Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 4)

(not me, trying to figure out if Aashi would be into snakes or not lol)

"That's super cool!" Aashi said encouragingly, smiling at him. She looked at Marcella. "What about you?"

(Snakes are all over the South and quite poisonous but on the other hand they're adorable noodles)

"I think my favorite's a bear," she replied. "Cuz they're warm and fluffy."

(hahah fair! *I* am into snakes [*eyes my username*] but idk how she'd feel about them lol she'd probably keep her mouth shut if she doesn't like them, though)

"True enough," Aashi agreed, then looked down the table at Oscar. "And you, young sir?"

"Foxes," he said immediately. "They're really fast and they're like sneaky dogs. And they can change colors when it gets warm!"

"Can they really?" Aashi lifted her eyebrows, wondering if that was true.

"They're brown in summer, but only if the snow goes away. And they're white in the winter. And there's a kind that's red all year?" He looked over at Gaius. "What color was your fox, Uncle Gaius?"
"I believe it was of the white variety," Gaius said mildly, setting down his fork and knife. He'd eaten less than half of his food.

"That's pretty cool," Aashi commented. "Maybe I should look into getting a fox."

"WE'RE GETTING A FOX MAMA?" Tasia said eagerly.

Aashi looked at her with wide eyes. Shoooot. She hadn't meant that at all. She should know better than to run her mouth at this point. But there were still moments like this that caught her off guard. "No, I was joking."

"You didn't sound like you were joking!"

"Well, I was."

"I want a fox."

"We're not getting a fox," Aashi said.

"Papa!" Tasia whined, turning her attention on Tadaaki.

"We're not getting a fox," Aashi repeated, giving Tadaaki a warning look. The man was such a pushover for his baby girl.

"Papa can we get a fox?" Tasia asked.

"I'll think about it," Tadaaki said, shoving a piece of bread at her. "Eat."

Ah, the infamous "I'll think about it" -- right up there with "Maybe"

"What's your favorite animal?" Mattathias asked Aashi. The other two children waited for her answer in anticipation.

"I like butterflies," Aashi said. "The bright orange ones that flutter around in circles."

"Butterflies?" Marcella said in disappointment, and Mattathias nudged her.
"I think butterflies are really pretty," he told Aashi. "I've only seen pictures though cuz they die this far north. It's kind of sad."

"That is sad," Aashi commiserated. "I bet you've got all kinds of animals up here that could never survive in the south, though."

"Spiders," Oscar suggested. "And bears."
"And the fuzzy horses!" Marcella added. "And Papa."
"Says who?" Gaius's brow furrowed. "I've been South plenty of times and come back fit as a flea. I've brought you gifts from down there, child."
"Yeah but you always say you almost died cuz it's so hot."

Aashi laughed. "Nothing like the honesty from a child."

(Apparently the leaderboard resets at midnight EST but in January I did 1917 and you did 1275 we are insane xD)

(Hot diggity dog!!)

(I bet you'll be in first place again!)

"Couldn't be mine," Gaius deadpanned, a wry smile creeping onto his face for a split second. "Not an Ash child."
"Am so!" Marcella leaned over her mother and pulled at his cloak. "See? See me, Papa?"
"Yes, I see you, dear. I was making a joke." He gently pried her hands from his cloak. "Eat your dinner, please."

(aha it's mod forum + randomosity + ego that pushed me ahead aha)
(also lowkey thinking about trying to blow that record out of the air next month if we keep bingeing + adding randomosity lol)

Aashi smiled between them. Lord Ashed seem so solemn -- but it did seem that he had a sense of humor beneath it all. She glanced over at her own family, but Tadaaki was doing a wonderful job of feeding Tasia, as he always did. Tasia was, thankfully, a fairly easy-to-please girl when it came to food. Aashi decided to focus on her own food before it got cold.