Time Enough To Daydream (2/3)

Writers: Estelle
Date Posted: 15th June 2018

Characters: R'fal, Falevin, Elwena
Description: R'fal remembers the first time a Thread burrow was found on his family's farm
Location: Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 5, day 10 of Turn 9

*** 9 Turns ago ***

Outside, Renfal saw another boy eyeing the flamethrower, although he
kept a wary distance from it. His cousin Falevin was two Turns older
than him, and nearly big enough to join the other farmhands at their
daily work instead of practising his letters in the kitchen or doing
chores around the hold.

"Hey." He went over to stand beside the older boy, although he didn't
get any closer in case his mother was watching from the window. "Did you
hear there was a burrow?"

"They must have used it." Falevin was as likely to ignore his younger
cousin or treat him like a baby as anything else, but it seemed today he
was too curious about the flamethrower to remember to be superior. He
crouched down and examined the half-empty tank, without touching it. "Do
you know where?"

"They said it was in the west pasture, not far from the stream between
ours and Holder Lewin's land. It ate the grass." Renfal suppressed a
shudder. The dragonriders wouldn't have been scared of a burrow, and nor
would his Da. "I wish I'd seen it."

"Want to go and see where it was?" the older boy asked, straightening.

Renfal hesitated. He was fairly sure that his mother would not be
pleased if he went to the burrow site. But she hadn't specifically said
not to go there. And the ground crew had destroyed the Thread, hadn't
they? It was probably perfectly safe.

Probably...

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Falevin said.

That settled it. "No, I do...just don't tell my Ma, all right?"

"I'm not stupid!" His aunt would have his hide if she knew where they
were going. "Come on. Let's head out to the stream as if we were going
swimming, and then follow it down to where the burrow is."

Renfal nodded agreement, feeling the lure of adventure. His cousin was
actually paying attention to him, and they were going to see a real
place where Thread had fallen! It made the tedious hours trapped indoors
seem worthwhile.

***

When the boys reached the stream, they discovered that they weren't the
only ones out looking for the burrow. On the other side, a dark-haired
girl about their age in a wide-brimmed hat was standing on the bank,
shading her eyes as she scanned the empty field.

"Have you seen it?" she called.

"We're just going to look. Renfal says it's further along here." Falevin
reached out a hand. "Why don't you cross over, Elwy?"

The girl shook her head, a mischievous glint in her eye. Renfal
recognised her as one of Holder Lewin's daughters - Elwena, the
youngest. "Ma says I'm not supposed to go on Holder Terren's land
without asking. But I thought maybe I could see from here..."

"You can ask him," Falevin said, pointing at Renfal. "He's the eldest son."

They both looked at Renfal, who hesitated. That was true enough, but he
wasn't heir - not yet. But who would ever know? "Um, you can cross, and
welcome."

"Thanks!" She waved away Falevin's offered hand and leapt across,
landing lightly on the bank beside them. "It's this way?"

"That's what the ground crew said, when they stopped at our cot." They
started walking together, along the banks of the stream. Nothing seemed
out of the ordinary so far. Insects buzzed, water rippled over stones
and avians called from a distant tree. Only the fact that the field was
empty of grazing ovines was at all unusual. "They burned it with the
flamethrower."

"Yes, my brother said, when he brought word back that it was all clear."
She kicked a pebble along the ground ahead of them. "I wish I'd been
there, but Ma says girls don't go on ground crews."

"It is dangerous," Falevin said, "and the flamethrower is heavy."

"There are girl dragonriders," Renfal piped up. "The Weyrwoman, and her
goldriders." He earned himself a bright smile with that. It gave him a
curious, warm feeling in his chest, which made him want to say something
that pleased Elwena again. He couldn't think of anything, though.

Falevin scoffed. "None of us are going to be dragonriders! They don't
Search in places like this."

"They might. That harper who was here last month said the Lord Holder
has agreed to allow Search in his territory. He didn't have any choice,
not with the Weyr being our only protection against Fall." She grinned.
"If you boys would listen in class instead of mucking about all the
time, you might learn something."

Renfal's eyes had gone wide. Next time a harper came, he'd have to ask.
Of course, he was too young to be chosen, and no-one from around here
had ever had anything to do with the Weyr, but still, one day...

"Look!" Falevin pointed. "What's that?"

There was a dark patch on the ground up ahead amid the vibrant green of
the pasture. As the children approached, treading cautiously, they saw
it was a wide area of blackened earth, the vegetation consumed by fire
or Thread. Grey flecks of ash and burnt grass were scattered around, and
at the centre was a deep depression where the Thread had landed and
burrowed.

"That must be it," Falevin said, his voice softer and more solemn than
Renfal had ever heard it before. The younger boy let out his breath,
realising he'd been holding it in.

Elwena gingerly touched the edge of the burned area with the toe of her
sandal. "The harper said if a ground crew destroys a burrow, it can't
harm us. If they hadn't got it all, they'd have sent word for a
dragonrider to help."

"And we know they didn't. Did they, Renfal?"

"Da didn't say anything about sending for a dragonrider." He'd
definitely have remembered that!

"So it ought to be safe." She looked back at the two boys. "Shall we go
closer?"

Falevin glanced at Renfal, who eyed the scorched ground warily. He
wasn't sure he wanted to go anywhere near it, and he didn't think his
cousin did either. He would definitely be disobeying his mother if he
did. But he didn't want Elwena to think he was scared of a hole in the
ground, either.

He shrugged, pretending indifference. "Well, we came all this way..."

"Maybe one of us should go at a time," Falevin suggested. "Then, if
anything does happen, the others can go for help."

"All right. Who wants to go first?"

The children looked at each other, but no-one spoke.

"We can draw straws." Elwena suggested, after a moment. She stooped and
picked three long blades of grass, tore a piece off one so it was
shorter, and concealed the ends in her fist. "Falevin?"

The older boy took a deep breath and pulled one of the blades from her
hand. His face relaxed into a brief expression of relief, quickly
hidden, when he saw that it was one of the long ones. Then the girl was
holding out a hand to Renfal, and he reached out, not quite sure what he
wanted the result to be. Did he want to prove his courage in front of
the others, or stay where it was safe? But if he didn't pick the short
straw, then Elwena would have to go...

He looked down at the grass in his hand, and the ragged end where it had
been torn in half.

"Looks like it's you, Renfal," Falevin said.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," the girl said, echoing his
cousin, earlier on. "I'll go."

"No - I'll do it." He frowned. Did everyone think he was the kind of
coward who couldn't take on a dare? A dragonrider would not be scared.
Before he could think about it too hard, Renfal closed his eyes and
stepped out onto the burned ground.

Last updated on the August 21st 2018

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Time Enough To Daydream (2/3)