#bergen_county

"Lola?" Piper laughs! "Geez, give me a little credit. Siv, you're 5 times the woman she is, even if you were morphed into someone half her size. She's so not my type. Something about the "I'm too good for you, but I'll slum" attitude - I get that some people go for that, but... naaaaaaaaah."

A PURPLE blush "Okay.. okay...just well... yeah. She is a prima bitcha at times." A nod "Okay... fair point... I think it's sweet you want to protect Candi, Shellie and Brandi. Guess trolls are rubbing off on you. Now come on, let me show you where our resident boggan family of construction workers live"

"Right! Back to work. Maybe when we're done with patrol, we can revisit that hedge..."

A blush "Well, thought we'd stop by Lucita's family's restaurant for some Italian.." Annnd of she leads her

(Fade to Patrol)

The hawk flies over the land, eyes searching as only a bird of prey can, above, with vision so acute that field mice a quarter mile away will have to work to hide.

That's when the hawk spots the gun. Were it your average animal, even something as majestic as a hawk, it might pay a human raising a gun no mind. Instead, it seems to sense that it s a target. Illogical thinks the hawk with disdain I would be terrible eating. And I don't believe I'm near enough to live stock to be a threat

When the gun goes off, the Hawk is already prepared and moves to the side, then dives with great rapidity

As suspected, the high school aged asshole did not expect that, and barely has time to reorient. He can't bring the gun back up fast enough to fire again, not accurately anyway

Razor sharp talons hook into the hand holding the stock of the gun, Be glad the Hawk thinks, That I don't take a finger

The boy yelps in pain! This isn't fun anymore! The gun falls from his hand into the wet earth! He turns to see the hawk is now straddling his shoulder, and rears back now as if to peck his eye out! It could do that, seize a visual orb and gulp it down as easy as the young man would a grape!

Instead, the hawk lets loose the classic "KIIIII YAAAA!" Sound! A noise that it meant to carry through the sky, point blank and personal in the would be 'sportsman's' face! Never EVER do this again to any beast unless you are defending yourself or starving! The Hawk thinks, hoping that the shooter gets the not so subtle hint.

Man is not so advanced a species when it it comes to fight or flight. A human can be as instinctive as anything else. So it is perfectly normal when the once 'badass guy with the gun' pisses himself, and runs like hell covering his head and screaming

The hawk harries him once... twice, and then lets the boy go.

And making sure it is alone , the hawk then transforms into a man, fit, tall, and still a bit irked. Of course, no man changes shape so easily. This is a fae spirit merged with human body, a giant contained in mortal coil. Jonas, feathers fading and now with arms and hands of his own again, picks the gun up and looks it over and snorts The proclivities of the cruel and petty stir me to disgust far more than they do wrath. Let's hope the 'great white hunter' learns a lesson, or next time I'll turn him into a deer during hunting season

A look at the gun, and a snort again. In the mean time, he's got a gun to dispose of.

********

Gerd always feels a bit bad about takin 'buddy' on a leash, but Connor deserves to be out in the mortal world some, and this is the best way to do it given his slipped seeming.

And besides, walking by shops is a smell a palooza for him

Pretzels from one store... BBQ from another place. A perfume store smells of vanilla...

Buddy trots along, a jaunty skip in each step of his paws, sniffing the air in delight.

"Cute fellow" A large man, rather over weight smiles and nods "Thinnk he'd like a cheeto?"

"I know for a fact he'd love a cheeto" she eyes the man's bag "But you don't have to"

He bends down and offers the puppy a cheeto

Gerd has mixed feelings about this. Sometimes folks expect 'buddy' to do tricks.

He sits up on his back legs and spins in a circle! He was not asked to do tricks, but he likes to sometimes... and he VERY MUCH likes Cheetos. Crunch!

"oh he's great" the big man grins after the puppy spins then bites down his well earned reward "Wha's his name?"

"We call him Buddy" Gerd says, then motions Connor on "Let's get going again you shamless show off"

But she smiles

He trots along obligingly

"he was nice" She whispers to him as they walk away from the crowd "Okay... now I have to tell you something. I'm gonna be gone for a few weeks "

He stops short, and looks up at her, ears flopping to one side comically.

"Adorbs..." She admits, "But yes. I'll be gone on a trip with the Mountain"

He looks up at her, and then sits up straight and paws at the collar with his name on it, then looks at her once more, a paw raised.

"Come on.. We'll talk" she picks him up, and goes around a corner counting and a flash.. annd they're in the woods, nice annd private. She gets tthe collar off "Sec. there." Annd she closes her eyes and waits

"Woof." He says, aloud. "Do you think we can get more cheetos?" Hopeful.

She breaks into a laugh

her eyes open "I thought you'd be upset at me leaving you be for a couple of weeks" She hugs him

He hugs her back. "Can't I come with? I can behave in a truck."

He seems hopeful, but not heartbroken.

"Sorry, Bro. I think Sir Franklyn might find that one too many. I'm lucky he's lettingg me along." A smile "But I will miss you, and I'll ttext and call. Okay?"

He pouts. "I never get to go on trips to the real world. They won't even let me go to the jellybean world, neither."

"I'm sorry" she nods "it sucks and I can say a lot of stuff, but you have a right to feel a bit cheated. Maybe one day we can find way to disguise your pooka features with the rigght cantrips or a treasure, but I won't promise it because I donn't know"

"What CAN I do , really do, to help?" She asks

He thinks about it for a moment. "I've never gotten a post card."

"Or any mail."

She tries to translate that, "Well... Post Cards I can do" She ssays thinking on it

"Maybe... selfies of places I'm at so you can see them too?"

"I don't like the phone... you could maybe send them to Dagmar. Sylvi fixed her phone all gooder than it even was."

He hasn't been wearing the fancy GPS watch phone for some time now, he may have gotten tired of the toy.