Of Crows and Songbirds (Part 2)

(Ohhhh I thought it was a misspelling of peddling. Cuz piddle also means peeing.)

"What else did you do? Any hobbies?"

(Yeah I googled it right after I explained it to be sure I was saying it right and discovered that lol literally never heard it used in that context before oop)

“Um…” Tadaaki thought for a moment. It’d been six long years since he thought about having hobbies. What did he like to do? “I used to be big into sports, ma’am. I like just about anything physical… that doesn’t involve someone getting hurt… ma’am.” He didn’t at all enjoy how Aleth forced him to get physical with people. “Something gratifying about it.”

(Family phrase maybe?)

Sara nodded in agreement. "I have a brother who enjoys sports as well! What sort of sports did you play?"

(I mean down below Google also had ‘piddle around’ as a definition like I used it lol so perhaps regional? But also I’m now not sure if I’ve heard anyone but my dad say it so who knows lol)

“All of them.” Tadaaki smiled a little. “But my favorites were kickball. And tackle ball… when I was little. That one felt a bit unfair once I grew up.” He smiled sheepishly. He generally had a solid four inches and fifty pounds on people. Not exactly equitable when it came to contact sports.

(Huh, that's strange!)

"I'm familiar with tackle ball and kickball!" Sara leaned forward. "I used to play them all the time when I was a kid. Wasn't very good at either, of course, but it was tons of fun."

“That’s what counts!” Tadaaki agreed, dipping his head.

"My brother was the village champion, though. He could even beat the adults, when he was younger, and when he grew up nobody stood a chance."

(Too bad Aashi isn’t here, she’d use this to absolutely embarrass him with compliments lol)

Tadaaki grinned at that, blushing a little. “…that also feels nice. But. Well. It’s still fun to just play for fun… especially with kids. It’s cute how determined they are to beat you.”

(She absolutely would)

She chuckled. "Oh, absolutely. Nothing beats the resilience of a young mind! That's what got him to where he is now, I think."

“And where’s that?” Tadaaki asked. She was so nice he was almost forgetting he was supposed to be scared.

"Just the best tackle baller in the village. And a respected weaver!"

(Oh
Oooof I forgot Petrir was a weaver)

(Heh)

“Sounds like a good reputation to have!” Tadaaki smiled, glancing over at Ky. His smile faltered.

She was staring at her plate, expression carefully neutral as she swallowed her bite of goose without finishing chewing it.

“He, uh…” Tadaaki glanced back at Lady Ash sheepishly, trying to figure out how to hurry past this before anyone noticed Ky. Even though he wasn’t sure that anyone would, if they didn’t already know… “must be very patient. Willing to practice a lot.”

"Certainly. It's really more of a hobby, but he enjoys himself." She looked towards Ky. "What about you. Ky? Do you like any sports?"

That’s not something you can just move past. And yet, she didn’t have any option but to do just that. She swallowed hard and forced a little smile that she really, really didn’t feel like giving. “Um… yeah-yes… ma’am. I was an only child and didn’t play them a lot, but I enjoyed kicking a ball around sometimes when I went into town.”

"It's the classic toy," she said with a nod. "There's so much one can do with a ball!"