Chapter Text
Kendra always said Seth would be a good lawyer. Years of convincing his parents to water his punishments down, much to her annoyance, proved as much. He got it from their mother, who was also a lawyer. Kendra and her father would always watch as Seth and her mother battled it out, in full on lawyer mode. Even though her mother was the one with the degree, she always seemed to lose to Seth. He was that good at getting punishments lowered and avoiding having to learn from his mistakes. But nothing activated Seth’s lawyer mode as much as being told ‘no’.
And that is precisely what her Grandpa Sorenson was trying to tell him. Seth had come down this morning with a great big plan on how Warren should show him around the preserve, including the dangerous parts so that he can get the lay of the land “in case of emergency”. Warren had been all for it, but her grandfather...
“Seth, I said no!” He exclaimed. His face was becoming red in frustration. They had been at this for around twenty minutes, going back and forth over the kitchen table. Seth wasn’t having it, and as usual, didn’t listen.
“But Grandpa! Warren would be with me so that it wouldn’t be dangerous at all!” Kendra resisted the urge to laugh. That was a weak argument, as much as Kendra loved her cousin, they all knew that Warren could be just as reckless as Seth. The only difference was, Warren didn't mean to get into trouble, trouble found Warren.
“That doesn’t make me feel any better!” Stan retorted, apparently thinking the same thing as Kendra.
“Hey!” Warren whined from his seat on the counter. Ignoring him, Grandpa continued.
“Besides, if I allow this, you are just going to use this as an excuse to go into the woods more often!” Stan accused while Seth feigned offense.
“I would never! But, if I were going to, I would have a good point! If I knew my way around, the woods wouldn’t be as dangerous! I could avoid all contact from anything that could cause me or the preserve harm!”
Kendra couldn’t help but be impressed. Now, if Grandpa continued to say no and Seth went out to the preserve and got hurt, Seth could use this argument to turn the tables on him. She could practically hear Seth's voice now; (“But Grandpa! My arm wouldn’t be broken if you had just let Warren show me around that one time! How was I supposed to know there was a river troll near that area!”)
“He has a good point.” Warren stated. Dragging his hand down his face, Grandpa took a deep breath.
“No one asked you Warren.” He snapped, Warren only smirked in response. Just like Kendra, he could tell the old man’s resolve was breaking.
“Please Grandpa? I really need to start learning about the preserve now if I ever want to be half the caretaker you are!” Seth pleaded. Kendra raised her eyebrows and shared a look with Warren. Seth played a tough card there.
“Oh sweet lord...fine.” Grandpa Sorenson caved. Seth immediately jumped from his seat and high fived Warren. “You're going to be the death of me someday kid.” He muttered.
“You won’t regret this, gramps! I promise!” Seth shouted as he and Warren all but ran out the door.
“Something tells me I already am.” Her Grandfather sighed. Kendra finally let out a small laugh, having been silent this whole exchange. Grandpa looked at her with a half smile. “What do you say? Think I made a mistake?”
“Hard to say, all I know is Seth would truly make a good lawyer.” Placing her now empty mug on the table, Kendra leaned forward. “And you were just his latest case, Tanu fell victim last week and he let Seth drink an enlargement potion so that he could wrestle with Hugo.” She stood up and patted his shoulder before walking out of the kitchen.
Stan Sorenson sat there for a second before it hit him.
“Wait, is that how three trees on the edge of the yard got uprooted?!” He shouted after her.
The only response he got was her laugh floating from upstairs. A good lawyer Seth would make, indeed.