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Cathy sighed, shaking her head in distaste. She gave Ray a mere glance, "Sorry. That would be my sparrow."
She marched over to the fence, a moving figure already coming into view as the trees were now having some distance between each other.
The figure happened to a young boy. His scout uniform was smooth, but dishevelled and dirty. One knee had a bandage while one knuckles had a bandage as well. The hat the boy was wearing was teetering at the edge of his scalp, threatening to fall off.
The boy gave his mother a quick glance, before scrambling to hop the fence, causing Cathy to already be on the move. She argued and scolded the boy in French, while the boy was already spitting back at her.
Cathy awkwardly glanced back at Ray, tugging her son off the fence and making him jump off. "Ray, this is Hudson."
"Hudson, this is Ray. You're going to take good care of this boy, okay? He's new to your unit," Cathy said in a soft tone, glancing back at Ray.
Catherine watched her boy go bound off towards the forest, already passing a gathering of boys, the group exchanging excited words about the upcoming hike.
She greeted a fellow Mother, her smile just twitching when the madame pronounced her name wrong.
She had given up on correcting people long ago, already feeling fatigue from having to watch all those people tumble and slip up with it.
She then noticed a burly man dragging a little boy down to the camp grounds. She didn't recall meeting the man before nor the little boy before, so she was already brushing off her dress and walking towards them with a smile.
"Bonjour monsieur! It's quite lovely to see new faces around here. Is your boy joining this group as well? It's such a wonderful thing to see kids interested in participating in this!"
The man looked up as he was approached, offering a small smile as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Well hello there, ma’am. Yeah, my son’s gonna give it a go. I’m on a little, uh, work trip, so I figured I wouldn’t bore him with my business.” He ruffled his son’s hair as he said that last bit. His accent sharply contrasted hers, one that could be identified as Southern from the U.S.
He turned to his son and moved his hand to his shoulder as he added, “Ray, why don’t you go on and run ahead. Make sure you talk to the other boys, y’hear? No point avoidin’ it if you wanna have fun.”
The kid—Ray—nodded and gave him a hug before walking off to join the other boys. His father watched him go for a moment before turning back to Catherine.
“Ah, sorry ‘bout that, ma’am. ‘Got all wrapped up… ‘name’s Daniel,” he said, offering her a hand. “My son’s name is Raymond. We’re from Virginia, just stayin’ for the summer.”
Catherine gave him a hesitant look, biting her lip a little. She shook her head, as if dismissing what she was going to originally say.
"I haven't met them all, but I'm sure they'll see your values," she answered bluntly.
The thickets around them were lush with all sorts of blooming colours while sunlight happened to seep through the variety of pine trees. Catherine could be seen glancing around, surveying the trail in hopes of seeing even a glimpse of her son.
She glanced down at Ray, "I have hopes you'll fit in well enough. Besides, it's only for this summer."
"You may call me Cathy, by the way."
Catherine snapped her head up when she heard some sort of rattling noise. She exhaled sharply through her nose, a hand on her forehead.
"He better not be trying to climb that fence again..."
Catherine watched her boy go bound off towards the forest, already passing a gathering of boys, the group exchanging excited words about the upcoming hike.
She greeted a fellow Mother, her smile just twitching when the madame pronounced her name wrong.
She had given up on correcting people long ago, already feeling fatigue from having to watch all those people tumble and slip up with it.
She then noticed a burly man dragging a little boy down to the camp grounds. She didn't recall meeting the man before nor the little boy before, so she was already brushing off her dress and walking towards them with a smile.
"Bonjour monsieur! It's quite lovely to see new faces around here. Is your boy joining this group as well? It's such a wonderful thing to see kids interested in participating in this!"
The man looked up as he was approached, offering a small smile as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Well hello there, ma’am. Yeah, my son’s gonna give it a go. I’m on a little, uh, work trip, so I figured I wouldn’t bore him with my business.” He ruffled his son’s hair as he said that last bit. His accent sharply contrasted hers, one that could be identified as Southern from the U.S.
He turned to his son and moved his hand to his shoulder as he added, “Ray, why don’t you go on and run ahead. Make sure you talk to the other boys, y’hear? No point avoidin’ it if you wanna have fun.”
The kid—Ray—nodded and gave him a hug before walking off to join the other boys. His father watched him go for a moment before turning back to Catherine.
“Ah, sorry ‘bout that, ma’am. ‘Got all wrapped up… ‘name’s Daniel,” he said, offering her a hand. “My son’s name is Raymond. We’re from Virginia, just stayin’ for the summer.”
With a polite and warm dip of her head, Cathy waved and walked over to Ray.
She caught the kid awkwardly shuffling around a grand oak, its branches outstretched to the sky as sunlight seeped through its leaves and branches.
She smiled, chuckling when she knelt down, her dress sweeping over dirt and grass. Her warm benevolent brown eyes melted in Ray's as she tilted her head. "Well hello, miel. How are you over here? Is the oak giving you company?"
Her teasing was light and sympathetic, before her hands reached out to adjust Ray's collar and sash and patches.
"There. What a pretty little boy you are," she praised, her tone sweet like honey.
Catherine watched her boy go bound off towards the forest, already passing a gathering of boys, the group exchanging excited words about the upcoming hike.
She greeted a fellow Mother, her smile just twitching when the madame pronounced her name wrong.
She had given up on correcting people long ago, already feeling fatigue from having to watch all those people tumble and slip up with it.
She then noticed a burly man dragging a little boy down to the camp grounds. She didn't recall meeting the man before nor the little boy before, so she was already brushing off her dress and walking towards them with a smile.
"Bonjour monsieur! It's quite lovely to see new faces around here. Is your boy joining this group as well? It's such a wonderful thing to see kids interested in participating in this!"
The man looked up as he was approached, offering a small smile as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Well hello there, ma’am. Yeah, my son’s gonna give it a go. I’m on a little, uh, work trip, so I figured I wouldn’t bore him with my business.” He ruffled his son’s hair as he said that last bit. His accent sharply contrasted hers, one that could be identified as Southern from the U.S.
He turned to his son and moved his hand to his shoulder as he added, “Ray, why don’t you go on and run ahead. Make sure you talk to the other boys, y’hear? No point avoidin’ it if you wanna have fun.”
The kid—Ray—nodded and gave him a hug before walking off to join the other boys. His father watched him go for a moment before turning back to Catherine.
“Ah, sorry ‘bout that, ma’am. ‘Got all wrapped up… ‘name’s Daniel,” he said, offering her a hand. “My son’s name is Raymond. We’re from Virginia, just stayin’ for the summer.”