RingaRingring.

Natalie picks up on the second ring; there's a faint *click* in the background. "Morning, Alicia." All hail caller ID. "Thanks for getting back to me."

Alicia sounds sleepy over the phone. "Oh, no problem. So, what's up?"

Nat hesitates. "You got my message, right?"

Alicia thinks for a moment. "Um... I take it Jacinta got to you after she got to Olga?"

"She did, yes." The Walker has her game-face on, all precise words and intonations. "I'd like to get her rules from you, if I could. Make sure nothing was lost in translation."

Alicia lets out a breath. "Well, if I did that, that'd be cheating, Natalie." She says straight forward. "I don't want to give out any information that'd cause her to pass or fail." She pauses for a moment. "Why don't you tell me what happened first so that I know what to say next?"

Natalie makes an unhappy little noise, then exhales the rest of her breath. "She came over. Said she was supposed to work for Olga and I for the next two months. Position of honor and integrity, right? I told her I didn't have anything at the moment, and asked for a number where I could reach her. She said I couldn't have it because she didn't trust me, but when I wanted to get hold of her I could ask Thomas for her number, because he had it." She pauses barely long enough for a breath before adding, "And like I said, I wanted to double check the rules with you, because I know she and I have problems communicating sometimes."

Alicia ahs slightly. "Yeah. I think she's a bit twitchy out there. Country girl in the city. I say talk to Thomas." She pauses for a moment, as if mulling over something, letting out a heavy breath. ".. blah." She finally lets out. "If you got an hour later in the day, you want to grab coffee with me or something? Maybe I can talk about this easier if its not on the phone. I got... company."

"Of course," she says immediately. "Do you want to come over here, or should I come to you? And I'm not going running to Thomas to play secretary. If she's supposed to work for me, she works for me. I refuse to play telephone every time I need to talk to her. Thomas has nothing to do with her rules."

Alicia can't help but grin slightly. "Until you give her some work Natalie, she's only working for Olga at the moment. The best advice I can give for the both of you, and these are Elder words now, not just tree hugger ones. Is that if you both want to be Fostern, I say you two need to put away your pride and work together. So, I'll call you up soon as I free up some time and we'll snag up some lattes or whatever is your kink. I'll explain more and in depth, promise."

Nat's answer is a frigidly polite, "We're working on that with a third party, thank you. Until I can confirm what she told me, this is going on the back burner. If she wants it, she can work for it. Right now I have no reason to go out of my way for her." Another pause, and a bit more warmth's entered her voice as she adds, "--Thank you, Alicia. I'll look forward to it."

Alicia chuckles slightly. "Blah.. Nat, soften up a little, eh'? World is too short to hold grudges. Trust me on that one. I'll launch into a story later about Jarred and I later. I gotta go, got cubs to teach I guess. Take care Nat!" *click*

[End of log]