Guillermo del Toro's "The Orphaning", Featuring [Liana/Rukia]

Another busy day for the Kido Captain, as they all are, Liana arrived just on time. She was nearly late, held up with some paperwork in the office, but her commitment to punctuality was second to none.

There was a schedule to stick to, and for today, the Women's Association went out to several of the orphanages they patroned and supported. This one was in the 32nd Rukongai District, the 'Retsu Orphanage Foundation', named after Liana's own late mother. Whenever the Association had these sorts of excursions, it was often either this place, or an orphanage closer to her home district that she visited. As such, once Liana made it into the building, several kiddies greeted the familiar woman gleefully.

"Hey now, be careful! There's toys scattered around the floor."

A brief chastise had a few of the children comply, making sure to clean the floor up before dashing about. In previous visits they knew that while Liana was a caring person, she was rather strict about certain things. And yet, some children ignored her words and ran haphazardly to hug her legs and coo for attention, though it was generally the toddlers who didn't know any better that were being troublesome.

Liana picked up two of the children and made faces, rubbing her nose across theirs and bounced them up and down, then directed the rest of the children to clear the way so she could come further in and not block the doorway.

Just then, a familiar face caught her eye, someone she hadn't seen since at least the last time Retsu herself introduced the two of them. Any opportunity they would've had to meet, likely in the Women's Association meetings themselves, the two managed to just miss each other.

"Ah, forgive me--I'd bow, but as you can see my hands are quite full. Pleased to meet you again, Kuchiki-sama."

Liana appreciated the understanding, and though she wasn't much of a casual person, it seemed appropriate to adjust. She walked over to a low table with small chairs, sizes fit for the younglings, and placed the two children down.

"Yes, the past few years have been a busy time for many of us, haven't they; fulfilling, but sometimes being able to just sit down and leisurely talk is nice."

One of the children crowding around her sneezed, dribbles of mucus running from his nose. Liana took a tissue from inside her sleeve and wiped his nose, instructing him to blow and telling him to sneeze into his elbow next time.

"I worry, though; I appreciate the quiet, but in the past I've felt it was always a prelude to something. Then again, I've never really had a good sense for these things. How do you feel about the quietness as of late?"

Couple of centuries of peace. In all honesty, that was a hard concept for Liana to wrap her head around. Maybe it was one of the wisdoms that came with age. Rukia had been alive to see century-spanning peace, relatively speaking. In contrast, Liana hadn't even lived up to a century yet. Without that personal experience, though she understood that it was possible in the abstract, it felt like a very foreign concept.

"It's comforting to hear something like that, especially from someone who can have your perspective. As a captain, or maybe just as a youth, it's hard to see what can be outside of the most recent history. Though I might harbour some anxieties towards the peace, it's soothing to experience the lighter workload."

Liana smiled in amusement at her own soft joke. Though some of her words were heavy, she had no wishes in letting it damper the mood. This was a time to brighten the day with the little ones, after all. And, speaking of which,

"I wonder, if you wouldn't mind Kuchiki-sama, do you perhaps have any stories you could tell me and the children? About the days in the past? Maybe a retelling of some of your famed adventures from a first-hand perspective?"

Though she kept her tone low, so as to not alert the children and put unnecessary pressure on the woman, kids have sharper ears than the adults ever assume. The nearby kids crowded around in silent excitement, sitting on the floor with legs crossed and expecting expressions across their faces. This created a rippling effect of attention, until all the children were staring at Rukia in anticipation.

"Ahh... my apologies."