Runaway

Writers: Ames, Chelle, Paula
Date Posted: 23rd August 2010

Characters: Sarban, Lisadi, Zandan, Trewlin
Description: Lisadi seeks help from Sarban and Zandan when her foster child, Trewlin, vanishes.
Location: Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 10, day 24 of Turn 5

Standing outside in the fields with the farmcrafters, Sarban looked
over the soil. The grubs were pretty active and they were thinking it
was going to be a good turn. He wondered if they might benefit from
planting more legumes. His hands were on his hips and he had a sunhat on.

Suddenly, a rather distressed looking woman seemed to appear near the
edge of the field. Her face was full of concern, as her eyes seemed to
scan this way and that, as though looking for something. A young girl,
also looking distressed, stood by the woman's side. Lisadi's heart was
racing. One minute Trewlin had been with them on their little picnic,
and the next he had vanished.

"Trewlin!" Lisadi called, her voice ringing through the air. Had he
just gone off for some reason? He still seemed angry with her. Even
just before he'd disappeared, he'd once again spouted off to her about
her trying to replace his real mother. Lisadi was worried about the
boy. What if something had happened to him? What if he was hurt? She
frantically continued her search.

Sarban heard the commotion and excused himself from the farmers. Walking over,
he approached her. "What's the problem?"

Lisadi looked towards the voice and almost breathed a sigh of relief.
Someone she knew.

"Sarban, Trewlin, my new fosterling. He's gone. He just up and left. I
don't know where he is." Lisadi wanted to cry at the thought that she
might have lost him. "I looked and I can't find him. What if he's
hurt?" This panicked feeling nearly brought back memories of the only
other time she'd felt so at a loss. When she'd heard about Burned's
accident. "I don't know what to do," she mumbled close to tears.

He immediately went into damage control mode. "Calm down, Lisadi.
Think for a minute. Do you know where he might be? Any places he goes
to often?" While he spoke to her, he sent a nearby holder to get Zandan.

The captain arrived as soon as the message reached him. He took a few
lads with him. "What's the problem? Steward?" the big man asked when he came.

"We've got a lost kid, one of the fosterlings from Red Rush. How many
turns is he, Lisadi?" He turned to the woman, expecting her to help give them
a place to look.

"And what does he look like, where was he last seen and what direction was he
going?" Zandan fired more questions before she could answer the Steward's.

She'd tried to calm herself and organize her thoughts. Every minute
counted. "Well, we were having a picnic in the wooded section over
there," Lisadi turned and pointed back to where they'd come from.
"Trewlin was unhappy because I had told him he could not go down to
explore the deeper forest. He'd sulked off a bit, but I could still
see him. Then," Lisadi paused and grabbed and held Dareera's hand with
a squeeze. "Dareera and I got distracted. The next thing I knew

Trewlin was gone. I tried to find him, but he didn't answer me. I
didn't know where to look and the woods got rather thick. I couldn't
leave Dareera. I'd hoped he'd come out here, but," she took a
shuddering breath.

"He's only seven turns, and he's still so unhappy over having lost his
family. He's got brownish hair and stands about this high," Lisadi
indicated his height. "What if something has happened to him?" She
turned, her attention in particular on Sarban who'd been her first
friend at Emerald Falls.

"We *will* find him," Sarban said, before looking at Zandan. "Organize
a search party to look in the woods. I'll ask around at the Hold just in
case he went that way. Let me know if anything comes up." He gestured
for Lisadi and the little girl to follow him. "I think it might be good if you
go to your quarters just in case he shows up there."

Zandan turned to his assistant and sent him to fetch more men, and a tracking
canine. "Angry little boy, heh?," he asked. He knew all about angry little boys.
"He just might be hiding nearby, in some bush or a tree, watching us scurry
around looking for him."

Lisadi nodded to Sarban's suggestion and turned to thank the guard, but he
was already giving orders, so she turned back. Picking up Dareera whose leg
wouldn't make the full walk back to the hold with the splint she still wore, she
began to walk beside Sarban. "This is all my fault," she murmured as she walked.
"I haven't been able to get through to him yet."

"It's not your fault. The boy has been through a lot and he's got to work through
it. Kids do things like this when they want attention. I remember cabin boys hanging
off of the rigging practically screaming look at me when I was young." He shrugged,
knowing he hadn't exactly been one of them, but he had done his fair share of stupid
things.

Lisadi gave Sarban a half smile. "I know Sarban, but I feel responsible. He _is_ after
all my responsibility. I just want him safely returned. That's all. I will take as long as he
needs to help him recover from his past, but I cannot do that if," she paused, gulped,
and looked away for a minute, "if he's lost or worse," she whispered the last word.

"You would be the worst fosterparent ever if you didn't feel responsible. The truth
is, though, things like this happen to real parents too. It's just part of being a kid."
They had almost reached the Hold itself by now, and Sarban made a point to keep
an eye out for a kid running by.

His words eased much of her heartache, though Lisadi knew she would not be
satisfied until Trewlin was found. She stopped, placed a hand on his arm and said,
"Thank you Sarban. More than you realize. I'll go see if by chance he has returned to
our quarters. Please let me know the moment you find anything." With a final look
in his eyes, she turned, her heart in her throat and headed to see if Trewlin had indeed
returned to their quarters. When she found them empty, her heart fell. She sent someone
to inform the others that he was not here, and then she waited.

Last updated on the September 22nd 2010

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