#goldfinchfreehold

She looks unsure but says "Okay"

She gets a piece of paper, and starts to write. Oddly, as she does, she sings a little under her breath, as if testing something "Doe, a deer, the buck stops here. Rae, a girl I know online. Mei, a name, in Asian lands..." then about the third word on the paper her voice starts to cut out...and her eyes widen and she scratches out whatever she wrote

Then gasps as if she's about to hyperventilate, and she tests again "Fa, the football assocatioooon? " then relief.. as her voice is back

Looks like writing counts as telling, perhaps in the girl's head, but at least Sylvia knows what's on the line

"Okay, okay, stop..." Sylvi leans over to put a hand on hers.

"Sorry sorry..look you can't help this. I made a stupid move and someone used it against me. They've been stopped. That's what matters"

"Damn, Little Mermaid." A frown. "Okay, it sounds like the immediate threat is over, but I really don't like that you've still got this thing hanging over your head." She leans back. "I could try something else...if you're willing."

"Look, it's not like I matter. As kinain the only thing I'm good for IS ignorance and maybe hoping my kids are REAL fae so ... stop pretending this is a big deal okay?" She grabs her backpack

Sylvi smoothly puts her arm across the door. Even while she's sitting, it might be enough of an obstacle to make a difference. "Okay, slow that roll right now. I'm pretty sure you know SallyMae, and the fact that she's a really central part to helping Rivervale navigate the more banal aspects of getting by in this world, and she's made a small fortune in a business that some fae would be literally lost without. She's the best example I can think of for how you're wrong, but I'm betting there are a lot more. Right now? You haven't made your mark yet. That doesn't mean nobody believes you will. If you're in trouble, that's a Big Deal."

That said, she puts her arm back down.

A blush as Sally Mae is mentioned

"You can go if you want. Doesn't mean I'll stop trying to figure out what's going on. And it doesn't mean you can't come back."

"And I'm not in trouble anymore..." She says "I.. the important part is solved"

"One of the important parts is solved. If you're still struggling, that's still an important part."

"Listen...I want to try something. I know you can't tell me...but let's just say that you had been put under an oath. What's one thing you might have had on you at that time? Your backpack? Those earrings?"

She stops at that, and says "oh. OH" She says and offers up her backpack "This I ... I mean, I carry it a lot!"

"Perfect. Okay..." She takes the backpack, turns it around a couple of times, and then sets it on the floor in front of her crossed legs. She takes the zipper for the main pocket, and zips it back and forth in the shave-and-a-haircut rhythm, casting WillowWhisper as she does.

The magic takes, for the owner is not banal

She leans forward and murmurs just loudly enough for Lydia to hear too, "Did your owner, Lydia, take an oath recently?"

The Backpack sounds weary "Every Burden is a backpack's to carry, and though we are tossed and thrown about, we do not complain. Though we maybe tarted up like a cheap market harlot desperate for attention with the bling of the moment, we do not complain. And for two months have I kept this secret that she was oathed"

'Little dramatic" Lydia mutters

Two months? She looks to Lydia for a moment, the pats the backpack sympathetically. "Your service may not always be recognized, but it is appreciated. Please help her now...what were the words of the oath she took?"

"I don't always remember the contents of what I carry" It warns, "But she swore not to tell anyone of Rivervale lodge of the Halfblood Brigands, or their crimes, lest her voice be stripped from her evermore. " Then the backpack goes on "Foolish girl. They offered faux friendship, excitment, but they did not deliver... for THEY were not bound. She shop lifted a litlte, but then felt bad about it. Then they got violent with others. She was mocked and disgarded, but the oath remained."

Sylvi's expression grows dark. "Who are they? I want their names."

A blush from Lydia at all this

"I do not remmeber them all.. Joanie, Blaze, Sean J..." the names sound familiar. Kinain, in their mid to young teens

Any of them members of fae families she's familiar with?

Yup. (Though I may have to work on details )

Sylvi nods, commits the names to memory, then pats the backpack once again. "You have been beyond helpful. Lydia is fortunate to have such a reliable backpack. She clearly likes you, as she takes you everywhere. Take heart, and keep up the good work." She lets the cantrip fade unless the backpack has anything to add.

"Tell her not to leave m in dusty corners all the ti..." And the cantrip fades

A slight grin as she hands the pack back to Lydia.

"You heard that last part, right?"

"Yeah yeah... geez" She sighs "maybe I should get a new one and retire this one, it's just... a really durable backpack." A beat "Thank you, Sylvi. I wish you hadn't heard the part about me getting sucked in. I just..wanted to feel like I belong, you know?"

"This one wouldn't thank you if you stopped using it, I think. Not until it can't hold up anymore. And don't sweat it. You're hardly the first of us to go through it, and by 'us' I mean fae wilders, too." A sigh. "Okay, so...I need a couple of days to plan out exactly how to manage this. You okay, as long as there's a light at the end of the tunnel?"

"Uhm.. I can't tell you names and things but i can say.. those people? They're in the hospital"

She blushes "Gwen sought them out, caught them in the act. They thought they could take... one troll. Just one. Stupid of them. "

"Ahhhh...okay, yeah. That was a rookie move on their parts. Well, they're a captive audience that way. Hmm...I should have asked the bag which one made you take the oath -- that's the one who has to release you from it. Maybe I should check with Gwen, see if she knows."

A nod quiet then "Good luck. I'm gonna go. I.. thanks" She grabs her backpack "And thank you too, whiney butt" She slings it on her shoulder, and..heads out

Sylvi watches her go, then gets ready herself to go and have a talk with Gwen.

(Won't that be fun? End Scene)