Work and Play (Open to 3)

Sentinel sat on a nearby bench with a laptop in his lap, and he was working on his latest commission for a website that wanted to sell it's furniture to the Ueitawa region. The job was simple enough for Sentinel, granted the abstract parts proved to be more difficult, fortunately there were multiple research projects that focused on what the average human being did or did not like. That made it easier to shape the website in a way that most potential customers would feel a small connection to the website even if they did not exactly like what was being sold. However, that was not Sentinel problem, when he finished the job, then he would get his payment. That was all that really mattered to him.

While he was working an eleven year old girl was playing out in the snow, working on a snowman. Her name was Maria Farren, and it was Sentinel mission to keep her safe at all costs. He was getting ready to finish when he felt something cold placed in his hair. He looked to his left and saw Maria standing on the bench he was sitting on, with fragments of snow on her gloves. Sentinel would sigh, save his work, and close his laptop before looking to the eleven year old girl with two long brown ponytails.

"Maria, why did you dump snow in my hair?" He would ask her simply, not in a scolding or angry manner. The young girl would look at his red eyes before giggling and pointing to her now finished snowman.

"It's your turn to make a snowman, Senty! I had to get your attention somehow!" She said offering Sentinel an innocent smile. The Shadow Suppression weapon would put the laptop away, before taking Maria's hand and was led to a place next to her snowman. He searched his database to find the best way to build a snowman, and then joined Maria in creating a snowman that would represent himself. Still a concept that he had yet to understand, after all....he represented himself right? How could a thing created out of snow represent what he is like?

Was Hayabusa Park really this nice? Such a stark contrast to Iwaigodai where smog filled the air. Maybe she would have to see if she could get a new place here. It was nice. Gabby loved the feeling of the cold air against her skin and the sound of snow crunching under her feet. Then, through the frozen air, she heard a child speaking giggling. It wasn’t something she was used to hearing anymore. Not since she was a child herself, anyway. It was actually kind of soothing. It wasn’t like her, but she wanted to go see what was going on. She was right. There was a child, not much younger than her by the look of it. She was playing in the snow, and was joined by the man.

Did she mention a snowman? Gabby hadn’t made a snowman in years. So, she was still innocent and young enough to find things like that enjoyable. She smiled at the thought. It wasn’t really like her, but she wanted to say something nice about this moment. She noticed the finished person made of snow and walked over to it. She pointed to it and looked at the girl, “Did you make that? It’s really nice.” She wasn’t loud, but just enough to be heard by the two.

Sentinel had just begun to make the bottom of his snowman, much to Maria's excitement, when he heard a voice call out to Maria. He rose from his kneeling position and turned to see Gabby pointing to Maria's snowman. He would stand there and analyze Gabby, after all who know what this stranger's intent was. After all...he...no....her voice and demeanor were a bit too reserved even for a shy boy. Furthermore, her facial structure was feminine, granted she dressed a bit like a boy, a concept which confused Sentinel slightly, but he would not ask as that might fall into the category of.....

'Offensive'....yes that was the word he was looking for. However, she was a rather interesting individual, her appearance indicated tomboy, but her personality and demeanor indicated that she was more of an introvert or simply very shy. However, while he analyzed this possible threat, Maria would turn and smile with her bright white teeth. Then she would answer Gabby's question.

"Yep all by myself! I'm glad you like!" Her reply and personality was rather cheery, and she seemed to have a natural energy as she bounced toward Gabby. Sentinel followed behind silently, though a trace of concern could be seen on his face. He has yet to fully analyze this individual, and Maria was already going to make friends with her. This was....concerning to say the least. However, there was almost no stopping Maria when she set her mind to something, and it might be healthy for her development if she made some more friends. Her brown eyes looked up at Gabby, and Maria would extend a hand out to her.

"My name is Maria Farren, what's yours?" She would say, and after Gabby had replied the eleven year old girl would turn around and point to Sentinel, "That's Senty." She would say, which snapped Sentinel out of his trance, and he would step forward.

"Yes, my name is Alphonse Sentinel, or 'Senty' as Maria likes to call me." He would nod his head toward Gabby, and glanced back at Maria. He had told her to call him 'Alphonse' when around others, but she just offered him an innocent smile. It was hard to scold her or stay made at her, and thus Sentinel would not do so in front of Gabby. As he stood there, Maria would look between the two of them, and then look back at Gabby with a smile.

"Want to help us build snowmen! It'll be fun!"

Gabby could feel the man’s eyes burrowing into her. It was unnerving her, so much so that she crossed her arms in front of her chest. It’s not like she had anything there, but it was a natural reaction. The feeling of people watching her always bothered her for some reason. Usually, it was the reaction people had when they didn’t trust somebody or thought they were too immature to leave alone.

At least the child seemed to be nice. She was innocent, as far as Gabby could tell, “That’s a really good snowman. Especially if you made it yourself.” She even held out her hand, which was gladly taken and shook gently, “I’m Gabby.” When the child’s companion was introduced, she nodded, “It’s good to meet you, Alphonse.” The way she spoke made it hard to tell if she was serious or not, but it was safe to assume she didn’t dislike him. When Maria spoke though, she kneeled down and smiled, “I’d love to help.” She took a handful of snow, packed it into a ball and started rolling it to make a section of the body.

"Thanks! I worked really hard on it!" The young girl replied with a wide grin. It was evident that she took pride in her work. When Gabby agreed to join them in making snowman, the young girl would jump up and down happily before finally settling down ,and started working on a another snowman. Apparently she wanted to play if Gabby was going to make another one. She looked up to Sentinel and gestured for him to begin making his own snowman. He kneeled down next to Gabby, occasionally glancing over to her to keep an eye on what she was doing. After all, any movements that might harm Maria had to be prevented, and he was not sure if he could trust Gabby quite yet. Then again...Maria seemed to have warmed up to her quite well. Perhaps this Gabby could be trusted after all it seemed that she meant no harm, and Maria did like her. What harm could there be in relaxing for a few minutes......

Then words that haunted him to this day echoed in his mind. "One day...you will fail....to protect....her. When...that day comes....you will rue what you have done here." His body shivered at those words and he rubbed his shoulders with his weight lifting gloves. Then again...it may be naive to trust Gabby, after all Maria liked her father too. He shivered once more as he thought back to how he almost failed his duty to protect Maria.

He only awoke from his still state when Maria stood up and waved a hand in his face, "Senty....Senty....Senty....come on wake up Senty." She would repeat his name until he shook his head, clearing his mind of his past.

"My apologies Maria, I was....distracted." He would reply to her, and then go back to creating a section of his snowman. Maria just nodded before happily skipping back to her ball of snow and continuing to roll it until it was just the right size. While Maria was distracted, Sentinel looked to Gabby, and decided to inquire a bit more about this stranger.

"Tell me, Gabby, what do you do in your daily life?" The more information he had the better he could identify if Gabby was a threat to Maria, or perhaps she would prove to be a friend. A friend that Maria could meet, and look up to. Sentinel feared that a lack of a strong real life role model might stunt Maria's emotional growth. Thus if she bonded with real humans, and not artificial beings like him..then she might avoid a darker path.

Weakness:

Gabby continued to roll the ball of snow against the ground. She couldn’t remember the last time she had created something like this. Maybe it was when she was five, give or take a year. At least someone could still enjoy it, namely Maria. This was her idea, after all. As she thought this, Alphonse began acting… strange. He was trembling and holding himself. It was as if he had suddenly grown afraid of something. Nothing had happened though. Was he just prone to panic attacks? The weirdest part is that it was so sudden on his part. She didn’t know what to do, so she sat back and watched. He seemed to come out of it when Maria called him back to reality, however.

By this point, he had apologized to the child and continued with his own snowman. Gabby, herself, was finishing up with the base of hers when he asked what she did with her life. It was an odd question to ask a stranger, but she had come to expect oddness from the people living her. And, for some even greater unknown reason, it was beginning to bother her less and less each day. She shrugged, “I go to school then go home and usually read all night. Sometimes I pick up dinner from a convenience store or I take the train and go anywhere that isn’t where I am.” She didn’t mention her ‘job’ or where she lived, just to be on the safe side. Though, her answer even surprised her. Did she really do nothing with her time?

She shook off the idea and went back to rolling up snow for a torso. While she did this, she went on to ask the two a few questions, “So, are you two siblings or something?” They didn’t look alike, but Gabby knew that family didn’t have to look like one another. She just figured that the two had to be close if they were here together and acting to casually. The first idea that came to mind was that they were somehow related.

Sentinel would nod at Gabby's response, so she was a student, someone seeking an education. He would store that in his memory databases for future reference, but this was also a good sign. He recalled a study that he had read that more educated people were less likely to commit violent acts or crimes. Then again, 'he' was very well educated, and the act that 'he' almost committed would have been terrible. Furthermore, she liked to read, and seemed very independent. So smart and independent...perhaps she would be a good role model for Maria. After all it appeared that she cared about her studies, and if Maria was to succeed then she would have to be well-educated. As he finished up the base for his snowman, Gabby asked a question that Sentinel had predicted would come up. Many would come to the conclusion that they were not of the same family, and this was true. While Sentinel was created by Maria's father they did not share a blood relation.

Maria would have seized the chance to answer a question, if Sentinel did not beat her to it, "No, we are not. I am her guardian or god father if you are of the Christian tradition. Maria's family did a lot for me, and after their.....passing....I took it upon myself to take care of her." At this comment Maria would look a little sad, apparently she still was not over the loss of her parents. Sentinel looked at her rather distantly....after all...she still did not know the truth, but now was not the time to worry about such things. He had to find a way to change the topic and make Maria happy again. He would finish up rolling his base before looking to Gabby.

"So you like to read? Well so does Maria, what kind of books have you read? He would ask, however Maria would approach Gabby with a smile on her face, though it was not as big as it was before.

"Oh! Have you read Inkheart? That one is my favorite, but the movie wasn't very good. Do you have any recommendations?" The young girl would ask, if it was not apparent the library was one of her favorite places to be.

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.” She looked off to the side for a moment before looking back, “You’re a good person, Alphonse.” He looked like he was only around 17, give or take a year, and he was already taking care of another person. There were full-grown adults who didn’t have that kind of maturity. She then looked at Maria, “Make sure you use the power of children later.” She leaned in so only Maria could hear her, “That means get him to buy you lots sweets by virtue of being adorable.” She smiled at her.

It was true that she liked to read, but she wasn’t sure Maria would like the same kind of books, “Well, right now I’m reading about infectious diseases. I don’t think you’d like it, Maria. It’s pretty boring.” Well, not to her, but it was if you had no interest in the topic. It had been a long time since she read a book actually meant for children. So long, in fact, that the only title she could remember was… “Encyclopedia Brown. It’s for children younger than you, but it’s essentially a mystery series.” She felt slightly strange for not being able to recommend anything different. She had also read A Series of Unfortunate Events, but that seemed like a bad call after the conversation they had just finished.

"Thank you for your kind words Gabby. I appreciate them, perhaps more than you can imagine." That was the truth as it supported the fact that he made the right decision stopping "him". He would begin the middle part of his snowman while Gabby and Maria had a conversation. He doubted they were doing anything bad while his back was turned though he heard Maria giggle at what Gabby said or suggested. The eleven year old smiled at Gabby, and leaned whispered back to her.

"Don't worry I will. I've already practiced my puppy dog eyes." She would then give Gabby an example of her perfected technique...she even managed a tear or two with her really sad eyes. However, when Gabby began to talk about the books she read, Maria would drop her act. The younger girl listened intently to what she was saying, "Oooh... I like mystery what is it about?" She would inquire eagerly, the youthful bounce looked like it returned. After the two were done discussing the topic Sentinel would walk over to them, as he had finished his snowman.

"I have finished my snowman, how may I assist either one of you?" He would prefer to help Maria over Gabby as his directives prioritized her over all other individuals, but he decided it would politically correct to extend the offer to both of them.

She didn’t quite understand what Alphonse was thanking her for. All she had done was state the obvious. Or, maybe it was only obvious to her. It took a special kind of person to take care of another, especially if they weren’t related. At least, she thought so. The conversation between she and Maria continued without him taking notice. As the child should off her puppy eyes, Gabby had to block her sight, “That’s a really powerful look. Even the most coldhearted person in the world could be moved by that.” She then laughed at the way she was speaking to a child. They couldn’t have been that far off in age, but they were so different. Had she been like this at one point in time? She couldn’t remember such a time.

They went back to talking about books, “Well, the mysteries are intended to be solved by the reader, thanks to the placement of a logical or factual inconsistency somewhere in the story. The good news is that they are compulations of short stories, so it’s easy to remember all of the evidence and plot points.” Alphonse then asked if either needed help with their snowman. Gabby shook her head. Instead, she pointed to her own pile of rolled up balls, “The next part is the most fun to do alone. You add the face, which makes it your own.” With that, she began poking holes in her snowman’s head. They were eyes.

Maria smiled and giggled at Gabby's comment about her puppy dog eyes, "I have had a little practice." she would say, as her eyes hinted toward Sentinel. However, she would listen carefully to what Gabby was saying when she described the book. Her eyes got a bit wide as Gabby explained that she would have to solve the crimes on her own, "So I get to be a detective? Cooooool." Maybe, Sentinel should not be giving Maria sugar. She seemed easily excited in the first place, then again being a cop, officer, or detective was one of the closest things to superheroes for them.

Maria would smile happily and skip over to her snowman, eager to finish her second creation for the day. Sentinel, however, lagged behind the other two and observed their behavior. He had never built a snowman before, but he understood the basic process of gathering snow to create a humanoid figure. He watched Gabby poke holes into the snow, which seemed also very odd. Why was she defacing her creation like that? It made no sense, however he saw that Maria was doing it too. Maybe they were not defacing their creation, but improving it? Sentinel scratched his head once more before poking two "eyes" into the snowman. He then glanced to see what Maria and Gabby were doing for the nose and mouth. Maria simply poked another hole for the nose, and then pushed her gloved finger into the snow and created a smiley face. Was this snowman supposed to express their current mood? If so then this was simpler than he originally thought. He added the nose, and then simply made a straight line for the snowman's mouth. Giving it an impassive look, he stepped back and nodded at his work. Clearly he thought he had done a good job....Maria however would disagree, but she was too busy with her own snowman.

“Yep. You get to solve all the mysteries and prove that you can be a wonderful detective.” Gabby would draw a smile on her snowman before looking at Maria’s. Hers was as innocent as she would expect from a child. She then looked at Alphone’s. She tilted her head and decided to give him a little hint. She leaned over to him and whispered so Maria wouldn’t hear, “Try putting on a happy face. Children love happy faces. Remember, everyone and everything is pure, happy, and innocent when a child looks at it.” She wouldn’t fix his snowman for him, because it was his choice. Instead, she would smile and run off for a moment. When she rejoined the two, she was holding a bundle of sticks, “I think they could use some arms.” She passed two to Maria and Two to Alphonse, then attached her own, “And there we go. He’s perfect.”

Sentinel was rather surprised when he Gabby offered him advice, it was sound. After all children were still blank canvas, that were waiting for an artist to paint a picture. Would it not make sense to keep that canvas as pure as possible? Sentinel quickly corrected his snowman's face by extending the mouth into a smile....sure it wasn't as natural as it could have been, but it was better than nothing right? Afterwards Sentinel was handed two sticks, which Gabby claimed they were meant to used as arms. But sticks lacked digits, and flexibility that comes with a human arm, they were brittle and fragile. However, he would not raise a question, instead he merely nodded to the student and stuck them in his snowman at an angle. This would give the snowman an appearance like it was raising its hands in excitement or.....joy....yes that was the word.

Maria took the sticks from Gabby, and eagerly placed them on the side of her snowman. After finishing her snowman she looked over to see everyone's work. She hugged Sentinel and looked at his snowman, "Wow, Senty, you did a good job for your first snowman!" Sentinel returned the hug the hug and offered her a small smile, he failed to see how it was so difficult. After the hug, Maria moved to see Gabby's, and the young girl's eyes lit up in adoration slightly, "Gabby, that looks amazing!" She said with a bright smile. Sentinel's smile grew a bit, if he didn't know better, Gabby was becoming a role model for Maria. Which was good as it may give her someone more....human to talk to.

"I must agree with Maria, your work is well made. I take it you've made plenty of snowman before when you were younger?" Sentinel would ask, though in his opinion it seemed fairly obvious that she had. Though a little conversation never hurt anyone, now did it?

At least Alphonse had corrected the look of his snowman’s face before Maria could see. It wasn’t a natural smile, but it was strangely him. At least, she thought it was. Then, Maria complimented her snowman. She would look at the little girl’s and smile, “Your snowman is so much better though. You have an eye for them.” It was strange. She didn’t think snowmen could be special, but something about Maria’s was. Maybe it was because children just naturally made the best snowmen. They thought it was fun and honestly thought it was magical. What was the American special called? Frosty the Snowman? Yes, that was it. Maybe children believed in that kind of thing, and it made something like this so much better. But, there was no book that proved that. Snowmen were just balls stacked ontop of one another and decorated to look semi-human. It was math and science. Perhaps Maria was just a protogy.

Alphonse asked if she had made snowmen a lot when she was younger. She looked at her own for a brief second, “Actually, I didn’t. I didn’t start making them until I was five, and I stopped right around seven or eight years old. I haven’t made one in a long time, because no one took me to make one.” And yet she couldn’t help but stop to make one here, with these people. It was a funny feeling inside of her, “Making one right now just makes me happy for some reason. I can’t explain why.”

Maria would look back to her snowman before looking back at Gabby, "You think so? I just wish it would snow more like this so I can make more snowmen, but winter is almost over." The young girl said sadly, and looked at the snow as though it was a treasure that would soon be stolen by the evil season known as spring. Sentinel would place a hand on the young girl's shoulder offering her a bit of comfort.

"Worry not Maria, there is always next year. What comes around goes around...or so the saying goes." Maria's guardian would say, before comparing his own to Maria's and Gabby's. Needless to say his was....lacking. Greatly lacking in fact, perhaps if Gabby had mentioned the part about the smile his snowman would be able to stand a chance. Then again it was not her fault, but Sentinel's fault for not understanding the concept of making snowman and how they are supposed to convey emotion. However, Gabby began to speak of how long it was since she made a snowman, and happy it made her.

"Regardless of how long it has been it is clear, you and Maria both share a talent for making snowmen. In regards to the happiness, maybe making one has rekindled your childhood imagination and happiness? Or maybe you are feeling nostalgic about those past memories. Maria looked up at her guardian with a confused look, clearly not understanding the word "nostalgic." Instead she looked at Gabby and there was a youthful glint in her eyes, as she offered her explanation instead.

"Or maybe it's because, snowmen are a lot of fun to make, and they become magical if you put a magician's hat on them! Like Frosty The Snowman!" The young girl began to hum the tune of Frosty The Snowman as she waited for Gabby to reply. Clearly Maria had more energy than she knew what to do with.