeky and playful tone, as it usually worked on children.

One of the older kids nodded, apparently caring enough to speak to her. They told her that Aneeka had gone inside, so Rose decided to stay outside, in case she returned.


The orphans she had spoken too returned to chattering amongst themselves, and Roselina sat down, watching them to make sure they weren't doing anything too bad, and to see if Aneeka came back outside.

"Sweet Dreams."

[Garland]

Garland ran a circuit around the orphanage building find no trace of Aneeka. He rushed into the orphanage. Garland was like a headless chicken, running around in a blind panic.

Phobos felt motion sickness and vomited on the floor. Garland put down Phobos and looked at him. "Don't move, I'll go get a mop." Garland then bolted from one room to the next, keeping an eye out for Aneeka while he went out to find something to clean up Phobos' sick.

The boy sat there in the middle of the hallway alone, next to his vomit. Garland was not the brightest and even worse when he's panicking. Phobos decided to just find something fun to do while Garland was being dumb.

Phobos found his way into the kitchen where Aneeka was desperately trying to stretch to the top of the counter. She lost her balance and slipped, landing on her bottom. Phobos looked up, trying to see what his sister was trying to get.

Phobos was always the smarter of the two, at least he used his tiny baby brain more often compared to his sister. The boy waddled over to Aneeka and tapped her head. He pointed to a tall chair and a few boxes as steps to get up to the chair.

Aneeka smiled and nodded, the two of them pushed the chair to where they needed it to go and dragged a few boxes to climb on. Aneeka climbed up first, reaching the counter, she picked up the lid of the cookie jar and sat it down.

She had hit the motherlode, she picked up a rather large cookie and placed it into her mouth, sucking on the sweetness before she bit down with her developing teeth. She placed the lid back and tipped the jar to the side.

She rolled the jar to Phobos and the jar slowly rolled down to the ground, using the chair and boxes as breaks for its fall. Aneeka climbed back down and followed her brother out with the jar of cookies.

The twins waddled out the door, Phobos picking up Aneeka's discarded diaper as they went by. Aneeka was busy eating while Phobos decided to get Rose's attention. He threw the diaper at Rose and sat down beside Aneeka to partake in her confectionery indulgences.