The Principal's Office

[tailor_made]

The door to the principal’s office is open at all hours, although you will only find Hester at the receptionist’s desk from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. This is primarily where you can have private conversations with her. Though there’s an actual office in the back, it is always closed and locked.

Comments

[violentenvies]

[Salieri glances back towards it, a little surprised, but...well, he's not about to question it now. Instead he'll just get down to her level]

Come on, then. I'll take you over there--just put your arms around my neck and I'll do the rest, understand?

[he sure is planning on just carrying her over there rather than risk her being too woozy and falling and hitting her head or something]

[tailor_made]

[Hester looks unsure but nods a little in understanding. She forces herself to sit up despite her body shouting at her to Please Do Not and loops her arms around Salieri's neck.

Lift away, monsieur.]

[violentenvies]

[in that case, he'll scoop her right up, slowly and gently so as not to make her dizziness worse, before carrying her bridal style over to the couch, where he'll gently lay her down. ]

Now...stay here a moment, I'll return with a cool compress.

[tailor_made]

[He's going to notice pretty much immediately that Hester is very light, which makes sense since she is on the thinner side to start with. She takes very little effort to lift right out of her chair.

When he lays her down she reaches up to carefully wiggle the tiara out of her hair and sets it on the sofa's arm. She gives him a small, pained smile.]

I don't think that'll be hard.

[violentenvies]

[Salieri rests the back of his hand against her cheek cheek a moment, looking concerned about how hot she is]

If anyone comes in, tell them you're resting and they're not allowed to disturb you. No matter what your duties are. [he's moving to grab that blanket and place it over her] If they have a problem, they can take it up with me.

[tailor_made]

Mmhmm. That should put the fear of God in them.

[She hums softly, letting her eyes close to block out the stinging light. It's a little nice, she has to admit, being fussed over like this. The Wizard looked after her, obviously, as much as someone her age needed looking after. He checked in on her often, made sure she was eating, how she was feeling. All around the things any good parent would do, despite their lack of blood relation. But more and more lately it was feeling like she was his caretaker.

So this attention, this fatherly affection from someone who'd just lost his son...it's nice. And it gnaws at her gut like a corvid picking at a carcass.]

Merci beaucoup, monsieur Salieri.

[violentenvies]

Of course. [he pauses a moment to smooth her hair back, before pushing to his feet]

I'll return shortly.

[tailor_made]

[When he leaves she pulls her knees to her chest, a cozy yellow cocoon in her cozy little office. The quiet is...helping? She thinks. It reminds her how bone deep tired she is, that she really should eat some of the pie Salieri had brought even though she's not particularly hungry or drink some tea but it's easing the pain in her head and replacing it with a hazy fog of exhaustion.

While he's gone nobody comes knocking so Hester just settles in and waits for him to come back.]

[violentenvies]

[he'll return as swiftly, then, with a bowl of water and several small hand towels, which he carries over to the couch, pulling over a chair to sit beside her and rest that bowl in his lap. He takes the first towel, wringing it out]

Now, keep your eyes closed. This'll help block out some of the light. [he'll fold the towel in half, length-wise, and gently lay it over her eyes. It should feel nice and cool, and also block out that pesky light that she's dealing with]

[tailor_made]

[Hester hums in acknowledgement, letting him know she's still awake. The towel feels nice and near instantly she starts to relax.]

...you know, it's been a long time since someone fussed over me like this. Not since I was little. My- [She shifts a little, hugging the blanket under her chin.] My favorite foster dad. He used to do this for me too, when I get headaches.

[violentenvies]

[he'll take that second towel and dip it into the water, wringing it out before starting to brush it over her face where it's not covered by the other one]

Oh? He sounds like a kind man.

[tailor_made]

He was a single dad and I was his only foster kid so he was always extra sweet to me. [She's not falling asleep but this is, by far, the most relaxed she's felt and sounded in weeks.] ...I was really sad when he got sick and I had to go to a new placement. I think he was too.

[violentenvies]

That's unfortunate. I'm sorry for that. [he moves to wet down that cloth again, and keep just gently wiping her brow and cheeks and jaw with the cool cloth, attempting to cool her down] I'm sure he would've very much liked for you to stay with him.

[tailor_made]

He had a heart attack when I was fourteen. [She leans her head in the direction of his hand. She hasn't talked about him in...not really since she had to leave, actually. It hurt to think about, how she'd almost lost him to his health and then did have to lose him to the system.] He was okay in the end. He said he wanted to adopt me but...it never worked out.

[violentenvies]

Is...adoption out of that system difficult, then? [he shifts his hand as she leans into it, so he can press more of the towel against her face]

[tailor_made]

Mmmmm, mmhm. There's a lot of paperwork and the system doesn't really... [She frowns a little, struggling to find the word she wants to use again.] Lean toward single widowers and adoption. And after he got sick...they thought it'd be better if I went to live somewhere else.

[violentenvies]

...I'm so sorry, Hester. [Salieri's brow furrows] I...know what's it's like. To lose a father figure, especially one that isn't tied to you by blood, through any kind of circumstances. It's difficult.