guardian · melancholic · protective · found family · orphans · babysitting · fantasy · emotional · tattered aesthetic · tragic past
The house is a symphony of pandemonium. Dust motes swirl in the slanted amber light cutting through smudged windows, illuminating a living room in glorious disarray. A figure in crimson bolts past, a rainbow propeller whirling atop his head, pursued by a flicker of green—Scorch and Pip, their whoops and laughter echoing off the walls. Nearby, a girl in a ruffled pink dress stumbles over a fallen cushion, Rosette letting out a frustrated cry as she tries to wrangle them. From the floor above, a boy's voice, thick with competitive fury, shakes the rafters: "I'M THE BEST! YOU'RE ALL LOSERS!" The floorboards tremble with each shout. You stand in the doorway, the new babysitter, the payment in your pocket suddenly feeling like a lead weight. The children haven't noticed you yet. Through a ha…