#rutgers

Sam is flopped on the couch, half-watching TV.

Sylvi comes in the apartment door, visibly tired. "Hey," she calls out half-heartedly.

"Hey." She sits up, grabbing and hugging a pillow to her chest. "Lord of the Rings is on."

"Oh, cool." She plops down her books and kicks off her shoes before dropping into the free space on the couch.

A tired, cautious smile.

"I could make popcorn?"

"Oh, that would rock." A pause. "Hey, did Sy...did you hear about Nadeen?"

"I heard that there was a sickness?"

"I had already drug him to Florida before he had a chance to clarify why you were out. So, that's on me."

"Oh, is that where you went? During the storm and everything?"

"And no worries. I did a massive Well of Life. Mad Ernie, Marigold's helper, helped out. Everybody's getting better." A snicker. "Jello shots."

"Right after - rescue squad. Earl took us down to hook up with the DeBuke clan."

SNERK. "No shit? That's... kind of nrilliant."

"Right? I wouldn't have thought of it, but it worked like crazy."

"How bad was it down there?"

"Pretty bad. Lots of flooding."

"We saved a good number - kith, kin, mortals. Even a dog."

A grin. "I bet you fought people to make sure the dog got saved."

The door latch clicks, and Symon slips in. The smell of spicy sauce and chicken.

"There was this Aesin childling..." She trails off. Then a shake of a head and a smile. "Everybody knew better than to fight me on the dog. Plus, we found his owner!"

"Hey, Symon." A weary wave.

He shoves the box onto the coffee table. "Eat."

"Our hero." She reaches to open the box...and stops. "Sonofabitch."

She's staring at her fingers.

"What? THey're FRESH." He scowls at her.

"If I wanted to make you vomit, I'd do it in your room, not out here..." He looks somewhat offended. "And it would be a waste of good aged food."

"Ooo, wings."

"No, no...I'm missing my ring."

"Sylvi?"

"What ring?"

"And I know exactly..." She shakes her head. "Darned piskie."

Frown. "Piskies."

"Oh, it's not an important one. Not like a treasure or anything."

"We can call up the Steward there and get it back, I'm sure."

"Most piskies aren't stingy about what they steal."

"Yeah, I was just surprised. Ernie's not a bad guy, I know he'd give it back."

"Heard they were hosting Pennons. You going up for that?" Symon whispers, curious. He nods to Dagmar. "Invitation arrived for you as well. Didn't open it, but after I heard, I figured that's what it was, embossed horses and junk on the envelope and all."

"Point is, you could get it then. Save a trip."

She helps herself to some food. "Geez, I think I need about fourteen hours of sleep before I can think about Pennons."

"Mmph." Frown.

"Good idea, though."

"Chief is probably doing Pennons at Bergen, so I should go to Bergen."

She takes a wing to munch on.

She glances at Dagmar. "We should find out for sure, one way or another."

"I mean, if they sent invitations...."

Symon points to where he shoved the mail. It's an obvious spot for HIM, maybe she didn;t think to look there.

There's also a chinese menu, a letter from the bookstore that looks invoice-y, and a credit card offer she may have missed.

Sylvi looks at the wad of papers...and sighs. Her shoulders sag a little more.

Dag takes the fancy envelope from the pile.

"Is that a tired sigh or a depressed sigh?"