Learning to Fall

Breakfast was usually a simple affair. Tea, porridge, some fried meat or sausages. Occasionally leftovers from dinner the night before, or a little stewed fruit. It was good food, especially compared to meals with the wildlings. Venison and wild boar got boring, particularly without anything more than wild herbs to season it.

Today there was still tea, but also boiled eggs, hot bread, cheese, fresh berries, and even a small pitcher of cider on the table. Where exactly it had all come from was a mystery. It had just been there, like magic, as Aytin stumbled downstairs not long after dawn.

He certainly appreciated it. Especially the energy that came from the cup of cider. It helped him wake up enough to face his mother.

"Of course the courier was too small for any passengers, and they were going the wrong way, besides," she explained between sips of tea. "But it was like the gods answering my prayers because the very next day we had a dragon arrive to pick up a shipment of copper. Probably one of the last we'll ever ship. But she and her crew got me to Bartelion, and from there it wasn't hard to find someone headed here."

"I'm surprised they didn't plan their route better," his uncle commented. "You got in so late, and most dragons don't like landing in the dark."

"We had headwinds all morning slowing us down. There was talk of landing at one of the other towns on this island, but they charge so much for room and board that you would think we were staying at the Royal Palace."

Shina shook her head from across the table. "They're not as bad as all that. I used to live in one before I met your brother."

"Well, the crew acted like it would cost a gold each for a bowl of stew and a patch of ground to sleep on. Besides, we didn't arrive long after sunset. I just got hopelessly lost finding this place in the dark."

"Ask your son sometime how long it took him to make it here when he first arrived. He stopped for new clothes and a bath on the way!" His uncle snorted and Aytin felt his ears dip in embarrassment.

"Oh?" She looked towards her son, one eyeridge cocked.

"The guard thought I was a beggar," he mumbled around a mouthful of bread and cheese. "Easy mistake for her to make, I guess. Ratty clothes and stuff."

His wings fluttered slightly, drawing attention to the long scars. It was the first time his mother had gotten a good look at the injuries and she was on her feet in a heartbeat.

"Oh, gods, Aytin! You said in your letter that you had a healer fix these!" She reached out and gently unfolded one of his wings then hissed in sympathy. "Oh, no, this looks... does it hurt to fly?"

"Not, uh, not usually. And a healer did fix them. He did a great job."

"A wildling healer." Disdain dripped from his mother's voice as she gently ran a talon down one of the scars.

Aytin shivered and jerked the wing away. "Agon did everything he could. He was the only one out there and without him I wouldn't be here!"

"Well, we should still get a proper healer to look at it. They might be able to do something about the scaring."

"No!" He knew the only thing that they could do. Cut away the membrane and heal it once more. That wasn't going to happen. No one would be bringing a blade near his wings ever again!

The rest of his family was staring at him, and Aytin realized that his talons were digging into the table. Slowly, he relaxed the grip and shook his head. "A healer is too expensive. And I'm fine. It's just a scar."

"If you're sure..." his mother said, hesitating slightly.

"I am." The words came out just a little too quickly, almost reflexively. After another few moments of everyone staring, he belatedly added, "But thank you."

"Well of course. After everything you went through I just thought... but I guess they are distinctive."

He didn't know quite what she meant by that, only nodded a little as she sat down once more. One thing he did notice was that she had shifted her chair just a little bit closer, until their furled wings were nearly brushing.

Both of them had been nearly dead on their feet the night before, her from her travels and him from the celebration. There had been a tearful reunion, although more so for the mother than her son. Aytin was still struggling to get over his slightly drunken shock, and didn't really have time to process what was happening. His aunt and uncle had taken that as exhaustion on both their parts, and ushered them upstairs, promising they could catch up in the morning.

He'd fallen asleep to the sound of his mother's gentle breathing in the bed next to his, thoughts jumbled and flitting back and forth without ever actually going anywhere.

"And speaking of distinctive," she went on, distracting him from his thoughts. "Have you managed to show him off at all? Maybe find a potential mate for him?"

"Mom!"

"Well, I know you had your heart set on Nyssa back at Alrak Keep-"

"Mom!"

Now Aytin had one hand over his face and a wing twitching like he wanted to wrap it over his head. His mother didn't seem to notice. "-But I think you should take some time here in the city and see if you can't find someone who fits you better," she said, ignoring the interruption.

Both Cork and Shina wore near identical smiles as they looked on. Meanwhile Zay had jumped off of his stool and moved over to poke his cousin. "You alright?" he asked with the sort of innocence only a child could manage.

"Fine."

"'Cause if you don't feel good, can I have your berries?"

"Taaayyy." The warning in Shina's voice was clear, but he only looked over, a little confused.

"Wha?! You always say not to waste food!"

"Your cousin isn't sick! And you can't just ask things like that."

"Oh." He paused for a moment to think. "Then what's wrong?"

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"Nothing," Aytin insisted, finally sitting up straight. He very deliberately picked up a berry and popped it into his mouth. "See?"

His little cousin nodded, gravely. "So you're ready to hear about the butterfly?"

"What?" He cocked his head in confusion at the unexpected change of topic.

"The butterfly. You said-"

"Tay, finish your food and leave your cousin alone," Shina ordered.

The boy got a stubborn look on his face. "Cous Tintin said he wanted to hear 'bout it at breakfas'! He said yesterday!"

"He did!" Zay chimed in from his seat. "I heards him!"

Now it was Aytin's turn to grin as Shina glowered at her kids. "That was before his mother arrived. Maybe he'll get a chance to hear your story later."

"Does Auntie Norvie not like butterflies?" Tay asked, giving Aytin's mother a suspicious look.

"I'm sure your Aunt Norvinia likes butterflies just fine. But remember we talked about the right time for things?"

The boy looked at the ground and scuffed his feet. "I guess."

"Do you or do you not?"

"Yes, I 'member."

"So do you really think that now is the right time to talk about butterflies? While your aunt is talking?"

"She wasn't-"

"Tay."

The boy shook his head, dejectedly. Wrapping his tail around and holding it in both hands, he turned to his aunt and said, "Sorry Auntie Norvie."

"That's alright," she said with a big smile. "And I do like butterflies. Maybe you can tell me about this one later?"

"Okay," the boy replied, a little more brightly. "Promise?"

"I promise."

Tay made his way back to his seat, apparently satisfied. Once there, he returned to devouring his pile of sausage and cheese and occasionally whispering to his brother.

"Well, then," Cork said to no one in particular as things settled down. "This bread is delicious. Where did you get it, honey? Not the bakery up the street?"

"Of course not. I swear they cut their flour with sawdust. But there's this little place just a few blocks away that a neighbor told me about. You know Devine, right? She said that they..."

Aytin relaxed a little. It seemed that the earlier line of conversation had been forgotten. Unfortunately, that hope ended just a little later when his mother asked, "About showing Aytin off...?"

"Eh." Her brother rubbed his horns a little as he answered. "I've introduced him in a few meetings, but he's honestly done a good job getting himself out there on his own."

"Really?"

"Oh, yes. He's been all over the city. The free traders guild, mining guild, cartographers guild, engineering guild. Helping that dragon Faelon has certainly gotten him into some useful circles."

Lady Luffin made a face. "But that's all business. He needs to be seen socially."

"I believe he's had a couple of dinners. Like the one he was at when you arrived."

"Hmmm... But just dinners? How many on the guest list?"

She turned to her son, who shrugged. "I was with Ivy last night. Her and Trademaster Raleigh."

"Ivy? Oh! You mean Faelon's old partner. How is she doing? I haven't seen her since I was just a little younger than you were. I'm actually surprised she's still flapping around. She was getting on in years even before she turned things over to her daughter."

Aytin tried to answer, only his mother just kept right on going.

"But while it's great that you're getting to know people like her and the trademaster, we need to get you seen by more than just the guild members. Tell me," she said, turning to Cork and Shina. "Is there anything happening soon that we could take him to?"

"Well..." her brother began, looking up to the ceiling as he considered. "The Midsummer Festival is still a ways off. That will be the biggest event of the season, though."

Aytin's mother made a face. "I can't stay here that long. Zara is doing an excellent job of holding things together, I'm sure, but I really need to be on my way back in a few weeks at most."

"That's what I expected. There's a ball about every week with one family or another."

"How hard is it to get an invitation?" There was a sudden gleam in Lady Luffin's eyes.

"For most, not very. We even get sent a few directly from houses we have dealings with. And some of the bigger houses invite families like ours on occasion."

"Remember when we got the invitation to the Emerald Ball?" Shina piped in.

Cork smiled fondly. "I remember you spent two whole weeks scouring the shops for something to wear."

"And you enjoyed every moment of it!"

"True. The green dress went perfectly with your eyes."

Shina's ears perked. "Why thank you. It was really a wonderful night."

"The Carnots do know how to throw a party. Pity it's always in the late summer. That would be perfect."

He paused for a moment, then took on a more pensive look. "You know, it might be hard to get an invitation, but next week is the King's Thirtieth Jubilee."

Lady Luffin looked interested. "I didn't realize. That sort of thing doesn't come up much in the keeps."

"It's the first royal event since the prince's graduation gala last summer," Shina said. "They've been very private since then. I heard," she said, leaning forward conspiratorially and dropping her voice. "Well, they say that a dark knight got into the royal palace. It tried to kill Princess Aquilani and Tirexia saved her. That's the dragon the princess serves with," she added for Aytin and his mother's benefit.

"Really? We'd heard rumors about the forces of the dark, but were things actually that bad here?"

Shina shrugged. "Well, it's not like there were darklings flying though the skies. No one from the royal family is saying anything, obviously. But that's what I heard at that dinner with the mining guild last fall. One of the guests said they know someone who saw the whole thing!"

"Well, that sort of nasty business aside, I think the jubilee sounds perfect for Aytin."

"Hard to get an invite, though," Cork told his sister. "I mean, there's a festival open to the entire city, but I expect you don't want that."

"No, no. Hmmm, I don't suppose there are any invitations for sale?"

The other dragonette winced. "If there are any, I don't think the family could afford one."

"Well, we've made a few friends over the years. One of them might be able to find one for us. And if not, we'll just make do."

For the rest of the morning, Aytin's mother turned into a force to rival the gods themselves. He could only do his best to keep from tumbling out of control as he was dragged along in her wake.

First had been a long talk with Uncle Cork. That had involved a list of names and places. People and businesses in the capital that the Luffin family had formed relationships with over the years, or that his mother knew one way or another.

Then came the order to dress in, "Something fit for good company." His mother had packed along a dress that she occasionally wore to festivals back home. It was pale blue, with silver embroidery on the hems. Tied off with a white belt, it struck Aytin as a little much for just flying around the city.

His own outfit from Citadel Needleworks had been pronounced acceptable. "But we'll have to find something better for the jubilee."

"What's wrong with it?" He thought it looked great. Considering how much it cost, it had better. But his mother shook her head.

"It looks very good on you," she said as she reached in to straighten the pocket handkerchief. "The kingdom's great nobility, though, they won't be impressed by this. We'll have to see if we can rent you an outfit on short notice. I'm sure your uncle can recommend somewhere."

After that he was handed a bag, a fairly heavy one, and the pair of them were off, flying into the midmorning sun.