#rivervale_lodge

"You do... and from what I hear, are the knight no one messes with. Even Dirk on a bad day knows not to screw with you." Vali says "If not for you, Gerd would still resent me for NOT being her real dad. Don't think i didn't notice. "

A shrug.

"thank you for that" He adds

"I mean, she just needed some clarity on what she already knew. Gwydion are good at seeing the truth from the lies."

"You falcons are handy from time to time" a smile "But don't tell the Chief I said that." he ponders "Ever think there's some grass is greener on the other side going on here? Not just you I mean Sylvi wanted to go out, then missed home. Siv wanted to be free to sail, but feels like no one relies on her or needs her outside of her loves. Gerd feels like she's in people's way . And then there are your concerns. I'm not dismissing those concerns, but I am trying to find a ...context for them all. I don't think you guys realize how incredible you are. Maybe we grumps should have supported you more?"

"I don't feel ready for college."

"Because you don't feel grown up enough?' Double checking

She shrugs, spreading her hands out, palms up. She doesn't have an answer.

He considers this "If it was easy to say, you'd just say it. Okay. you know what.. I think you SHOULD go , this should not surprise you. I am a teacher, we're big on the education thing... kind of self serving now that i think about it" "now, if you don't go, you will miss the opportunity to get a scholarship. which means a year later getting it might be harder IF you want to get in, and not going has it's down side too. Folks will worry about you, but they'd worry about you no matter what because we worry about folks we love... you know what won't happen?"

"What?"

"The world won't end." he says "if you decide to wait a year, the world won't end. If you dive in first year and love it, the world won't end. If you dive in the first year and end up needing SO much help you feel like an idiot, the world won't end." A confident look "Whatever happens, or doesn't happen, yeah, it may get tense, it may set off some justifiable anxieties, but the world won't end."

"True..."

"Does that help at all to know?" he asks curious

"Kind of?"

He considers this, then "I'll take it." then he says "But I am just one guy with one opinion. What I can do is, even if you make a choice I think isn't the BEST way to go, I'll still think you're an awesome young lady and try to support you. i bet a lot of adults in your life feel the same. Kay?"

A nod.

"Now" he says reaching for a paper on the desk "if you'd please take a time to rate this Mountain's quality of service form? Rating me for Wisdom, accessibility, empathy, and customer service... " she doesn't have to have the boon to know he's joking around to ease the somberness of the moment

A soft snort.

A smile and he pets Bilbo a bit more "If there's anything i can do for you, anything, let me know. I should probably catch on paperwork and records. I know you got the pet return down. You and symon know to keep your ears open and wait for the right moment when you need to"

and he turns to his paperwork