#rivervale_lodge

"Why is everything hunting you?" She manages an aside before raising a bellow. "Hold, archer!"

"Hold?" A figure calls out, a sidhe, gorgeous but his colors are different, purple and gold, "Who are you that stands in the way of a White Stag hunt?"

He has bow and arrow ready

Her breathe catches, and golden eyes stare - sidhe beauty had tripped her before, but today it seems to cut to the heart. "I... I am Dagmar, and I am protecting him. I promised."

"You did? Did this creature tell you that his purpose is to be hunted, and the one that slays him gains a wish? ANd that he will be reborn? "

The Stag grows still as the sidhe speaks

"He didn't. But I promised."

"And... and what honor is there, in hunting a wounded creature?" Somehow, that makes sense...

"You cannot block my arrows, but... you are honorable," The sidhe says, "Very well, protect him from my arrows...by slaying him first. He will be reborn, and it fills your pledge. It is, they say 'all in how you look at it'" A dazzling smile

A stubborn frown. "But that's not protecting him if I kill him. That would be betraying him. I said I would guard him, not just guard-him-against-arrows."

"What of your needs? Your wishes? Slay the stag, and you can have a wish come true. What do you want? Love? Coin? ..." He starts to say "Some want more power... perhaps you however wish a home? "

The last cuts as deeply as his beauty, a look of longing. She shakes her head. "I promised."

"Then you are a troll of your word which.. I suppose I should have known better than to have tested," The sidhe bows, then looks to the Stag, "Well chosen, Bramblebrow. I'll get you another holiday"

"You will surely try," Bramblebrow replies, and does look both relieved, a bit smug, and very grateful

She looks between the two, uncertain.

The sidhe bows again, and withdraws.

And the stag sighs, "That was close. I thank you, Dagmar. WHile it is true I might return, I might not be Bramblebrow again when I do...also? Dying hurts."

"Like.. like how we're reborn?"

"Much like" Bramblebrow admits

"I was told I've been around before, but I don't remember it. And it's wrong to kill something weaker than you, isn't it?"

"I don't want you to die."

"I would think so, the important thing is you think so. Honor is...a gift a man, or woman gives oneself, to paraphrase a Liam Neeson movie" Bramblebrow says "And thanks to you, I won't die today. I.. I cannot grant you a full wish.. not without dying, but I can give you a blessing. Would you prefer to run, would you prefer to truly see, or would you like a question answered for a truth you might not know?"

"I... I don't know..."

"Take your time" A pause, "We have a little less than 20 minutes though. I'm a creature of the Dreaming, sometimes we know things from beyond the great wall" The Stag glances as if looking beyond a fourth wall for a moment, then looks back to her.

"I have not been to the Dreaming, not outside of the freehold. If you know things, well then, maybe you should tell me something I don't know."

"I can tell you a truth- Do you wish to know what awaits you in the Dreaming, do you wish to know who awaits you in the Dreaming, or do you wish to know a truth about YOU did not know?"

"Something waits for me in the Dreaming?"

"Yes, a quest, you are not ready for it yet, but when the time comes you and two others will rise up. You shall be heroes...whether living heroes I cannot say. I can tell you that when the Eye blinks west, strike with the call of the hawk"

"That... sounds very strange. But thanks, I guess?"

Pauses. "Is it okay if I ask Frank about that?"

"Of course, someone telling you to stay away from those that care about you would not be your friend" The stag looks completely healed. Bramblebrow noses her, a sniff, "Joyous Beltaine to thee, Maiden of the Day. I thank you."

And if she blinks, even for a second, he's gone

"You're welcome?" She says to the shimmering air, slightly bewildered.

(End Scene)