splendid (splendid) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-10-13 15:05:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !partner thread, neal cassidy (baelfire), splendid angharad |
Who: Splendid splendid & Neal Cassidy baelfiery
What: Splendid's gone to see about some volunteer work at the ranch.
When: Early October
Where: Urdnot Ranch
Rating/Warnings: Mediumish/Brief mention of abuse.
Status: Closed/Completed GDoc
She'd heard about some volunteer opportunities with Urdnot Ranch through a few of her patients, and it had piqued Splendid's interest. Mostly she wanted to see about talking with some of the girls, to help them as much as she could if they were in bad situations in regards to relationships. Splendid didn't have the best track record with those, but she had gotten out, she had gotten away from a man that she thought cared about her.
Splendid did take Valerian to one of her neighbors. She was a younger girl that watched him when Splendid felt the need to take a trip to the grocery store by herself. That was rare, however, as she didn't really like having him out of her sight most of the time. Still, she didn't think that it would be wise for her to take him to a Ranch.
After getting him settled, Splendid left her apartment and it wasn't too awful long before she was there at the Ranch. She parked her car and got out, giving a wave to the first person she happened to see. "Excuse me," she smiled softly, "do you happen to know where I need to go to speak with someone about volunteer work here?"
That person happened to be Neal, resident ranch hand-turned-owner, horse wrangler, part-administrative staff, muscle of the operation, and oh, sometimes he planted his ass in the chair in his office too. But only sometimes. Like, right now? He really wasn’t. He was outside, cloaked in his typical armor which was a pair of sturdy jeans and a t-shirt bound to get dusty and dirty, tool belt around his waist, and on his way to work on some fence repair since ‘tis the season for such things. Veering back, he caught the question from a woman he hadn’t seen around here before, but he’d be happy to help - it was what he was paid to do, mostly.
“Oh, right, volunteer work,” he grinned one of those crooked smiles, the type that crinkled the corner of dark eyes. “That’d be me, I’m thinking.” He’d gotten people situated for that type of work before, that one girl from the network - Doreen - and a few others came and went, but in generally the ranch boasted a healthy number of both paid employees on staff and volunteers.
He offered his hand for a shake. “Neal Cassidy. I didn’t start off running the place but I sort of do now. Come with me, we can go to the main ranch house up here. I’ve got the paperwork in my office, Ms...?” he trailed off, to prompt for her name.
Her smile brightened, "Oh good!" Splendid hated that she appeared to have interrupted his work. She knew how she felt when someone interrupted hers, and she could imagine that he was busy. Running a ranch wasn't easy work. Her father had befriended a few ranch owners back in Australia when she was much younger, and she'd gone with him on trips to visit them. They'd always been so nice to her, showing her the animals and letting her ride the horses.
She had plenty of happy memories in regards to her parents, and she wished, more than ever, that they were still alive. They would've spoiled Valerian rotten, and then some. Splendid doubted she'd ever get a chance to hold him had they been around.
Splendid took the offered hand, giving a firm shake with a nod. "Splendid. Splendid Angharad. Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Cassidy." Releasing his hand, she started explaining. "I'd heard about the ranch through some patients of mine. I'm a clinical social worker for Orange County, and I thought that it would be nice to spend some time volunteering. I can't offer a lot of time, as I have a two month old son, but I want to offer what I can." She figured it was best to be upfront and honest about her time, and what she could and could not do. It wasn't fair for her to waste his time if he was looking for people that could offer more of their time to his establishment.
They were always glad to get volunteers, and as far as Neal was concerned, every little bit helped - time was precious these days, so he wouldn’t make hard and fast rules for the ones who did this to give back, or for fun. Paid employees? Well, hey, different story. But he was actually tickled pink that someone with a wee baby actually wanted to come in and donate some time to the cause. “Splendid? Great name,” he complimented, as he began to lead her back toward the main ranch house - it was where his office was, and he’d get her set up there by going through all the paperwork rigamarole. Always necessary, unfortunately.
“Any amount of time you’d want to give would be great, just make a note of when you’re available and I’m sure we can find something for you do,” he promised heartily - there was always a ton going on, and he’d get into more detail about that in a bit. “It’s all on the app anyway. But oh, you have a two-month old? Hey, congrats, that must be a lot of work.” He was impressed, to say the least. “My son’s eleven, so you know, pretty self-sufficient. He likes hanging around here too.”
"Thank you." Splendid replied with a small inclination of her head, and a smile before she fell into step beside Neal. "Of course, my work schedule is normally the same through the week, although there are some days that can be shorter than others depending upon appointments." Sometimes people canceled, or rescheduled due to things coming up. Splendid tried to be flexible and understanding as she possibly could when it came to her patients, although some were required to come by in order to keep jobs and whatnot. Splendid always tried to work them as quickly as she could so that she could report back to their employers.
"Yes, never thought he'd get here though. He was two weeks late, but he's doing well." Laughing, she lifted a shoulder. "It is, but honestly I wouldn't trade it for anything." The fact that she'd thought about putting him up for adoption seemed ludicrous to Splendid, but it had been on her mind. She tried not to think about it these days, honestly, but it did cross her mind from time to time. "That's wonderful." She replied, still smiling. "What's his name?"
Being a social worker was a rough, but important and noble sort of gig - kind of like teachers too, in a sense - and it could also be a career that seemed thankless. Sometimes Neal felt wiped out by the time he went home, personally, because his days were long, long, long and as it turned out running a ranch wasn’t so easy either. So he definitely respected what Splendid was all about - that she seemed to have a heart in the right place, and was continuing to look for ways to give back.
“His name’s Henry,” Neal responded, a smile flickering on his face, as he opened his office door and showed the lady inside. “And he just moved to the OC. His mom and I are kind of involved in a custody thing - his adoptive parents recently passed away, and he wants to stay here now, so we’re all trying to work it out. Takes some time for all the legal rigamarole but so far, so good.”
He motioned toward the general vicinity of the space, “Have a seat anywhere, by the way.” His office wasn’t as roomy as Scott’s former office had been (that was still up to Logan to do whatever with, Neal wouldn’t touch it), nor were the views as picturesque, but they weren’t bad at all. Overall being in the ranch house boasted some of the best views of Trabuco Canyon in the county. “You want anything, before I pull out all the paperwork? Water, or...?” It got hot ‘round these parts - hot and dusty.
Splendid couldn't help but to smile at the grin that crossed Neal's features. Henry was a lovely name. She followed him into the office, listening to him as he spoke about his son and the situation that was going on. It was rather unfortunate that they had to go through that, Splendid couldn't think about anything like that happening with Valerian though something told her it was only a matter of time before his father found them. It would be a cold day in hell before she let him have one moment with Valerian. She was working, she was in her own place, paying her own bills and doing rather well for herself.
She looked over at Neal with a sympathetic look. "I wish you all the best with that, and I hope that for his and your sake that everything works out quickly." She gave a small nod and then moved to to sit down.
One leg crossed over the other, and she laced her fingers before resting her hands on her knee. "Water would be lovely." She smiled, and took a quick glance around his office. "How long have you been managing the Ranch?" Splendid recalled him stating that he hadn't started out running the place, but that he was now.
He kept a mini-fridge with a microwave stacked on top in the office, conveniently, but it wasn’t chock full with a lot of extra crap. Mostly just things he brought from home, lunch when he was actually in office (mostly a rare occurrence), and of course the promised water. He pulled out two bottles, giving one to Splendid to sip on. “How long, let’s see...a few months, I think? I’ve lost track of time. But I started out as a Ranch Hand when I moved to the OC last July, and then when the main administrator left he gave me most of those tasks but the ranch itself is owned by someone else. I just run it,” he chuckled.
A few drawers were opened and he pulled out the volunteer paperwork - the usual questions to collect information, she could check off times she was available, and so forth. “So what type of work would you be interested in?” Neal asked. “The outdoor stuff is seasonal. For example, we’ll be giving the cattle vaccinations soon because it’s that time of year. And then if you wanted to do more office-type things, data entry, reaching out to donors and such, that’s pretty standard year-round work.”
"That does tend to happen." Splendid replied with a sideways tip of her head, "Time just likes to leave us behind. Thank you." She took the offered water, uncapping it and taking a small sip before lowering the bottle down. "Ah, I see." The Ranch seemed to be in good hands, at least, she got the impression that Neal was a good man. He cared about his son, he obviously cared about the Ranch, and he didn't give off any weird vibes to her.
Splendid knew now it was better to trust her gut instinct rather than give people the benefit of the doubt, and her gut was telling her that everything would be alright here.
She took another sip of her water before recapping it, and sitting it down beside her foot. "Well, I think the question really is what do you need the most help with? I don't mind helping outside, although I've never really been around a lot of big animals before, and I'm really good at talking to people. My father used to say that I never met a stranger." She smiled fondly at the thought of her father. God, she missed him so much.
The best part about working at a ranch of this size and magnitude was that there was always something going on. Neal was confident that Splendid would find something to her liking, so she didn’t feel like volunteer work was drudgery or that her time was going to waste. “You must be good at talking to people, being a social worker is difficult stuff sometimes,” he noted, and that was honestly something he found to be commendable. Oftentimes, it probably also felt like a thankless job - you had to really believe in what you were doing and enjoy it, but the benefits were probably worth it. Knowing that you truly helped people and made a difference in their lives.
“But if that’s the route you want to take, hm...” He sat back in his chair, thinking it over. “We could always use help with the kids, you know, with the activities they do outdoors. Horseback riding, swimming, archery, whatever else. And just kind of talking with them, being around. They’re pretty tough kids, most have done stints in juvie and whatnot, but they need the solid presence of adults they can trust and look up to, you know?” Plus, it sort of combined the best of both worlds - being around other people, and also outdoors in the fresh air. Some preferred office work, some didn’t.
Splendid lifted a shoulder a small smile still on her lips, "I've always been a good listener too. Sometimes that's all people really need, someone to actively listen and try to give them a perspective that isn't clouded by pre-judgement in regards to their situation." She of course got their case files before they showed up for their first appointment with her, and she read their story but things changed when they came into her office.
She nodded, a line appearing between her brows. "That sounds fantastic. I feel as if I would enjoy that, and helping make a difference in their lives that way." Her mouth stayed open for a moment, closing quickly before her brows knitted closer together and she began speaking again, "If I could work with some of the girls that come here, especially those that come from any sort of abusive situations, I would like that. I uh, have some personal experience with an abusive relationship," she shifted uncomfortably in her seat at the mention of that, "so I believe that I can be more empathic to them and their needs." She smiled fully, although there was a clear sadness in her eyes, "If that can be arranged, of course. I'm always willing to help out whoever needs it, otherwise I wouldn't have become a social worker."
Neal was fully amenable to that; he listened to her request, and a reassuring expression tipped his mouth upward. “That would actually work out perfectly,” he admitted. “We had someone at the ranch who ran programs for girls back in Russia, which is where she was from. So she worked with a similar population here, but she moved away, unfortunately.” It had been sad, to lose Vilya - hopefully she was happy, wherever she was.
But anyway, one door closes and another opens - that was how the saying went, right? “I think it’d be great, to have you jump on board with that, donating whatever time you can. You’d connect well with them.” Neal was good with the kids too, but there was definitely a stark gender difference there - sometimes you just needed a woman to understand the struggles that the fairer sex actually faced. And to think he’d only gotten a taste of it during the weekend of ‘the swap.’
Splendid smiled brightly at that. It never hurt to ask about specific things, and she really thought she could help these girls in that sort of situation. "Great, I'm glad to hear that. I do hate that you lost someone that was working with the girls on those issues, but I hope that I can help fill that void." At least, she thought that she would be able to do some good with the girls.
She nodded, finally finishing up with the paperwork and handing it back over to Neal. "Here's to hoping that I can." Splendid had dealt with most of her past demons, there were times still when she was afraid to open the door, afraid that her old life would come back to haunt her but mostly she was afraid that he would come to take Valerian away from her.
Splendid would fight tooth and nail for him. Of course, this wasn't about her, but about the women she could help. Splendid hoped that she could connect to these girls, after all, they needed someone that they felt they could talk to, but dealing with teens as opposed to adults was vastly different.
"I should be able to do one full weekend per month, and some week days." All of that would be outlined in the hours that she could volunteer.
Now that the paperwork was done and out of the way, Neal would give it a proper look-through later, and be sure to go through all the right channels to get Splendid on board with the volunteering. But he didn’t anticipate there being any difficulty - the ranch was a good place, a safe place, and he wouldn’t turn away a volunteer if their intentions were as noble as the overall mission. He couldn’t imagine it being otherwise, because why else would you waste your time?
He was glad she’d stopped by today, that was for sure. “Sounds great,” he said, putting his own signature where it needed to go. “I’ll do some finagling with the schedule, see where the youngin’s are going to be this week, then give you a call to set things up.” After that? She could jump right in, and Neal was eager to see what sort of impact she’d have on the girls - but he anticipated a lot of bonding. Hoped for that, actually. They needed more stability in their lives, but here, it was the perfect place to get that.