Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 11)

Wait, Anneke was friends with Bay?

Suddenly the man seemed far less intimidating than he had. If he had the Anneke stamp of approval, he must be kinder than he seemed on the surface. Especially if she was likening him to Ka'Nor.

Perhaps swordsmanship lessons wouldn't necessarily be the worst thing to have ever happened to her... if she had to stay... she supposed.

(again, the dramatic irony considering the other duo lmao)

(Hehe for real
Gaius isn't gonna make him hurt Tadaaki though; he's just there to look scary)

Ask Gaius or Sara or your father about the shenanigans the lot of us used to get up to; I guarantee they're good stories! Maybe a little embarrassing. But worth it!
Have you tried any of the food in the village there yet, if anyone has brought any there? The sticky buns are to die for. Maybe you can convince Tomhas to take you there when he arrives--again, I hope you read his letter--if not, show him this letter and tell him I told you a couple hours' journey won't hurt you.

(Totally valid)
(Honestly, though, you're fully welcome to bully him/manhandle him/sweat him in the dungeon or whatever else you'd like to try to break him. The only limit is how irreparable you want their trust in Gaius to be after the truth comes out and they're free of Aleth lol)(like, whether they'd relax even a little bit at any point, or still not really breathe even after Gaius takes Aleth out and promises not to hurt them lol)

Ky smiled a little at that. That'd be nice.

It faltered a bit.

Only, it wouldn't. Tomhas shouldn't be here.

(Gaius is gonna be letting Tadaaki's own mind torture him for the most part and come back with false info, see if that makes him break, then leave him alone. He's basically gonna isolate the poor guy for awhile even after the interview)

As far as I'm concerned, as long as you're with people who can keep you safe, you're welcome to visit the village as often as you want. I'm not sure the trolls are an immediate threat yet but if Gaius says they are than ignore what I said. But for now, assume that you're allowed to have fun, okay? That's from your mother.
Not much else has been happening down here yet, but I'll write you as soon as there's something of note. But you better write me a whole bunch of pages about this Rönn fellow, and the gods, and Lyra, and everything you've been up to. I miss you so much, little one; I feel like I barely got to know you before you had to leave again. Help me catch up on lost time!
Stay safe but have fun, Kylia. I'll see you as soon as I'm able. Give everyone there my love.
Love,
Mother

(rip)
(*Tadaaki just randomly disappears*
Tadaaki: bitch, shit, dang it, nononono-
Aleth: wait, for real? hell yeah, take my fall for me, big man
Ky: nuuuuu don't hurt big brother)

Ky smiled sadly as she finished the letter. There was a solemn sort of contentment with an edge of bitterness as she folded the letter. She hadn't said anything about Ky's pleas to come home.

Was this Tomhas's doing, too?

Had he unilaterally decided she had to stay here and that he was going to come visit her?

Would Anneke let her come home if not for him?

(Oofka)

(Yes Ky yes)

(o o f daddy issues 2.0 coming in hot)

Ky picked one of the other letters at random and started reading it.

This letter had terrible handwriting and spelling scrawling across the page, along with several other pages of drawings and another page with Anneke's handwriting that read, Transcribed by Mother,

Deer Ky I hav drowings for u to se. Sum ov them ar for Tasea and Marsela and Matathius. Moma rot ther nams for u so u can giv them to them. I drowd a big cat for u and also a hors becuz Papa sed u lik horsis. I drowd me fiting a trol with a big sord to cuz trols ar big and men. Tel evrewun I sed helo and I luv them. Luv OSCAR

Ky grinned at that, endeared. Well, that was the cutest thing she'd seen in her entire life. She slowly sorted through the drawings and admired each one.

The one for Marcella was a scribbled deer with huge antlers and a girl riding on top of it. For Mattathias there was a friendly-looking dog. For Tasia he had drawn his best caracal as well as him and Tasia petting it together.

How cute. She admired them for another moment longer then moved on to the next letter.

This one was a very long letter from Anneliese.

(Which I'm not going to write because she's going to be rambling endlessly about everything she can think to talk about. She'll be very excited about Rönn and talk about the earthquake, that's most of the important stuff)

(totally valid haha)

That was very much in character for Anneliese and Ky smiled slightly through the entire thing, flattered that her sister cared enough to write a letter this long. She was a little overwhelmed by all the questions it contained, but resolved to think up a proper reply to it later, and instead moved on to the next (final?) letter.

This one was from Peter and it was just a badly drawn smiley face.

(I think that's it.)

Ky smiled at it as well, then took a long moment to look back over each of the letters and drawings. Gods. She missed them. She missed them so much it hurt.