#rivervale_lodge

"Yeahhhh...." Sylvi sips her drink. "I know I freaked out when Dad almost died. And I guess he and mom go kind of bonkers when I'm off in the Dreaming, huh?"

"Guardian dreams have their price to pay. I bet when you know Colton is fighting someone and not just sparring you feel your breath catch, and when you get told you can't do anything to help...well, I bet that riles you juust a bit to think about."

Sylvi bites her lip and tenses. "Okay...okay, point made. Geez."

Another glance at SallyMae. "You like 'em both, huh?"

Frank disappears upstairs into their room.

A blush, "Yes. Carawyn is, of course, gorgeous, and has that whole 'forbidden fruit ' vibe but he's also...well, shoot, he's humbler than I expected a sidhe to be, and looks out for folk like me.. I am mortal after all. Hard not to be intrigued. And then Lyron? He's..." A smile "Well, he's a bit more of a party boy I know, but with a touch of depth and while he may nmot be as pretty he's still cut nice"

"Have you gone out with either of them? Or both?" Sylvi lowers her voice for the Girl Talk (TM).

"Went dancing with Lyron...little club. You know, it being my duty to show folks the wonders of the barony." And a blush "I convinced Carawyn he should le t me guide him around... so his patrols would be more efficient. We had to stop for a meal, didn't we? didn't want him to starve"

It would appear Sally Mae finagled a dance with one, and took another out to dinner and he didn't know it

Sylvi smiles. "Niiiiice."

"Yeah, well, I'm trying to not make any promises, but... " A smile "now that i've learned I don't NEED a man to be complete, I'd kind of like one anyway I think.' An admission "To get to know, ,spoil me a bit, maybe let me spoil him... and, well, of course, crush spiders."

"Well, as long as they're not friendly spiders, anyway, right?" She swirls her drink thoughtfully. "I can't even imagine my folks telling me it was my duty to have little troll kids, or whatever it was they told you at the Farm. I mean, I love the Farm, but that's just...messed up."

"More implied than an order, but that's why it's so insidious" She sighs "But Clem si cracking down to make sure folks know better. Good Chief work there to her credit, and your mom? Well... she set me straight, stood by me. I'm very grateful"

Sylvi gets a quietly proud look about her mother. "That's cool."

"Yes. It was, and she is." A nod

That's when the video conference request comes on Sylvi's phone, COLTON

Sally Mae sees it, then smiles 'Go on.. take it to your room."

"WHOOP!" The sound of a teen who lost track of time. "Yeah, I, uh..." A bit of an awkward scramble to collect her things without ruining her nails and hurry upstairs.

"Thanks, SallyMae!" she calls back right before her door shuts.

Sally Mae watches her go and smiles, then nods "Good thing he treats her right or I'd get a bit 'protective' myself"

and she cleans up

(End scene)

Connor is parked on Tove’s front porch when she returns from ‘cookin up a storm’ at the lodge. When he sees her approach, he bounces to his feet, eager. “Tove! Hi! You were not here so I waited.”

"oh, Connor, hey" The woman actually bends down and picks him up.

“Oof! I’m here to rescue you!” He smells of soap... and Gerd’s favorite incense or perfume... and a hint of tomato juice. Interesting.

"You might just do it," She says "I really could use some company."

“That’s why I’m here. To fight the lonelies. I’m good at that, they all know me now so I can scare em away. And if you need any taster testers for dinner, I can warsh dishes and pick up anything you drop if it rolls under the couch.”

"Well, if Gerd is wiling to forgive me for snatching you, I may hug you tonight a lot" Tove says "I know they'll all be okay, in my head, but.. the heart is fussy huh?"

He thinks for a moment, then nods. “Yes. Very fuzzy.” And gives her a hug.

A warm hug back, "You think we'll feel better with strawberries?"

“I’m not sure. We should experiment!” His tail wags. “And decide what to make for welcome home cake. There are lots of flavors. Blue flavors!”

"I See... Blueberry flavored strawberries maybe. With whipped cream too?"

“That sounds good!” His tail wags faster. “I’ll take care of Dagmar’s chores too. I’ll make sure to give the horses all the treats and scratch the dogs heads. But you have to pet Odin. He gives me the scary eye.”

"He is a fussy cat, isn't he?" SHe nods

He nods. “It’s okay though. Most folk is fussy sometimes too, but you just gotta learn how to talk to them. Someday I’ll learn cat.

"If any dog pooka could, it's you" she says "just remmeber, their paws have fangs"

“Still better than the cat I met last night. She was NOT HAPPY to see me. They say black cats are bad luck but that’s not true. Only the ones with a white stripe are.”

"AH, that would be a pole cat, aka a skunk" She admits "And they are not to be tangled with. Bet Gerd scrubbed you but good"

“She scrubbed my EVERYWHERE good. It was the WORST bath, and I didn’t even get a grilled chee’ to go with the tomater soup!”

"You poor thing," She says "Gerd only did it so you would be clear of the skunk funk, but I understand."

“I didn’t think it was that bad.” He rubs at his nose. “But it was AWFUL strong. I’m glad she has it though, a’cuz it was my fault for crawlin’ right into her living room when she was having her a Winter Nap. I could have been a hungry wolf looking for a pole cat snack!”

"You could have, but you wont' be hungry because we will get you a grilled cheese to go with those berries"

She carries him towards the kitchen to do just that

(End Scene)