Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 8)

"How about I go down there and fetch all of us some?" Sara suggested. "Sera can come with me for an extra pair of hands. Emery, would you show them to a sitting room or somewhere?"
"Certainly!" Emery dipped his head. "Would you all prefer a sitting room or somewhere else?"

Ky glanced between them again. Was Sara going to tell Sera what had happened with Gaius? Probably. But that didn't concern her. As morbidly curious as she was, she knew her place. She gestured at Tristan and Lily. "You're the guests."

"The library is always nice," Tristan mused. "And there are lots of chairs and stuff up there. How about that?" Lily nodded in agreement.
"Let's go, then!" Emery moved ahead of the group.

Ky nodded, too, and stepped after him. But not before she laced her fingers through Zander's. He smiled slightly and gave her hand a squeeze as he strode next to her -- equal parts endeared at her affection, and concerned about what a state she must be in emotionally to be this clingy. Not that he minded it whatsoever. He was steeping in it. But was she this touch-starved? This love-starved?

"So... you're farmers?" Ky asked, glancing at Tristan and Lily.

"That's right!" Tristan nodded. "Lily's a dairy and chicken farmer like her parents--she works with them. And I help my foster mother run a lichen farm. We make bread and the like."

What odd family dynamics. To know both your biological and your foster mothers. And to have a monster as a biological father. She was lucky that she carried on Petrir's legacy in her own genes.

"From the lichen?"

"Yep! Pretty much all the bread up here is made of lichen. Wheat doesn't grow in the cold--it's usually imported from the East or the South for the nobles to feast on. But Uncle Gaius and Uncle Tomhas like lichen bread, from what I've seen. Which is delightful, because it means good business and something to bond over!" He smiled. "You've probably eaten some. It's very dark, almost black, and tastes earthier than wheat or rye bread."

(I really want to try lichen bread now)

(sounds so sketchy xD)

Ky nodded. "It's good... I didn't realize it was farmed rather than scavenged, though."

She hadn't eaten much, either. It felt rude to refuse food outright and so she hadn't done that yet and didn't intend to unless presented with something she truly couldn't stomach. But the idea of eating lichens made her uneasy. They weren't food. What was next -- bark toffee? Pine needle lollipops? No thank you. She'd leave the lichens on the trees and rocks and farms, she supposed, unless it felt impolite not to eat it.

(Apparently it's edible depending on which lichen you use)

"Got to farm it for sustainable food sources," Tristan pointed out. "We've named the rocks we grow it on. What did you do before you were adopted? You mentioned an employer?"

(I just googled and you're right I just... dunno, never crossed my mind as a food source xD)

Ky had a jumble of emotions all at once. The first question made her think of back home and she was thinking of how she was going to reveal that she, too, was a farmer.

And then he mentioned her 'employer' -- and suddenly she realized she was trying to erase three years of her life. Well, she supposed that wasn't inaccurate, after all. But still. She couldn't just pretend like they didn't happen.

... unless she could. Tristan didn't seem to know the truth.

"A personal assistant," Ky answered. "Mostly did translations and letter writing, though."

(Me either but I had to look up what anyone could possibly eat in the arctic other than fish and seals)

Tristan wrinkled his nose, then caught himself. "Sorry. Wow, what did you translate? Do you know a lot of languages?"

(haha that's totally valid! You definitely did not give yourself a hospitable climate to work with lol)

His repulsion was brief, but enough to send her into a spiral of self-doubt. Why had that been the wrong answer? She was trying so hard to be careful, and yet he didn't like what she'd been. What she was.

"Boring stuff." Ky shrugged, flushing. "Contracts and the like."

And far more than that, too. But, well... she somehow felt incredibly defensive now. And yet she didn't want to defend Aleth. And yet she couldn't not defend Aleth if she did want to defend herself. And, well... well...

(Indeed I did not)

(I must sleep now, I have to get up at 7 to hear my writing be reviewed by my peers)

"That sounds like a lot of politics and bureaucracy," Tristan said sympathetically. "That was never my thing; I like hands-on work. Did you like it, at least?"

(oof, good luck! That sounds awkward and stressful but I hope it goes well for you!)

"Um..." Ky hesitated an awkwardly long moment, looking at him, then at Zander, then at Emery, then back at Tristan. She didn't know what the right answer was. If she said no, then Emery and Zander would likely rat her out to Gaius and Tomhas, and then they'd never let her help them, ever. And yet saying yes would be a lie... then again, if Ada wasn't there to call her on it, why shouldn't she just lie?

That felt wrong, though.

So she settled on a softened truth instead. "I... like to be helpful... and there are very tangible ways a translator can help, depending on the circumstances."

"Absolutely." Tristan nodded. "That's really important in politics, or so I'm told. It does sound really cool, though. I bet you met some interesting people!"