Before I could say anything that staffmember made themself scarce, disappearing elsewhere down the hall.

"...Saffron, please just come with me for a moment while I see Morissey out," I sighed, letting her go. "You can stay in the downstairs hallway, but with this knowledge I'm worried about keeping you up here by yourself."

"Wh-Why is he still here?" she asked.

"Well, honestly, he was looking forward to meeting you," I replied. "Ever since Monday morning he'd asked how you were doing and if he could see you."

"He...w-wants to meet me?" she stuttered, confused and terrified of the very notion. "Why would he ever want to see a new type? He hated us!"

I returned my arms around my scared child, petting through her black hair to ease her emotions and calm her down.

"While I don't disbelieve your story, I want you to really consider the circumstances behind the actions we take and how people can change as life goes on," I quietly said into her hair. "I know it doesn't change what happened and I'm very, very sorry for that, but I don't think the man you saw so long ago is the same as the one down in our lobby. Not literally, of course, but--"

"H-How can I...trust someone who did those things, who put us in a compound under his control?" she cried.

That was maybe a little more relatable than she realized, but I didn't want to bring up issues from years ago. I'd known Morissey for quite a while by now, some eight years or so, and I'd seen him at one of his worst points-- the same time he'd acted against her family, he'd likewise acted against me and mine. While the actions taken weren't identical by any means it was still a familiar feeling.

"Just...please trust me, even if you can't trust him," I said, giving her a final squeeze before letting go. "I promise he will not hurt you, and should he so much as attempt he'll be flattened, okay?"

"...Do you really promise?"

"I really, truly promise," I affirmed, touching my snout to her crown and taking her hand. "It will only be a few minutes, and afterward we can see where to go from here."

She said nothing but her grasp around my hand reassured me at the very least. We both departed the bedroom, walking down the hall and back down the stairs. The closer we got to the lobby, the stronger her grip. I tried to keep my head clear as to not draw unwanted attention toward us, noticing a few staff talking amongst themselves and eyeing us from their distance. Regardless, once we were just outside the lobby she released my hand and I was able to return to my work area. There Morissey had patiently stood in wait, his hands behind his back and attention turned to what the other two children were working on. It was amusing in its own way to see him take interest in their mundane schoolwork, especially with a face so softened like it had become over the past few years.

While I had no doubt in my mind that he'd played a part in Saffron's history, what with how he'd been toward I at the same time, I'd also been much more involved with his development even well after the fact. From what I could see and determine he felt genuine remorse for his actions around then, and given how she'd described his request for a release not long after their capture I'd wager that remorse was earlier onset than I initially thought. It was honestly both a little jarring and a little funny, in a way, to know such severely different sides to the same individual.

"Ah, you're back," he said, standing back upright. "Is everything alright?"

"Y...Yes, everything is fine," I answered. "Our, um, new child is still a bit under the weather as it turns out. I had to clean up a bit of a mess."

"Oh, I'm very sorry to hear that," he replied, his ears dropped a bit. "Like I said, please don't feel you need to rush anything just for my feelings. I have no issue waiting."

"R-Right..." I trailed off, trying to think of where to go from here. "I'll let you know when's a good time."

"I would like that very much," he said with a nervous smile, his eyes quickly darting to the side before returning to mine. "I apologize for this morning."

"Please don't, it's nothing anyone did," I tried to chuckle as I returned to my desk. "I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Of course," he nodded, turning back toward the door and making his stroll. "Please have a good day."

I nodded in response, finally able to take a breath once the door clicked shut.

A few seconds later a foot stepped past the threshold and a pair of golden eyes poked out of the doorway to scan the lobby, Saffron finally coming to join the rest of us now that Morissey had left. Daniel's attention immediately turned toward me. The nurse knew something was up and wasn't about to fall for my transparent lies. The best I could do for now was mouth "later" from behind my desk as he looked to me with concern and the children looked to each other the same way. As much as I wanted to tend to this matter sooner rather than later I didn't want to let my work sit for too long lest I lose time or worse-- lest the house staff take notice.

Here I'd thought that we were out of that frying pan of a situation, the staff watching my every move, but I couldn't help but feel we'd just jumped into the fire instead. This time it wasn't just me and it wasn't just Riv -- issues borne solely from their racial biases as far as I could tell -- but now concerned someone who was personally involved. Involved in activities they were trying to hide, no less. After all, from what she told me, Morissey had requested their release to a nearby town and not the transfer to some other compound. Moreover, he was never seen nor heard from at that compound and the treatment shifted drastically from detention-like to practically torture.

...I also couldn't help but think that the family she'd mentioned having escaped hadn't actually done so, else surely I'd have seen others like her in this area. The mere thought of that with all I'd been told this morning ate at the back of my skull and I could feel the fur on my nape standing on end. From where I sat some movement caught my attention, my eyes shifting upward to catch those of a watchful staffmember. I looked back down to the folder of documents before me, sighed, and returned to my work.

Act natural. That was all I could do right now.

For them. For me.

---

Come evening the lobby was closed, my work stored in my cubicle safe for tomorrow morning. With all of this going on I was happier now than ever to have put down for that expenditure. The wandering eyes of the looming staff as the day went on had my own eyes wandering about the lobby, distracting me further from my work.

So much in one day. Too much, I'd argue.

We tried to carry on with the day as normally as possible, pretending nothing happened. I was more than appreciative of my family's compliance and I'm sure much of it was due to Daniel's own memories regarding the confrontation from years prior. He did what he could to keep all the children comfortable and relaxed while I worked, understanding that he'd know what was going on when the time was right.

Following dinner both he and I retreated to our room for a moment, keeping the children under the watch of Kuri and Tamani in one of the common areas on the first floor.

"So what was that about?" Daniel asked once he got to the bed, not missing a beat. "Ya said 'later' and now it's later."

"I'm...trying to figure out how is best to explain what I was told," I answered, scratching the back of my head. "Admittedly it's a lot to go through and it's hard for me to make sense of it all, like I'm missing information."

"Well, just go with what ya got and we'll try to sort it out together," he offered with a shrug. "I can at least tell Morissey had something to do with it but I don't like just jumping to conclusions."

"...I don't either, and that's part of the issue," I quietly said, looking over my shoulder to check the door from where I stood.

He just tilted his head.

"...It does have something to do with Morissey, yes," I confirmed. "You, um, r-recall that confrontation he and I had back six or so years ago, when Riv was eight?"

He winced and briefly looked to the floor. That said enough on its own.

"Well, I guess more things were going on that I wasn't privy to," I continued. "There was...some kind of conflict taking place just leading up to that situation, but occurring somewhere else. I'm not sure where as I wasn't told and Saffron doesn't remember. She was likely too young at the time."

"Alright?" he said, though with a confused tone.

"I don't know what the specific conflict was, but Saffron claims that she and her family were in the same town as Morissey at the same time. There was some kind of...riot? That's at least what it sounded like to me, and her family was involved. All of them were apprehended and brought to some sort of compound, like a jail, but what I don't understand is that it was supposed to only be a temporary hold."

"Wonder what could've led to a riot, if that's what it was," Daniel thought aloud. "Word usually spreads quickly in small towns like these, but information gets impeded real quick the farther away towns are. This is the first I've heard of anything of the sort so I'd guess, at the very least, she's from quite a ways away."

"You'd know more about that than I since I don't get out much," I awkwardly laughed. "Saffron said that Morissey was the owner of the compound and that she saw and heard him frequently during her time there. She's not sure how long they were kept, but said it felt like forever. Given how young she was that...doesn't really tell me much, I'm afraid."

"...Why would he own a compound?" came the inevitable question.

"I'm not sure," I replied, picking my brain for possibilities. "Maybe it was a new construction, or it was being fixed in some way? Maybe it wasn't his at all since, again, this is the recollection of a very young child. It could very well be that she thinks he owned it because he was often there, as were staff of his."

"That's fair, I suppose."

"What's stranger to me is that she described some...surprisingly humane care from his side that puts much of these details at odds with each other. They were fed two or three times daily and given blankets and sleeping mats so they wouldn't be cold overnight. Moreover, he'd requested these things from his staff personally and she recalls those staff not being too thrilled about it, but complying regardless."

"Uh, that honestly sounds more like a jail hold for rioters," he said, his eyes easing up to mine from the floor. "Often those things are done when there's damage to people, property, or both, and it's only for a few days. I think the longest hold I've heard of is a week and it's usually to settle people down, provide food and shelter and such. Hell, I don't think it's even put on a person's record unless they commit a serious crime during."

"This is news to me," I said, my ears askew. "Might I ask how you know these things?"

"Well, if it helps, a number of clinics I've worked in have taken in people from those situations, whether it's because of corruption or because of some kind of civil matter like you described," he responded. "Really just kinda comes with the workplace. You'd be surprised what doesn't."

...Interesting.

"...Well, at some point Morissey had requested his staff release them to a nearby town," I went on. "The thing is, that seemed to be the last time she saw or heard from him."

"What?"

"Yeah, I'm...not sure," I sighed. "From there it was just the staff, and it was said staff who brought them well beyond where they were supposed to go. They brought them all the way to the southern end of Faradus, put them on a boat, and brought them to one of the islands just south of here."

"Okay, that's...something," Daniel said, turning his snout away in quiet disgust. "So there's a compound on one of the islands south of here."

I nodded.

"Not just that," I chimed in, "but the treatment of those they held was drastically different from what she remembers from the first hold, and severely so."

I could already see his ears creep back as he thought of the possibilities.

"She claims they were fed every other day and often beaten, with some even being forced to live without clothes," I added, my nose wrinkling. "While she said that others before her had escaped, I'm...not so sure about that one."

He pressed his eyes closed and brought up his hand to pinch the bridge of his snout. This was all very heavy and hard to chew.

"I'm really not sure what to say or think, and I see what you mean about the details," he sighed. "While I've not exactly held Morissey in the highest regard since that one incident I'll fully admit he's changed a lot and my opinion has softened. Given how...dare I say kind and outgoing he's been the past few years, I've a hard time believing that he's directly at fault for the second holding. Since Saffron doesn't recall seeing or hearing from him there while also saying he'd requested their release I doubt he just changed his mind mid-stride."

"Yes, that's the thing," I said, slowly shaking my head. "It's like I'm missing information. While I understand people are capable of some...terrible things, I just have a hard time believing that was his move. But if that's the case..."

"...Then perhaps a number of his staff has their own motives," he finished. "Somethin' tells me he's not aware of any of it, and that's...terrifying, to say the least."

"Saffron also said that those staff had mentioned this place and that's how she knew to come here," I recalled further. "They also didn't have kind things to say about me and mine, which is reassuring. So Morissey may not know about this second compound, but his staff...knows about us."

He closed his eyes again, snout toward the floor with a heavy sigh. The motion caught my attention, further expounded by shifting light from under the door. Not a sound was made, but the telltale shadow motion of departing footsteps had my eyes widening.

"Well, I'm not really sure what to do or where to go from here," he finally said, snapping me back to. "I don't want her to feel confined to the upstairs in the mornings just because she might be recognized."

"That's something I've been wondering today--"

I was interrupted by a small knock on the door, my heart jumping up into my throat even from the rather soft noise. I did what I could to regain my composure before opening the door and seeing who might be on the other side.

It was Saffron.

"...Father?" she softly called after I opened the door.

I tilted my head, not sure what this could be about.

She took a deep breath, looking first to the floor and then back up to me.

"...Could...you disguise me as a boy?"

---