Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 7)

"I just like to imagine a time before my home was a war zone." Emery smiled sadly. "There's no one alive who knew the East before that."

Zander cringed sympathetically. "A very valid point... I'm glad you're able to find comfort in the scrolls at least."

Well, Guild Master had, obviously. And the Elders. But Emery didn't need to know about them.

Anyway. This got longer than I meant, so I guess I'll stop now. But I hope that you're all doing well! I miss you all very much and would love to hear from you as well if you have time.


Her quill hovered over the page for a long, long, long minute.

How did she sign this?

She hadn't written many letters as a kid, but all the ones she'd ever written Papa or Zander were signed: "Love, Ky xoxo"

Was it too soon to say that, though? It felt like the L-word was something that needed to be eased into. You couldn't just go rushing into saying you loved someone. That was -- like -- well, you just couldn't. Many budding relationships got nipped in the bud by one or another person saying they loved the other before it was time. And she wasn't going to be the one to make things awkward.

And yet, 'best' and 'sincerely' both felt, ironically, insincere.

This was taking her way, way too long to decide.

She got up and paced around in a circle while she thought, before she finally came back and lamely finished:

~ Kylia (Ruiarc) Loquitur <3

Was that cheesy? Probably. Oh well.

"That's what's nice about the library," Emery went on. "It has something for everybody."

"No doubt," Zander agreed. "You'll probably have to drag Ky out kicking and screaming, or she'll forget things like food and sleep exist." He laughed a bit.


That had taken an immense amount of both emotional energy and penmanship, so next, she started on a rough sketch of a Caracal for Oscar. She gave it a silly grin and comically large eyes. Above its head she wrote his name in all caps, then in the bottom right corner added "From: Ky"

"Probably so. That happened to Gaius once, actually. He was in there three days without eating or drinking."

"Oh, gosh." Zander shook his head. "Well... at least you've got an idea of where to start checking if either of them goes missing again, I suppose."


Ky wrote a letter to Peter next, asking him lighthearted questions about what he'd been up to and if he'd made up any fun stories, and how he was coming with her game.

And then she wrote a letter to Anneliese. That one felt perhaps awkwardest of all, simply because she felt like the language she used for Peter was too juvenile to be suitable for Anneliese -- and yet the ramble she'd given Tomhas and Anneke felt too dry and boring.

So, instead, she talked about the friendship bracelet she'd made Rönn -- though she obviously didn't say who she'd given it to. And she rambled a bit about the artifact room and asked her what her favorite part of this Keep was and what she'd recommend for Ky to do to pass the time.

Then she folded the letters and headed up to her room to get the wax.

"Yep. We have Librarians checking that corner every few hours to make sure nobody's lost themselves."

Zander laughed at that, even though he figured it was probably true.


Ky dug the wax and seal out of her luggage, then looked down at the letters helplessly. Was it... just a normal seal? Or did nobles do something fancy? She certainly didn't want to mess it up. Besides, she didn't have a ton of experience sealing letters anyhow.

She knew how to open sealed letters while making it almost impossible to tell that she'd done so. But if a letter was important enough to get a seal on it in the first place, Aleth would personally read it over and then sign and seal it himself, after she did all the work. She'd only sealed maybe half a dozen letters before.

She should probably get some advice before she messed this up.

(The seal has a fancy stylized caracal emblem, that's all that's special about it)

Emery reached the stairs and headed up. "Who do you want Ky to pick?"

(Good to know, thanks! I think Ky's just anxious about sealing letters in general lol but it's good to know what it looks like)

Zander took a deep breath and thought for a moment. "I want her to pick someone who she's comfortable with... and I'm afraid that it may not be any of the three of them, if I'm honest."

(Hehe nice)

"No?" Emery frowned. "Why do you say that?"

"I don't mean that in a bad way," Zander clarified. "I think all three of them are excellent choices. But Ky is scared of her own shadow these days and was incredibly anxious around the two of them. More so than usual. And she's going to feel guilty about asking Xander, no matter how many times you or I or anyone else assures her it's fine. So...dunno." He shrugged. "Not my choice, though. Obviously."

He shook his head. "Okay, makes sense. Um, who would you be looking at if it were your choice for her?"

“Probably Bay,” Zander said thoughtfully. “He seems mild, though determined. And I suspect he’ll be trying his very hardest with his first student, especially considering who she is. I think they’d be a good fit. And I think he’s who she’s going to pick. But she’s going to put it off as long as humanly possible — and you, inadvertently, fed that, suggesting she ask Ka’Nor. It’s a solid recommendation. But she’s probably going to refuse to make a decision for at least another month now, until she can pretend to be mulling over his recommendations. I think… she needs a swift shove towards one of them. But I don’t think she’ll make the leap by herself, honestly.” He rubbed his face. “I mean. I may be wrong on all of that. But I don’t think I am.”

"I agree," Emery replied. "Speaking as someone who used to be in her sort of position, it's hard to get that confidence going again. You might have a word with Gaius about it; he could help. Or you could. You're her uncle too; give her advice!"