Juniper listened to Noah carefully, he seemed sincere enough. He even let her decide what her reward was, which made Juni believe that this wasn't some kind of trick. It was silly of her to think that Noah would set her up for another trip to the outside, but with what Diane did as a leader nothing surprised Juniper anymore. The blonde had receded in her chair and crossed her arms defensively while listening to Noah's last comment.
How quaint, or perhaps how gallant is what Juniper should have thought. Noah was really stepping up to the plate with this whole kid thing. Juniper had half expected him to deny the child completely. If anything she thought Noah would just give Evanne money in secret to supposed Evelyn. But he really cared for her, maybe he even loved her. That would be one good thing. Juniper thought of all of the other outstanding issues in Dust. Then she thought about Aaron and his whole situation. Then she thought about the Thompkins and their two babies. Then Robin.
Quickly, Juniper brought herself back to Noah. She understood what he wanted her to do now. Noah wanted her to take care of Evanne, or Evelyn, or both. Juni closed her eyes slowly, taking it all in. She preferred the solitude of her small cabin, but if the Thompkins didn't get help they would be out. It was already near the end of the season and there was no way they would make it. After a moment of thought Juniper nodded her head.
"Okay," she said simply. "I'll find them and have them stay with me until Evanne is back on her feet."
With that Juniper stood up and walked to the door. She was going to leave without saying anything else, but she stopped to make a little fun before exiting. "Just as long as you don't come chucking rocks at Evanne's window at night," she teased with lifted eyebrows. With a smirk, she closed the door behind her and set off to find the little mother and her daughter.
There was a wall on the other side of Dust, and Juniper hadn't noticed it at first. No one had noticed it, actually. Most of the heads were crooked down to the ground today, and there was little thought about the stillness of the air. Juniper's confidence stride was stopped immediately, her blue eyes grew wide with fear, and her muscles froze in place. Just beyond the little town they lived in was a raging dust storm. It would surely reach town in the next couple of minutes and no one had sounded the alarm yet.
Juniper's mind buzzed with what she was should have down. She would have ran back into Noah's office and told him the news, then they would have ran to the bell that was above town hall. Yes, she would have been a hero. But she was stuck. She was stuck in her ten year old self, sweating from anxious memories, and paralyzed with fear.