Arnold wasn't quite sure what he was doing in the slums. He vaguely recalled that somebody had asked to meet him at a tavern there, but they had had to send somebody to say that they couldn't make it, leaving the dwarf high and dry. It wasn't as if he thought that there was much to see in that area anyway. Buildings, homeless people, buildings containing homeless people... Nothing out of the ordinary. Just an excuse for him to get some air in his lungs and to get some exercise that didn't involve reducing a monster to a red paste. Then, crying. A young child's crying, no less. Arnold didn't think twice about briskly walking off to find the source of it, not even considering for a moment that some shady individual was using a child as bait for some sort of trap. Though his ears weren't as keen as they had been many a decade ago, he still didn't take long to find them. It was normally something he would leave the parents to deal with, but with the slums being what they were, he wanted to make sure that the first to the child was someone that wished them no harm. Slowly, he approached them, making sure that they saw him and that they knew that he meant no harm. "Shh, it's okay, it's okay." He said softly - at least, as softly as someone with a voice like thunder could manage. "Don't worry, I'm a friend. I'm just here to help, okay?" He offered a smile - a warm one, one with genuine compassion radiating from it. The child was given a handkerchief, and he got down on one knee, bringing himself as close to eye level with them as he could. not a difficult task, given his stature. "Now then, do you know which way your parents are? Or where your house is?" ((@Hestia))
@Arnold Stoutheart Hestia had come out of the building she was working as a maid for and sighed. Scrubbing all the floors of that building along with dusting every single knickknack was tough work. She was eager to go back to her orphanage that doubled as a home and relax a little. ...Well, maybe not completely relax. After all, she had children to attend to and it wouldn't do to just leave them to fend for themselves. She heard the sound of a child crying and immediately froze in her tracks. Oh dear. I have to find them, she thought to herself as she turned around and tried to pinpoint where the noise was coming from. When she arrived on the scene, she found a dwarf man comforting the little one. "Are they alright? Do they need help?" she asked then dwarf man.
((@Hestia)) Arnold's immediate response was to turn around to defend the child. They weren't in a particularly nice area, after all. Even when he saw that Hestia was the one addressing him, he stood between her and the child, old habits kicking in before his brain could stop them. "I believe they're fine. Just lost." He looked back at them. They were in a considerably better state, though it seemed that it would be quite a while until they were fully recovered. Resilient as he knew children were, there were some things that didn't just go away. "Do you know where your parents are?" He asked again. It took them a few tries, but eventually, she responded to him through the tears and the intermittent hiccuping. "N-no... Th-they're gone..." "Gone?" The look on her face said enough. Arnold's expression turned to a solemn one the instant he knew what she was saying, and turned to Hestia, hoping she would have some sort of solution.
@Arnold Stoutheart Hestia's heart shattered when she heard the child talk about her parents being gone. Poor thing... she thought to herself as she slowly approached Arnold and the girl and knelt down. "Shh, it's alright," she began to say, "I can take you to a place where you'll be safe and sound." The girl hiccuped and wiped her eyes. "R-Really?" she asked. Hestia nodded with a smile. "Yes. It's an orphanage and-" The girl immediately shook her head. "No! Those places are bad! People keep fighting over food and everyone hurts each other and I don't want to go back there don't take me back there please!" the girl wailed and brought on a fresh bout of crying. The ache in the goddess' heart was strong as her smile died away. "Shh, shh, I know some orphanages can be bad," she said, "But I can promise you that Hearth's Home works together as a family to make sure everyone is alright. Pinkie promise, even." She held out her pinky as the child tried to calm herself down. She waited paitently for her to calm down. Once she did, the girl looked at the pinky, then into Hestia's eyes. "P-P-Pinkie promise they won't h-hurt me?" she said, holding out her own pinky out of hope. "Pinkie promise." The two of them linked pinkies and she stood up. "We should probably go, I'll introduce you to Nalsora and the other children." She looked over at the dwarf. "Would you like to come too?"
The dwarf reached out, but drew his hand back quickly. While he knew loss, he didn't know how to speak to the child about going to an orphanage. Then there was the implication that she'd been to one where she'd been mistreated... He simply stayed back, letting the more experienced of them deal with it. When the offer came, Arnold thought about it briefly. He wondered if he had any place with the two of them - try as he might, he was hardly the most calming figure in the world, and he felt that the girl needed someone with a far gentler touch than he. Even so, he felt a certain sense of duty, one that compelled him to stay with her until she was safe. He'd been the one to find her, after all, and the slums were not known for being particularly safe for anyone. Hestia was a goddess, true, but in her mortal form, there was only so much that she could do. "I'll be right beside you." He said, his tone a matter-of-fact one. He took his place next to the girl - giving her someone to hide behind should the worst occur. ((@Hestia))
@Arnold Stoutheart Hestia nodded and beckoned for the two to come. "I'm sure you'll love it at Hearth's Home," she said as they walked, "I make sure everyone gets enough to eat and it's usually very warm in the orphanage. I try to use the powers I have left to heat the home to make it nice and cozy for everyone. There's also a school for the children if they want to learn, though it can get a little...rowdy at times." She wore a sheepish smile on her face as the girl squeaked and hid behind the dwarf. "Don't worry, they're all good at heart." As they walked through the slums, Hestia couldn't help but talk about her orphanage some more to the little girl. She couldn't be no more than, what, eight? She was so young and it was a shame she lost her parents. But the goddess was determined to make her orphanage a welcoming home for the girl, no matter what. "Ah, here it is," she said as they approached a large building. She immediately opened the door and hollered, "I'm home! And I brought some people with me!" There was a shuffling noise as one of the older orphans, a boy, came to greet the goddess. "Hi Hestia!" he chirped, "Who'd you find? 'Nother orphan?" She nodded. "I also brought a dwarf man along with me. Tell the others that he's here with me." "Will do!" He scurried away, earning a chuckle from her. "Come in, come in, you two. I promise it's alright," she said as she entered the building.
As far as Arnold knew, deities had a lot on their plates most of the time. That was just how it was for them. That was part of their job, and they got used to it, or they didn't get to be deities. Though he knew this, Arnold couldn't help but feel for Hestia. Orphanages were a nightmare to keep in a decent state at the best of times - keeping the place shipshape, keeping the children happy, giving them enough to eat... He couldn't begin to process the sheer number of issues she would have had to deal with. And yet - from the outside, at least - everything seemed to be alright. He couldn't quite place it, but there was a certain air to the place that made it seem welcoming, like the orphans there truly did have a home, and that it wasn't just somewhere for the unfortunate to be left. He regretted that circumstances had forced the girl to reside there, but with Hestia at the helm, he saw that there would be hope for her happiness yet. "It's a wonderful place you have here." Arnold mentioned. Partly because he felt the need to speak, instead of just standing there aimlessly. Partly because he wanted to reaffirm in the girl's mind that she was in capable hands. ((@Hestia))
@Arnold Stoutheart Hestia turned her head to look at Arnold and smiled. "Thank you, I try my best to keep this place running smoothly. But truthfully, it's a group effort. If it weren't for the children, the volunteers, and the people working here, I doubt this place would have ever existed as it is now," she said as she heard more footsteps coming from down the halls. Already a group of children were gathering at the door, welcoming the newcomer. The girl was overwhelmed by it all and hid behind Arnold for good measure, eyes wide with fear and a small hint of curiosity. "Children, children, please give them some breathing space," the goddess said, her eyes twinkling as she smiled. There were some "Aww"s before the children relented, allowing the dwarf and the newcomer to survey the situation. She turned to Arnold again. "I'm sorry about that, they get excited easily." Pause. "Oh, I haven't gotten your name, have I? And you don't really know mine. I am Hestia, goddess of the hearth and home. And you, my good sir?"
Arnold turned his head to face the girl, and held out his hand to her. She didn't have to come out if she didn't want to - he wasn't about to force her to do anything. But, if anything, he wanted to encourage her to meet people, given that they were going to be the ones that she would be spending a not insignificant portion of her life with. "Come on," he whispered to her, "No need to be afraid. I'll be right here in case you need anything, okay?" He patted her on the shoulder. Something to encourage her, if only a little. When Hestia introduced herself, Arnold wasn't quite sure how to address her. It wasn't as if he'd never met a god or a goddess before - they'd scattered themselves all over the place, it was more difficult to avoid some of them. But they had always just been brief encounters. Not knowing what the proper procedure was for meeting someone like her, he bowed his head slightly, seeming a little embarrassed - likely at his having not done so immediately upon meeting her earlier. "I am Maximus Decimus Meridius Arnold Stoutheart. It is an honour to meet you, ma'am." ((@Hestia))
@Arnold Stoutheart Hestia watched the girl come out shyly from behind Arnold's back, eyes red and nose runny. "Hi..." she said quietly, shrinking a little. She was met with a chorus of "Hi"s and "Hello"s that caused her to blush. The goddess could smile at the display, knowing that the orphans here would want to make a good home for any newcomers. "Children, why not show her around?" she asked. "Okay!" They immediately moved so that the new girl could have some room. One older girl took the girl's hand and started leading her on a tour of the facility. Hestia's smile remained on her face as she turned to meet the dwarf's eyes. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Stoutheart," she answered courteously, "By any chance do you have some business to attend to? If so, I'm sorry to have taken away your time."
Arnold shook his head solemnly. "It's fine, really. I've nowhere else to be today." He hesitated to say more - what was there to tell her? That he was getting on in years, and that people felt he would be a liability if they wanted to go into the dungeon? That blacksmiths were ten-a-penny, and nobody wanted one that hadn't touched a smith's hammer for the better part of five years? That he'd had to bury his family, and his friends had either died or moved to opposite ends of the country? "Truth be told," he began, after making sure none of the children were around to hear him, "I've had nowhere else to be for the past five years. I suppose what I'm trying to say is..." He hesitated again. He had no idea if she really cared - and he didn't want to waste the time of someone as busy as her. But, if there was one thing he knew, it was that he regretted more things that he hadn't said than things he had. "I suppose what I'm trying to say is that I'd like to help out around here, if you don't mind." He looked up at her, his face filled with a tiredness only age could bring about. "I understand if you say no. You don't know me, and I understand completely if you only want people you trust around these children. It's the least they deserve." ((@Hestia))
@Arnold Stoutheart "I see." She gave him a warm smile. "Do you really want to help out with tending to the children? Wonderful! You can also be a part of familia, if you so desire. I, ahem, have some adventurers already that are helping me out." She paused, as if she realized that he might have taken that last statement the wrong way. "B-But you don't need to be a part of the familia if you just want to help out! Volunteers come and go all the time- Oh dear, I'm not wording this right..." She gave him a sheepish grin. "Anyway, would you like to be a part of my familia? There are some rules, however." She cleared her throat. "First rule, everyone should get along. Fighting is discouraged, but I can understand it happens sometimes. Second rule, everyone has their own opinions so please respect them. Third rule, come to me if something is troubling you. I'll be glad to help you out and try my best to resolve the situation. That said, if you have any problems with another member, come to me. I will try to sort it out with the person. Don't worry, I won't mention names." Her smile became something akin to a beam of light. "Please be a good role model to the children. This one applies to my volunteers as well. Is there anything else you need to know?"
Arnold shook his head solemnly. "It's fine, really. I've nowhere else to be today." He hesitated to say more - what was there to tell her? That he was getting on in years, and that people felt he would be a liability if they wanted to go into the dungeon? That blacksmiths were ten-a-penny, and nobody wanted one that hadn't touched a smith's hammer for the better part of five years? That he'd had to bury his family, and his friends had either died or moved to opposite ends of the country? "Truth be told," he began, after making sure none of the children were around to hear him, "I've had nowhere else to be for the past five years. I suppose what I'm trying to say is..." He hesitated again. He had no idea if she really cared - and he didn't want to waste the time of someone as busy as her. But, if there was one thing he knew, it was that he regretted more things that he hadn't said than things he had. "I suppose what I'm trying to say is that I'd like to help out around here, if you don't mind." He looked up at her, his face filled with a tiredness only age could bring about. "I understand if you say no. You don't know me, and I understand completely if you only want people you trust around these children. It's the least they deserve." ((@Hestia))
