Missing

Writers: AL, Vix
Date Posted: 31st May 2008

Characters: Vanea, Binea, Neata
Description: Neata reports to Vanea that Neana is missing.
Location: Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 9, day 17 of Turn 4

She wasn't in the main room. She wasn't in her bedroom. She wasn't anywhere in their quarters. Neata had spent a good hour searching for her there and in other places. Towards the end of that hour, she had started getting frantic, asking others if they had seen her, to no avail. So, finally, she gave up searching for her grandmother and sought her mother.

"Grandma's gone!" She exclaimed as soon as she had found the older woman, out of breath from running around. "I can't find her!"

"Not now, Neata," the Headwoman told her. "I'm getting ready for Threadfall." She stopped suddenly, the words that her daughter had spoken sinking in. "Gone? Isn't she in the dining room? She usually sits at that end table, with the others." "I already looked." Neata's hands fidgeted with her skirt, twisting the material one way, then another. "I went there twice, back to her room, through our quarters, everywhere I could think of. I have no idea where she is."

"She's always in those places," Vanea insisted, "and she knows that Thread. . ." Her voice trailed off, her anger dissipating with the realization that Neana truly did not know that Threadfall was imminent, did not know what day it was, let alone what was to happen that day. "Find your sister and get her to help you look. Ask everyone if they've seen her. If you don't find her within a quarter candlemark, we'll have to raise an alarm to look for her." Neata's throat felt tight. She had gotten frustrated with her life, with the way they had to cater to her grandmother, but she would have never wished that she would go missing - especially on a Threadfall day. Had she wandered outside somewhere? Oh she hoped not! "All right." Neata managed to squeak before she turned and hurried off to find Binea.

The Headwoman allowed herself a brief moment, long enough to take a deep breath, and then forced thoughts of her missing mother from her mind. She had much to do – and many other Hold residents to consider.

~*~*~

"I hate Threadfall days," Binea muttered to herself as she folded the laundry hung in the kitchen courtyards. Normally there was plenty of time to take linens to the courtyard to be aired and to gather them again, but on days when Threadfall was expected, the workers were expected earlier in the morning and expected to remove everything from the lines before the Fall started. "It's not as if any Thread will get through anyhow," she continued, though she shuddered at the thought of being outside as the dragonriders battled Thread.

"Binea!" Neata's voice cut off any more complaints that her sister might have had as the elder girl came flying through the courtyard. She stopped beside her, puffing for a moment, out of breath from her running. "Binea! It's grandma!" She paused for a moment, swallowing, then sputtered, "She's missing!"

The younger sister frowned. "She was out here this morning. Didn't she return to the dining room?" Neata shook her head, tendrils of hair dancing across her eyes. She pushed them out of the way impatiently. "No! I looked there, bedroom, quarters, everywhere I could think of. She's nowhere to be found!" The girl clutched at her sisters arm. "Help me look! We have to find her!"

Binea picked up the basket of linens that she had filled, offering an apologetic look to the other women removing items from the lines. She received a sympathetic nod of the head from the leader of this work group, the woman having overheard the conversation of the two sisters.

"Where shall we look?" Binea started for the door, firing the question over her shoulder to her sister.

"Anywhere! Everywhere!" Neata picked up her pace to catch up to her sister. She started to say something else, then paused before changing her words. "I haven't looked outside of the hold." Would Neana have gone that far? Shards, she hoped not!

The younger sister stopped, her face draining of color. "She was outside earlier, standing there while we were hanging the laundry. She'd help a bit and then stare off across the square. When we came inside, I told her to come with me but didn't look to see if she was following." That wasn't good. That wasn't good at all. "Thread..." Neata breathed, her voice trembling. The thought of her grandmother outside when it started. Granted, the dragons would fly, but sometimes some got through - that's why they had ground crews, after all. "We'd better look fast!"

Binea shook her head. "No. There's too much area to cover. We need to let Mother know that Gram was outside and get help to look for her." "Then why don't you do that while I start looking." Neata didn't want to waste a minute. The thought of being outside when Thread was falling...Neata didn't even like _contemplating_ the idea.

"Where will you go?" Her sister asked her. "We don't want you to be out there with none of us knowing where as well." Neata paused, "I'm going to the docks. Meet me there."

Binea nodded. "I'll find Mother and tell her what I know and then come to meet you." "Right." Without another word, Neata turned and began to run again, that time to the docks, her hair streaming behind her.

Last updated on the June 1st 2008

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Missing