Diversion #23 - ii kibarashi - Keitogami
"Hello, Duo," said Q, pausing to smile at the Banshee.
Duo looked up from the multitude of needles in his hands. "Oh, hey Q. How are you?"
"I'm fine," said the blond Wizard. "You look a little busy." He indicated the needles.
Duo snorted. "I think I've got about twice as many needles as I have hands for right now, but I'm persistent."
Q seated himself on the bench across from the youngster. "What are you making, if I may ask?"
Duo let his hands drop into his lap. "Well, it's not really anything yet; more like just practice." He looked down at the mass of needles and yarn. "Yarn scales." He pulled his bag over and began stuffing the colorful mass into it. "Just stuff I do to keep my fingers nimble. And it makes the regular stuff look simple by comparison." He pulled another small bag from the larger, bottomless bag. "This is my usual stuff."
Q eyed the frothy bundle of blue yarn. "A hat?"
"One of many," Duo confirmed.
The Wizard nodded. "For anyone in particular?"
Duo shrugged. "Yes and no... I'm making a bunch to send to a place."
"A charity?"
"Yeah..."
"I have heard of various groups that make hats and blankets for the disadvantaged." Q did not offer the information that one of the foundations attached to his family businesses frequently provided materials to several of those groups.
"Yeah, there're a bunch of them out there." He strung out some yarn, looping it around his fingers and gathering up his needle. "This is a personal thing."
"Oh?" Duo didn't like to answer questions, but Q had discovered that by making noises of encouragement, especially when the Banshee was otherwise occupied, he often parted with quite a lot of information.
"There's this place... It's kinda like a group home for foster kids. They get paid by the state, but it's never enough. And they're pretty nice people... I stayed there for a while when I was about thirteen."
Q nodded, though Duo didn't notice.
"They were cool to me; didn't make me do weird stuff, just kind of let me be. Sometimes, looking back, I wonder if maybe they figured out what I was... Well, not that I'm a Banshee, but that I was some kind of Magical Creature. I used to send money to the lady sometimes, after I left. And one time I called, just because I wanted to hear a friendly voice... She didn't get weird with me, just told me not to send money, but to keep it for myself. She said when I was able to get a real job, and take care of myself first, then I could do something." He held up the hat he was working on, checking it for whatever he checked for. "The man was some kind of religious guy, but not like some I've met."
"Hm... Was it a religious home?"
"No... Not tied to any church. Just nice people who loved kids and wanted to help them. I didn't have any way of helping until this last year, but I guess I qualify as taking care of myself now, so I do some of these little things. I made a couple dozen hats last fall and got some of those cash cards for some of the department stores and sent those. Whatever they don't use, they pass on to other places, so it works out okay."
Q stood up preparatory to leaving. "You're a good person, Duo."
The Banshee shrugged. "I saw some stuff that makes what my Clan did to me look like sweet and loving behavior. Kids shouldn't have to deal with that kind of stuff."
"No, they shouldn't," said Q softly. He ruffled Duo's bright hair and walked away.
Duo blinked after him. Hm... Q would look great in that new raspberry print yarn...
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