Of Crows and Songbirds

“None of us have been up here before, sir. The rumor in the cage was Lord Ash is merciful to people like us. We weren’t sure who else might be, or who may sell us back. We didn’t want to risk it. Sir.”

He watched him to see if the man was the Lord himself, if there was any indication. The longer he listened to the questions and watched the paranoia, the more he suspected it was so. Especially given the cane and thinness.

Tadaaki and Ky were both still oblivious.

He nodded. "Understandable." Gaius straightened, looking over the trio. "I'll speak to you all individually when you're feeling well enough, but thank you for your time." He turned to Sera. "How long til they're able to be moved?"
"I'd give it a couple weeks for each of them," she replied. "They're half-starved and beaten half to death."
Gaius dipped his head. "Please see to it they're spread between the third through fifth floors. Have you explained the rules?"
"Not in detail. They only got here yesterday."
"It can wait, then." He turned back to the trio. "Welcome to my Keep, then. I'll be seeing you, I suppose."

My—?

Ky’s eyes went wide and she flushed in an instant. This was Lord Ash?! You couldn’t sit in front of a Lord! Especially not in his own Keep! She was being so disrespectful. Aleth would have her hide.

She threw her blankets back and shot to her feet… only her foot got caught in the edge of the blanket, and she toppled over instead. She landed heavily on the ground and exhaled sharply, the only indication of the extreme pain that shot through her body on the impact. Especially given she landed on her arm. She stumbled to her feet, which were still broken as well, and she stumbled to the side before she could catch her balance on her sore toes. She put her right hand on her mattress to steady herself as she turned back towards him, humiliated. She wanted to fold her hands in front of herself but her left arm was still in the sling, however jostled, so she forced her right hand back to her side. “Sir!”

Tadaaki also felt a stab of fear at the revelation. A Lord?! Lords weren’t supposed to speak to him. He wasn’t supposed to be in their presence at all, and if he was and they even acknowledged he existed, they spoke at him. He wasn’t supposed to— this was— oh gods.

His anxiety only doubled at Ky’s behavior. Was he—? Standing up. Yes. That. He needed to stop being so disrespectful. He shot to his feet as well, folding his hands in front of himself and dropping his gaze. He’d been looking a Lord in his eyes! He was lucky he got to keep them at all.

“I-I apologize, sir!” Ky spluttered, looking at him in a panic before she averted her gaze. “I-we-we didn’t know! Sorry! We meant no disrespect! Apologies!”

Tadaaki nodded vigorously but kept his head lowered.

Aleth looked at them in surprise, startled… he supposed he’d done that, hadn’t he? Beat it into them that they were to stand when their betters entered the room. He straightened as well but didn’t attempt to stand.

Sera, startled by the sudden surge from Ky and Tadaaki, moved quickly forward to push them back down to their beds. "What is this nonsense?" she chided them. "You're not well enough for that; sit down!"
Gaius had flinched backward as they got to their feet and stayed tense even after he realized they were trying to pay respects. He glanced at the one who hadn't stood, then back at the younger ones. "That's not necessary," he said stiffly, trying not to show how much his feathers had been ruffled. "I don't mandate that sort of genuflection."

Ky was easily pushed over backward as Sera got to her, sitting heavily on the bed. Her heart was racing as her gaze snapped from Lord Ash to Ms. Miller and back again. He… seemed angrier about this than he had by their disrespect. She dropped her gaze. “Apologies.”

Tadaaki was just very confused about what was happening but picked up that he was supposed to sit down and obediently did so, watching Lord Ash fearfully.

(To google I go)

(I don't think I used it quite correctly)

Sera checked that Ky and Tadaaki hadn't dislodged anything, then turned to Gaius. "A word in the hall, if you please?" He nodded and stepped out, holding the door for her.

(Close enough — it’s a good word!)

They settled back into their headboards, letting out a heavy breath. Gods. That had been… gods.

Aleth waited until the apothecary and Ash were shut out into the hall, then looked over and muttered. “You fucking idiots.”

Ky cringed and looked down at her lap. She was very, very sore now.

(Thanks!)

"They need a gentle touch," Sera said when the door had shut behind them. "That bit with the foot wasn't funny."
"It wasn't intended to be." He leaned on his cane. "He was faking it; you know that."
"That may be, but if he truly is what he says he is--even if he isn't--that would terrify him. We need them calm and relaxed, not frightened for life and limb."
Gaius nodded impatiently. "I know. It was a spur of the moment idea, obviously a mistake. I'm sorry I tried it. Can we talk about our initial impressions of these three?"

“Get your fucking act together,” he spat, making sure his voice was low enough it wouldn’t carry. “I swear to god if you get us kicked out — and we all will be leaving if anyone does — I’ll do worse to you than you got this time.”

Tadaaki and Ky both nodded vigorously. “Yes sir!”

"They could all very well be genuine," Sera said. "Two of them had...rather creative scarring on their chests and stomachs. The older one didn't. No slavers would do something that detailed."
"Perhaps those two shared a master at some point," he suggested.
"And there's something else. The girl was wearing a binder when she got here. She'd been forced to wear it. I don't see why she wouldn't have taken it off the moment she was free--it looked very painful. And with all the checks slavers do when they first acquire a person, they'd have discovered she was a girl when her previous master sold her. It doesn't add up."

“And before you try to get cute I will remind you once and only once that your ass is still mine. You get me kicked out, you know where I’m headed first.”

Ky and Tadaaki both nodded solemnly, expressions drawn.

Aleth would be going straight to one of their townships to slaughter the people they cared about, then head to the other one next. If either of them fucked up, it’d destroy them both.

"I'll keep it in mind." He frowned. "I must say, the older one doesn't seem remotely grateful."
"He gave me a hard time about his toes, which is understandable but rather frustrating. He was...angry, rather than fearful." Sera hesitated. "I don't think we have anything to fear from Tadaaki. But Ky and Al have certain aspects that just don't add up. The binder and the attitude, primarily."
"

(Poor Ky ;-; )

“So you best start making better decisions,” he finished.

“Yessir.” They both felt terrible again, the dread mixing with their pain.

(The kiddo ain't to blame!)

"I would argue we have nothing to fear from Ky," Gaius replied. "She doesn't seem to have the agency to do anything dangerous to us. The other, though, Al. His demeanor, everything is off."

(Oh for sure but I can’t help but feel like she’s gonna go through the wringer twice now haha)

“Now fix your faces and straighten up.”

“Yessir.”

They both crawled back under their blankets and focused on taking deep breaths, trying to calm themselves and their demeanors before Ms. Miller and maybe Lord Ash came back.