Dawn (19 page)

Llewellyn smiled broadly back, “Yes, I do think we found another High Silver.”

“
Hey, Dawn,” began the twins, in unison, “We have good news and bad news from in town.”

Dawn looked up from her lunch, “Okay, I’ll bite. What is the good news?”

“
Your book on the Altshea language, Kelf, came in and apparently it was actually fairly inexpensive.”

“
Kelef,” Dawn cringed at the mispronunciation, unclear if it was intentional or not. This was the twins after all. “That came in very quickly! And the bad news?”

“
We bumped into Lynn; she said Gavin has gone all super mopey and you may want to poke him with a stick.”

“
Did she actually advocate poking him with a stick?” she asked.

The twins just giggled and broke eye contact, “In a manner of speaking.”

“
A teenager getting all mopey,” commented Maria, “who would have thought?” She paused and waited for a dirty look from Dawn. “And before you ask, yes, you may go in town this afternoon to ‘poke him with a stick’ providing you pick up your book on the return.”

“
Thank you, Maria. I’m just a little concerned about Gavin. I’ve
never
heard him get out of sorts. In fact he always seems to be the one pulling me up.”

“
He is probably just stressed about something or other. Now is the time for you to return the favor and help him,” replied Maria.

“
Gladly!”

“
I may be part of the problem; I have been pushing him very hard in practice,” offered Llewellyn. “He is taking it all very seriously, but he is just fifteen. I’m just trying to make sure he doesn’t end up making the same mistakes I made.”

“
He’s a tough one; he probably just needs a good friend right now,” countered Maria. “Dawn, as soon as you finish your plate, you may head out. Just don’t forget your book!”

Dawn paused as she sized up Gavin’s house; she had been by it a few times but had never gone in, and she had only met his Second Mother. The house was a three story timber frame with rock for the first floor. It was an older house, but it was very well maintained and had quite a bit of charm to it.

“
Just a second,” came the reply as she pulled the chain for the doorbell. A sharply dressed lady with a beautiful coat like a lynx answered the door. Dawn could see where Gavin got his coat! “Oh, yes, you must be Dawn. Do come in. Gavin has talked all about you.”

“
Thank you, Mrs. Rachelwood,” she said politely, not knowing if this was First or Third Mother.

She stepped inside to a well-lit and highly decorated house. Decorative floral painting covered most all of the woodwork and brought a lot of color and variety to the house.

“
Oh! Very pretty! That is rosemaling, yes?” asked Dawn.

“
Yes, indeed!” The lady responded before calling up stairs, “Fiona, is your brother available?”

“
No, Fourth Mother. He is still on the roof,” came the reply from upstairs.

“
On the roof?” asked Dawn.

“
Yes,” Mrs. Rachelwood replied. “When he wants to be alone but not out in the woods, he tends to go up there.”

“
Is there an easy way to get up there?”

She laughed, “No. That is kind of why he likes it up there.”

“
Is it okay if I go see him?”

“
Certainly! I think he could use the company. Shall I try and page him?”

“
No, ma’am. I’ll just go up.”

Dawn pumped her wings hard as she touched down on the roof. Landing on a slope was a bit tricky, but fortunately it wasn’t all that steep. She winked her wings out in a blue flash as she padded over the top of the rise. There was Gavin, sprawled on top of a dormer looking rather blue.

“
Would you like some company or should I fly off?”

Gavin turned and with sudden recognition sat upright, “Dawn! How did you get up here? You should have had my sister come page me.”

“
Well, you seemed like you wanted to hang out here so I figured I’d just join you. Unless I’m interrupting?”

“
No! Please, have a seat.”

She cocked her head, “Can I talk you into helping me with the laces on my dress right quick?”

“
Certainly!” Gavin bolted over to her and quickly laced the back of her dress closed.

“
So, what brings you out to the roof? It’s a nice view, but kinda awkward,” said Dawn.

“
I don’t know,” sighed Gavin. “Just trying to find a quiet spot.”

“
So… what is bothering you? Is it something I did?” prodded Dawn.

“
Oh heavens, no!” gushed Gavin. “You are the most wonderful thing in the world.”

Dawn flushed at the compliment, “Then what has you so blue?”

“
Who says I’m blue?”

“
Um, the twins, Lynn, your mother, sister and, oh yeah, you looked half-baked sprawled across the roof when I got up here.”

“
Well, I guess the jury is in then,” replied Gavin. “I don’t know. So much is going on. So many things are so strange.”

Dawn sat on the roof and sprawled gracefully, “Spill it, silly boy. I’m not leaving until you do.”

Gavin laughed, “And you would be hard to hide from too, I would imagine.” He stared at the sky as he continued, “I don’t know. Part of it is your Father, part of it is my parents, Lynn, just about everything.”

“
Okay, let’s start with Lynn. What is wrong with her?”

“
Nothing really. That is just the problem. I’m beginning to think I like her a little
too
much. She is a really nice girl and all and she just seems to be growing on me. I don’t know what to do; I don’t want her to get between us just because I’m an idiot. ”

Dawn laughed, “You silly boy… she likes you a lot too! What’s wrong with that? Do you like me any less than you did before?”

“
Heavens no! I like you more and more every day.”

“
Five to ten years from now, do you think we will still be seeing each other?”

Gavin nervously stared at the ground far below, “Oh, I do hope so. We are kinda young and all, but I do
really
hope so.”

“
So you have silly dreams about us being married with a cottage in the woods?”

Gavin all but faded out of view, much like Llewellyn had in the field that time. “Yes,” he meekly replied.

“
Then why wouldn’t Lynn also be part of that? I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather have as a Second Mother beside me. And it would be really awkward for her to be our family’s Second Mother if you
didn’t
really like her! ”

“
Yeah, that would be difficult,” he weakly joked. Gavin regained some of his color, just enough for Dawn to tell he was still terribly uncomfortable.

“
So, what is the problem with my father? If he is pushing you too hard, he does apologize for that. He just sees a lot of potential in you and wants you to reach your full potential without making all the mistakes he made.”

“
There is so much weird with what you just said.”

“
Okay, let’s start from the top. Do you like being around my father?”

Gavin laughed, “There is
nothing
wrong with your father. He is just seven flavors of awesome! And that is just it: in the last few months I have spent more time with
your
father than I have with
my
father my entire life. My dad is always off traveling with my first mother, and when he is around, he has very little time for me. Meanwhile, your father is always happy to have me around. Do you know what kind of heel that makes me feel like? Should I try to reach out more to my father? Does he even care? I’m becoming like a son to your father and I’m not sure if I’m trying hard enough with my own.”

“
Well, first and foremost, I can tell you Dad doesn’t see you like a son. He sees you as a young version of himself. He is busting his furry butt to make sure you don’t repeat all his mistakes.”

“
Mistakes? Your father is just amazing! What could he possibly regret?”

“
Actually? Most everything that ever happened off world.”

Gavin was struck dumb by that statement.

Dawn continued carefully, “I’m still not all certain why Dad did leave initially, but he left Afon when he was eighteen, and he spent the next five years going from one military hot spot to the next. He made great friends amongst the Altshea, Kulpgurie, humans, and the Shukurae. He also buried a fair number of them. By the time he was twenty two, he was banned by treaty from visiting two planets. That may sound like an ego rush, but what is it like to have people fear and hate you so much when they have never even actually met you? He has seen things in war that are best not seen, and he chose to do it all over and over again. Not only did he outlive his oldest sister, but he also outlived one of his younger brothers. It all stopped
only
because his friends were such good friends that they got him out.”

“
I’d never thought of it that way…”

“
When he rescued me,” Dawn continued, “he went out of his way to make sure I didn’t see anyone actually get killed. Several guards got in his way and he knocked them out cold. He did that for my benefit; it would have been far easier for him to kill them. When I moved here, I had nightmares almost every night for about a month. Two things helped me. One, Maria was always there for me, staying up way late at night to be with me. Two, I found out my dad had nightmares too. Under all the beautiful fur and glory of old, he is haunted by what he has seen and done. And he doesn’t wish any of that on you. He desperately wants to make sure you can become as good as he is without going through the pain he did.”

Gavin stood there stunned, “I… I never thought about any of that. All I ever saw was the great warrior. It’s frightening to think someone like him could have nightmares.”

“
Now speaking of your father,” interjected Dawn, “he travels a lot with your First Mother and when he comes home he has five thousand things to catch up on. I don’t think he is ignoring you. My guess is he just is so busy and you are doing so well, he doesn’t know what to do or say. From what I have heard, he is a very smart man and a lot of people want a piece of his time. I don’t think he thinks any less of you because you haven’t spent a lot of time with him. If he is like my original father, who also traveled a lot, he probably assumes that since you haven’t said anything, everything is fine. My father was a ‘problem solver’ and just assumed that if there was no interaction, there was nothing that he needed to get done. It never occurred to him how much a quick hug or taking me out to a movie would have meant to me. It isn’t anyone’s fault; it just means both parties need to stop and smell the roses.”

“
You really think he cares?”

“
Of course I do! He just probably has no idea how he is supposed to express it. Boys are so silly at times.”

“
Yeah, I guess we can be,” Gavin grinned.

“
Now, are we going to stay on the roof all day or are you going to walk me to the bookstore?”

Gavin laughed, “Okay. You win. I’ll take you to the bookstore.”

Ivy interrupted Lynn, Dawn and Gwen as they were playing with little Lily in the great hall, “If you could stay around the house or village for the next week, I’d really appreciate it.”

Dawn looked up more than a little concerned at Ivy’s serious tone, “Sheesh, Mom. We will stick close or in groups. How’s that?”

Ivy nodded and tried to smile, “That’s fine! Better with Gavin around, if you would.”

“
Well, if you insist,” laughed Dawn. Her laugh felt short as she looked at Ivy, “This is about Eric, isn’t it. What is going on?”

Ivy tried to smile, “Well, I’m just feeling extra nervous. Owen says not to worry, I don’t think Llewellyn knows how to worry, and he and I will be off planet for a few days.”

“
Whoa! Off planet? What is wrong?”

Ivy smiled, sincerely, for the first time since she entered the room, “Oh, nothing is wrong at all! We are going to go visit his brother Edward and Edward’s girlfriends or fiancées. I’m not sure if they are quite that serious yet.”

Dawn smiled, “That could be fun indeed. I only talked to Uncle Edward a little bit back when, well, you know…”

Ivy smiled, “So, here is the fun question for the day. Would you all like to have a formal sit down dinner with Edward and his friends and colleagues? You can invite Gavin along, of course. Everyone would need to dress up nice and be on their best behavior.”

Dawn beamed, “That would be wonderful! Lynn, Gwen, you two up for it?”

They both nodded enthusiastically.

“
Shouldn’t be too hard to talk Gavin into it,” joked Lynn.

“
Um, so are they coming here, we meeting them in orbit…?” Dawn was a little confused. Long haul spaceflight was never trivial.