Redhawk Caldera All of the people that I don't know

tags for ref! But anyone is welcome!

After finding @Teya by the lakeshore, Bridget proceeded to insert herself without being willing to take no for an answer. Clearly she needed someone to remind her she wasn’t alone, and Bridget would stay at her side however long it took.

She introduced herself to @Ponyboy and @Bronte as “Aunt Bridget”. A friend of their mom’s who would be staying with her a while to help. She was no stranger to this kind of thing, and slipped into the role of caretaker naturally. She wouldn’t let Teya refuse to sleep and would not allow her to starve herself.

Brecheliant was as open to her return as she’d known it would be. She fished the familiar river, now icy with the fall, and looked up to the trees briefly. She welcomed the sense of purpose, but hoped for her friend’s sake she wasn’t so sorely needed come spring.

“You must go home, Frolic. Go home to your mother and give her a big hug,” @Eset’s voice whispered in her mind, “and tell her you love her.”

Frolic did go home, presumably with @Ceridwen, though she sulked in a far corner of the territory for a while. She had nothing against her sister or the rest of her family, of course, but she kept staring longingly toward the lowlands, daydreaming of her time there and pining to go back.

After a few days, Frolic did go looking for Maia. She wanted to speak to her mother and father about traveling again. They’d had this conversation before, but she was a bit older now. And truth be told, Frolic could only wait so long before she simply left.

She would strongly prefer to obtain their blessing, though. She wanted to say proper goodbyes to everybody in her family, especially @Glee and even the smelly @Callahan. Maybe they could even throw a going away party!

Instead of her mother, the youngster came across an unfamiliar woman by the riverbank. Frolic stopped and gawped at her for a moment before momentarily forgetting her agenda as she rushed over to the stranger. It was refreshing to see someone new against the same old backdrops of Brecheliant.

Hi! Who’re you? Frolic demanded, the inquiry driven by curiosity rather than any sort of suspicion.

Caught!! Bridget turned and grinned, entirely unbothered by the girl’s rudeness. She’d heard that Maia and Eljay had a few more kids, but hadn’t had the opportunity to meet many of the younger members of the pack officially yet. She should probably fix that now that she was staying a little more long-term.

I’m Bridget. A friend of Teya’s. And your parents. Well, sort of? They weren’t close, but Brecheliant was practically one big family from what she could tell. Safe enough to assume she could call them friends at the very least.

Who’re you? She asked back, matching the tone of impertinent curiosity. She’d kind of given the game away, but who knows? Maybe she had the wrong kid.

If she was a friend of all the important adults in her life, why hadn’t Frolic ever met her before? She didn’t doubt Bridget whatsoever, she just wondered where she’d been hiding this entire time. Then again, she hadn’t said they were close.

I’m Frolic, she replied before asking, How come I’ve never met you before? Then a realization struck her like lightning as she demanded to know, Is it ‘cause you travel?

She certainly wasn’t shy! Bridget took an immediate liking to her. I do! I’m back for a while now, but I’ve been traveling these past few seasons. I’m a medic, so I like to see where they need me. She could guess why that was such an interesting thing. None of the other adults in Brecheliant had been much for traveling, last she knew.

She didn’t follow up with a question right away, sensing Frolic was bursting to ask a few instead.

Her brows rose when Bridget mentioned she was a traveling nurse. Frolic wasn’t much interested in such things, though she had a healthy respect for the field on account of Eljay. It seemed like a pretty cool calling, actually.

Do you travel by yourself? I mean, when you’re not helping patients, she asked. Is it har—

Quite abruptly, Frolic noticed the woman’s missing hind leg. Her eyes bugged and she stared at the stump. Frolic inevitably wondered what the heck had happened there, though before she could think to ask, she found herself marveling all the more at Bridget’s vocation.

Hard? Is it hard? Frolic finished her earlier thought, dragging her eyes back to Bridget’s face. Or is it more, like, fun than hard? she tacked on in a hopeful tone.

we can wrap this anytime! I've been a bit slower on her than on others <3

Bridget bit back a laugh as she noticed Frolic's eyes widen at her leg. It wasn't a reaction that bothered her, but hell, it was hilarious to see sometimes how long it took them to notice! She loved kids for that; no assumptions. She was basically a cool new toy to them versus someone needing pity. It's pretty hard and pretty fun, actually. I think if it was easier it'd be less interesting.

She watched to see what Frolic would make of that, then figured she should at least do the responsible disclaimer. Chances were pretty high she was looking to duck out for at least a while, asking questions like these. There's tricks to making it easier. If you stick near water, you'll usually find food too, and fish are easier to catch than most other things. Wait long enough and most times they'll come to you. Barely a leg required!

It sounded like an even split, though Bridget’s remark definitely gave Frolic some food for thought. Easy was often synonymous with boring, at least in the youngster’s experience. She thirsted for challenge.

Oh, I hate fish! Blech! she blurted, wrinkling her nose. I hope I’m never desperate enough to eat fish. But, Frolic said cheerfully, noted! Got any more travel tips to share?

If Bridget didn’t mind, Frolic would pick her brain, though only for a little bit. She still needed to find her parents and sit them down to talk. She was a little anxious about how it would go but her chat with Bridget would validate her decision to give traveling a whirl sooner than later.

No worries! This feels like a good place to fade? :)

Don’t tell Teya, Bridget thought, amused. Food was food, but she’d likely realize that at some point out there, so the healer didn’t say anything. Instead she humored her request.

She’d spend the next little while giving her any tips she could recall. She couldn’t help tossing in a bit of healing; nothing too complicated, just the simple things that might come in handy if anything happened. Plants to eat when nauseous, when in pain, and some to avoid too. Common poisonous ones that were a bitch to deal with if accidentally eaten.

Frolic was a keen listener. Bridget knew Eljay would sleep better knowing his daughter was out there prepared one day, so she figured she’d do the guy a solid and set the groundwork. Besides, it had been a while since anyone had wanted a lesson from her, and she really enjoyed the teaching.