Ties that Bind [Closed]

[andhiswife]

It's not that she's been avoiding Iman, exactly. Greta's had good reason to leave her be - several good reasons.

Lilly would be the big one. The child has kept Greta busier than she has been since before ROMAC's fall. She might not be quite as demanding as the twins, at least. She's old enough to entertain herself (though what she tends to find 'entertaining' are the sorts of things that leave large messes behind). It's her limited vocabulary and almost nonexistent manners that have presented the biggest challenge. Granted, they've both been improving, especially since the dog arrived (she even got Lilly to submit to a bath after coaxing an unenthusiastic but cooperative Ruckus into the tub, first), but she still has a long way to go.

All things considered, there might not have been much point in reaching out to Iman before now. Lilly hadn't been ready to meet her, and Greta hadn't been willing to push the girl back to Aziraphale for minding while she visited Iman on her own. They'd needed time to settle in, and for Greta to get a better sense of what she's dealing with, before worrying about anyone else.

Not that she hasn't been worrying, anyway. Their last conversation - if you could even call it that - consisted of Iman objecting to the idea of her taking Lilly in, and Greta brushing her off as if her opinion didn't even matter. Never mind that Iman offered to bring Greta home with her, an offer that doesn't necessarily extend to any children Greta might take in. Never mind that she can't even excuse the whole thing as temporary when Lilly's in the same unfortunate boat as herself. She had no business taking in a child without at least talking with Iman about what it might mean for both of them. Yet, here they are.

What if Iman doesn't like her? What if Lilly doesn't like Iman? What if it doesn't matter? Even the most charming child in the world would be more responsibility than Iman signed on for, and she'd have every right to declare it 'too much,' and… and be done with it all.

She doesn't know what she'll do if that happens.

At least Iman seems to respond well to the only somewhat desperate invitation Greta works up the nerve to send her. This might not be so bad. Still, she impresses upon both Lilly and Ruckus that they're to be on their best behavior (it feels a bit silly, dropping into a crouch and addressing them both, not least of all because Ruckus listens with as much solemn, close attention as Lilly does - if not more). Iman is a dear friend, and they'll hopefully probably be seeing a lot of her, and this is important.

And then she makes tea, because she needs to do something besides anxiously pace while she awaits Iman's arrival. When the knock finally comes, Greta swipes her palms nervously down her skirt and makes a deliberate effort to not hustle too quickly over to the door. Ruckus lets out a quiet cough, more acknowledgment than alarm, and sits down next to Lilly as Greta swings the door open.

"Hello," she says, her smile a little anxious, but warm. It really is good to see Iman again. Her arms twitch in an aborted move to hug her before it occurs to her that Lilly might find it alarming, so she steps back instead, ducking her head sheepishly. "Come in, please."

Door shut, she turns to her charges. "Lilly, this is Iman, the friend I told you about." She raises her eyebrows meaningfully. "Iman, this is Lilly. And Ruckus," she adds, prompting the dog to open her mouth in a broad, relaxed grin.

Comments

[etherthief]

Iman is acutely aware that it has been six entire days since she last heard from Greta and that this has been unacceptably difficult for her to bear. 'Coping' was a judicious combination of wine and throwing herself whole-heartedly into work on her arm, sending Rush ridiculous emails of rambling information at all hours of the night. If anything, being unable to freely contact Greta has forced her to be optimistic about her arm's chances, and she'll take it.

She knows she could have used her regrown spine to just contact Greta, ask if she needed any help, for fuck's sake, taking care of a feral toddler has to be a fulltime job. But what help can Iman offer? The only kid she's had dealings with has been Callie, and Callie is... unique. Greta's the mother, here. This is her calling, probably, and who the hell is Iman to get in the way? She feels inescapably ashamed for how she protested initially, like a goddamn child. 'Please don't take care of someone who needs you because I want you all to myself so I can continue not addressing my feelings about you'. Great motive, asshole.

Whatever. She's here now, knocking on Greta's door, lightly, in counterpoint to her furiously hammering pulse. Greta opens the door and looks beautiful, tired, a little bit unkempt, and beautiful.

She steps in with a wavery but equally warm smile, and immediately looks to the dog and the child. Oh god. Oh god, why couldn't it just be a dog? She knows how to dog.

"Hi," she says, her voice going a full octave higher than usual. She crouches down - that's what people do, at least that's what she preferred when she was young, to be spoken to on eye level. Hopefully it won't seem scary. "Nice to meet you, Lilly."

[mamasgirl]

Since arriving in the city, Lilly has learned all sorts of new things. She's learned not to draw on walls without permission (although she still does, from time to time, if inspiration strikes), she's learned not to run off without someone with her (to which she really thought Ruckus would be the 'someone' in question but, unfortunately, the dog seems pretty intent on getting her to stay put for reasons Lilly doesn't understand), and most important of all, she's learned not only what be good means but how to actually follow the simple instruction to the very best of her ability... when she's in the mood, of course.

Fortunately in this particular instance, Lilly's in the right kind of mood.

Of course, her decision to behave doesn't mean she's actually okay with meeting another adult. Grown-ups, in Lilly's opinion, are extremely, well, weird. Everything from the way they look (nothing like Mama) to the way they speak to how they act, they've been a constant source of confusion and apprehension for her since the minute two of them found her and Victoria in their cabin in the woods.

Still. Greta is nice and even lets her draw on walls - or, at least, one very specific wall - and got her a pet of her very own. So when Greta asks her to be nice to Iman, Lilly intends to do precisely that.

She just has to get past the worst part, first. Actually meeting the woman.

Iman dropping into a crouch helps only slightly. It's enough to keep Lilly from darting behind Greta or screeching and rushing off to hide in a cabinet. It isn't, however, enough to get a smile from the girl. Instead she simply stares, slightly widened eyes darting from Greta, to Ruckus, back to Iman. One hand clutching tightly to her pet's fur coat, she mumbles out a barely audible, quickly spoken, and most definitely not properly enunciated, "S'nice to'eet ewe."

At least she didn't bite her.

[andhiswife]

It's no coincidence that Ruckus has been encouraging Lilly to stay put. When Greta had explained the circumstances to Daine, the girl had spent several long minutes just sitting with the dog in outward silence before assuring Greta that the dog understood the situation and would be happy to help. The whole thing had been a little unnerving, frankly, but Daine had all but radiated kind sensibility - a far cry from the Witch back home. Then she'd let slip that she was from a similar sort of universe as Greta's, and they'd wound up on a tear about how awful the subways are, and Greta completely forgot to be nervous about her magic.

Whatever specifics Daine relayed to Ruckus, the creature seems to see Lilly as more of a charge than a master. So far, she's done wonders. There haven't been any more escapes (not successful ones, anyway), and the dog's spent much of her time and energy keeping Lilly entertained. It's made Greta's job a great deal easier. At least she feels as if she can safely take her eyes off the girl when she needs to.

Now, Ruckus seems to be making a deliberate attempt to set a good example. She wags her nub of a tail cheerfully and takes a slow step towards Iman, glancing back at Lilly as if to ask if she'll be coming along, too. Regardless, the dog ambles forward until she's close enough to lean forward and sniff at Iman's hands. She seems to be paying particular attention to the left one, but if she can tell there's something different about it, she doesn't seem to find it upsetting. Her tail wags harder, and she stretches her neck up to sniff at Iman's chin. So far, so good.

Greta gives Lilly an encouraging smile, quelling the urge to hug her (she learned very quickly that Lilly's still not very comfortable with such things), settling for reaching over to run a reassuring palm over the girl's hair. Lilly probably could have done a bit better with her greeting, but she also could have done worse. At least she didn't go haring off on all fours like a little monkey and end up treeing herself atop the fridge.

"You know," Greta says, as if imparting a great secret, "I think Iman would love to see your wall." Personally, Greta's rather hoping that Lilly will run out of room and consent to drawing on paper that's taped to the wall, but for the time being, it seems like a fair enough compromise. "Why don't we show her?"

Ruckus prances back over to Lilly, and Greta shifts her attention back to Iman, holding out a hand in invitation. She knows Lilly enjoys showing off her drawings, and she trusts Iman to at least feign interest. Once the girl's a bit more at ease, they can probably just leave her and Ruckus to entertain one another while she and her friend catch up.

[etherthief]

Iman smiles faintly at Lilly's mumbled reply - poor kid seems like she's been through a lot, and she feels even worse now about trying to talk Greta out of this - when she is rescued from further introspection by the dog. Dogs she can handle. She's glad her two best friends both have dogs now, because while she'd love one, she knows she would not be a good pet caretaker.

"Hi!" she says with a big grin as the dog sniffs her hands and her chin, and greeting the animal with vigorous rubs and scritches behind her ears. She's only half-listening when Greta speaks to Lilly, and then the dog bounces back over to the little girl. "What's this wall?" She redirects her attention to Lilly dutifully. "I would love to see your wall, yes."

Sure. Whatever that means. Oh look, Greta's hand. Hi.

She takes that and pulls herself back up, trying and failing not to blush, good thing there are children and animals here. She is pretty well out of the line of scrutiny here.