#rivervale_lodge

"Like... like if I hadn't already been mad, hadn't already escalated things?"

"She was just so... so... sure she'd get away with doing whatever she wanted to him..."

Brekke nods. "It overcame you. The need to defeat."

"She was hurting him."

"Yes." Brekke nods.

"You know of that hurt."

....she nods.

"You had the power to stop her. But the further power, the rage, went past stopping her." A deep breath as she takes one of Stormwake's brushes and hands one of Star's to Dagmar. "This is why I wished to speak to you. You have felt it now. You see now that it is different than anger."

She takes the brush, and nods. "...you ever... I mean.. lose it?"

"Mm." A nod as she brushes. "More often when I was younger. But...nearly, last night," a grumbling admission.

"What? WHat happened last night? Why is Frank by the fire? I thought he was better..."

"He was." A long pause. "He was in the woods. There were two who sought to steal from the Barony. Balor. One a sidhe. They... " A pause. "He was badly hurt."

"And you hurt the sidhe who hurt Frank?"

"I mean, somebody hurt Tove or Jaymes, dunno... I'd wanna flatten them, too."

A long pause. "The sidhe is dead."

Eyes widen. "Dead-dead?"

A deep breath, and she looks at Dagmar. "Not as dead as I wished to make him."

"...oh..."

"I came close. I know that. I..." She pauses and shakes her head. "I came close."

"Frank is healed, by the way. You should know that."

"You doing okay? Lots of glamour the past couple days..."

A deep inhale. "I will be fine." A glance at her. "You are well now, also?"

A long look at the older troll. "I can be."

Truth.

"Mm." A nod of approval. "Let us finish here..." And she focuses on tending the horses.

"Sure." Back to grooming - a soothing, familiar ritual. It helps.

"Ah," Brekke adds after a minute. "The boy you saved. I am told he is doing well. Still enchanted. Anne Marie believes he has good prospects."

Siv strides to the lodge's kitchen door

"Siv!" Kerri meets her in the kitchen, surprised. "I didn't think....well, you're back." A smile of of course you're back.

Then more seriously. "Your father's recovering. He's by the bale."

"Good, thanks AUnt Kerri, sorry about all this" She sighs "I've pissed Jessica off too by the way. Seems to be a gift. "A breath

"She'll find him somewhere safe?" Relief.

Brekke nods. "That is my understanding."

A sympathetic look from Kerri. "How'd that happen?"

"Anne marie's good at reading people. I trust her."

"She is." The grooming done, Brekke turns Stormwake out into the paddock. It's a chilly day in New Jersey, so she makes sure he has a blanket on.

Star fusses until her blanket is Just-So (vain thing)

"I obeyed mom and kept her posted, of course." Siv says dryly then she adds "Also we misunderstood each other, but she wouldn't answer a single question I asked 3 times... and when we clarified.. she still wouldn't. I told her it was rude, and she seemingly bitched about the time I woke her up to tell her dad was hurt. I apologized to the princess and hung up"

"Ahh." A bit of a wince from Kerri. "Jessica and mornings and telephones...that's rarely been a good combination, ever."

"Yeah, that's what happens when I try to do right by other people by their rules... I'm learning that." Siv says

A bemused look from Kerri. "Would you like some salt and lemon for that wound?"

"No thanks, I'm about to talk to dad, pretty sure he'll provide, but I love the big lunk so he's out of luck, I'm STILL gona love him. The mule"

In the stables, Brekke watches the horses graze a moment, then says, "Thank you for coming to speak with me. I do not know if I called you away from anything of importance."

"Just home stuff... things are quiet but okay."

Kerri says, "That's the way it goes, sometimes, Siv. You'll endure. Here, have a cookie." She offers a platter.

Brekke nods. "Tove is well?"

"I think she thinks we're overprotective."

"But she's mostly been in the house and here, so... safe."

"Dad, he has to go straight down to the basement and shower when he gets home."

"Thank you, no," She says to Aunt Kerri, "I love your cooking, but ..right now no, it would feel too much like.. No."