#bergen_county

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For Connor, Squire Duty is subsisting of a lot of study, and.. watching of Lane. He likes Lane. He does.

But sometimes he wishes he could do more than watch.

"Connor," A whisper , it's Lily

She sighs. Sometimes it's terrible being a sluagh. Silly people can't or wonn't hear you

So she sneaks up, and yanks da tail

A yelp! "Hunters!" Connor yips, startled and looking for Lane!

Lily hisses "Lane is gathering things to runn away but she's trying to hide it from you..."

His ears twitch and he ducks his head, immediately quieting. "Sorry Lilly, I used my indoor voice outdoors."

" I don't know why, she's fillinnng a backpack" Illy says "Annd yes, you how a howler voice. I suppose I shouldn't pull your tail , it sets you off like one of those toys with the strings"

"Well, We'd better go talk at her then. Yup yup." Connor sniffs the air, and heads over to find Lane.

Snuff snuff, no one, centaur or otherwise, can hide from the Shadow-nose

Lane is holding still... one might not see the hooves at the bottom of the curtains! But one definitely smells her.. and notices the backpack shaped lump attached to a cenntnaur shape

Connor sneaks behind the other half of the curtain, his own feet showing... in light up sneaks, obviously. He reaches over and peeks under Lane's curtain. "Are we hiding and seeking? Olly Olly Oxen Free?"

"How did you find me? " the girl who is, thanks to horse parts, as tall as a troll seems surprised she was spotted "Uhm.. yes, hide and seek. I wasn't trying to slip out or ANYTHING" She's a terrible liar. good thing she's not ap ooka

"I'm an expert hider-seeker. No one can find me when I slip around on shadow-paws, and no one can escape what my noses knows and my ears hears. If you WEREN'T slippin' anywhere, where would you not be going?" His tail tags, shaking the curtain.

"Uhm.." A blush "I don't know .. i just.. somee place far far from anyone that's nice to me"

His head tilts in a puzzled fashion. "You don't want people to be nice to you?"

her big eyes well up. Clearly she is extra super suceptable to the Confidant thing "Okay okay... I .." she rubs her nnose with an arm because it's getting runny "i... people keep getting HURT cause of me. Dagmar broke her leg, and she's only got TWO! Mister Jaymes fought off a monster!"

"Ohhhh-hh-hh. Well, I can't blame you for not understanding. You see, they're TROLLS." He nods solemnly. "They would be unhappy if they DIDN'T have anyone to protect. And before you got here, why, I was going crazy, they would all follow ME around. And I'm a Squire, you know, so I'm tough. It's nice to have someone else here for them to look over, too. That's how you keep your Trolls happy. It's like plants and sunlight. Though Jack says they like being sung to too, and I'm not a good singer, but Miss Tove never minds when I sing along."

"But they COULD DIE... for me" Lane says horrified "if they die for me it'll be my bad, won't it?"

"They WON'T." He sets his chin. "And that's a promise. Trolls are the strongest there is. And if they didn't do anything, and you got hurt? It would be worse than any hurt they might get protecting you. It would hurt their SOULS. My Knight, and my Grandknight, and others too, they swore oaths to protect everyone here." Nod nod nod.

She nibbles her bottom lip, "But if your knight got killed because of me.. you'd HATE me"

"If MY Dagmar got killed because she was protecting you? I'd hate that she got hurt. And I'd hate whoever hurt her. But bad people will do bad things because they're bad. And good people who are their targets aren't their fault." Sincerely.

"You should be GLAD that they're coming after you, honest." He nods.

"Because if it wasn't you, they'd go after some other my little pony friend. And THAT friend might not have a whole heap of trolls around."

"We're lucky, we are." His tail wags.

The litle girl takes a breath, and then hugs him fiercely

"Oof!" He hugs her back. "Careful, I think that's how you get cooties. I'm not allowed to get cooties. Only..." He tries to remember what it is this week, and then brightens when he does. "The Boo-boo-neck Plague. Lilly was telling me about that one."

"quite deadly" lily whispers from a corner

"But if you did want to go somewhere to hide? I know a spot that even hunters can't find." He taps the side of his nose and winks. "It's a secret though. So it's only for 'mergencies."

"Lilly can keep secrets." He nods to Lane. "She's made up of secrets, at least forty-seven per-cent by weight. The rest is cobwebs and diseases."

Lily blushes at this high praise!

"Where? Where could I go?" Lane asks

He lowers his voice and whispers. "We're not 'sposed to go there, but if things get scary here, I'll take you. Promise." He holds out a pinky.

Lane offers her own pinky

He shakes it. "Pinky, rinky, dinky, do, I promise me and you promise you. It's sworn by our pinkies so you know it's true. Aroo!"

"The howl makes it official." he nods.

"Pinky, rinky, dinky do, I promise me and you promise you. It's worn by our pinkies so you know it's true" she blushes then adds "aroo"

His tail wags!

and glamour flows, for the pinky promise among childlings is a powerful thing, a secret lost to wilders and grumps

there's no curse attached, because it's not needed . Other childlings ALWAYS know a pinky promise breaker when they see one. And the blessings are vague, because geeze... you gotta trust the dreaming to give you the right tools for the job.

Connor grins and released her hand. "It's a deal!"

"It's a deal" Lane smiles

Lily whispers "the crayon is cast, the walls stained, and if fate be a nanny, so be it, let her squeeky shoes approach"