(Quiet afternoon at the Treehouse.... suddenly the sounds of the front door opening, and voices... Wendy leaves the office to investigate)
Wendy: Hey. Hi you guys. Whatcha doin'?
Lenore: Oh, hi Miss Wendy, we're just watching the...Thorne: You're home.
Wendy: Yeah, where else would I be?
Thorne: Emi said you had a lunch appointment.Wendy: Nope, dinner. I don't have to leave until about 6 p.m. Why?
Wendy: GAH! Um... Thorne, who are they and why are they in my foyer?Thorne: (sigh) They are refugees from the war, and they are in your foyer because the Treehouse is a sanctuary.
Wendy: Refugees? From what? Is that Tegen down there?Thorne: You really do need to learn to read pixish, Wendy. So you can read the news for yourself.
Wendy: Yeah, yeah. So, refugees from...?
Thorne: There is a huge fae war raging in the North. It's entering it's second century at this point.Wendy: What on Earth do you fight about for two hundred years?
Thorne: I'm not sure anyone even remembers anymore. Most feel they're just fighting out of habit now.
Thorne: Two of the Great Houses of the North have fallen, and these are the survivors. Some are members of the court, and of the royal families themselves.
Thorne: They have lost everything, and some are having a harder time adapting than others.
Thorne: But I told the King that we had room for any and all refugees he wanted to send us.Wendy: We do?
Thorne: Yes, we do.
Wendy: You know the dogs are going to freak when they smell there's a squirrel in the house, right?Thorne: He might smell a little different to them.
Wendy: Why, because he belongs to a pixie?
Thorne: No, because he IS a pixie. That's her brother.
Wendy: Woah (thinking of Miranda) so ALL red headed pixies are trouble, then.
Thorne: (laughing) Yes, I would say so.
Wendy: I almost didn't recognize Tegen in casual wear.Thorne: Well, her wardrobe is no accident. Tegen has worked with refugees before, back in the camps after Darrigan's War. She's been so helpful, and told me that she felt it needed to be made clear to the refugees, especially coming from the Courts in some cases that the Treehouse is a very informal place. There is no Court here, there is no rank, we are all equals.
Wendy: She's expecting some of them to have problems with that.
Thorne: As am I.
Thorne: (sigh) There will be more. There are some that can only travel by night, and they'll be here after sundown. And the King said there were children, Lenore's age, which is why the children were watching up here I think.Wendy: Where on Earth are they all going to SLEEP, Thorne?
Thorne: Well, your bed is quite large.Wendy: Hey! HEY! Wait a minute, you were going to sneak in refugees while I was gone at lunch, and put them in my BED?!
Thorne: Well, what is it you're always saying? Oh yes, "It's always easier to ask forgiveness than permission."Wendy: Ooooh, you. (laughing) Aren't YOU the sneaky Pixie!