#rivervale_lodge

"Fair, also, Sylvi's so full of talent it does my ego good that I've still got an edge on her somewhere" A grin, "If it weren't bad manners , crowded or not, we'd try to poach quite a few valers from you"

"I will keep that in mind," she says a bit defensively...but not too concerned.

"But then, they're only so good because they've had good examples." She inclines her head to the chief and mountain, "Be seeing you both. Good luck on your trip, Chieftain."

"Many thanks, Chieftain Clementine."

"Most welcome" And she departs.

"Thank you, Chief." To Clem before she goes.

Brekke rises as Clem goes, and then she turns to Frank. "Your thoughts?"

A puzzled frown. "About?"

"Anything. You seem as though Samhain lingers on you yet, My Heart. True?"

"Maybe." He frowns and tries to shake it off."Still .... upset at your hand." 'Upset' does not not begin to describe his outrage......

THe hand looks better now, it has an Index finger and thumb, crucial that

She slowly raises the hand and looks at it. And yes, it is ugly...a warped and mangled version of its former shape. For a moment, she is almost ashamed of how it looks. Then she looks at him...and very slowly demonstrates that she can touch her fingertip to her thumb. "Improvement?"

"Yes." Softly.

He takes the limb and presses his lips to it, and whispers.

She hears and sighs. "It will be better. As your hands became better. I promise."

"Mmphm"

"But...today, I must travel to Rome. I have asked Colton to join me. Will you come with us?"

"Yes, of course... Rome?"

A slight grin. "Rome, New York," she clarifies. "The returned Lodge...?"

"I will go with you." He agrees.

A knock at the door, glass knuckles tapping wood

"Mm, that must be Colton." She goes to the door and opens it.

It's Colton all right, "Chieftain, hello. I apologize for coming so early"

"It is good that you did, Squire. We are ready."

He nods, "I have arms, armor, and dross, and some food. Who else is coming?"

"I have sent a message to Symon to see if he wished to come along. He expressed an interest, but I have not yet heard confirmation."

"Did you check your texts? We tend to text.. I mean, wilders do" cautiously

"Mmph." Brekke sighs and heads to the door. "I do not like using that thing near the balefire...." she mutters as she goes outside. Several paces away, she fumbles her phone out of her beltpouch, a simple flip phone, and manages to get it propped between silver finger and thumb so she can use the other to poke awkwardly at the keys.

Colton glances at the stairs, as if hoping Sylvi might appear in a diaphanous night gown with the light peeking through the material just enough to give a hint of the shape beneath that he likes so much before seeing him and shyly smiling.

....and he is out of luck.

The person who does appear is Kerri, carrying a load of bath towels from upstairs down to the laundry room.

A sigh then a cough "Hello, Hearth"

There IS a return text. It is in the esoteric language of teens that she may need translated... Y. Thx. ETA 15 min, omw

"Squire Colton? I didn't know you were here. Good morning, Mountain," she adds to Frank.

Brekke manages to decode that, and returns to the Lodge. "He will join us, and will be here soon."

"He being...?" Kerri asks.

And indeed the sluagh is at the door by the time that she checks that phone. He is unbundling from a chokingly large muffler in chunky cable crochet in an eye smarting shade of green, and in the process of shoving it out of sight behind a chair.

"Symon." Brekke pauses, then adds. "Yes, we will need those supplies." But Kerri is already en route to the kitchen before she says it.

“It’s Apples, not the arctic...” he says in explanation.

And yes, there he is. She nods. "Anne Marie knows you are with us, I see."

He nods. “There’s an agreement we came to, more or less. I let her know before I quest, and I don’t get grounded on both ends when I get back.”

"About to head out to Rome, mission. Troll stuff"

A breath. He seems to be containing exctitement

"A wise arrangement," Brekke says to Symon. "I have asked Siv the same. It sometimes works."

A wry smile, and he says nothing.

Then Kerri is returning with a picnic basket, as well as a plastic container with a black lid. The container she hands to Symon. "I would open that outside of the vehicle.

Colton reaches into his pocket and pulls out something, a lady's scarf, maybe not quite warm enough for this climate, but lovely... with two blue roses wrapped about each other on a green field.

He accepts it with thanks. “I will owe Ann Marie extra chores for watching over the nastling, though. Haven’t managed to catch Siv yet. And I can’t think of anyone else who might want to go on an unforgiving quest just for the sake of questing.”

"Perhaps good will come of that creature, Symon." Brekke says, but she doesn't sound confident about that. "Colton, please take the basket. A moment..." She turns her back on them and faces the fire, reaching her hand to it and taking a slow, deep breath.

Colton looks at the chair that Sylvi normally sits at at the lodge's table, "I hope you don't mind, Hearth" ANd he wraps the scarf there for Sylvi to find, before taking the basket as directed