Novelty is the Universal Cry [Dorian, Inanna]

The last few days had been nothing short of hectic for Dorian, to put things very lightly. The moment the city had come under attack, he had begun doing everything in his power to assist, and well after that he hadn't stopped. He'd worked unceasingly for three days straight, and only after he was ordered to go home did he leave.

Of course, then he simply went to the kitchen, and began working there for another day without rest. Only after he cut himself did his staff tell him to leave, and despite his protests, he did so, going home and finally sleeping. When he returned to work, he wasn't allowed back, however. He still needed to rest, he'd been told.

So now, he was wandering the city, cigarette in hand as he looked for volunteer work that needed doing. Lifting rubble, collecting lost belongings, whatever was necessary. It was difficult work, but wholly rewarding. He didn't want rest when there were people to help.

Well, she had some spare time today and while she could've opted to appear in her magical girl form she wanted to keep that one on the hush hush! A lot of people probably recognised her anyways... well not since she opted to remain like this but a couple of weeks ago the little girl should've left an impression.

"Excuse me, Mr. Are you okay? Look like you lost something."

She inquired innocently from beside him. Her eyes on his cigarette though with a bit of a disapproving look but she wouldn't say anything to him. At the end of the day he was free to do that if he wanted to, she couldn't force him to stop.

"Oh? Yes, I'm perfectly well, just keeping an eye out for anything that needs doing."

Dorian's eyes were sharp, and he noticed the little girl's disapproval for his cigarette. Well, he shouldn't have considered that surprising. Most people didn't care for such an unhealthy habit, himself included. It was simply a way of dealing with the stresses of his chosen career, but he put it out and into his cigarette case without any complaint.

"And what about yourself, young lady? I'm surprised to see someone so young wandering around after what's happened."

Not that he was chiding her, of course. If anything, there was a bit of concern in Dorian's voice, worry that she might have someone she was looking for. He supposed it was just instinctive, given his upbringing.

"Me? I'm just doing the same as you. I don't think I can do much but if I can put a bit of bedazzle and twinkle into my efforts then I can help people a bit more, especially mum. I have barely seen her since all this happened. She's probably got her head buried in work again."

She looked a little solemn when she mentioned her mum, it was like something was keeping her really busy so it was just her and Alex at home most of the time. She wondered when she'd be back properly but it'd be soon, right. Right?

"Do you want some help? It's important to accept help from people or else you'll get tired and hurt yourself."

"Well, a bit of effort goes a long way, so your help is perfectly welcome. Where does your mother work? I'd certainly be glad to see what I can do there."

Of course, he wasn't an idiot. Her appearance made it fairly clear who her mother most likely was, given how few people in the Vandenreich had such a...well, striking appearance, as it were. But Dorian wasn't going to make assumptions, and even if he was entirely correct, he'd be perfectly glad to approach his superior and tell her to take some time off.

Hypocritical of him? Exceptionally, yes. He was aware of that. But he considered it equally hypocritical that she would have told him to take time off without considering it for herself, so it was all even in his eyes.

"I imagine there's likely some meals that need to be delivered if you'd like to help me with that. I wouldn't want anyone eating a cold lunch when they're already dealing with the destruction here in the city, after all."

He began leading the way toward his restaurant, glad he could at least do this much even if he wouldn't step foot into the kitchen. His eyes still looked exhausted, but there was a confidence to his stride that said he wouldn't let something like a mere lack of sleep get in his way.

"Mum? She's... a secretary. I think."

Inanna was absolutely awful at remembering her actual title. It didn't have any pizzazz to it at all, not like Twinkle Vanilla or Sparkle Cayenne did. She'd know her as a secretary for way longer anyways, right? So what did it matter if Inanna still referred to her as that. Maybe one day her mum would correct her.

"Really!? We can deliver food together, well uh. First you have to tell me your name. Mum would be mad if she knew I was going along with a total stranger so if we share names then we're not strangers anymore. I'll go first, I'm Inanna although you can call me Nanna instead if you want."

Now she waited to hear his name.

Well, being a secretary certainly did seem in line with Dorian's assumption as to what this girl's mother did, and he wasn't going to be the one to inquire further into the specifics of her title. After all, he didn't imagine that she knew the answer to anything he might ask on that particular topic.

"How rude of me, terribly sorry about that. I'm Dorian. It's good to meet you, Nanna."

He'd found that people generally didn't give their nickname unless they wanted to be called by it, so naturally, Dorian made certain to use it. That just seemed polite, didn't it?

"Great, now we're not strangers Dorian."

Now they were friends and she was able to help him, when her mum asks about what she got up to now she could tell her that she helped a nice man called Dorian. That was later though, for now she had a bunch of work to do to help this guy.

She followed along with a cheerful skip in her step. Inanna didn't want to be as glum as the ruins around them, she wanted to try and raise people's spirits which she couldn't do if she was really down and sad. The skippy danava keeping pace with the very pretty boy. He looked like he put a lotta work into his looks.

Her cheer wasn't exactly infectious, and Dorian wasn't going to start skipping along with her, but his expression did lighten a good bit seeing her go along. He appreciated that childish innocence, able to put on a smile even when things were difficult.

"That's true, I'd hate to try and work all day with someone I didn't know. Tell me about yourself, what sort of food do you like?"

Walking toward the side door of the restaurant, he was pleased to see all the heaters filled already with assorted deliveries to be made. It wouldn't be difficult to carry these off, and he handed a smaller, lighter container over to Inanna. It wouldn't be terribly hot, either, seeing as he didn't imagine her hands were quite so used to the heat as his were. He himself grabbed one of the larger metal containers, hefting it up before turning once more toward the street and leading the way again.

"Well, I really like sweets Dorian but I'll eat anything if it doesn't taste bad you know."

Inanna did not give him a happy look though when he went to hand her a smaller, lighter container. Who did he think she was!? Her frown and pout told him as much.

"Dorian. I can lift more! Just because I'm smaller and a girl doesn't mean I can't lift as much as you can. I'm tough you know."

She insisted while waiting for him to cave to her demands of being able to do more.