Daniel and I woke the Monday following that strange weekend, ready to start another arguably average workweek. I wasn't sure what to expect through it all, apparently wearing some of that caution on my face as I put myself together for the morning. The nurse took notice and pulled me in for a much-needed hug.

"Y'alright?" he asked. "Ya seem kinda uneasy 'bout somethin'."

"Ah, just...wondering when the concealers will be done so everyone can resume their normal lives," I answered.

I mean, that was certainly part of it, though I hadn't much reason to worry about that much as the servicer had proven reliable. Admittedly more of my concern was about whether or not I'd be able to reason with my employer about our new resident and what that would mean for my future paychecks. A blow to my income while needing to support more people at the same time was more than just insult to injury. What hurt more was how silent I had to be about this situation given the contract I'd signed and the NDA that came with it.

I had to be careful, and with the state of the town and their ill-regard for me and mine I couldn't risk anything.

"Aw, shouldn't be much longer," he replied, rubbing his snout in my ever-cowlicked hair. "Orders usually take three days so they should be done tomorrow. Just one more day of bein' cooped up in the bedroom."

"Heh..."

"S'that all that's buggin' you, though?" he asked further, leaning his face against my head. "Get a feelin' there's more to it."

"...No, that's it," I said. "I'm just tired after how this weekend went. I'll be fine."

"Well, alright, if you say so," he relented, releasing me from his big arms. "Just remember that you can talk to me about whatever ails ya, okay? We can do that out in the infirmary in private if you're worried about anything gettin' out, too."

"I know, I'll...be just fine," I yawned. "Um, would you be so kind as to handle breakfast this morning and take it upstairs while I get my work and such set up?"

"Sure, I can do that. What'd ya like?"

I looked away and down to the floor.

"Uh, I-I'm not really hungry this morn--"

"Sam."

I flinched, not used to such a commanding tone coming from him. My eyes slowly eased back up to meet his, an expression of unamusement. I wasn't going to win this one.

"...I'll just have some of what you decide to make for everyone else," I conceded.

"That's much better," he said, nudging his nose against my forehead. "Didn't mean to scare ya but you're underweight and need to eat. I love you and want to keep ya around as long as I can."

Even through that I couldn't help but smile a little.

"I, um, won't be able to eat with everyone this morning, but I should be able to for lunch and dinner," I said, noticing the time on the desk clock. "Please tell Saffron I'm very sorry, but that I'll be around when I can. Everything will be much easier when we can all be downstairs again."

"Not a problem, and yeah, I'm lookin' forward to that, too," Daniel said, opening the door and waving me through. "Remember, it's just one more day."

I shuffled past him as he closed the door behind us, our entering the lengthy hallway. The bright yellow light of the morning sun trickled in through some of the doors along the sides, the silhouettes of some staff just barely visible through the glow. He turned right as I went on ahead to the stairs, making my descent and venturing to the lobby. As far as I could see it was a pleasant morning with some fluffy scattered clouds and fine dewdrops lacing the front yard's foliage.

I opened the desk's heavy arm and pushed my way through the door, parking my rear on my chair and taking a deep breath. It wouldn't be much longer before Morissey showed up and, in a twisted way, I was glad for the current circumstances as it would better ensure a private conversation between myself and my employer.

Bending down under the inner shelf I found a small safe I'd installed some time ago. A few turns of a dial and the little door opened, allowing access to Friday's work. While that one employee was no longer here I didn't want to possibly risk another streak of vandalism and this was much easier than keeping my work on another floor. I grabbed the folder and set it upon the desk before closing the safe's door and returning my attention to the lobby to stare out the brightly-lit window. A few minutes later Daniel's heavy footsteps could be heard echoing down the hall, getting a bit louder as they drew closer to the lobby. He entered my domain carrying a plate and glass, setting them down on the side shelf of the large desk.

A couple eggs, a slice of seasoned and buttered toast, some cored strawberries, and two slices of bacon. In the glass was a generous amount of milk.

"I'll swing by to pick up your dishes when I bring everyone else's downstairs," he said, planting a little kiss in my hair. "See you in a bit."

I smiled as he left my desk, making his way back to the kitchen to feed our growing family. I really didn't know what I'd do without him.

A few minutes later the front door opened, Morissey turning back around to gently close it.

"Good morning, Reverend," he softly called from where he stood.

I was used to a more impactful, nearly booming voice from him that it was a little unusual hearing him speak so softly. Not that I minded, given how all the hard surfaces in this lobby made things that much louder, but it just sort of struck me.

"Good...morning," I responded with a little tilt of the head. "Are you feeling alright?"

He looked to me with ears askew and an eyebrow raised as he stepped closer toward my desk.

"Does...something seem off or unwell?" he asked.

"Ah, n-not really," I stuttered, hoping I hadn't possibly offended him. "I'm just not used to you speaking so quietly is all."

"Oh, uh, I actually hadn't really noticed," he awkwardly smiled. "I think I'd been so used to having to speak so loudly to talk to larger groups of people I fell into a habit of doing that even when addressing individuals. Sorry if I was, um, too loud in the past."

"No, it wasn't something I really noticed until now is all," I said, handing him the folder. "I...do have some news for you, though."

"Oh?"

"...W-Well, uh," I looked away, scratching my head and trying to find my words, "we...may have brought in another child."

"You're awfully shy about this," he said with a little grin, stuffing the folder under his arm and providing me with one of his own. "I'm assuming they're a new type given how you're acting."

"...Y...Yes, sorry," I whispered, putting the new folder down on the shelf just in front of me.

"'Sorry'?"

There was a sort of confusion -- and dare I say tenderness -- to his repeating my apology that had me looking back up at him if only out of my own bemusement. As far as I could tell his tone was genuine, nothing in his expression seemed to indicate otherwise. I really wasn't sure what to say to that.

"Why are you sorry?" he asked again. "I thought you liked new types."

"I-I do, they're my children, but...the, um, income agreement," I reminded him, my ears slunk back in anticipation.

"Ah, that," he said, raising his hand to his chin.

"I don't...know if it matters, but currently all the children occupy the same room," I said, fidgeting with my sleeve. "I was hoping to, um...bargain for the income adjustment like last time."

"...You're not stuffing them all into the same room out of fear of what I'll do to your paychecks, I hope?" he asked, head cocked.

"No, not at all!" I blurted. "I've always given them the choice to either room together or room separately, and they've always wanted to room together. Given their circumstances I think that choice makes sense. The rooms for pure children are set up to house up to four per room as it is so there is plenty of space.

"Alright, alright," he chuckled. "I didn't mean to sound accusatory, I was just concerned."

"...'Concerned', you say?"

"...Please, not so loud," Morissey sighed. "Could I meet this new child of yours? I've noticed nobody else is down here today."

"Ah, well..." I trailed off, tapping my fingers together, "...when they arrived they were not feeling well, a bit under the weather. Currently we're housing them upstairs in the comfort of their shared bedroom until they feel better, under Daniel's care."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," he replied, his ears tilting a bit. "Do you need anything? Medicine, those kinds of things?"

"No, I think we'll be just fine here," I said, interlocking my fingers to stop my fidgeting. "The concern is appreciated, though. You should be able to meet them in a day or two."

"Well then, I look forward to it," he said with a little smile before turning around to head back toward the front door.

"W-Wait, the--"

"Please don't worry about that, Reverend," he cut me off, looking over his shoulder. "There are more important things at hand. Please take care of your sick child and I will take care of you."

Before I could formulate a response he was already closing the door behind him.

Despite the awkwardness, that went better than I expected it would. As I opened the new folder I heard faint shuffling from the hallway. I was used to the sounds of Daniel and the children, but this sound was unfamiliar to me. About as quickly as I noticed it, it stopped. Something about this, about the uneasy stares of the house staff lately, had me combing through my thoughts in an attempt to figure out what might be the issue.

...I remember Esmé telling me long ago that energy impacts energy, how the presence of sources of high negative energy could be felt. I'd certainly noticed this for myself with Saffron's presence, so perhaps...the staff here also felt it? If they did, would they tell Morissey?

...Actually, on that note, Morissey seemed genuinely unaware of the recent happenings here in the foster home and even appeared eager to meet whoever this new child must be. If the staff are here all the time and Saffron showed up on Friday, surely two days would be long enough to inform Morissey of anything unusual taking place here. Not many would be willing to house a corrupted in their house or workplace, after all, yet not a word was spoken about it.

Did he really not know? Saffron's corruption was not severe enough to be felt much, if at all, a floor away so I didn't doubt the effect couldn't be felt down here.

Still...

...Ah, no matter, this wasn't my business.

I grabbed my pen and set on to start my work, looking forward to noon so I could spend a little time with my family upstairs for lunch.

---

Saffron seemed all too happy for my presence during those mealtimes and for the time spent after work. Even after the past eight years it was still strange to be missed by anyone, but it did provide some comfort knowing that I meant enough to someone to be missed. During the time after work she lay against my side as I flipped through a book, pointing out various words and helping her learn how to read. She was catching on quickly.

While I'd been working downstairs Daniel had taken to starting his own schoolwork sheets for Saffron to work on after her concealers were finished. Riv and Sura also helped in my absence during the off time they had from their own work.

"Concealers should be done and ready for pickup tomorrow morning so I'm gonna do that after breakfast is done and cleaned up, alright?" Daniel said, resting his palm on Saffron's head. "You'll be able to wander about the house like everyone else and nobody will be the wiser."

"...Are you sure?" she hesitantly asked.

"I'm very sure," he warmly replied with a big smile. "You'll look as normal as you usually would. They can't conceal the energy field, but yours isn't strong enough to be a huge issue."

"E-Energy field?" Saffron asked, her ears fallen back.

"The more negative energy ya got in you, the more other people can sort of 'feel' it," he answered, taking a knee to the floor. "If your case is real severe then that field can stretch quite a ways and be pretty strong, but your case is actually fairly mild so you'd have to be pretty close to feel it."

"...What...does it feel like?" the inquisitive child asked further.

"It depends!" Daniel responded, almost excited to share the knowledge. "Actually, how it feels to other people is one of the ways to gauge how a corrupted person is feeling. If they're feeling comfortable, the feeling we get is also comfortable. It isn't a bad thing, this effect-- it's very useful for letting us know how you're doin'. Even then, for a case like yours, you have to be...oh, I'd say within a couple rooms of space to feel it depending on one's sensitivity. Everyone is different so some feel it more strongly than others."

"Will...Will they know what's causing it?" she asked, tugging at my arm.

"I won't lie: That is actually possible," he said, petting through her dark hair, "but it's not very likely. The most likely possibility is that they'll feel it but not know what's causing it, just shrugging it off. Those who have felt it before and known what caused it prior are more likely to know what's causing it again. Fortunately for you, your case isn't severe enough to make much impact beyond your eye color, so they'll just look around for a source and not see anything that really stands out at all. Of course, this is also assuming that you, yourself, are feeling upset in some way. If you're doin' fine and are comfortable and content, chances are other people will either not notice or think it's pleasant and leave it at that."

"...Do you promise?"

"Absolutely, Saffron. I've a lot of experience working with the corrupted-- that's actually why I chose this profession. I won't lie to you about these things and we'll all do our best to take care o'ya during this rough time. Have ya been experiencing any red tears since ya got here?"

Saffron's face tensed and her ears raked back as far as they could go, as though waiting for some kind of punishment.

"...I-I have," she quietly said. "...Um...a-a lot. I'm s-sorry."

"Hey now," Daniel softly called, placing his hand under her chin to gently lift it. "That's a good thing. It means that the energy in your soul is transforming and the excess negative energy is neutralizing. It's kinda unsettling to look at, I understand, but it's a sign of healing, okay? The more it happens, the more negative energy is being neutralized and the more your soul is stabilizing. It's a slow process, but you're already healing and we couldn't be more proud of you."

Upon hearing that news she allowed us a glimpse of a shy, but genuine smile. Daniel swept her long, messy bangs out of her face while he rubbed her cheek with his opposite thumb. Slowly but surely her ears would ease back up and she'd fall back into comfort.

...Maybe it was just me, or perhaps it was the lighting, but her sclerae did seem lighter today.

---