Of Crows and Songbirds

(He found himself a weak link)

Gaius nodded and left, locking the door behind him. He'd talk to Al and let Tadaaki stew, then come back--maybe with Bay--and talk some more.

(rip Tadaaki)
(but at least it's not Ky this time amirite)

The lock sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard, scraping down the length of his spine.

Gods, god, gods, gods, godsgodsgods--

Tadaaki hurried over to the window and put his hand on the frame. It was only three stories down -- perhaps he'd make it? But, then, what would he do even if he did? He'd not make it past the gate. And even if he did, he'd not make it out of range before a crossbow could strike him down. And even if, by some miracle, he managed that, then what? He could freeze to death on his own? Get mauled by a wolverine? That didn't seem any better.

...what if he jumped head-first? Three stories seemed to be the on-the-verge precipice of survival. Maybe he could take himself out, fast, so Bay wouldn't have a chance to drag it out.

Or. Well... fuck. That'd be suspicious as hell. And make it worse for the others. And. Well. He couldn't give fewer shits about Aleth, but Ky... always Ky. He didn't want to give Bay a paved path to her. He needed to at least wear the man out a bit before he moved on to Ky and Aleth. Take the brunt of it. That was his job.

Gaius didn't have far to go. He reached the infirmary in a minute and opened the door, looking around for Sera. He found her office door closed and locked, so be figured she was elsewhere and approached Al. "How are you faring today?" he asked.

"Well. And you, sir?" Aleth straightened a bit in the bed.

He'd been thinking about his strategy more. He needed to humble himself. Fit in better with his little idiots, who were no doubt anxious messes at this point. Hopefully, Ash had gone easy on them. Ky was starting to be slightly less worthless than before, but Tadaaki still panicked any time a free man sneezed in his direction. Hopefully, that would work out for him, though. They'd intentionally left him in the dark so he wouldn't have to lie. He legitimately didn't know what was going on. And if Ash was as smart as everyone claimed, then hopefully he'd be able to see it was just anxiety at being close to a nobleman rather than falsehood.

(This audio lives in my head rent free and gives me Tadaaki vibes rn lol warning it’s got profanity https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTd7VkC7n/?k=1 )

"Quite well, thank you. Are you ready for your interview?" He came to a stop at the side of the bed but a few feet away and remained standing.

(That is exactly his vibe and I love it.)

"Yessir." Aleth inclined his head. He didn't want it, of course. But. Well. Now that he thought of it, perhaps he was the first one getting interviewed. Maybe he could set it up well for the others. Make it easy for them, if he got Ash primed and ready to go.

"Excellent. Let's start with your master. What was his name?"

"I didn't have a master, sir," Aleth answered. "I got sold a few weeks before and spent the entire time in the cage until we got free."

"Very well. Your companions' master, then, Ryken Vosroy. What do you know of him?"

"Vosroy?" Sneaky bastard. "...I think they said Neff, sir. But I may be mistaken on that."

"One of them said Vosroy," he said stiffly. "Tadaaki, I believe. Which is it?"

Fuuuuck.

Aleth could handle this, of course. But was Ash planning to lie to Ky like this? Tadaaki? Ky could probably bounce back from it; Tadaaki wouldn't be able to. He was entirely too slow to think this fast on his feet. Especially if Ash was feeding him a crock of bullshit to see if he went along with it. Because he almost certainly would. He'd agree with anything Ky said. And probably agree with anything Ash said that Ky had said, by extension.

But.

Well.

They could hope that he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut anyway.

"The name I heard was Neff, sir," Aleth said quietly. He fully intended to stick to his alibi, regardless of what his idiots had said. And doubly so now that he knew Ash was going to lie through his teeth about what the others had said. Aleth was completely certain that Tadaaki hadn't pulled Vosroy out of his ass instead of just going with Neff, like they'd all agreed. Well. Like he'd informed them.

"We'll have to check on that," he mused. "What did this Neff do?"

Yeah, you do that.

Bastard.

"He was a traveling merchant, as I understood it, sir," Aleth said. "Worked a lot in the South and East."

"And he sold textiles?"