#goldfinchfreehold

And true to her word, she heads off to complete some bill paying.

"Ugh, I don't know HOW he got jelly in the snare drum - he didn't HAVE jelly with him... kids, man." Piper is shaking her head even as she closes the door to the drum studio after cleaning up.

And there's Tall Blue Lurkage when Piper turns.

"Oh! Did Sylvi split?"

"She's paying bills."

"Poor soul."

A shudder. "Well, at least with the discounted two-for-one lessons we had for Christmas, there's plenty of cash coming in from the studio side that it's not a problem."

"But oof, teaching two for ones?"

"Well, I signed up for two-for-one deals in my romantic AND family life, sooooo..."

"Ha!"

That earns a relaxed grin. Dag's clearly in a good mood.

This gives Piper the in to start!

"So, uh. I figured I should let you know - like, I could have talked to Symon, but... no offense, and I know how it sounds when someone says that, but honestly, no offense, but he's creepy and gives me the heeby-jeebies - I've seen him on mission turning it on for real, and for some reason when he's being nice it's like... MORE creepy."

"Honestly, I think he'd be thrilled if I told him just that."

"Sluagh." She shrugs.

"Well, the thing is, you know that treasure that Symon had? The locket that got broken?"

Nose-wrinkle. She nods.

"I don't know the details behind what all happened. Vali said it was personal, but... long story short, I managed to repair it. I figured I should let you guys know, because it was, like yours?"

She briefly bares her teeth. "I broke it. On purpose."

"And I say "i"..." She laughs a bit. "But it was with help from Zane and a jeweler as well." A pause, and she takes a little step back, her hooves clicking on the tile. "It's... uh. Well, it's... gone now?"

"Honestly? If I never see that thing again, I'd be totally okay with that."

"I understand that repairing a treasure is important, but..." Huff.

"I thought you'd be mad that I lost it."

A touch nervous, not sure if she's supposed to relax.

"Be happier if it were on the bottom of the ocean. Pity you can't do that."

"Well.... kinda? Listen, it's a long story, but, like... so I had this thought to use that treasure to boost my own Aphro', see, and use it on this sea monster to turn it's heart away from hunting down Siv... but things were'nt going my way so I Unleashed the glamour within it..."

Blink.

"The Sea monster shriveled away, not quite sure WHY, but I ain't looking a gift kelpie in the mouth, you know? But the WEIRD thing is, that the Ship I was on, the Rimrunner? It like... woke up. Started talking, moving on it's own, real poltergeisty style shit."

"Ended up being for the best, it hunted down a yacht full of sex traffickers - THAT was a bloody mess... still think the Captain might be ticked at me about that... but I gave the Heart to the ship, and it was absorbed into it, like..." She pats her own chest. "schwoooop."

BLINK.

"RIGHT?!"

"The fuck."

Piper throws her arms up. "Weird ass shit!"

"So I don't think you're getting it back. And that's like, my bad."

"Okay, listen, you tell the whole story to the Stone, that treasure stays far away, and we're square?"

"Because that shit is too weird not to go to the Story Stone."

"I don't know if it even exists anymore - not as it was. It somehow became part of the ship. I tried to ken it out, but it didn't even feel like Aphro any more. Just... like, it's own thing. I don't know if the ship will stay alive, but that's that."

"Oh! That big rock! Connor said you had to carry a boulder for 100 miles while it sang showtunes. I WANTED to see it!"

She laughs. "Connor, bless, can make any tale into a telephone pole. But yeah. It's kinda nifty."

"He's a great kid. Shame that he's tone-deaf, but no one's perfect." A smile to Dagmar.

A proud grin. "Yeah, he's great." She claps Piper on the shoulder. "Thanks for the good news about the locket, I'll let Sy know."

She doesn't flinch, years of living with trolls has taught her how to set her hooves to stabilize and handle even the strongest pat!

"But I promised to get home for dinner, so I gotta split."

"Great. Glad it worked out! And I'll sing that stone's ears off, don't you worry."

"Cool. Catch you round, Piper."

"Byeee-eee!"

(Scene!)