#earthrunes

August clears his throat when they part "Ah.... how has your summer been?"

A smile. "Blissfully free of school work."

A sigh. "Yes. I only have a month of seminar left." resigned disappointment.

"I'm sure you'll find plenty of research opportunities after that," she comforts him.

He nods bravely. "I plan on it."

"And I am thinking to take up more hours at the legal clinic."

"You are enjoying the work?"

"I am!" he smiles "We can always find some way to help others."

"Tell me," she invites as they stroll. "Whom have you been helping recently?"

"Oh, ah." he thinks "You know, unrelated to the legal office, but Tylar has been helping a young woman with suicidal ideations. It was taxing him, and together we found resources to provide better solutions for her. More long-term."

"And at the office, there are several women seeking relief from abusive situations. Custody cases. Wage theft, that's a big one."

"Oh, I'm so glad you were able to help Tylar and the woman. And the other women as well. I don't suppose there are any opportunities for me to enjoy delivering outraged retribution to the people who put all of them in these situations?" A winsome, hopeful smile.

"Ahhhh... Not... not as such."

"Spoilsport."

"Best to let the law handle it." he suggests.

"Why?" she challenges. "I'm sorry my love. I know that the work you do with the law can actually help those find the resources they require, but mortal law often seems to be unable to do much of anything about punishing the guilty."

He walks a few steps. "It's... complicated."

"The abusers were often abused themselves. Custody cases are usually about hurt people hurting people. Wage theft... that can often be solved through education and fines, and the victims are compensated past the amount of the theft."

"So the thief is fined...but is still a thief, and will likely thieve again. Legal consequences might leave some impression, but terror is far more instructive in some cases."

"Which is where the personal fines and public notices come into play."

She looks dubious about their effectiveness.

"And, educating the workers so they understand when they are being stolen from and that here -is- recourse. And, of course, education for the employers."

"We had a case where the employer had to pay for trainers to come to the workplace, shut the business down for a full day, pay all the workers at any level, management down to the dishwasher, to attend training on the topic. And that was on top of the fines, and the personal fines."

"And...has the employer changed? As a person?"

"It is beyond my abilities to look into or judge the soul of another." August tempers "But we have had no further complaints about him or the business. And, we can audit his onboarding at anytime to ensure the education is included with new hires."

She considers this a few moments, then nods. "All right. We'll count that one a victory. But if there are more stubborn ones...well...perhaps Squire Velvet would like to be in charge of a well-placed nightmare in those cases. The story of the miser visited by ghosts is central in mortal tales."

"Actually, Squire Velvet has a rather long-term mission in hand already." And he explains about the cemetaries.

Her eye light up. "Oh, August, that's brilliant."

A shy grin. "It was a stroke of luck that I thought of it."

"My clever love. It's a meaningful task, and it's very well suited to her. She'll be thrilled."

"And she can have company, or not, as she chooses."

A soft laugh. "If she invites Tylar, they'll fuss about what to clean and how much."

A smile. "And she can invite other sluagh to assist."

"Very true." She smiles. "I imagine a sluagh picnic must be quite an experience."

"Indeed." he nods gravely.

A curious look. "Is that the voice of experience talking? You've known her for far longer than I...have you attended such an outing?"

"No! No. We've taken tea. And ... I believe I recall an outdoor tea, but not in bright sunshine."

"Oh, I would hardly expect such a thing in bright sunshine with her, no." A pause as a thought comes to her, but she only smiles as they walk.

"Hmmm?" curiously.

"Oh, I just recalled a certain picture. Of a certain sluagh enjoying a beach despite bright sunshine, courtesy of a large, lacy, black umbrella."

August clears his throat and blushes flamingly.

She squeezes his arm lovingly.

He gives her a guilty side-look.

"Oh, stop," she says with a soft laugh. "You know I don't mind."

"-I- mind." softly "She would."

"You mind that she would mind. But don't mind the fact of it. You haven't acted upon the attraction, so there's been no violation. And...I'm not sure how much she'd really mind."

"That it would trouble her at all is not acceptable."

"Well, it won't be mentioned, so she won't have an opportunity to be troubled."

August nods and exhales, relieved.

Amused, Coradel shakes her head.