#rivervale_lodge

Dag is tromping along the path from the Barn to the Lodge.

A rustling in the underbrush, leaves shaking....

A large dog comes bounding towards her, tongue lolling victoriously. Further on, Syvli's voice calls, "Oak! C'mon back, now!"

She grabs Flyswatter, at the ready. "Hello?"

A laugh. "Oak! Hey boy!"

The dog races a lap around her, then bounds back towards the voice.

"Dagmar? That you?" Sylvi calls, then comes around a copse of trees and into view. "Hey!"

She trots after the hound. "Yeah, it's me."

Oak stops back at Sylvi, ears perked with look what I found!. Edelweiss is at her side, more placid as if she'd roll her eyes at her brother if she could.

"What're you up to?" Sylvi says, smiling.

"Was coming over. Dunno, wanted to do stuff?" A shrug. "Go see if there's frogs in the creek?"

"Sure." It's as good a plan as any. "I'm just walking these guys, and they like 'hunting' the frogs."

"They won't eat them, will they?"

"I mean, chasing them might be fun, but they're a lot bigger.."

"Nope, they know better. Besides, it's not like they're starving, what with how much they get fed at home."

At the edge of the river, the sounds of water lapping, crickets...and yes, the occasional deep crrroooaakkkk.

"Like a gallon of kibble a day, yeah, and they still act like they don't eat nuthin'..." She drops to a crouch at the bank, peering in at the rocks.

Sylvi gives the dogs a hand gesture, a calming down motion...and both big dogs sit, then crouch down, looking with very interested ears, tense for lunge.

"I hear'm. The ones that sound like birds are peepers, and the loud ones are bullfrogs, and then there's one that sound like a twang of a rubber band, and those are green frogs."

She grins, and nods. "The bulls are further out," she whispers. "But the greens are....close..." Looking, still.

"Peepers are real small, Brekke says. We never saw'm, just heard them..."

Another nod. "They're sneaky. They get quiet when you get close, but the rest of them keep singing to distract."

Sylvi might catch the gleam of a yellow pair of eyes, hidden at the base of the reeds.

"Smart. Keeps the predators busy."

Sylvi juts her chin towards the spot where the eyes are peeking out. Both dogs perk and squirm just a bit, anticipating, ready....

"See it?"

Dag squints. "No... I... wait..."

A little whimper from Edelweiss...she can hardly hold back...

"There?" She points - which spooks the frog back with a plop.

The dogs charge at the spot, bounding into the water and splashing both girls.

Sylvi laughs. "Yeah. There."

"HEY!" As she's splashed.

The dogs stare at the spot where the frog was, restless and hrph-ing.

"C'mon back, guys."

They reluctantly come back on land, casting glances back before they settle again.

Dagmar is... giggling?

"It'll be while before anything pokes its head up again...." Then Sylvi stares at the sound Dagmar's making.

"Ow." Laughing. "Stupid dogs."

Another laugh. "Awww, they just want to have fun, too."

"Look at Edie, she's just... hehehehe... look, she's waiting..."

Indeed, the smaller dog is squirming with the eagerness of the hunt.

"Yeah, she's going to have a bit of a wait, though."

"Edie, no frogs for you."

She settles in for another wait, herself. "You know we're going to have to cut up one of these things in science class someday, right?"

She hiccups. "Nuh-uh. I won't."

"Well...maybe there's a way around it. Some kind of note Jaymes could sign for you or something."

"Yeah? I was just, y'know, gonna say no."

"Worse they'd do is give me some time off."

"Yeah, but that stuff adds up. Detentions and suspensions. I hope you don't have to do that." A thought. "Hey, did you get your schedule? We need to see if we have any classes together."

"I dunno... do they mail it? I came in late to the district last year..."