#rivervale_lodge

Lily finds herself shoved out of the kitchen uncermoniously, but she's triumphant "I found food I liked." She has yogurt that has gone ..bad.

"You almost missed the gift giving" Tizzy says "And the secret of the bear"

"Secret of the Bear sounds like a Disney channel original."

Lily suddenly loses smuggness and scampers up "Thou must tell"

"...Secret of the bear?"

"I don't know. Maybe kids who stowed away don't get to know the secret." Symon says, mock seriously.

SIv contemplates "Aye, I barely had time to get her to scrub the deck"

Lily pouts "Am I not to right of rescue, am I not a sluagh who needs must know? Miss Zara understands" Hopeful eyes

"Miss Lily did air our quest."

Earl mutters under his breath "you might be biased about young snoopy girls, my love"

Siv however relents "Well, Tiss Miss Zara's post birthday birthday. Please continue, Tziporah"

Zara shrugs at Earl. It's a fair cop.

Tziporah hands over the first box, "sorry didn't wrap it. With it, comes the secret of the bear"

"Aye?"

She takes out the bear.

The Bear is perhaps too cute for most sluagh, yet she can feel power in it. It is dressed like a Russian Czar, with of his little paws over his own mouth. Not too big. One might wonder what the appeal is for a sluagh, but then there is that magic, a sense of ..a rule within, and not a rule that applies to Zara

Sh arches a brow and kenns it.

VERY Specific

Without prompting, Tizzy leaps into a story "In a time before time was measured, before the great roads crumbled but after the departure of the Tuatha; there were still families that occured between kiths. Oh it was rarer then, we were plentiful, so boggans would raise their little home nuggets of young, trolls be examples to the tiny giants to be, and so forth; but it was not unheard of now and then for adoptions. Even unplanned one, for Fatima, Fate, Da'an, speaks little but when she does, she speaks with finality. There was a boggan, a simple maker of toys, no greater than any other toymaker he said, for he had little to be great for. There was also a child, a sluagh, we do not know what she looked like... perhaps she was a creature just out the river, webbed toes and long webbed fingers. Perhaps she was dry like leather stretched too thin, and the skin about narrow her eyes like flaking lizard scales? Maybe she was barely held together, like fog, fearing bright sunlight; but she was a young spirit, and... though she did not speak of it too easily, we know that her family was hunted, and she lost them, to the House of the Cold Sun. ..." She takes a sip of tea to see if others are listening

Hissssss.

Lily huffs and crosses her arms. Varich are rude

Earl puts a comforting arm on hsi lady's arm, gentle touch, reassuring. Siv tilts her head.

Tziporah continues "So it was, this slip of a child, stumbling for shelter, crept into the hearth of the boggan. Oh there's a tale within a tale, for days, the boggan thought he was being haunted, a not entirely impossible thing- for ghosts were allowed to walk about more openly then. And the little girl, slow to trust, stole his food, waited for it to age proper like, and dined. But, some say when the thunder boomed while the sun was still out ,she panicked, and thought mayhaps, mayhaps THEY, the Varich had found her. And that she slipped into the boggans bed and hid undder his enchanted axe proof sheets. There the boggan found her, and his heart was so very bogganish that he could deny her little. It is the curse of the boggan, and the blessing to the rest of us, that the needy call pulls at them. But the girl fell into a trap too, not of the Varich, but of his kindnature softening her dark little heart, and she began to see him as a new father. Fortunately, he saw her as a daughter in return, so her dignity was saved" A SIp

Zara clasps her tea with both hands, listening closely.

Lily agrees "A sluagh childlign's dignity is quite tender"

"Not just the childlings, I've noted " Siv smirks over her own tea looking at Symon and Zara

A quiet "feh"

Earl gives his trueheart a fond squeeze

ANd Tziporah goes on "Alas, the time came to present the girl to court, for it was required. Varich, thankfully for her, did not rule that area, but there were some who had high places in court. One, a Count of the Gold and Black, who I shall call Count Glebgarin, was a cruel man, a bully, and unfortunately was in charge not of the land, but of certain social matters. Oh, he was forced by his superior to allow sluagh in, but whenever they came, he spoke VERY LOUDLY" Her voice raised just slightly for a moment to annoy on those words only and not hurt "And encouraged his lackeys to do the same. When the boggan's daughter came for a celebration, the boggan could only watch as his little girl shut her eyes or covered her ears. He was no warrior, he could not avenge. And the Count broke no rule...so his superiors could only tut. Had it ended there, that would have been one thing, but while out and about, the Count would take his enterougue past the boggan's house, 'SPEAKIING LOUDLY' " Again that slight raise, then lowering fast "And no father, by blood or chance or choice, wants his little girl to suffer such. So the toy maker got to work. He encouraged his girl to be brave, and slip tassels from the dirty laundry of the Count and other Varich, just snitch a bit.."

By now, Frank might have come in, and being a polite guy, gotten coffee and might be listening as well

Lily is enraptured

Zara is leaning forward, just as rapt as the childling.

Symon affects disinterest, but his eyes glint and he listens.

Siv has opinions about going to a FIona for a Champion but relaizes this isn't the time to ask why they didn't

Fiona, for all their pros, are LOUD in general.

"Now the brave little sluagh, who.. might , in past life been any one of you, did this despite her fear of the Varich and the very real danger. " Tizzy resumes "Nor was her adoptive father slack, he too gathered things, including the more dangerous job of a bit of the Count's sweat from his brow, bold as brass did he wipe that shining's brow to offer comfort. So with Sweat of the Count, and gold from the Winter Wise House of Patterns, the Boggan went to work. He was not the greatest craftsman, remember, a simple toymaker, but greatness is often a matter of what one fights, stands, or yes, even crafts for. And he drew on Love's power with all the summer in his heart, for he did love his daughter, and he made the first bear. It was cute, as Boggans are prone, and his daughter looked at it askance, but was too polite to tell her father she would have prefered a bristly spider or a slime coated eel. Love means restraint sometimes. But her father saw her look anyway, and smiled and did say "Take it to Court with you the next itme you must go" ANd the girl was scared, but agreed, but was confused why her father did not let her wear muffs. Was she not suffering enough?"

Lily gasps "Why?" Then covvers her mouth

Tzzy winks and continues "AH, why indeed? Why would a father subject hsi daughter to such? But... as she went with her little Czar bear before her, mocking Russian royalty by rendering them bits of fluff and stitching...a most curious thing happened. In it's presence, the dread count tried to bellow again, but he looked at the toy, saw it covering it's mouth, and found..." Tizzy lowers her voice to a stage whisper "He could only talk in a whisper. Oh how he tried to raise his voice to naught. Oh he tried to yell, all for naught. He even tried to sing loudly.. for naught." Her voice resumes normally "And every varich in the court was affliected the same. They had abused their own voices you see, and the boggan put in the bear a voice that would render the abused privilege almost literally mute. And other Houses chuckled and laughed, for it was a master stroke by the craftsman, and if one believes in repaying all debts? Well there you go. The little sluagh went where she willed in Court, in the land near her father's home, that silly bear by her side. And the Varich , rather than be silenced, fled her as if she were a plague, for the Gwydion Ruler refused to part the girl from her toy born of love and justice. She return to her father, that little girl, and he asked 'Well, do you like your bear now? " and she hugged him and asked "Can you make just twelve more?"... and he said 'As you wish' And he did, and now there are thirteen magic bears in the world, fluffy, cute, and contianing a father's protective power and a little girl's justice, and those of the Cold Sun may not speak any louder than those they hate in their presence iwthout great effort of will."

And Tizzy sstands and curtseys , her tale done

Zara claps (quietly!)

Lily gushes and does like wise, a soft pat, but she's sure the Eshu understands.

"WOop" Siv says a ltitle loudly then "sorry" "Whoop" She repeats, this time quietly

Earl just asks "Are you saying Varich have to whisper around that thing?"

A huff at Earl's lack of proper theatrics.

Earl gives an apologetic look at Symon "Sorry just.. isn't that amazing?"

Tziporah answers "Yes, yes unless a Varich is very strong willed, in the same room as one of these bears, they are forced to whisper"

A protocal of sorts, Zara realizes, highly specialized and somehow over riding noble rank ..ah, a Czar would be like a king's command to Varich

Her grey lips curl in a pleased grin.

"I hope you like it?" Tziporah says a bit nervously despite the pleased grin "I know it's not very spooky looking. Boggan made"

"Nay, it is wonderful."