#bergen_county

"Oh yes. quite. Fortunately neither was a satyr like mother, taht would make the professor's plans harder I bet"

"What plans are those?" Hiding curiousity politely behind a sip of tea.

"Apparently there is talk of encouraging a few satyrs to move in, so a proper tragedy ccan happen. I approve of tragedies, but I am confused"

"Oh my..."

"That would be quite a mix."

"More satyrs. Great." Deadpan.

"Well, Piper is nice. " The girl says

"That's Zane's cousin, I saw her around. But we're not really in the same circles."

"Well, a distraction - let them be loud and draw the eyes"

"Hm." Nodding at that.

"Distractions sound useful" She ponders "I use the twins that way. " A sigh "They are nice troll boys, but they cadence?"

"Jonas has been helping Ann Marie with her social work. The Chieftain's daughter Siv is running off wild to join the ravening hordes, to hear him tell it."

"he uses very big words" Lily seems pleased, pehraps that her secrets have been useful

"The Fiona, aye." A sigh.

"Are Fiona bad?" Curious

"Fiona are like satyrs writ large."

"oh, so noisy, moody, and loud?"

Nevermind Noisy and Loud mean the same thing. It bears repeating

"You're friends with the lodge's pet pooka, hm? Maybe you can convince him to let Gerd go. It's second and third hand, but sounds like she's trying to move into her own place with her guardian and his fiance, but Buddy won't let her. Maybe if he spends more time with other kids, he'll cling to her less and she can slip off."

Concern. "Oh, I should visit COnnor..."

"Connor is not a pet," A touch defensively, "And Gerd is his sister, little siblings need to have big siblings close so we can spy on them properly"

A sip of his tea, and he offers blandly, "Some sister, if she decides to move away and only tells him as an afterthought. Even Ann Marie wouldn't do that, and she doesn't even insist that I call her mom."

He adds, "Nothing against Gerd. She's cool."

"Well, I don't know that much about Gerd," Lily says "But if she wronged her brother, and he's my friend...maybe I should... should.." Unsure, but she's sure there's something sluagh do when t heir friends are hurt.

"Scare her?"

He gums at his lip, and attempts some backtracking. "I don't think she did anything wrong. Least not from the way I heard it. She was nice to the kid and let him feel like he had a sibling." Thoughtful. "Though it does sound like maybe she could have handled it better." He allows.

"Yes, I could scare her. I could write her name in maggots and hide them in her food"

"Oh," As Symon explains

A snicker at that.

"Now... perhaps Gerd is not deserving of your special attentions. But surely there are naughty children. Bullies, brats... those who are arrogant and cruel?"

"Oh sure, like Brandon"

"That is when you must listen to your soul, your very dream. Like Brandon. Does Brandon deserve to be punished?"

"If you sneak enough food dye or beet extract into someone's food, they'll think they're pissing - ah. PASSING. Passing blood. That will scare the ...snickers out of most anyone."

"oh yes. He tattletales, LOUDLY... and then when he says he just felt he was helping the teacher, when the teacher doesn't look, he smirks at you," A frown "It's rude"

Then intrigued by Symon's suggestion

"Oh, vile. Yes, Brandon might deserve a lesson."

"We sluagh, we believe in manners. And we shall teach them."

"Does he do anything else rude, like steal anyone's snacks? It's good to watch their habits. Learn how they operate, so you can get at them better."

"It is worthwhile to be patient, and gather your knowledge before you strike."

"And watch others around him. Does he pick on anyone else? Do they glare at him when he's not looking? They can by allies."

"...or someone to take the flack if it doesn't come off exactly as planned."

"Well, one time he made marks in Bonita's library book, and doodled on it ... and then later said she had done it.. and got her in trboule with the librarian"

"Remember, pookas will prank, because they're cute enough to get away with it. Adorable rascal, they'll say. But find a slug on the end of a trick, and suddenly you're a terror, a horrid child, and a menace." A pause. "So make sure you don't get caught."

"Instead, make sure Brandon is caught holding the bag."

A nod "yes, that would be only right."

"Guilt is a good one. If you can manage it, it's really sweet when they go blubberin' and turn themselves in and don't even know why they spilled it all up, other than they knew something bad would happen if they didn't."

"Oh, aye!"

"So, you make them better?"

"I make 'em too scared to do anything BUT be better."

"And if they're lucky, they'll learn to like not being a little shit."