#Avander Dawnchild

[tenebreashember]

(( Tell me more about her, please! ))

Tenebre Ashembriel Hawksong, daughter of Lord Hawksong and his wife, of House Lightrest, is a veteran Farstrider turned local militia commander in the county of the Kingdom where she was raised. She took the mantle of Commander of the Dawnswatch at the behest of her cousin, Arius, who wanted someone he could trust in the role after the tumultuous events that brought him home. Soon after, she married the heir to House Starsfalling, Ardus Cardalyii, and within a few years the pair of rangers who started as friends with benefits welcomed their first child, a boy they named Spesardus.

It would be years later that they were introduced to the mysterious Kyara Sungrasp, another veteran Farstrider with a shadowed past from a noble house of questionable reputation and still later that they would meet Avander Dawnchild, one of the few survivors of an otherwise defunct House—and one that is more than willing to leave it that way.

[tenebreashember]

Lucky ones - Part 4

[See @wynilthyrii for part 3, @graceintheshadows for part 2, and @lordaeronslost for part 1]

Tankards and glasses clinked quietly against each other as the barkeep on duty at Kistren’s cleaned up, dutifully ignoring the knot of Farstriders-turned-Watch still clustered near the fire.  The topic had been on their lips for the last day and a half: the call for volunteers.  Word had begun to leak out of the reason.

“It can’t be you, Captain,” Avander said, regarding his glass of mead with a level of contemplation usually reserved for the bows he crafted during his off hours.  “You’re needed here.  You know that, right?  Watch doesn’t function without your hand.”

“Holly can handle it,” Tenebre said, leaning back in her chair with a faint frown.  “Kyara hasn’t given any indication that she’s considered volunteering, has she?”

“Hasn’t said anything,” Avander admitted.  “Doesn’t mean she’s not considering it.”

“You’d likely be the first to know,” Ardus observed, settling back into the chair next to his wife’s and settling his arm across the back of Tenebre’s chair.  “He’s right, though, Ash.  It’s not just the Watch that needs you.  You’re heir to one House already and in line for another.  What if something happened?”

“What if something happened?”  Tenebre’s brow furrowed as she looked at him.  “Ardus, what are you getting at?”

“What if they order your father to take command of one of the contingents deploying?  What if something happens here?”  He shook his head.  “Above and beyond that, Arius and my cousin need folks they can trust to have their backs here.  Just in case.”

“In case what?” She straightened in her chair, half turning toward him.  “Ardus.”

He shook his head.  “Just in case, Tenebre.  That’s all.  Besides, if you went, I’d have to go, too, and then everyone would be in some kind of right mess, wouldn’t they?”  He sighed and shook his head.  “But I am going.”

Avander rocked back in his chair.  “You, Ardus?  The favored gate guardian, the backup lieutenant?  You?”

He made a face.  “I was her second for more than a decade,” Ardus said, gesturing to Tenebre.  “And I’m not a backup lieutenant.  I’m nothing special for the Watch except for not being afraid to draw duty at the keep.  And someone who steps up when needed—much like present company.”

Avander went a shade paler and gulped down a mouthful of mead.  “Didn’t have to go dragging me into it, Ardus.”

“You left yourself open for that, Avander,” Tenebre said, then sighed, eyeing Ardus for a few moments.  “When were you going to tell me?”

“Your father was going to test the waters for me tomorrow morning,” Ardus said.  “I suppose I’ve ended up deeper in my cup than I thought since I’ve gone and spilled it now.”

“Then you’ve already told him?”

“If he goes, he needs a second,” Ardus said slowly.  “And if Kyara volunteers, then someone has to watch her back or risk your cousin’s heart being broken and some kind of explosion out of Ravenhall.”

“He has a point,” Avander muttered, staring into his half-empty mug.  “Though I suspect that second reason is a big if.”

“Do you?”  Tenebre said, studying the last surviving Dawnchild in the Everlight.  “You don’t think she’ll volunteer?”

“I don’t think she’ll risk it,” Avander admitted.  “But she might surprise us.”

“She might,” Ardus agreed.  He motioned to Avander’s.  “Another?”

The ranger contemplated his tankard for a few moments, then nodded.  “I think so.  I’ll get another round.”  His chair scraped quietly as he stood.  “What about you, Cap?”

Tenebre stared into the fire for a few seconds, watching a log collapse onto another, sending sparks spiraling up the chimney.  “You’re both right.  I can’t.  Not without making a lot of arrangements, which means even if I wanted to, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”

Avander toasted her with his mug and tossed off the last of it, wiping his lips with his sleeve.  “Guess we’ll see what shakes loose with that, huh, Cap?”

“Yeah,” she said softly.  “Guess we will.”

[tenebreashember]

Dragon scales

“Avander.”

He startled at the voice behind him, half turning even as his brows went up.  “Something wrong, LT?” he asked as he racked the bow in his hand.  The sun had just cleared the tops of trees and the rooftops of the township, the market slowly waking on a dew-drenched Saturday morning.  For half a second, panic gripped him as he wondered if he’d missed a patrol or other assignment, that Tenebre had sent her looking for him in a sudden fit of worry or something else.  It only took that second for him to assure himself that no, all should’ve been well.

The knowledge that all should have been well somehow made the momentary panic worse.

Kyara held up her hands, as if she’d somehow realized that her appearance had sparked some kind of alarm.  Behind her, the doors to the shop were propped open, admitting the scent of flowers and fresh bread from nearby shops and market stalls.  She wasn’t dressed for patrol, wasn’t carrying her gear.

“Nothing’s wrong,” she said, a brief, rueful smile dawning.  “I actually came to see if you could help me with something.”

His brows knit.  “What kind of something?”  A dozen possibilities flashed through his mind, a few linking back to her family, though he dismissed them one after the other. Over the past year he’d come to know her as well as he’d known any Farstrider he’d ever served with and he was confident that she wasn’t about to ask him to do anything beyond his comfort zone.

Probably.

At least, not in a bad way.

“I was hoping you could help me source something,” she said, drifting to look at some of the items in one of the display cases.  Archers gloves, he realized as he watched her for a few seconds.  “I’ve every intention of doing the crafting myself, but I was hoping you could help me get my hands on some dragon scales.”

Avander blinked. “Dragon scales?  I mean—probably?  Yes?  How much do you need?  But can I—”

“I don’t need much. Depends on the size of what you can lay hands on.  I’ll need equal amounts in reds and golds.”

Chewing the inside of his lip, he held up a hand.  “Let me check and see what’s in the shipment of supplies that just came in.  Sometimes I get—well.  Let me look.  You said not much?”

“Right.  And the harder the better.”

He paused on the way toward the back room, brow furrowing as he peered at her again.  “Lieutenant—Kyara—what the hell are you—”

“Avander.”

“Fine, fine,” hiding his grin, he ducked into the back room to start his hunt.  She drifted after him, leaning in the doorway.

“Have you ever heard of anyone making a ring from dragon scale?” she asked after a few moments of watching him.  “I just—it seemed—”

“I’ve never done it myself,” he said, the wheels starting to turn.  “Heard of it, though, and considering all the other things...might want to talk to someone about technique but I’m guessing you have your own ideas already.”

“A few.  Enough that I feel safe trying, anyway.”

He nodded, cracking open one of the smaller boxes inside of one of the crates.  Scales of varying sizes and colors rasped against each other and he nodded to himself, straightening.  “If you need space to work, you’re welcome to it,” he said as he turned with the box in hand.  “And I’d love to see any prototypes if you’re comfortable.”

“We’ll see if what I’m thinking even works,” she said as he pressed the box of dragon scales into her hands.  “It’s all theory right now.”

“Well, good luck with it.  I know better than to ask what this is about.”

Kyara smiled, gripping the box in both hands.  “Thank you.”

“Of course, LT.  And this didn’t happen.”

Her grin widened and she tapped her nose with a fingertip before she turned and left the way she’d come.  Avander drifted after her, crossing his arms with a bemused smile.

“Congrats, LT,” he murmured to the empty shop, watching as she vanished into the market’s crowds.  “And good luck.”