A Home Away From Home pt 2

Writers: Aaron, Estelle
Date Posted: 3rd October 2019

Characters: R'fal, K'don
Description: K'don gets to meet the beasts at R'fal's uncle's farm
Location: Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 12, day 4 of Turn 9

K'don

K'don blushed, grateful for the distraction from the topic of
embarrassing stories. He could probably come up with something if
pressed, but he did not want to embarrass R'fal. Why would he?

"Oh," he said, perking up again. "Yes. I was a beasthealer's apprentice
before I Impressed. And I miss having time to be close to them."

The young man looked impressed by the craft title. "Well, we haven't got
any sick ones at the moment, thank the Egg, but you can come and see
them, all the same. They're fine beasts."

"After we've eaten," R'fal's aunt repeated firmly. As she spoke, Evinder
finished filling his plate, set the remains of the roast to one side and
picked up his cutlery. The younger children, who'd been watching him
impatiently, needed no more encouragement and enthusiastically started
tucking in to the food.

"Oh, I'm happy to meet them feeling their best, of course," said K'don,
eagerly digging in as well. Much as he had been learning to help care
for sick beasts and then injured dragons, he certainly preferred it when
everyone was ship shape.

"Have you got a favorite?" the brownrider asked. "I won't tell." He grinned.

"A favorite beast? I don't, unless you count the canines, but the little
ones have a favorite lamb. He's a friendly little fellow. They've called
him Marley, after R'fal's dragon." He glanced at R'fal. "We weren't sure
what he would think of having a beast named after him, but we thought
there was no harm in it."

R'fal smiled. "I'm sure he would appreciate the gesture." He took
another bite of meat, savoring the taste. Food at the Weyr was plentiful
and delicious, but there was nothing quite like a family feast. Even if
he wished it could have been at his own home.

K'don nearly overflowed with excited emotion at the idea of a lamb named
after Marlath.

"I have never been more excited to meet a little lamb," he said, wiggling.

Once the main course was done, the younger children cleared the table
whie Lirena and Falanna returned to the kitchen and emerged with a
large, sweet-scented fruit pie and cream to divide between the family.
Falanna, the aunt, handed K'don his share proudly, enjoying the sighs of
delight that she heard from around the table.

"I hope you like it, brownrider," she said. "It's made with fresh
berries, picked this morning."

K'don took a bite and smiled from ear to ear. "It's amazing!" he said.
He hoped he got the opportunity to hug her before they left – they were
all being so nice and welcoming!

The dessert soon vanished, leaving only a few crumbs and smears of juice
around the mouth of the smallest child. R'fal's sister and her young
cousins started to fidget, remembering that Marlath and Maciath were
still outside, waiting for them.

"All right, you can go outside - as soon as this table is clear,"
Falanna said sternly. The children immediately jumped up and started
gathering bowls and cutlery to be returned to the kitchen. "That doesn't
include you, K'don," she added hastily. "You're a guest, you don't have
to clear up."

"Shall we go and see the beasts, then?" Evinder tried to sound casual,
but he was almost as excited as his children about showing off his flocks.

K'don froze and then immediately set back down the plate and utensils he
had scooped up instinctively at the stern reminder to clean up. "Sorry."

"The beasts, yes!" he then recovered quickly. He smiled, picking up on
Evinder's excitement – and perhaps also Maciath's. The brown was looking
forward to the attention.

"This way, then. It's a short walk." The cotholder led the way out
through the kitchen to the back door and out onto a dusty path that led
past the barns towards the fenced-off pasture around the hold. Once they
were past the outbuildings, they could see the flock from a way off, the
white fleeces standing out against the tough, yellow-green grass. R'fal
followed with his cousins, the young men perhaps not eager to get back
to their chores.

"You work much with ovines, when you were a beasthealer?" the older
cousin asked.

"They were always my favorite," said K'don, bouncing on the balls of his
feet as they went. "I guess because they didn't tend to get eaten so
much, so... it was easier to get attached. A lot of the work I did was
just, you know, shoveling poo. But it was worth it to get to be around
the beasts."

"Is it different here? Getting attached?"

"It's hard not to, working alongside them as we do," Evinder said. "We
send them to market, or as tithe to the Weyr, and obviously we know
they're going for meat. We eat them ourselves. Even the ewes we keep for
breeding don't live as long as we do. But they do have personalities -
clever, silly, timid, brave. I don't like to see them in unnecessary
pain. Every Turn we lose one or two to wild beasts, and it's always hard
when that happens. But you didn't come to hear me complaining," he went
on, brightening as they approached the pasture and woolly creatures came
trotting up to the fence to meet them. "Here they are."

"Maciath and I had a fight once because he was sloppy killing his food,"
K'don said, wrinkling his nose at the memory. The brown did not remember
it at all, but it had left an impression on him in terms of how
carefully and quickly he dispatched his meals now.

K'don held out his hand to the beasts as they came to the fence, a smile
very quickly overcoming his earlier frown. As he came toward the pen, he
did his best to seem as though he were interested in anything other than
the ovines, so as not to appear to be stalking toward them.

"Hi, bibi," he greeted the ewe nearest him. "I guess I should have
brought them a bit of grain, huh? They probably think it's dinner time."

"Ah, she won't mind. She's a friendly one," the younger cousin said
cheerfully as the beast nosed at K'don's hand. He and R'fal came up to
the fence beside him to watch. "Those two over there are some of Da's
new breed. You can tell by the shape of their faces, and the wool's
finer to the touch."

K'don's face lit up with fascination and excitement at the mention of a
new breed, and he turned to look, though his hand did not fail to give a
bit of a scratch and pet to the ewe.

"Wow! Can I feel?" he asked.

"Sure. They're a little more shy than the others, but they know me." The
young man climbed over the fence and coaxed one of the ovines over to
where R'fal and K'don were standing. "Here you go. Feel the difference."

K'don gently stroked the fleece and then let out an amazed whisper of,
"Oooh." That was the kind of thing that could make a hold famous if they
could manage to put out a regular supply.

"They're beautiful," he said.

"Aren't they?" Evinder said proudly. "It wasn't cheap, buying them from
the crafter, but I think it'll be worth it in time. Long as they stay
healthy and produce lambs..." He frowned slightly, the ever-present
worry of the herdsman in his expression. "They do look healthy, don't
they? What do you think?"

"Well, I was only an apprentice, but..." K'don leaned in a little more
closely and tentatively tried to get a look at the ovine's eyes and teeth.

"They look healthy to me," he said. "But if you see anything that
worries you, if they act kinda tired and sluggish, do a bit of coughing
or panting, or if... Faranth, you're a herdsman, I don't mean to tell
you your business. But if they look sick to you, then you know when to
call a beasthealer who's fit to practice alone."

Evinder smiled, relieved. "Thanks for looking at them, anyway. They
seemed all right, but... Well, it sets my mind at rest."

"K'don?" The cousins and R'fal were crouched by the fence, a bit further
along from where he stood with Evinder. A small beast was nosing at the
young dragonrider's hand, under the watchful eye of his mother. "This is
Marley, the lamb."

K'don turned to look, and on seeing the lamb and hearing its name, he
let out a squeak of a sound that might have embarrassed a more
self-conscious boy. He joined them and did his best not to dance too
much out his excitement, as he did not want to frighten the beasts.

"Ohhh, Marley, you're adorable!" he said, his voice breaking, though
this, too, did not faze him.

R'fal smiled, watching his classmate. Sometimes K'don reminded him so
much of his younger brother. Once, he might have laughed, but they were
friends and fellow dragonriders and besides... the lamb was very sweet.
Now the children had named it, there was a good chance it wouldn't end
up as dinner. He stood back and let his friend pet the little ovine.

"We ought to be getting back to the Weyr soon," he said after a while,
reluctantly. He and K'don both had their duties to attend to.

"Of course," Evinder said. "Let's go back to the cothold. Your mother
and aunt will be wanting to say goodbye." He turned to K'don as they
started walking back. "It was a pleasure to meet you, brownrider. It's
good to know that there are weyrfolk who understand our work with the
beasts."

K'don sagged with disappointment as he realized it was time to go. He
had very much enjoyed his time at the hold and hated to have to leave.

"I'm really glad to have been invited," he said, realizing it was tacky
to invite himself back. But he still hoped they would invite him back on
their own.

"Any friend of R'fal's is welcome here," the older cousin said with a smile.

"As are all dragonriders," Evinder added. "But my nephew's friends,
especially. Perhaps you'd like to come back and see the beasts at
shearing time," he offered. "You'll see the quality of the wool better,
then."

K'don hopped with excitement at the prospect and nodded vigorously.
"That would be so very amazingly awesome!" he said, realizing after the
fact that his volume control had gotten away from him. In more of a
whisper, he added, "Sorry."

The cotholder couldn't help it - he roared with delighted laughter,
while the older cousin grinned and R'fal had to kick the younger one to
stop him from sniggering.

Evinder shook his head, wiping his eye. "Sorry, brownrider K'don," he
said warmly. "It's not often that anyone shows such enthusiasm for my
flocks. I could wish these two did, sometimes," he added, with a pointed
glance at his sons.

K'don blushed a little, but he was more relieved at the good-natured
response to his over-excitement than he was offended at the laughter at
his expense. He was glad to have made them smile.

"It's OK!" he assured Evinder. "I just don't really get to do things
like this much any more. I get to do a lot of other cool things instead,
but. You know. I miss it. So thanks for inviting me."

"You're very welcome," the cotholder assured him. "Besides, those
dragons of yours do a wonderful job of keeping the youngsters occupied
and out of trouble." They'd reached the main building, where Marlath and
Maciath could be seen, surrounded by a little group of young admirers.

R'fal looked at K'don. "We'll have to tear them away somehow..."

K'don shrugged sheepishly, not quite knowing how he was going to
convince the young ones that the dragons had to go home.

"Maciath likes being the center of attention," he said. "Have any
candies to bribe them with?"

"I've tried that," R'fal said, shaking his head. "It doesn't work. I
usually just rely on my aunt."

"That's right." Falanna had emerged from the cothold, accompanied by her
sister. While R'fal bid his mother and sister goodbye, she raised her
voice to sound as stern as possible. "It's time for the dragons to go.
I've got plenty of pots and pans to scrub for whoever doesn't give them
space to take off!"

There was an audible "ahh" of disappointment from the children, but they
clearly knew that she meant what she said and reluctantly made their
farewells to Marlath and Maciath.

"It was so good to meet you, K'don," Falanna said warmly. "I hope we'll
see you again here soon. Next time, I'll bake my sweet redfruit tart."
Having brought up her boys, she had a notion of the way to a young man's
heart. "Fly safely."

"I'm already looking forward to it!" said K'don, beaming happily at the
thought of returning – for shearing time, for berry tarts, the whole
package. This place already felt like a home away from home. "Thank you,
ma'am – I will."

Last updated on the October 14th 2019

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A Home Away From Home pt 2