#rivervale_lodge

Frank vaguely remembers holding a minotaur still, a minotaur that was on FIRE.... while his wife beheaded it...

"We won," she echoes Lily, then looks to the remains of the clock. A frown.

and Brekke remembers she chopped SOMETHING's head off

"I... am not certain."

Her hand goes automatically to rest atop Speaker at her hip.

"She... she's a satyr now? And... still in the Dreaming?"

"She?"

"Lily, what of Adam? Do you remember? Or you, Connor?" She is counting on the childling's lower banality to maybe help.

He considers.

Connor is quite sure a Wizard helped Save Adam only to get captured himself. Then Adam and the crew helped save him back. A Unicorn, who said she had defeated the father but was not the one to face the son gave directions. There was also a tower... he may have helped uhm.. rebreak it.

"Um. I remember lots. See, Gandalf..." He considers, and tries again. "Twilgiht Sparkle said she beat up her dad for a map..." A frown. "Oh! We played Jenga!"

Lily's brow knits "It was very mysterious, only so many dreams, and a shuffle of fate's cards. I am so very vexed at the Dreaming for being greedy but ... I think.. I think it was a 80% happy ending?"

A look at Connor "Someone may have saved us all by breaking things"

Brekke listens, her brow furrowed, and sighs when she cannot make heads nor tails of it.

"I am glad that there seems to have been a success. I simply would like to know what it was. Thank you, Connor, and thank you, Lily."

The dogs bark, visitors approaching the door

"All right, Oak, Signe," she says as she goes to the door and opens it to see who is there.

Kyle and Brenda Thomas are there... and they .. they're not kithain. Not a drop of satyr in Brenda, not a smidgen of troll in Kyle. Kyle has an arm about his wife and a wide smile as if he were greeting a friend when he sees Brekke, and Brenda does like wise "Hey, thanks for watching Lily for us. We hope she wasn't any trouble?"

Lily's eyes widen, not with horror, but intense curiousity

"Hi, Connor" Brenda waves warmly.

"Um." He looks behind him, then around, then touches his chest. "Oh. Me!"

"Hi... Mrs... Thomas?"

Brekke stares at them, stunned for a moment. Then she clears her throat. "Of course. It was a pleasure."

"Lily...your parents are here."

"Kinda?" He adds.

"yes," Lily whispers, "I ..see that" She moves to her mother and father

"Is all well?" Brekke asks the Thomases carefully.

Mrs. Thomas smiles and nods to Connor, then speaks to Brekke "Well we're glad she behaved. She can be a morbid little girl but we love her" And that's true.

Brekke nods, still deeply puzzled, but trying to keep up with this new wrinkle. "She has a style of her own. Please...we will be happy to host her at any time you need."

"Well, if you don't mind, frankly folks here are the only ones she socializes with.. and we can't make her do otherwise" Kyle nods "We're grateful"

"Definitely, but for now, home. Come on, Lily" she smiles and takes her daughter's hand "Say goodbye, no, say 'until later'"

"Until later" The sluagh smiles at the Rivervalers. SHe had been so worried her parents were breaking up. If nothing else, THAT seems to be no longer a threat

"Good night," Brekke says to the Thomases, and then "Sweet Dreams," to Lily.

Lily whispers something but no one can hear. The door closes, leaving a sense of odd victory in the air. Some questions, they suspect, will not be answered. But it seems a success. For the threat to the Right of Ignorance is done

Connor looks up at Brekke and Frank once the Thomases are gone. His tail wags cautiously. "We won?"

"I think we got as close to winning as possible, Connor."

"It seems so," Brekke says as she closes the door.

"I'll make the cocoa, then."

"We will have to brief the Hearth and Mountain in the morning. Will you be able to help with that, Connor?"

He nods. "I'm better at cocoa, but I'll try."

And arrangements for the debriefing are made over some very good cocoa.

((end scene))