Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree

"Sounds like a strong name," Tomhas said appreciatively. "What's it mean? My name means 'twin'. Ironic, really. I'm not a twin--I don't even have a full sibling. I suppose it gained some meaning later, though." Despite the age gap he and Gaius had been like twins--never far from one another, in trouble together.

Ky's smile turned a bit more genuine. That was cute commentary. But, then, she wasn't sure how to respond. Kylia meant "beautiful" but she'd never bothered to look up the meaning of Kyber, she's just renamed herself to something similar so she'd remember to answer to it. "I'm afraid I'm not quite sure what my name means, sir."

"Well, that's fine, then. There are plenty of books about names, most of which have somehow ended up in my brother's library." Tomhas made a face. "Lucky devil gets all the books. Oh, well. I suppose if there wasn't this pesky war I could pop over and borrow a few, eh?" He winked merrily. "Didn't see anything of interest in Tarr's library; the man hasn't kept it very well. I suppose he isn't much of a reader, is he? Do you like to read, my friend?"

Ky was startled. My friend. He was being alarmingly nice. She wanted to be friends with him -- he seemed so nice. Almost like he didn't actually want to be in charge of a war. Or, maybe, he was just really good at trivializing things. She answered quickly, not dwelling on her surprise at his words.

"Yes, sir," she answered with a smile, grateful that it was getting easier to maintain. "I've learned many things from books, and I very much enjoy learning. Do you enjoy reading?"

"Of course!" Tomhas chuckled at the question. "Gods, I wouldn't be much of an Ash if I didn't. Anyone who grew up in that household--well, barring one individual--must love reading. The Ashes are a family of scholars, after all. It was only natural that I picked up a few of their habits." He leaned against the wall, scratching his chin. "You'll probably be meeting them soon; I'm going to send your master out to gather information on my brother's doings as soon a humanly possible." That would be fun; the journey to Serpent Keep was a hellish one from any direction. It was mostly plains surrounding the territory, followed by dense forest packed full of predators. A well defended place, certainly. Speaking of, Tomhas would have to write and see how the raid on Veryl had gone.

She continued smiling, squirreling away that information in case it was Aleth. But then he continued. She hadn't realized she was going to be in Ash's home. That was much scarier than she'd been expecting. It seemed like she was getting boxed in from three sides -- Aleth's secret keeper, who was about to be Loquitur's secret keeper, and she had to keep all of them away from yet another Lord who might or might not be as harsh as Aleth.

There had to be some reason for this war, and if Loquitur wasn't like Tarr, then Ash must be.

"I look forward to it," she lied pleasantly. "Sounds like there will be plenty I can learn there, as we pass the information along to your lordship."

"I expect so. I wouldn't say it'll be fun, though. Gaius hates having guests; he's paranoid to a fault. Makes people sleep in the barracks or under full guard, doesn't let them go anywhere he doesn't want them to be. I suppose it's a consequence of growing up with Michael." He watched her face carefully. "I hope you know I'm telling you all this with the anticipation that you'll be relaying it to Aleth. Nothing I say or do is said
or done without careful consideration, Ky. That's part of why I'm Lord now and my father is dead on the side of the road somewhere."

Ky hesitated, chest getting tight in an instant. How the hell was she supposed to answer that? She shifted slightly. A mistake. Pain stabbed through her arm and she cringed ever so slightly before she caught herself. It was little more than a twitch, but Aleth wouldn't have missed it, and she doubted Loquitur had either. She kicked herself mentally.

"Yes, sir," she answered, forcing a smile again. "Your lordship seems most wise." Terrifying. "No doubt why you'll be successful in your efforts in this war and otherwise, if it's not to bold to say, sir."

Tomhas's face dropped slightly, and his eyes flicked to her shoulder. "Flattery: the lowest form of trickery. I noticed Aleth employs it quite a bit. I hope you'll learn from his mistakes." He gestured at her shoulder. "There's a balcony up there if you want to pack snow onto that. Helps with the bruising if you do it quick." Tomhas straightened, shrugging his cloak back from his shoulder. "I speak as honestly as I can; I hope you don't think me shallow enough to accept empty praise, as kind as it is."

This was going badly. He'd seen-- of course he did -- but now he had to go and comment on it too... snow. Fuck. Why hadn't she thought of that? That would have avoided this entire mess, she wouldn't be talking to Loquitur right then if she'd simply found a window that could be opened.

"Yes, sir," Ky answered quickly. She forced herself to take a deep breath, realizing her smile had faded. She relaxed her arm and smiled again. "It seems that there is still much I have left to learn."

"As do I. I don't think humans ever stop learning. It's impossible." He pitied her face muscles; holding that position for so long must wreak havoc on her. "I won't keep you any longer; I'm sure you must be sore." He glanced back down the stairwell, then headed up instead. "Oh, and Ky? When you get to Serpent Keep I recommend getting into the library and checking out Jordheim's Official Atlas by Artur Yarrow. I expect Aleth would find it dull, but you might get something useful out of it."

"Yes, sir," she answered quickly, stepping out of his way. Her heart was racing but she bowed slightly. "I will. Thank you for the recommendation."

"Of course." Tomhas smiled slightly and went on his way. He hoped she wouldn't show the book to Aleth; it depended on how afraid of him she was. It wouldn't do too much harm, but it certainly wouldn't do her any good.
Now to get that bath and wheedle a warm meal out of the cook.

Ky watched him go, heart feeling like it was going to rip free from her chest. She was dead. How had he--? None of it made sense. His gaze had torn her apart as thoroughly as Aleth's did. And now Aleth was going to tear her apart. She actually deserved a beating this time.

She scrubbed her face with her right hand, left still too sore to move, and paced back and forth a moment on the landing, giving Loquitur ample time to get out of the hall... hopefully... then turned and rushed back up the stairs, ice forgotten.

Tomhas flopped down on his bed, running his hands through his hair. He wondered how Gaius would react to all this. They were both smart and very observant, but their approaches to things couldn't be more different.
If Tomhas had to guess, he'd say Gaius was going to ignore Ky until the same thing that had just happened occurred again. Then there'd be blood and Aleth would be off the payroll, just like that.
His head would probably be off his neck, too. Gaius was a rat in some ways, but if there was one thing be couldn't abide it was people preying on the weak. Both he and Tomhas had been the prey for most of their childhoods, and Gaius wasn't the type to let others live through things like that.