#debukefarmhold

Piper pops out of the Footbridge trod, rubbing her rump, and mutters back behind her, "If you don't want someone to pick the hats off your Hat Tree, you should put up a sign, not just swat people."

A sigh, even now with memories fading of other parts of the Dreaming, the image of that tempting hat stays clear.

A hat that looks good with horns is a rare prize, but yet, one that eludes her still. Trotting onward, she heads into the Farm proper, and turns down the pathway where she remembered seeing an ancient old lady, rocking pleasantly in the sun, with her shotgun in front of a fruit-laden tree...

The old woman is still there, still rocking. It would appear Guard Duty suits her

either that or she likes being able to nap in the sun now and then ...

"Afternoon, auntie. Mighty fine day to be out sitting and getting the sun shine, innit?" She says, pausing a polite distance away. Mind you, polite normally and polite to someone with a shotgun might be a little different.

"Auntie?" The woman opens an eye "You ain't kin to me." a pause "But you do look familiar"

"No ma'am," She admits, "But one of my mommas is a good southern girl and taught me that auntie is far more polite that what many folk might say to a lady whose seen enough summers to know a thing-or-two more than me." A grin. "I was coming by to admire your charge there, and remembered that I saw you out here the last time I was by. Guarding can be mighty thirty work. Could I grab you a glass of sweet tea from the kitchen? Or maybe..." She puts her hand to her back, where something clinks with a musical slosh. "Oh, probably not, never you mind.

A brow "Now don't tell me what to nevermind here... you start out sweet and then tell me what not to mind? I know you now, you're the girl what helped bring this all about. .. you and your cousin. What's that you got though? " A sniff of the air

"Yes, ma'am. It was mostly Zane's work, he's the clever one, I just got stuck on guard duty and had to guess a good time to throw. It WAS a treat watching the sidhe in charge get a taste of his own medicine though, I'm not sure he'll ever be able to look a pooka in the eye without blushing again." She says with a grin. "Now I never guessed that a tree would grow, nor one half so lovely as this one." Trotting closer to chat.

"I'm Piper, ma'am, and pleased as punch to meet you." Offering a hand.

She checks to make sure the shotgun is not pointing at the girl, and sets it down safe and all , she eyes the hand and takes it "Clever boy your cousin, but that was a good throw. I'm Petunia Leigh DeBuke.. .. Auntie if you wish, or Widow Petutnia if you like. Three husbands I've had.. none of them could go the distance. Guess they realized who they married and considered their options" a firm shake

"Pleased to meet you, Auntie Petunia." Shaking her hand. "And What I have here is a bottle of smoked mead, a gift from a kind goat named Jack over Earthrunes-ways. It's a mite too smokey for my taste, see, but I thought I might see if Mountain Emmit cared for it, I don't know if he's the drinking sort, but he was very kind to me and my beau when we came by this way on a quest." She draws forth the bottle, along with another. "And this here is just brandy in case he doesn't like homemade mead, I figure one is smokey and one is sweet, and surely he'd like one."

"You trying to flatter him or embalm him girl?" She eyes and sniffs looking tempted by both "Smoke mead you say?"

"Yes ma'am. I don't suppose you'd like to try a touch?" She says, rhetorically, as she's already offering the bottle over. "I figured maybe I could find a place to gift whichever bottle I didn't give him, as I'm not rightly supposed to be carrying alcohol outside of holds until I'm 21." A sigh. "Mortals are so stodgy about some things."

"Well, best I check it out... on guard duty and all" She nods and takes it, and in a most unlady like fashionn (Depending on things) takes a swig!

"Ooo that's a good strength to it. And yeah, Sons of Adam are arbitrary folk" She says "Send you to die before they'll send you to drink"

"Auntie, who all is it that you're on guard against, anyways?"

"Mostly wilders.." A smacking of lips

"Young lads and lasses do get tempted"

"Mostly wilders, or most wilders?" She settles down to a comfortable cross-legged sit alongside Petunia. "See, I have to admit, I had some thought earlier about how to try to beg, borrow, or steal one of these fruits myself." Her hands held up, to show that she no longer harbors such ill-mannered thoughts!

"But, Auntie, I would like to know if it would be possible to ASK you for one. As someone who had a part in seeing the magic that went into work to bring this tree to life, I have an idea of how powerful it may be. And... I can't say what I need it for, other than NOT what most wilders would have in mind - what most teenagers have in mind MOST of the time... but for more along the lines of what the original bomb did to some evildoers... it seemed fitting to use the seeds of that cantrip to at least TRY to help foil another, even nastier plot."

"Young lady, how am I supposed to know if you're playing me like one of them fiddles? Not saying you are, not saying you're not, but you smooth talking city satyrs are hard for a farm woman to read..." She takes another swig "This isn't bad though"

A grin at her elder. "Because I play the fiddle a DARN sight better than this. Plus now that I told you my plan, if any fruits DID go missing, I'd be the first person up against the wall for fruit frisking, and that doesn't sound like a good time." A pause. "Well, I guess it depends on who's doing the frisking. You do have a few likely lads here..."

"Mmph, don't go luring them al now.. we already done had a scrawny bean of a sluagh girl come in and corrupt plenty, though she's a good one"

"The only sluagh girl I've met lately is all of, maybe 10 years old, so you can't go blaming her." A grin. "Though if I wasn't seeing someone, I sure would like to see what kind of duet I might make with a certain DeBuke." A smile, remembering his heart-moving solo.

A sip "This will help people you say? Giving you one of these eh?"

"There's some real nasty work in play that our Chief is putting a stop to. I need to distract a group of fellows that wouldn't think twice of taking advantage of a lady... and I figure, I could use all the help I can get. I'd tell you more if I was allowed to, but even if I were, some of what I heard even censored was enough to put me off my feed."

"mm you know? " Petunia says "The Chieftain of Rivervale is a good lass... I do not care for her serv ing a sidhe, but I hear it's an old oath... and she deals well enough with the affliction of the so called feudals. Point is, she's a good'un.. but don't feel... what's the word? Epic, to just hand it over. Hows about I ask you a riddle? You get three guesses... get it right... and I'll let you pick a fruit from the tree."

"That sounds fair..."

"Say my name and I disappear. What am I?" A sip

A grin. "Silence!"

"Weellll I'll be hornswaggled... should have done the one about the brothers with the clock face.. you youngsters don't even SEE those now a days much" She nods to the tree "Help yourself to a juicy one as suits"

She turns and looks up at the tree, and reaches for a ripe-looking fruit.

There's a click of a double barrel shot gun... and as PIper's eyes widen the old woman grins "Just pulling your leg. Go ahead"

A laugh, and she carefully snaps the pomegranate free. She gives the stem end a sniff like she might a fresh orange to check ripeness, and see how it smells...

Ooh.. lusty and juicy

She has to tuck it away into her bag before she's tempted it give it a sample lick... oh, it's potent! "Thank you, Auntie. And while I hate to chat and run, would that bottle of mead be a decent thank you for your company? I would like to come back some time, no plots, honest, and maybe if you have a favorite tune or two, I can keep you company while you while away your hours on duty."

"More than enough, little lady, but I would not object to a re visit as Da'an allows, but don't spend TOO much time sitting with old folk... young legs were meant for moving" A nod

"Yes ma'am!" And she heads on her way back homeward, River Vale ho, to do some quick and dirty testing with the powers of fruit juice.

An old woman takes a sip "Nope. Too good for Emmit. Sides, he's got mountaining to do"

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