Shady

“Is it something used for recreation?” Ky asked, feeling like she was grasping at straws.

She sighed and glanced back at Gaius. “Yes.” Then she glanced up at Zander. “…how are you?” He looked tired. But he smiled. “Doing well, kiddo. And you?” “Fine.” She ...

“Only in the East?” Talia clarified. That didn’t seem very fair at all if so; he knew she and Rifkin had never been.

“Good for you,” she said dryly.

“Ky!” Zander stood up with a little smile and stepped towards her, wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug. She half-heartedly returned it, glancing around to see if ...

She was quiet for a moment, counting. “Eight-hundred seventy-one.”

“Is it something from the East, then?” Talia asked.

Ky sighed softly and nodded, remembering Gaius wasn’t the person to try to get information out of. He was rarely forthright in simple matters, much less whatever mess this was ...

They were all silent for a moment, perplexed. “Is there any of this item here?” Rifkin asked.

She snorted and furrowed her brow at him. “I’m not.”

She was quiet for a long moment, on guard immediately. “So… that is what the Ainsleys want?”

“Aren’t we all?” She mused, still dancing along her rambling path. It was clear she wasn’t used to efficiency in any sense of the word.

“Is it food?” Talia asked.

Ky blinked, gaze snapping to his face, then away. Her chest was tight in an instant again and her brow furrowed. Gods. What an ambush. “…what?”

“Ah.”