#scarsdale

"Not Hearth lessons, Clem - CHEIFTAIN ones!"

Which is the closest Zara has managed to getting to raising her voice. Ye gads that almost hurt the throat

"Oh" Clem blinks "Well, Emmit would be chief"

"Emmit is also a grump. Think, Clem..."

"No need to be patronizing, and he's got quite a few decades in him yet... besdies, I feel vulture like enough being...hovering"

"A decade, certainly if all goes peaceful and well as it always does' Vashti sips

"Do you think they haven't thought about this? Haven't made their own plans? Why do you think you make all the diplomatic trips?"

"Well, yes i Knew they were grooming me but..."

A flicker of glamour, a smell of pipe smoke and Emmit is sitting in the corner

likely he's been there the entire time

"Parents help their children, siblings help each other, and children help their parents. By blood or not."

"And sometimes they snoop" Clem shoots her Uncle a look "How long have you been there?"

Emmit instead of answering that, looks at Zara, "You, young lady, have a way of seeing through the fertilizer. Don't mind Clem, she's just cranky when someone pulls her out of the humble seat even its only to talk sense. She feels bad about how proud she is of what she IS good at."

"She can hear you," Clem flushes

"And family is allowed to kvell, a little."

"It's necessary" Emmit agrees, "Clem, shall we get to the meat of it?"

"If it means I'm be talked to instead of, then yes"

Zara checks on Vashti.

Vashti looks at Zara "Should I go buzz cows?" Offering to leave

"Up to those two, sister."

"If you don't mind, Vashti. Just for a few minutes. You'll probably learn soon enough"

"See if you can find 1122's brood... they're a handsome bunch..."

She beams at that

and withdraws

Clem looks at Emmit "I hope you didn't hurt her feelings, Uncle. She's..a good person from hard times"

"She helped me save Earl." Firmly.

"And likely is more threatened by the spying sigil than any of the rest of us..."

Emmit nods "Up to you if you share it. But let me get to it."

Clem raises a brow but waits

Zara listens, hands laced over a bony knee.

Emmit says "Sometime in Autumn, Agnes will be stepping down, not from Hearth, she loves being Hearth. From Chieftain. I will not become Chieff, why should I? I have 'decades'. and it sure won'tr be murry. Clem, you're going to be made Chief. It's what you want, it's what your'e good at, and it's what you've been training for. I Know you think you'd make only 'okay' Mountain' and a terrible Hearth..the truth is , you'd make a good Fountain, an okay Hearth, a good storm, but you'll make a great chief. Zara sees it, already gave it away, or tried to but your'e not listening. You're worrying about Agnes, and the imbalance to the farm, like a chief should. I won't agree with everything you say, but I'll advise and abide, and so will Murray, and so will Agnes. It'll be different from the way we used to do things but... well, ione thing we're learning, sometimes different is needed"

"Oh! Mazel tov!"

Clem looks stunned "Wait..what? I... I'm not ..." A pause Then her brow knits "I trained in Storm, then Earl left, and you made me train with you... and then...hearth work in and out... and " She blinks "How long have you all been conspiring ?"

"And see, you won't be on your own - all three will be there to guide you."

"You're welcome ot put me out to stud if you can find some single troll ladies my age at Rivervale or the like" Emmit puffs on his pipe

"Oh sweet Odin, Uncle what a thing to say"

A raspy giggle.

"But.. I won't be OF anyhthning and we've never done that before..." Clem protests

"Technically you were last OF the mountain, just not THE mountain" Emmit says

"Also," he adds, "You may recall there was a time we'd never gone public before either."

Clem blushes

Zara listens, quietly filing away more nuances of troll politics.

"What will the others say?" Cleem says "The other wilders.."

"What always happens. Some will be proud and happy, some will be jealous and petty."

"I imagine Mozel Tov, only in Iowan" He nods to Zara then looks at Clem "Clem, you've been leading them all this time anyway. Secret Fight Clubs? Unseelie advice? Telling the lady folk kinian that they are here for more than just marrying trolls?"

Clem blanches "You ah..uhm kknow about that"

At that, Emmit looks to Zara, "See what I said about the burden of being a soothsayer? It's like you could light fireworks and they still think it's a show until they realize oh, the bridge really was out"

A long-suffering sigh and a resigned shrug.

A sympathetic look from her mentor. then back to Clem "She gets it."

"If the jedi padawan love fest is done?" Clem grumbles still embarrassed she missed some clue by fours, "You folks were just going to spring it on me, in Autumn? Just..blam, hey Clem you're chieftain? "