Closed Hey baby! (Orion)

[Keshta Maric]

16th of Fall, 512 AV Keshta, please. Faeva is ill today and cannot watch Melian. I will take Brennac to work with me but the kitchens are no place for a toddler. Keshta did not have the time for this. For bouncing a baby on her hip and strolling through the Stone Garden. But when Uncle Noran asked her with such a look in his eye... It reminded her of the feeling in her limbs after a day in her new armor, complete exhaustion. His hair was beginning to turn grey, she thought. Keshta could not recall seeing those fine silver highlights a season ago, nor the darker grey hoods beneath his eyes. So she had taken the Melian and clutched the little girl at her side, watching her giggle as she played with the red ribbon that held Keshta's honey brown braid in place. The little girl's eyes were crinkled at the corners where her chubby cheeks had risen in a grin. "Kissa! Kissa!" "Mmmmhmmm," the girl hummed to her cousin before slipping back into her thoughts. At least we could grieve for Mamma and Father. But what Uncle Noran has, a wife whose soul seems almost dead. Does he still love her? Though the Stone Garden was a place for reflection Melian found it boring to be ignored, and had taken in a very firm grip a large fistful of Keshta's hair. “Ouch… Very well, I’ll set you down.” “Ahh Aiii!” chirruped the little girl as her guardian set her on the mosaic flower. “Kissa! Walk!” And so they walked. Keshta was not tall and the toddler could reach her hand easily without the new Squire needing to bend over. Keshta spoke softly to Melian as they passed the names of famous knights. “And this is Ser Faed, he died defending a Konti seer travelling from Mura. She brought a vision of an extremely hard winter to Syliras, and saved hundreds from starvation.” Melian did not seem particularly interested in the tales of daring and do however, and kept squatting down to pick up small pebbles, squealing as she showed them to Keshta. “Rock, Kissa, rock!” Many strollers grinned at the child with the bright blue eyes and happy grin, but several cast irritated glances at Keshta. “Melian, hush darling.” But at that moment the little girl’s attention was riveted on an exceptionally large brown stone. She squirmed out of Keshta’s grip and trotted towards it. Her short maroon dress was stiff about her round legs and she moved wildly, her arms outstretched as if the stone was calling to her. “Melian! Melian, stop.” Keshta’s voice was stern but the girl was grinning as she trotted after the baby. Melian turned to look at Keshta, but forgot to stop moving her legs. The ground was uneven and the little girl tipped over instantly and began wailing loudly. Her hands were bleeding and scratched from the rough ground. “Melian!” Keshta rushed to the little girl and knelt beside her. “Hush, hush. You are alright, you are not hurt.” She stroked the black curls and tried to look at Melian’s hands. Melian yanked them away and howled louder, her cheeks, now a brilliant red were shiny with tears.

[Orion Michaels]

Orion The previous day had been an interesting one for the young doctor. A rekindled romance, unexpectedly thrusting herself back into his life, but this time with a young orphan girl a part of hers. It was all so confusing, and it left Orion unsure of what he really wanted to do. If there was one thing he could count on though, it was that an uncertain Orion would find himself at the Stone Garden. It was one of the few places in the walled city where one could go and find some peace and quiet. Most of the time. The blue eyed man sat on the ground, his eyes closed, silently contemplating recent events, wondering what he should do. It can't be worth it...not after how bad it go so quickly... Orion sighed, shaking his head. His life was really quite simple, but there was never a shortage of simple dramatics for it. A small chuckle escaped from his lips at the ridiculousness of it. Booze, money, and women. It sounded like a bad story, or rather, a bad joke. This is ridiculous. The sound of a child shouting briefly broke Orion's reflection. He shot a slightly annoyed glance over his shoulder. A toddler and a young teenager, he would wager. "Can't get away from these petching children," he muttered. The Stone Garden was supposed to be a place for introspection and such. No place for loud children. Orion closed his eyes again to get away from reality, if just for a moment, but all that was taken away as the shouting turned to screaming. The doctor stood up, turning around to see what all the fuss was about. He wanted to yell initially, get the child to shut up so he could go back to his thoughts. The doctor's demeanor softened as he saw what had actually happened, though. A clumsy young kid had fallen and scrapped herself up on the rough rocks. What's with all the children lately? It seemed like he couldn't get away from them. Regardless, he'd give a look and make sure the toddler was okay. He walked over, calling out to the teen. "Hey. I'm a physician here in the city. I can take a look if you'd like? Though I might suggest we get out of the garden. People are..upset." He glanced around at the annoyed looks of several of those relaxing in the usually peaceful locale. "What do you say?"

[Keshta Maric]

Keshta was cooing over the child now, shushing her gently and murmuring in an attempt to calm her down. “Shhhhh, shhhsh. You are okay Melian. It’s okay.” But Melian would not be silenced and Keshta was growing uncomfortably aware of the disruption they were causing. Blushing and flustered Keshta did not notice the young man who had approached them and turned in surprise when he addressed her. “Oh! Oh, yes please sir. I don’t think she’s seriously hurt, but ...” The teenager cast an anxious look between Melian’s blotchy cheeks and the irate glances of the citizenry. “Thank you, sir.” She scooped the toddler up. The crying seemed to be tiring Melian, and in Keshta’s familiar arms her earpiercing shrieks turned into much softer sobs. This is embarrassing. And a waste of time. I should be training… Keshta thought sullenly to herself as she rubbed the child’s back. Beyond the Stone Garden was Kova’s Wishing Well, another quiet, introspective locale unsuitable for the sounds that Melian was now making. But the Well offered several benches to would-be wishers, and one or two lay out of the range of most of the foot traffic. Keshta sat on one of these, bouncing her knees slightly in an attempt to distract Melian. “Will this do, Master...?”

[Orion Michaels]

Orion "I'm sure it's fine, but it's best we get out of here, if nothing else," he said, his voice gentle, even with the slight hint of annoyance creeping in. "I'm Orion. We'll get her taken care of and get you two on your way." In truth, the doctor had no idea what to do with children, or teenagers for that matter. Both of them were demanding, and the physician had no experience with them. All he knew was if they were injured, he could try and help. "So let's have a look here. Why don't you tell me about you two. It'll help her relax to have someone besides me talking." He didn't know if it was true, but he'd go with it. It was much simpler than having to entertain a child. Orion looked at the child's hands, seeing just how bad the damage was. Scratched up and bleeding from a number of scrapes and cuts. It was a pretty hard fall from the looks of it, but it wasn't anything serious. He needed to clean it up and cover it, though, and the child was likely to be uncooperative. "Alright, it's not too bad. We can get your hands wrapped up, and before long you'll be as good as new!" He turned to his pack, taking it from his arm and setting it on the ground so he could rummage through it for a proper salve to use in the situation. "Hmm...What is gonna work for her...Hmm...you kids like sweet things, right?" he said, more talking to himself. Honey it would be. "Aha. Here we go. Do you like honey?" He looked at the injured girl. "If you let me clean you up and treat your hands, I'll let you have a little of this. The fun part is that it helps make your hands better, too. So I'll dab a little on your hands and give a little for your tummy. How does that sound?" Retarded, Orion. That's how.