Given Saffron's state I was not too sure how to go about getting Daniel's attention, he still residing upstairs with Riv and Sura. I bit my lip to consider my options, siding with wrapping up this new child in my tail and having them follow me close to my side as we ascended the stairs. With those reddened eyes the last thing I wanted to do was call alarm from either side.

We both quietly shuffled down the east wing, my stopping just before the doorway to the staff room.

"Daniel," I softly called, placing my hand on the corridor, "c-could I see you for a moment?"

Though I couldn't see him I could hear the man rise from his seat on the couch and pace over to the doorway. He initially stopped just before the opening, his step slowing once he saw I wasn't alone. With a tilt of his head and an inquisitive skew of his eyebrow he finished his step, coming around the doorway to meet me.

"What's this, now?" he asked in a whisper.

"We've, um, g-got a bit of a predicament," I answered. "Kuri and Tamani are both home, so could you please take us to the infirmary?"

He looked at me, puzzled, but I returned his glance with my own of severe pleading. I could tell he was formulating questions in his head, but he understood that those questions would be answered should he follow my request. With how close I was to this strange new person he seemed to feel a need to do the same, keeping both of us close to his side.

"You two just hang out here, alright?" he said, turning back to the other two in the staff room. "Don't know how long this'll be."

Both children nodded, their affirmation allowing us our departure.

We quickly walked back up the hall, down the stairs, and out to the lobby. One quick look behind us and we left the building, stepping lightly through the grass and over to the small infirmary beside the home. A twist of a key unlocked the door, the bigger man pushing it open and waving us through. I stepped forward, Saffron closely in tow, and led them to the first cot I spotted. Saffron let go of my tail and hesitantly took a seat upon the cot, eyes still downcast as I stood next to the cot. Daniel closed and locked the door before checking to ensure the windows were closed and sealed from any possible spying.

"Alright, looks like the coast is clear here," he said upon his confirmation.

Walking over to us he grabbed his chair and took a seat, scooting it closer to both of us. Without another word he slowly reached forth and placed his hand under Saffron's jaw, gently pulling it upward so he could better see the eyes obscured with the current angle.

"...Ah," was all he said upon observation.

"There's a...bit more to this one," I said further. "Come here."

He rose back to his feet, my pointing to the back of Saffron's neck. Daniel turned his head to get a look, taking in the same sight I was greeted with just a few minutes earlier.

"...That's quite an infection," he remarked, putting on a pair of gloves. "Let's see here..."

With his hands now gloved he pushed aside the fur to reveal the full extent of the burn beneath. I could already tell he was coming to a similar conclusion.

"Something so linear...this wasn't an accident," he said to himself. "This looks like a brand. Like, from a branding iron, like people use on livestock."

"That's what I thought, too, when I saw it," I returned.

He parted from us to rifle through a cabinet, assembling a small assortment of bottles and carrying them to the cot. I moved over so he could better access the wound, Saffron looking back to us nervously.

"Okay, kid," Daniel began as he opened one of the bottles, "this won't feel great, but I'll be as gentle as possible. Please hold as still as ya can."

Saffron shallowly nodded. I stepped forth, opening my arms to invite them closer. With great hesitation they took my offer, my holding them against my side as I held their long black hair out of Daniel's way. The nurse gently dabbed away the discharge with saline and cloth. Saffron didn't so much as flinch as he worked, which honestly caused more concern than would the contrary. I stroked their head while Daniel continued to work, an effort to both keep them relaxed from the medical procedure and to help reassure them that we truly meant no harm. Coming to us in such a condition requires more courage than one might think and that was something to be fully understood and respected.

A few minutes passed, Daniel working carefully to clean the infection and apply ointments and dressings to prevent it from worsening.

"You're doing very well with this," Daniel praised as he worked. "I'm just about done here, but I'll be doin' a bit more once this part's taken care of."

I wasn't quite sure what this might entail so I stayed quiet, just keeping the scared child company. Before long the nurse was finished, having shaved nearby fur and cleanly dressed the wound to shield it from contact. He gathered his assortment of supplies and carried them back to the cabinet, returning with a syringe and a small bottle of pills.

"Can I get ya to hold still just one last time for me?" he asked as he removed the needle from its seal. "Nobody likes shots, but I don't want ya getting something worse than just a scar from this, okay?"

I held Saffron's head and rubbed their cheek as Daniel dabbed a place on their arm with alcohol before removing the cap from the needle.

"Just a little poke, now," he whispered, inserting the needle and quickly depositing the fluid.

A little grimace from the insertion was all I could make out as the nurse turned to dispose of the syringe in a sharps bin. Before completing his return he grabbed a cup and filled it with water, placing it on the desk.

"And to make life a little easier I've got some painkillers for ya," he continued, opening the bottle of pills and retrieving one. "From the feel of your skin I can tell you're dehydrated, so drink all the water in this cup along with the pill."

I let Saffron go to take the medication and cup of water. They looked at the pill for a moment before downing it along with the water, not even stopping for a breath until the contents were downed. Daniel took back the glass and refilled it, Saffron eagerly taking a second helping.

"There we go," he said through a little smile. "'m'sure this is all really jarring for ya, but you're handling it real well. Since we're out here, would ya mind if I do an initial evaluation? It's something I give to all residents."

"...Residents?" Saffron quietly repeated.

"Mhm," he replied. "Sure Reverend here already said something about it, knowing him, but we'd be raising you as one of ours as a resident of our home. You alright with that?"

"...But...m-my eyes..." Saffron trailed off.

"That's a temporary problem," Daniel responded. "With enough time and with the right care, it can be cured. Of course, you'll need to be willin' to let us help ya through this. Will you let us help?"

"...It's n-not permanent?" Saffron asked, eyes widened by such a revelation.

"It's not permanent," Daniel repeated in affirmation, patting the child's head with his big hand. "We want to help ya, and we'll do all we can. Mind coming with me for a moment so I can get your height and weight?"

Saffron looked to me, my returning with a nod. They stood up from the cot and followed the nurse to the scale and stadiometer, his recording values for an initial evaluation. Similar to my own so long ago the child was walked through each step by our gentle nurse, from the height and weight record all the way down to the reflex test. Slowly but surely I could feel Saffron relaxing as the procedure continued through the usual questionnaire, some questions omitted for their comfort.

"That's the usual out of the way," he said, removing the page from his clipboard. "Reverend, uh, by chance ya have a personal file? If not we can start one here."

"N-No, I don't," I answered, tugging some of my hair. "They didn't have one with them."

"'They'?" Daniel asked.

"Um, S-Saffron here," I answered again. "They came here alone, no file or belongings."

My answer seemed only to encourage more questions. Daniel set aside the evaluation and looked over the blank personal file before him, copying over any duplicate information from the evaluation.

"Name?" Daniel asked.

"...The alias is the name," I said. "As far as I'm aware, they hadn't one prior to now."

He looked up at me with a confused gaze.

"...Where are you from, Saffron?" the nurse asked further.

"...A...compound," Saffron slowly responded, "...o-on an island south of here."

"Compound?" he repeated, his nose wrinkled in disgust. "What for?"

"...I-I don't know," Saffron said, rubbing their arm. "I'd...always been there, I think."

"...Were you born there, by chance?"

"...I don't know. I-I'm sorry."

"Nothin' to apologize for, just...tryin' to piece this together. Any family?"

"I...think I-I used to have some, but I was housed alone."

Daniel tapped the end of his pen against the desk in thought, not sure what to make of this development. From here I couldn't blame him, much of his thoughts reflecting my own.

"I'll just record your place of birth as Huot," he said, filling the blank. "Might you know your date of birth?"

"N-No," Saffron stuttered.

Daniel looked at the data on the evaluation, then looked over Saffron. He paused for a moment to think.

"From the looks of ya, your height and weight and such, I'd estimate you're about ten or eleven," he said. "How's about we go with ten, with a birthday a few months from now?"

"...Okay."

Another blank was filled by the nurse's quick scrawling. A couple more blanks here and there were soon occupied with his best estimates and approximations given what little he had to work with.

"Alright, I've added what could be," he said. "Just need to know your sex."

Saffron's ears initially perked, quickly raking back with a turn of the head. Admittedly I could not tell from an initial glance, the long hair but thin, shapeless body acting against each other.

"...Are you okay?" he asked.

No response.

"Uh, some people call it 'gender' if that's a more familiar term?" he asked again.

"...I'm...a girl," Saffron finally responded.

Something about this felt strange. I looked to Daniel and he returned my look with a similar one.

"...Okay, female," he said, filling in that last blank.

Whatever this feeling was, it could wait for a few days. What mattered most now was getting Saffron cleaned up and settled in over the next few days.

"Since your eyes will look like that for a bit I'd like to place an order for concealers," Daniel said, filing away the papers into the big cabinet. "Do you remember your real eye color?"

"...Y-Yellow," she said.

"Sure, I'll get ya some yellow concealers," he said through a warm smile. "They won't fix things but they'll make your eyes look normal to other people. Helps with recovery if ya feel a little more confident. It'll be a few days before they're ready, so we'll keep ya upstairs with the other kids until then."

"...Other kids?"

"Mhm, we have two other children," I said. "They're a bit older than you, but they're very kind and well-behaved. Are you alright with sharing a room with them?"

"....W-Will they...want to share one with me?" she returned with her own question.

"I think they will be understanding, Saffron, but if need be we don't mind giving you your own room," I reassured. "We have plenty of space here."

"...P...Please don't l-leave me alone," she choked out, head turned.

She seemed...almost ashamed for such a request, though given where she claimed to come from and the apparent conditions of that other place, I could understand the concern. Further, she still didn't seem hostile so I'd hope that would help quell any disagreements or anxieties the other two may have.

...I guess there was only one way to find out.

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