Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 9)

(*chants* PMS, PMS, PMS)

(See I just thought Ky was tired and cranky because she was tired and cranky and has been told what to do for so long. That didn't even once cross my mind as the cause even though that's one of my symptoms too. I do wish I had the sweets thing though)

"They've never gone to sleep before," Yra answered promptly. "At least not in our records and stories. They've been wide awake--except for the Black Silence, but even then they were awake and listening." She leaned forward, a small grimace on her face. "This is pretty serious, Gaius. But if you want to know when they're going to wake up, just see how intense a Seer's dreams become." She glanced at Ada. "If that young lady had a dream that brought you all down here, she's going to keep having dreams like that, more intense the closer the gods get to waking. Seers pick up on gods' dreams and, if they're awake, their thoughts. The Southern God is wide awake, but they're only one god so experiencing their thoughts wouldn't be so bad. But sixteen all dreaming at once and coming to waking at the same time is going to be a nightmare. You'll want eyes on her all day, making sure she doesn't faint or have a seizure."

(Honestly that was a very last minute decision to set us up for the Sera scene hahah hadn’t been trying to foreshadow it because it hadn’t crossed my mind lol)(wait you WISH you had cravings??)

Ky glanced at Ada, alarmed. That seemed like a crime against humanity — knowing she was about to be tortured yet just sitting my back and watching it happen. “We can’t just do that to her!”

(Yeah cuz then I have an excuse to eat sweets)
(Although with my metabolism maybe it's better that I don't)

Ada's brow furrowed. "What?"
"We have no say in it," Yra sighed. "We can just try to help her through it."
"Will the intensity ease off when they're fully awake?" Gaius asked.
"I expect the gods will start dividing seers between them or ignore some," she replied. "Or they might just not care."

(Haha just fake it — no one will know)(but yeah fair same haha)

“We can let her go home,” Ky insisted. “She wants that anyway.”

"She's already been contacted once," Gaius pointed out. "Who's to say they don't speak to her again?"
"What is going on?" Ada demanded. "What are they saying?" She looked to Pratik.

“But distance will — might — be less intense,” Ky insisted. “It should be her decision.”

Pratik agreed. But he didn’t get paid to have an unsolicited opinion. He glanced at Ada. “Uh…” he looked at Gaius. “Uh…”

“The gods are going to hurt you when they wake up and they don’t care,” Ky said, gesturing at Gaius and Yra.

Ada blinked at her. "Wh--why?"
Gaius sighed. "She means to say that the owing weeks, months, or years will become increasingly difficult for you as the gods wake up and their thoughts become more coherent. What you experienced tonight will worsen and become more frequent to the point where you may have visions even when you aren't sleeping. We aren't completely sure if that will level off or decrease in intensity once the main event is over. Ky's idea that distance may lessen the effect is not unfounded, but it seems unwise to send you somewhere that has no experience with this many gods all manifesting at once."
Ada stared at him for a moment, then looked back at Ky and Pratik. "This is serious? Did they read that? Are they sure?"

They both shrugged, helpless. They just had to trust them.

She shook her head in disbelief. "I'm going home. Tomorrow."
Gaius hesitated. "Preparations would need to be made first. We want you escorted safely."
"Tomorrow," Ad insisted.

Ky carefully tried to sit very still so that the focus stayed off her. Gaius was going to be pissed. But Ada deserved to know.

"Two days," Gaius countered. "I'll have soldiers escort you home and get you all the way to the Isi. Is that fair?"
Ada glared at him, arms crossed, then nodded curtly. "Your gods are fucked up," she told him.
"Oh, I know."

Pretty sure they all knew at this point. This still felt like a situation in which Ky should not draw attention to herself. And Pratik certainly wasn’t going to add anything.

She got up and stalked away. Gaius watched her go, then turned to Ky. "In the future," he said coolly, none of his previous bookish enthusiasm present, "try delivering bad news a bit more delicately."

Ky looked at him for a moment then dipped her head. He was right. She’d been bratty about it. She’d just feared he’d stop her from saying it if she didn’t say it fast. She’d rather be brash than brazenly disobedient.

"I'll be here working," he went on, turning to Yra. "Please find as much as you can on this subject; time is of the essence." Yra nodded and got down from her chair.
"I'll need my ladder and a willing pair of hands," she said, already striding into the bookshelves.