#anywhere

"Mmph. Well, to be fair, the fellow will probably want me there at least at first. ALso, if he tries to bolt when he hears what it is in detail, I'll stop him. This is why you never count on a straight in a game of poker when you can't cover the wager"

"Yeah, whatever. You get th' guy, I bring th' gear, we milk us a fella, then you get seven percent of the profit. Done." She spits in her palm and offers her hand to shake.

"7 percent profit off the sales of these devices " A nod, making sure it's not just this one time or one thing, and spits in his hand too to offer.

She can respect the clarity, and nods, and shakes.

Squishy pact is squishy-but done

(End Scene)

---------------

At Rivervale, Olgar's voice booms

"Sylvi, downstairs."

A brief moment before she comes to the top of the stairs, eyes wide. "What did I...?"

He holds up a box with a pretty bow on it.

"This is marked for you. Dogs didn't smell bombs or anything."

She blinks, then comes downstairs, sounding like a small herd of elephants in her hurry. "Where'd it come from?!"

"It has hearts on it. Was delivered by a sluagh named Mire. Apparently he's a delivery sluagh. If this breaks out in bugs, your mother will have you clean them up"

"Mire? I don't know a sluagh named Mire...." She looks at the box, puzzled. Then she reaches to open it, carefully.

It is a book of pressed flowers! Of all types, many of her favorite!

well, favorites

"Ohhh..." She carefully leafs through the book. There are snapdragons and cornflowers and bleeding hearts....and so many others. "Who did this?" She looks in and on the box for any indication of the sender.

Actually, at the inside of the book, on the inside of the cover are the words "There is, apparently, a stigma on knights picking flowers. Never been so glad to be a squire. ..and even glader to be your boyfriend- Colton " It shimmers in silver chimerical ink, only fae eyes can read it

She reads, and puts a hand to her mouth...then quickly angles the book away to be sure Olgar can't see, eyes wide as she looks at him. "Um...."

Her father, of course, hasn't been guarding trods by being UNattentive

She carefully closes the book and sets it back in the box. Biting her lip, she looks at her father again.

"boyfriend???"

A nearly audible gulp...then a pause...and then she tosses back her head and looks him in the eye. "Yes, Dad."

"Sylvi, you were just a childling not that long ago. Boyfriend?"

A stubborn jut of her chin. "I had a boyfriend when I was a childling, too, Dad."

A strange grinding noise is emanating from her father. It's rather like an avalanche looking for targets.

Finally, "Who is he?"

A frown. "He's a good person, Dad. I didn't think he was at first, but...I like him."

"At first..." Processing culprits, XY chromosome a given, now knows someone she knew before. "I see. Has your mother already met this ...'good' lad?"

A deep breath. "She has. And so have you. And why do you have to be like this, Dad? Why do you have to...to be all grrrrr whenever there's even a chance that a guy might...might like me....?"

He sighs, and takes a seat, then pats one next to him.

A tense hesitation, and she moves the box a little further away (out of reach of a certain Rover) and moves to sit down next to him, tense and still stubborn.

"Okay. When you were a childling, there were certain interests you didn't have. And if you did have them, you more pretended... that's simplyifying, but hear me out. It's like wanting to be a warrior. A childling may play at being a warrior, a wilder ends up taking real hits. Real wounds and real risks. Of course boys will like you, you're a very pretty girl, very smart, and very engaging. Liking you isn't the problem. The problem is, neither you, nor the boyfriend, have had..training in this... and you can get hurt. And... heart hurt is real, honey. real for us. Some fae have ended up near forgetting because of how badly they took something. It can be hard to pace. I'm not done yet, but am I making sense so far? You've grabbed a sword and charged into the big battle when I worry you're still not sure you're ready for a tourney."

She seems to be making a genuine attempt to listen, then takes a deep breath. "I understand what you're saying...but...Dad, what the heck would be the 'tourney' for dating? I mean...it's kind of something that doesn't work the same way."

"Well, you're right that romance is different, but then, that can be unlike anything else in the world so... comparisons are rough" He says "But do you get the point? You asked why I was growly and protective, and I'm telling you why. Because you can get hurt. And, the half human side doesn't make it easier. Human physicality doesn't respect the romance stories you may have read."

"Unwanted preganancy, diesases from itchy to lethal .. mortals risk that. And you in mortal flesh"

A deep breath "And before you say something, I KNOW dating does not lead automatically to a 'home run' for a guy."

She is about to protest before he adds that codicil. "Dad...I know that, and..." She pauses, and takes a deep inhale and exhale before continuing in a low tone. "Okay...so...I haven't done that yet. Sex, I mean." A pause...talking to your Dad about this stuff is weird. "And...I'm not planning on it. But...I understand what you mean." A frown and fidgets.

A deep breath, "Look, I know you'd rather be talking to your mom about this...heck, I think she'd do better with it. But I want you to hear one thing out I think your mom would agree with. THen, then you're going to talk to your mother...and tell her about this conversation and ask her what she thinks I missed and what you need to hear. And... I'll Try not to grit my teeth so hard. OK?"

"Ohhh-kayyy." She's clearly bracing herself.

"Everyone says no means no, and it does. But that applies to EVERYTHING when you're with someone else like that. Kissing feels awkward? Say no. He's being so nice that you think he deserves something you're not sure you are comfortable giving? Thank him for being nice, and say no. He guilt trips you? Say no and give him the stink eye. HE wants to go some place you don't? No. He wants to just 'fool around but it's not sex' but your'e not ready for whatever base he's moving to? No. It doesn't matter what other girls are or aren't doing. It sure doesn't matter how far boys say they've gotten with their girls- trust me half of them are lying. I used to be that age. It doesn't matter if logic has the boyfriend seemingly covering all the angles. Until YOU want this, whatever this is. Until you feel ready. Until you think it's for the right reasons for both of you.. you say no. And he can say no too. And that's how it's supposed to be. You can always say no."

"Until you get married, then your spouse is obligated to give it to you once a week...once a month if he or she is pissed."

"Now, something I said in that speech was wrong. Take it to your mom and she'll point it out to you. It's my way of making sure you go see her."

She listens, blushing, but attentive...and a bit of a smirk at the end. "I think I know which part it is, Dad. But...I'll talk to her. I've...kind of been meaning to." A pause, then she asks, "Did you...were you like that, Dad? When you were a teen?" A serious question.

He stops, "Honey, the male sex drive is neither evil, nor toxic... it just is. And girls have a drive too. Boys, at least, in personal sense, have ...less immediate consquences sometimes? It can make them push more than the girls do, though that's not always the case. Your dad was never a good looking guy. Your mom sees past that. I was the guy who they moved to the other side of the street to avoid. And I resented that, and I thought the lot of them were stuck up bitches. Most weren't of course, they were just scared. Whether they had a right to be or not isn't the point, they were scared. Now, did your dad ever give them reason to be scared? No. My pride I guess as much as anything. If they had some expectations of me being a monster I sure wans't going to prove them right. But have I tried to cojole, weasal, and so on? WHen I was younger? Yes. And I got told no, and I backed up. Would you believe your mother told me no? And weirdly, I became a better man for it. Mind you, at the time I wanted to punch a tree while being showered in a glacier floe, but...the point is, long term gain."

She gives a bit of a relieved grin...it's hard to say exactly what she was expecting to hear, but what she heard seems to have helped. "Okay."

"that said, that was in MY day, today all boys are evil and should not be touched. You'll get warts." A grumble "Go see your mother. And I'll respect the privacy of your flower book."

An eye roll at the first part of that. "Daa-aaad." She stands to go, then looks at the box with the book, and then at him. "It's from Colton."

"Huh. Well, believe it or not, I feel better about him than I would some boys. But don't tell him I Said that."