Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 8)

(That is too many ancestors. Put some ancestors back lol)

“Makes sense… but, I mean, everyone has ancestors. I didn’t just spontaneously spawn out of no where. But I don’t have cousins…didn’t, a month ago,” she corrected with a shrug. “At least… if I did, they don’t deserve to be remembered.”

(This is what happens! And they're not all ancestors. All of them are descendants of Venr Ash.)

"Why not?" he asked. It sounded like she'd been happy with her old family. Maybe too happy; was there some sort of falling out?

(Haha fair enough)

“You can’t just cut someone off for falling in love,” she said firmly, lifting her chin. It was clear she’d made this opinion long ago.

"Mm. You can; people just won't like you afterward."

“I don't,” she agreed. “They’re all terrible.”

Gaius nodded. "I can think of perhaps two instances in which I would cut someone off because of a relationship. Otherwise, it shouldn't be done."

“… why?”

Gaius was silent for a moment. "Relations with a child, or incest." He was still considering how he should react to Tomhas's rash decision to sell Lyra off to Tarr. It was utter madness and the reason they were in this mess; he was sure Anneke was incensed.

“Oh… well that’s rape, not a relationship. It’s different.” She’d cut people off for that, too.

"Mm. Not always," he said stiffly. "My parents were cousins and utterly in love with one another." And a pair of dysfunctional monsters. He sometimes wondered if that was why he and Michael and Cecily had come out so broken.

Ky glanced at him uneasily. How did she always manage to insult his family? She really should just shut up. And yet she did.

“Well, my parents weren’t,” she said, deciding it was safer to go back to her family than his. “Papa’s parents were just like,” she adopted a mocking tone. “‘Ruiarcs are merchants not peasants you can’t marry a farmer’ because they were jealous that Mama is better than all of them combined.”

"Ahh, class separation." Gaius nodded. "A tale as old as time itself. Tomhas and I can relate. But your parents were happy together, I trust?"

“Definitely.” Ky nodded fervently. She didn’t actually have proof of that, since she’d never met Mama. But she was still sure of it. “They loved each other a lot. He loved her as much as he loved me, and it’s not possible to love someone more than he loved me. They were very happy.”

"That's good. That's all that matters in the end, except in the aforementioned cases."

Ky nodded. “Yeah. We just re-started the Ruiarc family line, so we’re good again.” She hesitated, faltering. She’d been allowed to keep her name. Legally, anyway. But was she going to have to take a husband’s name? And, well, if she married a woman then she still couldn’t have kids — at least not naturally. She supposed she ruined that. Betrayed Papa. “…I mean… it… for a little.”