~**~
Nanoha watched with interest as Vivio looked at her fork and butter knife with a helpless expression. Clumsily the girl tried to cut off a bite of the food but only succeeded in moving it around on her plate. Before tears came to Vivio's eyes, Nanoha forced herself to stop watching the adorable act and lean over to take Vivio's plate. "Here, I'll help you." Easily, she began to cut up the waffles into bite sized pieces. "There you are, Vivio." Nanoha moved the plate back to the girl and felt rather proud of herself when she got a cheerful sound mixed with a chomp of food. "You were really hungry, huh?"
"Mmn!" Vivio stabbed another bite, holding the fork in her closed fist.
Schach leaned over to Nanoha while looking at Vivio. "Ne, Nanoha-san..." When the older woman shifted closer to her, she began to whisper. "What are we going to do with her? We know she's an artificial mage so she doesn't have parents..."
"I'm not sure exactly," Nanoha whispered back just as quietly. "We need to find someone who can take care of her." Turning back to Vivio, Nanoha watched the girl eat bite after bite, getting more and more syrup on her face. Not being able to help it anymore, Nanoha got a napkin and moved next to Vivio again. "Here, you're making a mess of yourself..." Vivio allowed her to wipe her face, making content sounds at being pampered.
Now with a clean and full child to contend with, Nanoha allowed Vivio to is on her lap once more. Together along with Sister Schach, they went down the church hallways and to a room where they kept a few spare clothes for children. "Anything in her size?" Nanoha asked curiously, holding Vivio by her sides while the girl looked around with interest.
"Yes, this should fit her." Schach pulled out a white shirt with blue sleeves. "And here's the matching skirt." A blue skirt was offered as well.
"Change clothes, Vivio," Nanoha told her gently. With a small motion, the woman lifted Vivio from her lap and placed her down onto the floor. When she was looked at helplessly, Nanoha gave her a sad smile. "Want me to help you?" A nod answered her. "Lift your arms for me."
Three minutes and a clothed Vivio later, the small group went back into the hallways and headed to the front of the church. "I'll contact you as soon as we find someone." Schach spoke happily. "Thank you for your help, Nanoha-san."
"Wasn't a problem at all." Nanoha smiled at Vivio next to her. "I have to go now, Vivio."
"Waheh?" The girl grabbed Nanoha's wheelchair and shook her head. "No!"
"Don't worry, Sister Schach will take good care of you." Nanoha tried to smile again when Vivio started crying openly. "Vivio, don't cry, you'll be just fine." The loud crying was mixed with sobs and broken half words despite the two older women trying to sooth her.
"Vivio, we will have lots of fun together," Schach promised as best she could. "Don't worry, you'll be really happy here!" The crying got louder when Schach placed her hands on Vivio's shoulders. The small girl moved away and held onto Nanoha's leg tightly, shaking her head and crying out even more.
Nanoha looked helplessly at Schach and got a hopeless look in return. "I guess it can't be helped then... I'll look after her for the time being."
"But Nanoha-san...Are you able to care for such a young girl while on the base?"
"No," Nanoha shook her head, moving a hand down to stroke Vivio's hair in an attempt to calm her. "But I can't just leave this child after everything she's been through... It seems like she trusts me and I'd hate to think what would happen to her if I left her like this... she may try to run away again, and keeping her under lock and key would be no better than whoever had her beforehand..."
"I see..." Schach rubbed her hands together. "If there's anything I can do to help just let me know."
"I will, thank you." Taking a deep breath, Nanoha leaned forward to the still sobbing girl holding onto her. "Vivio," the gentle voice saying her name made Vivio look up at Nanoha, sniffling heavily. "Would you like to come home with me?"
"...Mmn." Nodding, Vivio looked up at her with shaking red eyes stained with tears.
Nanoha nodded and carefully started wiping away the tears on Vivio's face. "Okay then, we'll stay together for a while then, is that okay?" Another nod and hum came, paired with a noticeable lift in the girl's spirits. "Then lets head home together." Taking Vivio's hand, she nodded at her friend once more.
~**~
"It's not much, but its a start," Yuuno finished while glancing over the monitors in front of himself. "At least we've managed to narrow down the rift you came through, Harlaown-san."
"Please, call me Fate." The blonde offered happily. "Thank you so much, Yuuno, you have no idea how much better I feel after hearing this."
The male grinned. "We're just getting started, but it seems like we have a clear direction on where to go from here. If everything goes absolutely perfectly smoothly, then I'd say you will be on your way back home in little over a month."
"A month..." Despite the time frame, Fate couldn't help but smile broadly, red eyes shining with a light that she hadn't shown once since she arrived. "I'd wait forever if it meant I could go back to my family one more time."
A beeping sound rang up, making Hayate look up from her desk. "Speaking of, Nanoha is contacting us." A button was pressed and Nanoha's image appeared on a screen along with the loud yelling of a small child. "Na-Nanoha!?"
Nanoha looked at her friends on the screen embarassedly. Vivio was clinging to her tightly, yelling without shame at the idea of being removed from Nanoha's arms. "Uhm... Help me, please?" She asked, blushing hard and offering a light smile.
2009-11-08, 23:06
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