madscienceman:

The other two men of the group probably would have noticed how Griffen reacted around them. It wasn't so much in awe as he was more than a little intimidated by them. He would retreat carefully when he thought he could get away with it and often he did since he was a crafty man. But his dog had been begging for attention all day.

The beagle Zelbar had wiggled and squirmed all morning so Griffen had gotten a base ball bat and a bucket of tennis balls. He would toss one up into the air and hit it with as much force as he could. The ball would go flying and Zelbar would chase after it and sometimes he would bring it back sometimes he wouldn't.

The point was this was the most relaxed he had been since the fourth. Sydney somehow had been a soothing presence for him that day and he had been unguarded that day. He liked how professional she could be as well as how she was with Zoey. It was nice. Now he was very relaxed through with his dog around so it was unlikely there would be any carefully planned retreats from the two godling men if they happened to seek him out.

sydney_ashcroft:

Zoey had a plan. It was a good plan. No. It was a great plan. No. It wasn't just a plan. It was THE Plan. The plan of all plans. She just had to find a way to get it done.

The idea came when she saw her...Mom called them housemates...but they were really her friends.... Very tall and very strong friends. She was the only girl in her class who had a friend who could lift a boulder and throw it very far. Zoey had watched Svalin and Halbjorn do it. It was awesome!

She couldn't wait to go back to school to tell her classmates about her newest friends. None of them had friends like she did. Maybe Asleif would go to school with her one day and show Zoey's classmates real magic. Not the stupid kind that Jessica had at her birthday party. Zoey had totally seen the man hiding things in his hands and sleeves. The man was lame compared to Asleif.

The fireworks on the Fourth of July were just awesome. Totally awesome. She was glad she had the idea to ask Asleif to make fireworks.

Idea. The idea for today and for The Plan came to her while she watched Svalin practicing with a sword. A REAL sword and not some lame fake one. Svalin had one, so did Aridis and Halbjorn. Asleif didn't seem to like them for some reason. Zoey thought they were really cool and Mom had said she was not allowed to touch them. Ever. She wondered what Mom had against swords. Svalin said that she had a sword when she was Zoey's age. She wanted one too.

Right. The idea. Mom had taken her out to dinner to a place with swords and horses once. Middle Times or something like that. Zoey knew it would be a great place to take her new friends. They would love it. They had to.

She ran and asked Mom if they could go. Mom said yes, but Zoey had to ask the others if they wanted to go. Mom went on about how she couldn't talk or speak for others. Zoey only heard the first part of it.

She skipped around the grounds looking for Asleif or any of the others.