Stoic, limited Caretaker. They want to take care and protect whumpee, but they understand their context doesn't allow it to be done so easily.
I wanna share with yall one of my fave Caratakers. Her name is Ewa. Tall, white, blonde, abhorrently intelligent. She's emotionally unavailable but does good things out of effort and logic. She's the head of the school's journal with awarded pieces that call her "the next big promise" in journalism.
So yeah, she's important, she's recognized, her future already has a solid foundation. Everyone looks up to her because she manages to be rich and competent at the same time. And all of that is a huge responsibility.
Tatiana, my whumpee, is the new girl. Short, dark curly haired, slightly tanned. Tatiana is in a tough spot. You see, she's the daughter of a deceased queer couple who was dishonored by their families. She spent a whole life being poor and facing food insecurity. Suddenly her parents are gone and she's in the house of her traditional, filthy rich, religious grandparents. In a school whose uniform alone could pay for days of fat meals. You must understand she's not taking it well.
Tatiana is the "communist dyke", the one who questions everything and always makes everyone uncomfortable with her observations. She's too self righteous, too loud, too ungrateful. It's not that Tatiana walks around shouting the usual leftist proverbs and performs her good virtues. But she never loses the chances to bring a different point of view during classes; she never wastes time pointing out the illusion of meritocracy; and she never, ever looks the other way when something unfair is happening.
Needless to say Tatiana became the whole school's worst enemy.
No one will vouch for her. The hallway would be packed and the sound of someone slamming her face against the lockers would be loud enough, but if you asked, no one had heard anything. The blood would drip from her forehead and yet they would be blind and argue they couldn't see a single cut in her face.
Ewa likes Tatiana. Ewa likes her defiance. Her frustration. Her material perspective of the world. Ewa is a lot like Tatiana. But Ewa speaks in polite, well mannered words. Ewa questions the world without bothering anyone who's powerful enough to hurt her. Ewa knows she's weak and cowardly, but it's her shameful compromise to ensure a comfortable life.
Ewa wants to protect Tatiana, but siding with her is too much of a risk. So she has to be smart about it. It's not always that she can jump in and save her. It's rarely that she has the time to even check on the girl.
The more they grow closer the more Ewa thinks about her, and the more she's desperate to do something.
Tatiana understands. Whenever she sees Ewa cordially negotiating with the bullies, unable to physically save her from them, she's already grateful for Ewa's help. She could never understand why someone like Ewa took any interest whatsoever in a "problematic bitch" like her. Ewa has too much to lose by helping and too little to gain. But Ewa always shows up to provide moral support if not objective help.
Their involvement must be kept secret. Or at least, seamless enough. Some days are better than others, but tonight I might imagine a very bad day for them.