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Big guy moved about the kitchen with practiced ease, performing a task he had done countless times over the years. One tea pot, one teacup and one saucer were all added to the silver tray he had placed on the table. He added the tea leaves to the pot making sure to seal the jar tight before putting it away, Doctor Magnus hated it when the leaves went stale. Right on cue the kettle started to whistle and he removed it from the burner, carefully pouring the boiling water into the pot and stirring it a few times before replacing the lid.
Everything now ready he made his way towards her office, the first time he had made Doctor Magnus her tea, now many years ago, she had protested saying he was a guest not a servant, he had pushed it towards her, politely ignoring her, until she had accepted and thanked him. He didn’t miss the smile or the small satisfied hum when she sipped at it.
He had noticed in those first few days that Doctor Magnus, for all her care and kindness for others, seemed to rarely show little care for herself. She worked long hours, often forgetting to eat and rest and for someone that treated the simple beverage with such reverence she barely found the time to indulge in it, so The Big Guy had taken it upon himself that so long as he was here, he would make sure she would at least start her day with her favourite drink.
He nodded in greeting to various residents as he walked, it was a strange hour this early at the sanctuary, the sun was just starting to rise and the nocturnal residents were shuffling off to bed, here and there a few early risers were making their appearance. The Big guy smiled a little remembering what Magnus had once said, about how there was something beautiful in the hour where the two very different worlds seemed to touch, where you could stand on the edge and wish some goodnight and some good morning.
Reaching the office he gently knocked and opened the door stopping suddenly when he found it empty.
Her desk was a mess of old books and files which wasn’t an unusual sight while Magnus was in the room working on something, but she wasn’t here, and it was rare she left it untidy before she retired to bed.
‘Maybe she had worked through the night again’ he thought Placing the tray on the small coffee table, he turned and sniffed the air, her scent was everywhere but fainter then what it should have been if she had been here this morning.
A slight tendril of concern started to curl in his chest, but it unravelled almost instantly when he heard the familiar footsteps making there way towards the office.
“Old friend!” Magnus smiled as she entered the room clasping her hands in front of her apologetically as she looked at the tea tray.
“I’m sorry, I seem to be running a bit late this morning.”
Big Guy shook his head turning back to the tray, he poured one steaming cup and offered it to her, “I got here just before you did, it’s still hot.”
“Thank you” She offered him a warm smile as she took it and walked over to her desk.
Balancing her tea in one hand she started moving the scattered books about, ignoring the filles that slid off the edge as she rummaged, The Big Guy moved closer, spying what she was probably after.
“You haven’t by any chance seen my…” she paused watching as he gently pulled a small brown notebook from the pile on her desk. “How would I ever manage without you?
It was a cheerful statement, obviously meant as a joke, but if he thought she would listen he would say things like strained, spread too thin and tiredly.
Instead, he just huffed, choosing to give the books on her desk a better look, a title bronzed onto the front of one stood out against its dark green cover, he traced his finger along the words as he read.
“Lycanthropy?”
Magnus hummed in response, her brows furrowing in thought as she sat down, her gaze landing on the book, “It’s the only explanation I have for the specific markers in Henry’s genome, I’ve never seen a monogenic inheritance this strong. I’m otherwise at a loss to explain it.”
“Henry?” Big Guy grinned, face lighting up with mock surprise.
Magnus had been holding off on naming the small boy she had brought back from the moors just under a week ago, fully intending to find a proper home for him with loving parents. It hadn’t exactly gone to plan, a quick routine blood test to be on the safe side had revealed him to be anything but the normal little boy he appeared.
“I had to call him something” she said as she lifted her cup, not quiet managing to hide her smile as she drank her tea.
Big Guy chuckled, He had watched Magnus with this little foundling over the last couple of days and could see her growing quite fond of him, she cared for all her residents within the sanctuary, but the way she watched this little boy, the way she smiled as she spoke about him or how her concern grew as each day revealed more questions than answers told him more then what she had even said out loud.
He could see it even on the night she brought the boy home, Magnus had phoned ahead letting him know she was going to be arriving home late with a small guest, he had readied a room and searched the stores for a few items of clothing, he knew she was bringing home a child, but he wasn’t prepared for how small the boy looked when he opened the door. it had taken a tremendous amount of effort on her part to clean him up that evening, the boy looked wild and unkept, his hair was long and matted and skin was covered in dirt, Big Guy had seen many things in his life, but it was still quiet a shock to see such a small child so uncared for.
Magnus had led him into the Sanctuary, one tiny hand in hers while his other clung to her wrist, talking to him softly as he looked around with wide fearful eyes. He wouldn’t go into a bathroom, so she had settled for her office sitting him in front of the fire on her lap wrapped in a towel. Carefully she cut the mats from his hair, reassuring him every time he flinched when he heard the snip of the scissors, before moving onto washing off all the dirt.
By that point he had moved from gripping her hand to tightly holding onto her shirt, the fabric scrunched up in his small fists. Magnus had had to gently pry one hand off at a time, washing them clean with the cloth and warm soapy water the Big Guy had set beside her.
Slowly, and with minimal squirming she managed to get him bathed, first his hands, then his feet, his face, his shoulders. She’d kept up the process until the water in the basin turned a horrible brown and what sat in her lap was a very clean, tired looking little boy.
She hadn’t made it to bed that night either, every time she moved the small child seemed to panic, waking with a cry and twisting in her lap, in the end Magnus had taken a cushion from the sofa and propped herself up by the fire with a blanket draped over them both, telling her old friend to get some sleep and that she would be ok for the night, that he just needed a bit of time.
It had been six days since then and although the small boy (‘Henry’ as she’d called him) had grown somewhat more comfortable with his surroundings, he had yet to leave Doctor Magnus’s side.
“Where is Henry now?” he asked still smiling, he liked that name, it suited him.
“Asleep,” She replied, rubbing her face a little tiredly, “he just wouldn’t settle last night. Every time I thought he had fallen asleep I would come back and try to do a bit of research only to find him peeking round the door within minutes.”
“Ahh” he said nodded, turning to retrieve the pot of tea from small table and refilling her cup.
“Thank you old friend,” Magnus gratefully took the cup sipping the steaming tea and he used the moment to look at her more closely, she didn’t look anymore worse for wear he decided, but he would still add a couple of biscuits to the tray next time.
He started to move about the room tidying things away and straightening the furniture, Magnus was now leafing through her notebook, stopping when she found the page she was looking for.
“Old friend?” she asked looking up at the clock and then back at him, her lips pressed into a thin line. “Would you mind doing me a favour?”
That was strange.
He stopped what he was doing and turned to look at her properly, she didn’t normally ask things of him so tentatively.
“Would you mind waking Henry, and bringing him down for breakfast? Only, I need to make a call to a Doctor Adamis in Crete before he shuts his office for the day.”
“I don’t mind, he might not come with me though,” he paused unsure whether to continue, “might scare him.”
“You won’t scare him” Magnus shook her head sympathetically, giving him a reassuring smile, “he’s been in the same room as you several times and has never reacted badly.”
“He still may not come with me.”
“Just speak to him,” she said as she shifted more books to get to her phone “he’s very clever, he understands quite a lot.”
“Really?” he couldn’t keep the surprise out of his voice, so far the little boy hadn’t said a word, but maybe he had spoken to magnus without his knowledge.
“Has he said anything yet?”
“No” she started dialling the number on the page, “but it is only a matter of time.”
He couldn’t argue with her confidence, weather it came from her fondness of the boy or her own observations though he wasn’t sure.
He gathered the tea tray and made his way out, pausing slightly when he heard Magnus call after him.
“He’s asleep in my room!”
Smiling softly at this new piece of information he quickly washed the tea things in the kitchen and headed for the third floor, stopping to collect a few pieces of clothing from Henrys room. His bed was neat, covers tucked in, he’s scent was verry feint and it occurred to the Big Guy that magnus hadn’t even bothered last night to even attempt to have him sleep in his own bed, in fact he would have been surprised if she had managed to get him to sleep in here (without her) at all in the time he’s been here.
He chuckled his amusement, wondering if she was conscious of the way she behaved with him.
Coming up to stand outside Doctor Magnus’s bedroom, he couldn’t help feeling once again uncertain, his smile fading as he hesitated before the simple oak door, it had been a long time since he cared for a child, what if without Magnus’s presence the boy grew fearful of him? He huffed raising his hand to gently knock on the door before opening it slowly.
The room was dark, the curtains still drawn blocking out most of the early morning sun, he could see just fine in the dark, almost as good as he could see in the light, and there in the middle of the bed was a small but noticeable lump concealed by the fluffy duvet.
“Hello Henry.”
The lump moved slightly but otherwise stayed right where it was.
The movement was enough to tell him the boy was aware of his presence, it was a small relief, he didn’t much like the idea of having to wake him.
Big guy placed the bundle of clothes on a nearby chair and opened the curtains lighting the room, at least the youngling would be able to see him as well now. Walking back over to the bed he gently sat on the edge a short distance from the lump and slowly peeled the duvet back.
A set of small earthy brown eyes peered back at him, he was laying on his front, knees curled up towards his chest, his head turned slightly to the side as he watched The Big Guy.
“It’s alright” he smiled gently, keeping his tone soft as he spoke. “Doctor Magnus said to come get you for breakfast.”
Henry didn’t move, his face remained expressionless, giving no indication he had understood anything The Big guy had just said.
“Are you hungry Henry?”
Still nothing.
Big Guy sighed; this was going to be harder than he’d hoped. Carefully shifting so he could slide his hands under Henrys small frame, he was surprised with how willing the boy came with him as he lifted him from the bed, setting him down by the chair that held his clothes. He weighed almost nothing and looking at him now The Big Guy wondered again how a small child like this could have ended up all alone on the moors. He knew there was much more to him then met the eye, but even so, this child was so vulnerable, so little. Just by looking at him he could tell he was malnourished; he clearly was unable to fend for himself.
“Lets get you dressed and then we’ll go find Doctor magnus, how does that sound?”
At least he didn’t seem scared Big guy thought, sitting down as he took the clothes and started to help him dress, he kept up a soft litany as he went about the task, maybe he would get a response of some kind if he just kept talking.
He first showed Henry the clothes he had picked for the day before removing his pyjamas, not bothering to give him a wash, the smell of soap still clung to him, strong enough that he could tell that magnus had bathed him the night before. Henry moved easily enough, allowing him to pull a t-shirt over his head and guide his arms through the sleeves, the trousers went on much the same way, one foot and then the other pulling them into place.
Henry had remained quiet throughout the entire process and Big guy was beginning to wonder if the boy was actually capable of speech. Magnus had sounded confident when she said he would talk and of course she had found no medical reason as to why he wasn’t, but watching him now, there seemed to be little to indicate that speech was a possibility.
There was intelligence though.
He watched as Henry looked down at the hem of his trousers, catching himself before he burst into laughter at the expression that came across the young boy’s face, brows furrowed, mouth pursed into a thin line, it was a perfect imitation of Doctor Magnus deep in thought. He managed with a minimal struggle to keep quiet, not wanting to break his focus.
Slowly, Henry took hold of the two drawstrings that had yet to be tide, pulling them until the hem tightened around his waist, he wiggled a little on the spot seemingly testing out weather or not his trousers were going to fall down, only for the movement to loosen the cords causing the fabric to shift.
It was by the third attempt that Big Guy took pity on him, grinning at the little dance the wiggle had turned into.
“I can tie it for you?” he said pointing to the strings.
Henry released them almost immediately; he took it as a silent permission and tide them into a small knot.
Maybe they could communicate in other ways he thought, after all his people had a very different concept of language.
Big guy showed him a pair of socks and gestured to his feet.
“We need to put your socks on, or your feet will get cold.”
When Henry didn’t respond he lowered himself to the floor, patting a space in front of him, feeling rather pleased when henry sat in the indicated spot. He once again showed Henry the socks, gently lifting the boy’s ankle and demonstrated how to put one on, he then held the other sock out to him, the silent request hung between them for a long minute and he was beginning to think that maybe it was too big of an ask, but then henry began to move, lifting one little hand from his lap, hesitating just before his fingers touched the fabric, The big guy nodded to him encouragingly and slowly, ever so slowly, he took the sock, fumbling a little with both hands as he struggled slip it over the end of his foot.
He smiled down at the boy once he pulled it all the way on and Henry looked back at him with, what The Big Guy could only describe as, a questioning look.
“That’s right Henry, well done.”
Henry looked quickly away, but not before The Big Guy saw a twitch of a smile.
He was a curious little thing, he had understood enough to carry out the small task, idly he wondered just how clever he was, a swell of emotion rose in his chest at the thought of watching this little boy learn and grow. Granted his origin was unknown and true nature was a mystery, but the sanctuary was full of mysteries, and they had all come to call this place home.
“How about we go and find Doctor Magnus hmm?”
Big Guy stood up offering his hand down to the boy who took it without hesitation.
They walked silently through the corridors, the journey back to the office took a few extra minutes with Henry by his side, he kept his pace slow, henrys little feet made almost no noise at all as they padded over the carpets. Big Guy made a mental note to go out and see if he could get some shoes for him, they had a couple of pairs of children’s shoes in the sanctuary’s stores but they had all turned out to be too big.
They were still walking hand in hand as they came up to Magnus’s office, her voice floating through the open door, deep in conversation. Magnus looked up, waving to them both as she heard the gentle knock announcing their arrival.
“Yes I understand its late Doctor Adamis but that manusc… no, I have spoken with the head of zoological studies, you have the only… I would appreciate it if you could…”
Henry walked forward when he saw her and Big guy had to gently tug him back “We have to wait a moment,” he explained quietly.
Henry paid no attention to what he said pulling at the hand that now held him back.
“Henry, we have to…”
Henry made something akin to a frustrated sound pulling harder on The Big Guy’s hand.
“Henry…”
The sound turned into a whine, and he thought maybe it would be best to remove him from the room, he reached down to lift him and Henrys whining grew louder still, twisting in his grasp pointing at Magnus.
“Doc!”
Big guy froze, staring at the little boy now looking at him pleadingly, the room was now silent, magnus having had much the same reaction as The Big guy, stood stock still eyes wide not even seeming to breath as she stared at henry.
Frustrated by their lack of response Henry let out a high-pitched whine pulling again to get to Magnus reaching for her with his free hand.
“Dooooooooc!”
At that they both snapped out of it, “I’ll have to call you back”, Magnus said hanging up the phone not waiting for an answer. The Big Guy gently released him, making sure he wouldn’t fall as pulled away and ran for Magnus, crashing into her legs.
“Good morning Henry!” she exclaimed, beaming down at the little boy who was now grinning up at her, she laughed as he turned his head into her legs reaching further round and trying to hug her tighter.
“Was he alright getting up?” she asked, her eyes not leaving the little boy clutching at her legs. She stoked at his hair lovingly, carding her fingers through the short messy strands.
“No trouble, you were right, He is clever.” He said smiling at the little scene before him.
“He is.” Magnus agreed eyes crinkling as henry rubbed his face against her leg uttering a much quieter “Doc.”