Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 8)

Ky nodded in agreement. Then added sheepishly, “Well, I mean, I didn’t have siblings until them. But I imagine you’re right.”

Zander glanced away. It was going to crush her when he told her the truth. Perhaps he never should. Just let her stay happily a Loquitur forever. There’d be no one to stop him from doing that.

"And you're what, sixteen? So we're all of us pretty close in age. That's great." He smiled. "Have you met any of the kids here yet?"

“In a few months,” Ky said with a nod. “And you’re… nineteen?”

(Do you suppose any of them have thought to ask when her birthday is? Cause I could see her just not mentioning it at all and then them getting upset with her with a ‘why didn’t you tell me?!’ Haha)

"Eighteen." He dipped his head. "Old but young, you know?"

(Tomhas will probably ask when he sees her next, or when he writes to her. I was an idiot and decided to name all the months different things from our own months. So I'll have to fill you in on that if I haven't written on discord)

(Haha fair enough — I avoided this problem entirely by being lazy and calling them chronologically lol like I can’t remember lore to save my life so I just gave them my own birthday so I won’t forget lol and I just say “Eleventh day of the seventh month” and therefore do not have to make a calendar xD but cool! It could be fun to have a convenient plot device and have their birthday be within a few days of them going back to Caracal Keep (I’m cool to make her have a different birthday for this for it to fit best) to add on to the chaos of revealing she has a sister, etc. But we can just play that by ear)

“No doubt.” Ky inclined her head. “That annoying age where we’re not kids but everyone treats us like we are.”

(Sure thing! We've got some time before that.)

"Yes!" Lily nodded fervently, and so did Tristan.
"Mum and Mama want me to be a kid forever, I'm pretty sure," he chuckled. "Frustrating but not unexpected. And they do well hiding it."

(Yep! Alternatively, it could be cute to have a surprise birthday celebration planned, so if you want Tomhas to ask via letter that could also be fun ^^ up to you c: )

"That sounds nice," Ky said dryly. "I keep getting explicitly informed I'm a child... which is kind of a no-win situation, because if I get offended them I'm proving their point."

Zander snorted, smirking. He understood her frustration. She wasn't a kid. She wasn't an adult, either. But he vividly remembered how much it pissed him off when adults talked down to him when he was a teenager. And she'd had to grow up much, much faster than he did, so she had even more reason to be offended by it. He wouldn't call her or think of her as a child, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't at least a little amused by watching her prickle against Gaius.

(That is actually what I had in mind, I would love to do that!)

"Adults think teenagers are children," Lily chuckled. "They're right in some cases, but not all."

(Perf! Let's do that then c: It'll be adorable)

"I think it's infantilizing." Ky settled back in one of the chairs. "You don't go from child to adult overnight, and it does no one any service to err on the side of calling the entire transition childhood. Children are inherently naïve; once you lose that innocence you're not a child, even if you're not an adult yet, either."

(Absolutely!)

"You make a great point." Tristan nodded. "I guess we are still innocent in their eyes. Or maybe we seem more childlike because our minds aren't fully developed. It's no excuse, but I guess that's why."

"Mm." Ky nodded. If people still viewed her as innocent, then she really was a manipulative bitch, to convince them of that. To make people view her as a harmless, fragile little child rather than the monster that couldn't break the habits Aleth instilled in her. The hyperaware slave that noticed everything and memorized every detail, whether she was supposed to or not.

"I guess compared to people like my uncles we are innocent," he mused, sobering. "Everyone must be."

Ky glanced at him. She didn't like playing persecution Olympics, trying to prove who may or may not have had it worse. She'd even agree that the two of them had had it worse than her -- but that didn't erase what a complete terror Aleth was.

"I think it's possible to present far more innocent than you really are," she said quietly.

"Yes." He nodded. "Certainly."
"I think," Emery said slowly, "that parents would rather keep the illusion that their children are innocent. And there's an element of truth to teenagers not having as much experience as full adults. Not less innocence, mind you, but less experience."

Ky considered this for a moment, then nodded in agreement. Emery understood. She didn't know much about Tristan, but she'd put money on him not being able to understand. Not really. But Emery did. "That makes sense... sometimes I feel like my past hurts them more than it hurts me."

She carefully didn't look at Zander, but he was one of the biggest components of her 'them' that she mentioned. Zander and Tomhas, to be precise.