#bergen_county

"I just.. I.. maybe some of them will still choose the Lodge?"

"Mm." A nod. "This freehold will be small. Its balefire, I mean. It will not be able to serve all needs at all times. I am certain that many will still seek out the Lodge, especially those who still have teachers and friends there," she adds with a brow.

"Besides...we still have Hearth Kerri and her food." Speaking as of a prime treasure.

"Second best food in the county." She nods.

Brekke doesn't argue the detail. "I think we would have difficulty keeping away those who know this."

"True. Kerri's great."

"She is." Brekke nods. "Dagmar...I believe this will all work well. I believe it will serve those who need help. It will be a change...but I believe it will be a good change."

"I mean... I.. some changes can be good, sure. I hate to think where I'd be if my life hadn't changed."

"I mean, I know where I'd be. I'd be alone."

"Your life has changed many times, even since then. Your brother, for example."

"Well, what I was afraid of didn't happen. So... so, stuff I'm afraid of might not happen with this, either."

"Sometimes I envy Siv."

"How so?"

"Being fearless? I'm afraid a lot."

"About stupid stuff, sometimes. Thinking about ways everything can go wrong, how I could lose what I have. When you don't have anything to lose, well... " She shrugs. "It sucks, but it sucks in a different way."

"In this, I sometimes envy Siv, as well. But...not often. For I have much to lose, and I am grateful for all of it."

"Come, now...tell me more of what the man from Rutgers said."

"Oh, okay... so he was watching us when we split into teams..." And so Brekke hears all about camp, and the heats, and the first scout.

And she listens with real attention.

((Fade))