| Details for Comforting Presence |
| Summary: | Rhyeline manages to get Bailey to sit down with her and a cup of coffee. The little one takes the opportunity to ask a bunch of questions to get to know her favorite guard a little better. Turns out, she's her guard's favorite client. |
| Date: | Thursday, December 5, 1938 |
| Location: | Rhyeline's Flat |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
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Rhyeline presses a cup of coffee into Bailey's hands before curling up with a cup of her own on the loveseat beside her. After a quiet visit with Healer Keenan, the little one has somehow managed to lure her guard from her post in the foyer to join her in the sitting room. The girl isn't supposed to be drinking coffee. Healer Keenan reminded her of this. But now, with a hint of mischief in her dark gaze as she peeks up at Bailey, she takes a small sip from her cup. "I'm sleeping better these days… even with the coffee…" She'd tried to tell Keenan, but his concern remained.
Tilting her head to the side, Rhyeline watches Bailey with a hushed curiosity. "Have you watched over many others before me?"
Bailey remains a bit stiff, as she is still on the job. But there is something very comforting about Rhyeline's flat. It isn't merely the security spells. She simply seems more at ease here than most anywhere else she goes with Rhyeline. She dips her head thankfully for the coffee, savouring the warmth of her first sip going down her throat. She nods, tightening her lips. "I have. I've worked for Aegis for about a year, and I did some private bodyguarding for about," she ponders a moment, "three years before that."
Rhyeline tucks her feet beneath herself for warmth and curls up a bit more. After another little sip of coffee, she murmurs, "Did you used to work for magical law enforcement before?" Head tilted slightly to the side, the girl's eyes shine without their usual caution.
Bailey arches an eyebrow inquisitively as she shakes her head. "No. Why do you ask?" A slight smirk forms at the corner of her mouth, intrigued by Rhyeline's unusual forwardness. The young woman is usually so timid.
A soft smile appears on Rhyeline's lips. Though still rather shy, her eyes shine with an innocent inquisitiveness. "Just was wondering. That's all. I could see Graham becoming a guard if he had to stop being an auror. It is in his nature to protect."
Bailey nods, "That's obvious. He'd make a good guardwizard. But I suspect he's a better Auror. Not me. I never had the marks in school to do something like that."
"But… do you suppose it is in your nature to do such work?" asks Rhyeline, head tilted once more to the side. This afternoon, she seems far more like a curious kitten than the usual mouse that she is.
Bailey dips her head in a shrug. "I don't know. I've never really felt the call to that kind of work. I'll be honest, I didn't get into this job out of a passion for protecting people. I suppose I do have that in me. But it was more that I discovered I was good at it. Only afterward did I really find that desire to shield others."
Rhyeline's smile grows. It seems she agrees that Bailey is indeed good at it. Before taking another small sip of coffee, she murmurs, "You stepped into it- and discovered your strength? Such luck. How did you realize it?"
Bailey's eyes cast down to her coffee. "I just…came across a man in need of a bodyguard at a time when I desperately needed work. It worked out. After that, other jobs came, until I eventually sought a position with Aegis Security." Vague answer given, she occupies her lips with her coffee.
"Well… Thank you for watching over me. I always feel safest when /you're/ following me…" Rhyeline tells her in a small, quiet tone. She brings her coffee cup to her lips and peeks at Bailey from over the brim of it.
Bailey lifts her brow curiously. "Me? Not Helga? Helga could fight off a troll wandless. I suspect she does so for fun." Bailey cannot help a little smirk as she teases her colleague.
Rhyeline blinks, but then still hidden she giggles with an impish, almost childlike mirth. "Maaaybe. But she's also so… so stern." Rhyeline lowers her cup to peer at Bailey with an deep furrow between her brows. "…grr."
Bailey gives a quiet chuckle. "True. She's terribly serious." Not that Bailey is a bundle of giggles, but next to Helga she's practically a comedienne. "Well, I'm glad I can make you feel safe. Thank you for telling me. It's gratifying."
Bailey sighs and shrugs again. "It's how we're trained. I'm really not supposed to talk so much. We're only supposed to speak when necessary. It's got to do with the fact that most clients don't want us to be seen as representatives."
Rhyeline blinks. "Representatives? Of… themselves?"
"Sorry, no. Of the client." Bailey sets down her coffee, spreading her heads. "For instance, Mr. Malfoy wouldn't want my words to be taken as representative of his views. I'm not even technically his employee, let alone part of his political party. So, we're trained to keep our opinions to ourselves, lest somebody else perceive us as speaking for the person we're protecting. Besides, it's generally considered more intimidating if we don't talk much."
"Yes. That's why I feel more comfortable with you. I- I guess I can understand why Cassius would prefer his guards to be silent. Buuut… thank you for sitting with me, Bailey," murmurs Rhyeline with a soft, warm smile.
Bailey gives Rhyeline a soft smile, though there is still a strained hesitation in her eyes. "You make it easy. You've got a very calming presence about you."
A subtle blush warms Rhyeline's cheeks as she peeks up at Bailey. "I'm glad. I know that- that I don't make it very easy for the healers." She peeks into her cup of coffee. "Keenan had to suffer a lot with me. Still does."
Bailey furrows her brow in a slight frown. "Your condition doesn't define you. It's that curse making things hard for the Healers, not you. I certainly hope none of them have made things hard on you."
"He tells me not to drink coffee, but I still do. He comes /here/ to see me. I only have to go to St. Mungo's for tests. He's very kind to me. So patient. Sabine makes me a little nervous still, but- she's also working hard." Rhyeline lifts her gaze to meet Bailey's haunted, hazel eyes.
Bailey nods. "It's nice that you have a Healer taking such a personal interest in your case. I know I'd be lost without Healer Rowle. She may seem cold at times, but her passion for her work is unmatched. It's comforting to me."
"She seems kind," murmurs Rhyeline with a small nod. "Took care of Graham." Of course the mention of Healer Rowle brings inevitable thoughts of her younger sister. Averting her gaze, Rhyeline tries to hide the fact that a heavy stone has sunk into her belly. "I… I should head back to Berlywood. Cassius will be home soon."
Bailey gives Rhyeline a worried frown, but she won't pry. Not while she's working. She rises to her feet, straightening out her robes. "Of course. Thank you. For the coffee…and the conversation." She smiles, an unusual amount of warmth shining through. "You're also my favourite client, you know."
Rhyeline rises with a rather slow, careful grace. That much hasn't changed. Bailey's words lift the little one's gaze. She stares wide-eyed up at her guard. The heaviness vanishes and her eyes shine bright and luminous. "I am?"
Bailey shrugs and gives a lop-sided smile. "Certainly. Like I said, you have a comforting presence. I…well, I like you," she says somewhat sheepishly, as if saying something she shouldn't.
Rhyeline takes a single step forward, closing the distance between them. Arms wrapped tight around Bailey's middle, she hugs the woman. No doubt Bailey knows well what a cuddly little thing she can be.
Bailey freezes at the sudden show of affection. "I…um…Miss Dider-…Rhyeline? I-…" She sighs, and relenting, she returns the hug. "Just…don't tell anyone about this, alright? I would definitely lose my job."
Rhyeline giggles with such innocent, impish mirth. Stepping back, she clasps her hands behind herself and nods. "I'm good at keeping secrets…" Another step back. "To Berlywood!" And with that, she apparates away with a sharp clap.