#rivervale_lodge

He nods, woeful. "It doesn't smell bad, but to me, it's like, a billion billion fields up my nose. It's hard to be an A+ sniffer."

She strokes his head, "When I had to eat fresh food, it was like a lump in my throat that didn't want to go down, it hurt, but mom and dad didn't udnerstand"

"Oh...." He gives her a sheepish grin. "I rearranged your kitchen a bit when no one was looking. There's a box of Oreos behind the fridge now. For later!" His tail wags tentatively. "And a few other things. You'll have to use your nose to find them. It's like hide and snack!"

"You're not very wretched at all..for a boy" She says and gives him a brief hug

His tail flashes like a flag. "I'll try harder, then I can get the most wretched award to put on my wall."

"Is it hard being a pooka?"

He ponders this for a moment. "I don't think so. Sometimes people get confused, but it's not my fault. But mostly people like to have you around because you're cute and fuzzy, so I never get into any trouble."

"it's sometimes hard being a slugh.. I can try to scream and they don't hear... and everyone is so loud" she says

“Oh. I’ll try to be quieter. He says, though he has already been speaking in hushed tones. “If it ever gets too noisy, you can come here...” He offers. “ I know lots of quiet spots where no one knows you’re napping. And sometimes you hear interesting things.” His face clouds up for a moment.

"is... did you hear something interesting?" Curious tilt eyes dancing

He kicks idly at a tuft of dead grass. “Someone hurt my sister, stabbed her right in the heart. But they don’t want any boys to help fix ‘em. I don’t know how to help.”

A scowl "this is a very serious thing. For only sibling may torment sibling. It is known"

"It is known!" He replies back, glad that she understands. "I want to... to..." He gives a careful look around, then confides in her. "I wanna BITE him! And I KNOW that makes me a bad dog." His ears droop a bit. "But I still WOULD."

"You're not bad just because you want to right a wrong, you just have to be careful WHEN to use your fangs, doesn't mean yo ucan't use them ever" She assures "There are superheores like that"

"Batman punches people, he catches bad guys...but he's still a good guy." She says "There's superman, but he's VERY bright"

"I like Superman! He has a dog named Krypto. I wish I had a cape...."

"You want a cape? Mmm"

His tail flashes! "Probably not, I'd just get it all muddy and torn up and probably lost up a tree."

"I will get you a cape" Lily says with confidence

And she sizes him up

He blinks at her, curiously. "But I haven't gotten any capes for you yet."

"you helped me feel welcome"

she says "And that is good"

the little girl seems set

He beams at her. "I'll make one for you too."

"I'm not the hero type, but maybe a fan because I am all delicate?" Hopeful

The puppy pooka ponders this for a bit. "Maybe you're like a spiderweb. They look all simple and you think it's just dust and nothing, but the Discovery Channel says that spider web is stronger than steel. So, you're like, strong. Oooh, now I want a spider-sword. I'd be all like, whssssk! sshhhhk! Shkkk!" And he poses and makes "sword" sounds.

"i like spiders"

A Grin! "I thought you would!"

"you're smart"

She says this with an element of surprise

He doesn't seem offended. A finger held to his lips. "Don't tell anyone that. If they think you're a dim bulb, they don't give you as much homework and then you have more time to play!"

A fussy finger of affection, "The Quick Red Fox will jump over the lazy dog every time"

"And that's okay, because I'd rather be friends with a fox then have a fur coat."

"Well, I suppose you have a point, but you need to study or your brain gets sloppy. Then you really DO get stupid, taht's what my dad says, if you don't use it, you lose it, and you're too smart to put your brain at risk of premature decay"

The front door opens, and Brekke ushers in Lily's parents.

Lily hides as her parents go by, or tries to.

"Oh this is nice" Brenda says "I love what you've done with the place, the work in the wood is incredible. Local craftsman?"

A pleased look. "That is my work, but the Lodge itself helps. Do you prefer coffee, or...?"

"I live on the stuff " Brenda confesses "just a touch of sugar, too sweet isn't coffee"

"Fine by me" Kyle says

Brekke nods and prepares mugs for them, a smaller one for Brenda. "Please be comfortable," she indicates seats as she gives them their mugs, and takes a seat in her own chair.

She's still caught up in the wood work "You're good. Brekke do you make a living at this? " But she sits to claim the cup and takes a testing sip, then smiles "Oh thank god. Now adays folks keep trying to shove mocha latte nonsense into folks faces when what you want is REAL coffee. Kyle makes me water it down."

"Cream is not water," Kyle says

An amused look at the interchange about coffee purity. "Thank you. No, I am a hobbyist. My work...well, you have seen me at part of it, at the Y."

Connor watches the coffee preparations shyly, then steps over and tugs lightly at Brekke's sleeve, wanting to whisper something to her.

Lily tries to sneak near the fire

A glance at Lily, then Connor speaks up. "SCUSE ME." He may be being Rude, but he might get their attention and let the girl move past!

He hops up and down impatiently to get attention.

"mmm?" Brenda smiles "Hi, again, Connor. "