Anna let out a snort of amusement at Sõõrik’s overblown description of the small girl in front of her.
“I’m sure we’ll manage. Actually, nevermind, should you even be calling someone else a “little devil”?”
“In any case, did you manage to find something interesting in this place before you were caught?”
The girl was a bit hesitant, but judging from the way she was still looking at her with that interested twinkle in her eyes… Curiosity had won out over apprehension, at least for the time being. Her presence in this basement was a curiosity, however. Not a total surprise, of course, she was relatively certain there was something down here at least, but...
She was similar to the other one, the lass she had seen and helped out on Sunday. And hadn’t Shane also mentioned something of an Asian girl his age, with jet black hair and a hospital gown? Hmm… why they would have young girls here, more than one at that. That one was a ward of Winters, but Anna had no idea how she had gotten to Pinefall to begin with. Well, she had a very general guestimate on where that happened, but…
“Curious… Well then. Let’s have a look around, shall we?” Anna’s eyes flickered over momentarily towards the girl in front of her, a grin on her lips. “Feel free to tag along if you’re interested. I won’t stop you at least.”
And with those words on her lips, Anna headed into the dark depths of the hospital basement.
"... Fiiiiine."
Looking like he really didn't want to, but your serious glare was enough to convince him, Söörik slid down to the floor and set himself face to face with the tiny girl - tiny girl who was eyeing him with the most suspicious pair of eyes. The tiny familiar lifted up its "hand" for something like a shake, a move that was accompanied by something that sounded like a mumbled apology. It wasn't much, but at least it was a start... and honestly, if the familiar hadn't listened to you, that might have made things even worse.
Still, the girl... simply stared at the hand.
And stared.
And stared.
And continued to stare.
"U-uhm, Boss, I don't this is gonna w---WHOA!"
Before the familiar had any real time to react, he suddenly found himself being patted on the head by a tiny hand... in a manner much similar as to what Anna had done to the girl herself. It was, of course, a bit awkward considering the creature was made out of bath brooms, but at the very least the girl had decided to agree to a truce of sorts. And even though Söörik tried to hide it, he clearly didn't mind being patted like that - at all.
Having done her part of it, the girl stepped back, put her hands to her hips, and nodded with a satisfied - if a bit smug - face. Did she count this as her victory?
"A-anyways, I'll contact you soon Boss! Just a moment!"
And with that, the familiar was off, heading towards the upper floors and to where he had sensed the other black-haired girl that was being held here.
In other words, you and your tiny accomplice now had to wait here in the basement... and hope that the door to the morgue wouldn't open unexpectedly, busting you now that you had gotten this far on your excursion.
--- About 10 slightly nerve-wracking minutes later, you could hear Söörik's voice in your head.
"Uhh... tiny problem, Boss! I... I found the girl... she's in a room that had some people in there, so I waited for them to leave..." the familiar started. "... So I got here to take a look at her, but... but I dunno how she's doing. Can't read all these beeping white boxes with black windows!"
A bit of hesitation, then.
"... But she looks like she's sleeping, with all sorts of medicine hoses connected to her body..."
Even Söörik sounded slightly worried.
Anna let out a small chuckle at the scene between the small girl and her, now suddenly somewhat embarrassed, familiar. The girl had spunk, that much was certain. Her self-assuredness was almost endearing in its purity. All things considered, these two might actually get along reasonably fine and just got off with the wrong foot… or end of a broom, to be more precise.
And lo and behold, ten minutes later…
"... But she looks like she's sleeping, with all sorts of medicine hoses connected to her body..."
Hmm… tranquilized. Probably for some sort of procedure, but… there was still the question of why she ran away in the first place if all she was getting was medical treatment. Of course, there was the chance that she had sudden panic attack upon waking up, which caused her to leave. Or perhaps she was simply broken out by someone and then left to her own devices. Shane had met her, that much for sure, and so had Winters but…
She had no way to confirm anything right now. She couldn’t sneak to the fourth floor even if she wanted to. It was too early in the day and the hospital would be working at a full shift. But if she was to find some clarity about what the hell happened to this girl… or
will happen, she’ll need to move with relative haste. If things go as they were planned, she’d end up outside in the next couple of days. For a moment, her mind fell back on Sunday.
… and this hospital will be dead empty due to this “Dr. Satel.”
“Thanks. Come back down, I’ll be waiting for you in the broom closet.”
Another couple minutes later, the familiar came waddling down into the broom closet, where Anna and her small ponytailed compatriot had set up their momentary base. As the familiar clambered back on her shoulder, Anna turned towards the small girl.
“Well now. Unfortunately, it seems that our little escapade will need to come to an end for the time being.” Anna gave one final head pat to the small girl in front of her, rustling her hair playfully, as a small murmur left her lips. “Kõik mis alustad tuleb lõpuni viia...”
“But who knows, eh? You might see me much earlier than you think.” A soft chuckle left her lips for a moment, as Anna turned back towards Sõõrik. “Actually… can you keep her company for a couple of hours? Not much should happen during this beach party, so things should be relatively quiet on that end, at least.”
And its probably for the best to keep an eye on this place for the time being…
"F-fine.. I guess I can stick around, Boss..."
While Söörik tried to play up his grumpiness as much as he could, the familiar couldn't exactly act as sour as he wanted to. Mostly because the moment he had arrived into the broom closet, he had been scooped up like an oversized housecat, and was now in the arms of the impassive girl, slowly being petted like the aforementioned animal. Indeed, from the looks of it, these two would get along just fine now... though the ease at which this girl had "tamed" your familiar might have been slightly concerning.
She really was a wilful little girl, huh?
"........."
Still, perhaps the girl was sensing, or understanding, what you were about to do... because after receiving that one final headpat, she nodded solemnly and then waved goodbye, her other tiny arm still tightly clutching the familiar. But, nevertheless, time was ticking and you needed to head out now...
--- Even if you would most likely return here at some point.
Anna let out a laugh at the sight of Sõõrik being treated like a wooden housecat. Despite everything, he was a “beast” of the Turnside, after all, even if that term might have been slightly overblown, considering the context. Regardless, there were not many who would treat him like this… for a multitude of reasons. Many in the
Orloj considered familiars as naught but mindless puppets, after all. So in that way, her earnestness towards Sõõrik was endearing for Anna to see.
In the end, it might have simply an expression of her isolation, but…
Kindness is kindness, no matter the reasons behind it.
“Hah.” Anna gave the small girl’s cheek one last rub as she started to vanish in a sea of emerald roots and vines. “
Careful now. I do want him back, you know?”
And with a final lazy chuckle, Anna Vandemeel vanished from the basement of End’s Mercy, leaving behind only a handful of ash and the smell of burnt tree bark.