Of Crows and Songbirds

She hesitated. They hadn’t talked through this part of the alibi, so probably best to be somewhat truthful. “I was mostly focused on my and Tadaaki’s food, sir, so I’m not sure how Al lined up with the two of us. But Tadaaki ate more than me anyway.”

"What did you eat?"

Ky furrowed her brow at him for half a moment before she caught herself and forced herself back to a neutral expression. What the fuck were these questions supposed to be?

“Dried meat, sir. Until we had to eat our horse. That was fresh.”

"And you managed to grab supplies from where?"

“I’m not sure, sir. Al grabbed them, sir, and already had them by the time we joined him. Sir.”

"Do you still have the pack the supplies came in?"

“No sir.” She shook her head. “We abandoned it once it was empty.”

"Why? It would have held berries, plants, what was left of the horse."

“None of us know what plants are safe to eat up here, sir,” she said. “And we feared bringing the horse with us would draw the attention of beasts. So we didn’t have anything to put in the bag, and didn’t see the point in carrying useless weight. Sir.”

"You're terrible survivalists," he said flatly. "How you made it all the way here in one piece is beyond me. Which towns did you pass through or near on your way here?"

“Terrible,” she agreed with a nod. She, also, didn’t know how they’d made it here alive. But. Well. She supposed she did know, to an extent. Death would be too kind for her. The cruelty of the gods had kept her alive through so, so many things that should have ended her, including her own attempt. No. The universe was forcing her to stay alive for some sick, twisted reason that was beyond her. “I… apologize that I keep having to say that I don’t know so much, sir. I wish I had more information I could give you. But I truly don’t know, sir. I am directionally challenged and nothing could have convinced me to part from Tadaaki. I just went along with what he and Al said… and it worked out. Thankfully. Sir.”

"Do you recall signs on any inns you passed?" he asked. "Anything will do."

“I can’t read, sir.” She shook her head.

"Most inns have pictures on the signs as well as words," Gaius said coolly.

“… I don’t know, sir.” She shook her head hopelessly. They didn’t have this written into their alibi, and she legitimately couldn’t remember any of the signs even if she wanted to answer. Which she did. There was no harm in giving an answer like this since they all may have noticed something different. “I could give an answer, but not one I can be sure wouldn’t be a lie, which I obviously don’t want to give. I don’t trust my memory to know, sir. I apologize.”