Of Crows and Songbirds

(Might have covid. Took the home test and it seems pretty conclusive)

(Tomhas might get involved to fight against Tarr. The mission is espionage; they're trying to gain any information that might be useful)

Sera seated herself once more, gesturing for the assistants to clean themselves up. "How are you feeling overall?" she asked Ky and Tadaaki.

(Nooooo! I’m so sorry that’s awful! Are you holding up okay?)

Ky and Tadaaki both involuntarily glanced at where she’d stashed the shears — their attention had been keyed in on the torture device — and then at her quickly, almost instantly stumbling over an awkward, “good! Ma’am!”

(I've had a fever and fatigue and a stuffy nose but otherwise I'm feeling okay. It just messes up my dog-sitting work for the week)

She saw where their eyes went and smile slightly. "Good gods, I'm not going to chop anything off of you two. You're not as bad off as he was, not by a long shot. You're sure you're feeling alright, though? It's fine to say no. I can give you poppy if you need."

(Oof yeah that’s rough — I hope you recover fast!)

They both let out a little breath of relief, but stayed tense. Tadaaki glanced at Ky to see if she knew what ‘poppy’ was. She didn’t, and shook her head slightly when she caught his inquisitive gaze. Was it some sort of pain reliever? Or… other drug? Should they be honest about not feeling well? Or would that be unthankful? They didn’t want to be burdensome. Burdensome slaves got beaten.

(Same. Thank you!)

"It'll help, if you want it," she said, looking between them.

Ky looked at Tadaaki a moment longer, then back at Ms. Miller. Decision. She needed to make the decision. If it was just her, she’d probably just grin and bear it. But if it would help Tadaaki… “…if…if it’s not too much trouble, ma’am? But-but we’re fine without. Ma’am.”

"Not at all." She took the bottle back down and poured out two cups, which she brought to them. "This should dull the pain sufficiently."

“Thank you, ma’am,” they both murmured as she handed each of them their cups. They dipped their heads and obediently took the poppy. It made Ky’s stomach turn itself over again. Her abdomen clenched, which hurt her ribs. She forced it to relax but her stomach churned again and it tensed again as she heaved.

Gods, gods, godsgodsgods-

Ky clenched her teeth and did her best to clench her throat as well. She heaved again. She clamped her hand down over her mouth, determined to keep it together. To not throw up. Or at the very least if she did then to swallow it again immediately. She’d rather die than vomit for real.

Sera saw her struggling and hurried to get a bucket, which she set near Ky's bed. She did the same for Tadaaki.

The poppy had had exactly the opposite effect on Tadaaki. He felt warmth wash across him instantly and relaxed suddenly, though now he tensed again as he looked over at Ky in concern. She’d succeeded in keeping it down. But it wasn’t for lack of her body trying, and she kept heaving, despite doing her absolute best to stop.

"Breathe, dear," Sera said gently, coming to sit beside her and rubbing her back very carefully. "Breathe."

Ky took a deep breath in an attempt to obey. But that split her focus from her goal, and now she lost her battle. She vomited the poppy and tea and a bit of stomach acid into the bucket. Her entire esophagus from her gut to her mouth burned. She spat. No sooner had it left her mouth than she started apologizing. “Sorry! I’m so sorry— I didn’t mean — I apologize — sorry.”

"Ky, Ky, hush." She kept rubbing her. "It's alright." She rose after a second and brought her a drink of water. "Drink this, get rid of the taste."

Ky nodded and obediently took a sip of the water. Her stomach pitched again. She let out a sharp breath. She wasn’t going to throw up again. There wasn’t even anything in her stomach to be thrown up. So why was her body being so dramatic?

"Do you have any infected wounds I missed?" she asked. "Are you feverish?"