Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 3)

"Hi." He smiled as she sat down. "So, um, how are you? Excited? Well-fed?" Was that how he ought to start this out? It felt odd to be doing small talk when he'd summoned her here for an important discussion. On the other hand, it felt rude to start before the Skald arrived. Tomhas rounded on his heel and strode over to the fireplace, then sat himself back down in the armchair, knees bouncing restlessly. "We've got one more joining us, I'm just waiting on her," he said apologetically.

Ky blinked at him. "I'm excellent, thank you." She flashed a smile, more nervous than she wanted it to be. "And you?" She glanced towards the door, wondering what he was getting at. He surely hadn't called her for a private meeting, just to ask if she'd enjoyed dinner. "... and may I ask who else is joining us?"

"I'm great, I'm great." Tomhas leaned forward, tugging at his gloves. "Skald Taro's joining us. She's our spiritual expert--are you familiar with the Mouthpieces? Of the gods? Our gods, I mean. Well, the gods of the Old North. She's one of them." He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. "I'm fine. How are you?" Had he asked that already?

Ky furrowed her brow slightly. She felt like she should know what everything he'd just said meant, but she didn't. She only had a very cursory knowledge of the gods in each of the regions. Just enough to know whether to make the word 'god' plural or singular, really. "... Mouthpieces, sir?"

She kicked herself. She was trying to kick the habit, but it was so deeply ingrained in her that she was finding it difficult.

"They're called Skalds in Nortung, so that's what we call them. They're like the Southern shamans and the Eastern priests. Spiritual leaders. Those who still pay tribute to the gods regularly believe that the gods speak through them. According to Northern Law, one has to be present at the ceremony of adoptive rites to guide the two parties through it. Skald Taro will be helping me explain today."

"Oh." She was more familiar with the concept of priests and shamans -- although she'd had precious few interactions with any of those, either. As it turned out, priests rarely had assassination requests. She hesitated. She felt like she should have something more to say, but nothing was coming to mind.

"Yes. So." He patted his knees, then shot to his feet as the door opened.
Skald Taro was a small, plump old woman with round red cheeks and small blue eyes. Her silver hair hung in a messy braid that was looped over her left shoulder, and she wore heavy furs that looked as if they came from a bear. She smiled as she entered and nodded to Tomhas and Ky.
"Hello, you two," she said cheerily with a heavy Far North accent. "Sorry to keep you waiting."
"Not at all." Tomhas shook her hand. "Good to see you again, Skald Taro. Thank you for seeing us."

Ky stood up at the same time as Loquitur. She offered a smile and a quick, nervous nod to the woman. She seemed nice enough.

"And this must be...Kylia, was it?" Skald Taro offered Ky her hand. "Pleasure to meet you, dear. I understand you and Lord Loquitur are looking to perform the familial rites?"

"Yes, ma'am," Ky said, flashing another quick grin as she took the woman's hand and shook it. "A pleasure to meet you."

She sat down in one of the other chairs. "So. What do you know about the rites, Ky?"

"Almost nothing," Ky admitted.

She still had Petrir cradled in the nook of her left arm, and now she reached down with her hand to pet his head with her right as she wandered back toward the chair. Was she being immature? Cuddling a kitten, like a child? She couldn't quite seem to resist the urge, however childish it might be, and she kept her hand on the kitten as she sat down.

"I've been told that I need to sign something and say something and that the king will have to sign something, too," Ky said. She hesitated. "Is it kind of like a contract between a squire and a knight?"

She'd drafted those, before. It was the closest thing she could imagine.

"Not exactly." Taro leaned forward, pressing her hands together. "It's an agreement between you and Lord Loquitur that he will care for you and treat you as a daughter. You will receive benefits any Lord's daughter would have and you will, in spirit, take on Lord Loquitur's family name. You will have a place in the Loquitur burial grove. You will also take on a daughter's responsibilities, which are set by the family itself. You're each expected to say words that I'll go over with you before the ceremony, and once the contract is signed it will be sent to King Harold for him to sign."

Ky nodded, chest tight as anxiety wrapped around her like a weighted blanket.

That felt like so much pressure -- to actually have the same standing as a Lord's daughter. And she also didn't know what it might mean for her future. What would her responsibilities be? Would she have to be married off for a political alliance, too? She felt uneasy at the possibility. Loquitur had called off Lyra's marriage with Tarr -- but would he switch her out with Ky, to avoid a war?

She shook away the thought. Loquitur wouldn't do that... she hoped.

"Can I... can I keep Ruiarc as a middle name, then?" Ky asked timidly. Kylia Loquitur did have a ring to it. And yet it felt she'd be betraying her father's legacy, to give up his name entirely. "It's okay, if not."

She wasn't even sure why her mind was so fixated on that. Most people from her township didn't even have last names. The only reason she had a surname was that her papa was from a big city, before he fell in love with Mama and settled down with her in her own township. But she'd never used the name when her papa was still alive -- so why did it matter to her now?

"You take on the family name in spirit," Taro replied. "You may take it on paper as well, but that's up to you and Lord Loquitur."
"I have no objection to you keeping the name Ruiarc as your family name," Tomhas said to Ky with a small smile. "I expected it."
"Now, the contract has a bit more nuance. You each put in things you'd like the other to do or have, be it benefit, restriction, anything along those lines."