#rivervale_lodge

Siv watches her father go. A bit of a troubled look

"Fine, as far as I'm aware. She and Sylvi have been talking a lot...." She follows Siv's gaze. "...what?"

"Da can be a little... closed off at times" She sighs "I didn't mean to make him feel unwelcome. Quite the opposite. IT's just... you try to have a conversation with him, you two words, a nod, and then.. if it's not 'important' he... goes off. I can't.." A shake of her head "Not sure we click well. He and Jessica understand each othyer more"

"I wish I could help out there, but... your Dad doesn't make much more sense to me either. He's just... no offense, but nothing seems to get him excited. I mean, he loves ya, it's clear, and he'll hustle if there's a problem, but otherwise, it's just... Stone. Is that common for troll Grumps?" Thinking about Vali, a younger one for sure, not quite a greybeard yet.

"Mom can be stand offish too. For the longest time I thought somewhat was wrong with me" siv admits "Then I went to Earth RUnes and I was the sedate quiet one. Believe it or not. IT took some time. I think, and maybe it's unfair, Da feels the few times he's gotten openly eexcited it's not gone well for him. He beats himself up for any consequences of it even when it's not his fault. Even I'm not sure though. It's the little signs that matter. If he touches mom's hand it's like your average fellow spinning his lady in the air"

"Your mom is stoic, but at least she'll talk to people. More than single syllables. He... it's not that HE makes me uncomfortable, but the silence, when I've tried to make conversation? It's really... not welcoming. I feel like I bother him if I try. So, I generally don't, unless there's something important, y'know?"

"He's a good listerner though" Kassiday says "He lets us play and talk around him"

"Maybe..." She allows, "Though I kinda feel like he's waiting for me to get to the point, or leave." A bit of a sheepish smile. "I -do- tend to chatter, though."

"You and me both, tis Jonas who sits there, and answers in facial expressiosn until he has to talk then he uses big words for a bit, then p;owers down" A grin from Siv

"But that's different." Piper points out. "I understand Jonas. I mean, sometimes I need a Dictionary to do so..."

"My da loves me very much" Siv says "ANd I'd not trade him for anything, but I've never been good at troll talk. That ability to convey all that needs be said with a grunt or a lift of brow. "

"I think maybe he does talk in his way, but then I don't get it. And I wonder if that makes him feel...distant. "

"It's not just you" Kassidy offers "Zane says it's frustrating all that wisdom bottled up which he won't share even when he's asked"

Siv's eyes narrow "Zat so? Zane feels my dad is a bottle who should have an easy cork, is it? "

"Siv, I'm sorry if I sounded insulting. When you mention Jonas... Yeah, I get it. -I- understand his ways, and so do you, but to outsiders, he may seem just as quite and moody as Sir Frank might to ME."

"You didn't" Siv says cooling her jets with both "I just... ah. It's an old problem., I have sat at dinner tables with mom, dad, and sis and felt very much alone because i missed nuance"

"Still, you HAD your family all together at a table, and that's gotta count for something." She smiles.

"True." A chuckle "And your moms certainly AREN't SToic, so I imagine your table conversation was.. interesting?"

"When we actually were all together for dinner! Vera always had classes to teach, and tutoring goes by the hours your students have, and most of them wanted to practice after work. Viola has her local jazz sets... but we'd make breakfast together every weekend!"

"You didn't together that often?" Siv seesm surprised "With me it was almost a big meal with all of us every day. Course Aunt Kerri insisted"

"Well, when I was younger? But once I was a teen, I didn't want to hang out with parents, not when I could run off and... you know. Hang out with friends."

"That won't happen to me" Kassidy says "I mean, I have no parents but I'll always think you guys are cool"

Siv smirks at Piper "Hear that? Won't happen to her"

A smug look back at Siv. "I don't know about you, becoming some old fuddy-duddy, but -I- plan to stay hip and cool forever, like Etsi."

"Life goals" Siv offers a fist bump

Bump!

Kassidy rolls her eyes

Then the squire asks "Can I go see the horses? "

"Sure, have fun" Siv waves "Good improvement today"

The squire beams, and heads off

Siv looks at her girlfriend and says "Thank you, by the way"

“What for?”

"Kassidy, I put you in a hard spot, and you not only tolerated her, you've become a 'cool older friend' to her. i've seen how you encourage her."

Her cheeks pink a little. "Well, she's just a kid after all."

"She is" A nod "A good kid but it .. it helps her, and it helps me too." A smile "I knwo there's some past life mojo but.. even then you are someone she trusts now"

"Well now you're making me nervous about the responsibility!"

Siv lAUGHS and hugs her "Oh no.. .your'e not a babysitter and I won't put THAT On you. Lord, if either of us has kids, I can tell we're going to work on a system"

"what's the story with her family, anyways? No parents?" Making sure that Kassidy is no longer in earshot.

Though, her ears PINK at that suggestion.

"Oh that.. well, she really had no place to go"

"Did something happen to them? Mortal parents? I know sometimes once we 'pop' we don't fit in the old family again... not everyone is blessed with Fae fams."

"Oh she's an Autumn sidhe, so a changeling like yourself. But she had a rough patch to say the least. Then she got dumped as unwanted even among knights and you can imagine it shook her. "

"It's still kinda weird to me, you know. Thinking of Sidhe doing something as 'common' as the Changeling way."

"But... I mean, definitely better?"

"I guess" Siv says "I ... uhm. .not sure how much that applies to me . Odd birth"

"I never really wanted to ask, because it seemed rude, but..." She leans in, and takes Siv's hand. "You know I won't feel any differently about you either way, but... did you get your body from a mortal?"

She squeezes it "Not that i know of, but I was conceived in the Dreaming and that has me wonder how i worked. You know?"

"Right... but that makes you, just like any fae soul returning from Arcadia, doesn't it? Where did you get your mortal half?" Curious, she pokes Siv in the side, then leans in for a cuddle. "I mean, I'm glad you HAVE it..."

'you better be, " She cuddles back "And I honestly don't know. It's always made me wonder"

"Maybe it's better not to wonder too hard... or maybe it's a quest to find out. What way are you leaning?"