✧ paris ✧ discussion

An orphanage that was around before the more recent one. There are still children within that are being raised by Lionel, and they still get shipments of food and things as well as money from the older ones who choose to work. As far as anyone knows, the place still more or less is an orphanage, but no one sees the owner much anymore.

Lionel was up almost at the crack of dawn. He was a busy mom after all. The first thing he did was start making bagged lunches; labeling each with a name for each child and making sure to keep the lunches even so there was no fighting about who had a better lunch. The only variations they had were that some kids only ate a certain snack and not others. So some had carrots, others had celery, and some had apple slices. He alternated in what kinds of sandwiches from one day to another as well, today was lunch meat sandwiches, and for a special treat, he included leftover roast meat from dinner last night sprinkled into the sandwich. He included a thermos in each full of a cold drink he'd had in the freezer, knowing by the time the kids ate lunch, the drink would be melted, and the food would have stayed cold.

After that was done, he moved to get outfits ready for all the kids today and it was only after he'd done all of his morning preparations, including starting to fix breakfast, that he went to the hall where his kids were sleeping. "Rise and shine everybody! I want you all dressed before breakfast!" he called out cheerily, moving back to the kitchen to prepare pancakes for everyone.

Everly Sloan was asleep, deep beneath her covers, she was woken up by Lionel's voice, calling them for breakfast, the teenager groaned, not wanting to get up yet. She'd been up late the night before, going through all of her latest treasures, figuring out which ones she could sell for cash. Everly grunted as someone stepped on her leg, she pushed back the covers, it was time to get up, whether she liked it or not. Everly sat up, everyone was practically gone out of the room she was staying in, so she could get dressed without an audience. (view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] She dressed quickly, and pulled her curls back into a pony tail, she didn't feel like messing with her hair, or taking a shower. Everly half-made her bed and headed towards the kitchen, where everyone seemed to be gathering.

Lionel was preparing them breakfast, Everly leaned against one of the counters and watched him as he moved around, cooking things, and preparing other things. "Morning," She murmured as she took it all in, she still couldn't believe that she was lucky enough to be a part of all this, it was like a fairy tale compared to some of the things she'd been through herself.

((So I'm not gonna rp him yet cause he's not done but I'm making one of the kids Lionel takes care of, a lil boy named Jamie so I wanna use his name, is that alright?))

(of course)

Lionel could hear the thunder of feet that meant that his kids were up and getting ready. "Don't forget to brush your teeth!" He called out, moving to flip pancakes. He moved to get a stack of plates, lifting them up easy over the head of a half asleep little boy with curly red hair called Jamie. He dropped a kiss on his head and said, "Your shirts on backward, pumpkin." and moved to the dining room to lay out the plates on the large table that all the kids would be gathering at soon in anticipation of his food. He was not bad for a 14 year old when it came to cooking, he had a lot of practice under the old lady who would cook for them, and learned a lot. Plus, he was pretty good at following directions with the cooking so he could just look on boxes or her written recipes to figure out what to do. He was able to get good ingredients to make delicious meals thanks to his older kids getting jobs and giving him some of the money (he refuses to take all of it, since they earned it after all.) which he uses to go to the fresh market for fresh fruits and vegetables.

The pancakes today came with homemade syrup, Lionel having followed a recipe to make it with blueberries and strawberries. It wasn't perfect, it might have the slightest taste of burnt sugar, but it was mostly good anyways. "Good morning, Everly." Lionel chirped out cheerily as he started moving stacks of pancakes out to the dining room. As was the rule, no one was allowed to start grabbing pancakes until all the food was out, so that everyone could have some food. He refused to let them do some kind of 'only the fastest get to eat' thing that often happened before. He went around after to fill glasses with either orange juice or water and it was only when he sat down that everyone dug in, the dining room filling with the sound of eating, cutlery clinking, and gradually chatter as everyone woke up fully.

After breakfast was done, when everyone had put their dishes in the sink, he moved to hand out lunches and make sure everyone had things for school. He kissed the heads of his kids or gave them hugs as the older children left for school, then glanced at Everly and said, "I'm going to walk the little ones to school, think about what I said regarding enrolling yourself, yeah? I'll be back in a few minutes to do the dishes."

(Jamie is cute!)
Everly sat down with the rest of the kids, and began eating her pancakes. Though she was still a little weary around the other children, Lionel gave her comfort, so with him there she managed to eat half the plate before giving up and becoming full. Her stomach was still accustomed to small meals, so it was an adjustment receiving a normal meal, and she never seemed able to finish. The kids all lined up to get their lunches for school, and Lionel was about to leave with the kids when he commented to her about school, again. He'd mentioned going to school before, and she'd blown him off, wanting no part in it. She still wasn't feeling the inclination to return. How could she pretend that she was normal? When she was anything but that? Everly chewed on her bottom lip as she cleared the table, trying to help Lionel out. "I'm not smart enough anyway," She muttered to herself as she piled the dishes into the sink.

(he's gonna be such a sweetheart <3)

Lionel walked with the younger kids, all of whom were holding onto some part of him, to the school that was nearby that they all attended. He said goodbye to them all, giving kisses and hugs and checking that everyone had their bags, lunches, and homework before walking back to the house. The kids would all chatter happily about their mom as they went to class, and so far the teachers were none the wiser. He walked quickly back to the orphanage before anyone could ask why he wasn't in school, and went straight to the kitchen, moving to start to work on the dishes with practiced ease. "I'm back, Everly!" he called out to her, letting her know he had returned. "Do you want anything? I've got some flash cards if you want to at least keep up with what you last learned in school, if you aren't ready to go back yet."

The counters had milk, and flour on them, and some other things that Everly could not identify, so she took a wet rag and went to scrubbing the worn counters. They showed the years that had been worn onto them, but that made Everly love them all the more for it, they showed memories, and fact that many children had grown up in such a safe environment. She tried to shake the thoughts from her mind, mentally, because it would only lead to her thinking about her horrid past. She then heard Lionel, he had gotten home, "I'm in here," She called back, knowing he would be headed towards the kitchen anyway. It seemed like Lionel's job was never done, which was one of the reasons that she liked to help him. She felt guilty that she didn't do more, but some days it was hard to even get out of bed, let alone take charge of an entire orphanage like he did.

"Um....." Everly felt embarrassed that she was still on an elementary school level when it came to her education. Though Lionel had never made fun of her for it, she still didn't like that hew knew. Still... if she wanted to ever be able to do anything besides pickpocket, she knew that an education was required. "I guess," Her answer was coupled with her cheeks burning, and her chin tucking into her chest.

Lionel was definitely not the cleanest cook when it came to making meals for the large amount of children that he had to feed at mealtimes, but it was certainly nice to have another person help with the cleanup. As he got to work on the dishes, Everly cleaned off the counters, speeding up what normally took over an hour given how full the sink got with dishes from just one meal. He wondered if he might get some knitting done today, it was a little hobby he had picked up, and every now and then one of his kids would gift him with some yarn as a thank you for all he did. It was really the only gift he would accept, despite still needing a new pair of glasses, and some nicer clothes wouldn't hurt either, but he always gave them to the other kids who were going to school and mending his own until they were almost patchworked in appearance. When Everly agreed, he smiled and said, "Good, education is very important you know." Of course, despite saying this, he was forgoing his own education to raise the kids. He did often learn alongside some of the kids he was raising when he helped with homework, but that couldn't really replace a proper education. "I'll get the flash cards after I finish these dishes. We can go over them together if you'd like."

Everly scrubbed the counters extra hard as Lionel did the dishes, she was taking all of her frustrations out on the worn counter tops. When she was done, she hopped up on the counter, closest to the sink, and watched Lionel as he washed each and every dish, carefully. She often wondered how he could love them, the children, and the home, so much as to give himself to his work as he did. She didn't have that kind of dedication to the home, yet, at least. She hoped to trust, and to give more, to the orphanage with time. Like the treasures she'd recently acquired, she was going to sell them and give the profits to Lionel, without telling him how she got them. It was better if he didn't know, especially since she assumed he wouldn't appreciate it.

"Can we get some coffee today? We ran out," Everly picked at the frayed edges of her shorts as she spoke, "I have money, so that's not an issue. But I don't want o go alone..." Things like going to the market scared her, especially if she was alone. Because she assumed that everyone looked at her like she was a thief. Which she was, but not all of the time, sometimes she really did want to spend an honest dollar, or needed things, like any human, and had cash to buy it. Honestly, people probably didn't look at her that way, but in Everly's mind they did, she felt that the whole world was judging her because of the choices she'd made over her life.

As always, doing chores was soothing for Lionel, the repetition of doing the dishes or washing, or folding allowed his mind to wander or just relax. He had gotten into the swing of doing dishes, his mind traveling to where he last saw the flash cards for Everly to use. He blinked, startled from his thoughts when she mentioned coffee and said, "Ah, yes of course we can. Just let me get ready first." He had an outfit he wore specificially when he had to go out, it was much nicer than what he normally wore, which was mended many times over and looked very patchwork. The nicer outfit served to make people not look twice at him, or mistake him for a street urchin or something so that no one would find out they were living without a proper adult and separate his family.

He was quick to change and groom his hair before emerging again. The outfit was a hand me down from his older children, and thus was a little big on him, but it was nice enough that people probably wouldn't look twice at him. "If anyone asks why we are out during school hours, say we are home schooled and our mother fetched us to get coffee as a social test to see how we would handle a situation on our own, and glance over your shoulder as if she is watching us, alright?" he explained, it was something he'd used in the past on the rare chance that someone cared enough about a strangers kids to wonder why they weren't in school. Home schooling wasn't entirely unheard of, thus it was a safe excuse for them both.

The dishes were soon finished, and Lionel was off to get ready to go out. Everly picked at the edges of her shorts, humming a lullaby as she waited. It didn't take very long for Lionel to get ready, he was soon enough emerging from his quarters, and ready to go out. He gave her the game plan before she'd even hopped off the counter, it sounded like a sound plan.
"Okay," She murmured, nodding her head, to show she understood. She certainly didn't want Lionel getting into trouble because of her. What would happen to the children if Lionel was locked away? Or sent off to another orphanage? Everly didn't have such care for herself, she was used to terrible situations, but for someone that she cared for to get into such a sticky place, that was a whole different story. So Everly repeated the story in her mind, over and over again, so that she would just say it naturally, in case anyone stopped the two of them.

They stepped out onto the streets of Paris, the city was alive, people were getting to jobs, or school, there were already peddlers out and about. Everly watched for any pickpocket's, she wasn't about to have her money stolen. Sure, she'd done some unsavory things for that money, but it was still hers, and she wouldn't be beat at her own game.
"So......" Everly cleared her throat, "So, where are we going for the coffee?" Everly's curls bounced as she walked, her toes were kind of peeking out of the end of her shoes, but she paid no notice. As long as she was safe, that was what mattered.

Lionel smiled at her as they stepped out onto the streets. It was busy, as always, and he had to take a moment to put his hands in his pockets, used to holding the hands of his children, he wasn't sure if she would like the same or not. He was glad she didn't object to his plan on in case anyone asked about them, it made him less nervous to be out. He looked around with big eyes, shoving his glasses up his nose so he could see better. It would do them no good to have him bumping into people because of his poor sight.

When she inquired about where to get the coffee, he bit his lip for a moment as he thought to where his older children usually purchased it. "I believe the children usually get it from a cafe near here," he said, looking around. "I'm afraid I don't recall the name of it though. They usually come home with it."

The hustle and bustle of Paris soothed Everly, she'd always loved the city, and everything it held. The sights, the sounds, the rich culture, how could one not fall in love with the city itself? Avoiding a biker, her arm brushed Lionel's, "Sorry." She murmured, stepping to the side slightly, giving Lionel his space back. She listened as he spoke, her brows furrowing slightly.
"Perhaps its just around the corner? Or further up the street? Surely there's a café nearby, it's not like they're rare in Paris after all," Everly tried to give her most encouraging smile, she was still getting used to that, smiling. It didn't come naturally to her, but it was starting to get easier.

The smell hit her first, as they rounded a corner, her eyes widened, "I smell, roasted coffee beans," She told Lionel, excitement clear in her voice. They walked a little further, and soon came upon a beautiful coffee shop. Everly peered through the window, she'd always respected the barista's. It was kind of a dream of hers to work in a coffee shop one day. But that day would have to be when others wouldn't question why she didn't have parents, and why her she didn't have an address. Clearing her throat, Everly went to open the door, a bell dinged overhead as she did, the coffee beans smelled much stronger with the air of the shop blowing out.

Lionel liked the bustle of Paris, among other things it meant that him and his children often went unnoticed, letting them be themselves without fear of people asking for parents when everyone was so busy with themselves. When Everly brushed against him, he smiled and said, "Nothing to say sorry for." in a pleasant tone. At mentioning the location of the cafe, he nodded and added, "I'm sure it is nearby, they are generally not gone for long. I should have written down the name of the place the last time they fetched more." he shook his head, criticising himself a bit.

Ah well, it did not do to dwell on it, and as she noticed the smell, so did he, a smile alighting on his own face. "Ah, I recognize that smell. It's the same as the coffee we get at the house, this must be the place," he said excitedly, moving to peer through the window with her. He nods to himself and looks at the sign, memorizing it for next time. He turns with her to go into the shop, straightening himself up as much he can. He notices a few turn to look at them and he gives them a polite nod, acting as though he belonged. "Do you know what kind of coffee you want?" he inquired, glancing at her as they moved to get in line.