Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 6)

“It’s very interesting,” Ky said. “… and very dense.” Much like her.

"I found it to be much the same," Gaius agreed. "Astronomy isn't my strongest subject, I'm afraid. I'm more down-to-earth than those books want people to be."

That was actually really reassuring. She nodded. “No doubt… the book also mentioned astrology, and I don’t quite understand how it’s different.”

"Astrology is the use of stars and planets to divine the future and interpret the lives of people," Gaius explained. "Astronomy is fact and science-based."

(My astronomy professor last semester sucked, but he drove this point home over and over)

(Ohh interesting! I know nothing about astronomy. I legit was looking up YouTube videos last night of orreries to try to grasp how they work haha I think I’m getting there but it sucked me down a rabbit hole… what actually is a moon? Why is the moon important? How does—?)

“Oh.” Ky glanced at Ada, wondering if that meant she did astrology too.

(I'm only interested in the visuals of astronomy, none of the science. I first heard about an orrery from the movie The Dark Crystal.)

Ada looked back at her, chewing on her meat without comment. She didn't know what they were talking about, naturally.

Ky realized her mistake and switched to Akarataran. “Are you into…” Ky realized she didn’t know the word for it, given she’d only just discovered the word today. “Using the stars to predict the future?”

"The stars are just stars," Ada replied with a shrug. "I dream what God tells me to dream, nothing more. She sends me what she thinks I ought to know."

Ky nodded. “That makes sense.”

It didn’t. Not really. But she wasn’t one to call someone a liar without proof, no matter how far fetched something seemed.

"Have you never met a Seer before?" she asked, curious. "You seem to know nothing about us."

Ky blushed a bit. Ada made her feel very stupid, although Ky didn’t get the impression that that’s what she was trying to do. She still was, though. “No, ma’am, I’m afraid not.”

Ada's eyebrows shot up at the "ma'am" and she snorted. "Well, you'll get the hang of it if I'm to stick around and tell Lord Ash the doom forecast for the next few months."

Ky’s face got even warmer, but she realized her error at Ada’s reaction. She was falling back into old habits now that they’d had this change in scenery. Assuming every new person she met was a ma’am or a sir. She needed to work on it still. To assert dominance… or at the very least, assert equality. “Is there anything in particular I should know to start?”

"Well, we all experience things differently, and only very few of us see lies," Ada began. "And not all of us dream. Some of us read bones, some of us go into a singing trance, some of us skin hyenas and read the blood in their hide."

“And you dream and—“ she almost said ‘call people liars’ and stopped herself at the last moment. “Discern the truth?”