Chapter Text
“So Cara, what do you want to do when you’re older?” A tall man with green hair in a black suit asked. The funeral had been long and now was a small gathering over the coffin before it was lowered, Cara’s hand rested on the wooden box. “Who are you? How do you know my name?” The tall man seemed to be caught off guard by her question, “Noah told me, you were his friend yes?” Cara nodded. Noah had been her best friend, until he found out his foster parents didn’t want him anymore and was shipping him back to the orphanage. He was so scared of the people there he hung himself, Cara had been the one to find him and she wondered if his neck had snapped or if he choked slowly.
“You’re nearly 18, yes? What will you do Cara?” the green haired man asked, “ Don’t call me Cara, call me Puffy, that's what Noah called me. He said it was because my hair was so fluffy.” Puffy tugged on her curls, her sad face didn’t match their bounce. “To answer your question, I will run an orphanage for the weird people, so they won’t be afraid. For people like Noah.” The man smiled and nodded, then if Puffy didn’t know any better he disappeared as if he were never there, but that's impossible. Ghosts aren’t real.
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“Ma’am are you sure you want to buy this building? It may be big but it is falling apart.” Puffy smiled good naturedly and waved the man off, “Yes this will do nicely. Besides, he's only 20 years old.” At 29 years old Puffy had aged quite nicely if she said so herself, she died half of her natural white curls a dark brown and they now reached halfway down her back. She dressed like a pirate without a hat and had just bought an old manor in L’manburg, it rested in the trees at the top of a hill. Plenty of space for many kids and once the holes were patched and the wires were inspected she would begin the process of finding kids for her new Orphanage.
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In the end it only took a week to finish and furnish the house, two for a file for a new addition to the house to arrive on her doorstep, and only a month after the Orphanage was bought she was going to meet a kid. His name was Noah and he didn’t have a last name, it felt like her old friend was reborn just for her to find him. This kid was only 10 but has been bullied for being abnormally tall, he was already 5 '4 when most 10 year olds were 4'-4 '11. When she arrived at the Orphanage to pick up Noah the man at the front began to speak. “Are you working for that new Orphanage in L’manburg?”
“Yes and no, I own it.”
“Own it?” He laughed “How you’re a woman!”
“Just show me where Noah is.”
“Ah yes, thank you for getting such a freak out of here, he’s scaring the smaller ones.”
Puffy clenched her teeth and counted her breaths, she was going to get this kid out of there, even if that meant she couldn’t break this man’s nose. The boy had dark brown hair and sat cross legged in a chair, he wore a yellow sweater and waved up a Puffy. The man introduced them, “Noah this is Ms. WasTaken, Cara this is Noah.” Puffy shot a pointed look at the man, “We are not nearly close enough for you to refer to me as my first name.” The man's eyes widen and Puffy turns to Noah, “Call me Puffy if you will, is that ok Noah?” She extended a hand, and Noah shook it. “That’s alright so long as you call me Foolish, the kids here gave me that name because I am very clumsy. Jokes on them, I quite like the name.”
“Foolish it is.” Puffy smiled.
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A year must have passed with just Puffy and Foolish in the large orphanage. Foolish went to school and Puffy looked for more kids that fit the bill of strange and outcast. At Christmas Puffy officially adopted Foolish and four months later they sat in their living room on spring break. Foolish fiddled with a string hanging from his sweater and Puffy sketched it was an easy silence which they often enjoyed. Until, that is, Foolish spoke up, “Hey papa Puffy?” This was the name Foolish had chosen for his adopted mother, “Yeah?” When Puffy turned her head brown and white curls bounced and fell over her shoulder.
“You know a lot of kids were treated like me.” Puffy nodded, “Yes and that is why I’m looking for them.” Foolish shook his head, “I wasn’t labeled like they were, I was a shy kid, they were problem children.” Puffy put her note book down, “So I’ve been looking in the wrong place?” Foolish’s hand stilled, “I think so yeah. You should look for kids deemed violent or devil spawn.” Puffy stood up, “Well then we should start looking, shouldn’t we?” She held out her hand and Foolish took it and nodded, together they walked to the study. Neither of them noticed the green haired man in a suit standing outside.