Lottie still had no idea what a trebuchet had to do with colonial times, especially since Oregon hadn't been populated by Europeans during the colonial days of America. But every year, Pleasant Hill, Oregon hosted Colonial Harvest Days, and in need of something fun to do after all the heavy stuff she'd been dealing with the past few weeks, Philotes made her way to the Pacific Northwest to watch what was essentially a version of a punkin chunkin' contest.
And it had been fun. There'd been a lot of laughter and some mild betting, and of course splattered pumpkins all over the place. Followed by a pumpkin pie contest that she had thoroughly enjoyed. Except for the coffee. Really, that had been a bit of a shock, since she was in the region best known for their frou frou blends and stuff. But all she could say about what was being served in the food tent at the festival was that it tasted like slightly bitter hot brown water.
That was disappointing. Especially since it had started getting chilly once the sun set. There really wasn't much to be offered in Pleasant Hill either, lovely as a small town it was. It wasn't quite a suburb, wasn't quite rural, but some sort of blend of both, with both a feed store and a Dairy Queen. But no shops that screamed "good coffee here," except maybe the Sunrise Cafe, that was closed for the night now anyway.
So she made her way over to Eugene. It was only ten miles away, and a college town. It had to have something, right? Lottie found herself on a likely street, looking about hopefully, when something else completely caught her attention. It was a man. No, more than a man. It was a god. And one she knew.
With a bright, broad smile, she yelled out, "Hey, Professor!" Then without looking, ran across the street to claim the hug she knew would be forthcoming. It was so good to see Thoth! He always made her laugh.