Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (cont'd)

(I honestly have no idea. Do you have a preference?)

(There is that one plot point I could line up! It's an Ash-Aleth pov.)

(Let’s do it!)

(Righto!)

A couple days later, Gaius entered the infirmary in a hurry, eyes darting around the main room and then to the office. Cecily had been missing for several hours now, and he was beginning to worry. It wasn't odd for her to disappear on her visits, but to have gone without seeing her for this long was a concern--especially considering he mind was not what it had been.

Aleth had been lounging about, mourning, yet again, the fact that he claimed to be illiterate. It was getting boring here in the infirmary for all these hours with nothing to do but sit and think. It reminded him of when he was a child. And he preferred to avoid all semblances of things that reminded him of his childhood. He sat up straighter when Ash came bustling in. "Sir?"

"Have you seen a woman with blonde hair come through here?" Gaius asked. "Gaunt face, sallow skin, looks as if she hasn't slept in days? Sera!" Her office door was shut, meaning she wasn't in. Damn it all...

(Do you want the answer to be yes or no? lol)

Aleth blinked at him, intrigued. This was certainly far more interesting than his thoughts had been. So, someone was missing? Or hiding? He wasn't sure which was a more interesting possibility.

(Definitely no)

Gaius didn't wait for an answer, limping to the door and producing a ring of keys from his belt. Usually he left Sera's door alone when it was closed, but this was an emergency. "Where did Sera go?" he demanded, sorting through the keys until he found the one he needed.

"I don't know," Aleth answered. "She didn't say, just that she'd be back in a bit... what's happened?"

"I need to find them both." Gaius inserted the key and turned it. The door clicked, and he opened it. Cecily was nowhere to be seen. Godsdammit, of all the times to disappear... "How long ago did she leave?"

Well, that was a non-answer.

"I'm not sure. Maybe an hour?" Aleth answered, swinging his legs around on the side of the bed and standing up. He reached for his cane. "I can help you look."

Gaius opened his mouth to deny him, to say he needed his rest. Al wasn't trustworthy.
"Fine," he said instead. Whatever information this intruder might glean from the unlocked rooms was overshadowed by his missing sister. She was the priority right now.

(Gonna go to bed now since I have an exam tomorrow. Goodnight!)

(Good luck!)

Aleth was surprised Ash actually agreed. He'd thought that it was a long shot when he offered, but he was delighted at the prospects of getting to wander around with no babysitter. He could go anywhere he wanted and have the feasible explanation of looking for the woman. "Right. What's her name?"

"Cecily." Gaius swept out of the room again.

His sister.

So she was here. And missing. That was certainly interesting.

Aleth grabbed his cane and walked out of the room quickly, leaning his weight against it. He started down the hall opposite the way Ash was hobbling away.