Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree

Aleth threw his arm up as Tarr punched him, grabbing his arm just above the elbow and yanking Tarr closer to himself as he stumbled backward, hoping to pull him off balance as well.



Ky didn't know what to make of any of this at all. She felt very much out of control of the situation. Of herself. Of what Aleth was sure to do to her shortly. She glanced back at Lyra timidly. "Ma'am?"

Tarr yanked back instead of falling, trying to swing Aleth backward.

"Do you have a name, boy?" Lyra tried not to sound as curious as she felt.

Fuuuuck. Aleth felt like a small child, swinging on his father's arm right before he got thrown into a wall. He tried to brace himself, but the ice was too slippery, and Tarr was -- still -- much stronger than he was.

He lost his grasp and went flying off Tarr's arm, the momentum carrying him sideways -- face-first into the side of the ring.



"Ky, ma'am," Ky answered obediently, settling into the role she knew -- the perfectly obedient, likable servant. "Ky Ruirac."

Tarr strode over and delivered a final harsh blow to Aleth's backside--a favorite humiliation he liked to place on his soldiers.
"Three hits. Lord Tarr has the match!"

Lyra nodded hesitantly. "Perhaps it does get a little lonely. Come sit." She gestured to a nearby armchair. "Where are you from?" She maintained an air of prim nobility and adopted a look of bored interest.

Unfiltered rage surged through Aleth. He threw himself away from the fence, on his face in an instant as he whirled around on Tarr. He caught himself a moment later. He ground his teeth for a moment, staring over Tarr's shoulder as he tried to regain his composure.

He forced himself to take a deep breath. This wasn't acceptable. Aleth didn't usually let his temper get the better of him. Especially not when it came to noblemen. He unclenched his jaw and looked back at Tarr, face throbbing from where it'd crashed into the fence. He forced himself to take another deep breath, trying to keep some of the venom out of his voice as he said, "Impressive skill, your lordship. A well-earned victory."



"Thank you, ma'am," Ky murmured. Maybe this wasn't going quite as badly as she'd thought. With any luck, perhaps Aleth was having a surprising turn of good fortune as well. Maybe there was hope for Ky's evening after all.

She sat down in the armchair and politely looked at Lyra, offering a small smile. "The South, ma'am. Near the coast."

"Well-earned my ass," Tarr chuckled, slapping Aleth heartily on the back. "My grandmother could do better, old man. But you did try."

"Oh? You don't look Southern. Were your parents migrants?" How perfect; she'd just been reading about the Southern Realm! "What is it like down there? How do you bear the heat?" Lyra stopped herself there; she sounded far too eager.

Aleth's cheek twitched, rage still pumping through him, but he reached up to pat Tarr's back as well. He forced a tense smile. "Ah, well, a privilege, all the same, my lord."



Ky smiled at Lyra, genuinely this time, glad to talk about her home. "It's so lovely there. There's nothing better than having hot sand between your toes and having the cold ocean water lap up against your ankles, the sun warming your shoulders. I quite liked swimming to cool off." She sobered a bit, a pang of homesickness running through her. "A lifetime ago. But I'm sure the ocean is still just as magical as ever."

"What say we get a bottle of mead and take it up to the wall to wait for the almighty caracal and the bear women?"

Lyra nodded, trying unsuccessfully to keep the jealousy out of her face. "It does sound lovely. I've only known the North and its endless snow, I'm afraid. I'm sure it must be a big change for you."

I'd love to take you up there and then give you a swift shove off the wall. Aleth nodded. "Sounds most excellent!"


Ky smiled a bit at Lyra's enthusiasm. No one cared about hearing about Ky's home.

"You should visit sometime," Ky said encouragingly. "You'd love it, I think... it is... quite different from this region, yes."

"A bottle of mead," Tarr said to the soldier, who nodded gruffly and trudged off. It seemed the man was used to it but wasn't eager to be treated like a common servant. "Come, il show you my favorite spot." Tarr strode off.

"My husband has dealings down there, but I have yet to travel with him." Lyra personally wouldn't like to, anyway. Her husband's business was a monstrous one, and she knew when he took trips down South it was for no other reason than to do something more efficiently than his employees. That usually meant people were going to suffer or die. Lyra tried not to think about that part of the South.

Aleth meekly followed behind, still angry, but wondering if Tarr was going to take the armor off or expected him to stand out in the cold in his heavy bullshit.


"I understand that." Ky nodded empathetically, then hesitated. "Well, in the reverse, I guess. It's been many years since I've been to the Coast, since I always travel with Master Klev, wherever he goes."

Tarr shrugged off the armor at the edge of the ring and then headed for the wall.

"Is he good to you?" Lyra asked, cutting to the chase with less finesse than she would have liked. Her cheeks colored slightly; her father was so much better at this than she was.

Aleth followed suit, deciding to go ahead and strap his sword onto his hip, even though it was now painfully apparent to everyone that he didn't properly know how to use it. Then he followed Tarr to the wall.


"Yeah!" Ky said too quickly, nodding vigorously. "He, um, yes. Definitely. Very... good. He's quite... good... to me."

"I was so bored of fighting soldiers and guards," Tarr complained as he hurried up the steps. "Their training is all the same."

Lyra gazed at hin skeptically. He'd answered far too fast; it reminded her of when her mother had asked her if she really did want to marry Ithicus Tarr. She'd said yes, of course, though she was nervous to the point of being sick every morning before breakfast. She'd had to say yes. She owed it to both her parents.

"Have you considered hiring a few men from the South or East to provide alternative training for them?" Aleth asked. "I've facilitated such cross-training a few times when men feel their troops are stagnating.


"It's... good of him to provide for me as generously as he does," Ky continued carefully, trying to smooth things over, since Lyra clearly didn't believe her lie. "I've been with him since I was eleven -- almost twelve -- and he's given me everything that I've needed. Even an education." She flashed a tense smile, as if that'd sell it.