Mihael Keehl arrived at Whammy just after he turned six. At that age he had the comprehension skills of a 3rd year college student. It was Lock, a former ward and student of Whammy House, who discovered him.
Lucy Drell was humming a jingle she had heard on the radio the other day while she walked home. She had stopped at the local corner store to pick up some milk and ended up also buying three other things she decided she needed. It always amazed her, that one could never enter a store without getting at least one extra item than intended. Lucy was still wearing her scrubs from the hospital since she always found it easier to change at home rather than chance the locker room at work.
About two blocks from her house a pile of garbage moaned. Lucy jumped and pulled out her can of mace. Then she looked more closely. The pile of garbage resolved itself into a tattered and disheveled child. She dropped her groceries and knelt next to the small bundle. The youngster tried to look up at her, but just moaned pitifully again.
The kid was filthy, but under the dirt she could see bruises and cuts that were both old and fresh. There was a particularly nasty gash and bump was on the child's left temple, which was probably causing most of the disorientation. The rest was from severe dehydration and malnourishment. After quickly assessing the situation and seeing no broken bones or anything that would be made worse from movement, Lucy lifted the pathetic tyke onto her hip. With a little contortion she managed to grab her purse and her groceries with the other hand.
She should have called an ambulance and children's services, but there was no one on staff tonight at the hospital that she trusted. Lucy also didn't trust children's services any farther than she could throw a car. She had been through 'the system' and had been tossed from orphanage to foster home back to orphanage with no regard for her wellbeing. If it hadn't been for Quillish Whammy she would have truly become the 'delinquent' that her foster parents made her out to be. So decision made she hurried back home as quickly as possible with her sad armful of waif.
In a matter of minutes she was at her front step juggling, kid, keys and cargo. Lucy got inside and tossed her groceries on an empty shelf in the fridge. Then she went upstairs and drew a bath. Hot water wasn't the best thing for bruising and inflammation, but she had to get the child cleaned up, before she could patch up. After stripping off the soiled rags she lowered the child into the warm water. He (she finally discovered her urchin was a boy) seemed to revive a bit, but only blinked up at her blurrily while she gently removed grime. The boy's hair was a tangled mess, but she tried her best to cleanse it and then put a bit of conditioner in it so she could work out knots. She was very cautious about the cut on his temple, but it didn't seem quite as grave as she initially thought. It would need stitches, but there were no signs of infection so that was a blessing.
A short while later the red-brown water was swirling down the drain and the boy was wrapped in a fluffy towel. He was coherent enough that he could sit unaided so she sat him on her toilet seat and pulled her special First Aid kit out. She pulled on latex gloves (one can never be too cautious) and patched up the tyke. He didn't let out a single peep throughout the entire procedure, even when she put in the stitches, which she found very odd for a child his age. Lucy looked into his eyes and pulled out a flashlight pen to check for a concussion. There were no signs of concussion, but the boy's stare was ancient and haunted. Since he was showing signs of lucidity she decided to finally introduce herself.
"Hi. I'm Lucy. I'm a nurse at St. Mark's Hospital down the street. What's your name?" The boy didn't answer the question. He just stared at her chest, which had Lucy confused until she looked down at where he was staring. Then she saw that her everyday wooden crucifix had slipped out from her shirt. Lucy had a nice silver one in her jewelry box so she slipped the beaded chain off of her neck and lowered it over the boy's head. He continued to stare at it as if entranced. Lucy shrugged and finally hoisted him, towel and all, on her hip again and took him to her bedroom.
Lucy settled him on her bed and started rummaging through her closet for something for the boy to wear. She finally managed to find a black baby tee and a small pair of shorts with a drawstring that hopefully wouldn't slip off. He carefully fingered the cross the entire time. Finally he was dressed and ready to face the world. Or at least her kitchen. She sat him on a chair and had a bowl of oatmeal with banana slices in front of him in short order. He stared at the bowl for a moment before turning his head to stare up at her. There was suspicion in his stare, but when she gave no signs that she was tricking him he picked up the spoon and started shoveling the oatmeal into his mouth.
Lucy's heart gave a twinge. Who on earth would be cruel enough to taunt this obviously starved child with the false promise of food? He really was a darling to look at now that he was cleaned up. Under the cuts and bruises he had a sweet heart shaped face. His hair was a warm golden color, but it was still knotted and tangled. Well that was quickly remedied. Lucy was turning to go to the bathroom, when she saw a flash of panic in the boy's eyes.
"I'll be right back. Promise." The boy gave a slow unsure nod and then tucked back into his oatmeal. Lucy came right back with a scissors and a brush. The child stared uneasily at her scissors.
"Don't worry. I'm just going to fix your hair up a bit." Eyes still a tad wary he nodded again. She carefully worked the knots out of his hair. This turned into a soothing exercise for both. The boy finished his meal and sat quietly while Lucy undid tangles best she could and carefully snipped out the knots she couldn't unwind. Soon she had his hair trimmed to just below his ears with a fringe in front so as to keep the hair out of his eyes. When Lucy had finished the boy turned to look up at her, as if trying to scrutinize her motives. She just gave him a small smile before turning to pull out her broom and sweep up the loose hair from the linoleum.
Lucy caught the small boy yawning as she was sticking the dirty dishes in the washer. A quick glance at the clock showed it was late and probably a good time for them both to sleep. While she didn't work tomorrow she was used to getting up early.
With an impish grin she leaned down and picked up the boy with twirl before settling him on her hip again. The look on his face was a mixture of shock and pleasure with a little bit of a scowl to say that he could walk just fine thank you. She ignored the scowl and took them up to the bathroom again, this time for more normal activities like face washing and teeth brushing. Lucy pulled out a new toothbrush she had as an extra and handed it to the boy. He took it gravely along with the toothpaste and carefully added a blob to the brush's head. He could just reach the faucets though he had to stand on tiptoe to do so. Lucy noted that he was missing one of his bottom front teeth, but it probably wasn't for any sinister reason. Finally finishing he carefully rinsed the brush and laid it on the counter. He turned to look up at her then to her shock reached up, asking to be picked up. Lucy gave him a brilliant smile before doing just that. Her smile grew when he wrapped his thin arms around her neck.
It was a short walk to the bedroom and Lucy set her alarm before flipping up the covers of the bed and lying both of them down. The boy didn't show any signs of wanting to move away and even laid his head on her shoulder. After some shifting they settled down and their breathing evened out as sleep started to claim them. Then Lucy heard a quiet whisper that made her smile.
"My name is Mihael."