#rivervale_lodge

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At the Lodge, Brekke is tending the horses at the stable, and checking the tack for both of them as well. Worn spots get mended, whether by handcraft or primal arts.

Some mending is needed. Dagmar has kept immaculate care of the steeds

But the tack is showing some wear.

In the distance, she can hear the childlilngs playing....it's a bit.. surprising. Lucjan &  Lauge are 'patroling', mostly in circles around the lodge..and somehow it has turned into a race. Jack Flap, being a satyr, outraces them both but then gets distracted. Malcolm, the unsained Eshu, is up a tree. But doing no harm.

She glances over at the sound of childling chaos, and grins a bit.

Margalita is gathering litter for 'scraps and materials'

WHich was a briliant way Tiff found to get the girl to care about keeping nature clean

Good sounds for Spring coming. She makes small gestures and murmurs lines of verse in Norwegian as bunks for mending.

Slowly, leather straps and saddles grow less worn, harnesses renew their strength.

And, then she realizes she's being watched.

An eyebrow as she notices this...but she finishes the piece she's working on before turning to look.

Jack Flap looks up, "Uhm...hello. Is.. can I help? Is this like, a bad time?"

"It is not. If you wish to help...hm...do you see the large bucket of grains? Put two full scoops of grains into each horse's feed bucket in their stalls. Do you see?" She points out the buckets.

"Sure! " He moves to do so, almost too eagerly. The boy confuses speed over steadiness at times. He may spill a few, but he does it quick

"Slow, Jack. Around the horses, move less quickly. If they startle, their hooves are fine weapons."

He gulps, and nods "yes." And pours them in

She nods and returns to the last strap that needs work, murmuring a passage of an edda to make the leather heal.

He watches carefully, doing his job first but watching, and then...nervously, reaches into his pocket.

When she finishes, and she sees that he has completed his task, she nods. "Good." A pause. "How are you doing, Jack? I mean, here, at the Lodge?"

"I love it!" he says "you teach me about the outdoorss... you HAVE an out doors..." As if this were a wonder "And the He-Chief, he reads to me. And Connor's..well... sometimes he and I yell a bit at each other ,but h's my best friend." nervous 'And.. I noticed your fridge was missing stuff"

"Missing stuff?" Eyebrow. "Please explain."

"Well, it's all blank on the outside, not ALL but..." He holds up something "I thought you could put this on it" Hopeful. It's.. a drawing. Done with Crayon.

"Ahh." Understanding. She reaches for the drawing and gives it serious attention.

A lot of blue used... but then, two trolls... clearly meant to be Brekke with that hand, and Frank! and in between them is Jack. Nearby , Connor, you can tell by the tail.

And they're all i nfront of the lodge and it says 'My new home'

It's like a child's idea of a family portrait.

Both eyebrows up, and she looks down at the boy. "This is very heartfelt work, Jack." It sounds like approval.

A lot of worry goes out of him, "Thanks, Chieft Shacklebrekker. It's... I thought maybe you could put it on the fridge. I know.. the Hearth is in charge of the fridge? but... if she's okay with it and you're okay with it?" Hopeful

A nod. "I will negotiate with her. I cannot say that it will be on the refrigerator for more than a week...but after that we will find another place to display it."

He swells with pride "Good. Its ...you know, what folks do. when they... uhm.. are friends" A bit of a lie there

She doesn't press him on the lie. "Jack...I am glad that you feel so positively about being here. I am glad that you enjoy this place and the people here. And I thank you for the ways you seek to help the Lodge."

He swells further then.. hugs her legs "I love it here, Chief Shacklebrekker THANK you."

A slight chuckle, and she reaches down to rest a hand on his shoulder. "You are welcome, Jack. Now...a question for you: if I teach you how to turn a garden bed for planting, will you help me with that work as Spring approaches?"

"YES.. I don't mind dirt" Yes, that's obvious. He seems to think baths are some odd ritual he must cede to to appease folks. He does cede at least. "And I like green things. Did you know that Falco says that you can tell how old a tree is by the rings it has inside it's trunk?"

"Falco?" Her brows furrow as she tries to place the name.

The Wopletinger boy is apparently still around. He was a cub scout type

"Yup..he's a ..wopleting.. something? Says he can't go near balefires or he'l nibble.. and that's sad. "

"Ah!" She nods, frowning at her momentary lapse of memory. "Well, Falco is right, but taking a sample of a tree to see the rings without harming the tree requires special tools. Merely cutting down the tree down to see the rings means it will never gain another ring...and there is not much purpose to that."

"That would be TREE O Cide" he says alarmed at the notion. "And trees done nothing mean to me"

"Arboricide," she amends, and nods. "There are times to harvest trees for our needs, and then we should try to take only the ones best suited and most willing. But to take trees for no good purpose is harm."

He nods and scratches his young chin, "Arboricide... if we cut down too many, we don't have shade, or things to climb, or homes for the birds an shi..." he catches himself "And stuff. And if we take some, we should give some." A look up "is that part of why we garden?"

"Part, yes. And that must also be done with care. Here, let me show you." And leaving the horses with a stroke of each one's nose, she leads him to the shed where garden tools are kept...and thus begins the lesson.

And to her surprise, the often overly energized boy listens with great focus.

(End scene)