#goldfinchfreehold

"No? Hell, maybe it helped."

"You mean, helped Siv and Piper conceive?"

"Like you said, Beltaine."

"Definitely makes me glad I keep plenty of protection in reach for those parties."

She rubs the back of her neck and nods. "Smart, yeah."

Sylvi gives her an apologetic smile. "You don't like talking about that stuff at all. Sorry. And you were there at Beltane. I hope you were able to enjoy yourself somehow?"

"I... Beltaine was okay, yeah. Sassy had a good time."

"She's a blast."

"Oh! Oh, I almost forgot...I was supposed to give you a message from...um...that guy, y'know..."

A blank look.

"Okay?"

Sylvi searches her memory for his name then shakes her head. "Anyway, he wanted me to let you know that May was wondering if you were okay. Because you haven't been answering her letters."

"...oh."

"Yeah, well, been busy."

"But...all year?"

Shrug, avoidant gaze.

"Why?" A quiet question.

"I don't know how to write back."

"I...don't follow."

"I... what can I tell her? I don't.. don't have great stories, and I can't write about half of my life anyways, so I don't.. I don't know what to say, and then, next thing you know, it's just been, like, weeks, so I can't..."

Sylvi leads the way into the kitchenette and gets them each a Dr. Pepper from the minifridge (not the drink machine).

She opens hers and takes a sip as she thinks.

"On one hand, you could tell me to butt out. But she's your dreamer, so I'm not going to do that. We gotta figure out how you can do this."

"She was my Dreamer."

"She's off in California."

"I know. But...does she have a new mentor? I forget."

"Did you read her letters?"

"No? I dunno. It's not like May needs a changeling to dream of things, she just does it."

A blink. "But...if she doesn't have a mentor...she might do it in ways that aren't healthy for her, or the people around her."

"And she's crazy powerful...so she really needs somebody."

"How can I do anything when she's in LA?"

"You can read her stuff. She might be asking for advice. And I know for a fact that she misses you because....what-his-name said she was worried about you not writing."

"And if you can't be her mentor, we should make sure she gets a good one, not one that'll take advantage of her. Y'know, reverie and shit."

"I..." Her mouth twists, unhappy.

"And you can be her mentor. You don't need to give her amazing stories...read her stories and talk about them. You're not there to entertain her, right?"

"I don't know!" Frustrated.

A pause. "Want to work on it together? Like...we can read her letters together, and come up with what to say? I'm sure we can figure out a story about why you haven't been writing...like half our mail was going to an empty apartment in the same building, or something?"

"...No." Tensing up, frowning.

Sylvi, who thought this was a brilliant plan, is taken aback. "No?"

"No!"

"Whoa!" Sylvi steps back from the angry Gwydion. "Okay, but...no to what part?"

"No, I'm not... I'm not gonna lie to her."

Hands out in a calming gesture. "Okay...we won't lie. I mean, no more than we have to. Right of Ignorance."

"But we can work together to figure out how to explain?"

"I... I just... "

"It's not your problem."

"No. But you're my friend, and it sounds like maybe you could use some help with this."

"So, fine, I need to hand her off to a different fae?"

"I think that depends on what she needs. And we won't know that until you read her letters."

"Like rehoming a damn dog." Prickly.