Auntie Chen and her escort Iron Angel arrived at the unnamed orphanage for magical children henceforth to be named Auntie Chen’s orphanage for magical children.
“It’s not like you to leave your properties so,” Angel was interrupted by the creak of the steps, “dilapidated if you can help it. Are you sure there isn’t a better place for them?”
“Growing up simple builds character, I would know since this shack is much like the one in Anhui where my dear little sister and I grew up back in the day. Now, look at us. Bol! My boy!” she said as she met him at the front door, “What Sudanese delicacy have you prepared to share with the children—and us—today?”
“We’re… having pizza?” answered Mayen Bol.
“...Oh… I see.”
Disappointed as she was, the exploration of foreign cuisine could come another time as this trip was for a far rarer delicacy. Every human is capable of magic, but the earlier a particular affinity awakens, the finer a person’s attunement to it barring other factors. The rustic environment allowed the children to cultivate their potential without the suffocation of modernity. The directors and caretakers kept them fed and provided guidance until they were adopted or grew up.
They were in the cafeteria hall each with a plate of pizza to their seats. The older kids helped feed the younger kids as necessary and all of them would help clean up, a few of the many responsibilities they learned here. They acknowledged Auntie Chen and big brother Four-Leaf but would continue with their meal unless addressed directly. Precious as every last one was, one unresolved variable required their attention.
The little girl they rescued in Germany remained a mystery: they did not know her affinity nor even her name or anything else about where she came from. She was supposed to have been turned in by her parents at the advent of her mutation. Perhaps that experience is precisely why she is reserved much like Letiche. Worse still, she has not found her Lanying that gets her to open up. Auntie Chen will draw out her affinity eventually, whatever it may be.
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“Big Brother Angel, what is ‘mysterious’ in German?” asked Chen as she caressed the girl’s hair.
“Mysteriös.”
“Jing it is. Jing, your Auntie Chen and big brother Angel are here to help you out.”
Jing tugged on Angel’s shirt to show him the direction she pointed.
“Ah! You have something to show him! That’s great but finish your food and wash your dishes, sweetie. I’ll be outside if either of you needs anything.”
Jing chowed down her slice of pizza just in time for Auntie to leave. She washed her plate out just in front of all the other kids who began to crowd up behind her to do the same, then brought Angel by hand to a storage room that reeked of rotten eggs.
“What the he-hey, hey,” Angel pinched his nose and squinted his eyes, “what did you want to show me, kid?”
Jing picked up a carton of matches, struck up a bundle all at once, and dropped them all on the floor.
Auntie Chen went to check on the sanctuary Little Birdie’s host body was kept. She made it a couple of yards from the orphanage when an explosion knocked out her hearing and off her feet. She scraped against the ground and lay there, the shock reverberating through her body. Wood splinters and metallic splices pincushioned the back of her body which made it all the harder to move but she was bereft of lethal impalement. However, the shadow of a figure that came to her side brandished a dagger that threatened that very kind of impalement. Chen turned her head as best she could and saw Jing, unharmed, fist clenched around toothy aluminum. Jing raised the makeshift dagger but dissolved into a puddle before she could plunge it. As the dagger landed, so did Little Birdie next to Chen's head.
“Aun..tie,” groaned Angel, “you’re alive. It must have been WhiteOut… I used the rune on a hunch. I already called the healers… save… your strength…”
Those were certainly his last breaths, and the orphanage must have been completely wiped out too. Oh well, these things happen. The most valuable assets, Letiche and Lanying, were not harmed. As long as you stand up again, to keep moving forward, that’s all that matters. She would incant her own healing to tide her over for now and live for the sake of their deaths.