eachdraidh | video - unseelie locked;

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video - unseelie locked;

[ It's evening, about nine or ten or so, which means it's the bed time of the children and the children should be asleep. At least now, Alice can finally take a break, plopping herself down. ]

Hello. I suppose I should introduce myself for those who don't know me -- my name is Alice Liddell of the Unseelie court, and I've been here for almost two years now, next month. Forgive me, I haven't slept well in a few weeks, so my thoughts may be a bit scattered.

[ God, she's forgotten how awkward this is. Alice clears her throat, cupping her hands in her lap. ]

Currently, I oversee a small orphanage in Aghmor, with six children underneath my care. Each of them come from Dorchadas, a few of them have lost fathers in the siege. One girl has lost an arm due to- well. I won't get into that. Anyway, there are more orphaned children and I am unfortunately very limited in my resources. In Whitechapel, London, I was the only caregiver to 18 children, so when I created this orphanage, it was my intent to take a small number, so that I wouldn't be overwhelmed.

What is on the coast is frightening the natives here in Ahgmor; while I do have volunteers, I want to expand what I do. The six children are an oddity here, aside from their traumas -- they know how to read, write, and possess a basic knowledge of arithmetic. In addition, they're learning skills to help them grow as adults and set an example to other children. I've worked very hard to ensure that they recover, mentally and physically.

I want to continue doing this, I want to teach more children, I want to continue what my father would have done. I understand what is coming and what lies on the coast. May this be a reminder to use what we have to stop the Void and save each and every life and world. An absolution--something that will spare everything, though, I can't think of that now, I still have to think about the simplest things, for the sake of these children.

I want to ask my fellow travelers to help spread aid once again. I may be force to move once again, to pick up what I made and chose a location further out of harm's way. Should I find more like-minded individuals outside of the natives I've grown to know or Erik Lehnsherr, I hope to grow another establishment in which children can learn and have a safe haven.

[ She's normally not this meek; Alice eventually sighs into her hands, as the exhaustion mounts on her. ]

Anyway- I should also mention I would not be opposed to additional help. If anything, I could use a few days to myself, half of it to catch up on sleep.

[ That was such a stupid choice on her part, she'll admit to that much. ]

Well, they're all in bed. Hopefully.

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I'll ask around and see what I can do.

[Hm. There's a thoughtful pause as he debates his offer...the worst she can say is that she's got it covered.] As far as teaching them how to read and write and everything, think you could use some more curriculum to help them keep advancing? I can probably draft up some stuff. Workbooks or whatever. [It's only a few kids and it's basic stuff. Truthfully he's probably better at math than English but how hard can this be?]

I would not object to it; it's always good to have more than one single source of education.

[ Besides, she doesn't want to say she's limited in some aspects with her stay in an asylum. ]

It would be good for them. Even when I was a child, I had multiple tutors.

You can probably get some of the older ones to really pick up on things and start tutoring more kids, too. [It's an idea at least.] Give me a week or two and I can get enough stuff to create new teaching tools for you. Should be enough time to see who else I can contact about pitching in with some help, too. If that's not too late, I mean.

Ideally, yes, I am working to that; the older ones assist me in taking care of the littler ones.

[ Alice lets out a sigh, she muses to herself, mostly. ]

It might take a little more time, I'll need to pull aside those two especially. Ah, but- a week or so should be fine. There's not exactly a deadline.

I'd say we've got plenty of time here, but...[You know. Void. War. Everything.] Good luck. I'll get those started and out to you as soon as I can then.

[ In a gentle voice- ] I know. It's best not to flounder over it; it's alright to turn your attentions to other things. You'll go mad otherwise.

[ Alice realizes she doesn't have a name to the voice. ] What is your name?

Trust me, I've got plenty of things to keep me busy. This will be a nice break though. [But his tone indicates that he appreciates the sentiments (and that he actually agrees.)]

Oh. [Oops, that would be important.] I'm Hiro. It's...nice to kinda meet you. [As well as someone can over the lockets, at least.]

You've been doing all of this by yourself?

It is nice to meet you, Hiro. [ Sort of! He sounds young, so he doesn't get her usual "mister" attached to it. ]

Well, you should enjoy yourself, sometime, to ease yourself.

[ Really, she has no room to talk, at all. She is guilty of doing this, offering others advice she doesn't take, herself. ]

And no, I haven't, I've had help from my friends and my neighbors with what I do. It sometimes becomes difficult with the tailoring work I do.

[There's a shrug even if she can't see it.] I'm kinda happier when I keep myself busy. [A "break" for him is actually doing basic paperwork.] This won't be a big deal.

At least you've got people supporting you. [And looking at this post and seeing everybody else responding to her, it seems to make sense.] Tailoring work? [He's not stupid; he knows what a tailor is but can it really keep a person that busy?]

When you keep yourself busy?

[ She sounds a little doubtful, but she can see it, she's the same way. The only leisure time she had was drawing, after all. ] Are you certain? Not even at little bit of something silly or whatever boys do?

Yes, tailoring. If there's dresses or garments that need to be made, that's what I do. A few of my children are learning those skills, too, a brother and a sister.

Absolutely. [He actually laughs a little at her incredulity.] Picking up my old hobbies is a little harder here than back home, but I've been finding other stuff that's pretty fun.

[There's a slightly intrigued noise in response.] I guess I just didn't think it was something that could keep a person busy. It's not that complicated, is it?

[ When it comes to some gender social constructs, she doesn't see much of an issue with them, not like some Victorians during her time. Tailoring wouldn't have been taught to boys and Alice is relaxed with the notion. ]

It can be, without any sort of machine. Certain stitches and extra hands help quite a bit, certainly. Since it was a skill I acquired when I was young by my sister and mother, some of the children are learning, too. A brother and a sister are the most avid about it, actually.

[He hasn't quite picked up on the fact that Alice's time period is so far behind his own, but he's starting to wonder. He's never bothered touching a sewing machine but he can understand the notions she's talking about. Creation of any kind requires effort and sometimes that effort means multiple hands.]

Well then at least I know who to come to if I ever rip my clothes again. [It's mild amusement, mostly.] It's definitely not a bad skill to give the kids if they're on their own. [There's a short pause.] You're still learning new things too though, aren't you?

[It's not meant to be a rude question, though he's genuinely curious.]

As much as I am able to.

[ Part of that is a little cultural; in her world, women were supposed to take up certain things and Alice is... surprisingly abiding by some of those, if only for wanting to avoid fighting in battles, as much as possible. She frowns and it carries over into her voice. ]

If only things weren't so limited in this world. At least where I come from, lanterns last a little longer, there's textile machines, and press prints.

The Drabwurld's pretty much entirely backwards from what I'm used to. [It's a strange thing to admit, but he doesn't seem to mind saying so after all this time. However, he can't help the sudden incredulity in his tone as he continues.]

Lanterns. Like...with oil. [Back up. Let's think about this for a moment. Alice Liddell's a tailor who's taking care of children and who lives in a world where they don't even have normal lights.

...wait. Alice Liddell. ...Alice Li--that took much longer to click than it should, but at least he's smart enough not to mention the name. At least things add up now.]

I don't know where you'd find a textile machine but there's a printing press out by Spire 9. That's some progress, isn't it?

Yes, lanterns with oil -- but I don't like fire. I don't like lanterns. If there were any other means to bring light in without fire, that would be lovely.

[ She's not going to say she's terrified of fire. ]

Is there? What a surprise, especially with this much illiteracy.

Electricity's something that hasn't been introduced to the Drabwurld yet...but I'm working on it. Or at least I'm hoping to work on it soon. [He doesn't say anything negative about her aversion to fire because...well, he gets it. Fires are kind of terrifying.] Especially with most of the fire magic in the world gone.

Either that or maybe figure out how to build a more accessible printing press. The vampires built that one, I think. They're not bad but it's not really convenient.

[ She's heard tidbits about the loss of fire magic being gone; she's still not sure whether or not to be happy about it. After all, the Jabberwock died from fire. ]

Surely you're not working on either of those by yourself. [ He sounds pretty young. ]

I mean not exactly? [He...totally is.] I have friends that can help if I need it. It can't be that hard to figure it out once I start.

Once it starts?[ She sounds doubtful with this, too. ] I would hope so, those sound like two very difficult things to do on your own.

So's running a tailoring business. [Assumptions are being made here and they can't even be compared, but he's doing it anyway.] Besides, everybody's got their own projects to work on, right? People get things started and then get help they need. It's how we're going to grow.

So as long as you don't run yourself too ragged.

[ Alice would rather shift her attention on another, not her own well-being. She doesn't want to admit that there's truth to that for her. ]

But you sound very bright; this pleases me that it won't go to waste.

I'm trying not to let anything go to waste here. Even with everything happening, we've all got time to make sure we don't go to waste either. [Pointedly. Seeing how Alice is the one who first mentioned she's been taking care of the kids, it seems as though the reminder isn't out of place here. He sounds a little pleased by that, always eager to hear that he's bright and he knows what he's doing. He knows he's bright, but the extra bit of validation never hurts in this world.]

But before I start those projects, I'll get those workbooks to you. Promise.

[ At times like this, she felt better channeling her father for these sort of things. He would have reacted the same way, and he's been a huge influence on her, even at this age. ]

Thank you, I am deeply grateful. Please allow me to give you something in return.

[She's really polite, he thinks. It's something to keep in mind and it definitely helps seal the idea that he's doing the right thing.]

Don't worry about it. If I think of something I'll let you know, but I think I'm okay for now. Really.

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digophelia - 2015-06-15 07:13 (UTC) - Expand

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