"AND HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO EXPLAIN THIS TO THE COUNCIL!" Sister Kate screeched, slamming both hands soundly against her desk.
Azmaria winced. "We can't just throw her out, look how helpless she is." She waved her hand in the direction of the young, giggling devil, and sighed heavily. "Joshua, what are you doing?"
"Playing with her." He stopped tickling the young one, and both looked innocently at the Head Nun. "Can we keep her? Please?"
The nun glared poisonously at the devil and human, making both wince in a form of fear. "ABSOLUTLY NOT! DO YOU KNOW WHAT TROUBLE THIS WILL CAUSE! I WILL NOT HAVE THIS, I WILL NOT-"
The small devil had begun to cry.
The enraged sister couldn't help but feel a little bad. The creature looked to be a five year old, and acted like one too. She slumped back into her chair, burying her face into her hands and sighing. This was hopeless. What was she going to do? She couldn't just throw it out on the streets, who knows what kind of trouble it would cause. And she wasn't to keen on letting it stay either. The whole situation was grating her nerves.
"Fine," she sighed, giving in, "she can stay. But she better not cause any problems, or I'll have her taken care of."
Azmaria winced at the statement, but Joshua seemed ecstatic. "You mean we can keep her!" He picked the small devil up and spun her around. She immediately stopped crying and began to giggle again. "Did you hear that, little one, she said you can stay!"
Sister Kate watched this transaction for a moment. Ever since he found that creature in the car, he'd been doting over it. It was enjoying every minute of it, too. Like a small kitten. And then another thought struck her. What were they going to call her. She gave Azmaria a meaningful look. "What should we call her?"
Azmaria looked thoughtful, one could almost hear the gears turning in the girls' head. "Why don't we ask her if she has a name first?" She turned to the small devil and smiled. The girl clung to Joshua's leg and smiled brightly back. "Do you have a name, little one?"
The girl's face clouded over in thought. Then she shook her head vigorously, making her rose colored curls bounce. Azmaria sighed.
"I see," she looked up at Joshua, "any ideas on what to call her?"
They waited in silence for a good five minutes. Then the child tugged on Joshua's pant leg, looking curious.
"How about Rosette?"
Both nuns stared at him, blank expressions gracing their faces.
"What?" he asked bending to pick the girl up again. "Her hair made me think of it. And I happen to like the name."
Still, silence.
He looked at the girl and smiled. "What do you think?"
The small devil giggled and clapped her hands vigorously, loving the name. "Well I guess it's settled then. From now on were calling you Rosette!"
Sister Kate gave Azmaria a look of absolute horror. He'd just given the devil the name that meant doom and destruction. Azmaria just smiled in reply and nodded approval. The nun could only pray that the child wouldn't take after her namesake.
Rosette. She liked the name. It wasn't like any of the names they were given back home, but she still liked it. She looked up at the young man whose name was Joshua. She liked him, and she liked the name he'd given her. And Azmaria also seemed to like him. So that meant he was safe. Safe was a good thing. She clung to his hand and he smiled down at her.
"You'll be sleeping in Azmaria's room. Sister Kate said it'd be for the best."
She nodded, understanding. Sister Kate was the mean old lady who yelled a lot. Even though she was mean, she gave an aura that indicated great wisdom… though she probably doesn't use it often. She pouted.
"That lady was rude…" her childlike voice muttered softly, making Joshua stop walking to stare down at her.
"You speak!" In a quick movement, she found herself staring down at him again. She couldn't help but giggle at the look of pure excitement on his face. "You spoke! Oh, this is great! Az will be happy to know that you can talk! We should tell her as soon as possible!" he lifted her up so she was sitting on his shoulder. She squealed in startled delight to be elevated so quickly.
"Really? It'll make her happy?" she squirmed to get more comfortable, and then to balance herself, she placed her hand on his head. He nodded and she beamed.
"Of course she will be. Now she can ask you questions and be able to get an answer."
"Oh," she looked down at his feet, watching as they quickly moved down the hallway. "The rude lady won't get mad at me, will she?" Rude lady being Sister Kate.
He looked up at her and smiled. "Only if you do something wrong. And I don't think talking is wrong." He looked thoughtful for a long time, as if considering. She didn't find that very reassuring.
"Any ways," he said, stopping in front of a door, "wait in here, I'll go fetch you some food." He opened the door and stepped in, setting her down on the bed. "Azmaria said that she was going to get a cot for you to sleep on. So wait right here."
She nodded as he left. A grumble of her stomach told her that she was hungry. Very hungry. Food sounded nice. She sighed and walked over to the window, standing on her tiptoes so she could rest her arms and head there. What was she going to eat? Her eyes scanned the courtyard bellow. She was bored and hungry, not a very good combination on her part. Then she saw something. A small brown streak zipped across the grass. A small smile graced Rosette's lips.
Dinner was served.
Kima: That went well! Okay, I'll post as soon as possible! Yay!