Apple of His Eye
Aug 18, 2019 23:44:22 GMT -6
Post by Snick on Aug 18, 2019 23:44:22 GMT -6
Grumbling about the moronic security at the school, the Pratt patriarch made his way upstairs to Iris's quarantine room. Really, it was far too easy to trick the elves into letting him through. If that was the best the school had, perhaps he would reconsider donating money. The thought made him laugh aloud. He knocked softly on the door, but did not wait to be bade enter.
"Iris, sweetheart?" Daddy Pratt cooed, ignoring the trembling black woman in the other bed. "You awake?"
The youngest Pratt at the school was buried beneath a mound of blankets, curled around a hot water bottle, barely feeling warm. Icy snot still made sneezing painful but for now Iris wasn't sneezing. Sleep was finally starting to creep up when she heard a voice call her name. Daddy! It was Daddy's voice but he couldn't be at the school? No, Iris thought she must be dreaming.
Sniffing deeply then wincing at the pain the icy snot caused, Iris shifted, trying to fall asleep. Then she heard her father's voice again.
"Daddy?" Iris queried, her voice muffled both by several layers of blankets and being sick. "Are you really here Daddy?"
"I'm really here," he chuckled, shifting the blankets in search of his only daughter with one hand. "Mommy made some soup for you. She would have brought it, herself, but she didn't want to bring the cold home to Michael."
He held the thermos up in the dim light, a smile deepening his laugh lines. "I say you're worth the risk," the girl's father said with a wink. "I had to see for myself how you are faring. So, how are you, sweetheart? Are they taking care of you? Do you want to come home?"
"Daddy!" Iris gave a squeal and braved the risk of getting chilled so she can hug the most important man in her life. She was definitely a daddy's girl. "I am glad you are here, I feel better with you here too."
Seeing the thermos of hot soup from Mommy, Iris felt very much loved. "Please thank mommy for the soup, it's exactly what I was wishing to have."
Iris wrapped the blankets around her as she sat cross legged around the hot water bottle so she can more easier talk to her father and drink the soup he brought. "I am feeling much better now. Earlier I was so cold I couldn't talk and had icicles falling off my nose...still hurts to sniff or sneeze, however."
"Patrick is taking good care of me, he carried me here when Andrew found me shivering and cold in the woods. Poochie ran after a chipmunk...or maybe it was a squirrel. By the time I caught up to him I was really sick, sneezing so hard I was sure my nose would fly right off. Andrew found Poochie and spotted me. Then Patrick showed up. He brought me here but the elves wouldn't let him stay with me."
Iris drank some more soup as she considered the offer to go home till she was feeling better. She didn't want to get her kid brother sick anymore than their mother did. "I think I am OK here Dad, having you visit really has made me feel better."
P.A. returned the hug with one arm and kissed the top of her head. "When they called and told us you caught this 'uncommon cold', I was so worried. I had to come check on you. I'm glad you're feeling better," he didn't want to let her go, but he did so she could drink the soup. "Make sure you drink it all, Iris. Your mother would wring my neck if I brought any leftovers back."
He listened to her tale, filing the name 'Andrew' in the back of his mind for later. Who his children chose as friends was very important. Anyone that might damage their reputation or public image would not do, so he would check this kid out. Of course, she hadn't said they were friends, but he was a boy once - he knew what boys thought of girls. If he had known that fluffball was hers, he was a friend. He found her and helped bring her to the hospital, so he probably wanted something. Everybody wanted something.
"Where is Patrick? He's not sick?" his eyebrows went up. P.A. had to have a little conversation with his protege. He needed to find out why his little girl got sick, why Patrick hadn't done everything he could to keep her well.
(By "called" I mean they communicated through fireplaces)
"Don't worry Daddy I will drink it all." Iris found the soup tasted like the best cure in the world. Better than the Pepper-Up potion as far as Iris was concerned. "Mom makes the best soup.'
"Patrick is OK Dad," Iris assures her father. "I hope he doesn't get sick. I expect he's in his dorm with Andrew and Poochie."
"I will visit him next, then," he kept smiling, though his voice had hardened. "I need to discuss Legacies with him, anyway. Other than catching this cold, are you enjoying school? Anyone giving you any problems?"
So, the Andrew she spoke of must be the same Andrew sharing a room with Patrick. Andrew Miller, if he recalled correctly from the correspondence with his son. That would work out well, as far as gathering information.
"Patrick will like that," Iris finished off the soup and handed her father the empty thermos. She then pulled her blankets tight around her to keep in the heat. At least it felt like the ice in her nostrils had thawed. "I don't know if Az is sick or not, I haven't seen him lately."
"I love school Daddy!" Iris perked up when her father asked her about how she was enjoying school. "I love learning all about magic, even if it's hard to do sometimes. I tried to get into quadpot but the teacher said I was too small, that I should wait till next year. They have broom racing here Dad, next term so I may try that. I love going fast!"
"N-n--no...nobody's giving me any problems...not really." Iris felt a brief chill but she wasn't sure if it was due to the sickness or how uneasy she felt when her father asked her if anybody was given her problems. "I mean, none of the kids here are mean or anything, I made quite a few friends, Lex and Kat are in my class and they will join me walking Poochie at times. Andrew is nice, but he's a year older so we don't have classes together. It's just, one of the teachers scares me."
Papa Pratt would have usually ignored the mention of his eldest son, but something about the comment struck him as curious. "You haven't seen him? Why not?" he asked.
If they weren't in completely separate classes, he might just assume his son was skipping classes as usual. But if she wasn't seeing him on the grounds and at meals, something was amiss. Were the rumors true? He felt his perfectly manicured nails digging into his palms, bringing him out of his thoughts. "Good, I'm glad you like Salem," he smiled. "I enjoyed my time here, as well. They were the best years of my life. Until you were born, of course."
A wink and a grin were sent her way. Then the smile faded and his brow gathered in the middle. "Who? Who scares you, Iris?" he sounded ready to prepare the firing line.
"I haven't seen Az since Friday." Iris frowns, trying to remember if they were down for breakfast. She was pretty sure she didn't see them but she did get sick not long after. "It's possible he and Siobhan went to Salem with the other older kids which could be why I didn't see them at breakfast. I then got sick and Patrick brought me here."
Hearing her father say the best years of his life were at Salem till she was born made her feel special. Iris smiled. She never had any doubt her father loved her to bits and would never do anything to hurt her. Even though her brother told her their father wasn't generous and won't give to charity, she still found it hard to believe. Her Daddy couldn't be like that. Her brother must be mistaken.
"P-p-professor Glassman," Iris reveals, her attention drawn back to her father. She knew that tone, it was the tone her father used when he was going to make sure somebody didn't hurt her. "He makes me feel uncomfortable...and he reads minds. I like potions but he creeps me out Daddy."
"Iris, sweetheart?" Daddy Pratt cooed, ignoring the trembling black woman in the other bed. "You awake?"
The youngest Pratt at the school was buried beneath a mound of blankets, curled around a hot water bottle, barely feeling warm. Icy snot still made sneezing painful but for now Iris wasn't sneezing. Sleep was finally starting to creep up when she heard a voice call her name. Daddy! It was Daddy's voice but he couldn't be at the school? No, Iris thought she must be dreaming.
Sniffing deeply then wincing at the pain the icy snot caused, Iris shifted, trying to fall asleep. Then she heard her father's voice again.
"Daddy?" Iris queried, her voice muffled both by several layers of blankets and being sick. "Are you really here Daddy?"
"I'm really here," he chuckled, shifting the blankets in search of his only daughter with one hand. "Mommy made some soup for you. She would have brought it, herself, but she didn't want to bring the cold home to Michael."
He held the thermos up in the dim light, a smile deepening his laugh lines. "I say you're worth the risk," the girl's father said with a wink. "I had to see for myself how you are faring. So, how are you, sweetheart? Are they taking care of you? Do you want to come home?"
"Daddy!" Iris gave a squeal and braved the risk of getting chilled so she can hug the most important man in her life. She was definitely a daddy's girl. "I am glad you are here, I feel better with you here too."
Seeing the thermos of hot soup from Mommy, Iris felt very much loved. "Please thank mommy for the soup, it's exactly what I was wishing to have."
Iris wrapped the blankets around her as she sat cross legged around the hot water bottle so she can more easier talk to her father and drink the soup he brought. "I am feeling much better now. Earlier I was so cold I couldn't talk and had icicles falling off my nose...still hurts to sniff or sneeze, however."
"Patrick is taking good care of me, he carried me here when Andrew found me shivering and cold in the woods. Poochie ran after a chipmunk...or maybe it was a squirrel. By the time I caught up to him I was really sick, sneezing so hard I was sure my nose would fly right off. Andrew found Poochie and spotted me. Then Patrick showed up. He brought me here but the elves wouldn't let him stay with me."
Iris drank some more soup as she considered the offer to go home till she was feeling better. She didn't want to get her kid brother sick anymore than their mother did. "I think I am OK here Dad, having you visit really has made me feel better."
P.A. returned the hug with one arm and kissed the top of her head. "When they called and told us you caught this 'uncommon cold', I was so worried. I had to come check on you. I'm glad you're feeling better," he didn't want to let her go, but he did so she could drink the soup. "Make sure you drink it all, Iris. Your mother would wring my neck if I brought any leftovers back."
He listened to her tale, filing the name 'Andrew' in the back of his mind for later. Who his children chose as friends was very important. Anyone that might damage their reputation or public image would not do, so he would check this kid out. Of course, she hadn't said they were friends, but he was a boy once - he knew what boys thought of girls. If he had known that fluffball was hers, he was a friend. He found her and helped bring her to the hospital, so he probably wanted something. Everybody wanted something.
"Where is Patrick? He's not sick?" his eyebrows went up. P.A. had to have a little conversation with his protege. He needed to find out why his little girl got sick, why Patrick hadn't done everything he could to keep her well.
(By "called" I mean they communicated through fireplaces)
"Don't worry Daddy I will drink it all." Iris found the soup tasted like the best cure in the world. Better than the Pepper-Up potion as far as Iris was concerned. "Mom makes the best soup.'
"Patrick is OK Dad," Iris assures her father. "I hope he doesn't get sick. I expect he's in his dorm with Andrew and Poochie."
"I will visit him next, then," he kept smiling, though his voice had hardened. "I need to discuss Legacies with him, anyway. Other than catching this cold, are you enjoying school? Anyone giving you any problems?"
So, the Andrew she spoke of must be the same Andrew sharing a room with Patrick. Andrew Miller, if he recalled correctly from the correspondence with his son. That would work out well, as far as gathering information.
"Patrick will like that," Iris finished off the soup and handed her father the empty thermos. She then pulled her blankets tight around her to keep in the heat. At least it felt like the ice in her nostrils had thawed. "I don't know if Az is sick or not, I haven't seen him lately."
"I love school Daddy!" Iris perked up when her father asked her about how she was enjoying school. "I love learning all about magic, even if it's hard to do sometimes. I tried to get into quadpot but the teacher said I was too small, that I should wait till next year. They have broom racing here Dad, next term so I may try that. I love going fast!"
"N-n--no...nobody's giving me any problems...not really." Iris felt a brief chill but she wasn't sure if it was due to the sickness or how uneasy she felt when her father asked her if anybody was given her problems. "I mean, none of the kids here are mean or anything, I made quite a few friends, Lex and Kat are in my class and they will join me walking Poochie at times. Andrew is nice, but he's a year older so we don't have classes together. It's just, one of the teachers scares me."
Papa Pratt would have usually ignored the mention of his eldest son, but something about the comment struck him as curious. "You haven't seen him? Why not?" he asked.
If they weren't in completely separate classes, he might just assume his son was skipping classes as usual. But if she wasn't seeing him on the grounds and at meals, something was amiss. Were the rumors true? He felt his perfectly manicured nails digging into his palms, bringing him out of his thoughts. "Good, I'm glad you like Salem," he smiled. "I enjoyed my time here, as well. They were the best years of my life. Until you were born, of course."
A wink and a grin were sent her way. Then the smile faded and his brow gathered in the middle. "Who? Who scares you, Iris?" he sounded ready to prepare the firing line.
"I haven't seen Az since Friday." Iris frowns, trying to remember if they were down for breakfast. She was pretty sure she didn't see them but she did get sick not long after. "It's possible he and Siobhan went to Salem with the other older kids which could be why I didn't see them at breakfast. I then got sick and Patrick brought me here."
Hearing her father say the best years of his life were at Salem till she was born made her feel special. Iris smiled. She never had any doubt her father loved her to bits and would never do anything to hurt her. Even though her brother told her their father wasn't generous and won't give to charity, she still found it hard to believe. Her Daddy couldn't be like that. Her brother must be mistaken.
"P-p-professor Glassman," Iris reveals, her attention drawn back to her father. She knew that tone, it was the tone her father used when he was going to make sure somebody didn't hurt her. "He makes me feel uncomfortable...and he reads minds. I like potions but he creeps me out Daddy."
