Reblogged from Jim Webster, aka Tallis Steelyard:

Let it be admitted that Maljie has her informal side. There are times when she unbends slightly. Mind you this unbending is reserved for a select group, sometimes known as the lesser mendicants.

Let us be clear, at the shrine of Aea in Her Aspect as the Personification of Tempered Enthusiasm, we don’t encourage children to join the mendicants. There are other institutions which will reach out and support children. Until they’re old enough to wield a broom with vigour, we tend to regard them as ‘somebody else’s problem.’ Our enthusiasm is indeed tempered.

‘Nice’ children who have parents and families can be coped with by the system. It’s the children who are difficult that people struggle to cope with and who present problems. Whether it is something from her own past, her time spent working at the Insane Asylum, or whether she merely likes the challenge, but these children somehow gravitate to Maljie.

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