Morning
Adam had vaguely warned her about "something big coming", but she hadn't expected something this big.
As always during times of turmoil, Aggie went into full-blown community comforter mode. She had saved up money from Adam's payments for use of the mimeograph, so her two soup pots were on the stove, full of hot, piping soup. As soon as one pot was empty, she would order Brent to refill it. People she knew to be cooks were sent to the kitchen counter for a bit, where they worked on preparing the vegetables that filled each soup pot. She didn't want to tip people off that she had more money than she was known to have, so the meat was limited to ham bones for flavor. She had a local baker, who had closed her shop for the moment out of fear that the rumored destruction was going to hit Vienda, making bread when she was up to it. When Lou wasn't up to making bread, Aggie did it herself.
People swirled in and out, murmuring to each other as they ate meals of soup and bread, leaning against the walls or sitting on the floor. The seating itself was saved for the older people of the Dives or for the disabled or pregnant. Some left as soon as their stomachs were full, but quite a few hung around, taking comfort in the sense of community. They would get through this. They all had to believe that. When the sun was going down, though, Aggie's house emptied out, nobody wanting to be caught outside during such turbulent times. Aggie let some of the younger homeless people stay with her, sleeping on the floor.
Two of her burlier friends stayed with her all the time, ensuring that Aggie wouldn't be robbed or attacked. They had to kick a few people out when they lashed out and got violent, but most people were too scared to break Aggie's "no violence" rule.
Aggie made her rounds, spreading hugs and reassurances that everyone would be okay. When people got too upset, she quickly found her way to them and calmed them. The whole time, she listened to rumors, gathering information about what the crowd believed. The rock in the pit of her stomach only got bigger as she listened. The crowd consensus was that the Resistance had done whatever horrible thing had been done to Dorhaven. They were divided over what to do about it – some wanted to leave it to the Seventen, while other wanted to make a mob and root out the pestilence from their city. As the stories of refugees filtered into the rumor mill and it became known that Dorhaven was utterly destroyed, those who wanted to root out the Resistance became louder.
To say that Aggie was worried would be an understatement. She wasn't stupid. She knew that, regardless of who actually did the rumored destruction, the authorities would paint it as if the Resistance had done it. Just like they did with the Vienda riots the previous year.
And people would believe it.
Aggie's frustration grew, knowing that if Serro had actually clocking listened to her and tried to win over the commoners, they'd be less likely to listen to whatever bile and lies the authorities decided to throw out about this horrible event.
Even when everyone was gone, the elderly lady found it difficult to sleep. She had been with the Resistance from the start and she didn't want to see it die. But how was she going to save the Resistance when the authorities blame them for what happened in Dorhaven? That, she didn't know.
The morning of Hamis 6 found her up before dawn, making more bread as one of the soup pots reheated on the stove. The second had oatmeal bubbling away as the elderly lady waited for whoever would show up in need of comfort.