"Then I'll come back next weekend and bring some books I think you might like."

She thinks she's made a friend?

Culpeper Cut sends some more hyena laughter at her on her way out!

The last spirit on her list is Washington Snowmelt, a spirit of the upper Potomac and the headwaters that feed it.

To the Washington Snowmelt she goes, then!

What's its reported disposition like?

It complains about monsters a lot. Spirit bearers tend to use it as a bounty board.

Oh boy, that sure sounds like something.  And might put her at odds with Lilith if she really throws in.

Well, time to meet them.

"Are you here to fix the microphone?" A sphere of slushy ice asks her when she goes to the described concrete pier.

"No, but I could probably try if you wanted.  Would you be Washington Snowmelt, then?"

"Yes. I use it to report monsters, but it breaks often. Because of the monsters."

"I can imagine.  Is it an open-air sort of dealie?  Because underwater microphones probably should exist..."

"It's in the shed."

The problem is: Plug fell out.

"...cable's unplugged; you need those.  I'll just pop that back in for ya."

"...so, you really don't like monsters.  I'm not particularly fond of monsters either, and am looking to become a spirit bearer."  Both true, if honestly not as related as they might seem.

"Testing. Testing. Marker 472, seven Goblins and two Beasts travelling north. Marker 138, lone Troll. Suspicious activity near marker 17, uncertain valence."

"Many people are looking to become spirit bearers. I have empowered one recently and cannot do so again."

"I see.  Well, I'm glad I came out here, regardless.  Have a nice day, Washington Snowmelt."

...Yeah, her next stop is...

She's going home, and then maybe she'll stop by the Spirit Association to yell at them a bit because, really, she shouldn't have had to fix that!  And the way they're handling Culpeper Cut!

The drive home reminds her that it's lunchtime, and so she pulls in to a local café, to both plan her plan of attack on the SA local, and just genuinely enjoy some comfort food.

She doesn't care who says it, there's no wrong season for hot chocolate.

"Fancy meeting you here," comes a familiar, amused voice startlingly close to her left. "My treat, since you've been busy?"

Eep!  "Ohh, hey, Lilith.  Sure; I don't make a habit of turning down free food."

"Not going to ask where the money comes from?" Smirk.

She heads inside, beckoning with slim fingers to follow.

"Not my money, not my problems."  She grins back.

And she follows!

They get seated quickly. 

"So, how was your morning? I've been dealing with annoyances, myself..."

"Mostly the same; I did a tour of some of the local spirits, seeing who's in the market for a new Spirit Bearer.  Stabbed a couple more monsters for one of the woods, fixed an unplugged cable, just, minor errands that're ingratiating.  ...The way Culpeper Cut is described is bullshit, incidentally; it's just an autistic prankster with a special interest in plants, it's not erratic, if you can just model that at all.  So I'm planning on yelling at the SA later.  They should know better.  ...Honestly, I really like it.  It's just, adorably enthusiastic, you know?  ...Oh heavens help me I have just had the mental image of you and it meeting and it would be a glorious disaster if you two got along."

She grimaces. "Huh. I haven't thought of it that way. When they have the ability to smite you... Somehow I doubt it'd be a good idea to say hi. But treating spirits badly for bullshit reasons like laziness or capitalism? Sounds about par for the course.

"Yeah.  Or just, pure refusal to consider alternate perspectives."  She politely elides over the confirmation of her thoughts about Lilith's monstery-ness, though Lilith's empathy can probably pick up on that being noticed.

"I almost got enkindled by it, actually.  It thought that'd be a really funny prank to play on the Spirit Association.  Tripped over my own tongue instead, but honestly I would've felt weird just showing up and getting what I wanted on the first meeting anyway.

"Anything you feel like talking about with how your day's been going?"

"Hmmmm. Helped one of my less civil friends. He's a really really tall guy, has trouble hiding, both metaphorically and literally. Too big can just be inconvenient and painful, though it's also fun... Worked on staying in shape too. It takes a lot of maintenance to keep this body. I hope you can appreciate it."

She twists to the side and runs her hands down her front. "Worth it when I can fluster you like this~"

Heckque.

"I'm certainly, ah, not complaining, eheh~"

"Oh, I'm so glad! Ahem. So. Culpeper Cut almost booped you, did it? I bet the SA won't take you seriously at all unless you go back and get it to do so, or find another way."