Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree

(Well I just got my first covid vaccine out of nowhere!)

Constance had been writing busily in a journal with a charcoal pencil, but she looked up as Ky came around the corner. "Oh, hello Kylia." She smiled. "How are you?" She closed the notebook, smoothing down the warm skirt she was wearing.

(Ooh! Congrats! Which one did you get? I just got my second Pfizer and whew boy... worth it for not-dying but still rough xD)

"I'm well, thank you." Ky returned the smile, continuing forward until she was a polite distance away. "And you, ma'am?"

(Thanks! I got Pfizer, too!)

"Quite well. Exhausted, but well." Constance rolled her eyes. "Between Lord Loquitur, Lord Tarr, and my own son I've got my hands very full."

(Nice! I hope you have no/mild side effects <3)

"I'm sure you do," Ky chuckled. She noticed the notebook Constance was holding. She was probably bothering her. "I don't want to disturb you." She nodded towards the notebook. "But it was nice seeing you. I hope your afternoon is restful."

(Same here.)

"Oh, it's very hard to disturb me." Constance grinned. "Why don't you join me? I haven't had the chance to speak much with you and it's be a nice change of company."

"Yes, ma'am," Ky smiled too. It was true -- they'd barely spoken at all at this point -- but she still admired Constance greatly. Perhaps if she watched closely enough, she too could learn Constance's cool confidence and competence.

She sat down, marveling for the millionth time that week how much more comfortable it was to live without her binder. Aleth hadn't gotten a particularly expensive one for her, so it always jabbed into her sides and made it hard to breathe. She enjoyed that part of her freedom, too.

She felt like she should ask a question -- that seemed like a natural progression for a conversation -- but she still felt vaguely uneasy that she was going to say something wrong around one of the nobles, now that she wasn't going off the robotic scripts Aleth had given her. Loquitur had warned her back on the very first day that he didn't like the flattery. And, she didn't like it either, though it was a habit she was finding rather hard to kill.

"Have you enjoyed your visit so far, ma'am?"

Constance snorted, pocketing her book. "Gods, no. If I never have to see Wolf Keep again I'll die a happy woman. This place is run by a boy raised by a man stuck in a time when the 'gentle sex' was to be seen and not heard."

Ky smiled, genuinely amused, as her admiration rose even higher. She couldn’t begin to imagine being so bold as to say that out here in the open. She sobered a bit, realizing she was still very much not on the social level for that to be an acceptable things to agree with, and inclined her head.

Constance glanced out the window. "I can't wait to get back to Bear Keep. It's much warmer there, just near the border between North and South. Ewan's father is holding down the fort right now, but he's no Lord. I expect he wants us to return soon."

"I imagine so. It is rather cold here," Ky agreed, smiling a bit. Bear Keep. She'd been so busy relaxing this week that she'd nearly forgotten there was a war going on at all.

"Oh, that reminds me! I--" She got a sudden stab of paranoia again. What if Aleth was still there? Somewhere? Somehow? She couldn't help but look around nervously, knee bouncing with anxiety, trying to reassure herself that he wasn't there. Wasn't listening. "Ah...uh..."

Constance waited patiently for her to speak, no judgement in her face at all. She noticed the nervousness and assumed Ky was still on edge about Aleth. Who could blame her?

Ky forced herself to take a deep breath. He's gone. She swallowed hard and looked back towards Constance, trying and failing to stop the bouncing of her knee, though she did lessen the intensity a bit.

"Sorry... uh -- Drayn Reire. He says he's from Arrell. Last I heard, he was on his way to Bear Keep to enlist as a foot soldier... but... he's not a soldier. He's an informant -- for Aleth, and, no doubt, others."

She couldn't resist the urge to look over her shoulder again, leg bouncing faster, but then she forced herself to look back at Constance.

"I have no idea if he made it there yet or not -- haven't heard anything from him in a few weeks, but, um..." She swallowed hard, not quite sure how to finish that. "Well, Aleth wants him in your military so..." So you probably don't want him there. But she couldn't tell Constance what she did or didn't want. "Just thought you might like to be aware of that... ma'am."

Constance blinked at her. "I don't know the name, but I'll let my general know. He'll have a record of trainees and the like. Thank you for telling me, Ky." She hesitated. "Do you have any other information like that? Does he have anyone stationed with any major players?"

"Uh... yeah," Ky answered guiltily. "I'm sorry I forgot to mention it before. He has ah, well, he was trying to get a musician into Lord Loquitur's keep -- I don't know if it worked. A lyre player. Ah--" She pressed her palms against her eyes, trying to think of the name. "Kendyln... Griv." She opened her eyes, repeating the name more certainly this time. "Kendyln Griv... excellent musician, mediocre informant, but he's okay at two of our codes and can spread information pretty easily since he travels with his band so much."

Ky hesitated, trying to think of what other information might be useful. There were so many different people jumbled up together in her brain and she had to sort each piece out like she was unknotting yarn.

"And, uh, there's a boy in Lord Bledroe's kitchen... Hayld..." she thought for a moment. "I don't know if he has a second name... if he does, I don't know it... he's been pretty useless, though. I don't think he understands what his job is. He's only like sixteen."

She hesitated, realizing the irony of that statement when she was only fifteen herself.

"He doesn't have anyone with Ash," Ky said confidently. "And no one here, either. He was going to try to flip someone while we were here... and that's usually my job... and..." Ky laughed nervously. "I kept screwing up around Lord Loquitur... a lot... so Aleth wanted to watch me so I couldn't say too much..." Ky shrugged, knee still bouncing nervously. "Couldn't really talk to anyone."

Constance flipped open her notebook and began taking all this down. "This is good, this is very good," she mused. "Perhaps we can turn Hayld if Aleth is apprehended upon his return." She looked up at Ky. "Or upon his arrival. Lord Ash isn't as forgiving of criminals as Lord Tomhas is."