Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 6)

(hahaha)

Zander swallowed his bite, looking between the three of them. Ada was a Seer -- Ky had been asking her all kinds of stupid questions earlier. She dreamed and discerned lies, right?

So Gaius had lied.

But... about what?

He wasn't crazy -- Pratik had also reacted, so Zander wasn't imagining things. What, exactly, had Gaius just lied about? He had little reason to fudge how old Marrow Man was supposed to be. Did Gaius believe Marrow Man to be real? Was he too embarrassed to say? Or did he know something that he was refusing to say?

If a 600-year-old cryptid was hanging around in these woods, Zander damn sure wanted to know about it before he left again. He glanced at Ky.

Ky had also put the pieces together. Gaius lying. Ada discerning lies. Pratik -- and it seemed, Zander -- catching her catching Gaius. This was bad. She stared straight at her plate, picking up her fork to stab at a piece of meat.

Shit, shit, shit. Maybe he shouldn't have invested in Ada with so many people around. He was usually so good at lying.
Gaius grew silent and forked a very small mouthful of vegetables into his mouth, hoping no one would bring the lie up.

(and just like that, they've all forgotten about the diary xD)

Ky definitely knew something. Zander eyed her for a long moment, then looked back at the other three. Could anyone else at the table speak Akarataran except the five of them?

Rickard.

Anyone else?

He wasn't sure. But he didn't think so. That would at least halve the number of people who could understand if he demanded an answer.

"We just gonna pretend that that didn't just happen?" Zander asked in Akarataran.

Spoiler

Gaius: perhaps this won't be an issue

Zander:

"No fair!" Mattathias complained.
"I apologize," Gaius said simply, in Akarataran as well. "I had forgotten Ada's skills."

Zander hesitated, then decided now wasn't the time to push the matter. It wouldn't do to bully Gaius in his own home in front of his entire family and guests. There was nothing positive to be gained from that sort of move.

"Mm." Zander inclined his head, acknowledging the apology, but not accepting or rejecting it either way. He didn't want an apology, he wanted the truth. Besides, they both knew he wasn't sorry at all -- he was only sorry he got caught. Zander looked down at Ky.

She felt his eyes on her but very carefully refused to look at him. Instead, she kept her eyes on her plate as she cut the meat into tiny slivers, chest so tight she couldn't breathe.

She felt like the entire table was staring at her even though she didn't look up to see if that was true, or not. Her face was burning.

"You in on this, too?" Zander asked after a moment. Her guilt was oozing out of her.

"In on--?" Ky looked up, furrowed her brow in an attempt to play dumb. But she instantly melted the moment she locked eyes with Zander, and looked back at her plate. "I don't have any idea what you're talking about."

(Go to sleep!)

Ada raised her eyebrows at her. Gaius grimaced; this was all falling apart quickly.

(Am I really that predictable xD)

The topic needed to change, and fast. Ky eyed her wine, once again contemplating knocking it over. Maybe if she 'accidentally' dumped it directly into Zander's lap that would be enough of a distraction to get his attention off her. Or, maybe, she'd dump it on herself and take that as an excuse to have to go change clothes.

"You're squirming awfully hard for someone that has no idea what I'm talking about..." Zander commented. He wouldn't be a dick to Gaius -- but Ky held no authority over him. And she also caved so, so much easier.

"That's because I... don't..." Ky looked at him, then at Gaius, then quickly towards Ada and Pratik, then back at Zander. She couldn't handle this. Couldn't breathe. She looked down the table. "Aashi!"

Aashi started, surprised at suddenly being addressed. "Yes?"

"Can you talk about something?" Ky switched back to Upper.

"I-I don't have any idea what you're all talking about--"

"Perfect!" Ky said, looking at her pleadingly.

Aashi was so confused about what was going on -- but it was clear Ky was begging for help, and she wasn't going to leave her hanging. Even though she didn't have the first idea of what to talk about. For once in her life.

She glanced around the room quickly, looking for a single thing to catch her eye. Then said, "The ceiling in this room is very high. Is there a reason for that?"

(At this point, absolutely)

A terribly clumsy diversion, but Gaius was glad to have eyes off of Ky and himself. He cleared his throat and straightened. "It used to be a tribal longhouse," he replied. "Ten families were housed in here before it was converted to a dining hall."

(Valid, tbh — I actually am on my way to bed after this one lol so nite nite)

Zander wasn’t impressed with the effort, either. He lowered his voice. “I know what you’re doing.”

Ky pretended not to hear him, even though she very much did. “Venr had his family up that way, yeah? Since it’s warmest in the middle?”

Zander knew damn well that Ky knew that he knew what she was doing. But he decided to drop it, for now. He wouldn’t be forgetting. Nor would he be settling til he got his answers. But he decided to leave the interrogation for after dinner.

(Sleep well!)

"Exactly.' Gaius nodded. "The longhouse was made smaller as the castle was built, to conserve warmth, but the old stones are still here."

(Thanks! I am kind of wiped haha)

“That’s really interesting!” Aashi said. She glanced at Ky. Right, then, she need to keep it going. “Any other interesting architectural facts about the Keep?”

"A great many." Gaius thought for a moment. "The walls were built last, so a great many attacks were made on the Keep by tribes that didn't accept unity. You can see the scarring on some of the walls of the exterior."

Aashi’s eyebrows shot up. “Did any succeed?”

"Absolutely not. The settlers had superior weaponry at that time, and we had the advantage of living behind stone walls. The tribes were pushed back until they only occupied the Far North." He glanced at Ivar, who was pointing out the frescos on the walls to May.

“Oh.” Aashi nodded, also glancing at Ivar. Was he from the Far North, then? She looked back at Gaius with a little smile.