“ cheer up, little one, ” vander’s deep voice, usually loud to command control within a jam packed bar, is soft, eyes on the young girl sat on the barstool across from him. he fetches her usual cup from the shelf and sets it on the counter, then pours powder’s favorite juice. he returns the juice bottle to the icebox beneath the counter, drops a bendy straw into the cup, and slides it over to the girl. “ you might not’ve gotten to go out with the big kids, but you get to hang out with your favorite old man, yeah? ”
thick arms come to rest atop the counter as vander leans forward, putting himself at eye level with powder. a sweet girl, one who wanted nothing more than to accompany her older sister and their two adoptive brothers on their latest job. not to mention, incredibly smart. the girl loved tinkering with things, taking things apart and putting them back together, usually into new creations. ( she’d definitely gotten her smarts from felicia. ) “ tell you what. why don’t you and i run some errands and grab some things for the bar? if you’re lucky, i’ll even let you help me fix the stove in the back. ‘bout time i got that damn thing working. ”