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[flensing]

[[ooc; Anna and Lena (claimyourself) have taken up the work of an orphanage! Both orphans themselves, they have taken up together in an old building on the southwest side of town, not all that far from the graveyard. Below you will find:
 a.) The message written on the lids of several wooden collection boxes throughtout town.
 b.) The handwritten note which has been pinned up in such places as: the grocer, the pharmacist, etc.
 c.) A help wanted sign which has been scattered about town.
All action will be assumed to be at the orphanage unless otherwise specified and someone will probably try to make you eat a cookie. Any children are welcome to hang around. We also have an injured Hazuki (wetworking) on the premises. ]]

In Gratitude of the Giver of All Good Gifts Please Consent As a Family to Dedicate A - CENT - TO - SPARE To Make a Christian World Aiding God's Children to Live and Learn and Grow. THE HOPE ORPHANAGE L'ORPHELINAT de L'ESPERANCE

The children have been hard at work to prepare a small recital for their friends and neighbors. We hope that you will join us in celebration of their hard work on the evening of the 24th. We will have drinks and baked goods for sale, all proceeds will be directed back to the children. The Hope Orphanage Ms. Lena Duchannes Ms. Anna Assaoui

- H I R I NG -
Groundskeeper & Superintendent
Accommodations Provided

Please Inquire at The Hope Orphanage
With Misses Duchannes and Assaoui

Comments

[claimyourself]

[Lena is busy setting things up for the recital outside. She's hanging old dusty curtains over tree limbs to pull back when the children are ready to perform.

Except when she throws one up it doesn't quite make it over the branch and falls back into her face. She lets out a squeak and struggles to get out from under it. Overhead, clouds start forming. It can often be cloudy or stormy over the orphanage while the rest of town stays dry, oddly enough. But when she finally pulls the curtain away, the clouds spread out and slowly float away again. It would be awful if the recital was rained out, so it's lucky that the weather has decided to cooperate.]

[flensing]

[At the washline plucking pins loose of freshly aired clothes, Anna pauses to glance up thoughtfully. She gauges the movement of the clouds overhead, they'd gathered quickly, she imagines they'll depart the same way. When the sun returns, she smiles, taking down the last of the clean clothes before heading towards Lena to see her progress.]

These children are lucky to have such a hard-working schoolteacher.

[Affectionate teasing. Really, Anna thinks they are all lucky to have each other. She couldn't have asked for a better family to find here.]

[claimyourself]

They won't be so lucky if I can't get their stage set up properly.

[She blows a piece of hair out of her face, but smiles.]

Maybe you'll have better luck. Can you toss this over the branch?

[flensing]

[She sets down a basket, never one to refuse to help, especially when asked. She isn't very tall though, only standing a little above five feet. She gives it a try, laughing when it falls on her too.]

Maybe if we each take an end?

open action;

[wetworking]

[Hazuki had been sent to America to do something, and do it she had, (a bloody thing, but done). The problem had been the returning home, and the betrayal of the smugglers who'd gotten her in, that left her with a sprained ankle and a nasty bullet through the shoulder.

She'd skipped town and left a trail of blood behind, cursing them as she went. A few innkeeps had refused her at the door on account of being a "chink", which was a term that escaped her. She couldn't afford to make a fuss though, which turned her haltering step to those who served "God", figuring them for a better lot by duty.

They were. For now, it seemed she'd bought the time to recuperate.

But it was too... domestic here. She'd only spoken Japanese to the children, which had discouraged most of them, but a few still poked about where she sat in a chair in the grass, her leg propped up and a crutch by her side, (blade and gun beneath her skirts- though she'd changed silk for a more blendable gingham.).

Peaceful, almost. If she believed in peaceful.]

[flensing]

[Every day is a busy one in a house of children, but not all of them are quite so excited. The event in the evening has been eagerly awaited by them. Even those who are nervous to perform are willing to be bribed into it with the promise of sweets at the end. The misses especially are always about, if not one then the other, often both in evenings, they've encompassed their guest into their routines easily, one more charge to keep track of.

Anna is currently approaching with a glass of lemonade.]

I suppose you've seen all these acts while they were practicing.

[Her smile is relaxed as she comes to set the drink down at Hazuki's elbow.]

[wetworking]

[Hazuki tenses at the sound of someone approaching, but relaxes slightly upon identifying the figure. One of the women who ran this place. Which one- Anna.]

I have. They are... motivated.

[Her English is good when she isn't lying to children about her ability to understand the language, though quite accented.]

I'm afraid I must retire before the actual program, so I will consider their rehearsals my show.

[She can't risk the people who might come to see the performance catching sight of her.]

[flensing]

[Anna is kind enough not to mention the way the other woman tenses at noises, not to pry into why a woman would be travelling on her and to turn up here so injured. If Hazuki did not wish to tell them, that was her choice.]

Of course. They've appreciated the audience.

[She knows there are a few who find it very strange that the misses were housing a wounded oriental woman. No need to draw that kind of attention to the house. It was precarious enough to have the women alone with only the children. Who knew what sorts of strangers might knock on that door.]

I'll have one of the girls bring you a treat when it's done.

[She didn't imagine they would sell everything at the sale, though that would be wonderful.]

[pigtailsbutterflyknives]

[Hey, lovely ladies! Guess who just got caught picking someone's pocket? That would be one Mindy Macready, 11 year old orphan whose father was once a sheriff in the next town over. He was framed, fired and became a vigilante and taught Mindy everything he knew!

And then he died.

But anyway, Mindy will be running as hard as she can towards the orphanage, new kitten under her arm. This is...what...her third cat this month?

She'll just be ducking to hide behind a stack of boxes, bag of coins clutched tight in her fist and the kitten attempting to sleep in her shirt. No big deal.]

[flensing]

[She knew there was someone missing from her passel, and when she sees a hint of movement out of the corner of her eye, she doesn't really need to guess who it is. She sighs, wiping her hands before leaving the house.]

Mindy?

[pigtailsbutterflyknives]

[The calico Mindy will claim followed her home is trying to climb onto Mindy's head so she's holding very still. When she hears Anna, she tenses and looks around the boxes very slowly.]

Yes, ma'am?

[She didn't do it?]

[claimyourself]

[Awhile after Anna talks to Mindy, Lena comes across her.]

Another cat, Mindy? Soon there'll be more cats living here than children.

[But, well, she can't resist a cute little kitty face.]

[pigtailsbutterflyknives]

He's getting a bath and then he's going to live in the kitchen. [And if she sounds annoyed at this, it's because she's also, apparently, getting a bath.]

[better_at_this]

[Money's tight, and Frankie's living on a tighter budget than he's used to. Peaceful it may be but a law-abiding living is tough, especially when he's keeping as low a profile as he can. Still, it's for a good cause; and even if it doesn't make a whit of difference, doing a little good now makes him feel a little better about all the bad he's left behind. So, with only the slightest wince he drops a hefty coin into one of the donation boxes.]

[flensing]

[It would be rude of her, to comment on how much he leaves in their boxes. There is a certain amount of anonymity expected, she isn't meant to see, isn't meant to know. So she does not ask him whether he is an orphan or a father. She waits a few moments in the doorway of the general store before she says hello.]

Good afternoon. Are you doing well today, sir?

[He is one of the townsfolk who keeps very quiet about his business, she can respect this, but it will not stop her showing concern.]

[better_at_this]

[It's a good call on her part; not that he'd be ashamed of what he's given, he just doesn't have a good way to justify it. Doesn't want to try, either.]

Well enough, Miss, [he answers easily, with a friendly nod.] Yourself?

[candothat]

[The best part of having a hazardous job is, for most people, the handsome pay. Pony Express riders might not have a long life expectancy, but they make a good twenty five times more per week than the average laborer.

In this particular instance, the large salary is to the Orphanage's benefit, as rider Pavel Chekov is in the business for the danger and the excitement rather than the money, as money doesn't do him much good. It's logic, then, and not selflessness that compels him to donate rather generously to the orphanage when he happens to be in the City. (It helps, also, that the orphanage is staffed by pretty girls.)

Today--a break at the end of a twenty-hour riding campaign--finds Chekov, who looks more like an orphan than a benefactor himself, attempting to donate part of his weekly pay in a sneaky fashion. He likes the idea of leaving money anonymously, like a well-off stranger about whom nothing is known and myths are created.

He is, unfortunately, not half as sneaky as he would like to be, in part because Misses Lena and Anna are very distracting.]

[flensing]

[Beautiful and young and married to an orphanage of children. Pavel's attempts at stealth are always so bemusing. Perhaps it is his youth and his coltish eagerness, but it can be easy to see him as one of her orphans. She decides not to tease him about dumping so much of his wages into their box again, offering instead,]

Will you be coming to see the children perform?

[She smiles warmly. You, Mr. Chekov, are personally invited.]

[candothis]

[There are worse things to be married to than an orphanage, and Anna is still beautiful and young. Perceptive, as well. He gives up all pretense of stealth, albeit with some amount of sheepishness.]

When in the evening is this performance?

[claimyourself]

[Busted! Lena sees him sneaking in that money, and she just has to rush over and thank him.

Oh, Mr. Chekov, thank you. You're so kind to donate. Will you be attending the children's recital tonight, or have you just returned from a long trip?

[candothis]

[He could do worse than be caught sneaking by the pretty overseers of the orphanage. (Of course, he could also work on not being caught at all.)]

Miss Lena, yes, I will be. No trip is so long that the recital should be missed.

[signatures]

[ Eames is new to town with Miss Ariadne M. and with new travels comes a fresh need for income while they get their bearings and feel out the citizens. For now, he's looking for simple means preferably to sign the girl up for, so takes the flyer from the side of the inn he's currently couped up at and makes his way to the building to look for either Miss Duchannes or Miss Assaoui. ]

[flensing]

[The lawn is set up for the evening's event, all the chairs from the schoolroom brought out onto the lawn, rickety wooden desks pressed together in a line to set pies. Anna is tying some ribbons to the legs when she looks up and sees him. She straightens quickly, brushing off her skirts as she heads down the path to meet him.]

Hello, sir. How are you today?

[signatures]

Well, thank you very much.

[ He removes his hat, smoothing down the severe side-part of his hair as he offers the woman a mild quirk of his lips. ] I'm looking for Miss Duchannes, or Miss Assaoui, if you'd like to direct me.

[ He unfolds the flyer, showing the woman it. ]

[worldofourown]

[ Uncursed. Standing with hands in pockets, checking out the building. Perfectly innocent. But there's something in his eyes. Something flickering - secret, shaded. ]

...It's like a cookie jar.

[ Tasty child-dumplings. Two delicious ladies. What's not to love? ]