#bergen_county

"I do still worry that my moms might feel a bit... sad, that I wanted to know? But they wouldn't have told me if they didn't think I should meet him, right?"

"I think your moms want you to be happy. And they're satyrs, yeah? They want you to be free."

"And that means exploring things."

"What? You're one of the bravest people I know. Well, aside from my Siv, but that doesn't count, she has Fiona boon bolstering her courage. But You've faced monsters and thallain and all sorts of bad guys without blinking an eye. There are songs about you, you know!"

Snort.

"Facing a chimera with Flyswatter is easy."

"But being told... like... I was a mistake?" She grimaces.

"...oh." A small voice. "I guess I didn't think of that. I thought... sure, maybe he didn't know about me. But what if he specifically did, and didn't want me? And that's why he left? That..." she swallows. "Yeah, that would ding my ego, I gotta admit."

"But.. I guess there are enough folk around these days that DO want me around, more than enough to make up for that? And the same goes for you..."

Dagmar nods, sympathetic. "Not that that's for sure, but that's the risk. That meeting him can hurt."

She bites on her lip. "I love my mom. I do. But seeing her is hard. She hurt me, a lot. She's not... very good, at being a mom. But I love her. And I miss her, too. It's... hard."

"Have you seen her since the King's adopted you?"

She shakes her head.

"Do satyrs have an oath like trolls do? For adoption?"

"We might... I don't know. We're all kinda family, us satyrs. Any satyr is considered a cousin, like. And with me, even before I was fae, I was with them. They took me in as a baby. No oaths needed. Just paperwork, I guess."

She nods. "Yeah, for sure."

"Just... I mean, maybe it's because of my kith? The Oath with my parents feels right. Reassuring. So... maybe if you are worried about your moms, you could do something to just, like, reaffirm that relationship, too?"

A smile. "I'll ask them if they want that, maybe, if they're feeling iffy. But for me... Like, I don't need to know who gave birth to me. If SHE came looking for ME? Maybe, then? But I -know- she knows she had a kid, right? And chose to give me up. No hard feelings, but - she made the choice. So my moms are all the mom I ever knew and needed, and then some. It's just... I never knew what it was like having a dad, ever. And seeing Siv getting things toghether for fathers day, and how Sylvi and you act with your dads - Romana with her family, and Zane with Uncle Cornelius... heck, even hearing about your squire reconnecting with his pops. It makes me wonder what I might have missed out on."

A laugh. "Go on, tell me I have 'daddy issues'." Softly self mocking, but in an amused way.

"One thing that's hard for me... it's... like, it's... love isn't pie. It's not like you have so many pieces to dole out, and then you're done. Jenny is still... and Tove is, too." She considers. "I had a lot of men around before Jaymes, but he's the first that was really a dad."

"So... maybe this guy is it. But if he's not, that doesn't mean there's not a relationship like that out there for you, in the future?"

"Well, it's not like you can just... you know... ask a guy to do dad stuff. Maybe with guys it's easier, to have that kinda mentorship with another guy? But it feels, you know. What if there was some sort of... expectation?"

She grunts.

"Yeah, there's guys that see... there's.. there's bad people. But that's not exactly how it happened, for me."

"Jaymes just... he wasn't setting out to be a dad. I wasn't looking for one."

She smiles. "You found each other, though."

Dag's mouth tugs upwards into a surprisingly soft smile. "Yeah."

"I was wondering... you know what you said about being brave? Do you think, if I went to meet my bio-dad... would you go with me?"

"You sure you wouldn't want Siv or Jonas? I'll go, for sure, if you want. Because... well. Yeah. Everything."

"Well... Siv already offered to go. I haven't talked to Jonas yet, he's been taking on extra patrols for Anne Marie as she takes care of her new foster. But, it's like... " An uncomfortable fidget. "My moms didn't react well to either Siv or Jonas at first. It was pretty messy. I don't want... like, if he's... it's just.... maybe I'm being dumb about it."

Firmly and quickly. "No."

"No, you are not being dumb."

Resolved. "I'll go with you."

"If you're sure?" Piper looks up from her glass, eyes bright.

"I'm sure. And everybody knows I suck at lying."

A laugh! "Is that a Gwydion thing? Or just a Dagmar thing?"

"Maybe both? Seriously, the radar goes off in my own head when I lie. Ping, ouch."

A wince! "I'd hate that. Imagine trying to spend an afternoon around Rikki..."

"It... varies."

"Connor is fine. It's there, but..." Shrug.

"He's a sweetie. It's like, his pranks are more like, just being goofy. Rikki's are... well, more elaborate, and sometimes she's the only one laughing. I mean, it can be funny in hindsight, but when I first found my Jello Biafra albums actually in a block of jello? I could have pulled my hair out!"

"..or hers..." She admits with a laugh.

"Oh, that reminds me of when Connor decided to make treats...."

Piper leans in, laughing, to listen.

(Fade to Pooka memories, and that's no lie!)