prologue ♔ just a bubble in a perfect paintjob

[everyredcent]

♬ Weird Friendless Kid - Emiliana Torrini

WHO || Christos La Krail, Primrose Everdeen [Closed]
WHAT || Prim finds a home, when Christos finds a possible connection to his squire's past in her
WHERE || Government-run orphanage in Germany
WHEN || Sometime in April
HOW || Actionspam

[ Veil arrivals are usually left to fend for themselves - to hope to find a kind stranger to orient them to this world or point them to one of the places designed to do so. Even then, they're expected to eventually find their own way. Make a new life here.

Not everyone is capable of that, however, given that the Veil doesn't discriminate by age. Small children, babies, and young adults are as likely to arrive as anyone else, and governments around the world each have their own philosophy with how to treat them.

Prim arrived in Germany, where young amnesiacs with no identification were whisked off to a number of established orphanages, which received very little funding considering the numbers stuffed into them. Prim's life since her arrival has basically been a slightly less hard-knock version of Annie.

Until now. It's lights out by the time the stranger arrives, and the head of the orphanage, Frau Dittrich, ushers them all towards the stairs as there's a knock on the door. Prim's one of the last to head up, and a glance back over her shoulder would give her a look at the arrival: who doesn't look particularly friendly with his hard expression, barely visible below a foreboding black cloak. His skin is an unnatural dark gray, something she still wouldn't have seen up close and personal in this world, even though the orphanage is populated with children of elven, dwarven, or even halfling descent.

She asks him and tells him to wait until all the children are gone, apologizing for the hurry. He says nothing, and his eyes trace up the stairs, landing on Prim. He gives her a long, hard, silver-eyed stare. ]

Comments

[littleduck]

[To say that the past stretch of time has been difficult would be an understatement. It's hard to learn to adapt in a place filled with other children, ones that are noisy and need constant looking after and attention. Prim doesn't mind watching after the younger ones, and her quiet demeanor has even made friends with most of the ones older than she is. The daytime isn't all that bad, when there's toddlers and preschoolers to chase after and play with. It's at night, when she's left alone and cuddled up in bed with a three year old with dark hair and even darker eyes that her heart aches. She knows that there's a home she's missing and a place to belong that she's lacking, and a family out there that must want her.

But if there's really no going back to where she came from, maybe it's best that her place be here with these children. They need someone to care for them, and so many of them aren't going to be taken in elsewhere.

It's after a particularly long day that Prim finds herself trudging upstairs to bed last. Usually she's one of the first, making sure that the other children aren't arguing or hitting one another. But she's tired enough to drag her feet and not hurry to catch up to the others, and so she's able to view the man as he arrives and speaks to Frau Dittrich.

Curious, she pauses and glances over her shoulder at him. He doesn't seem to look like anyone she's seen before, but perhaps he recognizes her, with the way he's staring. Her feet feel too heavy to move as their eyes lock and she remains in place. She straightens up as tall as possible, and although her gaze is kind, it's unrelenting. She wonders what kind of business a man like him has here, in a place filled with abandoned and forgotten children.

Not wanting Frau Dittrich to insist that she hurry up along with the others, she gulps down a steadying breath of air before trotting down the stairs to stop before the two adults gathered in the entry. ]

Is everything okay? No one normally shows up at our door this late at night.