Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 7)

"Ready?" Ada asked. She wasn't quite sure what she'd say to Ky on this walk--she didn't particularly like this timid girl, nor did she think she could relate to her. She was a village girl, not a nomad, and seemed to have made herself into the sort of slave Rickard had become. Rickard was alright, though. Ky, Ada wasn't so sure about. She seemed too complacent, too willing to bend.
Maybe they could talk about nature or something inoffensive to both of them. Mostly, Ada just felt bad that Ky seemed to be stuck surrounded by all these men. She needed a girl to hang out with, and Ada would reluctantly step up to the plate.

“Ready.” Ky forced a little smile. “Is there an ice garden here?”

She shook her head. "Nope. There's a nice tree grove and the graveyard, but no ice garden. It's not a very gaudy place."

“That tracks.” Ky nodded. Gaius seemed intent on making himself as miserable as humanly possible. It didn’t surprise her that he didn’t try to add art to enjoy. She stepped towards the stairs.

Ada followed her, taking the lead. "It's a really old Keep, right? There probably isn't much space for pretty things outside. It was built for protection, as far as I can tell. But the grove is nice." She'd spent quite a bit of time there under the trees; there were small animals that had come over the wall and cultivated a little ecosystem there, and she liked to see the ground squirrels scatter as they fought over nuts.

“It makes sense,” Ky agreed, happy to let Ada set the pace. “I’m glad there’s a grove at least. I can be a bit restless at times.”

"Me too. Walls are so restricting; I want to run around like I could back home. I'm going to try and get back as soon as I can." She glanced at Ky. "But you've got family here now, right? You can't go back."

“Yeah.” You can’t go back. It echoed in her ears. She couldn't go back. Ever. She’d made this decision, and now she was stuck with it for the rest of her life. Besides, it’s not like she could go back even if she hadn’t. She wouldn't put her township into danger because of her. And she didn’t have a family to go back to even if she did. “… I’m still getting used to all the walls and locked doors, though.”

"The locked doors are all over the place here." Ada rolled her eyes. "Mama said Ash was half-mad; I'm beginning to see that she's probably right. What does he think we care about?"

“I think it’s more what he cares about.”

"What's that? Sounds like there's not much about this place to love."

“Heh.” She smirked mirthlessly. She was fairly sure every last one of them agreed on that. It held too many bad memories for Gaius and Tomhas. And felt too oppressive to suit her. “Security, I guess. It’s nice to feel safe.”

She wouldn’t be making that mistake again. Letting herself feel safe is what had led her to be complacent which is what had resulted in her getting stabbed. It was her fault. She needed to stay vigilant. Always on guard. It was the only way to keep everything from going to shit. Again.

"I just feel buried between all this stone. It's freezing cold here, too, so you can't have that many windows. The snow's nice, though."

Ky nodded. “I do miss the South. The snow is tiresome to me already, though. I get cold easily, and I’m fairly certain this place never gets warm.”

"Definitely not." She wrinkled her nose; she'd been afraid of getting frostbite on the way to Wolf Keep, but she'd been spared. Some of the others hadn't been so lucky. Rickard said the tips of some of his fingers had gone black, and Imali had been treated for it here. "If we had snow without the cold, I'd like it just fine."