July 21st, 1888 - Outside the entrance to the Sanditon Resort main reception

Why on Merlin’s earth was it so busy!
Sure, Paxton had reasoned that the resort had picked up due to that fog that was encroaching up north in Hogsmeade but he hadn’t understood why it was this busy.
He couldn’t complain though; it gave him the perfect excuse to move away from his sibling (who had been tasked with keeping him from getting into any trouble). See, Paxton was short enough to easily move amongst the crowd that had been gathering outside of the resort so he could start his little adventure toward his most favourite part of Sanditon: the zoo!

He had gotten about half-way through the crowd when he tripped on someone’s feet and practically slid across the floor. With furrowed brows, a hearty wince, Paxton glared up at the apologetic adult and huffed before storming off a little.

He turned to make sure the adult was aware he was still glaring at them when he came crashing into someone just as his head turned to look where he was going. Moving back a little, Paxton threw his arms in the air before crossing them, “Why does this keep happening! I am not invisible!” He screamed toward the air before stamping his foot and continuing to move – he didn’t even care who he’d just bumped into.

Then he saw the flower girl from the beach!

“Miss Mulciber!” He yelled toward her – though she looked quite uncomfortable – and moved toward her with a small limp; his left knee bleeding slightly from when he’d decided to befriend the floor, “What’s—what’s wrong, Miss Mulciber?” He asked with a tone of concern.

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Flora too had been enjoying the resort until everyone decided to create a stampede in one single area. She'd been fortunate enough not to get pummeled down by any eager passersby, but she hadn't been so lucky in other ways: she couldn't find her mother, she couldn't find her brother, and now she was just lost in a crowd of unfamiliar people! She'd not yet gotten so desperate as to resort to a teary-eyed fit to catch the attention of those walking by, but she had all but given up on locating her family. She stood just outside the crowd, silently watching with furrowed browns and a perpetual frown with the hopes that someone would see her.

And they did.

Her face brightened immediately at the sight of Mr. Fudge, and her body propelled itself forward.

"Oh, Mr. Fudge!" she dramatically sighed. "Those - those people! They're everywhere! They've swept me away from my family and I haven't a clue where to go now."

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The urgency in Flora's voice had Paxton worried for her. He looked around with wide eyes as he came to a halt in front of her to see if he could find an older looking Flora (assuming she looked like her mother!), though it was a lost cause.

He turned back to her and frowned, "I can't see them! So you're all alone and apparently I'm invisible," Paxton said dejectedly as his gaze shifted to his slightly bloodied knee. It wasn't really that bad; a small graze; though if he could make it sound like a battlescar, he would.

"I got this in there!" He said, throwing his finger toward the general direction of the bulk of the crowd.

Though to him they were no longer people. They were jungle animals ready to pounce; snarling at one another and lunging at children, ready to eat them.

"I barely escaped. I had to slide through them before they caught me!" He exclaimed, omitting the obvious truth that he had really just fallen over.

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Being separated from her family was immensely stressful, but knowing Mr. Fudge was alone as well gave her some comfort. As the son of the resort's proprietor, he undoubtedly knew his way around; at the very least, he'd be able to help her find someone who could send for her family.

Her gaze followed his to his bloodied knee, and not a moment later her mouth was as wide as her eyes.

"How awful, Mr. Fudge!" she gasped, immediately bending down to get a look at it. It wasn't too bad and could likely be taken care of with a simple bandage—but they didn't really have one of those.

"Does it hurt very badly? We must take you to see a nurse of some sort."

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Awful! What a great word. It was awful! Paxton had been viciously attacked by the floor and he was now wounded! There was absolutely nothing that could save him!

Dramatically throwing his head back and then nodding aggressively, Paxton turned away and spoke quietly as if trying to garner sympathy, "It does! But we must find your family first!" Paxton said, turning to look back at Flora.

"I'll... I'll be okay! If I do die, you can have my wand," He said assuredly before narrowing his eyes toward the crowd, "Is that them?" He asked with a non-comittal point toward the general direction of the crowd. He wasn't sure what - or who - he was looking for but he at least wanted to show off that he could see people.

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Mr. Fudge was definitely a noble boy, if not a little over-dramatic. She bit her lip to prevent a smile from reaching her lips, as she thought it unlikely that he'd perish from a simple scrape on the knee.

"I think we should find someone who can help—an adult," she said thoughtfully, reaching out to touch his arm. "I can't go back in there, lest I find myself trampled by a stampede of wild adults!"

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Looking down at his arm, Paxton saw her hesitation and nodded. He wasn't going to put her into a situation where she was uncomfortable; that would be mean.

Turning on the balls of his feet, Paxton turned away from the crowd and gestured toward the main ground where a few people had gathered though easily the crowd had thinned a lot here.

Without thinking, he took a hold of Flora's hand once again and pulled her with him as he ventured toward some strangers.

"If you keep hold of my hand, you will be safe," Paxton reasoned as they walked through the people, "Because I'll make sure you don't get more lost!" He stated with determination.

Coming to a halt by some people, Paxton frowned up toward them and moved on. Those were statues not people and still he had no idea who he was looking for.

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Flora jumped in surprise when he took a hold of her hand and began tugging her. She helplessly followed him, nearly stumbling over a few bumps on the path but altogether remaining upright—luckily. She hardly wished to make a fool of herself in front of Mr. Fudge, and doing so in public would only make it worse!

"Do you know where you're going?" she asked, only slightly exasperated. She was even farther than where she'd lost her family to begin with, and they'd likely gone off in the other direction. She would hate to be one of those long-lost children from her storybooks, even if they did eventually find their families; being an orphan was a poor and dirty life. (But that was silly, she tried to remind herself. It wasn't as if she didn't know her own name!)

"If you get us in trouble, I'm never ever talking to you again—ever." She was huffy and puffy, but she wanted to see her Mama again! Even the agitated Merriweather would be a sight for sore eyes!

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"Of course I do!" Paxton huffed, pulling her in various directions - away from the people - until he came to a halt at a quiet bit.

Turning to her, Paxton frowned almost angrily at her words and let go of her hand, crossing his arms and scrunching his nose up.

That was kind of mean!
And a bit of an overreaction!

"That's not fair! You're the one that got yourself lost! I'm just trying to find your family!" He said with a scorn.

Truth be told, Paxton wasn't really doing much in the way of looking. He'd rather hoped she'd have pointed them out already so the course he'd taken was much less in the vicinity of where her family would be and more toward the zoo.

He liked the zoo and so he reasoned if anyone was there, it would be Flora's family because he liked Flora and so logic would have dictated that he would like her family too and therefore, through flawless explanation in his mind, they would like the zoo too.

"If we get into trouble, I'm just going to say Holliday told me to because she has all her friends here and I just have you!"

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She wasn't even familiar with the places they were going—surely her mother couldn't be here! She pulled her hand from Mr. Fudge's grasp and stubbornly held it against her side, determined not to hold it again until he stopped vexing her. Stupid boys. While being polite was always ideal, her adrenaline had made her decidedly combative.

"That makes absolutely no sense and I think it's a terrible idea," she stated, turning her nose up at his suggestion. She didn't even know who Holliday was; it sounded more like an occasion than a person!

"Where have you taken me anyways?"

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"Yes it does! Holliday is my sister and always gets into trouble!" Paxton lied.

In truth, he really just wanted to make sure she got into trouble because he was still extremely bitter about all of her friends taking over the resort! It wasn't fair in the slightest!

And how did she not know where the zoo was? UGH! Stupid girls were absolutely stupid, "To the zoo, Miss Mulciber! Your family will probably be there!"

His eyes then drifted to her hands resting on her sides before turning to match her gaze, brows furrowed, "And don't stand like that! It makes you look like you're annoyed at me which isn't nice!"

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Flora didn't remember her mother or brother mentioning anything about the zoo; thus, she held her position, shoes digging into the ground beneath him, and stared at him with her arms crossed across her chest.

"I'm standing like this because I am annoyed with you," she huffed, subtly glancing around to see if anyone else—her family included—was approaching.

Nope.

"I hate being lost, and I hate being dragged like a puppy on a leash!" she complained, on the verge of tears once more. "I'm thirty and hungry, too; I think we were going to get some lunch!"

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She was annoying! Paxton pouted and dug his own heels into the ground in response, his arms still crossed and eyes narrowed. She wasn't allowed to be annoyed with him! All he had done is begin taking her to the zoo!

"Then I'm annoyed with you!" He almost hissed, ignoring the well of tears forming in her eyes, "And we are not lost!" Paxton raised his voice angrily, stamping his foot; "The kitchens are over there" He scoffed and pointed back toward the crowd.

He was only trying to take her somewhere fun where he wanted to go and where her family may be! Why did she have to be so difficult about everything!? Why did he even like being around her? Ugh! She was beyond irritating.

"Also you're not a puppy," Paxton shrugged with his glare firmly fixed on Flora's face.

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Flora was not particularly inclined towards dramatics, but like any distressed eleven-year-old, she could be. She would have pelted him with something if she'd have had anything in her hands, but she was left to handle the situation with her wit. Much to her dismay, any witty comebacks on the tip of her tongue disappeared as her gaze flickered between each of the bustling passersby, She was anxious—a feeling that not only made her feel like a pile of dragon's dung, but also made her act like someone she was not!

She ignored Mr. Fudge's berating and simply staring around like she was a lost puppy, the tears began to spill over as she stood still. A girl who was usually under the watchful eye of someone at all time—insensitive eleven-year-old boys not included—being free from a protective gaze was panic-inducing!

"I may not be a puppy, but you're a vicious dog!" she snapped, her hand snapping up to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "Yapping at me and not even seeing how scared I am! You're so mean!"

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Dog!? Vicious dog?! That was beyond insulting! Paxton could barely contain his anger and when she had the audacity to cry and tell him she was scared, the eleven year old all but flipped.

He slammed his feet into the ground and threw his arms down. He wasn't mean
 he wasn't a dog and he certainly wasn't going to let some girl cry and make him feel bad!

"I am not a dog!" He hissed, moving in front of her and digging his heels into the ground once again, "And stop crying! You're making me feel bad and I haven't done anything wrong. Miss Mulciber, stop it! You're the one being mean! I know where we are and you're calling me names!"

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If it was possible for Flora to be upset, she was. Tears and snot dripping from her face, she hastily lifted her arm to wipe them away from her sleeve—an ill-advised move she'd probably regret when seeing the stains later.

"You're so mean, Mr. Fudge. I'm ashamed to know you," she hiccuped through her tears before turning on her feet to take off in the other direction through a crowd of rowdy adults.

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