Learning to Fall

Aytin jerked up at the sound of knocking. He spun towards the door in time to see his Uncle Cork pulling it open, a smile on his face.

His heart leapt at the sight of the sheaf of papers in his uncle's hands, but it quickly fell as Cork set them down on his desk without comment. Nothing for him.

Instead of sitting down, his uncle wandered over to stand behind the young dragonette. "How are the accounts?" he asked.

"Oh, they're fine."

Aytin didn't add, 'And you already know that.' He just tried to get back to the work in front of him.

His uncle wasn't going to be dissuaded. "And how far along are you?"

"Most of the way through last autumn."

"Hmmm..." Cork leaned down to peruse the ledger, humming softly as he went through it line by line. Then he stopped and dragged a finger along a column. "There was supposed to be a copper shipment in early summer."

Aytin blinked. Thinking back to just before he left the keep, he did remember the big black dragon they had sent the cargo out on. He specifically recalled how she had made most of the keep nervous for her short stay.

Only there hadn't been any invoice for the shipment among the stacks of papers. Or he didn't think so. There had been so much to go through.

The first thing he had done was organize the sheets by rough date. Now he hunted through the pile until he found the ones from the time in question. Sure enough, there was no sign of the missing shipment.

"It must have gotten lost somewhere," he offered, extending the handful of papers to his uncle who took them with a small frown.

"Are you sure you didn't misplace it?"

In response, his nephew motioned at what passed for a desk. The table wedged into one corner of the office was actually quite neat, with a stack of documents on either side of the central ledger. A pen and pot of ink rested near an unlit oil lamp that had been rendered unnecessary by the afternoon sunlight streaming through the open window.

"Well, it can't hurt to check, can it?"

"I suppose not," Aytin answered, although he was starting to get exasperated. There hadn't been any record, invoice, or so much as a mention of the shipment in the files he had been given and he was sure of it. Nonetheless, he started searching around the desk on the off chance it had fallen off the table and onto the floor.

When he pulled himself back up, he found himself faced with his uncle extending a sheet of paper. "That's not-"

Then Cork used a talon to peel the top paper off of the invoice hidden below it. One detailing a shipment of copper sent off the year before.

"It looks like a little ink spilled on the corner and stuck them together," his uncle offered as Aytin's ears drooped from a combination of frustration and embarrassment.

"You already did this work, so what's the point of me messing it up?" the younger dragonette grumbled as he accepted the missing document.

"An extra set of eyes never hurts. And the best way to learn is by doing."

Aytin wanted to explain that there wasn't any reason to learn. That someone else ought to be training to become the family's next representative in the capital. He was going to be going back to join Rina and Faelon out on the frontier.

'It's probably not a good time to bring that up,' he thought to himself. 'When the expedition returns with news, that's when I'll tell him.'

When his uncle had walked in with those messages, Aytin had been hoping that they were from Trademaster Raleigh or Jahdat from the bank. Word should be due any day now.

It wasn't like there was any reason to be worried. They weren't even close to being overdue. What with spring storms and actually finding the tribe, the schedule was flexible. But every day that passed just made Aytin more and more sure that something had gone terribly wrong. And the rumors coming from that part of the frontier only made things worse.

Cork seemed to catch his nephew's sour mood, but completely misunderstood the reason. He put a hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner. "Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it."

"Sure," Aytin replied noncommittally, as he added the missing lines to the ledger.

"I mean it. You're doing great! It's only been a couple of weeks and look how far you've come. And you did well in that meeting with the free traders guild yesterday."

"I bowed, poured some tea, and sat in the corner to take notes. Which weren't good enough, apparently." There had been so much talking that he hadn't been able to keep up. Then it turned out that some idle conversation about what a bunch of other keeps he had never heard of were exporting had been important.

His uncle wasn't dissuaded. "You missed a couple of things, so what? You just need to learn what matters. That comes with experience, which you get from sitting in meetings, pouring tea, and taking notes."

When Aytin didn't respond right away, Cork added, "You have it a lot better than I did. There was no one to show me what to do when old Etchel died. Just some old records and the tax collectors snapping at my tail. I nearly lost your grandmother the keep more than once."

"Well, I'm glad you didn't." There wasn't much else to say.

After a few more moments of awkward silence, his uncle gave up. He walked over to his own desk and started working through the pile of messages. After that there was only the sound of quill tips scratching on paper and the occasional voice drifting through the open window.

The work really was pointless. Taxes had already been paid on the last year's production and what was leftover had already been spent. Mostly on the new ventures for when the mines finally ran dry. That would be happening uncomfortably soon judging by the latest reports.

Thankfully, things were far from desperate. They might even be called hopeful. The fall harvest hadn't been particularly profitable, but they had learned a lot about the crops that could grow in the dry plains around the keep. It turned out that smoking weed did especially well, so they had planted fields of the stuff this spring.

They were still experimenting with some spices as well. It was hard to get seeds for them and the families that grew them weren't keen on sharing their secrets, but it was looking like a few were getting established.

In the meantime, they were still exploring other options. Just with a little less urgency. Once their situation became widely known they could talk to the mining guild to see if there was any way to extract copper from the mine tailings. And the huntresses had gathered a good supply of needlefruit in the fall. Enough to make several barrels of a sweet wine that ought to sell well.

There had also been the meeting with the free traders guild the day before. A handful of new crops had been appearing in the capital over the last year. No one knew exactly where they were coming from, only that the guild was bringing them in.

The representative had confirmed nothing when asked about it. Not that anything of the sort had been the point of the meeting, as his uncle had explained.

Instead, Cork had made sure that Trademaster Fitch knew Luffin Keep was expanding their fields and had plenty of room for any new crops that might be available in coming days. He had pointed out over several cups of very expensive tea how the keep was well placed near the trade routes in the middle ring, and already a stopping point for a number of traders. Really, the perfect place to invest in a new cash crop.

Maybe something would come of it. Maybe not. The point was that they had put the idea into the trademaster's thoughts. It was just another part of the job as the family's representative in the capital, to make sure the Luffin name was known among those with power.

It was early evening when the last of the invoices was recorded. Aytin passed the completed ledger to his uncle who looked it over and then compared it to another sheet.

"Everything looks right," he said brightly after a few moments of study. "See, you're getting good at this!"

"Thanks Uncle Cork. Is there anything else?"

He shook his head. "There are some production numbers I need you to go over, but that can wait until morning. You said you wouldn't be joining your aunt and I for dinner?"

"Right, I'm eating with a... a friend."

His uncle's eyes got a mischievous twinkle in them at the pause. "Oh, some lucky girl?"

"No!"

"Really? A bit fast on the denial, there."

"It's not a date! Just dinner with a friend."

'Never mind that Rina would kill me. Not to mention that if anyone implied to Ivy that this was a date she'd probably die of laughter.'

Thankfully, Cork let it go and didn't follow as Aytin stepped out into the hall.

Only to get swarmed by a tiny blue and white streak as soon as he shut the door behind him.

"Tintin!" the boy shouted as he wrapped his cousin in a hug. "You were in the study so long and mom said you were busy and we couldn't go in but there was this big butterfly outside and it was flying away and-"

Aytin could only smile and nod as Tay explained how he and his brother Zay had followed the bug down the street and into a neighbor's garden, only to get chased off by the owner.

"And we waited and waited but it never came out again," the boy finished.

"I think old Darli ate it," Tay added. He'd followed his brother, staying a little further back and looking serious.

Zay scoffed at that. "Why would he eat a bug? Who eats bugs?"

"He does!" Tay sounded adamant. "Roro told me yesterday that-"

"We didn't see Roro yesterday!"

"Did too!"

"Didn't! It was two days ago!"

"It was yesterday!"

Aytin was rescued by his Aunt Shina who rushed around a corner at the sound of the commotion. Her face looked drawn and her ears were angled down as she demanded, "Why are the two of you fighting in front of your cousin?"

Tay looked immediately downcast, but his brother protested. "Sorry mom, we were just telling cous' about-"

"It didn't sound like you let your Cousin Aytin say a single thing while you were yelling at each other."

"But Tay said he saw Roro yesterday and he didn't and-"

"That's enough! Your cousin has somewhere he needs to be and you need to get washed up for dinner. Apologize and then scrub off all of that dirt," she ordered in a tone just like the one that Aytin's own mother had used when he tried to talk back to her as a hatchling.

Cowed, Zay dipped his ears and turned to Aytin. "Sorry Tintin," he mumbled.

"Sorry we were arguing," his brother added, slightly louder.

"It's fine," he told them both with a tolerant smile. "And I do have to hurry. But I'd love to hear about this butterfly tomorrow at breakfast."

"Okay!" they chimed in near unison before hurrying off to clean up.

"They weren't really fighting," he told Shina once the pair were out of earshot.

"It wouldn't have been long," she replied, following it up with a long sigh. "My sisters told me they would be a handful at this age, but I didn't believe them."

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Well, I wouldn't know. I was always perfectly well behaved."

His aunt barked a quick laugh at that. "Your mother's letters say otherwise." Then, in a more relaxed tone she added, "Are you sure you don't want me to leave some food out for you tonight?"

"No, that's alright. There will be plenty."

"Well, if you change your mind, you know you can always help yourself." There was a strong suggestion behind the words, and Aytin knew better than to argue. He just nodded and assured her that he'd find something to eat if he was even the slightest bit hungry upon his return.

Once his aunt was satisfied, Aytin made his way out of the house. There was the usual crowd of dragonettes on the street, returning home or heading to taverns or going off to run errands before the shops closed. He recognized a few of the neighbors that were passing by, and exchanged a nod with an older female who always seemed to be sitting in her garden, before taking to the skies.

His path took him towards the center of the city. The sun was beginning to dip low when he arrived, and his reception at The Spire was very different from that first time.

No one raised the slightest objection to presence. In fact, he was immediately escorted into the establishment. After a perfunctory hand washing he was led to a private room that held a table and two chairs.

Ivy had been gazing out towards the dark-red sunset, but turned his way with a smile as he entered. "Good evening Aytin. You are doing well, I trust?"

"Yes, thank you." He sat as the attendant pulled a chair out for him. "And how are you doing?"

"As well as can be expected." In truth, she looked much better than when they had first met. The blue of her wings and ears was a little less faded and she no longer seemed crumpled in on herself.

The attendant filled his glass with wine from a carafe, then left as they exchanged greetings. There was already a platter of food on the table, consisting of artfully arranged meats, cheeses, and berries. Aytin took a few pieces and added them to the plate in front of him.

"I hoped there would be word by now," he said after trying some sort of thinly sliced sausage. It had a hint of spice that reminded him of home.

Ivy nodded. "Soon enough, I expect. Spark and his crew are good. They'll be back any day now."

"You know him?"

Her wrinkled face creased a little in wry amusement. "I would say that I know most of the dragons that live in the capital. By reputation, if not personally.

"But I worked with him once... oh, it must have been almost fifty years ago. There was a bit of skirmishing between a couple keeps up north and we were paid to bring in a load of mercenaries and their supplies. Spark and his crew were hired as well, and we flew up in formation. He drove off a raiding green dragon before it could intercept us. Very well done, especially as he couldn't have been much over a hundred at the time."

"Oh. He never said that he knew Faelon." Not that he had spoken with the blue that ran the little mercenary crew for long. He just expected the dragon would have mentioned something.

Ivy waved it away. "I doubt he remembers the affair, and Faelon was even less talkative at the time than when you first met him."

"That's a little hard to believe."

"By your own account, you had him gossiping like a crew with a free round of ale."

"He wasn't quite that chatty," Aytin said with a small smile that slowly faded as the thought brought back memories of that night at Lazon's Rest the crew had spent trading stories.

"Back when we first started flying together he once went an entire week without saying a word to anyone." Ivy looked up from her plate when she didn't get a reply and noticed Aytin looking down at his hands.

"It still hurts?" At his nod, she went on. "The trader's life isn't a safe one. This isn't the first time I've lost crew, or even family. It never gets easier, but you learn to accept it. Especially when there's nothing you could have done differently."

"I know. I just... here I am drinking wine and eating fancy meats while they're all..." He trailed off, shaking his head in frustration.

"Remember, they wouldn't blame you. You know that their families certainly don't."

"Not out loud. But I could tell that they just-"

Only Ivy wasn't having any of it. She slapped a hand on the table with enough force to nearly spill their wine glasses. "Enough of that! I can promise you that no one there blamed you!"

He still wasn't sure. He'd met with Ivy a few times since that first meeting, including at her family estate. Just a small compound not far past the free traders guild. She'd invited him there along with the family of some of the crew. Siblings, mostly. A handful of mates. Thankfully, there were no young children.

Aytin had left as soon as he could. Maybe earlier than was really polite. He just couldn't keep meeting their eyes, couldn't keep listening to stories about the dead crew, and not realize well enough what they were thinking.

Once again, Ivy refused to let him fall into depression. "You said it yourself, that traitor did this before. She was already worming her way into the crew before they even left the city. And you made sure she answered for her crimes. The families all know that and you don't need to punish yourself to make up for your survivor's guilt.

"Besides, I've made sure their families are all being well taken care of."

"I should have-"

"No," Ivy stopped him, firmly. "You did all you needed to and more. You focus on Faelon. The rest has already been handled."

"If you're sure..."

"I am." She gave him a half reproachful, half appreciative look. "The guild helps a bit, and there were others who were more than generous. Money can't bring people back, but a couple of years' wages means a lot."

Aytin needed to know, so he asked, "Those others. Would one of them be Odit Carnot?"

The older dragonette blinked a few times, then nodded, obviously a little surprised. "Yes, actually. The Carnots gave a rather sizable sum without any good reason that I know of. Do you happen to know why they did it?"

Odit had never said anything about keeping their conversation quiet. On the other hand, he had gone through some lengths to keep it private.

'Screw it, Ivy deserves to know how his power games killed her daughter and grandson.'

Going through the conversation with Lord Carnot took some time. Then there were the bits and pieces that Xantha had said that only made sense with the right context. The main course had long arrived by the time he finished, a whole roasted chicken with some sort of sweet glaze. They discussed it between bites.

"It's definitely something I could see one of the grand families doing," Ivy said, a fork full of meat ignored as she stared off into the rapidly darkening sky.

Aytin was aghast. "They just... do things like that? Steal hatchlings and throw people they don't like into the mines?"

"Yes. And no." Her lips half-curled in a grimace, revealing gaps in her teeth that would have regrown in a younger dragonette. "There are so many rumors that some must be true. And they do publicly flex their wings from time to time, when they're absolutely sure they can get away with it. But it's almost always done in the shadows, and aimed at one another. Like that dust up between the Hashaws and Flaxens last year."

"What happened there?"

"Oh, all sorts of fun." Ivy got a wicked grin as she spoke. "Chases through the streets, buildings burned down, a couple of murders. Then the Hashaws broke down the Flaxen front gate with a dragon and the city guard just stood by and watched."

Aytin's eyes got wide and Ivy cackled. "Best gossip in months. I only wish I had been there. Those Flaxens are ruthless when it comes to us free traders. Serves them right."

"That sounds more like war than entertainment."

The old trader shrugged, then noticed she was still holding a fork full of chicken. She popped it into her mouth and chewed as she answered. "Maybe it is... Flaxens deserved it, though. Their matriarch turned out to be an honest to gods traitor. They broke her wings and threw her off the island in the end."

"That's hard to imagine."

Her snort sounded like the rip of tearing cloth. "You can't be telling me that you haven't realized by now what sort of people are out there?"

"No, no, believe me, I know." Aytin held his hands up and shook his head vigorously. "It's just... well, Luffin Keep is pretty big for where it is. And with the mines, we had criminals working off sentences. My sister Zara had to deal with them, but she told stories..."

He trailed off, recalling the occasional flogging and the one real fight that had broken out among the miners. With a head shake he went on. "Anyway, I know there are criminals. I just can't see why people with so much already will kill and betray each other for a little more."

"To be fair, it's not a little more," Ivy pointed out.

"A lot more, then. What are they going to do with it?"

The old trader sat back, a thoughtful look on her face. "I could have retired twenty years before I stopped flying with Faelon. The family didn't need the gold. I certainly didn't. But I wasn't going to give it up. I suppose it may be the same for them."

"Except you didn't steal hatchlings."

"That I didn't," she agreed with a nod.

"So can I trust Lord Carnot when he does things like that?"

"Oh, absolutely."

Aytin blinked at the instant answer. "That's it?"

"Frankly, you're not important enough for him to screw over. Oh, don't look so hurt," she chided as his mouth opened and ears dipped. "The Carnots outright own a couple dozen keeps in the inner ring alone. Compared to that, the scion of a single middling keep isn't much better than a dressed up commoner."

"If I'm so unimportant, why wouldn't he just squash me?" Aytin was still stinging from the earlier comments and that made his response come out a little more challenging than normal.

Ivy gave every impression of not noticing the sharp tone. "Because he wouldn't get anything out of it. That sort of noble might be ruthless, but I don't think any of them would burn down an orphanage for the fun of it. Besides, they tend to keep their word if they give it. As long as it isn't too inconvenient."

"Ugh, what exactly is 'too inconvenient?' Why couldn't he have just handed me a sack of gold?"

"Trust me, if you use it right, a favor is worth more than gold. There was one time a couple of crew got caught up in a bar fight. Not involved, of course, just grabbed with the rest by the local guard you know?"

"Of course."

"We were leaving in the morning, but there was no way the magistrate would be able to sort things out before early afternoon. It was... quite a brawl."

"But someone owed you a favor?" Aytin guessed.

"The magistrate was part of the..." She paused in thought, rubbing a horn absently before nodding firmly. "Well, exactly which family doesn't matter. I'd helped one of their factors out of a raw deal, and their patriarch remembered. He made sure my people were out at sunrise, and only had to pay a few silver each for some broken furniture."

"I still wish I didn't have to deal with it all," he said with a frown. "No matter how valuable it is, this favor seems messy."

"You seemed to handle it well enough with the wildlings. And kept up with it since you got back. That payment from the mining guild? Certainly feels like a favor to me."

Ivy gave him a searching look and Aytin squirmed slightly. "That was for a friend."

"Uh, huh. So would you like me to pass along the money?"

"No," Aytin said, hurriedly. "Give it to the crew's families. I don't need it."

"It will be appreciated," Ivy replied, voice oozing triumph.

They sat there for a time. Aytin picked at his food, thinking back to his time with the wildlings. Ivy had implied it was a bunch of trading favors. Put that way, it only made sense. He'd alway felt uncomfortable with the deals he had made to get their support against Xantha.

Playing off of their worship for Faelon had felt wrong, even if the Matriarchs seemed to be more worried about the pragmatic side of things. Then so many had ended up dead. And Ness's shoulder would never work right again, no matter what Agon did for her. Her ability to communicate with beasts meant she was still counted among the ranks of the huntresses, but only just barely. That and the death of Stumpy had nearly broken her more than any physical injury could have.

'There wasn't any other way,' he told himself. 'I told them everything. I never lied about what we were asking them to do. And we gave them so much.'

His contemplation was interrupted by a sharp rapping on the door. The staff had been unobtrusively entering and leaving all night, so this was someone else.

Ivy obviously wasn't expecting anyone, either, and her eyeridges furrowed as she called out, "Come in!"

The door swung open to reveal Trademaster Raleigh. "I heard the two of you were here." His scarred face was impassive as he stepped in, giving his blind side a wide berth.

Aytin felt his heart skip a beat and nearby he could hear the creak of a chair as Ivy leaned forward. "There's news?" she asked before Aytin could open his mouth.

He nodded as he closed the door. When he turned around there was a broad grin on his face and his remaining ear was pricked. "That there is."

Aytin stumbled a little as he touched down outside Uncle Cork's house. The rough landing wasn't simply because it was dark out. No, he was feeling more than a little unsteady on the wings after the evening he had just finished.

Raleigh's news was everything he could have hoped for. Everything he knew the expedition would bring back.

With the arrival of the trademaster, Ivy had summoned the staff and ordered a bottle of wine. Aytin hadn't caught the name, but it was sweet and red and the three of them had drunk the whole thing in a series of toasts. Then they had shared another bottle as Raleigh relayed messages from Faelon and the three of them discussed what would come next.

"You'll need to make everything official with the cartographer guild," the trademaster had said. "Your story has spread enough that with official confirmation there shouldn't be much trouble getting Faelon appointed a lord. It should just take a petition to the crown, and the guild will send one in the morning."

"How long until... until...?" The wine was starting to fog Aytin's thoughts, but he was very conscious of the midsummer deadline to get the work crews on their way. Spring was nearly over, and there was so much to do.

The trademaster understood the question, and replied with a shrug. "Depends. The crown is busy with... well, they're very busy. It could be a few days. It could be a month. But they'll get to it, trust me."

'I'll need to tell Uncle Cork that I won't have the time to go through the finances anymore.'

The thought should have caused him some anxiety, but in his current state Aytin could only be glad that he wouldn't have to spend another day pouring over old papers and marking up ledgers.

Lights from the house lit his path as he made his way up to the door. That was a little odd. The sun had long since set, and the family usually followed it to bed.

'I hope Aunt Shina didn't stay up to feed me.' His stomach rumbled warningly at the thought. There had been just a little too much wine to make him really comfortable with a late night snack.

He quietly opened the door and stepped inside. Around the corner, he saw his aunt and uncle in the kitchen, talking softly in the light of a lamp and the open oven.

Only, a third figure appeared in the doorway. His Aunt Shina stood there, beaming at him.

"Well, look who finally showed up. We've been waiting for you."

The unknown dragonette at the table turned, and Aytin felt his eyes go wide.

She looked older than the last time he had seen her. Her clothes were heavier, too. Rougher traveling clothes instead of the light outfits she wore around the keep. And somehow she wasn't quite as tall as he remembered.

She couldn't be here. There was no way. Not now. Not for him. But there she was, and the smile on her face was wider than he could ever remember seeing.

His mother had arrived in the capital.