#rivervale_lodge

"Yes, the difference between...lonely, when it hurts to be alone, and solitude, when it is glorious to be alone." a slow creaking sound.

"That! Yeah. That's about right." She draws up her knees, golden eyes studying the Glome. "Do you ever go to the lodge?"

"I do not even know where it is. We are not kithain, so it is hard to see how they will react to a member of the Slow Empires. Also, it is not my place to speak for all Glome and I worry I might be seen as more important than I am."

"Well, what if you went with me? I don't speak for all trolls, neither, but then they'd know you were just there to visit."

"you should ask them if it's okay first I think. That would be ... proper I think"

"Well, i will then. That way, if you meet them, maybe you'd have a place to reach. They're pretty okay." She folds her arms and rests her chin on them.

"That speaks well of you"

"And them."

"They're nice. I'm new at this, and I don't really.... I'm new, but they've been very welcoming."

"Ah, new, all can be wonderful, or frightening."

She nods. "Or both at once."

"Mostly good, though. Being Dagmar is a lot better than being Sam."

Then clarifying. "Sam's the human part."

"Oh, you are not as joined as I heard then."

He seems surprised by this, but nods

"I dunno. I didn't know I was Dagmar until a month ago. It's not like... not like I have two brains. I don't feel different inside."

"But they said Dagmar is the troll part, the one that comes back. Sam is... " She shrugs. "the human part. If it was just Sam, there'd be no reason for them to be so nice to me."

"Oh. They hate humans at this lodge. " A nod, "I did not know that"

"No, no..." She chews on her lip. "They have a rule that they need to keep secret from humans."

"So if I was still human, they'd have to keep secrets from me. They wouldn't have taken me there."

"Oh...well, that is different, We have rules about the dangers of humans too. '

"Yeah? Because if they hurt your boulder, they could hurt you... some people, bet they'd do that just for kicks if they knew."

"Yes," A nod, "there is much debate among the slow empires about that. how cruel meat can be, and how welcome their changes should be ... other matters that alarm."

A pause. "Are you the same age as this rock?"

"That... is hard to say. I would say no. others might argue. But I became aware of myself much after the rock was around. Not every rock and tree and wind and flame and pool dreams."

"Oh. Still... rocks are, like, hundreds of thousands of years old. I'm fourteen."

"Yes, but we sleep so much it is not like being dead, but we miss a lot, and we forget. so some of us are very young in spirit, others have been dealing with the world of man conciously for a long time. Still, this 14 years? it does sound young. "

"Well, at least next to a rock." She smiles.

"ha" A rumble escapes him, short but quite joyful "You are funny and you are right." A nod, "the great glomes, our fathers.. and grandfathers...the mountain dreams, they do not stir. I am told in the before time, your kind and they were as allies quite often. Who knows what adventures they had. I am, too cowardly to be much for adventure, but it does sound grand."

"Yeah? Well, maybe there are adventures for cowards, too." An easy-going shrug.

"Maybe" he says "I should rest now. I hope you are not offended. You are welcome to sit on my anchor since you do not plan on hurting it if you like the quiet. "

"I think I might, thank you. I'll be quiet."

"So will I" A nod and he seems to break apart into glamour, the husk gone. That glamour flows into the boulder...and there is a sense of peace.

"Oh, shit!" She exclaims, impressed.

Dagmar settles back against the rock - indeed, enjoying the quiet around her of a lazy spring afternoon.

And yeah, solitude, solitude is nice,, and somehow, it doesn't feel lonely at all

(End Scene)

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Sylvi can't believe she's selling candy bars for charity. How did she get roped in this?

She takes some comfort in two thoughts: 1) it's for the school drama club, which does good work, and 2) she doesn't have to wear a ridiculous uniform like a girl scout. She puts on her Positive Face and strides up to the next door, and smiles brightly before ringing the bell.

Dagmar had only just gotten in, when...the doorbell rings. Sure enough, Matt calls out, "Sam, could you get that? We've got our hands full..."

"Jeez..." Grumble, stomp stomp stomp...

The door swings open. "Yeah?"

And the two troll girls are face to face

"I...Hey! D- Sam!" Sylvi's smile grows genuine.

"Oh, shit. Sylvi?"

"What are you doing here?"

"'Oh shit'? Nice." She laughs a bit. "I'm selling chocolate for school. I didn't know this is your house."

She rubs the back of her neck and shrugs. "Yeah, I'm staying here right now."

Sylvi hesitates, realizing her misstep. "Um...well, anyway...think they'd like to buy some chocolate?" Then a little more quietly. "I've got to sell all of these and folks don't want to buy around here."