A New Kind of Caretaker PV Marcus Iwasaki Closed

Marcus was up late again, continuing to play catch up on his predecessor's notes. Being a Head of House was a big adjustment for the man, but he had a desire to do well. He took pride in having landed the position, and even if looking after children was not his ideal position, he was still eager to see what the job could teach him. To see what the students of the most intelligent house could teach him (a fact he would not admit to). The prospect of using this time for research and learning was tantalizing. Training his mind over his body for once. An opportunity to remember a time when his biggest desire in life had been to achieve high marks in school.

One task he felt obligated to do, though, was make sure the new caretaker was settling in alright. Warn him of the particularly troublesome students. Make sure he had a list of the school rules. He was an American according to his application, so he would probably need to learn the school as much as Marcus had. The amber-eyed man could offer some tips and tricks there as well. Although he was not the most friendly of men, he was more than willing to help out a colleague with their work. This was not a social call - merely a check-in.

So on this particular night, the amber-eyed man made his way from the Ravenclaw tower towards the north tower that housed the caretaker's office. During this time, he enjoyed the silence of the halls. There was still a bit of late-night chatter coming from the portraits, but the castle was mostly asleep and peaceful. This was one of Marcus' favorite times - the time when students were tucked away and unable to disturb him. He wondered if the new caretaker @Kit Paine would have the same outlook.

As he walked the hall, he paused at one point though. His head tilted and his chin lifted slightly, taking a sniff of the air. To any passersby it would've looked odd, but the castle was meant to be empty at this time. Marcus scowled slightly as his head then turned left and right. "I know you're there. Come out!" he demanded. His eyes would dart around the darkened halls, looking for movement and expecting to see a student appearing at any moment. A professor wouldn't be hiding like whoever this was. "If you make me look for you, you'll regret this post-curfew stroll even more," he warned, his Australian-English accent carrying a tone of dead seriousness.

Marcus' Intimidation is in effect.

It is a sentiment that enters people's hearts when they are in your presence. They feel dis-ease when you are present, even if the interaction is casual or even friendly.

Watching the cause of the footsteps strolling down the hall, the girl almost sighed in relief when he passed...only to notice he had stopped to do something. What was it? Was he...was he smelling for something?

The girl's brow creased as she frowned. However, when the adult suddenly began to look about and call for whomever he 'knew was there' to come out, she flinched in surprise. Had he...smelled her? From that distance? Confused, she sniffed herself as if to try to identify what odor he might have caught, but there was nothing she could detect. The man didn't seem too happy, though, so she didn't want to wait to see if he could and would drag her out from her hiding place. His following threat made only encouraged her further and she quickly stepped out from behind the pillar. She clasped her hands behind her back as she rocked on her heels, looking sheepishly down at her shoes.

"S-sorry," she said quickly in a small voice, eventually meeting his gaze and holding it. Though her behavior seemed restless and perhaps somewhat shy or nervous, her locked eyes alone seemed strangely incongruous with the rest of her demeanor; serious and unyielding. "I-I was...just...trying to get a better idea of the castle..."

A girl came out from the shadows, revealing a visage he did not recognize. Tan skin, bright blue eyes. There were hundreds of students in this castle, though, and he had no intention of remembering each and every one. Those who stood out most were the troublemakers, and now he also paid close attention to the ones under his care - the Ravenclaws. He imagined this girl only fell into the former category, but maybe she was one of the eagles that he had yet to see around the common room. It had only been a little while since he had been placed in charge of them, after all.

The girl started off with an apology, although Marcus doubted its sincerity. She was brave to be wandering the castle halls so late at night and with no sort of cover story prepared. She offered up an explanation as to what she had been doing, but he doubted the authenticity of her words. "In the middle of the night? No. That's the sort of thing you do when you have breaks between classes," he retorted, irritation clearly displayed in both his expression and voice. "I have no patience for this. Follow me. In silence."

So long as she obliged and fell into step beside or behind him, he would begin to lead the way to the caretaker's office. He would let the new guy handle the detention slip before escorting the student back to her bed. When he reached the door to the office, he would knock. There was no answer. He would knock again, but once again receiving no answer, he would open the door to find the office empty. Marcus figured that the man must be patrolling right now. "Come on, inside," he ordered of the girl, looking back at her and gesturing that she enter first. "We'll be waiting here for Mr Paine."

@Kit Paine

The girl's brow's furrowed slightly and the corners of her mouth dipped down at being told she should have gotten a better idea of the castle when she had breaks betweens classes. Her mouth opened to protest.

"B-but...there's no time between classes!" she complained. "Even if I did, the castle is so impossibly large...and there are always students around everywhere, so it's hard to get a good idea of landmarks like statues and portraits. Other kids are always covering them and getting in the way!"

If the adult had been listening, however, he gave no indication. All he did was respond that he had no patience for 'this' and told her to follow him. In silence.

At that, the girl's more timid manner fell away in favor of a more stubborn, resentful sort. She did not like having her explanations dismissed so easily. Just who did this man think he was, anyway? Hopefully not anyone who had to deal with students. Merlin forbid he try to teach them anything. One could not teach if one was not willing to learn themselves, after all.

However, the girl bit her tongue and sighed, her expression cross but obediently complying with her elder's request nevertheless. As they went, she studied his back and the gait of his walk as much as their surroundings, taking note of everything she could as if in hopes of memorizing it all at a glance. When they finally reached the door to the Caretaker's Office and the man knocked, a corner of the girl's scowl began to twitch upward a bit, but she quickly grit her teeth and clamped it back down.

When the man ushered the girl into the room, she walked in as imperiously as a princess being held at swordpoint - head held high with her nose in the air. The room was very sparsely furnished save for what had been there when the previous caretaker had left it last and it seemed the new one either had yet to move in properly or didn't have much to move in with.

Perturbed, the girl crossed her arms and turned to the man then, her expression more impetuous than ever. Since she had followed him here in silence and he no longer required her to follow, that meant she no longer had to stay silent...right?

"You seem like a 'Mr. Pain' yourself," she told him matter-of-factly. "A pain in the neck or the butt...maybe even your own butt." At that, the girl leaned over, as if to examine the adult's backside for what might have been assailing his bottom. "Must be something to make you so dismissive of everything and everyone around you."

Although Marcus ignored the girl while they were still in the halls - primarily because he did not like talking and having their voice carry out in the open - as soon as they were in the caretaker's office, he would pick up where she had left off.

"You have two hours free time every evening before dinner," Marcus finally said, eyebrow raising as if daring her to deny this fact. Sure, it was mainly meant to be used for doing homework, but if students were smart, they could do homework while confined to their dorms after dinner, and would use those precious two hours before their meal to learn their way around the castle. He knew exactly how confusing the castle could be to a newcomer, and first years in particular seemed to be constantly lost during these first few weeks of school. "And another hour after dinner." Yes, he knew exactly what the student schedules were. When they were meant to be in bed versus when they should be in their dorms or in classes.

The young, bold girl proceeded to call him a "Mr Pain," though, prompting Marcus Iwasaki to grit his teeth slightly. He had not had an encounter with such an insolent child before. Sure, he was used to children being a little irritated with him catching them red-handed and upset about getting detention slips, but none had dared to look at his behind and say there was a stick up it!

"Dismissive? That's your opinion of me after I catch you out of bed far past curfew and with no excuse other than 'I was exploring,'" he said, his irritation not being hidden whatsoever. "I'll be sure to relay that opinion of me to our new caretaker once he arrives. I'm sure he'll have an appropriate detention for you." He said this despite not knowing what exactly the new caretaker's disciplinary were like. The man had been hired to do a job, though, and he knew carrying out detentions was part of the role. Marcus had a few detention ideas to suggest if the new guy was a little rusty.

"Your name? And house?" he asked of the girl, walking over to the window and glancing out to the grounds below.

@Kit Paine

When the man mentioned the spare hours the girl could have used to learn the castle layout, the girl pouted and looked away, staring at a cabinet off to one side. "That's not enough time," she complained, though it was hardly more than a mumble, as if she didn't expect the adult to even want to hear her. "Too many other students are in the way during then. And everyone else already knows the castle better than me."

When she peered back at the fellow out the corner of her eye, she noticed he was gritting his teeth and blinked. Was he not used to dealing with children as petulant as herself? Perhaps he was new as a teacher. Or maybe he was just prone to being grumpy and angry all the time. It made sense with how else he had behaved so far. In her opinion, he was acting almost as childishly as she was.

"Excuse?! You wanted an excuse? What adult wants excuses? And you didn't even ask for one! If you wanted more of a reason and you had asked, I could have given you one! But no, you just wanted me to keep silent as if I had nothing better to say!"

As he rounded on her about relaying her opinion of him to the new caretaker, the girl froze, looking visibly shaken. When she spoke again, her eyes were shining with collecting, unspilled tears. She unfolded her arms as her hands became fists of frustration at her sides.

"D-Detention?!" she repeated, her voice quavering for the first time since she had spoken in the corridor. "That's not fair! You didn't even give me a proper chance to explain myself!" As she continued to force words out, spilling from her mouth like a spring of sorrow, her eyes began to overflow as well. She stomped over to the man, willing him to look at the student he was condemning with his careless comments. "Why do you get to ask me about my name and house when I don't even know who you are? For all I know, you could be a - a -" The cabinet off to one side of the room shuddered slightly. The girl seemed to take no notice, shaking with her own tremors of stinging emotions. "- a hag!"

Not enough time? Three hours a day was not enough time? And that didn't even include the several weekends that had passed since the start of term. What did other students being around have to do with learning her way to classes? This whole encounter was beyond irritating for Marcus because nothing this girl said made sense to him.

"It's not my job to ask for excuses. You're the one who offered up that you were trying to get a better feel of the castle. I escorted you here so you could offer your excuses to the caretaker, not to me," Marcus retorted, tired of the backtalk on the kid. He wished that the caretaker was there. Or better yet, maybe he could just leave this girl here for whenever the caretaker did come back. But- well, what if she messed with the new guy's office? No, he couldn't trust a rulebreaker to be in a staff member's office alone like this. So he resigned himself to having to wait for the new caretaker to return.

This encounter was making him appreciate his new position more. In his role as caretaker for the month or so that he held the title, he had not encountered such a bratty child, but if this is what it would have been like, he was glad he had moved on from the role rather quickly. Of course, there was now the downside of having to interface with children daily as a Head of House, but at least those children were more likely to show him respect.

When the girl shouted about detention, Marcus' amber eyes traveled to her instead of staring out the window as he had been. Was- Was she crying? Discomfort flooded Marcus' being, and he looked away again. What was her deal? What was she, five? Why were school-age kids crying? He would've continued to look away and ignore if she didn't stomp over to him and practically demand his attention. His eyes lowered to the child again and he made direct eye contact.

"You don't know who I am? Do you just not pay attention to staffing announcements? Clearly you aren't a Ravenclaw then, so which house do you belong to? And don't make me repeat myself again." The fact that she had ignored his question and tried to turn it on him did not escape his notice. He would not give her the satisfaction of reacting to her comment about hags. Apparently some of the students here knew of their possible presence around the school.

Marcus only broke eye contact when he noticed the cabinet behind her shudder slightly. What in the world? He stood a little straighter, his eyes trained on the cabinet in question to see if he had imagined it.

@Kit Paine

"You - you big bully!" the girl began to sob in earnest when she was given no quarter. "How can you expect us to remember things like your dumb names let alone what you're in charge or whatever else you talk about during your 'staffing announcements' when you do it right before dinner?

You hold our supper hostage until you're done droning on so we can barely hear you over the sounds of our own growling stomachs! There's no way anyone could be expected to concentrate on what you're saying under those circumstances!"

Her words were slurred with anguish and her pitch high with emotion as she continued to weep and complain. Eventually, she dragged herself over to the nearest chair - the one that happened to be behind the caretaker's desk - to pull her legs up to her chest and curl into a ball on her side, using her robes to envelop herself as if for comfort. The tears flowed freely then as she cried into the chair and her hands and knees and robes, soaking everything with her undiluted misery.

Meanwhile, the cabinet quaked violently as if competing with the girl to cause the most amount of ruckus. So lost in her own despair was she that she still did not appear to take any heed of it.

"I miss my friends!" the girl bawled at the top of her lungs as her wails steadily grew into a crescendo. "Grown-ups are the worst! I don't like it here! I wanna go HOME!"

Marcus cringed as the pitch of the young girl's voice seemed to climb. Her voice was literally grating on his nerves and making it next-to-impossible to concentrate on anything. This. This right here is why he would never have children of his own. The possibility of a child growing into a whiny brat like this was enough of a deterrent for him. He could barely handle this in a work capacity, let alone a personal life capacity.

The girl still failed to give him her name or house, which left Marcus at a bit of a loss. What was he supposed to do then? Because at this point he was done waiting for the caretaker, he would rather just escort her back to her common room and go to bed. Give her name to the caretaker tomorrow. And the shaking of the cabinet was also distracting. Was it her causing this? Was her emotional outpouring affecting the objects around them? It was only the cabinet shaking, and it was highly unlikely, but he couldn't think of a different reason. And he wasn't about to open the cabinet which was likely full of the new caretaker's things.

"Alright then, guess we're going to have to wake up the other Heads of House just in order to identify you," Marcus said, finally fed up with the girl. Surely this threat would get her to talk. He opened the door to the office and stood there firmly, clearly indicating that she needed to get her arse up and walk out of the room with him. "If you don't quit your bawling, maybe you'll even get your wish of going home - expulsion!"

@Kit Paine