#rivervale_lodge

A dozen thoughts race through her head, "WHy don't you want to tell me?"

"It's fine. It's nothing. Nothing happened."

Tove bites her lip then, "okay then. I... guess I'll let it go. Sorry"

"They were watching Sylvi and Nadeen."

"mmm" A sip "They were not invited, I'm taking it?"

"No."

"Bastards" A shake of her head "What happened to them?"

"Sylvi hexed'm and the dogs chased them off."

"Huh... well, maybe the meatheads will learn a lesson"

"you must have been furious"

A shrug.

"Thank you," Tove says after a bit

"For what?"

"Trusting me with that. I know that it couldn't be easy to share"

"They didn't look at me! Just Sylvi and Nadeen!"

"I think the term 'the principle of the thing' matters here. That and Sylvi is a friend to you and I know how protective you are of friends and lodge mates" Tove says

"Don't tell Jaymes, though. They had a treasure, right?"

"A treasure?" Eyebrow

She pushes her mug around, looking down. A shrug. "X-rays."

"They had magical X rays?" A blink sure she didn';t that right

"X-ray binoculars." A scowl.

"Those pervy little... " A roll of her eyes "Okay. They wouldn't be the first boys to peep, but they're lucky the dogs didn't bite a souvenir off them."

"They didn't look at me. So you won't have to tell Jaymes."

"Why don't you wnat Jaymes to know?"

She chews at her poor ragged cuticles. "Don't want him to think they were... that I'm, like..."

"That I let them see."

"Sounds like none of you let them see...they used a device that took the choice away from the people it stared at. And I get mad at them just thinking about. Jaymes would never blame you for this"

"You don't know that."

"I do." SHe says "I trust him, and we both know him well enough to give him the benefit of that doubt I think"

She whines and hides her face in her arms. "You don't understand."

"I suppose I don't" She says gently "But this isn't just some guy fostering you. He's your dad. "

"So you see why I don't wanna risk it?"

"I can see why you wouldn't want to, but I think it's not as great a risk as you fear, and I think he deserves your trust. Give him a chance, he might surprise you? I think he'll be angry at the boys, not you. "

"But if he's not?"

"If he's not mad wit hthe boys I'll be very surprised. If he's mad at you? I'l lbe even more surprised and I'll stand by you regardless"

"It's not mad... it's..."

"You think he'll think less of you because of waht others did?" Tilt of her head

She nods.

"I know he won't do that" she says firmly

Dagmar shakes her head, face still hidden in her arms.

" I know it's hard. I know it's asking you to be brave in a way I can never quite understand how much I'm asking, but tell him. Let him know. Or ...if you want, let me tell him for you and if he starts to act like such an obnoxious ass that he'd blame a young girl for two pervy bastards's actions I'll set him straight."

"Why? Why tell him when nothing happened?"

"Because something did happen. You were present to two rotten snotty brats oggling girls near you, and it upset you. It's real, your feelings are real. Your anger at them, your sense of shame, those are all real hurts. And bottling it up forever isn't good, and if you cut him off from things important to you, he'll feel bad...not blaming you, but thinking he's not a good father. Sometimes those we love need to know we trust them"

"He's good, though."

"He is, that's another reason to trust him..."

The sound of a truck pulling up

"That's probably him" she says

Dag sits back in her chair, sulking.

The door opens, "Mm jerk finally showed up." Jaymes says

"Jerk should go to work on time."