#brightwindsbarony

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Grete waits, patiently - well, she seems like she could wait all day, but radiates eagerness to get going, as Sylvi finishes her call.

Sylvi hangs up and puts her phone away. "Okay, so...hiking, right? Hang on, let me just change my shoes."

"Was there something special you wanted to see? Or just the places I like?" The girl seems intent on fulfilling her duty - and earning her reward!

"I don't know the area at all. You're the expert. What do you think I should see?" After putting on some sturdier walking shoes, she checks her makeup and hair, and grabs her spear. "Okay, ready."

"There's a trail museum, but it's closed for now. I used to like to hang out there. They let you stay all day if you don't make a fuss. It was like a library, but with rocks and history and stuff." She leads out of the main housing proper, and considers the nearest path towards a trail to explore.

"A rock library. Neat idea."

And she eyes Sylvi, judging her shoes as capable. "A bit of a hike, but... want to see the Lion?"

"There's a lion out here? Um...sure?" Not sure how much of a fight she's letting herself in for.

A grin. Once they're outside, she orients, and starts trekking. As soon as they are away from any buildings tall enough to obscure the view, it's obvious as she gestures to a clearly visible rock formation that dominates to the northeast. "That's Sleeping Lion Mountain."

Sylvi looks, then spots the shape, an she grins. "Oh, that's cool."

Or as Vince might prefer to call it 'Whatever sculptor did this while I snoozed , I think they really got the essence'

It's not too obviously a lion, but the sense of lazy feline sprawl is perfectly clear.

"I don't know if there's actually a lion there. Or if it was a lion, maybe a BIG one, and fell asleep and petrified ages and ages ago."

"Or maybe someone saw a mountain lion there once." As they tromp along.

Indeed, if a mountain could project a sense of contented snooze, this one does

"It looks like one big ridge, but when you get closer, it has all these... outcroppy... bits." It's second nature to her, but she may not have the geologic terms to describe properly. Grete does her best.

"Tell me about Lady Sparrow?" She asks, once they've reached the start of a trail and left behind any passersby.

"You're not the one who brought her. I heard that was a pirate captain with a wicked scar and eye patch, and she has claws like a lion when she gets angry..."

"Well, let's get closer and you can show me," Sylvi says, and then they're on the trail.

Sylvi grins. "That's Siv. She's like my cousin. She'll be coming back here soon, at least, that's the plan. As for Lady Sparrow...she's a good person. Love art, and really likes kids."

"And she can kick butt in a fight."

"She looks kinda... spindly. She really beat Harkkon?" Then again, compared to trolls and Wichtels, any Sidhe may look spindly.

"Well, I wasn't here, but that's what the story is. I think it was kind of a combined effort to set things up, and then Lady Sparrow made the final defeat." A glance at the girl. "You're really okay with that, right? I mean, him being your uncle and all?"

Her expression tightens, and they continue on a bit. Stooping to pick up a bit of loose gravel, she rubs it between her fingers. "He wasn't really. He pretended. For my parents, and me, when I was younger. Then when I turned into Me, I saw him as a Sidhe. But I guess he never really was my uncle."

"You mean...you think the sidhe came before you were born?"

"I think so. When I Woke Up, he was already here. But he didn't have to pretend any more."

"Are all sidhe like that? Liars? Lady Sparrow seems nice."

Sylvi doesn't answer right away. "They're not all liars. And they're definitely not all bad. But their priorities and commoner priorities don't always mix. Still...Lady Sparrow is House Liam. Do you know what that means?"

Brow crinkles. "They care more about mortals than us. And they are oathbreakers." It seems that her upbringing may have skewed towards the Dry Tears teaching.

"They are a seelie house, and their symbol is a tree?"

"That's them. And they're cursed so sometimes you're going to feel like you can't trust them even when you can, so that's confusing. But Lady Sparrow..." A pause. "I've never had any real reason to distrust her. I had some childish reasons in the past, but all I've ever actually seen her do is good stuff."

This is pondered. "She can't be WORSE." That much she is certain of.

"Than a Balor? Nope, nowhere close."

"She let everyone out. And the suckers are gone." Rubbing at her neck a bit in unpleasant memory. "And she didn't take stuff like it belonged to her. Harkkon thought he owned everything. And everyone. We were just... his stuff to play with."

Sylvi sighs. "Balor are twisted, inside and out. I'm sorry you had to go through that."

She shrugs. "He was nice to me at first. But he didn't like it when I said no." A stubborn scowl. "He thought he could wait me out and I'd give in. He doesn't GET Wichtels. We're stubborner than Trolls, even." Proud.