#elsewhere

“Then I’ve got to be the strong one.” She says, perhaps stirring hope, before she continues, “…and stop before I hurt you more. I can’t come back. Not the way things are…. Not the way I am. It’s not… I’m not…”

“I think we need a… a break. Not me keeping you hanging. Some breathing room, for me to try to figure things out. …Not just this, with me keeping you hanging.” She knows that hasn't been fair to Siv, or Jonas, either.

"No... no we are not doing this over the phone it's not... no... for gods sake she's a kid, don't ask me to treat her like others have treated my dad, don't make that a condition..."

"Let's talk face to face..."

“I’m NOT… Siv, that’s what I'm trying not to do…” Piper tries to explain.

"you won't come back with her in my life, not the way things are... you said that I.. it's been four days. .. Please don't shut us down without even looking JOnas and I i nthe eyes"

Piper takes a deep breathe and resists the urge to argue! As much as a goat can dive into debate, she realizes that it's not helping here.

“I’ll find somewhere, a lake you can get, or somewhere I can get to that you can reach... Tomorrow, first thing. Okay? We’ll talk.”

"Okay. I'll bring Jonas, JUST Him and I, I promise"

“Tomorrow morning. I promise.”

"Love you"

She sounds..exhausted

“Love you both.” She responds quietly, as is her custom reply.

And Siv hangs up

probably to go cry and sob in Jonas arms for a few hours, or worse, to just bottle it up and let it eat at her, like a good troll is supposed to do

Piper? well.. there's more beer

or music starting...

or maybe just a nap.

(End scene)

Piper seeks out JJJ before evening falls, hopefully before another party takes over and everyone is too busy/blasted to have a somewhat serious chat.

JJJ is kissing a pooka girl, but it's a parting kiss, not a hello kiss. She appears to have amphibian elements, and they part and she ggoes "Thanks for believing me about the island of eye pluckers, they were going to turn me into a person! Cats everywhere. I had to run"

"It's cool, Sierra, " He nods humoring her "Big witch place, glad you got out, sure"

She beams, annd walks off humming Toxic

'Odd girl" He admits to himself, then turns "Hey, Piper"

"Hey hey, JJJ." She resists the urge to give him a friendly kiss herself. FOCUS! "I wanted to check back with you about that map.... " She had earlier asked if he knew of the local noble baronies/Holds and their House makeup. "Need to get a better grasp of what's around here. I'm going to go meet up with my trio..." The Satyr looks tired. The worried creases on her brow that a few days at the Lake had started to erase are back.

"Ah, you need a place, hold on, I got that map you needed" He takes her hand "It's gonna be all right, however it goes. Right?"

She squeezes the hand gratefully. "If there's a lake or a big pond... maybe even a river. Not THIS lake, of course... but I also need to know what holds are around. That's... it's kinda it's own thing."

"Tahoe has a nnoble hold" He informs her "Other side... now where is where you'll get a kind of netrual ground" He shows her the map

She looks it over... "What flavor?" About Tahoe...

"Well, the nolbe hold on the Cali side was Fiona but went to those Beaumayn guys. So far, so good. This spot I'm suggesting is out of sight of both holds"

She nods. Not quite the noble intel she was looking for... but she has other sources. For now? Meet up spot!

Well, the meet up spot is given "There's a diner and gas station about five miles inland from that shore if you want" he adds "Nothing special but not too banal either"

She checks how far it is from where they are now... can she travel on her own (even if it takes a while)?

JJJ solves the problem "Want a lift there?" He offers "We have ... a car" As if i were a mysterious object

She nods. "I'd appreciate it. Morning ok with you? I'll find you some coffee, or whatever your AM drug of choice might be?"

"Coffee's fine, though I got to warn you, that diner is no starbucks so if you dream of mocha frapes or something"

She shakes her head. "I'm fine. I meant for you, as a thanks for the ride."

"I know you did, but I figured you'd get one for yourself. Morning is good. "

She squeezes his hand again before letting go. "See you in the morning."

(And like that, it's morning? Or...?)

Someone plays And then the morning comes by Smash Mouth...

and Piper wakes up in her bungalow

JJJ knocking on the door "Hey, you awake?"

"I'm up." She doesn't look like she slept much. Jonas could have warned JJJ that Piper is a morning grump... but then again, Jonas is not here, not waking her with a smile and a cup of tea. A sigh, but she at least splashes some water on her face before joining him.

The location and time, she texted to Siv.

The drive there is possibly annoying, for JJJ IS a morning person

She focuses on watching the way - maybe she can find her way back if she ever needs to...

That works. They pull up to the diner

It's nothing special, probably serves like five options for lunch, 3 for breakfast

JJJ hops out of the clunker and opens her side of the door "You okay?"

Piper nods. "Do you think you can stick around for a bit? I'll buy you breakfast." Glancing around to see if there are any signs of her trolls yet. She's just on time... but maybe they're down in the water.

"Sure... I'll hang near the counter" A glance as he peeks "Looks like your two picked a cornerr booth." She sees them too. Siv and Jonas, sipping coffee, waiting

She gives JJJ's hand a squeeze, and then an impulsive kiss on the cheek. "Thank you." A deep breath, in and out, and she heads in.