#brightwindsbarony

Wichtels are not built for sneaking. But Grete is trying to let her feet fall softly as she moves into the new Baroness's chambers. She didn't hear anyone inside, so chances are she's off muckety-mucking with her court, and Grete can sneak in unobserved.

Sparrow's chambers are up high - big sky and big windows!

Grete is distracted by that for a moment. Moving over to peer out one of the windows - it's high, but solid, so she doesn't get that sense of vertigo... and seeing the land laid out all before her, the hills and mountains and trails... it IS nice...

A soft nose pokes Grete's knee.

She looks down!

Big soft eyes and a pink nose. Wag!

“Oh. Um. I don’t have anything. I’m sorry.”

Ladybird doesn't seem to mind.

A soft pat on her head. She doesn’t seem used to dogs, but, patting is correct, right? So, she gently pats.

“I don’t suppose you can talk? They said you were a fae dog.”

"Whuff." Tail wags, patting seems acceptable.

“You’re not going to tell on me, then.” She relaxes a touch. “I’m not -snooping-.”

The soft brown eyes seem to agree!

She shows the dog a small parcel. It doesn’t smell like much. Mostly like Grete. Wrapped in plain craft paper. “I was going to leave this in here.”

She sniffs the parcel. Wag!

Grete scouts around the room. To look for a place to leave the gift... but also curious at how the new Lady may have decorated her room. Silks and satins? Skulls and chains?

Breezy curtains, strings of beads, colorful rag rugs to soften the stone floors without hiding it entirely.

Beads? She reaches up to touch them, wondering if they are stone.

Wood, alas!

Still, they are pretty! Finally she sets the small gift on a bedside table... or failing that, on the bed atop a pillow, where is can be found.

Indeed - mostly wood and cotton. Natural materials.

Ladybird gets another pat. "Did anyone give you a Yule gift? Let's find what the kitchen has." She offers.

"Whuf!" Kitchen! She knows kitchen!

A smile, and she carefully leaves the door how she found it, open or closed, and true to her word, will find a snack for the dog.

----

Some time later, the baroness returns to her room. She kicks off her shoes and stretches.

Sparrow pads over to check the sky and smiles at the view.

A smile, before she turns. She raises her brows upon spotting the small package, and crosses over to pick it up.

No ribbons or bows, or even a tag - but it does say “Lady Sparrow” written on it in (somewhat shaky) calligraphy.

"Hm."

She unwraps it! Careful to not eip the part of the paper with the writing.

It’s... a rock! But a lovely polished one. She’s seen this before, actually, at BeaTK’s shop.... when Sylvi bought it for Grete (on layaway for tour credit).

Sparrow smiles and finds a ribbon to hang it from. It is soon settled in the hollow of her neck.

Feeling accomplished with both her stealth and in having correctly guessed the way to a Labrador’s heart (it was a slice of sausage), Grete returns to her own room.

Ladybird merrily trots after.

Grete finds a brightly wrapped box in front of her door.

She seems a bit puzzled by this. “I don’t have any more sausage...” Showing empty hands.

LICK.

A grin. “Maybe you can still smell it. Oh....” She blinks at the present, and checks for a tag. Something from her parents, maybe? Will it be Neiman Marcus or Gucci this year?

"To Grete, from Sparrow, Happy Yule!"

Eyes widening, she opens the door and moves inside with the box! As an after through, she offers the door to the pooch.

There is some heft to it.

“Want to see?”

Ladybird sits, watching inquisitively.

She turns the box over a few times, examining it with care, before sliding off the ribbon and setting it aside carefully. The paper is also treated nicely, removing it so that it can be preserved. Though it is not without eagerness - more, treating it as something special!

It's a rock tumbler! Grete may have seen one juuussstttt like it at the observatory gift shop.

It comes with little jars of grit in various grades, and a bag of raw stones.

Her eyes widen. At first she is unsure WHAT it is... but as she reads the side of the box, and then the instructions within, a big smile forms.

The stones are nothing fancy - some agate and quartz varieties.

Oh, Tiger's Eye!