#helena01

[noah-atwood]

Noah tries his best to stifle his laugh. "Just not the artistic skill of pumpkin carving."

When comparing their designs, both couldn't be further from the conventional Jack'O'Lantern look, but they had their own style. His more comical, Helena's geared toward something more spooky.

"They have safety tools for kids, but yeah. Speaking of pumpkin guts, do they have a wash off station here?" The sleeves of his sweatshirt are a lost cause, but he can't go about his day with sticky hands. Once the remnants of pumpkin innards dry, it isn't a comfortable feeling sitting between his fingers.

Gross.

"Guess I should get going. But thanks for the company. It made this more fun."

@helenasoarcs

She didn't suspect that she would be wrangling children of the rich and selfish in her twenties. But it was one of the most rewarding jobs that she ever had and it helps that she likes kids more than she does most adults.

They were blunt, easy to please, and could always be bribed into behaving.

"We all have our own skills." Hers revolved around patience and make belief stories which always worked well for small humans but would likely fall short with felines.

"Here's mine. I'm a lot better with a pen than I am with a knife. Luckily kids are more impressed with playing with pumpkin guts than trying to come up with a carving." / @noah-atwood

[verosissy84]

Mommy? 🥺

There was a dominant mommy from the Prague texting with me, who claimed she will take care of me. On yesterday, we chated again. Later, she sent me something, but I had no more time to respond or even to open her message. 🥺 And now, she is no longer in my messenger 😩 I liked her style 😢

Where are you, mommy? 😭 I must find you, @big-momma-helena01

Thanks for RB 🥺

[awild-soul]

“Is that the best you can do?!” Xylia had to yell in order to be heard over the music on the dancefloor, but there was a big smile plastered to her face as she swayed along with the music. “Looks like I’m the one schooling you tonight, teach!” She teased mercilessly. Helena might be her favorite teacher, but that didn’t mean she was going to go easy on her. @adundas​

[amxns]

                        “    excuse me, do you mind if i sit here  ?    this place is awfully crowded  ...    ”    amon frowns.    it seems as if, since the move, there are ten times more people than usual.        ﹟    @helenadobrasil​.

[parasympathic]

The number of drunks had only escalated throughout the night, or at least that Montgomery’s best explanation for the man in his neatly pressed three-piece suit tearing across the patio to jump straight into the pool. The loud shout just enough of a warning for him to step back before water splashed up around him. He didn’t try to temper his amusement at the display, certainly validating his decision not to drink tonight. There was still a smile on his lips when he caught the flash of red next to him, glancing over to see a familiar figure. “Are you going in next Ms. Khan?”

@helenaxkhan​

[elocs]

                        “    i brought goodies  !    ”    she says in a sing-song voice when the door opens, grinning at the princess as it does.    “    i was thinking we could have a girls night, you know  ?    ionie’s busy and i’m bored.    ”

[noah-atwood]

Or a good nanny.

It's a fair point, Noah thinks. If it's her job, she'd have to be good at it, and for fear of sounding as if he's brown nosing (for reasons undefined, because it just wouldn't make sense for him to suck up to an acquaintance out of the blue), he keeps it to himself.

Though, Noah is confident in his belief that Helena is worth her salt. She talks about her job in a way that tells him that.

"Everyone has their own talent. You wrangle kids, I wrangle angry, three-legged cats when they get into something they shouldn't." Maybe Noah should look into getting him a friend. Something to keep him busy.

"Hey now. Don't make fun of it. I did my best. What about yours?"

@helenasoarcs

She thinks about the various families that she's babysat for and can only account this truth for an handful of them. There were, unfortunately, many who were rich and just needed a lineage to leave a legacy to.

Many were better equiped with raising companies than children and hiring nannies were a saving grace to the children.

Others were just bad parents.

"They do, or just need a good nanny." Helena likes to think of herself as a one woman show.

"Don't get me wrong, I like the elderly. Cats on the other hand." She grimaces. "It's a mutual understanding." A few bad experiences and she knew to keep her hands to herself.

She smiles at the face and laughs. "I can squint a bit and everything pretty much aligns. It's a true work of art." /@noah-atwood

[noah-atwood]

Noah nods. "Of course, screens are inevitable." Helena is putting an effort into their development and making sure they touch grass at least once in their lifetime. Despite the circumstances, she is something positive in their life.

"Nah, they just might've had kids not realizing the work. But kids, they take a village to raise, don't they?" And that is one benefit to a smaller town, a network of friends and various connections to help.

Or, the money to hire it, as most Californian beach town residents do have some to spare.

"Good on you, though. I can admit, I'm better with the elderly… and cats… than I am children. I give you props." Her assurance tells him she's just good with people, and navigating hard feelings and being empathetic. "There it is, with me, too. It's like you're meant to be there for people."

Noah spins his pumpkin around to show her the crooked smile he has going on, and the mismatched eyes that are definitely not lined up. "I'm very artistic, huh?"

@helenasoarcs

"A true cat dad." She has some friends who are the same with their pets. Most of them had weird animals like snakes or gerbils that had rooms dedicated to being able to roam around in weird plastic tubes. All of them being more spoilt than children.

"I like to think that I make things better for them. They aren't 100% without screens because they are handy at times but most of the time, we're outside doing things." But the children were attached to technology so she could only do so much to pull them away. "Not all of the parents are bad. They can just do a lot better in certain aspects."

Hell smiles at him when he compliments her because it does mean a lot from someone who is going based off of a ten minute conversation. "I do try to challenge them as much as I can and keep their interest peaked. It gets harder with them growing up but I haven't lost them completely." Mainly due to the bond they'd created.

She shakes her head and flashes him a smile which she hopes resonates that she doesn't mind. "Don't apologize. You didn't make it sad at all. You never know when these things come out but it's good to get them out rather than keep them inside." /@noah-atwood

[noah-atwood]

Noah laughs, thinking about how his cat runs the place with an iron fist. Or in this case, an iron paw. "He one hundred percent runs things, and I do very little to rectify that." The scooper scrapes out an abundance of seeds and pumpkin guts onto the table, and Noah flips it around to look inside and determine if he can move onto the carving now.

"At least they have you, and not an iPad screen to turn to." Whether or not they do, the point is there's a human being to pay them attention where their parents don't. They might be made someone else's responsibility for lapses of time, but what's worse is those who are physically present but busy their kids with electronics. Noah's seen it on various calls, the lack of social skills and inability to utilize their cognitive thinking.

"It's their normal. But you're nice. I've only just met you, and I think you are. You also don't strike me as a pushover, and you can connect with them and challenge them. You know, things kids need when they're growing up."

A adult to dote after them and guide them in the same breath. He formative years had been spent under the loving care of his grandparents where his father was absent. This kids, they at least have Helena. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to turn it into something kinda sad. The thought came to mind, and popped right out of my mouth."

@helenasoarcs

She has to respect cats for being able to set boundaries. Most owners and individuals understood that they had a mind of their own. "So he runs the house, then?" Maybe not actually but she meant that the cat called the shots on when he wanted to be touched or left alone.

"I bet he's the type to let you know he wants to be fed too." Helena smiles but it fades at the mention of the feelings of the children she nannied. "It does but I guess it's my job to take their mind off of that. Some days it's easier than others."

"Yeah, I got what you meant." She shrugs her shoulder, looking down at her shoes. "I think they realize it now that they started interacting with more kids but it's all they've known, you know. It still sucks for them." / @noah-atwood

[noah-atwood]

"Absolute mortal enemies. But shaving him would be way worse. For me and him."

Considering shaving a long-haired animal down is bad for their coat and body temperature regulation, Noah will not put Kevin or some poor groomer through that nightmare. He'll take the few scratches and bites he gets. He even pulls his long sleeve back to show a bain-aid over the top of his hand.

"Oh, he bites but this is a scratch. I'm not really selling him at all, am I?" Noah chuckles, a bit guilty when he realizes he's complaining more about his cat than anything.

"Don't get me wrong, he likes chin scratches and to cuddle on my lap when I'm watching a movie. He's a heathen, but he isn't a feline Lucifer."

@helenasoarcs

Helena loves animals despite not being around them as much as she would like. Mostly due to her work consisting of caring for the children of parents who are often too busy to care for them on their own, much less for any animals apart from small rodents to appease their children.

Even if Hell was tempted too many times to head down to the pound and grab a stray, she didn't want the responsibility added on to what she already had.

"He isn't friends with the brush? Does he bite you?" She knows cat have sharper canines and seem to be more vicious in her experience.

Apart from the small mutts that barked at anything that crossed their paths. / @noah-atwood

[noah-atwood]

Noah bites down on the inside of his cheek, reminiscing on the sweet thing he'd seen in the rescue's kennel to the little furry menace Kev has become. "He cuddles…" he begins, slowly, exhaling a light sigh. "On his terms." And that's fair, Noah thinks. "It works well with my hours, being somewhat antisocial but being lovable in small doses, when I do have time to just sit around and let him."

Noah listens while digging out the last few seeds from the inside of his pumpkin. He deems it is just about ready to be carved from the outside. "Oh." The thought makes him a little sad. Noah looks up to her. "That doesn't bother the kids?"

"Not you being their nanny, but their parents just wanting to not be bothered with them?" Even if it turned out he was safer with his grandparents, before Noah had known, it was difficult to say the least.

@helenasoarcs

She almost mentions how she saw a video about how infection could set in with a cat bite due to how sharp and small their teeth are. That the person on tik tok said that people should seek out medical attention should they start to feel feverish.

But his description of a cat bite being anywhere close to a papercut makes her pause. All she could remember was pain and heat when she got bit or scratched, nothing comparable to a small cut that hurt when soap or lemon juice touched it. "Is he one of those social cats that likes to cuddle? I've met a few who just sit in one room and prefer not to socialize outside of being annoying when they want to be fed."

"Sounds charming. I can see why you like him so much." The brunette teases before she folds her legs in front of her. "I'm a nanny. Basically a glorified step-mom to spoiled children because their stay at home parent would prefer to shop and get spray tans then spend the full day with them." / @noah-atwood

[noah-atwood]

“Like paper cuts, but worse.” Okay, maybe not worse. Noah thinks cat scratches are easier to tend to than the invisible cuts from the edges of notebooks and the like. Add some Neosporin and it’s barely noticeable. He’d argue his teeth are worse.

But Helena’s right. It’s strange to consider how routines are adjusted to let a small creature he cannot even communicate with live in his house. Pets are an interesting concept. "He's not all that bad. I complain about him, but it's out of love. I don't think I could handle coming home to an empty house."

“He calls the shots because he’s a perpetual toddler, and having a vendetta with a cat is just ridiculous.” To be honest, both of their personalities foil so well that Noah can’t have any real complaints. “What do you mean by ‘contract’? What do you do?”

@helenasoarcs

Helena didn't know much when it came to pets outside of the rare tik tok videos she came across.

She glances at his arm and frowns slightly, knowing how painful that was from experience when she was younger. "It's like being cut by a blade, isn't it? Their nails are so sharp that it stings for forever."

"Not really. The things we're willing to put up with for the animals that we love. I used to deal with hamsters and gerbals but after I got bit by one, it's in my contract that I don't want to be responsible for any pets."

Nor did she want to take responsibility if she missed a feeding or something happened. "That sounds nice, though. Does it make up for the bites and scratches?" /@noah-atwood

[noah-atwood]

“Okay. Good to know.” Noah rolls his small pumpkin around, inspecting it for the best spot to cut a face. One side is polished and rounded, and the other has a blemish that is brown and scratchy. Probably from laying against the ground…

Noah looks up to her, listening to the question. “Maybe in terms of size. Most dogs are bigger. Any dogs that are actual dogs, anyway.” 

Not those notorious ‘kick-dogs’ as he’d call them, not for the fact he wants to actually punt them across a soccer field, but because there’s been plenty of times on a call where he’s had to shake one off his boot or pant leg.

“Kev is long-haired, and I’ll admit I don’t brush him enough. So that’s on me, but he isn’t friends with the brush. I thought I'd always get a dog, but I got him from the shelter.”

@helenasoarcs

She gets a closer look at him and notices the fur collecting on his clothes and nods her head. While she didn't feel it was a big deal, she could see how others would say otherwise, such as the woman she nannied who would have a breakdown if anyone were to spread feline hair all over her vintage couches.

Helena wasn't rude enough to suggest those sticky rollers and how it would solve a lot of problems for him, but only because he could have been one of those hoaders who felt like getting rid of his cats hair would partly hurt the pet.

"I've never had a cat or stayed around one long enough, but I think I'd have an instanct reaction if I were close to you so we're good."

"Really? That bad, huh? I always figured dogs shed more than cats. Is it a long or short haired cat?" / @noah-atwood

[noah-atwood]

"Fair? I think." Noah inwardly cringes at memories of his terror of a cat. "No, he's banned from the public." A pause is taken, then Noah balance his pumpkin in one hand so he can wave his other hand as if to whisk that thought away.

"By my choice, he hasn't been a menace to society, yet, and I don't want to give him that opportunity to become one."

It's mostly the coyotes he's worried about. Noah just doesn't want to be grim about it when he takes a seat at the same table as her. "Thanks. Because I live with a cat—" Or rather, a cat lives with him? "—I just think it's a good idea to ask before I accidentally set off someone's allergies."

"It doesn't matter how much I vacuum or how many lint rollers I go through..." There is always a few stray strands lingering.

Helena looks over at him. "Not allergic but very picky about the cats that I like."

All because she got attacked by her friend's cat as a child and now she was under the guise that they were all just assholes. "Do you have one tucked away under your jacket or something?" She didn't understand the random question and as to why he may be asking her when she didn't see a cat in sight.

Perhaps he was like that woman in home alone who, rather than pigeons, had cats just run out to be fed by him wherever he sat.

"You're okay as long as you don't let anything hiss at me. No allergies here."