#rivervale_lodge

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Kerri finishes washing the last pot and hands it to Olgar to dry as he finishes telling her about the puppy he's chosen. "He sounds like a character," she says with a smile.

"Yeah, little snot just wants some place to belong. Honestly i was a coin flip, came up his way"

"Well, I hope you won't remind him of that whenever he annoys you."

She wipes down the sink and dries her hands, then checks around the kitchen. A satisfied sigh.

"I have you to keep me on my good behavior" A chuckle "anyway, thinking of calling him Echo because his name is some Tolkein thing meaning Echoing mountain, and while he has this litle white Blaze, Blaze strruck me as a bi t on the nose. that said, if you want to suggest one, go for it"

"Oh, I like Echo. 'Blaze' just doesn't sound as nice. 'Buh-LAYzzzzzzz'" she says with belabored exaggeration. "The sound drags. But Echo? I like it."

"All right" He says "I gotta tell you, Kerri. I know Aiden didn't do right by his son, I also know he didn't have his own mind, but ... damn it, I liked him. Had a better first talk with him than I did Hemlock. Course the Count wasn't doing businenss with me"

"Honey, you called him Headlock. It wasn't going to go well from there."

"He called me Ogeeer first" A reminder "He played with my name, I played with his. you'd think a seelie would respect the debts repaid bit" A wink "So, how has your day been?"

"It's been good. Nothing exploded, so far," she quips. "And...I had an interesting conversation with AnneMarie."

"So far" He nods then says "mmm I sense bait.. I think I'll ask and get hooked: What was interesting about it?"

One thing Kerri likes about her husband is that he usually does take the bait when it's offered. She rewards him with a beer before continuing. "Well, she had some observations about Sylvi and Colton's relationship."

All ears "Something going on there?" A touch of concern

"Wellll..." A pause. "She thinks that maybe Colton's having a bit of difficulty coping with a long-distance relationship with an independent-minded young woman like Sylvi."

"Oh for the love of mike..." A sigh "I thought that twerp had grown up"

"He's still a young man, Olgar. And I think Sylvi's the first seelie-ish relationship he's had."

"Oh right. Former Leanhaun trainin.. " A scrach of his chin "Well, trods are smoother than ever. He could visit more..." Olgar says "Ah, he's got a case of Brekkitis"

She raises an amused brow at him. "I'm pretty sure I know what you mean, but I want to hear you spell it out."

"For the court martial records?" A wolf grin, his blighted face somehow just a bit more bearable... though Kerri, of all folks, might not see the blight anymore "You probably guessed. She does not take time off often and fidgets at the notionn. She's a Dutyoholic. Frank had to use sailing lessons as 'training' to get her to take 2 weeks off. Siv would not have been born if Frank hadn't gotten sneaky. Tells you all you need to know"

a sip of his beer

A blink. "She does have a new hold to take care of. A brand new hold. I can't blame her for being a bit fixated on it. It's a bit different from having been in charge of a place for decades."

"I was talkin about Mister Storm not Miss Goldfinnch" a chuckle

"Just saying he's like our Chief in working too hard. Brekkitis"

"Oh...sorry...I thought all the 'She' meant Sylvi. Well...yes...that sounds likely to me. Of course, you see him more often than I do, I think."

"Not that often, when I drop by he's either trainining his men, patroling, or musing dreamers who face phycical challenges . He doesn't take enough time for himself, and that means he cheatts himself of Sylvi as while she has an imporant job, she's usually great at social stuff, like her mom, and juggles work life balance better than Colton does. " he looks at his wife "I'm guessing you have an idea how to help them out?"

"I thought maybe somebody who was really skilled at managing long-distance relationships might be able to have a man-to-man talk with him," she says, smiling sweetly.

"Ah" He takes not a sip but a swig, "Okay you put it tha way and I'm feeling sorry for the twerp. It builds on you, the guilt, the lonliness. You know, babe, in a way you broke me for a bit. I fell in love with you, and suddenly I felt bad leaving, I actually got lonely. Foul temptress" Smirk, then soberly "course I came to realize I didn't need to feel guilty like I left you when you needed me, because you didn'tt. you ran tthings just fine before me. That, of course, stirred all sorts of macho insecurities in another direction."

"I didn't mean to torment you...much." She grins a bit. "And...well...I definitely remember noticing that your absence was bothering me. Told myself I was being silly, getting attached...but you're like a barnacle." She hip-checks him lightly and winks.

That gets a hearty laugh, then he puts an arm around her "Glad to know I wasn't alone. We were both in denial. Yeah, I'll talk to him. He's got advantages I didn't. Cellphones don't work well on the trods. You think you should work the Sylvi side ?"

She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "I can try...but I might sic Siv on her. You know...cool Fiona instead of Mom."

"YOU are the coolest mom there is. that said...Mmm Siv might like it. She's been antsy herself. And yeah, Sylvi might roll her eyes at Fiona love advice, but I think the two respect each other."

"I think so, too. Now..." she presses a little closer. "All this talk about falling for each other is getting me inspired."

"Oh, I fell hard," he finishes the beer hastily and throws the empty can into the garbage one handed by squeezing her waist with his otherr arrm "I was tumbling, dropping, plummeting; you defenestrated me" he's not to proud to run this angle to death if it keeps her on simmer

"Mmmm..." she purrs as he pulls her close. "I sound pretty darn powerful, to be able to do that to a dauntless Knight of the Way."

"Fortunately powerful women turn me on" He kisses her, and coaxes them both closer to their bedroom " I respect them so much... in fact, let's go to bed. You show me your power, and I'll respect the hell out it" A light drag of teeth along the neck as they keep moving

A laugh that ends in a catch of breath. "Not fair," she says, and grabs him by the shirt to pull him the last few steps into the room. The door shuts firmly behind them.

(Fade to Powerful mutual respect!)