Working for Lavender (5)

Writers: Aaron, Heather
Date Posted: 12th March 2021

Characters: Brennault, Zavek
Description: The road is washed out by a torrential downpour, so Zavek and Brennault play cards by the fire to pass the time.
Location: Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 8, day 23 of Turn 10

Brennault was of two minds. On the one hand, he was glad to be getting back on the road and anxious to get the package delivered quickly. He wanted to be on Zaverak's good side if he was going to be coming back – and he wanted to come back.

On the other hand, Brennault wanted to stay. There was an electric spark between him and Zavek, and Brennault wanted to let those sparks fly. He almost did not care if lightning ever struck, just so he could stand there in that storm.

_CRACK!_

_Rumble..._

Brennault had been sure that he had woken up before sunrise that day. But it seemed he was too optimistic after all. The sky was merely dark with storm clouds.

_FROOSH._

And with rain like that, Brennault would be hard-pressed to make it to the road fork waystation before sundown. Zavek would have to ride out into the rain to haul Brennault out of the muck.

He grinned at the thought of being rescued by Zavek, shirt open, sopping wet, and riding that big, fiery-hearted runnerbeast.

But he set his bag back down before heading out to breakfast instead of bringing it with him.

"Well... it looks like I'll need to scrub some pots and pans or something to earn another day's board," he said.

"It's a drencher out there, isn't it?" Zavek agreed, gesturing for Brennault to help himself to a cup of klah. In truth, he was a little relieved that the weather had turned, giving him an opportunity to get to know Brennault a bit more. There was plenty of attraction between them, Zavek thought, but they hadn't spoken of anything in plain terms and if they didn't, then would Brennault come back by this way again?

"I think I could let you stay out of the kindness of my heart since the weather is uncontrollable," the farmer teased.

Brennault smiled as he poured his klah and took his seat.

"I like a kind heart," he said. "But how will we pass the time? Work still has to get done, doesn't it?"

It was on the tip of Zavek's tongue to say he knew how they could pass the time. He said instead, "I went out with a few hands before the sky dropped and moved runners into the stable. The bovines are pasturing, so they're fine. No harvesting can be done in this downpour. So we officially have some down time."

"I slept in late with the sun hiding," lamented Brennault. "It was... kind of you to let me sleep in." He decided it was safer to say 'kind' than 'sweet'. He suspected the cook was the most trustworthy of Zavek's workers. But it was rarely safe to assume.

"I guess that leaves... cards? Story time?" Brennault chuckled. "I bet you have a better idea."

--

It turned out that Zavek didn't have a better idea and after the cook left, the two men settled in front of the fireplace for a game of dragonpoker.

"So," said Brennault as he studied Zavek's expression for tells about what might be in his hand. "Big family? Or is it just you and Dad?"

"Hardly," he said around a chuckle. "I have nine brothers and sisters, plus my mother."

"That is a _lot_ of brothers and sisters. You know, my parents never had any besides me. Not together. You might think they would have had a million, but Mom knows what she wants. Most of the kids at the station were like siblings to me, anyway," said Brennault. "But I bet it was different here."

He had given very little thought to inheriting the station, but he supposed – given his location and the conversation – that he might.

"So – how long have you had your own place?" he wondered.

"Ten Turns," Zavek replied, discarding a card. "When I was twenty-five my father said I could cultivate this patch of land. It's still technically his. He's too stingy to actually give away pieces of prime land."

"He seems like a hard sort. I hope he won't be too upset that I can't leave yet to get his message back to the Weyr," said Brennault. "I shouldn't have left my firelizard at the station. But I knew I was coming here to work, and I didn't want him causing mischief. And I _didn't_ know it would be raining."

"Even if he were here, I don't know how easily he could have convinced someone to come pick me up, anyway. I have a lot of rider friends, but firelizards don't exactly talk like people. Or dragons. And truth be told, package or no, I'm glad of the chance to take a break here." With you.

"It's fine," Zavek assured Brennault. "He prefers to not use dragons or firelizards anyway. He doesn't exactly _like_ the Weyr or anything associated with it." He gestured for Brennault to show his hand.

"Then it's all the better I didn't bring him," said Brennault as he laid his cards down. It was not a phenomenal hand, and Brennault's wagers had indicated it should have been much better than it was.

"What _does_ your father like?"

Zavek splayed his winning hand on the polished wood floor between them.

"My father likes tradition and order. He likes money and prestige. He likes himself. You'd think a man of thirty-five wouldn't have to worry about his father anymore but.... Without land of my own I don't have much of a choice. The land I'm working here is prime for lavender, bovines, and runnerbeasts- even if I could acquire some parcels of my own, they wouldn't be nearly as profitable as this."

Brennault pushed the chips in the middle toward Zavek.

"It looks like you're doing very well for yourself here," he said, not letting the loss bother him too much. It was not real money, after all.

"And for him, by extension. Is there something more he expects of you?"

Cerault expected excellent work from Brennault, but other than that, nothing. He started dealing another hand.

For a long moment there was nothing but the sound of the logs crackling in the fireplace. Zavek's dark head was bent, his obsidian hair falling over his eyes as he thought about the best way to answer Brennault's question.

"To be the perfect traditional holder, of course, is his main expectation of his eldest son. If I were to marry and produce an heir he would officially give me this land. It really annoys him that I am this old without a wife or children. He and my mother had me when he was eighteen."

"And you would rather not get an heir his way," said Brennault. "Eighteen is so young to make that kind of decision everyone will expect you to abide by forever. Marriage isn't for everyone... and there's more than one way to get an heir. But he doesn't want someone without his blood inheriting his land, does he?"

"For holders, marrying by eighteen is commonplace. I am the odd one, at least by society standards. There's only one way to have a true heir for holders - marriage to a suitable woman and producing a child from your own loins." Zavek's supple mouth twisted into an amused smirk. "I think by now you can somewhat imagine how that would be difficult for me."

"I can imagine," Brennault answered. As for himself, he could manage it easily enough – the physical bit, anyway – but having the responsibility of caring for a child? Even at the Weyr or the station where everyone helped raise the kids, it was not something he wanted ultimately to fall onto his shoulders.

"I take it your father wants a say in who counts as a suitable woman. Or all of the say, no doubt." If Zavek could choose, there were women with whom he could work out an understanding. Women who might be on a similar road. But if Zaverak wanted to play matchmaker...

"That would make it hard to... work something out for everyone's happiness."

Hard, but maybe not impossible. But it would take a lot of time and work to move all of the pieces into place. Practically impossible if not technically impossible.

"Am I going to get you into trouble by staying here with you?"

"No, not as long as you're just a runner passing through who needs a place to crash when working off debts." Zavek said this while meeting Brennault's eyes, as if there was another message entirely under the words.

"What about when I come back again?" Brennault asked, looking into Zavek's eyes hopefully. "How long will he buy that?"

"Oh, I'd say if I were to hire you to personally deliver some of my lavender oil to one of my clients, that should suffice. Shouldn't it?" he suggested.

"It most certainly should," Brennault agreed. "And if I perform well enough, perhaps you'll... hire me again."

"I guess I'll have to see how you perform first." Zavek winked.

Brennault sat up and beamed with excitement.

"I am eager to impress. Delays from the storm notwithstanding, of course." Just because it seemed like no one was listening did not mean no one was listening.

"Of course," Zavek murmured, smiling a little over his hand of cards.

Last updated on the July 21st 2021

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Working for Lavender (5)