Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 5)

(Ohhhh Ky no)

"That doesn't excuse it, of course," Gaius went on. "Her daughter suffers for it, and I expect she herself would be much happier without the glassweed. But she's too far gone, now. Her mind's left her, and I think she prefers it that way at this point." He drifted into silence, saddened by the realization that he'd lost his sister. She was nothing now but a shattered teacup with a few pieces missing, and that was all she'd be for the rest of her life. She'd robbed her own child of a mother, and her brutish husband of a wife. She'd robbed her brothers of a sister.

(Ky: well if I can't kill myself then I'mma become an addict)
(also big oof haha my sister is also an addict that I've disowned at this point, so I feel ya, buddy xD)

"Of course," Ky murmured quickly, nodding. It appeared he was displeased by his sister's choices, and she didn't want to make him linger on painful memories... but it seemed nice, for her mind to leave her. Her mind was the root of all of her problems. It's what remembered her trauma. It's what decided it wanted to kill herself. Life would be much better without having to deal with it being a bastard to her.

(Oh, I'm sorry to hear that!)

Gaius glanced back at her, studying her carefully. She looked uncomfortable. He should change the subject, steer it away from darkness and discomfort. "Your cat," he said after a moment. "It will be welcome in Serpent Keep, should you choose to bring it."

(Thanks... it's whatever at this point. I had several long years of it being very painful, but I have not and will not forgive her for some of the things she's done, and at this point, I legitimately could not care less about her. It's just a weird place to be with a sibling in general... but, like, meh. It's whatever)

She smiled a bit at that, but it was weak. "Oh! I'd forgotten about him in the midst of all this. I appreciate that."

It might be more trouble than it was worth to bring him on a journey as long as this. But, then, snuggling up with her kitten seemed like a nice idea just then. Would Laura get mad if she went after Petrir and brought him back here? Probably.

(Even so, you have my sympathy.)

Gaius dipped his head. "Serpent Keep has had a variety of pets over the years; a cat wouldn't be the oddest thing an Ash or Loquitur has brought through its gates. One of my ancestors, Modestus the Mad, had a twelve-foot-long snake that he kept in one of the spare bedrooms with a fire burning at all times. Its skeleton is displayed in the library."

(<3)

"That's so cool," she said reverently, a more genuine smile playing at her lips as she imagined having a pet snake. But then she realized she couldn't even imagine a snake that big. The only ones she'd ever seen were five or six feet long and very skinny, with most much smaller. Imagine having a snake more than twice your size that got its own room all to itself. Incredible.

"Blinker, I believe he called it. Rather an ironic name, since snakes have no eyelids. Modestus was a strange man." And a dangerous one; House Ash had nearly Fallen twice under his reign.

"No doubt," she said with a little smile. "I've always been so interested in how their eye caps work. It doesn't seem like it makes sense, yet it works for them. It's cool."

"We have several extensive books on the study of snakes and their anatomy in the library as well, should you be interested," Gaius told her. "Some are hand-illustrated."

"That sounds neat," Ky said. Right, library. She made a mental note to check it out. She was getting more used to the idea of going home with Gaius, even though that would be painfully awkward if the rest of the Loquiturs didn't come along. Still, she'd give it a try. And if it got to be too much, then, well, it's not like it'd be more difficult to break her promise there than it was here. It might be better that way, even. Tomhas didn't like blood. Gaius didn't seem to mind it.

But, before that, she'd try reading. It seemed like a healthier option. And maybe that would help her forget, too. Give her an existence she actually wanted to be a part of, instead of this one that she very, very much didn't. "I'm guessing it's too cold up here for wild snakes?"

Gaius nodded. "Much too cold. Their body temperature doesn't regulate itself the way ours does. If one is to survive here they'd need a containment area that's kept extremely warm. Modestus managed it quite well, in my opinion. He fed it rabbits and sometimes small goats, and that combined with the warmth kept it alive."

Ky's eyes went wide at that. A goat? The snake must be even bigger than she was imagining. "What kind of snake was it?"

"There was no species name in the diary, but it was certainly a constrictor of some sort." Gaius held out his hands to about the thickness of six inches. "This is how big around it was, and it could expand to fit the goat inside."

Ky nodded, impressed. "Where was it from? The only ones I ever saw back home were the black snakes that are like this big and this long." She gestured about the diameter of a silver dollar and about as wide as her arms would go, about five feet long. "And then smaller ones than that, too. Not gigantic ones."

"I believe it was from Southern Orthos," Gaius replied. "I believe I mentioned that region to you once before. An intriguing place."