#rivervale_lodge

"Hmph...you are a brave man, Rover Olgar." Brekke gives the box another glance, shakes her head, and vanishes upstairs.

"I got a choice?" he mutters and waits

Edelweiss is sniffing cautiously at the bottom of the box, then barks anxiously at it.

"Yes, It's bad but it's safe now. I know"

Olgar can hear the back door open, the one that leads directly into the kitchen, and the sounds of a troll-sized armload of shopping bags.

Edelweiss doesn't exactly look confident, but she gives a final uncertain whine and backs off.

"Honey, when you have a second I got something you ah will want to know about"

"Can you tell me in here, dear? I've got to put things in the freezer...."

"Yeah, I can do that." He grabs the box which jumps a bit as the hand shakes. And he heads to the kitchen with the letter on top of the box, and the box.

In the kitchen, Kerri is efficiently managing frozen goods with Tetris mastery. "Hi," she smiles at her husband as he enters. "I just don't want things to melt."

"Oh, don't worry, Winter is coming" Wryly. "Here, let me help." He puts something heavy to hold the box down, which doesn't stop a thump sound. And helps her

She notes the thump. "Almost done, but thanks." She accepts the help, but glances at the box again. "What's that?"

"Sylvi sent us something in the mail along with a note. That's what I wanted to talk to you bout, but you really have to see it and read the note for yourself" By now he knows his wife's system and is careful not to deviate from it. SOmetimes he jokes about how things must be 'just so' with her, but there's usually a method to her madness. She's freaking hearth after all. To this day he's not sure why it matters which quick fix pizzas are on top of the other.

Some mysteries simply cannot be taught.

"Well...okay, I think that's it for the frozen...and only a few things for the fridge..." She makes quick work of those, and shuts the refrigerator door. "The rest can wait. There's a note?" She spots the paper and picks it up, reading it eagerly.

He waits, while a tapping sound starts up in the box

"White Walker chimera?" That concerned look he knows. "But they're...they're horrible! She's fighting them?" And then the tapping sounds again, and concern transforms into alarm, and she looks at him.

"Our daughter avoided the 'let's give my parents a hand' pun. I'm proud Vali hasn't gotten to her yet" He opens the box. The chimera does look like a frozen corpse hand "I'm guessing it wasn't a POWERFUL chimera but still..."

Kerri is normally not a squeamish woman. But at this, her eyes go VERY wide, and her hand flies to cover her mouth. A few moments stock still, then she says, "Sylvi did this?"

"I think she had help, but I think that's her blade markings. Enchanted with sharpness"

Now she has both hands covering her face for a moment....then a deep breath and she pulls her shoulders straight. "Well. Right. Okay." A wry grin. "We got a souvenir."

"You want to keep this..right, forgot, horror movie buff" A chuckle, "Tell me again how Sylvi's eyes got so wide when she realized you were a horror movie trivia wizard?"

"Well, I wasn't picturing our daughter being the one armed with the chainsaw, Olgar!" Another read of the letter. "She doesn't mention getting hurt...."

"That's a good sign" he says reassuring. The alternative is their daughter wouldn't mention it if she were, but she doesn't need to hear that from him.

A sigh, and another look at the hand. "I'm not keeping that with the roasts."

"Fine fine. I'll get a small aquarium tank or something" He says "But taht weird sluagh kid , symon? He may try to borrow it."

"Hm. I don't think I have a problem with that. Symon is a good kid." She frowns. "I just don't want this to go all Addams Family and crawl all over the place."

"Unless Vali gets too quipy. Then you can put it in his soup" A squeeze of his wife, "And yes I worry about her too. But the bit about Jessica sounds promising"

"It does. I know she was thinking about studying Nunnehi to help Jessica...so I guess she's met some. And survived." The worry is coming back around to pride. "I can't believe she sent us the severed hand of an enemy."

"Think maybe she's gone too native? I thought Eskimos were peaceful"

"I think any tribal hunting culture is going to have more than a little bit of violence. And...well, she went pretty 'native' at the Farm last summer, but still readjusted to home. I..." A pause. "She'll be fine." A firm nod.

He nods back "She's good at incorporating what she needs and still being true to how we raised her, " A heh "Sounds like she's impressing that baron and the locals both" Bit of pride himself.

"The baron had better be impressed...." A grumble of maternal pride. Another glance at the hand, then she closes the lid on the box. "Who else has seen it?"

"The Chieftain saw it. She almost reached for an axe until I explained. She didn't expect Sylvi to be fighting"

"Well...honestly, neither did I...." A sigh. "Is it too late to send her back to the Farm? Weeding and plowing and horses...."

"I remind you the farm has some wild chimera too" He grins "You ladies nixed that 'build a dungeon ' idea frank and I had going."

"Hmph. Fine." A moment's thought. "You get the reptile tank for it...with a latching lid...and maybe we'll put it in her room, if Dagmar doesn't object. I kind of doubt she will."

"I kind of doubt it too" He nods "But if she does we'll find a place" He rises. Then "You okay, baby? I know you miss her too"

"I was fine until somebody put this thing in front of me!" A backhand swat to his arm. Then she sighs. "I miss her, but I think missing her during the summers is something I've just got to get used to...because there are only a few more summers before she decides to go gallavanting off on her own."

A chuckle at the swat, then a groan, "Had to remind me. She's still YOUNG though. Maybe she'll get burnt out on trips and settle closer to home in the long run?"

"And the chances of that are...?"

"Somewhere between slim chance and fat chance" he sighs after a bit and kisses his wife "Fine fine. We'll be extra stingy with her come fall. She'll love that"

And he moves to go get that reptile tank

He gets a kiss back and a hug before she releases him to his quest...and places a very heavy cookbook on top of that box.

Two. Two very heavy cookbooks.

thump thump-it holds

(end scene)

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It's kind a new day, perhaps new night would be a better term, as Jaymes has told Dagmar "Come on, into the truck. YOu've got a call to make."

"A call? Who?"