Finally! News!

Writers: AL, Clancey, Miriah, Suzee
Date Posted: 26th May 2014

Characters: Felyna, Zathris, Loella, Veyter
Description: The Lord is informed
Location: Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 6, day 24 of Turn 7

Felyna

Zathris

Loella

Continuing in her unladylike dash, Felyna did not find Lord Zathris immediately.

She did find, though, and by nearly running him down, a guard on
patrol. Her trained memory for faces and names did not fail her, and
she had been "in residence" at Amber Hills for at least a sevenday
now.

"Veyter isn't it?.. so sorry!" She apologized, and quickly pulled
herself together. Xebex squawked from his hiding place around her
neck.

Veyter would do, though, and he might know where to find Zathris.

"I have news. Where is Lord Zathris?" She glanced around the hall,
almost as if she didn't want anyone to hear what she had to say.

Veyter made sure Felyna was steady before he pulled away. "It's quite
alright." He looked over her and frowned. "Lord Zathris is out today
on a Search party, I think. Is there something wrong that I can help
you with?"

She took the helping hand and then focused in on the guard again.
"Not wrong, precisely. Good and bad news. " She lowered her voice
and stepped a little to the side. They were in the middle of the
hallway and she didn't want just everyone to hear. It wasn't all
good news.

"I really wanted to speak directly to Zathris. I have information on
Benani that I know he's going to want to hear. Is there somewhere
we can speak privately, or can we make sure Zathris isn't available?
I'll share it with you if you can promise me it will make it to
Zathris. The sooner the better."

Brows shot up immediately. "Benani?" He grabbed her arms lightly, but
there was hope in his eyes. "You've news?" He glanced around. "I'll
find Zathris. He'll want to know immediately. I'll take you to his
office and you can wait until I fetch him." Suddenly in a rush, the
guard hustled her to the office and opened it. "Wait here. I'll find
him. Thank Faranth, anything new is welcome. I'll be right back, Lady
Felyna. Just don't go anywhere." Veyter bowed and took off at a run.

Zathris didn't hesitate at the news when he read the message sent to
him via firelizard. As soon as Benani was mentioned, he turned his
runner around and spurred it back to the hold. He tossed the reins to
a young man who approached without a backward glance. He literally
ran through the halls until he arrived in the room where the message
had indicated they would be waiting.

The disappearance had taken its toll. Zathris had hardly slept, his
eyes bloodshot and wide, a hint of madness in his normally relaxed
features. As he advanced on Felyna, it took all his willpower not to
grab her by the arms to shake the information out of her. As it was,
his hands clenched and unclenched into and out of firsts and he
paused, a bare two handspan from the visiting lady. "You have news?"

She did not show her surprise at his appearance and barely contained
herself from stepping back from him. She had expected a strong
reaction.

Calling on all her practice at shelving emotion for later, she nodded
once. "Yes, my Lord." her blue flit poked his head out in
curiosity. "Benani is alive." That was the first, most important
thing she wanted to convey. She did not want to tell him Benani's
state, but she would tell him enough to give him hope. Only hope.
"I sent Xebex to find her, as I have done countless times. He has
brought Benani more notes than I can count and I thought maybe he
could find her...."

She paused and held the Lord Holder's eyes with her own.

"He found her. Some kind of cave... I can send him back for more
details, now that he knows where she is for sure. " She paused
thinking of how to explain, ".. Zathris, she was not alone. She is
being held against her will by a man I did not recognize. Xebex'
pictures were pretty unclear; the lighting was poor. But.. she is
alive. And we can find her."

When she heard Zathris voice a half-grown pup came trotting into the
room hoping to see her mistress with him but she dropped to the ground
sadly when she saw her favorite person was not there. Her chin dropped
to her paws and she sighed a canine sigh as she watched the people.

Felyna's eyes slide sideways to the beautiful canine that joined them.
She stepped a little away from the Lord to rest her hand gently on
the young canine's head while she waited for Zathris to respond. "My
Lord? Should I send him again...?" Xebex retreated in fear at the
very thought, but she hoped she could convince him otherwise.

"Yes. Send him. See if he can see outside of where she is, the area."
He paused, then paused as his eyes fell upon the canine. He froze,
then an idea lit up his eyes. "Felyna, if we can get a general area,
we might be able to find her. Or rather,_she_ might be able to find

her." He twirled upon his heel and dropped to one knee beside the
half-pup. "Camnae...she could find her. If she were close enough to
get her scent..."

Swallowing a bit of fear for her flit, she nonetheless nodded. Then
her own eyes lit as his idea took shape. "Oh yes, Zathris. Xebex
could give coordinates to dragons if he gets a good enough picture
too. Don't forget that.... But we could take the pup near. I'm
sure she could find her by her scent alone. Perhaps dragons would
be too 'noisy' and result in something dangerous to Benani..." She
frowned over it, but then went to a bench in the hall and sat down
with Xebex.

**Time to go back, little one. Find Benani. No notes this time.** She
reached up and took the note from his leg and instead focused on
trying to make him understand. **Find her but then go outside.
Don't go/between/. Fly straight all around where Benani is and get
pictures. Pictures for your cousins. Can you do that?**

The blue flit was scared. He had not liked the man he had seen and
he had not liked that the person he had found, the way he had found
her always before, had not given him treats. It had been
scary-bad-didn'twanttogoback.

He squawked at her,only half of his body visible as he poked his head
and shoulders out of her hair.

~~Nonono. scarybaddontgoback~~ The pictures were dark and showed him
hiding from the man. ~~Nonono~~

She scratched him, pulling him free of her hair. **You must, little
one. Must.** She put some force behind the sending, but it often
didn't work on flits the way it worked on dragons. They would just
disappear/between/ and not come back for a while.

**You can fly away from the man. Fly fast and high. All around.
Remember the pictures! Remember the places. Don't let the man see
you!! You must be sneaky and quiet. No noises.*

Xebex shook in her arms, crooning piteously. He loved her. He wanted
to do what she asked. But he was scared.

**last time, little love. Treats for you as soon as you come back.
Don't let the man near you! If he comes near you, come right back
here. to me. Right back here. Try not to show yourself to him, stay
high in the air.**

Xebex began to figure out that he could go and not go near the man and
finally stopped crooning. ~~Treats?~~

**Treats. Go. Remember outside the place where she is. Outside and
all around. Remember clear pictures. **

She fed him a bit of meat from the little pouch at her waist she kept
just for him, and stood up.

"He'll go, my Lord. He's very scared, but he'll go."

The blue flit launched himself to the air from her arm. ~~I will find
her. Remember. the-man-wont see. Sneaky.~~ They came as
pictures, not words, but they came.

Xebex finally disappeared/between/ with the distinctive 'pop', not
quite aware he was carrying a great many hopes on his small blue
shoulders.

"When he comes back, we'll want to move quickly. He was seen the
last time, and another sighting will no doubt cause a bad reaction
from the man who has her. I asked him to stay out of sight, but on
the off chance he is seen again, do you have a plan?"

Loella came bursting through the door brushing off all the hands that
tried to grab at her. "My Lord," she called toward where he was bent
over Livies pup. The front of her dress was spattered with blood. "My
Lord Zathris," she repeated out of breath. "Karhal's been attacked
again," she sobbed. "I saw the man leaving my house just a few minutes
ago. It's that Harper... Crolarin. Livie hurt him sir. She hurt him."
She swayed on her feet and abruptly sat on the floor clutching her
belly. She'd delivered her news and now the pain finally overwhelmed
her.

Zathris didn't have a chance to respond to Lady Felyna, Loella's
sudden arrival interrupted his chance. The site of the blood upon her
dress startled him into silence, but the words that she managed to
choke out before fairly collapsing spurred him into a flurry.
"Guards, sends guards after him. Get this woman to a healer. Now!"
He whirled upon Felyna, a sharp whistle piercing from his lips before
he finally answered her. "My plan is to find the bastard and make sure
he never sees the light of tomorrow."

>From the shadows, another canine rose, this one older than the half-pup,
ears pointed upward as he approached. Unlike the other, he was older,
his ebony coat fading into mahogany, dark eyes peering from the depths
of long fur. "We'll go to the stables, get saddled, then see if he
can lead us close. Someone bring Livie."

"Livie's hurt," was all that Loella managed to gasp before arms picked
her up and began carrying her out of the room and to the infirmary. A
massive cramp seized her and she could only moan in pain.

Last updated on the June 1st 2014

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