Good Feelings Gone

Writers: Heather
Date Posted: 27th April 2024
Series: Lavender Run

Characters: Zavek
Description: Zavek returns home from his stay at the Weyr with Brennault, but a troublesome letter quickly ruins all of the happy feelings he had built at Dolphin Cove.
Location: Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 1, day 1 of Turn 11
Notes: Mentioned: A'vel (not by name), Brennault

Zavek's heart felt light as he was dropped off at his usual rendezvous
point with Brennault by the greenrider who had taken him to the Weyr
for Turns end.

He hadn't expected to enjoy the Weyr quite so much, but his
beastcrafter brain had found the dragons absolutely fascinating. A
part of him felt like he could have been a dragonhealer in another
life. Well, he could be one now, but he would be limited in rank
promotions since he was far too old to Impress a dragon.

As he walked the road that led back to Lavender Run, he gazed upon the
rolling green hills of pasture land, and then to the left, the fields
of lavender that he grew. It was a beautiful, breathtaking bit of
land.

**I take it back. There's nowhere I'd rather be than here.** This
piece of land was special to him. It was the exact plot he had picked
out as his inheritance from his father when he'd come of age to leave
the family's lucrative farm hold.

Zavek had poured blood, sweat, and tears into making Lavender Run a
prosperous farm that was slowly becoming renowned for its thoroughbred
runnerbeasts.

"Boss," a stablehand called out when his silhouette was spotted coming
down the road.

He smiled and lifted a hand in return. "Gaberin! How's the run?" he
asked as he neared the stable yard.

"I think you'll find everything just as you left it," the stablehand
said, pushing the brim of his hat back further on his head.
"Moonshade's been missing you somethin' fierce, though. Won't let any
of the hands take him out for a walk."

Zavek grinned as he ducked into the shade of the stables. A familiar
runner face appeared over a stabledoor. The gelding stamped with
impatience and tossed his mane as if to say, 'How _dare_ you leave me
here with these plebians!'

"You haven't been difficult, have you?" Zavek asked, taking the
gelding's muzzle in hand and rubbing a knuckle over the velvety soft
nose.

Moonshade chuffed and snorted.

"That's what I thought. Here, take a sweetcube. You should let the
hands take you for a walk, you know. You're never as happy when you
just graze around in the small yard."

The gelding gulped down the cube and pushed his nose into Zavek's
hand, searching for more.

Zavek laughed. "Okay, one more, and then I'd really like to go inside
and clean up. I'll take you for a ride first thing in the morning, I
promise."

A black and white blur suddenly came streaking into the barn and threw
itself at Zavek's feet.

"Alfalfa," Zavek grinned as he knelt by the canine, whose tongue was
lolling out of his head happily. "I trust you were a better tenant
than Moon while I was gone."

"Woof! Woof!"

"Good boy," the beastcrafter rubbed behind the canine's ears. "Go on
then, get to the house," he said, standing and watching as the working
animal zoomed across the yard toward their house.

"Oh, boss?"

"Yeah, Gaberin?"

"Some fella came by looking fer you. He left a note there on the front
porch under the boot jack."

"Thanks Gaberin," Zavek said, striding across the barnyard and up the
wooden steps of his wraparound porch.

Just as the stablehand had described, there was a folded note there.
Curious, Zavek leaned against the porch railing as he unfolded the
letter and read:

'I know about you and that runnerboy. I'll give you some time to
marinade on that. I'll be back soon.'

Alarm sent spikes of adrenaline zipping through Zavek's body. He
stared at the letter, rereading it several times. His eyes kept
catching on the word 'runnerboy.' That had to be Brennault the letter
was referring to, didn't it?

What exactly did this letter writer "know" about him and Brennault? Everything?

Fear made swallowing difficult as Zavek folded the letter and shoved
it into his back pocket.

Last updated on the April 30th 2024

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Good Feelings Gone