Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 4)

(Harold's 41, Basil is 13. So he's a year older than Anneliese and a year younger than Lyra. Harold also has a 5 year old son, Athric, and a 2 year old daughter, Amanda. The children will be left behind on this trip though)

"I'm sure you'll get along with the King just fine when you meet him someday," Anneliese promised. "He's very relaxed, for a King."

(Awesome, thanks!)

Ky nodded, not disclosing her plan of faking illness to avoid having to meet him entirely. "That's good to hear." Ky left a seat to the right of Anneliese for Lyra, and had her hands on the back of the one to the right of that. "So, I should just sit here, like normal?"

"Sure!" Anneliese nodded. "Everybody else, scramble for seats before everybody else arrives!"

Tadaaki's gaze snapped to Ky's face, panicked. He needed to be told what to do. Aashi anxiously wrapped her arm around Tadaaki's, also looking at Ky for direction. But Ky didn't know what to tell them to do. She was banking on her keeping her seat because she was becoming a member of the family; what were they?

"So, they should sit, uh...?" Ky asked, looking at Wick to see if he had any insight since it didn't seem like Anneliese cared.

Wick shrugged. "Don't look at me; I'm lost." He glanced around, then sat down next to Peter's usual seat. "This is where I sat last time, so..."

Ky scratched the back of her neck, knowing fully well Tadaaki wasn’t about to take responsibility for a choice like this. She didn’t like that she had to, either. But she would. She’d tell him what to do and take the backlash if she picked wrong. “Maybe… leave a seat for Ms Ana, then sit on that side?”

Wick nodded slightly. "Sounds fair to me. Don't worry, my aunt doesn't bite!"
At that moment Gaius and Sara entered, followed closely by Tomhas, who was chatting away. Gaius looked intensely present, eyes roving the table and taking in the new faces. Sara had her arm looped through his, and she was looking for a place to sit.
Tomhas flopped down at the head of the table. "Auntie Ana and Anneke will be along shortly," he told everyone. "And Lyra as well."

Good, that would make things easier. They just had to attempt to find excuses to stand up until everyone else had picked -- then they could take whatever was leftover.

"Hello!" Aashi said brightly, grinning at the Ashes as she strode towards them with her hand extended. "My name is Aashi; how do you do?"

Ky felt some of her soul drain out as she waited for the impending disaster. Ash and Aashi were literally on complete opposite poles of the metric of warm personalities.

"I'm Sara," Sara replied with a smile, shaking her hand. "Pleased to meet you! This is my husband, Gaius." Gaius dipped his head, extending his left hand.
"You are a family member of Ky's friend Tadaaki, I presume?" he asked coolly. He seemed to have regained his temper since the incident in the sitting room, but there was still a lingering tension to him.

"Nice to meet you!" Aashi said with a grin towards Sara; she smoothly switched to her left hand to shake Gaius's, giving him the same warm smile. "Yes, sir! I'm Tadaaki's wife." She looked over her shoulder. "This is Tadaaki. Have you met?"

"No," Tadaaki murmured, hesitantly stepping forward, though he stopped behind where Aashi had. He bowed. "It's an honor to meet you, your lordship."

"And you." Gaius nodded to him. "My brother speaks highly of you." He had been impressed by Aashi's quick switch; he was used to people faltering when he offered them his left hand, but she'd done nothing of the sort. At the same time, though, she had just as much energy as Tomhas. This would be a long night. "Did you have a safe trip?"

(lmao)

Tadaaki felt his cheeks go a bit warm at the compliment and he smiled.

"Yes, sir!" Aashi answered, taking back control of the conversation. "It was wonderfully uneventful, which I hear is the best type of trip to have, although I admittedly have only taken this one so I don't know for myself. Hopefully, I won't have to see the alternative for mysef!" She laughed a little. "Did you have a pleasant journey?"

"As pleasant as a two week trip through the snow can be, yes." Gaius took his seat, followed by Sara. "Generally it is considered ideal when there are no hiccups in a journey, certainly."

"Do you travel often, then?" Aashi asked. She was emboldened by their choice in seats -- there were fewer options, now, and it looked like Ky had chosen correctly in her suggestion for she and Tadaaki to sit across the table.

Tadaaki seemed nervous. She was, a bit, too. But where his made him quiet and awkward; hers made her overly-talkative and awkward. If they could meet somewhere in the middle, perhaps things would go better. Is that what Tadaaki was talking about when he sang Ky's praises on keeping a level head?

She strode around the end of the table, making a split-second judgment that Sara seemed warmer than Gaius, and so she sat down across from him so that Tadaaki could sit across from Sara.

Anneke wheeled Ana in, pulling out a chair so she could get the wheelchair in place. Then she sat herself down beside Tomhas.
"Welcome back, Tadaaki!" she said with a wide smile. "It's great to see you again; how are you?"