Chapter Text
“Oh and let the sun set..” Jedediah hummed away, slowly levelling down the surface beneath the shovel.
Work ran by smoother with notes of harmony passing by - even if he hated to admit it. All of his partners were off on their own side jobs so he was left with his own which was to grind down the dirt paving. Was it as hectic as a haystack? Absolutely. But the paving before him displayed his strength of labour; and so did the sweat formulating on his head. That in of itself was rewarding.
It was nothing short of boring him to death though. Even his own mind couldn’t keep his spirit for adventure at bay. It was tiring but he harboured on, giving it his all until his plastic gave in.
Even since the most recent adventure to retrieve the tablet from an ex-night guard, that feeling was still not settled. If anything, it only further encouraged it. It was like a red flag to a bull - and by God did he want to chase it. He’d chase it to the ends of the world if it meant feeling alive like he did that night.
In previous times, he’d been an adventurer. Seeking out maps, plans and ways to survive. Ways to thrive. But ever since the last collection of overnight staff, those days were thought to be long gone. Forever a ghost of his old self, tortured and tormented by that feeling racing through his head.
Larry made that break. He set them their freedom on the conditions to not wreak havoc through the halls of the museum. He let them really live.
For now, Jedediah could work in peace, knowing that there was always history to explore. Past, future and present.
The hums slowly evolved to whistles, sure and sound. Coverage of muck surrounded him in messily sorted plies. A small tug even fell upon the loose ends of fabric on his chaps.
However, that tug wasn’t of dirt. It was of a tiny, feeble hand. One much smaller than his own.
A soft, puffy face tilted as the child’s head moved. A familiar type of clothing (a tunic, ain’t it?) draped over her with a small crescent shaped locket hung over. She was Roman? Christ on a cracker, how did she find her way here?
“Well heya there lil’ one, almost didn’t see ya there.” He attempted to greet her softly. What if she only knew Latin? “The name’s Jedediah, what’s yours?”
He kneeled down to eye level, just like he did with the little ones from the western diorama. The hazy gaze was the first thing he was greeted with, her eyes intently lost in thought.
The girl twiddled her hands together nervily as they rose to her upheld hair. “Julia..”
“Nice to meetcha Julia.” Jedediah offered an optional hand out to her. He hardly knew how this accustom worked with others around to guide him. Now he had to try to figure out where she had squandered over from above all of that.
Julia nodded in a simple agreement, taking a finger of the hand with an odd shake. In all honesty, he couldn’t blame her. This was all far different from her custom of life.
“I gotta ask you a small question, alrighty?” And with that, Julia nodded. Jedediah continued, “Where abouts is your mom’s and pop’s?
Her head turned down, staring at the concrete as if she was going to be scolded for leaving. Not as if she was going to but the potential of it happening.
“Look, I don’t bite.” He fooled around, seemingly not to the most fond audience. “Look, I ain’t gonna scold ya, trust me on that. I just need to know. They must be worried sick about where you are, June-bug.”
Her eyes were still fixed on the floor and the details she’d carved upon her sandals. How was he meant to prove himself trustworthy..? The question in of itself was odd enough without practically babysitting a lost child. Sweet sassafras..
“Junes, how about..” He pondered, trying to find a form of entertainment for her. “Alright, whaddya say about a good ol’ adventure?”
The girl’s soulful eyes lit up, practically clicking her heels at the idea. Adventure seemed to be in her blood as she took on the idea immediately. And just like that, she intuitively raced after his steps through the sand and wilting weeds.
Yelps of birds yowled out from branches, finding an odd harmony when put together. The girl’s pacing almost halted at this, taking the new scenery of crow cries above and calls of early birds. Her mind seemed entranced with each new platform they crossed.
There it was. His second home. His place to stray away from the rowdy lot for a night.
The desert willow.
His own space lay near the octillo shrub, shining in its ruby glory. He invited the wonderer to the sight that was fixed above the normal diorama’s level.
“You feel like yabberin’ on yet? I know you don’t wanna talk but that ain’t a reason to keep astray from your family for this long.” Jedediah’s fingertips swayed through the thin, long-gone grass that hued a yellow tone. “Why you ventured here in the first place? Doesn’t seem like your neck of the woods.”
The girl, Julia, motioned blankly with her hands picking at the blades of folded over grass. “Pa said I could adventure. He gave an oath that someday he’d show me around the myths of the museum. But he never would tell me when.” She huffed.
“You went off on your own?” He focused back up to her. “Well you’ve got that adventurer at heart, I’ll tell you that much.” The cowboy chuckled to himself lightly, somewhat proud of her ambitious antics.
“You can’t just depart on your own though, June bug. It’s a stampede out there for miniatures. He’ll be sick to his core wonderin’ where you’ve gone.”
Julia did not meet his eyes, seemingly reprimanded for her actions and letting drips of guilt seep in. Christ on a cracker, he truly didn’t mean to have the poor critter worrying out of her mind.
“Hey, hey- Juney, you can’t keep frownin’ about it. There’s no changin’ the past but there is the future.” The blonde turned to her. “Look, how ‘bout this? I’ll help you up a branch or two an’ you’ll try an’ point out whereabouts they are. Sound like a plan?”
“Yeah!” The girl exclaimed, already on her tiptoes in any attempt to reach a branch from above. She was agile alright, no doubt she found her way here by herself.
“C’mon then, time’s a-wastin’!” He crouched and Julia left no haste with following onto his careful hold. Only a meter or so high was reached for a safe distance from the rough ground. That distance was, however, all that was needed as Julia marvelled in the view. This was the adventure she was waiting her lifetimes of nights for.
“So where are you folks?” He continued on.
The child pointed vaguely at the distance of Rome, “There.”
Sweet mother Mary was this not one of his best thought-out plans. But he knew he had to give her the night she deserved. And even further than that, he knew he needed to find her folks.
“Do you think you could show me there? An adventure of your own.” He grinned at her blooming excitement. Julia’s joy was impermeable and contagious; her smile practically lit at the thought. “C’mon, vámomos!”