#rivervale_lodge

"Right, right, going!"

"Thanks!" She calls out as Dagmar races out the door

And so, the knight presses on her urgent courier quest!

She enters into the lodge looking around. There's Lut, there's Tig and Vali.. playing cards? Well, the thanes can continue, but there is knightly stuff to be going on

"Vali! I have an urgent delivery!"

"Urgent?" He rises and lays the cards down then seeing what it is, "Sorry guys, deal me out."//"Oh sure, just when I'm winning" Lut observes/"You wish" Tig chuckles

"Sally Mae insists."

"I know I know... thank you, Dagmar, I'll take it from here. Time sensitive and all" he takes the box and puts it in a cooler then asks "All of them in there?"

"How many should be?"

"Twelve"

"Should be, then."

"Thanks then," He picks up the cooler and starts to head to his car

She trails after. "What are they for?"

"eating" He says "What else?"

Then he looks at her, "You want to come along and see?"

"Yeah? If they aren't for the hold..."

"nope. Wrong color for the wedding" He says opening the passenger door "Though I have to admit, it's tempting not to snitch one we can't"

"Well, only a little tempting."

"I see..." he smiles "For a moment I thought about asking you if you had flat out, but then it occured to me I might be insulting a Falcon's honor and that's never wise"

"I wouldn't steal one..."

HE nods "I realized that. You want to come along then?" Door still open

"Yes! I said I'd make sure they were delivered..."

"Oh ho," he grins a bit "I think she meant to me, but yeah, let's go that extra mile" Once she slips in, he gets to the driver side, cooler in the back seat and starts to drive

Dagmar watches out the window, trying to guess the destination.

Towards an area with mobile homes. Something oddly familiar ... no, not the same. she's not been here before. But the feel... chimera walk about... beautiful women and handsome men in their thirties... some dressed very properly, others like jedi and queens... they flicker , go out, and come back again.

She frowns, head tilted.

"It's like... there's like... movie people?"

"Not..quite" They couples often bear gifts, toys and video games.. they talk and praise randomly... and she notices the source is one particular group of mobile homes marked Atticus Volunteer Foster Center and Park

Dreams of perfect parents! They're dreams of.. oh

Dagmar tenses up, frowning.

"You going to be okay? You can wait i nthe car if you prefer" He asks

"No... I can come.."

"Okay, grab the cooler..." He says, honks the horn to let folks know they are there. One trailer opens and a rather plain looking man opens up a door.

The man doesn't seem to be kinian, or kithian, no glamour, but there's little cold in him, perhaps a dreamer?

Sam grabs the cooler, and sort of... lurks... behind Vali. Amber eyes scan the stranger, suddenly guarded and wary.

"Oh, hello. Mr. Gardener right?" the man asks, "Thanks for this. It's a real treat."

She sticks out the cooler at arms length, not doing a good job of not-staring.

Vali has grabbed a different box, toys and such? "No problem. This is Sam, she's a friend of mine. And..." Then Dagmar ssets out the cooler "Well, there you go."

"Thanks. Thanks a lot. I ..." The man can't inroduce himself before the kids storm the castle so to speak. Over six come out one by one... some boldly, some shyly...

"...hey."

The ages vary, from the six she sees, they range from five to twelve. The twelve year old girl presses her glasses against her nose but when Sam speaks smiles "hi."

Introductions are made "That's Christine, Brady, Livia, Shelli, Saul, and Dave. I'm just Ray" The grown up says "Nice to meet you, Sam.. Kids, say thank you to Sam and Mr. Gardener"

If one was expecting a coordinated harmonized effort, one doesn't know kids as everything from loud THANKS to nods and waves bounce around

A woman comes out, grown, "And I'm Darleen. Oh, it's all here. You really didn't have to"

"Not a problem," Vali says "You're doing good work here. Happy to asssit"

This is not a standard foster home. Sam knows that, because otherwise they would have a cap of two kids per foster home unless... is every trailer a foster home? or is this a non government thing?

Or a group home, but this isn't a group home...

Sam checks the kids, looking for signs of trouble... body language, bruises, bones sticking out...

One of the kids, Saul? Hangs back, rolling his eyes glaring, long sleeves even in summer but then.. one of the others says something goofy and he actually smirks abit

Sam fidgets, self-consciously tugging on her own sleeves.