Alternate RP Find A Place For You

[Zelda Wigham]

Zelda stood near the kitchen window, absently blowing on her cup of tea as she watched out the kitchen window. Kiasora should be here soon and Zelda was already going through the mental checklist of things they'd need to go over with her. She'd been partly worried the young girl wouldn't show, but Zelda liked to think she was a good judge of character and she believed this girl, whatever hardships she was facing, was a person of her word. Zelda also believed she was girl in need of help, and she'd do whatever she could to give it to her, even if she had to go about it in a round-a-about way.

Straightening up, Zelda set her tea aside, spotting a figure picking their way down the drive. She brushed her hair off her face a moment before pushing the kitchen door open, raising a hand and wiggling her fingers to get the girl's attention. "Right on time, hello! Come join me in the kitchen and we can get started," she called, giving Kiasora an open smile and stepping aside to usher her in.

 

[Kiasora Cantore]

Kia didn't know how she had gotten herself into this mess. She was almost tempted to blow it off, but she still needed those shoes. And she wanted to at least attempt to be a woman of her word. She had so little, she needed to keep hold of some things. It had taken some doing to get there, but she made it, and on time. At least, she thought so.

She was tense already as she spotted the woman ushering her inside. Could she really do this? What choice did she really have? Holding onto her backpack strap protectively, she walked into the kitchen, stopping and looking around. "Alright, I'm here." She spoke, her voice clipped and her stance guarded. "What do you want?"

 

[Zelda Wigham]

Zelda set about getting the kettle on and summoning a few tins from the cupboards as Kiasora filed in behind her, glancing over her shoulder with a quick smile as the girl looked around the kitchen. "Make yourself at home, we don't have start for a minute. Need to get you sorted out first," she explained, grabbing her favourite mugs from the hooks on the wall. "Tea? Or a biscuit? Have you had something to eat?" She asked, not waiting for Kiasora to answer as she loaded a few biscuits onto a plate. "Oh might as well," she said, mostly to herself before adding a few more and setting it down on the table settled in the middle of the kitchen. "Well hurry up. Pop yourself down," Zelda said after a moment, settling herself down as well and waving her wand so the kettle would pour itself into the waiting mugs before levitating them onto the table. "Much better, now we can chat," she said, tenting her lacquered fingers to give Kiasora a considering glance. She still had the backpack with her, and Zelda wondered again if she was carrying everything around with her still.

"You'll be lending a hand around the farm while here, nothing too difficult but it will probably require some work boots. And probably some clothes that you don't mind getting dirty. Don't worry, I'm sure we can rustle some up for you you can use here," Zelda said, raising a hand to stop any objections the girl might have before continuing. "It'll also mean you need to be here bright and early to get started on caring for some of the animals, so if you need to sleep here in the evenings to get here on time that's fine, you can take the spare room," she said, ticking everything off on her fingers as she went.

 

[Kiasora Cantore]

Kia kept her hands on her bag, wringing them a little nervously as she looked around. "No," she responded automatically as the woman asked if she had eaten, and immediately winced. "I'm fine," she added quickly, not looking to accept any charity. She hesitated, before taking a seat as she was told. She didn't reach for the tea or the treats, shifting a bit uncomfortably under the womans gaze. Kia shifted more as the woman went on. "I-" she stammered a bit, unsure how to handle everything the woman said. "I- I don't want anything free," she told her. It might sound a little hypocritical of her, considering why she was here. But if she had managed to steal those shoes, it would have been her own cleverness that won her the shoes she needed. She didn't need anything handed to her.

"I don't need your room," she spoke. "I'll be here, don't worry," Kia wrung her hands a bit. "Just... put together a bill or something. I can work for whatever." She offered slowly. In an effort to prove her point, she took a handful on knuts- the only ones she had- and put them on the table, sliding them over before picking up a biscuit and taking a tiny bite. She realized how hungry she was, and quickly finished it, trying not to seem too eager. She dug around in her bag a brief moment and managed to come up with a silver coin she'd found. She was fairly sure it was muggle, but it was probably worth something. She slid it over before taking another cookie, managing smaller, more controlled bites this time.

 

[Zelda Wigham]

Zelda's brow furrowed at Kiasora's response to her question, and her turning down Zelda's other offers as well. "Kiasora, sweetheart," she started, feeling her heart want to break as the girl piled a handful of coins onto the table before finally taking a biscuit. "I want you to listen closely to what I'm telling you here; there is a very fine line between pride and being rude. Right now, you are being very rude," she said emphatically, pushing the coins aside her before sliding the cup of tea towards Kiasora pointedly. "It's all well and good to want to take care of yourself, I respect that, I do. But you shouldn't bite of your nose to spite your face. So to speak. And if you're going to do this job for me to make up for what you stole, you'll need to do it properly. And that means being properly rested and fed and on time. Understand?" Zelda said slowly, folding her hands carefully on the table. "Now, that's settled. What size would you say you are? And do you have any dietary restrictions? I can't expect you stay here while you're working and not eat," Zelda continued on, voice bright as if the harsher conversation from earlier hadn't happened. She had been expecting the girl to be a bit of a tough nut to crack, but Zelda hadn't been ready for as much resistance as this. Hopefully Zelda had made her point.

 

[Kiasora Cantore]

Kia was surprised when the woman scolded her. She was frozen for a moment, blinking. She had never been scolded before. Well... once, when she was young, by Professor Styx. But she hadn't had anyone else in her life in years that had bothered to give her that kind of attention. She took the tea obediently and sipped it. She considered what the woman said, and was saying. "I don't know... I'll stay, if thats what you want, but I'll work more." She sipped the tea again. "It's not like anyone will notice I'm not there," she muttered, half to herself. She set her tea down, quietly offering out her size, and telling Zelda she could eat anything but that she couldn't stomach mushrooms. It was odd, and not a thing anyone had asked her before. "What do you need me to do? I can work now," She offered, standing and brushing her hands off on her jeans.

 

[Zelda Wigham]

Zelda didn't miss the deer in headlights expression on Kiasora's face as she spoke to her, but she was glad that the message had sunk in, mollified as Kiasora took the tea without further complaint. "If you must," Zelda said slowly, figuring at least Kiasora knew now she had a safe roof over her head and food when she needed it. "I won't make you stay obviously when we don't need you, but the extra hand on the farm never goes amiss, so just know you're always welcome to stay around longer if you'd like," she said, busying herself with her own tea while she let Kiasora process, smiling and humming in acknowledgement as the girl listed out her sizes and preferences. "I'm not one for mushrooms much either, dear, don't worry," she said with a small laugh. "Always thought they tasted like dirt."

Zelda collected up the cups as she and Kiasora finished their tea, waving away some of the crumbs on the table with her wand. "Most of the work's done already for the day, a lot of it gets done quite early, but we can get you settled in and find some proper gumboots for you, show you around a bit if you're not tired," Zelda offered. It was clear Kiasora was going to need more time to get comfortable, but Zelda was patient, she didn't mind phrasing this all solely around work if that was what the girl needed to be comfortable.