#bergen_county

A knocking on the door to the lodge, perfunctory, before opening and stepping in. "Hearth Kerri?" Piper calls out, inquiring.

"Piper?" Kerri looks out from the kitchen. "Well, look at you! It's been ages!"

Piper has looked better! She is a bit pale and off color. And... sparkly? Glitter is in her curly hair, which is pulled back with a couple of messy barrettes out of her face on the side that is long - the other side shorn in a hip cut.

"Sorry I haven't been by to visit. Been on the go a lot, and...I hate to say it, but I'm here to ask a favor."

Kerri's welcoming expression grows concerned instead. "Come here...." she puts a gentle hand on the satyr's shoulder and ushers her towards the kitchen. "Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

"Oh, don't mention food, please." She looks a bit green around the gills, certainly. "I think I'm poisoned. I mean, no - " She says to ward off any sudden worry. "Not poison, not like Siv deals with, but like, food poisoning. I think I poisoned myself, to be honest."

"Poisoned yourself? Piper...okay, we're going to take care of you, take a seat." She indicates one of the kitchen stools that's sized for non-trolls.

She slides into the chair. "And I hate to bother you, but it's just been coming for days, but Sylvi is away, and my Siv is off with her, and our Jonas, well, I haven't barely seen him since he went off on some so-and-so quest, and the only person around was Rikki, and when I asked her to bring me a bucket, snakes, and GLITTER popped out of it, and..." She claps a hand over her mouth, looking around in sudden urgency.

Kerri knows the look well, and she smoothly produces a smallish empty dishtub and puts it in Piper's lap, holding her forehead.

Doesn't seem to be a fever - maybe a bit warm, but she did just come from the sunny walk over. "HURK!" Kerri made it just in time!

"M'sorry!" Piper says when the heaves let up for a moment. "I should have known better, honest - I just... HRRRRBLBLBLBLGURGLE."

"Shhh-shhh....don't worry, it's not your fault." Heatherbalm doesn't normally work well against poison, but it may soothe the inner damage a bit, and Piper might notice the tingling warmth of glamour from Kerri's palm against her head, and the same feeling between her shoulderblades as Kerri rests her other hand there. "Just let it out, and then take slow breaths."

The heatherbalm brings a little color back into her wan complexion, and though she looks a little worried for another minute or two, it seems that the heaves have blessedly passed. "I did my own double whammy with food poisoning, or maybe stomach flu, or both... see, there's this 5 night cruise line that leaves from Cape Liberty and they were short a singer... they say not to go on cruises, but, YOLO, and it was free passage for performing..."

"Oh, dear. That was definitely a risk." If the worst of it seems to have passed, Kerri sets the dishpan aside to tend to later, and she gets a cool dishcloth and gives it to Piper to wipe her face with.

Now she has a somewhat miserable and guilty look as she reaches for a handkerchief to wipe her face. "And I know better than to mess with my diet, but they had this prime rib and oysters platter, and I don't EAT meat or fish, but they just looked so good..."

/coin

"Here, I'm going to give you a bit of candied ginger. It's not a cure-all, but it might help settle things a bit."

At the mention of the food she turns green a bit again, but the heatherbalm manages to tamp down the impulse to ralph once more.

"Chew on this," she says, offering over a tin, "let the flavor get into your tongue, don't swallow it too quickly."

She accepts and sucks on one of the ginger pieces. "That's... a bit better I think. I've been back for almost a week but things keep... coming up."

Gratitude clear in her face at the reprieve.

"A week? Oh, Piper...that's far too long. You're probably dehydrated. Do you think you can drink a bit if you take it slowly?"

Inhale, exhale, and she nods. "I think I can, now. I'd been trying to chug gatorade and pedialyte - they're great for hangovers - but it kept coming back up, and I can't stand the taste of "RED" any more. I'm surprised my toilet isn't permanently dyed pink. Jesus, I hope Rikki doesn't think of that."

"Definitely not something to say near her." Kerri gives her a tall glass of cool water, and also starts heating water for herbal tea. "Just a moment..." She takes the tub away and disposes of the contents, bringing it back freshly rinsed and left within easy reach.

"I'm wondering if you could hold down some dry toast."

"I'll try it. Just... not prime beef and rocks with sea snot in them again."

A grin. "I promise. So, aside from all of that, was there anything pleasant about the trip?" She sets to work and soon there is toast and tea on the counter in front of Piper.

"It was fun! A lot more seniors than I expected, but a good crowd, and when the drinks are flowing, they can still cut a rug on the dance floor. The cruise company had originally mentioned offering an ongoing contract, and there's certainly glamour to be had from it, but I'm not sure if they'll still want me since I missed the last night of the cruise. Their DJ had to fill in with prerecorded tunes, and he thought of a karaoke night, but still, very unprofessional. I'm just glad I didn't miss more, but mostly I've been waking UP to throw up. It comes and goes." She shakes her head grumpily.

A cautious nibble at the toast.

"Well, don't give up entirely yet. I'm sure a cruise line is more than a little familiar with dealing with performers who get sick."

"Maybe." She perks up a bit. "They said if I worked long enough or signed a contract for x-number of events, I could even get promo tickets for guests. Though, if I tell them about MY experience, it doesn't sound as thrilling. Ugh. Still not sure what made me think "Gee Piper, you've been vegetarian for like 7 years, but TODAY is the day to load up on the carnivore buffet!"

"You're taking after Siv. Fearless risk-taker." A wink. "If the toast stays down, you might want to try a nice vegetable broth next."

Then a blink. "You said Siv is off with Sylvi?" That little fact just managed to register.

Piper waves a hand a bit absently. "She had a mission, but I think it involved a troll lodge, so she was a better wingman than I." Still, perhaps a touch of a pout. "If I'd told Siv I was sick she might have stayed..." A bit of duplicitousness to her tone. "Buuuuut, if she's running off, I'm sure there's an important reason."

"Do you have any pickles?" She has finished the toast, and sips at the tea, color back in her face. "Something sour sounds really good right now. And I think I remember someone saying that you did canning. Or maybe that was Tove? My mama Vee used to make these spicy dills whenever the cuke season hit the farmers market."

"Pickles we've got," Kerri says, and she fetches a jar from the pantry. Yes, home canned. Troll strength pops the lid open easily, and she offers them over to Piper. "Hmm. Sylvi didn't mention a mission to me..." Not quite a pout, but perhaps a bit put-out in a motherly way.

She fishes one out and crunches happily. "Man, that hits the spot." Snagging a second, and then a third for her plate.

"'Fraid I don't know the details, I just barely caught Sylvi for a wave on her way out after she was raiding some closets for a dress."

"Well...she's with Siv...so this is a situation that could go very well or quite chaotically, but they're likely to get out mostly unscathed." A hopeful tone.

Then she adds, "Eat those slowly, don't gobble."

"Sorry, you're right. I don't want to undo any good work you've done. Thank you, by the way." She slows down to a crunchy nibble pace. "I was almost to the point of being afraid to go to sleep because I'd wake up throwing up. Even if I hadn't managed to eat the night before. Ugh. Never been sick like that, and I do not recommend it."

A hopeful look to Kerri. "I don't suppose you know Sylvi's trick with a can of ginger ale for later?"

"Well, I don't know how to do what she does, but I do have some ginger ale you can take with you." She fetches a can from the fridge.

"There's a vending machine at Goldfinch, but it mostly gives shrimp chips or celery flavored soda. The latter is good in a bloody mary, surprisingly."

"How long does food poisoning.. or norovirus.. generally last? I'm not sure which. No one else got sick that I know of, so maybe not a virus. I have a little gig coming up midweek, and am wondering if I should cancel rather than look like a flake."

"Well...that's the thing. It shouldn't have lasted this long. A day or so." Kerri seems concerned. "Is it happening all day?"

"Sometimes during the day, but mostly in the morning. I wake up with my stomach just churning." Wistful. "I wish Jonas was here. He makes us soup if we get sick, and it's somehow the best thing ever." A moment's thought, and "...is it hard, having a Rover for a lover - well, Husband? With Mr. Olgar always on the go like he is?"

"It can be," Kerri says, but she's giving Piper a strange look.

She takes a sip of the tea, then catches the glance. "Something on my face? Oh god, it's not vom, is it? I should go wash... a shower - maybe a shower for a WEEK..."

"No, you're fine. I tell you what...you head upstairs, get that shower, maybe take a nap if you like. You can borrow Sylvi's bed, I'm sure she wouldn't mind. I might need to run an errand, but I won't leave you for too long without checking on you."

"You sure?" She says, but she's already rising, eager to get the feeling of "sick" off of her body.

"Of course, don't be silly. Get clean, get some rest, enjoy the balefire. I'm just glad you're looking better than you did when you first came in."