[PRP] Can we fix it? [Ruri and halie]

[Ruriska]

The mansion was in serious need of a renovation. It loomed over Alexander, dark and broken windows staring menacingly down at the man while he stared back with a resigned slump of his shoulders. At night it looked terrifying, during the day wasn’t much different. The place looked haunted and dangerous. Alexander rubbed his cheek with his hand and wondered how he’d managed to get himself into this situation. It hadn’t taken long for Anise to become restless in their small house. On the way home from the festival she had peeked out of her cart and had seen the old building. To her it had been perfect, for Alexander it was simply trouble. But it was what she wanted and since the land had been for sale, Alex had dipped into his saving, taken out a loan and bought the darn thing.

Now he wasn’t sure what to do with it. The plumbing didn’t work, the stairs were dangerously rotten, the garden was an overgrown mess, there’s was only one fireplace that wasn’t blocked, the kitchen was in a shambles, windows and doors were broken and he was pretty sure he was going to be paying off the thing for the rest of his life.

Not only that, he had sold his family home. Where he had grown up and where his family had slowly wasted away. It held memories; good and bad. Now he had given that all up. He had walked away from his past and Alexander found it amazingly painful. But Anise was happy. Wasn’t that all that mattered now? Yes. It was about time he stepped into the future and stopped pining for what he had lost long ago.

While Anise explored the enormous building, Alexander stood outside and waited for the hired help to arrive and give him a hand with the fix up. The stairs and the plumbing were at the top of his list of things to repair; one step towards actually making it liveable. Alex turned back to the supplies he’d already brought, along with some tools and rolled up his sleeves. This was going to be a long day.

Meanwhile Anise was moving from one room to the other, exploring her new domain and setting herself up as queen of the local spider population. The eight legged critters skittered behind and around her as she moved through the shadows, her red eyes gleaming with delight. This was exactly what she had wanted. This suited her far more than her former home.  

[alpha lyrae]

Anouk felt so strange being around such a large group of people. Loud conversations echoed over the sound of hooves and squeaky wagon wheels as they rode over the hills towards their destination. Ciellas was on her right-hand side, and Anouk glanced uneasily at the boy seated on her other side, who chatted amiably with one of the older, broad-shouldered men across from him. The man caught her eye and winked at her, causing her cheeks to burn and her gaze to avert to the floor of the rocking wagon.

They may have been Ciellas's family, but she did not approve of being carted along on this hot, crowded work trip. The long frown that had drawn over her features had gotten her guardian's attention, who grinned down at her and patted the large basket that rested in her lap. Anouk's feet tapped the secondary basket that was stowed under the bench, keeping a messy cadence with the horses' steady trot.

At last, the house appeared around the bend. The drivers of the three wagons eased them into an easy position to unload and the chatter between the men died down. Anouk jerked forward as the wagon came to a halt and she found herself grasping Ciellas's arm. She approved even less of traveling by wagon. There was already a plethora of supplies waiting for them, along with another man - quite obviously the owner of the small manor.

"Ah, there y'are, sir!" The tall, broad-shouldered man jumped from the wagon with a welcoming grin, approaching Alexander and grasping his free hand, the other clapping him happily on the back. "Name's Danny O'Malley, head o' this lot here." He jerked his head back at the groups dismounting from the three wagons and beginning to unload their tools and extra supplies. "I believe y'spoke to my brother the other day so we haven't had the pleasure 'o meetin' yet!" He turned towards the house and put his hands on his hips, appraising it. "So this is what we're workin' with? Handsome ol' house, it is. Where'd y'want us tae start?" Anouk stopped paying attention to him when Ciellas tugged at her elbow and helped her off the wagon, hoisting her like a toy and setting her gently on the ground. She looked at the dustling with an expression that still held a lingering look of amazement.

"Hoonestly, child, seems like ye'd blow away if ye weren't tied down." She laughed, and Anouk frowned more deeply. "Pick up that second basket and follow me." She pulled the extra basket from under the bench of the wagon towards her, while her blue eyes turned towards the house. She made a small noise in the back of her throat to voice her distaste. Who in their right mind would want to live in this dump of a house? As the crew set about organizing themselves, Anouk reckoned that was the reason they were there, in order to make it livable. It honestly needed it.

When Danny and the others had their assignments, he led them towards the house, armed with what was needed, and Ciellas took this opportunity to approach Alexander. She held out a free hand to shake, the large basket tucked under her arms. "I'm the caterin' for today so to speak. Name's Ciellas. This is my daughter Anouk." Anouk's pale cheeks flushed at the use of the word "daughter". The past few times she had been introduced to others, her guardian had introduced her as such but with a little difficulty evident in her voice. To hear it roll off the tongue so easily now made her heart skip a beat. "Anywhere for us tae sit out o' the way while ye lot work? If y'got any kids we'd be happy to help keep 'em occupied, since we're both useless when it comes tae heavy lifting so might as well make ourselves useful somewhere!" She laughed loudly and smiled at Alexander. "Just direct us where y'need us tae be."