Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 6)

"Yeah..." Zander scratched the back of his neck.

He was also a little miffed, but at Gaius, for forcing him to take the brunt of Ky's anger when it was Gaius's fault instead of his. Not that he couldn't handle Ky being angry with him. Many people in many places were mad at him and he lost no sleep over it whatsoever -- unless there was an assassin involved over the grudges, in which case he did, in fact, lose sleep. Couldn't exactly return to slumber when your pillow was slashed open by someone aiming for your head, even after you killed them.

But he didn't want Ky, of all people, to be angry with him. It took quite a lot to make Ky upset enough she yelled. Even before. And doubly so, now.

"It wasn't my idea, you know," Zander said. "I'm not going to tell her that, obviously. No point in her being mad at both of us. But, well... she's got more of an attitude than before. Teenagers, amirite?"

(Me, procrastinating the creation of the most important parts of Serpent Keep's first floor in Minecraft: And now I shall create an intricate cesspool system as well as an underground dining area for the cesspool shovelers!)

(Also I love that he's blaming Gaius when in fact it was him who insisted that the uncles had to be a united front and proceeded to leave Gaius completely out of the equation)

"Teenagers indeed," Emery chuckled. "We've got blessedly few of those here, though that's bound to change once Mattathias and Marcella sprout up. Marcella's going to be a terror, to be sure."

(ahaha omgggg good luck with that lol)
(and hahaha okay, but, and hear me out, there would be no need for a united front without Gaius shooing him away xD)

"Good luck with that," Zander laughed. "I'd say you've got plenty of time before you have to worry about that, but I'm pretty sure Ky was still learning how to walk just last week. Not sure what happened there. Guess I shouldn't have blinked."

(That's true, that's true)

"The curse of all us old men," Emery said with mock gravity. "You watch the youngsters sprout up around you and wonder where the years went." They arrived at the dining room door.

"No doubt." Zander pulled the door open and gestured for them to walk in first, which Pratik did.

Gaius and his family members were already seated, as were Sera and Rickard. Lyra sat to Gaius's left.
At the end of the table was a middle aged woman of ethnic Eastern descent, with hollow cheekbones and lifeless eyes. Her dark hair had streaks of gray in it, and there was a deep furrowed scar running from forehead to lip. Close beside her to her left was the tall, well-muscled Far Northerner that Pratik had sat near in Gol Nasa's cage. He was extremely pale, as were most tribesmen of the Far North, and his white-blonde hair and beard were combed neatly. His deep blue eyes fixed on the trio as they entered.

Pratik nodded to him, then looked at Gaius, waiting to be told where to sit. It was going to be a big dinner tonight, apparently. "Hello!"

Zander offered a nod and a little smile, too.

Tadaaki and his family were already seated. Ky was nowhere to be found.

Gaius dipped his head to all three. "Pratik, you'll be sitting beside my niece, Lyra." He gestured to the seat on Lyra's left. "Zander, you'll be at the third seat from Pratik and Emery, you'll be on Zander's right." Emery nodded and took his seat.
The Northman said something in Nortung, which Gaius responded to.

Pratik strode forward with a grin and dipped his head to Lyra, but was careful to make sure he was approaching as the perfect gentleman. He'd seen far too many heads separated from their bodies for perceived affronts to daughters. Not to mention she was a literal child, and he wanted very few things less than for anyone to mint him as a pedophile.

"Hello! How are you?" He stopped just behind the chair, wanting to give her a moment to adjust to his presence before he just took the seat. Girls tended to be wary of strange men, and he couldn't blame them whatsoever.


Zander followed behind, clapping Tadaaki on the shoulder as he passed, grinning at him. Tadaaki smiled too and gave him a nod. They both glanced at the empty seat between them, wondering if that's where Ky was going to be sat. Zander glanced around. He wondered where she was in the first place.

Lyra looked up at him, offering him a polite but obviously forced smile. "I'm well," she said softly. "And you, sir?"

Gaius had taken special care to seat Aashi as far away from himself as he could possible manage. That meant she was beside May and across from Ivar, but hopefully she wouldn't offend them since they couldn't really speak Upper Tongue. Her chatter might annoy Ivar, though...hopefully not.

(hahah ouch)

"Not too bad!" he said warmly, gesturing at the seat. "May I?" She really had no option, but it still felt polite to ask.


Ky felt late. She wasn't sure why, but she had the gut feeling that she was. The servant had mentioned it was hard to find her, so she wasn't sure how long she'd been wandering, or how late Ky really was. But she'd hurried downstairs and took half a moment to compose herself before she strode in.

"Hi!" She looked at Gaius, forcing herself not to cringe as she realized everyone else was already seated. Gods, here she was, being the problem again. She blushed and strode forward, assuming the seat between her two favorite people was saved for her. "Sorry."

Lyra gave him a quizzical nod. "I'm not going to stop you."

"We haven't begun yet," Gaius assured her. "You're not late." He was pleased she'd found the seat he assigned for her without needing to be told; he'd made it fairly obvious. The only people they were waiting on now were Imali, Ua, and Ada. He assumed those three would take a bit longer.

Pratik nodded to her and sat down. "You got here today as well, right? How was your journey?"


Ky offered a little smile, though she was still blushing a little, and nodded at him. Now that she looked, she noticed three empty seats. So she wasn't last. That was good.

Ky put a hand on Tadaaki's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. They were both still afraid of public displays of affection, but were slowly getting comfortable with subtle gestures like this. She sat down next to Zander, giving him a smile, but it both looked and felt guilty. She'd been a dick. Again. And she owed him yet another apology. But not now.

"How was the library?"

"Amazing!" She grinned at him, lighting up. "You've gotta see it. You'll love it."

"It was fairly uneventful," she replied. "I can't really complain; I'm glad to be here." She seemed wary of him but not overly afraid.

The door opened and Ada strode in. She glanced around, then sat herself down in the chair between Pratik and Emery.
"Welcome," Gaius said to her in Akarataran, and she nodded to him before turning her attention to Pratik and Lyra's conversation, trying to pick out any words she understood.

"Glad to hear it. Uneventful is always best when traveling, I've found," Pratik said.

Ky glanced down at the table towards them, eyes flicking towards Gaius. She hadn't felt like the trip was uneventful whatsoever.

Pratik turned towards Ada, offering her a grin. "Hello!" He said in Akarataran, then turned his gaze back on Lyra. "Can you speak Akarataran?"

He'd switch to that to include Ada if Lyra could -- but, if she couldn't, then Pratik was going to exclude Ada rather than Lyra from the conversation.