#memory loss warning

The coffee machine beeped loud enough to bring the detective out of his hazy thoughts, and after waiting a few moments to let the machine finish its dripping, he'd grab one of his glass mugs from the above cupboards and scavenge through the kitchen drawers until he found where he left his sugar and creamer. With all that and a spoon to stir with, Almond would pour and mix himself up a coffee sweet as icing. Ah, good coffee... and hot! It's a good thing no one else was home, otherwise, he'd have to drink it black for the sake of his hard-boiled appeara-

Taptaptaptap-

The sound of footsteps nearly made Almond spit out his coffee. Someone was in here? Who? Was it that someone he was hearing about at his job earlier? His hand reached into the inner pockets of his jacket, manifesting his enchanted cuffs. The investigator had half a thought to call out to whoever it was that was wandering his home uninvited, but kept quiet as he'd prepare himself for whoever decided to make his home into a B and E. He's in his own home, it's self-defense.

The steps would get closer, and though Almond was ready to pounce at any point, what he winded up seeing was something that he hadn't expected. A... child? A little kid. Hair tucked to the side in a unique nut-like shape, nutshell hat on the head, looking at him adoringly. Uh. Alm blinked, softening and putting away his cuffs as the young one entered the room and walked up to hug his legs as if this one's known him for years. "I missed you!!" Uh. "Miss Latte brought me home today because she said you were busy! I hope you didn't work TOO hard again!!" How did this little one know Latte? Was this one of his students? If that was the case, then why would the other professor bring this one here?

Something didn't sit right here. What kind of act was this little girl putting on? "Uh... kid...?" He'd start, hesitantly, feeling almost guilty the way that this child looked at him with glimmering eyes. "How did you get in here?" He'd ask with full earnest, "When did you? The door's always locked when I leave." The kid blinked at him, looking perplexed, then worried. "Mom..." She'd speak quietly, voice full of disappointment. Unaware of the true meaning, Alm would take it as some kind of plea. "Did something happen to your mom? See, honey-" Almond would rifle through his clothes to find his badge. "I'm a detective. If something happened to your mom, I'm sure I can find out." And in response, the child would tear up and cling closer to Almond's legs. "Uh," he'd instinctively let out a surprised grunt and sigh afterward. This was exasperating. "...poor youngster."

The sounds of crying would permeate the air, ruining Almond's desire to drink his freshly brewed bean juice. Though it was awkward, the detective would put away his badge and instead try to comfort the little one by patting her on the head. Well, headpiece, but close enough. The child would sniffle, "This... this is a joke, right, mom...? Don't be mean..." Ah, so... HE was supposed to be this kid's mom? That... he doesn't remember ever having a child. Or did he? Ugh, why was his head pounding at the thought...? "Kid, I don't know who your mom is, but... I don't think that's me. But until we find her-" "-him-" "him, I guess you can stay with me, got it?" That question didn't make things better. Crying even harder, tears flowing like a waterfall, the investigator would breathe a heavy sigh as the young one pressed her face into his pant leg. "Sorry, kiddo..." He'd apologize, though wouldn't finish his sentence. What was Alm even supposed to be apologizing for? For not being this youth's mom?

"Hey tot, do you want something to eat?" The little one looked up at him, seeming almost surprised that she was being acknowledged. She'd take a second to process the question, looking down at her plush and looking... guilty? Saddened? Why? "I'm... not hungry..." The child quietly replied. Almond's heart felt heavy. "You sure? I could whip you up some, I dunno..." Oh, he actually didn't know. What was in the fridge at this point? "I can see what we have." "I'm... I'm good, really, mom." The title was familiar, but it still didn't feel right being called that. Alm barely knew this kid. The detective sighed, knowing full well that the kid was lying but deciding not to press further. The sound of crying children rang way too familiar in his ears. Something something, it's happened a lot recently, something something, it hurts his head.

As the investigator picked himself up and returned his coffee to his hands, there was a knock at the front door. Almond watched the small one perk up and practically start making a dash for the door. "Kid-!" Almond would cautiously raise his voice, "Let me answer it. I don't want something to happen to you." Especially considering how this very likely wasn't even his own child... the real parents would be pissed to find out something happened to her. Though hesitant, Walnut would quietly groan in annoyance and let her caretaker take the reigns. She pressed her stuffed animal close to her chest as she watched Almond check the door's peephole and become confused. Another person he forgot about, maybe. It wouldn't be the first person this week... Heck, she lost count of how many of her mom's coworkers and friends he'd dropped contact on.

Alm would gently motion for Walnut to get out of the way, and she'd do so, though of course tried to get as good of a look as she could. And with a second coffee scent with a hint of smoke being brought into the house along with the sight of brown and white hair, she knew exactly who it was. "Cappu!!" Walnut would chirp happily, waving despite the door not even being the whole way open. The reaction nearly startled Almond. "You know this one, kid?" The detective would ask, before sighing and shaking his head. "Good afternoon, who are you and what are you doing here?" As much as Almond wanted to sound polite, he didn't care that much to be. The person at the door furrowed his brow, but didn't seem all too bothered externally. "Cappuccino. You may not know me, but we're coworkers. Kind of." A rough explanation would be enough, right? "I'm the prosecutor that most of your cases' evidence gets sent to. I know you probably don't remember that, but it's whatever." Cappuccino would reach into his black overcoat, pulling out a few containers of what appeared to be leftovers. Looks like some takeout from the local noodle restaurant. "I brought over some food for you and Walnut. I figured we could chat, have a coffee or two, and y'know... figure some things out?"

Walnut, Walnut... Oh, that's the little one's name? Seems to fit her very well. Though this Cappuccino guy wasn't someone that Almond remembered, among many others, since Walnut looked so happy to see him... So long as he kept a watchful eye, things would be fine. "Don't cause any trouble." He'd mumble, opening the door wider and sidestepping to let Cappuccino inside. On the way in, the prosecutor gave Walnut a smile, which got some of the weakest sparkling eyes he's ever seen in response. Ha... has this kid really been without anything more than cereal and sandwiches for this long? That... hurts. Guess that's what happens when a mother keeps forgetting that kid's food is being made part way through and lets it spoil or burn...

Whilst the food for the three of them was taken by Almond to prepare, Cappuccino would watch over him to make sure that he wouldn't forget what he was doing. Though it was a little irritating on the detective's end to be corrected multiple times whilst the food was being made- he swears he didn't forget most of the things that he was being reminded of, though he truly did misremember- that wasn't the main thing that Cappu was concerned about. With Walnut standing by his side, he'd set a gentle hand on her helmet and sigh. "I hope it hasn't been too rough on you, kid. Uh... how's school?" Walnut would keep the smile she'd had since Cappuccino entered the house, though there was some uncertainty behind it once questioned. "Um... It's been... okay! I think! The other kids at school make fun of me and my mom sometimes... But I make sure they know not to mess with us!!" Cap chuckled, giving a brief side-eye to Almond before responding. "Not causing any fights, are you?" There was further laughter from the prosecutor as Walnut would beat on his leg and exclaim how she'd NEVER do such a thing. "Right, right. Well, if those bullies ever try doing anything to hurt you, get your mom's phone and call me, got it? I'll sue them into the ground." It's the least he could do. Even if his job had him wrapped up in sleepless nights, there was nothing that would stop him from keeping this kid from having it anywhere near as bad as he had it.

Seeing the young one hug his leg brought a fondness to Cappu's heart. It took all of his energy in that moment not to just scoop Walnut up and hold her like she was his own kid. He'd never be a good parent, but knowing what Almond was like at this point... it was a consideration, but... "Alright you two, the food's up." Almond's voice broke the coffee-named fellow out of his thoughts. "Get to the table, I'll get plating." And, wordlessly, he'd lead a very excited Walnut to the living room to sit around the table. The kitchen was too small to eat in, after all. There'd be small 'thank you's shared as Almond would come out with two plates in hand, handing them over before heading back into the kitchen to get his own food... though it was taking longer than anticipated. The little talk that Cappu was having with Walnut about the teddy bear that she eagerly showed would come to a concerned silence as he'd wind up staring towards the kitchen. "Does he normally take this long?" He'd ask, getting a shake of the head. Walnut would furrow her brow, tilting her head. "Maybe he forgot where he was? ...again?" Cap would mumble a 'maybe', only to get startled by the sound of an agonized scream from where Almond had gone.

It was a sudden sound, one that spurred Cappuccino into action so fast that he wound up hitting his knee on the bottom of the table as he got up. "Shit-" He'd growl to himself, darting to the kitchen. "Almond! Almond are you-...?" And yet there the detective was, a softly glowing hand over his nose with a discarded bandage on the countertop next to a half-complete plate of food. That thing usually never came off, and... not to mention that glow. Healing magic? "Since when did you...?" The stare the attorney got was that of confusion and mild annoyance from the investigator. Alm would stand himself properly, giving a heavy breath. "Look, I don't know either. At least my nose doesn't feel like it's on the verge of crushing itself." Ah, his voice was so much... clearer without that bandage on. Almond would stare towards Cap, "I don't where the magic came from, don't ask me. Look let's just," There was a small grunt from the gumshoe as he properly disposed of the bandage in a nearby trash can and took to finishing his plate, though not without a pause before picking it up as if he was pondering why the plate was there in the first place. "Let's just get back to having lunch. Or dinner. Whichever one this is."

Alm would walk right past Cappuccino, who only blinked at the very faint scent of vanilla. The small voice of Walnut gave the prosecutor a small start. Ah, she followed him and he didn't even see it, huh. "Mom doesn't like using that... But he doesn't remember that, does he?" Well, that's news to him. Never had he heard about Almond being able to use any kind of magic- let alone something so helpful. As much as he'd want to ask about it, considering the look of worry that Walnut had, maybe... maybe it was best to leave that alone. For now. As much as it would nag Cappuccino for not knowing...

Rolling back with his arm still pinned from the sleeping child that clearly made herself at home, Almond would grab his phone off the nightstand squinting at the red light of his alarm clock. His alarm wasn't set to go off for another five minutes, but he still wasn't up for turning it off and forgetting. Flipping open his phone, Alm would check through in his usual routine. Any messages from his department? No. Other messages or missed calls? A few, though there was only one that wasn't spam. From some contact named 'cappu ccino'. The investigator blinked slowly, opening the message without recognizing who the other name was.

[hey, i heard things are kinda weird right now] Yeah, no shit. Who even was this? Before even reading the rest of the messages, the detective scrolled up to see what else they've talked about. Seems like he's communicated with this person quite a bit. Friends, probably, considering remarks about sharing coffee and cases. Mentions of prosecution came up every now and then... Huh, was this the person he was thinking of last night? With a sigh, Almond scrolled back down to read the recent messages. Guess this is just one of many work acquaintances he barely knows but still is on good terms with. [if you need somebody to check you out, i know langue has a sibling who's a doctor.] Wasn't that the person who defended that one thief? The memory of some important court case lingered in the back of his mind. He's a bit skeptical about having any doctor get close to him at a time like this, but perhaps that's just the morning paranoia in his brain. He has work to do, he can't be stuck sitting in a doctor's office unless it's absolutely necessary... Or unless Latte would force him to, which she would, and will. [better than going to that pediatric place down the road.] [let me know if you need anything else.]

Yawning so wide he felt his jawbone crack, the detective gave a short response, slowly tapping out the letters with one hand. [dont need it lattes taking care of things thx] And once hitting send, he was unfortunately disturbed by the sound of the alarm clock blaring. Beeping ringing in his ears, Alm would almost scramble from the sound, closing his phone and letting it fall onto the sheets as he reached back over to flick off the alarm. And past that, there was some quiet whining as the weight on his arm shifted. Right. The kid. She was awake now. The investigator would pull his arm back when he could, tiredly sitting himself and deciding it would be best to get up and prepare something to eat. Not for him, but for the kid. Latte said so, and as much as he wasn't a fan of having to make something so early aside from coffee... he'd rather not let this kiddo go hungry.

There was a quiet grumble from the small one next to him, accompanied by a drawn-out 'mooooom...' as the kid rolled over and held on to his arm. There was a tenseness in his chest from the sight, which he tried to ignore and gave a gentle nudge with his held arm. "It's time to get up, kid." He'd say in the most awake tone he could muster, explaining himself as if this wasn't a regular routine. To him, at least, it absolutely wasn't. "We gotta get you breakfast and then take you to school. How do you feel about eggs and toast?" "Mmm..." Walnut would squeeze Almond's arm for a moment, then let go to snuggle against his side. An affectionate one, this kiddo was, that's for certain. He almost felt bad having to disturb her for the sake of his own early schedule. School didn't start until, what, 7 am? "Can I havvve... Scrambled eggs...?" She'd slur, voice muffled by the fabric of Almond's pajamas. "Yea... Yea, you can have scrambled." Easy enough. At least she wasn't trying to sleep in or was begging for 5 more minutes. The detective shuffled to the edge of the bed, trying to prompt the little one to get out by dragging her with him. Though she didn't like it, she'd listen, letting go and crawling out of bed to head directly to the small drawer at the bottom of his wardrobe. Almond took a deep breath, feeling his back creaking as he did so before standing up and letting Walnut go on ahead with what looked like an entire set of clothes in hand. Seems like she really knew the place... She didn't really live here, did she? Ugh... Thinking about that made Almond's head hurt worse.

The whole morning was blurry. The scent of eggs and cologne stuck with him as he blearily cooked breakfast and prepared himself for a day at work. The sounds of the kid's jabbering was grating, though it felt endearing in its own strange way. Familiar, too, in a way that made his brain feel sore. Was that even a proper way to describe pain? Not that he had time to really think on it, as there were some questions thrown his way that he had to give non-answers to. The commissioner didn't truly have answers, anyhow. For 'playing along', his reward was getting too many questions about what was going to go on at his workplace today. "Every day has something new. Who knows? I don't." Though he could've been warmer, and it didn't make him feel any better to see Walnut frowning at him from across the kitchen, being a positive morning person wasn't exactly on his list of tasks. What was, though, was getting into uniform. So, whilst the kid would eat her breakfast and get whatever else ready, he'd slink back into the bedroom and grab himself a new set of clothes.

Same clothes as always, just a different set. Dress shirt, tie, enchanted overcoat... so on and so forth. Though as he'd finish buttoning up his dress shirt, Almond would spot his visage from across the room through a dresser mirror. He'd blink, pausing his dressing for a moment to approach the mirror and stare at himself. The inspector would perform his namesake, squinting at himself and eyeing up a bandage that was set across his nose. Now when did that get there? He'd reach up and gently touch the bandage, getting a spike of pain through his nose that shot up into his head. He bit down on his tongue- hard- to avoid screaming. He held his hand over his mouth and nose, careful not to actually touch it as he muffled his cries with pain harsh enough to form pinpricks of tears. The lingering pulses of pain from the spike brought a great amount of confusion through him. It was practically dizzying, with the detective having to lean forward and hold himself up with his other arm. Everything felt like a blur- more than just drowsiness. Good coffee, it felt like something had just stabbed him from just a small touch! Guess that bandage was there for a reason, huh? Ugh... Alm would make a mental note of it, trying to ignore the aftershocks of what had happened to him as he went back to dressing himself. The bite marks left on his tongue weren't going to buffer out any time soon... And neither was the sight of his own self seeming so alien from afar.

When reopening the bedroom door, Almond was met with the young one standing right outside the door. It nearly gave him a heart attack, still not expecting to have anyone in his home. "Shit- Uh- Shoot, kid, you can't just..." He'd clear his throat. "Warn me next time, okay?" Walnut would give a solemn nod, holding her hands up with a pair of shoes in them. "I can't tie these! Could you help me? Please?" She'd chirp simply, much to the older one's dismay. "Alright, uh..." Shoot, he forgot the kid's name again. He'd try to parse through his mind to think of what it could possibly be, but wound up drawing a blank. Guess he can just... use other phrases, instead. "Okay kiddo, let's get those shoes tied for you. Hop up on the bed for me, okay?" Thankfully listening, the youngster would waltz over and plop herself on the bed, bouncing in place as she'd once again hold out the shoes for Almond to take.

"Sit still, tot. Don't want to kick me in the face, do you?" He'd huff a laugh, kneeling down and taking the shoes to slide them on one at a time. At least Walnut seemed to be smiling at the joke, too. Ah- that was her name, wasn't it? Walnut? Jeez, he needs to keep a journal or something to remember all these names that keep being thrown at him- through the phone or otherwise. Self-reminder aside, shoes were tied and both of them were ready to set out. The inspector reached into his pocket for his phone for a time check, but found that it wasn't there. What? Where had it gone? "I could've sworn I had-"

"Looking for this, mommy?" Walnut would giggle, having dug through the sheets of the bed and finding the small flip phone that most would consider ancient. "Oh, uh, yeah. Thanks, Wally." Huh. He liked calling her that. It's cute. Fit her like a glove, almost. Almond took the phone from Wal's hands, finally getting his time check. Ah, shoot, it's already 5!? Hissing out a swear to himself, Alm put his phone back into his pocket and looked to Walnut, who stared back at him with wide, sparkling eyes. Despite waking up so recently, she seemed to look full of energy. "We gotta get going." The detective stated, waving for the little one to follow him. "I'll drop you off at school, and let Miss Latte take care of the rest, got it?" "Yes, Miss Mom!" Walnut gave a little salute, stumbling off of the bed and following as close as she could. The two would exit the house, Almond doubly making sure to lock the door behind them, and strode down the cement stairs past the porch to the side of the road where cars lined up next to the sidewalk.

Whilst climbing into the car and waiting for Walnut to do the same, Almond would check his phone once more. One message from 'latte'. Great, at least he knew this name. He'd give a glance up to make sure the youngster was buckling her seatbelt before opening the text. [Got you a spot at the hospital on the west side of Parfaedia next Thursday. It's right by that toy shop you like taking Walnut to! They're very open with their times so if you need to change it up, call me! P.S. Please remember to give Walnut breakfast, okay? Thanks dear! <3] Not that he needed it, but at least that was sooner rather than later... Though he'll have to contact his department still. With a sigh, Almond would put his phone down and finish Walnut's struggle to buckle herself in and turn the car on. Walnut would give a grunt of objection, patting the older one on the arm. "Your seatbelt!" Right. "Oh, yeah... Safety first! Good thinking, Walnut." Seeing her eyes light up from being called by her name was something that made the tightness in his chest loosen just a little. He wasn't warming up to the kid, but at least it wasn't miserable.