#rivervale_lodge

"Well... no?"

"Like, for cooking." She purples.

"I put a K on the handles, but not.."

"Hey you personlaized it? Nice touch, and besides, she appreciates stuff that has use. That's why I was worried she might roll her eyes at the spa. Your stuff I know she'll use." A pause "Possibly for a bunk. Who knows what she doees with cauldron stiring?"

"YOU need to try that, maybe. You've gone witchy."

"I'm flattered, thanks" And she does smile, "For trolls it's a rarity"

"Yeah. You, and maybe Earl a little?"

"Earl's more like the cursed knight, but he hides the curse behind a sense of humor" Gerd says

"Cursed?"

"I thought he seemed happy. Weird, but happy. He made me these cool drawings, like, different Lodge members as Norse gods..."

"That Beaumayn thing... " she says "it's a sad house as a rule"

"Earl's a Beaumayn?"

"oh sorry, I meant Vali..." She sighs "Sorry. I was talking to earl earlier"

"But yeah," She ponders "I guess Earl might be a bit like a witch too, which would please Zara I bet. She'd think she rubbed off"

"Ha."

"You ever met Zara? She's like Wednesday Adams level cool, knows everything about tea. "

"Not properly. She seems quiet."

"most sluagh are, though she isn't too hard to coax into a conversation compared to some of her kith. I think she's helped Symon but neither would talk about it.. Earl's okay, he's odd, but that's just him. And he painted for me once. Heck, I'd tell him to paint you, your dad and Tove but it would end up looking surrel and i'm not sure spooky is your style"

"Not so much..."

"Yeah. I suppsoe Tove could just carve out figurines of you all or engrave some wood to look right.. so that kills that idea for my yule gift for her. How's she doing?"

"Happy? She's humming a lot."

"Good. I figured with the troubles at the store she might be feeling kind of bummed"

"...Trouble at the store?"

"Well, yeah, with..." She stops, "You don't know? That chain is closing like... a third of it's stores by Christmas."

This is the first Dagmar has heard of it.

"Hold on.. It's in this newspaper I got at school? they use it for current events and culture extra credit" She goes to her room then returns "here"

Sure enough, a small article in the business section, the third page of it, has a small blurb

Dag's face grows stony - it's not anger, per-se, but it's closed-off and uninviting.

"Shit. You didn't know. "

Gerd says "i'm sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything . I screw personal shit up. "

"He didn't say."

"Maybe he doesn't know? I mean, sometimes they don't tell folks things and then cut and run" She does not sound convinced

"...Maybe it won't be his store?"

"Maybe not" She cheers, "I mean, it sucks for the third that are going, but maybe it's others.. buisness at his seems solid, right? I mean, it's the ice slurpee drink place"

Jaw-jut, frown.

Her dad has been keeping extra long hours of late.

Maybe that's a good sign that his is in demand

"Well, anybody'd be lucky to have him. He's a good worker."

"Yeah. I've never heard him gripe about hard work. I mean, I know most trolls don't, but he just knits his brow, rolls his sleeves up and doubles effort"

"Exactly!"

"look, I got to go on patrol for a bit, but don't worry about your dad. Like you said, probably not his store, and also... hard worker. If it were, he'd just get a better job."

She puts the tea up and proper, then grabs her mace.

And Gerd is gone..And of course, all worry in Dagmar is gone too, right?