Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree

(I learned a new word xD)

They exchanged another glance, relieved that he hadn't meant he was going to let Aleth hurt them again. Ky looked up at Tadaaki. She didn't want anyone to get hurt. Even Aleth... right? Loquitur was making her remember how she used to be, before Aleth. When right was right, and wrong was wrong, and bullies got punished for their behavior.

"It could be nice..." Tadaaki said gently, shrugging as he looked down at her. Aleth had made him do so many terrible things for him. Violence wasn't new to him. And Aleth certainly deserved it, for all the things he'd done to them. Had forced them to do.

Ky nodded timidly, glancing up at Loquitur. "Maybe... yeah."

(I learned it from HeroForge 0.0)

"Splendid." Tomhas grinned; he had been hoping they'd say yes. "Now, are you both alright to move again? The cots in the infirmary are wonderful, I hear. Like floating on air."

"Yes, sir." They both nodded and started moving down the hall, minds churning about what in the world was happening. They never thought anyone would be able to buy them from Aleth. But, here Loquitur was, just stealing them instead. And... it was working? It felt too good to be true.

They reached the infirmary. It was a long, wide hall-like room with beds lining two of the walls. A fire crackled in the corner and a man was sitting cross-legged in front of it, fidgeting with something in his lap. He looked up when he heard them come in.
"Oh dear," he exclaimed, rising to his feet. In his hands was a kitten of Iron, which was squirming in a knit sweater. "What happened here?"
"Good morning, Alex," Tomhas said cheerily. "We've got a small situation. If you wouldn't mind checking these two over, seeing to it that they're warm and clean, and then sending for two exceptionally good bowls of soup I would be ever so grateful."
Alexander Dalia wandered over to Tadaaki and Ky, brow furrowed. He was a spindly man with massive eyes set in a bald, pale skull--a bit unsettling but not threatening.
"I see, I see," he said softly. "Of course, Lord Loquitur. I'll take care of them. Please, sit." He gestured to the nearest pair of beds. "Rest." The kitten spun out of his hands and clambered up his arm to rest on his shoulder, still trying to wiggle out of the pink sweater. "My name is Alexander."
"You're in good hands," Tomhas promised them. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Let him take care of you; nothing bad will happen. I promise."

"Yes, sir," they murmured in unison, nodding obediently as they sat where Alexander told them to sit. Ky felt a bit anxious that Loquitur was leaving them -- what if Aleth came to find them? -- but she swatted the thought away. Loquitur had already proven he'd stand up to Aleth for them. And, at least if Aleth did come back, they were already in an infirmary. It would all be okay. Ky looked up at his face. "Thank you."

Tomhas met her eyes and nodded slightly, then left briskly.
"Right, then." Alexander drifted toward a cabinet at the end of the infirmary. "What's this situation the Caracal Lord is on edge about? Where's your injury?" He opened the cabinet and began to take out various supplies, moving quickly but smoothly.

"Oh, we're fine," Ky answered instinctively.

Tadaaki looked at her critically, he could see the blood on her shoulder. But, still, it wasn't much -- Aleth had probably only clawed her. And, he wasn't sure how battered she might be. They hadn't really risked talking, much, since they'd been here. And they couldn't risk someone walking in and discovering them, so they'd both kept their tunics on.

Tadaaki's side ached terribly from Aleth's beating the night before. If he didn't know better, he'd think Aleth was actually starting to feel guilty for taking almost all of the food for himself. But, he was fairly certain that Aleth didn't know what guilt meant. And, it's not like he hadn't been knocked around a bit. It was better to just deny it. So, he agreed, "Yeah, I'm not really sure why we're here."

"Right." Alexander nodded in understanding. "Certainly. If you could both remove your shirts, please? I'd like to see what I'm healing." He brought over a large tray of supplies including gauze, herbs, a mortar and pestle, and several other objects.

Ky and Tadaaki exchanged another panicked glance. They weren't allowed to do that. Aleth didn't want anyone to see the scars. But, Ky shrugged and murmured. "He already saw mine..."

And then took a deep breath and took her tunic off. Her entire abdomen was covered in gruesome scars in the shape of flowers and vines and leaves and thorns. It had a vague angle from her right hip up to her left ribs, but they bushed out, and there was little flesh on her abdomen left unscarred. Most of the scars were pale white against her already pale abdomen, but some of the newer ones were still a bit pink. There were various bruises scattered across her, the ones on her abdomen earned from Aleth -- but the ones on her arms and shoulders, and a few on her torso, earned during the sparring lessons. A bit of dried blood clung to her right shoulder, the crescent shape of Aleth's nails clear against her pale skin.

Tadaaki eyed her for a moment. Well. Fuck. If she was going to spill the secret -- if she already had spilled it -- then he wasn't going to be the one to disobey an order. He tugged his tunic off. He was even more scarred than she was. He had scars in the shape of a dragon, stretching from the center of his chest down all the way to his belt. His abdomen was mottled with dark, dark bruises, especially at his ribs. He thought one of them might be broken, but he wasn't sure. It wasn't a big deal either way. It's not like he hadn't broken a few bones before.

Their backs were matching with the scars of having been flogged, but they'd healed alright, and it'd been years. They both flushed a bit, embarrassed that someone other than each other and Aleth were witnessing the carnage.

Alexander looked them over, eyes flicking across the scars and then to the bruises and cuts.
"Messy healing," he observed finally, then strode to the window and opened it. He scooped some snow into his palm and wrapped it in a cloth, then came back and offered it to Tadaaki. "Hold that on the bruises," he instructed. "And lie down." Then he set about mixing herbs in the mortar, working in silence. His hands moved quickly; it was obvious he had been doing this for a long time."

Ky looked down at herself. What was that supposed to mean? It's not like she chose how to heal. She wasn't sure if the order was for both of them or just Tadaaki, so she laid down, but on her side, and propped herself up on her hands so she could watch Alexander working on Tadaaki. Her abdomen was a bit more concave than she liked to see it -- the skin tight around her ribcage -- but it wasn't a big deal. That was what happened when you didn't eat for a few weeks.

Tadaaki stiffly, but obediently, laid down and pressed the snow against his abdomen. He cringed a bit but then relaxed as the coolness felt soothing against his abdomen.

They were both anxious for what was to come. But, maybe Alexander would be satisified with insulting their scars, and not tell anyone. Maybe.

"Who stitched these up?" Alexander asked as he worked. "Made a bloody mess of it." He finished the poultice and daubed it on a hunk of gauze, then held it out to Ky. "Stick this on your shoulder."

"Yuane," Ky answered quietly, taking the gauze that he held out and pressing it against her shoulder. She inhaled sharply as it stung. "It's not her fault, she's just a maid that had to play--"

Tadaaki was glaring at her.

"I mean--" There was no way to save it. "You're right. The scars are a bit rough. I'm just glad they're healed... sir."

"Poor job. Oh, well. Not much to be done now." He looked over to Tadaaki. "Right, you've likely got some broken bones, my friend. I'm going to feel for any fractures, then we'll bind anything broken."

Tadaaki took a deep breath and nodded, clenching his teeth. He didn't want anyone to feel for anything. That always hurt. He'd much rather just let them be and see what happened. And he and Ky had both been fine that way before... but... the bruise was kind of concerning, now that he'd looked at it, maybe. It still felt like they were overreacting. It's not like either of them had had a right proper beating in a while.

Ky did, the first night Loquitur was here. But her shoulder felt more or less better now. It still hurt a bit when she turned it at the wrong angle, and there was still a bit of bruise, she finally noticed as she looked at her bared shoulder. But Aleth had only maintained an average level of abuse since then, nothing truly bad.

"Yes, sir," Tadaaki murmured, bracing himself for it.