#anywhere

"To Hewitt" She grumbles "Men ruin so many plans. THen again, at the glacial pace troll romance moves, it's possible I could get another 15 years out of her before their marriage" Wryly

A soft snort.

"But - more reason to build bridges with Danica, yeah? Understand.... you were lucky. Everyone was lucky. One thing goes different, one thing goes wrong, and last night could have been a tragedy."

"I'm not so arrogant as to think Da'an made it happen to make ME safe and happy" A nod , then a beat "if it owed anyone, it owed Connor"

"This is Danica's home. And you did lie to her. That.... you had reasons, but you lied."

"I Lied to..."A pause "Shit. I did. Almost forgot about that."

"That's what you have to fix."

"I think she was dictumed to shoot at me... a gun? Really? Escheat is not the sort of thing she'd risk."

Dagmar nods. "Right. But... lying, that... punishing her for folding to a Dictum and an Oath, it..." She frowns again. "You see that part. Why it would not help."

"But I am trying.. I'm trying to explain, as a troll? What it feels like being lied to. Mayb the Gwydion thing is part of it, but..."

"It's a small betrayal" A thought "yes. I had to, she was spying, not by choice, but constantly to Calanthe. Given Calanthe has now tried to murder me, well.. .I think I was right to lie, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt trust"

"But... but I was lied to a lot, in a lot of ways, before my chrysalis. Calanthe is an Ailil, and... not an easy mistress. It.. when you are tied to someone that hurts you..." She frowns.

"Justifying your lie will not fix things with Danica."

"It's an abusive relationship," Eyes widen "They've been in an abusive relationship"

As it sinks in

Dagmar nods.

"Oh Dagmar, how did i miss.. of course I missed it... for all my political skill I'm thank you"

"You need to... not be her. Need to show you are different, not just use words. Don't... excuses and justifications are talk. You lied to her, you gotta own up to it. Apologize. And then.. then... " she gestures, turning her palms up and out. "Do the work?"

"It took me a long time to trust that Kerri or Jaymes or Chief weren't lying."

A NOD and she takes her own palms and lays them over Dagmar's just so "They're grown women, but that doesn't mean they aren't rightfully distrustful it won't be the 'meet the new boss, same as the old boss'"

Damar nods.

"Thank you, Dagmar. I would have completely missed that truth if not for your counsel"

"Thank you for listening."

"Always.. " a smile then "Except those few times I'm being pigheaded and plotting to do something profoundly stupid.. which.. hardly ever happens" flash of a sheepish smile

"Hmph." A hint of a smile.

A hug "You're going to lord this over me when I get to be a grand dame and some young wilder ward drives me crazy aren't you?"

"As a Gwydion, I shouldn't lie."

"Gives me a headache."

SNERK back

Siiiiip.

"Fine, but when you have four fostered kids, I'm going to have some stories to tell as well.. just you wait"

A little quirk of her mouth. "Fair enough."

"Yes... see, I'm making just rulings already"

"Must be the wisdom of your years."

"Ye gads, maybe by the time I go fashionably silver I'll stop doing very stupid things"

"Doubtful." Gently teasing.

"Highly" She admits with good humor

"You are going to be a great foster mom" A nudge "So, which of our many fine horses do you like? Snowthorn, Moondance? Goliath?"

"Well, none of them are a match for Star..."

"Good thing Dame D'lorean isn't here to hear you say that" A smirk "You're both incredibly biased"

"oh, I want you to meet Joker"

"You had mentioned him. Carnival, yeah?"

"Yeah" She moves to where the little trouble maker is, he bounces to see company

The black and white colt whinnies excitedly as they approach. The horses have not been neglected, but neither have their Favorite People been by to bestow special treats of late.

He has a marking on his forehead, the kind often called a star, yet his is shaped more like the Diamond on a playing card!

Dagmar approaches in an easy, non-threatening way - not too fast or slow, and a hand extended where Joker may inspect at his leisure.

Nadeen smirks halfway expecting JOker to nibble at her sleeve

He chomps at Dagmar's hand playfully, leaving more slobber than marks.

"Be nice." Gentle correction, and then he gets scritches.

Tail swish! Spark was once this small? More, it makes Dagmar realize, how big Spark has gotten! Even if he still looks tiny next to Stormwake.

"He keeps trying to eat my best sleeves" A hufmph