#rivervale_lodge

"Yeah. " A nod "I don't think anyone's told the wilder brigade about that yet, have they?"

"Dagmar knows, but she doesn't strike me as the braggy-talky type."

"I do not know. But...she will want to be included." A pause. "I would prefer to leave them here, but...they are skilled questers."

"Oh wait till my wife hears me say I think we should let Sylvi go if she wants to," A sigh "Hopefully she won't want to ,but ..mmph. Yup. Kerri will love that"

"Siv'll want to go."

"The two of you raised a strong young woman." Then she nods agreement with Frank. "She will."

"Well, I need to go practice my sales pitch. And yeah, she will. Good night you too, and thanks again, Chief. I'll move Hastein later" He says about the sleeping trainee.

She shakes her head. "Let him sleep. I will get him a blanket."

She rises and makes her way back to the linen closet, perhaps a bit stiffly.

A grunt, a nod, and the Roverheads off to clean the blood off himself...with a hot shower. That'll buy him time to think over how to talk to Kerri about this news of questing.

The 'blanket' she returns with is an old hand-stitched quilt, a bit threadbare but comfy. She drapes it over the young man, careful not to wake him, and shakes her head. "I am glad Olgar was there to help him. And Duff. But...this means Fir Bholg are back on the trods...and can invite others."

Frank nods. "Didn't think we'd see them again so soon."

"No." A sigh. "First, the Pine Barrens. Then the Fir Bholg. We will manage." She finishes her coffee and sets the mug aside. "Come, let us bring our things upstairs." She fetches one of the bags Frank carried in earlier.

He gets the other, setting his own mug aside, and follows her. "Jess told me she was going to take a three-day weekend type of thing. Once the new Freehold is settled."

"Good. She has been working hard. Will she come here?" On her way up the stairs.

Frank follows her. "Didn't sound like it. More like a.... break."

"Mm. Well. I hope she enjoys...whatever it is." She goes into their room.

"She doesn't like ..... I think she sees it as slacking off." A faint frown.

He follows her, the rest of the conversation private.

(End Scene)

It seems even convenience stores aren't exempt from holiday rush. Dagmar is at the Lodge again while Jaymes works, with a plastic bag she's smuggled home from school.

Sounds of activity in the kitchen.

Dagmar follows the sound, spurred by perhaps curiosity, but probably also teenaged appetite.

Oh, yes, there's definitely good smells coming through that door. When she enters the kitchen, she finds Kerri pulling a tray of cookies out of the oven. Another batch is already cooling on racks...and some already cooled ones are on a platter. She glances up and smiles. "Hello, Dagmar."

"Oooo.. smells good. Hi Hearth Kerri! I was gonna look for you actually!"

"Oh? I'll warn you, I'm not much good at math. Olgar was saying he was giving you some tips there." She has another batch of cookies going into the oven.

"Not for math. It's saturday. No math on Saturdays." Did she make that rule up?

"I was wondering if the lodge had, like, paint and stuff?"

She closes the oven and wipes her hands. "Paint? What kind? House paint?"

"Um... no, I don't think so. Like, for wood? To paint words?"

"Hmmm....you mean like for a sign? I think I might have something...." She frowns, thinking.

"I think....yes...hang on a sec." She goes to a utility closet at the back of the kitchen and rummages a bit.

"Okay, so Jaymes is at work... so, like..." She brings up the b ag and fishes out a wooden tool box - currently raw wood, but danded nicely.

Kerri looks back. "Ohhh....oh, Dagmar, that's a great choice."

"I made it in shop! We had stain, but I thought maybe I could make it blue? Or put his name on it?"

Looking back at the closet, "ahhh, here we go." A rectangular basket with various paint supplies.

"You made that? Dagmar, really nicely done." Serious praise.

"I like shop. I wish all my classes were like that. I don't feel stupid there..."

"I can understand that." She sets the supplies on a counter. "That's how I feel in a kitchen."

"You are very smart in a kitchen. What kind of cookies are you making?" Dagmar moves to inspect the paints, checking for appropriate blues.

She paws around in the supplies as well. "Here, that's blue." She hands over a jar. "I think there's enough in there. And here's a brush. After you finish, though, let's make sure to coat it with sealant so it lasts a good long time even while it's being used. Not much good if he has to set it aside to keep it nice."

"And those are gingerbread. I'm going to start decorating in a bit."

"Oh, yeah, that makes sense... gingerbread like the little person cookies?"

"Yes. Do you like them?" She rustles about a bit and produces some butcher paper and covers a part of the countertop. "Here, you can paint it here."

"Thanks!" She sets up. "I don't think I've had them. But they're always in movies. There's also the one who runs away so nobody eats him. Do you think there's a chimera of that one?"

Kerri grins as she checks on the cooling ones and sets some from the racks to the tray. "I've seen it. Every year at Count Jared's Candy Court. Greenwich Village," she adds by way of explanation. "The childlings would chase it through the halls. If they caught it, it was....a vicious ending."

"ohhhh... da-.. dang!"

"You need help decorating?" She asks as she carefully brushes on the blue.

"Would you like to learn how? I'd be happy to show you. But you probably want to focus on that, first."

"Before he's home, yeah. But I can keep you company!"