#baronyofthesilverwolf

Angela was a little surprised that Gwen took the initiative to provide some information, but she accepted the paperwork and promised to check them out.

The days pass from one to the next with a pleasant summer haze, and yet the looming promise of her saining lurks on the close horizon.

That, and...

"I just can't figure it out, my dears." Marigold speaks to the three childlings, with her tone solidly in that of, 'I'm not mad, but disappointed.' "I can understand taking extra food - if you're hungry, or afraid of being hungry, or just playing around. What we have here is solidly past that point, though. Why..." She rubs her temples a bit. "Why would someone pile dirt in my oven?"

Gwen was not called forth to be questioned on this matter - she apparently is beyond suspicion in such prankery, but may well have overheard, especially Briar's loud protests.

"I ain't done NOTHING! You can't prove it. Don't we get a LAWYER?" The young redcap's chin juts out as she scowls.

Roch looks baffled

"I would never, ever" Blossom protests

"Maybe it's Bluebell. She's a pooka. I bet she and Roach are kahooting on it together." Briar moves to shove the blame in another direction.

The pooka boy protests "Joe's too busy with his wedding plans for that"

Gwen comes in, "Marigold, what's going on?"

"Weddings are STUPID. Maybe THAT's just a cover for a bigger con!" Briar grumbles, but adds, "Unless there's a big cake. That part might be cool. But it better be REALLY big... Gwen!" Briar calls over. "Ya gotta bail me out. I was out with Glass all morning. You saw me go!"

Indeed, she did see Briar heading towards the Kennels earlier, and the childling does have the telltale dog hair scattered about to show she likely was in there a while.

"I did see her go, she was heading towards the kennels earlier.." Gwen dusts off some dog hair from the girl, she moves to the stove

The oven door is open and the oven light on, showing a heap of dirt within, piled on the bottom of the oven.

Marigold sighs. "You don't need 'bailing' out, Briar dear. I'm not going to punish anyone. But I will say that this needs to stop. If you want to play around with harmless little jokes, with each other, then that's up to you. Lunch today will be cheese sandwiches, and there will not be any scones or anything hot prepared until I've cleaned this up. Please keep any further joking out of my kitchen. Do you understand? Blossom, Briar, Rochallor?"

She looks at them each in turn.

Bloossom pouts "But I didn't do it" Then she sighs "I understand"

Rocholar scratches his head "Maybe Dame Calanthe did it? She's been real good at hiding lately"

"Dame... " Marigold startles, and then she laughs, which softens her expression. "Oh, Rochy, I know you must be being silly. Our Dame is out on a mission way off on the East coast. She's saving all sorts of little birdies from the wildfires, she is. And were she not, why, have you ever seen her touch a pile of dirt? Oh, haha... dear me." She wipes at her eyes.

Gwen touches the soil though, and starts to close her eyes. She's seen this done before. Maybe she can do it ? She.. a breath "Are you there, Earthmother? It's me, Gwen. Lost daughter of the Wheel now found again. My medicine is weak and untested, and I know your voice, it prefers to be rested, but I have questions for you"

a bit of glamour...

as she tries a willow whisper

The heap of soil is warm to the touch, dry and cracked, and a bit of ambient heat still lingers in the oven, though not hot enough to burn or even cause discomfort.

"What dream conveyed you to this stove?" She asks in a whisper

It takes a moment, and Gwen might wonder if it's working. She feels a little silly, crouched down there. It might occur to her that maybe they could upgrade the ovens for the sort that's set into the wall at standing height, less bending over for Marigold...

Then the tingling starts at her finger tips - or is it coming from the soil? Or perhaps both, meeting together and melding into a warm glow that has nothing to do with the heating coils in the oven.

Ground am I, rich of loam, taken from my garden home. Brought inside to face the heat, hauled by once-Earth that walks on feet.

A confused brow, once Earth? Then realization, "Was this..a gnome?"

"Why did he do this thing?" She asks

Though she realizes unless Bink said why out loud, the ground may not know

"While asking the question cannot hurt... the motivation? Beats me, I'm dumb as dirt." and the magic fades away.

"Thank you" She rises and looks a bit dizzy "Uh, Marigold . I' am SO sorry. This is on me, or more accurately, on Bink who I brought in. I'm going to talk to him right now"

Marigold has moved on and is putting together snacks for the kids - despite what she just said about no treats, it turns out she had some strudel in the fridge from earlier.

"YOU, Gwen? Ah, your little friend." The boggan shakes her head, passing a plate over to Briar first (as is safest) and then serving Blossom and Rochallor. "Please see that he stays out of the kitchen from now on."

"TOLD yuh twusnt muh." Briar says through a mouthful.

Rocholar gives Marigold a hug "Joey is glad you laughed at least?"

Blossom says "Well, if Bink can't behave proper, he has no place in civlized society" A hurumph. She didn't like being blamed

They do take snacks

Gwen nods "I'll talk to him" a low grumble and she goes to the garden "BINK!"

It's a lovely day in the garden. The fountain burbles merrily, and if it's not precisely a trimmed and neat English-style garden, it has it's own charm in a wild, untamed way. Wildflowers bloom beside the paths alongside cultivated roses and other 'desired' plants, and bees and butterflies visit both happily without discrimination.

A soft response, "Uh oh." Is heard from a corner of the garden which is largely taken over by a bushy stand of lilac.

"BInk.. out here, NOW. We need to talk. By which I mean you have questions to answer" A tone of command. She's been around sidhe, and the thanes when they are in NO mood

"Angry friend doesn't sound nice-nice. She is not going to break Bink? Crash bam boom, and no more talk-talk or walk-walk." The toasted sand colored gnome peers out from under the bush warily.

"I won't break you, but I want to know why you put dirt in Marigold's oven. I want ot know why you've been stealing bread"

He comes out and trots over to stop a few paces away - any closer and he cannot crane his head up to see Gwen's face at her towering height.

"Bink does not steal. Bink..." He pauses, and scuffs a foot in the dirt a bit. "Perhaps Bink did take. Bink TRIED, but it did not work. I should bring back. Yes yes? I show. Yes-no?"

"Tried what?" She says exasperated, "Bink, you've been banned from the kitchen. Innocent kids were nearly blamed for what you did"

He blinks solemnly up at her, and then says, "Am sorry. I fix. You see." He turns and trots back over to the lilac bush, and waves to Gwen. "Come, see."

"Okay" She goes to see

She may need to kneel down to peek under the drooping branches of the shrub, heavy with fragrant lilac blossoms. Underneath, Bink has set up a little home, it looks like. Rocks collected form a circle and serve as little chairs and tables, the ground is carefully swept neatly clean, and it is filled with... with... bread rolls?

Decorated bread rolls. Each set a little ways apart, with little stones or bits of bark pressed into the crust for eyes, gried grass and moss form trailing beards, and each has a leaf curled into a pointed cone on top to serve as a hat. The bread smells stale, and is starting to turn a bit green at the edges.

When Gwen peeks in, she startles a mouse that was chewing on one of them, and it dashes off with a surprised squeak. Bink shakes a fist after it. "Naughty squeaker stay out! No chew-chew."

He looks up at Gwen. "Kitchen Lady bake-bake like Bink's Rainbow-friend makes. But they did not wake up. Not even with reminders. Not even with HATS."

The troll does bend down, then faces... confusion. then, "Bink, are you trying to recreate .. or create some friends?"

He tugs at his beard dolefully. "Did not work. Bink thought, maybe wrong stuff, so I take from garden to bake-bake. But it just turned dirt-dirt into hot-dry-dirt-dirt."

"Bink," A sigh "I think, just like you can't turn a ANY mortal into a kithain, you can't turn just any thing into someone like you. I'm sorry. The dreaming is wonderful, but it has a harder time of things now. You know, if you asked her, Blossom might be willing to bring her dolls to play with you"

He tugs at his beard again, sadly, then peers up. "Come play? Small - still-big-big girl, not mad? Gwen-Friend not mad neither?" Hopeful.

"You caused al ot of work and hassle for Mo..Marigold. Marigold is special to me, so I was very mad at you." She admits

"But, I'm getting less mad as I learn why you did it." She adds "Look, you've been banned from the kitchen, you are not to go there until Marigold changes her mind. If you have a problem, like getting lonely, you should tell folks. We'll do what we can, okay?" She looks down "This is a nice set up but bread won't last long. " A thought "I'll play with you, but I have duties and there's a big change in my future ... or could be"

"I am just very small. You must only have very small mad, it is fair." He attempts!

"Bink will stay out of food-food rooms. Bink... did not mean trouble. Not used to HAVE folk to tell or ask."

He leans in and whispers to Gwen, eyeing the bread rolls. "New friends do not talk much. A squirrel stole new-Wink. New Tink has some squeak nibbles." A sigh.

She ponders "Would wood friends be okay? Or toys?"

"Any friends better than no friends. Gwen-friend will find new friends for Bink?"

"I don't think any of them will come quite alive like you, but with imagination, there still might be some fun" She can offer that much . "Now, let's talk about fun things. Shall we say mean things about the squireels, or talk about which flowers are the most pride ful?"

"Oh, OH! The most prideful flower? Why, it must be the lilies, they have such long, slender stems and glorious blooms..."