Generis

23. Charity Work

"So."

"So..?" Bär asked Nali, wondering why she had asked to see him so well into the afternoon.

By now, he would have been curled up, deep into his afternoon slumber, with his office door locked so that he wouldn't be disturbed. Now here he was. Evening was pooling in and Nali was interrogating him on something he didn't really find necessary to talk about.

"Honestly, I don't know if you're actually... as genuine as you seem in terms of all this. It feels a little bit... performative. As if you're trying to cover up something."

"Performative... what? What are you saying-?"

"What I'm trying to say, Bär," Nali frowned, "Is that I think you have more intentions than you're letting on. Which eighteen-year-old that you know randomly goes to someone like me and asks to shelter kids like them and expects to get a positive response? What is this, a charity shelter?"

"But regardless, you said yes to me when I asked, no?"

"I said yes because I genuinely want to preserve these kids. Ask anyone else and they'll be far too busy to meddle in charity work. The real question is: do you genuinely want to preserve these kids? Or is there something you're not telling me..?"

Bär shook his head, "I always thought there would be at least one of these.. like... places... or whatever– but there wasn't any, so I said to myself that I might as well be the first. And plus, it's the right thing to do. Isn't that reason enough, Nali?"

"It would be reason enough if you weren't mumbling strange things in your sleep."

Bär averted his eyes in shame, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly, "I... sleep talk...? What do I say..?"

"More often than not, you ramble about food, which is no surprise. However some days, you go on a monologue about a 'deal' and your father and your childhood and someone else and whatnot."

Bär cringed. He may have revealed more than he intended to. What was he supposed to do though, just tell himself not to?

"That's why I'm asking, are you sure this isn't a part of a huge deal or game or something?"

"Nali I promise it isn't a—"

"Swear on it." She interrupted, face stony.

"Huh?"

"I said swear on it. Swear it's not part of a game or anything."

"I don't usually swear but.." Bär breathed slowly, before lifting a now glowing finger to his lips, "I swear that the foundations of this organisation were not built on any sort of game," He dropped his dimming hand, raising a brow, "There. Happy now?"

She watched him carefully, scanning his face for any sign of hesitation or suspicion. She then relented and sighed, rubbing her brow and shaking her head, "It just... it all seemed too planned for it to be genuine... you know? Anyways," She stood up, leaning on the door frame, "I know that you're not pleased that I delayed your afternoon nap–"

"Not pleased. Not pleased at all."

"But you understand my concerns, yeah? You're not a bad person, but like.. you know, I am still always here in case you want to tell me anything."

"Yeah, I was just getting a teensy bit worked up with the way I was being interrogated and all," Bär confessed, standing up to help her open the door, "But I'm fine, truly."

She sighed, before turning to leave, and Bär quietly closed the door.

He was able to breathe normally again once she left, as if he had been holding his breath the entire conversation. Because one thing he didn't want, was Nali in the way of what he was doing.