#elsewhere

*****

Olgar cleans his hawg with love and attention

The Harley is as macho an item as he owns, and he has refered to it as 'two wheels of AWESOME Masculinity' nothing toxic about it

At some point after the meeting of the wilders and finishing up the trail ride with Dagmar, Sylvi spots her dad working on his motorcycle, and she meanders over. She doesn't say anything at first as she comes up behind him, just watching.

"There you go, you big beautiful brute... daddy's got you all shined up" The blight faced man has the chrome at a high shine, and is cooing at it the same way some folks talk to their cats or dogs

She smirks. "I keep forgetting I have a big brother named Hawg."

A chuckle and glance over his shoulder "Yeah, your mom has made similar jokes. " he throws the cleaning cloth into a nearby bucket after wipinngg his hands, then turns to his little (not so little anymore) girl "How you doing?"

She doesn't mind if he's a little grimy...she gives him a big hug. "I'm okay. You?"

"Your old man is going less far afield. Hastien's busting his ass in Brightwinds and making it work, and I got some others in contact with me. Mind you, sometimes I still get a request for help so.. I guess you could say you're dad's now 'the specialist' other Rovers call in. Your mom seems to like me hanging around more, or maybe she's just being nice. So I guess I'm doing all right. Bowling night team has me as their star player. I DO miss my daughter, I mean, Hawg's nice, but I don't think he's an interesing conversationalist as you"

She listens, trying to grin, but with a little line forming between her brows. "You're...okay with doing less, now? I mean...it's a choice, right?"

"I don't do less, I just do different, Patrols onn the roads local as well as trods, bit of work around the house... but yeah, it's a choice. It's easy to act immortal because our fae souls continue, but the truth is: Olgar Davidson , the changelinng, only has ONE life. So I'm gonna live it where I'm happiest" A grin of wolf teeth

That gets a more honest grin and a little sigh of relief. "Well...it's a good place. A really good place." She looks around at the familiar scenery.

"Did Rivervale always feel like home to you, Dad?"

He ponders "No... at one time it felt like a club that kept wrinkling noses if they found I had somehow slipped past the velvet rope."

"Oh, right. That's where the stuff between you and Uncle Frank started, right?"

"Well, it wasnn't just him. You gotta understand, there was a strong distrust of openly unseelie back in the day in Bergen, even here. Not without reason, as just about every asshole who ever took a shot at Frank or Brekke was of that court. But it put a bias into them," He explains "Still, it was a prejudice, and I called them on it, in my way. To my surprise, the Chief's reaction was to strive to be just. Heh, your Uncle Frank ad I clashed for more reasons than Court... but that was a big factor yeah"

She thinks about that. "I guess I get that. "

"Now you can ask your mom, but IMO with her? I think she was wild enough to think I had a bad boy appeal, and was wise eough to call me on my bullshit. Hard to say 'change is good' in the Chief's face, onnly to have this hot Hearth look you right in the eye with a 'why aren't you improving then?' kind of sass"

A genuine grin. "Mom's always been badass, is what you're saying."

"Well yeah," He nods "But if I may not so humble brag, when she threw the challenge down, I picked it up and surprised her by making her mine and me hers. Again, you'd have to ask her, but I think she was as surprised as anyone when she realized I wormed my way into her heart," Olgar grins "And I'm not going to lie, I'm STILL smug at that notion."

"Been doing victory laps about it since before you were born" A wink

She smiles at that, then fidgets a bit as she looks at the motorcycle instead of at him.

"I take it Dark Gate's not goingg like you hoped?"

A quick, wide-eyed look at him before she bites her lip and looks away again. A sigh. "I guess...I'm not as badass as I thought I was...."

the blighted face gentles, "How so?"

A shrug, still not looking at him. "I...think it was a mistake. I think...with everything locked-down, and no school except distance school and stuff...it just seemed like there wasn't any reason not to take on the job up there when Chieftain Hewitt asked. I mean...important work...good house...boyfriend right there..." A shrug. "It made sense, right?"

"It did" he does not deny it.

"Yeah. But...." A deep breath. "I guess I didn't calculate in how I'd feel when it looked like all my friends would actually be able to have their senior year, and I wouldn't be there."

"mmm, that's a pickle" He nods , "You love Colton, but you miss friends. You respect Chief Hewit, but you're not a fan of the hold. Do I got that rightt?"

A very sheepish look. "Yeeeahhhhh. Plus, I am doing good work up there, but...this is weird...I actually miss school, too. Like, real school."

"That's not weird. You're a good student and enjoyed the cheerleading. Also, hon, you w ere kind of a queen bee there. In a good way"

She bites her lip again, then says, "That's pretty shallow of me, huh?"

"How the hell is it shallow to enjoy excelling? or more accurately, it's nnot JUST shallow. Heck, take a look at your mom.. she grouses a bout Pennons sometimes, the work, the build up.... you think she doesn't LOVE winning prizes for her food? She's a gracious winner, mind you, but while that is nnot all she is, she enjoys it."

She thinks about that. "Dad...I was talking with some of the other wilders here. They...they think I should try to come back to school here. Like, commute from DarkGate." A little grin. "Crazy, huh?"

"Let's see, we got flicker flashers, and a solid trod..." A look "It's doable. If something attacks you on the trod you might arrive to school with Chimerical wounds... but oddly that sometimes happened in Rivervale too"

"No doubt," she agrees. "I...I think I'd like to? Or at least, I'd like to try. But...I don't know if I can do all that."

"Ah..." A nod "Sounds like your confidence took a hit."

She scuffs a foot. "Maybe. Which is stupid, 'cause everything's going okay with the stuff I'm doing at DarkGate."

"You had expectations, and they did't match the reality you found, or you didn' take other things into account. So, evenn with a success, it feels like you failed... and you don't want to fail again.. Like if you come back here, ad Don't get to be Cheer Captain.. which COULD happen, Sherry has upped her game and made inroads. It's not just ego.. it's that sense that folks have expecations of YOU, and if you drop a ball, you feel as if you betrayed a trust." A look at her, "Baby, failure is a given in life. There's always a small chance even at something you're great at. Good odds if you're not so great, and one hundred percent if you don't try. And .. y'know what? It's OKAY to fail. It's gonna happen, either a failure of deed, or a failure of vision. The whole learning process is based on failures met, and adapted to. Stop worrying about whether this will bite you in the ass so much, and ask yourself this.. what do you want to TRY?"

After a pause, still looking down at her sneakers, she almost whispers, "It's not baby-ish that I want to come home?"

"Shit baby, your dad is taking shorter patrols because he wants to come home too. Annd I got nnews fo you, I'd look terrible in a diaper. So.. no, it's not. You're young, you're figuring out what you want, that's part of being a wilder. You want to be home. You want to graduate high school and see your sennior year out. You've discovered this. Isn't learning what you want with your life part of the reason you tried Dark Gate out? "

"Y-yeah," she agrees tentatively. Then a deep breath. "Then...I'll talk with Chieftain Hewitt about it." A pause. "And Colton. It'll mean less time I'm there."

"The Chief we can work with ...pretty sure. he's a Dougal. They can be practical about stuff. " A look "Colton... mmm... well hon, ask your mom about that one, but Colton a good man"

"I think he'll understannd"

Then he blinks "Shit"

"I will," she says about Colton. Then she looks at him, "What?"

"I got to move my bait and tackle collection out of your closet don't I?"

That gets a surprised laugh which is mixed with some tears. "I didn't even want to ask about my room...."

Her father hugs her "Cmere" A chuckle "Look, now that you've made up your mind? I can tell you, your mom AND I miss you annd are going to be delighted you've come back. Okay? So yeah, your room is your room again, we'll straighten stuff out fumigate... and it will all work out. We'll ggett the paperwork started to make sure credits with the DeBukes transfer smooth. And... frankly? I think the Lodge here needs you more than WE realized. I'm nnot just saying that as a father. I think the Chief is figuring out how much a center piece you were to the wilders"

It's such a relief to have it all confessed and resolved that she just dissolves into sobs as her dad holds her.